Long Time No Post

Oh my, I can't believe that it is nearly a year since I've posted, but it's okay or has to be okay since that's what happened.  It's November 30 already and December starts tomorrow.

This Thanksgiving weekend turned out to be not what I had expected but oh well.  Learned that the grandkids are getting older and not having the same level of interest in the same things anymore so it is harder to do planned things with them all at the same time.  I need to spend more individual time with each one to find out what's going on with them.

Working on my plan for Christmas and what I want to do.  Also need to plan for the Dec 10 Threads meeting, send out an e-mail, decide what to teach:make another size of kimono jacket; make patterns to copy; jpg of the one I already did for e-mail; sew a simple bag and a pocket pouch with instructions. (jpg to post on Threads of Hope page.

It's nice that it has stopped raining and am able to go out.

Need to download and design the Thanksgiving group picture to add text for Christmas Card & also design the 5x7 card.

Praying I can get myself together.  At least a little.

Happy New Year! 2015--What will you bring?

The fireworks this year had been going off now and then all day yesterday.  We decided a long time ago not to waste any money on fireworks, even when the kids were younger, others would give them to us.  As homebodies, we stay in on most holidays except for Christmas Eve where we served at church for the Candlelight service (11 pm to 1 am).  We even tried to go to bed at 10 pm.  About 11:30 pm it started getting louder & louder, from more homes in the neighborhood and up the streets.  You really couldn't tell that there was a fireworks ban or permit only useage.  Hah!  At 11:50 pm it was like the old days & it went on at the loudest for a half an hour.  The cat was howling and didn't know what to do with herself.  She became ours exactly a year ago on New Year's Day 2014.  What a sweetie she is, not doing much but lazing around, eating, using her litter box, napping, and just making us happy.

Got up this morning to make my Mandarin Orange Cream Cheese Jello, a recipe that was first made by my sister Margot about 28-30 years ago.  I can't believe that this year will mark 25 years since her passing.  She was a recipe collector & helped to make a cookbook at the school she worked at.  It's one of my treasures & something I've done several times as well.  I miss her still.  What a blessing to see how well her four children have turned out.  Missing her husband Roy too, he's been gone twelve years.  Here's the recipe:

She made it for New Year's a long time ago and it's one of the traditional things I make for New Year's Day eating.  When we were young, we always went to Grandmother Higa's house in Waimanalo.  She and Aunty Toshiko & Aunty Judy would make Okinawan Shoyu Pork, potato macaroni salad with peas, fried noodles, nishime, namasu, vegetable tempura (I'm making shrimp/vegetable combo), and we'd have canned soda (bottled before).  What a treat!

This year with the kids I decided to have a 'no rules' open day, come when you can, bring what you want to eat.  We'll play games: the new ping pong table is fun, (I'm getting better but need to decide which hand I will use=equally crummy), brought out Mom's old Scrabble game with the built in turntable that I got for her many years ago & the tile drawstring bag she made.  Phyllis called from Las Vegas yesterday to ask me the rules for Russian Rummy since the whole Jerviss/Liu Clan, Higa Clan & Kalani had joined them for their annual festivities.  We'll play that too.

Need to finish sewing the tabs on the twelve rainbow bags that Alisa will take to Thailand when she leaves on Tuesday.  Her first mission trip, being away from her family.  Immanuel God is With Us.  So many hopes and dreams.  Praying for the team that God will use them to Bless many & Be Blessed.  While I'm at it I should include my Christmas letter...

Looks like I'll have to convert my Christmas letter to jpg.

Got to roll my lumpia, vacuum the house, make my tempura.  It's 65 degrees at 9:35 am and I don't want to change out of my pajamas!

Have a great day, everyone!

A Thought for Every Day

This is what I found while reading my Our Daily Bread for November 26, 2014.

A good guideline for what I want God to do through me.  Think I'll rewrite & create a jpg in my own handwriting.

It's the First Day of December!

So after all the Thanksgiving activity, it is now December 1st.  I've watched a bunch of youtube videos about documenting each day in this month with journaling and at least one picture.  Some even make albums and call it December Daily & add the year # do it every year.  Reluctant to commit to that since I am so disorganized & have a habit of starting projects...

So this is what I decided to do: Write down one thing that I learned each day.  Simple, short or long, with or without pictures, no rules.

I will also stick this little note somewhere.

2.  I also learned how to put a picture into the blog...

It is a slightly damp day today, cool & pleasant.  Recovering from the weekend.  Finding God so faithful in every moment.

50 Years

It was 50 years ago today, July 29, 2014 that my daddy, James Yoshio Higa passed away in a heavy equipment accident in the earliest days of Makakilo's development.  He was 46, I was 13 and mom was 42.  We (the 3 of us) had just returned from our first trip to the mainland where we visited with sister Phyllis, Neill, Noe & Kalani in Northern California.  It would be their 25th anniversary on July 5.  What an adventure we had, riding a Grey Hound bus from to San Francisco and then to LA to visit Uncle Bill, Uncle Mitsu & Uncle Larry & Disneyland.  What fun to be in the Big City.  He was intrigued by the many opportunities of the mainland and possibly considered moving there one day.  HIs unexpected passing was obviously a devastating blow to all of us and we survived it with God's help.

My three older sisters were already married and had families of their own so it was just my brother Jr. and me at home.  Jr had graduated in 1963 and was planning to return to Pasadena College.  Rev. Glen Van Dyne, then pastor of the Wahiawa Church of the Nazarene lovingly ministered to us at this time and mom found her faith in Jesus and sought to live for Him.  We were active in church & were surrounded with prayer & our church family.

Here is an excerpt from some writings from Uncle Roy Higa who in 1977 wrote down many stories from his/their childhood in Makawao.  Daddy was the second oldest and Uncle Roy the third child.

Thanksgiving Orgy and the Indian Chief
Uncle James was in the 7th grade and also a star performer in the Thanksgiving program.  The program was an ambitious production, a re-creation of the first Thanksgiving party when the grateful Pilgrims invited the friendly Indians to a feast.  The Indian Chief, you guessed it, was Uncle James.  He had fashioned an elaborate costume from old burlap bags and  strings of turkey and chicken feathers on his headdress & red, yellow and blue paint on his face made a believable Indian Chief.  I was proud that he was my brother.  The entire student body of about 700 students, teachers and some parents gathered on the grassy lawn fronting the teachers cottages.  It was a perfect sun shiny day in November.  

A cluster of burlap and canvas teepees and cardboard log cabins were set up on the lawn with a long dining table in the middle.  About 15 Pilgrims and 20 Indians were in the show.  An assortment of fruits and vegetables brought by students were scattered on the table as symbolic of the bountiful feast to come.  While the Pilgrims and Indians sat at the table and pretended to eat the raw vegetables, green bananas, avocados, guavas, lemons, mangoes and other unripe fruits, the Indians led by the Chief Uncle James were supposed to entertain by dancing and hooting around the table.  Then the Chief was to climax with a speech thanking the Pilgrims for the invitation and pledging undying friendship, etc.  The Chief had two beautiful squaws in attendance.  They stood discreetly by his side smiling with baskets of fruits and vegetables.  They were visions in brown with feathers and flowers in their hair.  The girls were Marjorie Iaea and Hoohila Morton.  They were also good friends of Uncle James in school and they affectionately called him Jimmy.  Later the friendship blossomed and Hoohila was to refer to him as my "Sweet Sweet Jimmy".

The program was well planned and rehearsed.  However, the unexpected was to happen.  It started innocently enough.  The Komoda Store in town had completed a new store and added a bakery to their operations and decided that the school program would be a good place to publicize their bakery products.  As the program was to commence, the bakery truck rolled up and unloaded an assortment of sugar and glaze doughnuts, unpuns with the ono black bean filling, snails, sweet rolls and other baked goodies.  And this largesse' was spread on the table.  This added exciting realism and delicious dimension to the program.  The onlookers were awed and envious, the participants were awed and delighted.  Chief Uncle James was undoubtedly the happiest of them all.  He was thrilled and dizzy with anticipation.  The overpowering aroma of the still warm pastries was knocking on his senses.  

The program started, the dancing and whooping around the table was spirited, full of uninhibited joy and it was all genuine.  Now they settled around the table, everyone including  the envious onlookers, among them your 9 year old father to be (stories written to his daughter, cousin Ann), was by now drooling rivulets of saliva from his gaping mouth, and their eyes glued in fascination at the real goodies on the table.  

As Chief James got up to speak, it was the signal for the feasting to begin.  He was horrified to see all the darting fingers grabbing at the pastries.  Table etiquette was ignore.  It was every man for himself.  His speech was scheduled to be about 5 minutes long, to be spoken in a loud authoritative voice with very slow deliberate cadence like some one who had important things to say in an unfamiliar language.  But nobody was paying attention to his speech because for one thing they all heart the speech many times as he loudly rehearsed all over the campus in the last three weeks.  Everybody was watching in fascination the orgy that was going on at the table.  As he droned on, it became alarmingly apparent to him that the pastries might all vanish by the time he finished.  I can think of some negative things about Uncle James, but that stupid, he wasn't.  Of course he didn't finish the speech.  

He sat right down and none to soon, and started to make up for lost time.  His hands were like spears flashing in a school of menpachi fish.  Joe Louis had fast hands but I'd bet on Uncle James that day.  He was magnificent.  In two seconds, he had snared a half dozen bruised pastries and like a pineapple cannery ginaca peel shredding machine,  his two hands were cramming pastries left and right.  One after the other.  It was an incredible performance.  Six pastries were in his mouth at one time even before he started to chew.  Not an easy feat even for Martha Raye.  His cheeks were distended like two balloon fishes mating, eyes protruding like frying eggs sunnyside up, and the red, yellow and blue paint on his elastic face accentuated a real live Jack O Lantern.  It was superbly grotesque.  Alas, while his mouth was only too willing, his throat would tolerate none of that foolishness, one digested pastry at a time or else.  He suddenly stood up and went into a frenzied Indian war dance, his face fiercely contorted, it was totally unrehearsed and spontaneous, it was spectacular.  I was impressed and joined the applause of approval  There seemed no limit to Uncle James' s talent. 

Then just as suddenly, he flipped to the ground, rolled over and started to groan, grasp, vomit and palpitate into nauseous convulsion.  His teacher, Mr. Dick Shigemi rushed to his side, worked his fingers in the Chief's mouth and induced a huge glob of regurgitated mess.  Then artificial respiration was applied.  It was all rather deflating and undignified.  When the other Indians and Pilgrims were assured that the Chief was going to survive, they rushed back and this time carefully ingested only two pastries at a time.  Everybody in my class new that the rapacious Chief who almost choked to death was my brother.  I went home and complained to my mother.  She quietly said one doughnut should have been plenty.  Mother's simple logic.  Anyway this fiasco ended all such ambitious productions at our school.  Komoda Store never donated free pastries after that, not even doughnut holes. ~

Just one of the many stories but this one is my favorite.  Uncle Roy is 92, Aunty Judy Watanabe is around 86 & Uncle Mitsu just went to his class reunion in Las Vegas from Benjamin Parker School Class of '50 (the year I was born.)

I know Daddy would be proud of how we all turned out, would have loved our spouses, his grandkids & great grandkids (keeds).  Love you, Daddy.

Watching the G Girls

It's Summer & Alisa often has photography opportunities with Ashley, Pinky.  Why not?  Drop the girls off at Gma & Gpa's.  They'll keep them busy, right?

Well of course it's craft time!  Had Nysa bring the box of crafting/watercolor supplies that we gave her for her 11th birthday last Sunday.  I broke out their little booklets that they made last time they came over & gave them the assignment of writing  What does Summer mean to you...  They completed that and then cut up index prints to glue into their books.  I just got a Canon Selphy Printer & can print multiple pictures on one 4x6 inch=1, 2, 4, 8, 20, 30 (index).  I'm having so much fun!

So when Celina came over on Saturday, she brought a bag of goodies: Tim Tam, two kinds of Cadbury chocolate treats for Gramma's School (I didn't know Cadbury is made in Australia), a fun set of "retirement dice" and a bag of fabric sample swatches from her other niece Michelle.

Sorted out the swatches and after our spaghetti lunch, I decided to sew six of the swatches together to make a bag.  Each swatch had an grommet from whence the swatches were connected.  The edges were pinked and as I pondered out loud whether to fold the top down and add a handle, Kwyn--the 5 year old said she liked the unfinished edge and why don't I put something in the holes.  Used cable cord and voila--she loved it!  Then I had to make two more...  I let them pick out their prints and what order they wanted.  Pleased with how they turned out.  USE WHAT YOU HAVE.

Sew Blessed & Grateful

Celina's Visit and Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

My classmate, friend, maid-of-honor Celina is here visiting from Australia.  Her niece arranged for her travel for her dad's (Celina's brother) birthday.  She found some time that worked out for the both of us on Saturday morning.  She suggested Starbucks and I thought to make some Blueberry Muffins & bring the Starbucks home.

Here's the recipe from Cynthia Won.  I've tweeked it with a crumble topping from The Pioneer Woman's Pear-Cinnamon Crisp.  It is ever so yummy.

2/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 3/4 cup sifted flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (I use frozen, found it cheaper at Costco)
1 tablespoon flour

Cream butter and sugar.  Add milk and egg and beat until smooth.  Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to creamed mixture.  Mix until moistened.

Toss blueberries with flour and fold into batter.  Fill a well-greased muffin pan 2/3 full with the batter.

Topping ingredients for 9x13 pear crisp (I halve the recipe)
1 1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cu pecans, finely chopped
1 stick butter, melted
Stir with fork until combined and sprinkle evenly over the 12 muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.  Smear with even more butter and enjoy!

Store leftover muffins if there are any uncovered in the refrigerator.  If stored in covered container, the crumb loses its crunch.

No photo :( on computer--it's on the phone or ipad mini.  Next challenge is to figure out how to add to post.

So we had a lovely visit, got caught up & talked about writing:family history, thoughts, what we've learned and decided we'd share with each other what we do.

this was taken at Main Street Station at our 45th Class Reunion in Las Vegas 10/14.