Where's Your Cane?

Mom says I say mean things to her. She says I order her around and don't let her do things. Like telling her she needs to use her cane even when she walks around the house or not to lift things (since she would have to let go of her cane - which is how she fell  and cut up her thumb) or to put a glove on her hand with the injured thumb. She also doesn't like when I tell her not to scratch and to put the moisturizing lotion on instead. Or to use the grab bar instead of the towel bar or toilet paper holder. Or to take her medication. I think I will continue to be mean to her.

When we first talked to Mom last year about replacing her tub/shower combination (which had a broken door) with a shower only unit that has a bench, grab bars, and an adjustable height shower head, she said she did not need it. We had to tell her the safety features were for Dad when his leg got worse. (He was wounded in World War II and one leg is about 3" shorter than the other; his good leg is giving him problems now.) Diamond Head Plumbing did a great job and once she tried it, she liked it. A lot. Now that she is unsteady on her feet, she is happy there is a bench that she can sit on while she washes, rinses, and dries off. We are, too.


It was windy today. In Honolulu it was 36 mph at the airport with gusts up to 50 mph. I believe it - when I went to move the blue recycle bin out to the curb for pick up tomorrow I found that the gray garbage bin had been blown up against it and its lid was blown open. Fortunately it was still under the eaves so it did not fill up with rainwater.

[There is a photo that I wanted to insert here but it is giving me a lot of problems, so no photo.]

I took a (store bought) pumpkin pie to the humane society today for the staff who will be working tomorrow. Besides the people that clean the cages and feed the animals, there are at least 2 people at all times at their intake area. That's "all" as in 24/7. No holidays for them. So I took them a pie since they are rooting for Momo; every orange cat that comes in is very thoroughly checked, they all know his microchip has migrated.

(from Hawaiian Humane Society website)

We are going over to Curt and Lori's for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I am making Fluffy Dinner Rolls, salmon, and pumpkin pie. The nice thing about the rolls is that they are so moist and fluffy I can make them tonight and reheat them tomorrow and they are still very good. I underbaked them so when I heat them up tomorrow they will be evenly golden brown.


When some people heard that I subscribe to a cooking magazine they could not believe it. Then they found out why I like Cook's Illustrated; it explains the science behind why something works. This is my new favorite cookbook, it is by America's Test Kitchen, the place where the recipes in Cook's Illustrated are developed. (That's where the Fluffy Dinner Roll recipe is from.) There really is a 2,500 sf kitchen just outside Boston where they try things out. They have a show on PBS (which I have never seen); all 16 years of their recipes are in the book. I am using their pumpkin pie recipe since the recipe I usually use is in a box on the Big Island!