Sekiya's Restaurant & Delicatessen

I took The Roommates out for dinner tonight; DT was unable to join us tonight. The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes chose Sekiya's Restaurant & Delicatessen for his birthday dinner; it is located right across the street from my high school. Some students would go to Sekiya's to buy lunch instead of getting a school lunch! The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes chose Saimin and a Hamburger; The Potential Most Favorite Roommate chose Shrimp Tempura and Nitsuke Ahi with a Green River soda, and I chose Nitsuke Butterfish with Tofu.

L to R: Hamburger and Saimin. (Photo by The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes)

Shrimp Tempura. (Photo by The Potential Most Favorite Roommate)

Nitsuke Butterfish with Tofu.

For dessert we went to Via Gelato and each of us got a pint of ice cream. The Roommate Who Likes to Wash Dishes got Cookies 'n' Cream and Fierce Chocolate, The Potential Most Favorite Roommate got Green Tea Oreo, and I got Magic Chocolate. The ice cream I chose is a keto-friendly variation made with no sugar.


The tradewinds have returned! It's still hot but the light breeze makes it more bearable. I saw a lot of regulars today; starting with seeing LaVie on my way up. She was waiting for TheBus at the top of Sierra; I had passed it on my way up near Mikahala where it was pulled over & parked. I think the driver was killing time since it was quite early. During my walk I saw Mary & Noe as they were down by the park then again as they were on their way down Lurline. I also saw Paul & Bodhi by the park then later as they were coming down Matsonia. I only saw Calvin the Recycler once down by the lower end of the park. As I started up Lurline, Ona & Rio were about a block ahead of me, I never caught up to them since Ona walks so fast. During my cool down stretches I saw LaVie again, as well as Laure & the Dog Pack.

Twenty-six minutes before sunrise on Waiʻalae.

Sixteen minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Sunrise on Sierra.

Ona & Rio; I never caught up with them.

Dad was in the Plumeria Dining Room having breakfast when I arrived; CNA Jessa was on duty today & she has a great track record of getting Dad out of bed & in to his wheelchair. Dad was sharing a table with Mr. Pires and Mr. Watanabe. He finished half of his fried egg sandwich and all of his papaya & banana. He drank 120 ml orange juice but no water.


Kelly is back! She walked in to the dining room this morning and started working with Mr. Watanabe. She had left around January to work at Queen's Hospital; she's back to pick up some extra hours. I think they need her help since they frequently seem to be understaffed.

Dad stayed in his wheelchair after breakfast; he wanted to go upstairs. I had to use the bathroom so I left him in the Castle Living Room. When I came out they had started the morning program; singing & dancing by the Wakayagi Japanese Folk Dance group. It was strange not to see Mrs. Iseri in the audience. Dad stayed for the entire hour-long performance; then he stayed for the exercise session after that & actually participated in some of the exercises! I skipped my mid-morning walk & concentrated on decluttering my laptop memory!

CNA Philip pushes Dad to a good spot to view the dancers.

Because Dad was in the wheelchair, I asked him if he would like to eat lunch out on the lanaʻi. He said, Yes. It was nice and sunny when we got there, but quickly got misty & started drizzling; before he was done with lunch however, it was sunny again! Lunch today was Pork loin roast, Steamed rice, Steamed edamame, Tossed Salad, Strawberry cloud cake, and Chicken gumbo soup. Dad ate all of his 1/2 peanut butter & banana sandwich and 2 pieces of cake. He drank 120 ml orange juice but no water. He went back to bed after lunch.




I did my afternoon walk a little earlier than usual so that I could be back in time to cool down, get changed, & be ready to get Dad up for the ukulele session with Lynn & Gloria. It was hot & sunny! I was glad I had the Omni-Cool shirt. No one else was out walking in the heat.


Dad was eager to go to the ukulele session with Lynn & Gloria today. CNA Angie said he transferred very well & helped quite a bit with the standing up when they transferred him. I wheeled him upstairs, then left for dinner with The Roommates.

Royal Flush!

Curtis went to Las Vegas last night; early this morning he hit a royal flush! Dad had just finished his breakfast when I got the text from him. Hopefully this won't be the last one he hits during this trip.


Today's morning walk was not as muggy as yesterday; in fact it was quite pleasant. I only saw Cody & Rollie & their human during my walk; Cody came to sniff my hand & didn't bark at me this morning. Later during my cool down stretches I saw Lorraine and Ken with Toto & Chico; there was no precip while I was cooling down this morning. Yay!

Eighteen minutes before sunrise on Waiʻalae.

Nine minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Seven minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Ten Red-crested Cardinals eating grass seed meant to cover the bare spots.

Dad was in bed just finishing up his breakfast when I arrived. He ate 1/2 of his fried egg sandwich and all of his papaya & banana. He drank 120 ml of cranberry juice, 60 ml water, and 60 ml Breeze.

It was mainly overcast during my mid-morning walk, which was nice since there was very little breeze. I saw Romeo and Karpo at their house; since Melissa is doing most of the dog walking now its been a while since I've seen Romeo. Towards the end of my walk I saw Maisie & Daisy; because of the consistent training Maisie has been giving her, Daisy has become a very good dog. Today she only left her sit once but didn't bark or lunge towards me; she quickly went back in to her quiet sitting position.


As I was in the middle of my cool down stretches after my mid-morning walk, I heard the sound of a siren coming up the hill. As I finished my stretches, I saw the fire engine passing by on Sierra. Since its the weekend, I have to use the 3rd floor bathrooms; I saw the fire fighters coming down the hallway as I was headed to get the key for the bathroom. They were headed for a room on the 3rd floor. After I had changed, I saw the EMTs & firefighters leaving with one of the newer residents that I have not yet had a chance to meet; she was having shortness of breath. 

Lunch today was Roast beef, Mashed potatoes, Seasoned green beans, Garden salad, Blonde brownie, and Potato chowder.  Dad ate all his 1/2 peanut butter & banana sandwich and 2 brownies. He drank 120 ml cranberry juice and 60 ml water. And today was the first time Dad has ever spilled any of his drinks! I, on the other hand, have spilled 2 of his drinks and Curtis has spilled one in the time that Dad has been here!


Sunday is shower day for Dad; Curtis has been able to get him to take a shower by telling him he has ordered a Special Shower for him that is short and he doesn't have to do any work because the aides will do all the work. When Curtis is out of town I tell Dad that he ordered the Special Shower for him before he left; so far it has been working.

I decided to do my afternoon walk after Dad's shower since it would be cooler; it was! I saw Suzette coming the opposite way on the circle; she turned around and walked with me down to the park. There was less heat overall plus a lot more shadows that I could walk in and more of a breeze on certain parts of my walk. The only other regular I saw was Victor driving by. It was a more pleasant walk but I got back too close to dinner time and had to skip my cool down stretches in order to change and help Dad with dinner; looks like I'll have to do the walk before the late afternoon activity. 


I was originally going to take The Roommates out to dinner tonight to find out more about their trip; I forgot Curtis was going to be out of town this week & I would have to stay later since it's shower night. Dinner tonight at Maunalani was Memphis BBQ pulled pork sandwich, Steamed corn, Chilled peaches, and Cream [sic] mushroom soup. Dad ate all his 1/2 tuna sandwich but didn't really like the peaches. He drank 120 ml orange juice but no water.


Today my sun tea got brewed with no problems! The cats did not even knock over the new plastic bottle I am using now. But I am sure if I continue to do this there will come another time when they knock it over.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Amy & Isaiah!

No Sun Tea Today

Last night I set up the square glass water pitcher with Moroccan Mint Green Tea. I set it by the sliding glass door so it could steep in the sun today; I was looking forward to some sun-brewed tea this evening! When I got home I found out one of the cats had knocked it over and broke the pitcher. Aue! On the plus side, whoever knocked it over did it so early in the morning the entire quart of water had evaporated by the time I got home; of course the 90+ degree weather helped. I just needed to pick up the big pieces and vacuum up the small ones.


As I was on my way up I saw a bus backing up on Lurline; it must have been a new driver who took the wrong turn. The route goes up Sierra, then down Lurline; this one was going to go in the opposite direction. The riders probably corrected the driver.

TheBus was backing down Lurline as I approached.

It then started up Sierra like it should have; the 3 Fox Terrier Lady is in the headlights.

My sunrise walk was muggy with a little mist for a couple of minutes. On my drive up I saw Calvin the Recycler just starting his route but I did not see him later; I also saw the 3 Fox Terrier Lady where the bus was backing up. During my walk I saw Melissa with Karpo & Lily, Cody & Rollie & their human, and towards the end I saw Lorraine as she was on her way up Sierra; Kelly also drove by on his way to surf. Similar to a couple days ago, it began to pour shortly after I got to the sheltered viewpoint to do my cool down stretches; once again I was wondering how Lorraine was doing in the downpour; I did not see her on the circle so she might have just headed home between showers instead of doing another half mile around the circle. Since there were several showers while I was cooling down I think the other regulars decided not to walk; I did not see anyone during my cool down.

Eighteen minutes before sunrise on Waiʻalae.

Six minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Ten minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Rainbow on the ocean.

One of the downpours.

Dad was eating breakfast in the Plumeria Dining Room when I arrived; he was sharing a table with Mr. & Mrs. Omiya and Mrs. Saito. CNA Reina was also there assisting Mrs. Saito. Dad ate half his fried egg sandwich and all of his papaya & banana. There was a full bowl of oatmeal in front of him; he didn't touch any of it. He drank 120 ml of orange juice but no water.

Dad snoozing after breakfast.

The rain showers had passed by the time I went for my mid-morning walk; I could see them headed for Waianae. Kelly was back from surfing but today I did not see him leave for work; I did not see any regulars today. As I was nearing the parking lot I found an unfortunate earthworm; it looked like it came out of the ground during the rainstorm but then got stranded on the pavement as things started to heat up.

Unfortunate earthworm.

Today Maunalani held a special event to honor the 200+ volunteers that come to interact with the residents during the year. Czar & Jody were warning regulars that the parking lot would begin filling up about 11 because they were expecting about 150 of them who had responded that they would be here. The parking lot was actually full when I went out for my mid-morning walk. Since I come at 6 in the morning, and Curtis doesn't come on Saturdays, it did not affect us.

Lunch today was Chicken Florentine, Angel hair pasta, Lemon butter broccoli, Tossed salad, Pineapple cheesecake, and Garden vegetable soup. Dad ate all his 1/2 peanut butter & banana sandwich & 2 cheesecakes. He drank 120 ml orange juice and no water.


I skipped my afternoon walk; I fell asleep. When I got up there was a lot of commotion going on just down the hall from Dad; firefighters and EMTs were just leaving. Mr. Miyahira was taken to the hospital.

The Roommates returned from Japan this morning. They brought back some significant omiyage; they brought back some chocolate and copies of wood block prints by Hokusai.

Meiji Black Chocolate.

Royce Ghana Bitter.

Kanagawa oki nami-ura (The Great Wave Off Kanagawa) by Hokusai.

Kōshū Mishima-goe (Mishima Pass in Kai Province) by Hokusai.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Mr. Kalaukoa, Dorothy, Sheryl, & Hannele!

Aloha, Mrs. Iseri!

Mrs. Iseri passed away unexpectedly today; she appears to have passed peacefully. She seemed to me to be in good health; I had talked with her when we walked down the hallway a couple days ago. She was one of the few kupuna who were still lucid; I will miss talking with her. She would always ask about Kai and always had something for him when he visited; he would bring her omiyage from Seattle. She would have celebrated her birthday in a couple of weeks.

Early birthday celebration, October 7, 2018.

Visiting with Kai, November 27, 2018.

Since I was "off" today, I don't know exactly when Mrs. Iseri passed, but I may have seen the firefighters and ambulance that responded when I was getting ready to do my mid-morning walk. As I was walking past the park, the fire engine and ambulance were leaving.


I could tell we had lost the tradewinds as soon as I stepped out of the car this morning. I saw The Runner twice during my walk; I also saw Lynnette, The Other Wendy, and Kavita while walking. During my cool down stretches I saw Kavita again and also LaVie.

Seventeen minutes before sunrise on Waiʻalae.

Seven minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Ten minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

The bees are all over the Schefflera blossoms.

After my walk, I worked on weeding the hāpuʻu again this morning; I think I will have one more day of weeding to do. I got a little sidetracked by removing a wild lilikoʻi that I found hidden in the other foliage; its fruit are only about the size of a nickel and are not really edible. I talked to Kelly for a short while before he went surfing; there was no wind so it was a good day for surfing. I told him if the ocean warming and higher than normal temperatures continue, I might talk to him about adding some shade cloth so the hāpuʻu can survive its first year and get established. Since he ultimately plans to remove the creeping fig that is climbing on the rock wall, he might be okay with some of it being killed back in order to place shade cloth over the hāpuʻu.

Before.

After.

Wild lilikoʻi.

After I returned from walking I hung out the laundry I did last night. There were a pair each of Red-whiskered Bulbuls and Mejiros in one of the papaya trees going after the fruit that I haven't picked; I am kind of at the very end of the extension ladder.

Red-whiskered bulbuls.

For my mid-morning walk I decided to use the Omni-Freeze shirt because the sun was out and there were few clouds. Once again I wet it before putting it on; I think that's the best way to use its unique quality. On my way up I noticed Kelly had not yet returned from surfing; later I could see his truck was back. Still later, he drove by on his way to work while I was walking up Lurliine. He was the only regular I saw today during the mid-morning walk. But I did meet Mike and Marley, who is a 9 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.


Last night I decide to try making some green tea in the refrigerator; its been too hot for me to drink freshly brewed tea. I should look in to making sun tea; it should work really well with the temperatures we have been having! I used Moroccan Mint green tea; it is green tea with the addition of mint leaves. I really like its flavor as an iced tea.

Today was The Roommates' last full day in Japan. They went to Shin Okubo and Shinjuku. And of course, they ate!

Shinjuku. (Screen shot from Instagram)

Shin Okubo. (Screen shot from Instagram)

Dessert! (Screen shot from Instagram)

Hauʻoli lā Hanau to nephew Brent! Also Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Dwight and Mia!