Pursuit of Jade

I'm now on Oʻahu helping my nephews with cleaning out the last room in our parents house. They have Netflix! When I was here in March I began watching Pursuit of Jade because it popped up when I opened the Netflix app. It looked like a historical piece with swords, horses, & martial arts so I started watching it. I immediately liked the story line of a strong woman not allowing her circumstances to limit her! 

She is also physically strong, carries unconscious person home through snow along with rest of gear.

But I did have a little problem with a gyrfalcon being used like a carrier pigeon. Gyrfalcons are definitely trained by humans. But not as messengers. Like other birds of prey, gyrfalcons are trained by humans to hunt for them. They are also found in far north latitudes, like Arctic Circle far north & are not really common in lower latitudes. And yes, I realize the gyrfalcon shown is a CG bird; it moves like one. But I still have problems with it being a messenger; on the plus side, it does not talk like Nemo does! (That is a story for another time.)

Gyrfalcon came to Yan Zheng when he whistled; which is plausible.

Yan Zheng gets ready to send gyrfalcon off with message; which is not plausible.

At any rate, I really enjoyed the story line of the female protagonist Fan Changyu, a strong woman running the household, even though there was a little romance involved. SPOILER ALERT - I was intrigued to find out the true identity of the injured male protagonist, Yan Zheng, & also how he helps Fan Changyu. But then, as Xie Zheng, his true identity, leading his mounted troops in to battle, I was impressed by the riding of the actor! I Googled actor Zhang Linghe to find out if he was a rider before becoming an actor & was taken by surprise at how popular he is. Though apparently more for his good looks than his acting. Or riding. (I could not find any information about his riding experience.)

He seems to me to be a good actor, but what do I know; I am more interested in his riding than his acting. I think that is because in these period dramas that include horses you rarely see an actor that is really riding a horse. The "action" scenes with galloping are usually close-ups showing the actor & a portion of a mane or neck of a robotic horse.  But in the scene that Zhang Linghe impressed me, it starts with a close-up of Marquis Wu'an rallying his troops, then the camera angle widens to show the charge all while still focused on Zhang Linghe. The reins are held in his left hand in a calm, quiet manner; in his right hand he carries a well-balanced long qinglong ji spear. As he gives the command to charge, he leans forward, signaling to the horse with his body the intent to move forward at speed! He does it so naturally! I watched it 5 or 6 times ... or may be even more. 🙄

Holding the qinglong ji.

Initiating the charge.

It really is him on a real horse & not a stunt double.

The female protagonist Fan Changyu is played by Tian Xiwei; she cannot ride. I think the final episode is the only one where she is on a horse by herself. They are starting out from the camp to capture some bad people; they are only walking but she has a death grip on the saddle. Many other actors in other shows also have at least one hand holding on to the saddle. 

Compare the body language of riders as well as horses

Notice her grip on the saddle.

So far I have not seen many other main actors that are shown really being able to handle a horse; however, another one in Pursuit of Jade is Lin Muran, who plays Sui Yuanqing. He is also carrying a qinglong ji as he rides. And then there is Luo Yun Xi as Tantai Jin in Till the End of the Moon; but he is only riding & does not carry anything in his free hand so it is not as impressive, but he still appears to ride well. Not many of the historic shows have the main actors riding horses. I think this is for 2 reasons; either the characters are such high ranking people they are transported in carriages or palanquins or the characters are lower ranking & walk almost everywhere. Not much in between except for the cavalry.

Lin Muran riding with qinglong ji. It's a real horse, you could see legs in action before close-up.

The saddles in these shows look interesting. I am not sure if this is what Chinese saddles during these time periods were really like but I would guess they did not look like this; I think these saddles are used to keep the actors safe. Instead of a pommel there is a metal loop that can be easily grabbed. Nice that they are looking out for the actors & I'm pretty sure most people don't even notice this piece of the saddle. Or even the saddles at all. 🤔 

I miss my saddle. I did a trade & got a saddle with a seat sized for a child's butt on a horse-sized  tree. It allowed me to ride horses comfortably instead of slipping around on a seat that was made for a person with a larger butt. I left my saddle in Washington when I moved back because I knew I did not have the space or funds to buy or maintain a horse. My friend in Washington that I used to ride with would be able to make more use out of my saddle; she had 4 horses & would invite others to ride with her so the horses could all get some exercise & a change of scenery. I miss those days. 😿  

As I was checking in to the bag drop at KOA, I discovered I still had dog treats in my fanny pack! Yesterday I took Moʻo to class at 4:30 but had to leave promptly at 5:30 to race to the airport to pick up Spencer who came in at 6:30; Moʻo came along for the ride. After I dropped him off at Aunty Maile's I went home, packed, showered, & went to bed. I totally forgot about the training treats! 

On the way to the house from the airport I had Curtis stop at Uloha; the largest outdoor outfitter in Hawaiʻi. I know I already have an MSR camp stove; but it is somewhere in a box in the house. I want to put this MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe (along with a couple of fuel canisters) in with my hurricane supplies so if I am unable to use the regular stove in the house I can still heat things up & boil water & do other things that might be needed in a disaster. I love this little stove; it weighs just 2.9 ounces. Along with a 3.9 ounce fuel canister, which weighs just 7.4 ounces, it was so easy to take along on our hiking trips. (Especially when Kai was so little I had to carry everything! Well, except for his extra water, snacks, & extra layers of warm clothes in case we got separated on the trail.) FYI I have to pick up the fuel canisters in Kona because I can't fly with it in my luggage. 

MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe.

We left Uloha & stopped for lunch at Aloha Salads in Kahala Mall. Curtis had the Tutu's Chicken Salad Tortilla Wrap. I had the Grilled Steak Wrap.

Grilled Steak Wrap.

After I got unpacked I went to use the bathroom & discovered repair #1 for this trip. When I was visiting Mom & Dad after Mom's dementia diagnosis, I was repairing things on every visit so this was like old times again!  

I am almost half way done with Level 8 in Mandarin. Hope to be on Level 9 by the end of the day tomorrow. I am still in awe of how well my brain is doing in remembering all these different things in Mandarin! 

Tropical Depression Amanda has disintegrated. It is now just a post-tropical remnant low. It did not get very close to the Central Pacific region.

Episode 49 of the eruption at Kīlauea is now forecast to begin some time between the 12th & the 15th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Steve & Michelle! 

A Most Excellent Dinner!

I had dinner tonight with The Most Excellent Cook and The Bronco Dude. The Most Excellent Cook made a salad with fresh mango and chicken tacos. As always, it was excellent!

My COVID-19 test results came in just before 7 this morning. As always it is negative. It would be really interesting if it was positive since I am considered fully vaccinated.

The Roommates initiated housecleaning this morning. They did a great job on the middle bedroom as well as the kitchen counter. There's just a few miscellaneous things on the counter that need to be sorted out and purged.

During cleaning; Luna wants to help.

Not really; she was just checking for a hiding place.

We found a note from Mom.

While they were working on the bedroom and counter, I worked on organizing the hallway. I am using the hallway to my room as a staging area for things I will be taking to Kohala. I have been sorting, purging, and packing. I am also packing Kai's books to either mail (book rate) or have him take home in his luggage on his next visit.

The cats were interested in everything that was going on. Including the new gate that Gerald is putting in next door. It was interesting to watch their behavior which mirrors their personalities; Keala watched in a relaxed manner from the cat run, Luna stayed inside & just peered out the screen door, ready to run if needed. S'mores was hiding.

I finished at #4 on Duolingo this week. At #4 you don't get any rewards, but there is also no punishment (getting demoted to the level below).

 

Although the eruption at Kīlauea is still ongoing, the lava lake does appear to be getting smaller. This may mean that the eruption is slowing down.  

The Aix weather app forecast partly cloudy skies here today; it seemed to be accurate. I don't now what might have been happening in Kapaʻau.

There were 113 new cases of COVID-19 reported today, bringing the total known cases up to 32,580. There were no new deaths reported today so the death toll remains at 483; currently 1162 cases are considered active. The 7-day average of new cases on Oʻahu is 63 with a 2% positivity rate. 

Colorful Hummer

We finally put up the hummingbird mobile this afternoon; it is a Christmas present from Darla. It's hanging a little low right now on the only outdoor spot we have where we can easily see it at night; Luna & Keala thought we put up another toy for them! It has a solar panel that lights up the hummer at night; it shifts from green to blue to purple to red and back again. It only stayed on for a couple of hours since it only had a couple hours to charge up.

Luna checks out the mobile.

Keala has to get in on it, too.

This is just one of 4 colors that it cycles through.

The big task for this weekend was fixing the toilet: the flap was not sealing well and it has been leaking. We went to City Mill to get the parts. While there I also realized I needed to fix the showerhead in my bathroom and also pick up some hardware to increase the usable shelf space in the cabinets in Kohala.

We just needed to replace the flap.

Before we left the house, The Potential Most Favorite Roommate was talking about getting lunch at Umeke, but they are closed on the weekend. I told him about Juicy Brew; that's where we got lunch today. We all had the Korean Fried "Chick'n" Burger and a Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie. We all liked it.

On the way back I drove by the house with the lo'i kalo so we could get a better look at it. Usually we are driving by on 6th Avenue so we can't really slow down and look at it since that is a main street. From the Kaimuki Avenue side we have to stop at the intersection so I was able to take a photo of it. 

Today is CSA pick-up day; there were 3 guavas in the delivery today! Yum! This is also Day 7 of my 2nd round of the subscription from MAʻO Organic Farms; you pay for 8 deliveries at a time. I had already talked to The Most Excellent Cook about giving her the veggies on the week I won't be here and I have been giving Paris half of the veggies since it doesn't seem like The Roommates are eager to cook with real food. I will try it through the summer to see what other types of vegetables show up in the CSA box during that part of the year. 

On Thursday, Bernadette brought in a bunch of eggplant from her family's garden; by the end of the day only a couple handfuls had been taken so I snagged the rest with the intention of making a big pot of eggplant curry today. And I did! But we didn't have enough coconut milk so it was more like a spicy eggplant soup. The Potential Most Favorite Roommate said it tasted like a Filipino soup; which is all still good, just a different feel than I was aiming for. 

Two of those very hot Thai chile peppers were hiding in the bag of eggplant.

Ready for roasting; that brings out more flavor.

Everything is now in the pot; carrots & green onions are from the CSA box.

Simmering away and developing flavors.

I also added shirataki noodles to the pot.

I had been getting bitten by mosquitos over the last week or so. I thought it was because they had been coming in from the cat run when The Potential Most Favorite Roommate went out to water his plants. But I caught one and noticed it was a bit smaller than normal; it wasn't getting much to eat. So I looked in the vase on the kitchen counter. I have taken care of the situation.

How many mosquito larvae do you see? Answer tomorrow!

Scott sent a photo of Aunty Daisy playing around on his motorcycle. She seems to be enjoying herself and does not seem to miss or remember Chicago.

Biker Daisy. (Photo by Scott)

The Aix weather app forecast some rain this morning through mid afternoon. We got some as we were on our way to City Mill, but it didnʻt last long. It was sunny right about the time it forecast, which was also when we hung the hummingbird mobile out.

Rain about 11 am.

 

There were 101 new cases of COVID-19 reported today, bringing the total known cases up to 31,270. There were no new deaths reported keeping the death toll at 474; currently 1188 cases are considered active. The 7-day average of new cases on Oʻahu is 52 with a 1.8% positivity rate.