I awoke this morning...

...to find my kitty, Kitty sitting on my chest, one eye closed and the other staring intently at me as I woke from my slumber. Did I mention he was also swatting my mouth with his paw (I do not care to know where that paw had trod lately…kitty litter came to mind, UGH). Kitty was staring so hard that I was beginning to receive his thoughts telepathically… you will awake now and open a can of tuna and feed me on your finest crystal Yes, that’s my kitty!

This is Sylvia. As you can see her kitty is massaging her head and is no doubt planting

 evil thoughts like you will fall into a deep sleep and when you awake you will feed me more tuna! 

This Halloween marked the first time, I did not buy candy (even for myself!) and the house was dark except for the glare on the TV. I felt like the Halloween Grinch but it’s only because for the last two Halloweens there have been no trick-or-treaters on my street. Two streets in back of me however, it’s like party central with tons of kids. I’m not really quite sure how that happened but back in 2000 when I first moved here there were trick-or-treaters galore. Now nary a one!

Maybe no one came because I had these in my front yard!

In spite of all this Halloween was celebrated  as usual and here are some pictures to prove it…

My niece Lehua at first decided on doing Dia de los Muertos

But, she ended up with the tried and true!

This is Carlos her equally scary vampire husband

Some of my friends like to get their pets involved, here are a few...

Baby Kitty dressed as a pirate - stand and deliver! Your candy that is matey.

Margo the Schnauzer singing... I'm an old cow hand from the Rio Grande. In her every day life Margo is a pampered princess and I'm not kidding!

Yet more Halloween pics:

Britny (yes, that's how she spells her name) as Morticia

Cheri surrounded by Dia de los Muertos

A Halloween classic with my niece's kids, Bryan, Miles and a very young Victoria

A new classic, my niece Jamie and her little strawberry Victoria. What a difference a year makes!

That's all for now. Have a great Sunday!

Picture this...

… me in bed, Sunday morning around 11ish (yes, I was still in bed) having finally succumbed to cold that is keeping fellow work mates away from said work in droves. Ugh! Struggle to turn on TV with remote, must make note to check vision, can barely read TV screen even when squinting. Hear meow and heavy footsteps. Focus to see Kitty coming into sick room with biggest dust bunny ever clinging to chin. Wait, whaaaaa???? Not dust bunny at all! Good grief it’s a decapitated little mouse. Aaarrrghhh! Must now get out of sick bed to pick up what is left of poor little mouse and put in trash outside. Kitty was so proud of delivering mouse to me and here I am unceremoniously putting it in the trash bin. Can’t be helped, just know I am loved!

A stare off with a catnip filled mouse

What is it with cats? One minute the world is in peaceful harmony and the next it’s going up in flames! A few weeks ago, I came home from work and kitty was fine. Much later when it was too late to see the vet, the cat had a lump the size of a watermelon on the side of his head. The next morning the vet took us in to find out Kitty had an abscess. Two hundred plus dollars later and after a good long cry for me and Kitty, we went home supplied with antibiotics and pain meds (pain meds meant for me I’m sure). If I thought Kitty looked odd with a huge bump, he looked stranger now that the whole affected area had been shaved. It looked like someone took a bite out of him. He is my bizarro Frankenstein kitty!

Kitty making himself at home on some clean laundry

So, yes, I am stuck at home with a full on cold. Sore throat, slight cough, sneezing, runny nose and a very foggy head has kept me in bed most of the day. I am trying to treat it with sleep, a little sunshine (this always makes me feel better), some ibuprofen, tea with lemon and honey and Airborne. I swear Airborne makes getting through a cold much easier than without. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Whilst at home in sick bed, managed to catch this interesting little bit on CNN on the price of a Starbucks Grande Latte around the world…

Make mine a pumpkin spice latte which by the way contains NO pumpkin in the Starbucks version!

Look forward to healthier days ahead and 

to all my bloggy friends in the UK stay safe and dry!

Happy first day of summer!

Who is this little beach bunny?
My niece Victoria enjoying one of the great things about summer in Hawaii!

Of Pancakes and Waffles

In my last post, I did go on about pancakes on Sunday mornings but today it’s all about waffles! 

I met up with some friends of mine last week and we had a great time catching up on the latest happenings in our lives and also the waffle buffet at the U.S. Grant where my dear friend Ed works. 

It was unbelievable, three different flavors of Belgian waffles with too many to count varieties of toppings (my favorites were the fresh berries and maple syrup). On the savory side, there were scrambled eggs, jerk chicken and pan fried sweet potato and plantains. This was actually the first time I had jerk chicken and now I know why everybody raves about it. Of course you know that no Sunday breakfast or brunch is complete without the gloriousness of mimosas – and they just didn't seem to stop coming. I ask you, is there nothing better than good friends and good food on a Sunday morning?

So that was last week, this Sunday morning was spent pretty much in bed watching Super Soul Sunday with Oprah. If you've never watched it, it’s kind of a self help program with an emphasis on spirituality and living your best life. I watched three in a row that were so interesting starting with Karen Armstrong, a bestselling author, former Roman Catholic nun and a world-renowned religious scholar. What an interesting journey this woman has had starting with becoming a nun at age 17! I am going to search out her memoir The Spiral Staircase.

Phil Jackson is known as The Zen Master but did you know he had a Pentecostal Christian upbringing? In his words, yes, he was a holy roller. In time however, the legendary coach began to question not only his religious beliefs but the world around him (it was the 60s). At college he was exposed to, among other things, Darwin’s theory of evolution. You can imagine how shocking this was to his belief system. Jackson is now a practicing Buddhist and he discusses his spiritual awakening and how it also affected his coaching style.  On a side note, Phil Jackson and the Lakers (during their glory days) would stay a few nights with us at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel where I worked. Great times!

Calling Dr. Robin, Dr. Robin…..I used to enjoy her visits to the Oprah Winfrey Show. Dr. Robin Smith is a psychologist, author, speaker and preacher (something I didn't know). If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from her lately it’s because she has had a series of setbacks that seemed to start with a debilitating car accident in 2010 that left her unable to work. Thankfully, the good doctor has recovered and wrote a book Hungry which chronicles her experience.

Ok, so I fed my soul with Oprah and for a further luxuriating day in bed, I watched the movie Tortilla Soup. Can I tell you how much I adore Hector Elizondo? He is so sexy without trying. 

It must be that smoldering Latin thing he's got going on!  Huh, whaaa, Back to the movie! 

It’s wonderful. It’s about food and familia. You've got a single dad, his three daughters, their lives, their loves and in a guest starring role, food (my favorite subject).  Can you describe food as being voluptuous?

The food shots were almost a sensory overload and the kitchen was something from a foodie magazine or TV show. Mexican food was front and center and I was starving! Of course you know Mexico has one of the world’s great cuisines! This is a wonderful movie, perhaps the ending was a little predictable (spoiler alert, it was a happy one), but it was magical and warm and a great way to spend a relaxing day.

Adios!

A neighbor had a yard sale recently and I came upon an item I have been desperately searching for, a dutch oven. Unfortunately, my old pot had bit the dust but as luck would have it I managed to replace it with something of even better quality for only $2. It's a copper bottom Revere Ware dutch oven - yahoo! I christened it the other night with a stew and it was quite tasty.

My $2 fantasy

Speaking of things Revere, have you seen one of the latest Geico commercials? If Paul Revere had a cell phone that fateful night...it cracks me up!

Hey...they're comin'...yeah...the British...later.

Speaking of yards sales, I came back from Goodwill with an exciting haul that cost me $30. I don't usually spend that much but my 30 bucks got me two pairs of plain black tees (one short sleeve, one long), two pairs of pants (one for work, one for the weekends), one designer sweater (Adrienne Vittadini!), one pair of Clark's shoes (I know they can go for $80 but I got my never used pair for $8)! I swear most of the clothes are never worn or just lightly worn. You know, I really have a hard time shopping retail these days!

This morning I woke to our main street blocked off for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. It was an experience watching the runners and you could feel all the energy in the air despite the early morning hour. If you click on the website it will bring you to the course video. Once you select the video, it'll take about 40 seconds or so till you reach Adams Avenue the main drag where I live. You did see me waving at you, didn't you?

Anyway, all that excitement just got me hungry! I decided to make pancakes from scratch because they are always better that way aren't they? I use Martha Stewart's pancake recipe because it's no fail. Here's the recipe if you are so inspired to cook this morning.

Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Martha's Basic Pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Assorted toppings, such as butter, maple syrup, confectioners' sugar, honey, jams, preserves, sweetened whipped cream, or chocolate syrup

Directions

You know what, the directions are awfully long. Basically you mix the dry ingredients into the wet and cook. If you have a griddle, all the better, I just use my frying pan. Wait till the pancakes start to bubble (1-2 minutes) and then it's time to flip them over. When they're done, I use real maple syrup and/or sometimes I put a little jam on the tasty morsels.

This morning I made the pancakes with mashed up bananas, added a little cinnamon and instead of milk I used flavored coffee cream (today it's French Vanilla).

Sunday morning at its best!

Hope you enjoy your Sunday!

Hey!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My cute little niece Victoria obviously feelin' the green today.

Erin go bragh!