Ramblings

Blog, Facebook, Twitter - revisited

A recent post by my friend, Kathy Beal, made me think about the methods of connecting with people on the internet in these busy times. I'm not sure why we're so busy, but I know we are. I've been awake since 4 AM just organizing my week. How crazy is that? A while back I wrote some thoughts about blogging. Twitter and Facebook.

The busyness part is the reason I've turned to Facebook to connect on the internet. It kinda lets people know I'm alive out here or wherever I am and says a little about what I think about things. Pretty light weight, no great writing commitment there. Email has become a huge thing that takes up so much time. Even though I've been able to get my in box to zero everyday, it still takes time to process all the information that comes in. By the time I'm done answering all the work email, I've got nothing left to write to friends. Sad, but true. Enter Facebook. I now rarely interact with friends on a daily basis unless they are on Facebook. It's so easy to go there, check in to see what people are up to and post a quick one liner. Better than nothing. And it's a lot of fun, too.

Yesterday, I ran into a friend and photographer, Arna Johnson, who asked me about Hong Kong. I mentioned that she MUST go to Mainland China. Where? Ah...my trip to China in 2005 was documented in my blog. It's become my memory as most of the chips in my brain are blown from too much indulgence. So I'm making another commitment to return to blogging. It may the only way I'll be able to remember what I've done. So when dementia sets in, hopefully, I'll remember how to read and can go back.

Hiking on Pu'u Ohia Trail

This morning Kris and I went to the Farmer's Market at Kapiolani Community College. It's insane and crowded, but I still love my favorite vendors. I always purchase way more than I mean to, but I always use it all. Beet greens, broccoli rabe, Maui onions, and leeks.

After shopping, we drove up to Tantalus for a short hike on Pu'u Ohia Trail. It's so nice to see native plants doing so well on Oahu where so many invasive ones have come to dominate. The delicate, white native hibiscus was in full bloom. I've never seen it quite like today. I didn't bring my camera so I was glad to have my trusty iPhone. Not the same, but at least I got a shot.

Murphy

The death of Latte and Mocha left a huge hole...in our family, in our house. They were so much a part of every minute of our life. No one could ever fill that...we miss them and will miss them always. There is part of them with us, but not the part that we can touch.

I had been so sad. Haku was moping around the house. Kris went into action. I found him in his office cruising the internet. There was a site called kijiji.com that pulled up two cocker spaniel litters on Oahu. Kris wanted to go by himself so it wouldn't be so "emotional", but I begged him to let me go with. That was the fun part - looking at puppies.

We visted a military couple who had buff and tan female puppies. The mom was all buff and reminded me so much of Latte. She had her face and mannerisms. The dad was parti-colored and had a flatter face. They were adorable, of course. The next stop was in Hawaii Kai. I was hesitant to go because they had four males and I really wanted a female.

The four were chocolate and white, black and white, all black and all chocolate. I would have taken them all! We played with them, met their mom who was chocolate and white. Their dad didn't like the pups , but the owners brought him out for us to meet. He was beautiful - all black. He seemed to have a good temperment...just was done with puppies. I wasn't sure if I was ready for another dog and wanted to think. We took photos of the pups with my iPhone. 

Here is the first photo we took of the guy. We decided on the chocolate and white. He was just too cute for words. I called the owner and she said she's give us a discount on him because he was her favorite and she knew that we would be good owners.

On July 6, we went back to pick him up. We brought Haku with him as we wanted to see what he would do. Not really a good idea as you can't tell anything when dogs first meet. I guess we wanted to make sure that Haku wouldn't try to kill him.

The little pup took one look up at Haku and ran between my legs. I guess he wasn't going to be a threat to Haku.

It took a while to pick a name, but Murphy is perfect. His other nickname is Taz (as in the devil). Sometimes Taz fits him better.

He has totally taken over our household and is more than a distraction. He terrorizes Haku, but I think Haku is getting used to him. We've got to get him to puppy school soon!

Bye, Sweet Little Mocha

Yesterday our little Mocha died. She had a seizure in the morning that she just didn't come out of. She had been diagnosed with kidney and liver failure and had heart problems for years. How could a little dog survive with so many vital organs going out on her? She did her best to fill the void that Latte left - the little dog spot. Their energy is so wonderful to have around. Now they are both gone and it's the end of a wonderful time in our lives. They will forever be alive for us as they taught us so much.

Mocha had the best temperament ever and was the kind of cuddly dog that gives so much comfort and joy whenever they are needed. She also had a feisty side that was full of confidence and she stood her ground in our house. Her walk had a bounce displaying her confidence. She loved the comforts - soft pillows, cool tile, and chicken treats from Trader Joe's. Every evening she hung out in the kitchen until we gave her a treat. If we forgot and went to bed, she would wait until we went looking for her.

This evening we will be taking her ashes for a walk on Kailua Beach, a place she loved with a passion.


 

How NOT to multitask

I have not been updating my blog because of mutitasking and not prioritizing stuff. I'm trying to not to beat myself up about it. Here's an article on it from a blog I frequently read. So much is appropriate for the times. It's crazy devices, social networking, and just internet stuff. It's fun, but I need to find the middle way.

http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/how-not-to-multitask-work-simpler-and/

May desktop wallpaper

We were on two programs - one in St. Martin and one in Palm Beach. Had a blast. I posted our desktop wallpaper an wanted to share the photos taken on those programs. Here's the link: http://www.eyeoftheislands.com/RLSGalleries/May09/May09.html If you want to be added to our mailing list, please let me know by commenting on this post. I'm happy to share!

Dinner tonight

Even though I'm so not a vegetarian, I frequently enjoy a vegetarian meal. Tonight was one of those nights.

Saturday is my Farmer's Market day. I love going there in spite of the crowds. There was a woman selling sweet corn. She said they were experimenting with a new kind. I bought a bag of 12 ears for $6. The Kona abalone people were grilling abalone so I couldn't resist trying two small grilled morsels for $5. They were delicious...I wished I had a glass of champagne to go with. I replenished my supply of salsa with spicy pickles from Andy, purchased beeyooteeful tomatoes and beets with the tops, of course.

So back to the vegetarian meal. I always have tons of food in the fridge and in the pantry. If there is a crisis, drop by and we can feed the masses. I looked for the oldest living thing and it was a half head of red cabbage. Perfect!

I sauteed the cabbage with pear vinegar and a bit of cinnamon sugar (leftover from a friend's major snicker doodle event). Then added some chopped and roasted hazelnuts. If you follow me on Facebook, you might have seen the mobile photo of our radishes. I chopped some up and added them with salt and pepper. Topped that off with crumbled goat cheese. Kris loves red cabbage so I knew he'd like this dish.

The corn on the cob was left in the husks and roasted in a 350 degree oven for thirty minutes. They were the sweetest, most tender corn kernels ever. Loved that with a little butter and chile salt. Yimmy!

Blog, Facebook, Twitter

I've truly missed blogging. I feel like someone who had an intense affair, but is longing for the deeper, more meaningful relationship.

Facebook has been so much fun. I've connected with people I've been out of touch with and deepened other connections. It's not something I would ever give up, but I believe the new interface makes it harder to connect with friends and family that matter. Instead, a lot of superfluous and distracting stuff appears. On the iPhone app, I've been informed of a comment and then have not been able to find it to respond.

Twitter, on the other hand, is the place I think has potential. I haven't found it yet. I like that I can update on Twitter and it appears on Facebook so that I don't have to enter stuff twice. I follow some famous and not so famous and actually enjoy the 140 character limitation.

The bottom line is that, although I love Facebook and Twitter can be fun, I miss blogging and I like that I can go back there and see how things were at certain times in my life. I'm going to try to put some energy back into blogging and see how it goes.

Desktop Wallpaper for March

Just uploaded some of my favorite images for March. Just click on this link, pick the one you want, open it up and download.

http://www.eyeoftheislands.com/RLSGalleries/03March/March09.html

Volcano - Wildlife coming through our yard

I'm in Volcano for a couple of days. This evening as we settled down with a drink, a pair of Kalij pheasants walked through the yard. Grabbed a shot of the male.