A New Adventure | Peaches Prattlings

{December 31, 2017} Let’s get some culture on! Polynesian that is!

Today we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center and it was grand!

Breakfast, lounging, showers, baths, dressed to kill and then…sit in traffic. Sigh…When you move to Hawaii, you must learn to ‘Drive with Aloha’ or you might commit murder! You can’t have a hurry up and go attitude because nothing happens that way in Hawaii! I saw the perfect shirt today “I’m not late, I’m on Island Time!” And it is so true!

We went towards the North Shore, it should have taken us about an hour and 15 minutes to get there, it actually took about two hours…welcome to Hawaii! On the North Shore, you have Turtle Bay and Shark Cove, think people are not going to stop there? Nope! The traffic happens when people are slowed down to look and try to find parking.

Eventually…we got through all that and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way, except for a slowpoke every once in a while. Then we were there! We got our reserved tickets and found some food for lunch and then went through the gates to Polynesia.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is in Laie, as I mentioned, on the North Shore of Oahu. It’s a theme park and museum covering 42 acres and was started in 1963 and currently owned by the LDS, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU, Brigham Young University.

I remember touring it in 2008 on a trip I earned with a company and found out that almost everyone that works there are students at BYU and working on a scholarship, which is funded by the entrance fee for the park, luau and shows.

The Cultural Center is divided into seven villages, Hawaii, Samoa, Aotearoa (present-day New Zealand), Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga and the Marquesas Islands. Each village has different shows that represent the land, people and culture. Some are traditional, some are funny, all informative and interesting.

While we were at the Samoan show, I recognized the mc, as it were, Kap. He’s known as Kap Tafiti and I remembered him from when I was there in 2008! He was the best fire dancer I’d seen! He still does the Samoan presentation, a little fire work, coconut tree climbing, but doesn’t do the full fire dancing he did back then. We bought a few pieces of his and had a photo, he’s a very nice guy and we met his son, who runs his shop. http://www.kaptafiti.com/gallery.aspx

At 6pm, we went in to one of the luau houses for a sit down luau. This is very similar to most other luaus around Hawaii. A sit down dinner, performers on the stage, some fire, dancing, singing, hula. All traditional to the Polynesian culture.

After dinner was the big show, Hā–Breath of Life. The show features songs and dances from throughout Polynesia, including the hula, tamure, otea, titi torea, haka, poi, meke, tauʻolunga, and Taualuga. The majority of the show was in the native Polynesian languages, but you really didn’t need to understand the language, everything is share through song, dance and action.

We all enjoyed the show very much and by the time we left, we cleared the place out and it only took about an hour to get home this time, no traffic at 9:30pm at night!

If you come to visit, we’ll take you!

{December 29, 2017} An early flight, a canyon and an opinion

The day started way early, but we had an adventure to get to! SDL, Miss A and I were going to Kauai! Miss A had this strong desire to see lots of roosters and chickens, how could we deny her!?

430am wake up on vacation seems excessive, but the traffic on Oahu can be horrible, especially at 5am, which is rush hour. But we made it in plenty of time to get a snack and watch the sunrise. Then it was time to board our 40 minute flight and have an adventure!

We got to the car rental desk and upgraded for a jeep. So, here is where my opinion comes in… I’ll stick with a convertible! We had a few circumstsnces that made me think this. It’s a two door jeep, which makes it tougher getting a child in and out of the back seat, I’m sure with a four door it would be different. And the window and back flaps were not that cooperative, especially when it started raining! I really enjoyed driving it and it was esay getting up the canyon drive. I did miss having the top down, but after the trouble with the flaps, we weren’t taking a chance with the top, especially since rain was in our future! SDL had a jeep in the past, she said it was much easier. I’ll take my 13 second up/ down beetle convertible top any day!

We got in the jeep, headed to the hotel to drop our bags and started out for the Waimea Canyon Drive. They say that The Waimea Canyon is the Grand Canyon of Hawaii and when you see it, you get it! You can really see it as you go up and up and up, amazing!it We stopped along the way at some of the scenic overlooks, and they were true to their name, scenic and overlooking the canyon. We saw rock faces and formations, waterfalls, foliage and so much more! Spectacular! Even the second time!

A few times, the three of us got out, walked around and took pictures, other times, just SDL, Miss A and I admired from the jeep. We drove up the canyon, it’s close to 30 miles up into the mountains to the top. We got out at a few of the state parks to walk around and get up to the overlooks there. It truly is spectacular. And Miss A walked them all, like a champ! We didn’t take the stroller out once today, awesome!

After we viewed the canyon, we drove back down the Waimea Canyon Drive into Waimea, had some lunch at a local Thai stand with all the chickens and roosters. We were going to go to Ke’e beach, but it was getting late and the sun would be going down in about two hours, when we got to the beach. We took a chance and got on the road. Guess what happened…the sky opened up! So…rain makes for a different experience!

We stopped at Kauai Harley Davidson, https://www.kauaiharley.com/, for a gift for Miss A’s bus driver and a photo with the Hawaiian hog! Then a stop at the famous Hilo Hattie’s, a Hawaiian staple, unfortunately had gone under a few years ago and then a few shops have popped up and here was one! SDL had great memories of shopping at Hilo Hattie’s years ago, as did I when I first visited Hawaii. https://www.hilohattie.com/ Each time we walked into or out of a store, we were running through the raindrops, ok, let’s be real, we were dashing through the deluge! A quick stop at Walmart for some rain ponchos was just the thing! Luckily, the rain stopped when we went in and when we came out!

Imagine us getting Miss A into the jeep in the rain! At Hilo Hattie’s we decided to put the windows back on, um… that was fun! But we would be dry! All that matters!

So, raining hard, we went back to the hotel, dinner for Miss A, SDL and I ordered Italian and ate on the sofa while Miss A crashed out.

What a day! What’s in store for tomorrow?!

{December 26, 2017} Mele Kalikimaka

It’s Christmas!

Things are a skosh different for me this year, all good, just different. For the first time in about nine years, I didn’t spend Christmas in Atlanta. This year I’m home for Christmas and imported some Atlanta!

As you know SDL and Miss A are here with PSM and I in Hawaii, so we are celebrating Hawaiian style!

We have been to the beach on Christmas Eve, a swap meet, saw Santa in a Hawaiian shirt, seen Christmas decorations on palm trees, lots of Santa caps on people and Santas surfing. What more could you want?!

Today was very laid back, we chilled out at the house, relaxed, talked and messaged with family and friends, watched some holiday classics, including White Christmas, opened presents late in the afternoon and then sat down to a less than traditional Christmas meal, burgers and fries, prepared by PSM, SDL and I. Miss A just directed and we followed, go figure!

I am so grateful to my friends and family who love me and make my life brighter. I hope that if you celebrate Christmas you are with people you love.

Mele Kalikimaka

{December 18, 2017} My dad rocks and my sister has an anniversary!

I think you already know I think my dad is awesome, but I’m gonna tell you again! So there!

Today, I had to mail out those packages I told you about yesterday and we were at the post office and as I’m writing some addresses, a woman comes in, looks to be about my age and is grinning like a Cheshire cat and I look over and she says quietly, I think I know him! He looks so familiar! I smile and then I look at my dad and tell him what she said. They look at each other and all of a sudden, the light bulb is going off over both their heads! And the recognition is starting to creep in.

First, where did you go to high school, that wasn’t it, she didn’t go to the school he taught at. Then they both start to talk sports, high school sports that is and all of a sudden, he said soccer and they both said basketball! She was on a rival school’s girls basketball team that my dad was coaching! She is now a teacher and the basketball coach at my old high school. They started going down memory lane, ‘you played with so and so’, ‘you were great’.

I have to tell you, all I did was stand there, addressing my envelopes and grinning from ear to ear and my chest swelling with pride! I love when people see my dad and get excited. And he remembers so much about his days as a coach and the people he coached and or coached against, and what a coach he was! Boys basketball for a minute, girls tennis for a minute, then girls basketball and soccer.

He was a such great coach, as evident by the Facebook friends in his former players, the things people say when they meet him, the glint and gleam they get in their eye. It tickles me so much, I am so proud of him and to be his daughter. Like I needed another reason!

On to the next great thing happening today, my sister and brother-in-law are celebrating their thirteenth wedding anniversary today! I remember the day I met ACS, had no idea what would blossom and develop and a few years later I would be standing up next to my sister as her matron of honor and a minute there would be a bundle of joy and love and light called EJS and three minutes later there would be a fireball of love and goofiness and wonder and now thirteen years later I would be sitting here, wishing them a very happy anniversary.

What a fantastic couple they are, standing by each other, with each other and for each other and you know my family has been through some shite over the last few years. They have stuck together and stuck it out, through thick and thin, as they say and whatever adversity has thrown their way, they have smacked it straight out of the park, but what’s most important is they did it together.

I’ll never forget way back in the beginning when we were all sitting at the table in my parents kitchen and ACS said something and GES zinged him but good! I was so proud and ACS was thrown and thought it was great! My sister, so cute, still in the honeymoon phase apologized! What?! Nooo! you don’t apologize for a good zing, you go with it! Today, they have fun and zing each other left and right and I love watching it because most of the time, they can’t keep a straight face when they do it!

They welcome everyone and anyone into their home as if they are family and they pretty much become family instantly. You come into their home and it’s welcoming and warm and you feel like you can prop your feet up on a chair or chill out and take a nap on the sofa and no one would say boo. I’ve told you about the holidays and parties and get-togethers, once you attend one, you have an open invitation to the next and so on. This is a life they built together and it’s fabulous to see.

Here we are thirteen years of marriage later and they are as strong as ever and and I am looking forward to watching the next thirteen and the next and the next to see how much more fabulous they can become, I have a feeling they are going to be a force to be reckoned with, wait, that’s what they are now. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Happy anniversary GES and ACS. I love you both very much.

{December 15, 2017} Hmmm…interesting or humorous

Not sure what to call it. Nothing major. I picked up my rental car in Chicago, NY plates. I happen to be a New Yorker so that works for me. Next, I am doing from Will County, Joliet, Illinois to Kankakee, Illinois through Manhattan. Manhattan, Illinois that is. By the way, Manhattan, Illinois holds no candle to its namesake, just in case you were curious. So… New Yorker driving through Manhattan, Illinois in a NY registered car. andnow, I am in NYC driving a car registered in Virgina. Go figure! Doesn’t get much more creative that that, sorry! Oh…a few miles on the treadmill and day 2 of a new workout, someone please come and lift my shoulders for me!

{December 13, 2017} Happy Chanukah 2017

Tonight at sundown, we begin to celebrate the Festival of Light, also known as Chanukah.

You might also know it as Hanukkah, however you say it or spell it, the meaning is the same. This is the festival of lights, a great miracle happened here. Let’s talk about the miracle.

When Antiochus IV was in power, he took to less than pleasant activities towards the Jews and the desecration of the temple. When the Jews went in to the temple for the rededication, they found enough oil to light the lamps for one night and a great miracle happened there and the oil burned for eight nights!

And that, my friends, is why we celebrate Chanukah for eight nights, why we call it the Festival of Light and why treats that are traditional are fried in oil. There is a theme here!

Oh, the treats! Potato latkes, you might know them as potato pancakes. There are different ways they can be made, regular potato, sweet potato, with scallions, served with apple sauce or sour cream. The Sufganiyah, the fried jelly donut covered in powdered sugar. Anything fried, it’s the frying in the oil that’s important.

We play games, like dreidel, it’s a square top with Hebrew letters. We play for matchsticks, candy, gelt, which are chocolate coins. The traditional explanation of this game is that during the time of Antiochus’ oppression, those who wanted to study Torah (an illegal activity) would conceal their activity by playing gambling games with a top (a common and legal activity) whenever an official or inspector was within sight. Each letter tells you how much you’re going to get out of the pot or have to add to the pot.

The magical part of Chanukah? The tradition of lighting the candles in the menorah. Now, all menorahs are different, some are more traditional, some even use oil to keep very much with tradition. The important thing are the prayers, lighting the candles from right to left, one candle added for each night. There are nine candles, one for each night and the shammus, this candle lights all the others and it is set either slightly away from the others, higher from the others, you just know this is the candle to light the others.

And yes, there are gifts, but that is not what’s important about the holiday. Gift giving is at each person’s discretion. As kids, our big family gift was tickets to see The Nutcracker Ballet at Lincoln Center in New York City. Then we would get little things each night, just something to open, but it is a nice sight to see the menorahs lit, the gifts lined or piled up and family playing together and really just spending the time together, that is what is most important, knowing what the holiday is about and enjoying in each other’s company.

My family has a few menorahs, my favorite family menorah, one that was made by a family friend, HT, it’s hand made and it looks like his arms are stretched out with the holes for the candles in each arm. I have my own collection of menorahs, I can’t wait to get them out of storage one day! Oh, when I have them all lit up, what a glow and feeling of love and warmth.

Oh, one more tradition, my mom would read us one story each night from The Power of Light, stories by Issac Bashevis Singer. As adults, GES and I realized some of these stories are not that happy, but they are important and my favorite, The Parakeet Named Dreidel.

When young David and Mama and Papa are celebrating Hanukkah one frosty winter evening in Brooklyn, Papa sees a parakeet sitting on the window ledge. He lets the parakeet in and everyone is delighted to find that it speaks Yiddish. They name it Dreidel and it becomes part of their family. Many years later, when David is in college, he is at a party one night and tells Dreidel’s story―only to discover that Zelda, a young woman at the party, owned the bird herself as a child. Papa and Mama are worried that they will have to give their beloved pet back, but then David and Zelda decide to get married after college, and everyone agrees that they should take Dreidel with them as they start their own family. Isn’t that wonderful?

I hope you’ve enjoyed my wonderful holiday of Chanukah, maybe one day you’ll celebrate and light the lights with me!

Chag Sameach!

{December 11, 2017} Step…Ouch…Step…Ouch…Repeat

So…did I mention that I knew I would be in pain today?

The day after I did the Honolulu Marathon 10k? Then sitting on one flight for 7+ hours, in a 2nd seat with minimal movement? Then a one hour flight stretched out, but not moving?

What do you think happened when I stood up and walked off that plane? Oh yeah, then driving an hour plus to get to the client site? Then at the client site, walking a little, but a lot more sitting? Oh my!

Let’s just say my legs were saying ” you are an awful individual, why do you hate us so? And because you hate us, we will make you miserable!” Done! What I will say to my legs and any other part that is cursing the vessel? Get ready! This was the kick off!

The kick off? Yup! I am about to start training for the Hot Chocolate 15k in Atlanta in February! What? Yup! This will be my third Hot Chocolate 15k. I truly want to run it, or at least run the majority of it and I know if I just set my mind to it and train, I can do it. If you think about it, it’s really just 3 5k races! It’s 9.3 miles, just 3 5ks combined into one race.

And…if I can run a 15k, a half marathon is not that far off, that’s 13.1 miles. This is a goal I am setting for myself. Send good feelings and swift feet vibes into the universe for me, I’ll run around and hopefully they will fall on my head and be absorbed into my feet!

And what I’m going to do…be accountable. I’m going to tell you what I do each week, it may be a full post or just a blip at the end of my daily posts, but I want to share my journey with you, just like everything else I do!

Ready…set…run!

{December 10, 2017} What do you do on a Sunday at 5am in Hawaii?

Well, if you were me this morning, you would have been at the starting line of the 45th Honolulu Marathon/10k!

This was my first race in Hawaii since I moved here, crazy, right? I’ve been wanting to do a race here and here I am! PSM had registered for the race, I wasn’t scheduled to be home this weekend so I didn’t sign up. Since he’s still recovering, I said I would run in his place! Yesterday, we went to the Expo, picked up his packet and I was able to get a t-shirt in my size, go figure, bling! We couldn’t transfer his bibb number, so when I got the results, they were under his name. I just want to know what my time is.

It was VERY early when I started out. It doesn’t help, as you know, that I don’t sleep very much! I fell asleep about 12am, go figure and that alarm went off at 3am, what? This is Sunday, what have I done to myself? Of course, I also haven’t trained for this one, duh! I snoozed and finally got up at 3:10am, got dressed and out of the house at 3:34am, yup, I even brushed mt teeth!

Hit the road and made it to the Honolulu Zoo at 3:57am, drove around and finally found a place to part at the Marriott and rushed to the Zoo about two blocks away. I really need to start carrying cash so I can park in the lots! I completely forgot! And I have done so many races, you’d think I would remember! I re-read the email and it said that the last shuttle was leaving at 4am! What?! Go figure…on island time, the last shuttle was right there and I made it! 4:22am! We were dropped off near the start and all walked over, then with my fellow racers, stood in line for the port-o-potties!

As we waited for the start, the fireworks started, what a show! Then, somewhere around 5:15am we were off! It was still very dark, but lots of lights and good vibes in the air. We walked/ran down the streets that are usually packed with people, cars, tourists and locals alike. We ran past the mall, where PSM had his shoulder surgery. Ala Moana Boulevard, which means “Path by the Ocean” in Hawaiian, we saw King Street, Queen Street, Prince Street I felt like royalty!

We passed by the Honolulu City Lights Display, can’t wait to go back and actually walk around! There were people in costumes, some of them a lot of fun. There were Minions, Pokeman, Rainbow Brights, Santa and Mrs Clauses, even a honeymooning couple! A lot of the businesses have giant displays set up for Christmas.

So many people cheering each other on, there were some clever signs, most I didn’t take pictures of, since they were in Japanese! Most of the runners were from Japan, as JAL, Japan Air Lines was a major sponsor, Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS and SportsBeauty, just to name a few! Someone told me a joke “What do you call 30,000 Japanese running after 3 Kenyans?” “The Honolulu Marathon!”

I crossed the finish approximately 1:45 after I started and the sun had just started to come up about 20/25 minutes earlier, it was nice to run past the beach as the sun was rising to greet us. I got my medal, banana and malasada. A malasada is a Portuguese confection, made of egg-sized balls of yeast dough that are deep-fried in oil and coated with granulated sugar. They were first made by inhabitants of the Madeira islands and when the Portuguese immigrated to Hawaii, they brought them along! Now, they have become a Hawaiian delicacy and staple. You won’t find them anywhere else in the United States, unless the owner is from Hawaii! Our favorite breakfast place makes malasada pancakes, O M G!!!

After the race, got a few photos taken and as I was standing in line struck up a conversation with a nice Japanese woman named Jackie who said she was going to start studying English right now!

Then it was time to get back to my car and since I wasn’t sure where I was and there was no shuttle, since we crossed the finish line near the zoo. I asked someone directions and they sent me in the wrong direction! This went from a .3 mile walk to 1.5 mile walk, what?! No thank you! I called for an Uber! Yes I did! Best money I spent all weekend!

Back home I sat on the couch and…zzzzzzzz. I had planned to finish packing and then take a nap, nope, sleep took over, apparently Mollie and I were both dead to the world! It was He kupaianaha [Hawaiian], 素晴らしい [Subarashī] [Japanese], vunderlekh [Yiddish] that would be Marvelous in English!!!

Then it was up, pack, head to the airport and dread what my body is going to feel like after I am on a plane for eight hours barely moving…think I’m going to be a bit sore?! You would be correct! I saw a few people with their marathon and 10k shirts on at the airport, wonder how many are on my flights!

I am so hoping all that exercise will wear me out and get me to sleep on the flights, fingers crossed!

Holo, JJ, holo! [Hawaiian for run]

{December 7, 2017} Just like mom used to make…

Tonight, I made something and when I tasted it, it was like my mom was right there with me.

I’ve made this dish once since I was a kid, I was inspired the other day when I was looking in the pantry I saw one main ingredient and when I went to the grocery store picked up the other main ingredient and tonight I made it. I have such fond memories of my mom making this when I was younger.

It’s kasha varnishkas, a dish descendants of Ashkenazi and Yiddish-speaking Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia and look at that, I am! It is made with kasha, an earthy and fiber-filled grain, is one of the oldest known food staples in Eastern European cuisine and bowtie pasta.

This was such a comfort food from my childhood. I made this once before, but I didn’t follow these directions, at least I don’t remember doing so. Tonight, I followed the recipe from the link I posted and it turned out fabulous! I baked the kasha in the oven with an egg and salt, that made it nice and toasted. Then I cooked the kasha on the stove top in boiling water, got it nice and fluffy, the way rice cooks, almost. At the same time, I so should have taken photos of my progress, I had three pots and pans going on at once! I didn’t have any onions as the recipe called for, but I did have minced onion flakes, so I browned those in vegan schmaltz. The last pot had the farfella pasta, or better known as bow tie pasta, fun to eat and say bow tie pasta!

Schmaltz, for those not in the know, is chicken fat, which, as you know, I am definitely not using! I used a vegan butter, which actually has quite a lot of flavor and a good texture. I will let you in on a little secret about me. I don’t care of ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter’ is vegan, I don’t think it tastes like butter, I’m not a fan of margarine, it’s ok for cooking with, sometimes, and country crock….um, no thanks. So, Earth Balance is a nice vegan spread that has a nice flavor, no, it does not taste like butter, but it makes you warm inside, so there!

The pasta was cooking, the kasha was cooking and since this is a very simple dish, I needed protein. I’m pretty sure my mom cooked this as a side dish, but what I made was ginormous, so…it was the main dish and I added some seitan, this was made by Uptons, it’s pretty good. Now, we all know it’s not real chicken or steak or whatever it’s portraying, but it’s got nice texture, something to really chew and adds protein, job done!

The vegan schmaltz, kasha, bow tie pasta, onions, seitan, all combined was a good dish and made me think of my mom, almost as if she was in the kitchen cooking and me asking whats for dinner and her answer ‘poison’, that was a family joke I’ll tell you about some time. But the first smell of the kasha, the first taste. Yup, all mom. And yum!

There’s plenty left, want to come for leftovers?

https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/kasha-varnishkes-kasha-and-bows/

{December 3, 2017} I’ve made what?

This week, I’ve been home and cooking! It’s been brilliant! And, just using what’s in the house and the pantry is getting bare!

So…I’ve been home about a week and helping PSM through his recovery, he’s fine, promise, but we’ve been a little house bound and I’ve been cooking. It’s been great fun, since it’s not something I do or have to do every day, I get to create. I’ve been going through the cupboards and getting creative.

There have been egg sandwiches, pb&j, eggs and rice, turns out we have a rice cooker and a ginormous bag of rice, doesn’t everyone have that in the pantry. Eggs and rice was good, I remember eating that when I had a procedure coming up and I had to do very bland, and then I got on an egg and rice kick, so I started added different seasonings, this time I added rice seasoning, which I got at an Asian market, it’s the kind you find in some Asian restaurants, it has sea salt, seaweed and sesame seeds, and some other spices, love it! Adds salt and some additional flavors, gives it a little something extra.

One day PSM said I really want some ice cream, we don’t have any in the house, but…I happen to have a frozen fruit ice cream maker! And four frozen bananas, add some vanilla and voila! Ice cream!

I said I wanted rice pudding, so…looked up a recipe for vegan rice pudding and we had all the ingredients except the imitation almond extract, quite tasty when you add maple syrup, raisins and almonds, it was a great breakfast treat and enough for two breakfasts, yum! I am going to experiment with some different flavors, look at me go!

I even cooked turkey burgers, no not for me! For PSM! First time, he said they were good, have to go with his opinion on that! Brussel sprouts rice and hot dogs, well, veggie dogs, needed a little protein in there. Lentil soup with chicken and rice, ooh that one was tasty! I definitely liked it better than the brussel sprouts and rice, but ya gotta start somewhere!

Part of the problem…we keep watching cooking shows or more baking shows, so we are hungry more often than not! Not good! Now I want to make a sponge cake! It’s mostly British Baking Championships and they do love their sponge!

I don’t mind cooking, I enjoy it even and figuring out what to make with what you have but…I think it might be time to go to the grocery store! What should I make for lunch?!

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