Category / Mom and Dad

by princesshotflash

Flower in the Front

Killing time as my parents get ready for an outing to Costco, I roamed around our small front yard and decided to take pictures of the flowers in bloom.

Desert Rose

Desert Rose

There’s a row of these rimming the front of the yard. They are odd looking plants. The stem and base are grayish, gnarly, and tangled with leaves here and there topped with bright dark pink blooms. Mom likes these plants they are all over the yard. Notice in the bottom left corner of the image, the orange-yellow pile of stuff are the papaya that Mom feeds the birds in the morning and then turns into compost.

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea

The bougainvilleas are potted and run up the side of the front yard. They are very old and a few have worked into bonsai by my dad. Most of them in old cement pots some of them made by my dad (That’s another post). There are all sort of colors from this fuchia to lilac to orange.

Cup and Saucer

Cup and Saucer

The finches favorite, at different times of day they come to get the nectar from the flowers and play. These birds blend in with the plant and are hard to get on camera–no pictures. I usually know there because the cats are staring out the window at the tree.

Ice Flower plant

Ice Flower Plant

This beautiful intense magenta colored flower is so delicate and last for a day. The plant looks like a succulent and I don’t know why it’s called ice plant when it seems to love the hot dryness of Waipahu.

CAT BREAK!!!

Orange watching me. And yes that is purple on the trim and I had nothing to with that choice
Lady’s Slipper

Lady’s Slipper

Since I arrived I wonder what those long leafy plants were. There were no flowers. Mom told me they were lady’s slipper and will bloom in the winter. As winter starts to arrive, buds start poping up. Then these fabulous flowers appear.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea

Almost missed these, the flowers almost blended in with the leaves. Just that little hint of pink made me give it a second look.

Azalea

Azalea

These bloom like crazy in NJ in the spring but it’s in the middle of February in HI there are few blooms on this azalea bush. Big blossoms.

Rose

Rose

Last but not least this pink rose plant. Two buds plus a bloom on the plant. The bloom was already spent so that’s why took a picture of the bud.

by princesshotflash

Sitting in the patio

As I wait on my faux instapot, feeling guilty that I’m not exercising.

Shoe: why don’t you put me on and go for a walk?

I notice one of my dad’s handmade frames with a painting I did a did a long time ago. So long that I don’t even remember painting it.  If you look around the house, you’ll see the many handmade frames he built. Many holding my paintings I did when I was young.

I don’t even remember what I painted this for.

This is the painting I don’t remember painting but I’m sure I did it because it reminds me of Grandpa Nakamura.

from foundation color class, many moons ago

Another frame my dad made on a painting from a foundation color class, learning how to work in grays from Two Callas by Imogen Cunningham 1925.

no sure if this is one of Mom’s anthuriums
I think this is late 70s

A couple more frames made by my dad. I think all of the frames were made out of redwood to match the wood of the house. He was McGyver back. Only wish he could still do a little of what he did then.

I hope my reminiscing of when I use to do things without no fear. Sparks an idea to start a new project. Maybe something to replace those old pieces.

by princesshotflash

A Backyard Interlude

Just a little interlude between my baking and jamming for the holidays.

My parent’s backyard is a combination of dad’s workshop (what is left of it), mom’s flowers, fruits, and veggie garden. It’s a mish-mosh of mom crazy plant collection combined with dad’s McGyver skills of the gardening ware of plant hangers, cement tiles handmade by dad, and many kinds of pots, handmade, recycled and store-bought.

Dad’s workshop and old projects

Dad’s MacGyver Rotisserie for his hulihuli chickens
love these oil cans
Popular Mechanic project
old metal chests fill with what left of dad’s workshop

Greenhouse

potting bench
homemade trellis
plants in the greenhouse
multi-tier plantings
anthurium plants
love the transition from light green to light pink

Citrus

Morning harvest of Calamansi
Calamansi tree
fruit on the tree
Kumquat
papaya with flowers
green eggplant
beet seedling
waiting for the lettuce
kale plant from my Uncle Herman garden

 

by princesshotflash

Up to my old tricks

Guess what I found–a bag of slight damaged fruit at one of the store in my town. I think I mentioned it before. $2.99 for a bag of 2 grapefruits, 1 mineola, 2 red plums, 1 pluot, and 4 peaches. I wasn’t even looking for it. Just went shopping for ingredients for my dinner I was cooking for my parents.

I made a batch of stone fruit jam. Of course, my tasters had to try all the fruit to see if they were ripe enough–haha. Add the mineola zest to the jam and gave my parents 2/3 of the fruit to taste and 1/3 of fruit chopped up for the jam. Kind of winged it using what I new about making plum and peach jam. Got 4 half pints to add to my mom’s jam collection in her frig. Sorry no pictures.

In the meantime, my stuff arrived and I was able to sort and put away 2/3s of it in my storage unit and 1/3 will stay with me till my place is done.

My kitchen/baking equipment came just in time to finished off last of the bag–the ruby grapefruits and turned them into 2 batches of grapefruit cake. I used a recipe from sally’s baking addiction. It had a great smell of citrus and sweetness from the brown sugar. I didn’t add the glaze because all of us don’t need that extra sugar. It was perfectly sweet, just enough.

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the darker on was from the 1st batch. I was trying to set up my echo.

The one item that I was looking forward to arriving was my pressure cooker. Now that I have 2 other people to cook for using the pressure cooker is so silly. For pressure cooker meal: Corned Beef and veggie. Used this recipe as a base and timing. I didn’t use chicken broth or fresh thyme, I didn’t have it in the house. Use water instead and went without the thyme. The meat and veggies were tender and tasted great. It was served with hapa rice and tsukemono (japanese pickles–top: namasu–pickled cucumbers with daikon, carrots, and seaweed; middle: takuwan–pickled daikon; bottom: Spicy daikon. All homemade by a family friend. They are all so delicious and crunchy. My ranking are top, bottom, middle.

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Write more later with adventures.

by princesshotflash

Cooking for the folks

I’m trying to be creative with meals that I cook for folks. Something that fit all of their food requirements-dad diabetic, mom on blood thinner. I think I got dad’s requirements but mom’s are harder. For not it’s it’s bit of trial and error. They are going to see the dr in October and we will find out how well I’m doing.

So the first meal was chili with black beans, sweet potatoes and corn. This week was a vegan spicy lentil soup. I didn’t make it because it was vegan I made it because it is so delicious.

I made this soup once before for my friends that came and help me packing and purging. It was so delicious. This time I didn’t have that great curry powder I used but I did buy garam masala so I use that instead. It was a success. They like the spices. Dad even ate a lot of it. I sauteed kale with garlic on the side so mom didn’t have to have it.

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added carrots and sweet potatoes

Update on the cats: they are getting used to their new environment. They have found their way up on the ledge in the kitchen. Ollie sleeps up there daily.

And here’s an extra picture of the boys, just because.

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