Category / Ollie and Orange

by princesshotflash

My Beloved Ollie

My beloved Ollie has passed. On Saturday evening, he collapsed and was screaming in pain. I rushed him to the emergency animal hospital. His lymph node was enlarged and was bleeding internally. The next step was to do exploratory surgery, but he was not stable enough to have that surgery. He was in pain, and I knew I had to put him down.

I’m so sad. It all happened so suddenly. Although Ollie was not feeling well on Friday, he got up to eat and drink on Saturday morning. I thought he was feeling better.

My Ollie was such a friendly cat who always greeted visitors to the house. I’m glad I listened to Oat and brought him home with me. For seven years, he kept me company, entertained me, and made me smile on my saddest days.

Orange and I will miss you so much, Ollie!

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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

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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by princesshotflash

2 Weeks In

It will be 2 weeks back in Hawaii tomorrow. Still adjusting to my new life here. Trying to figure out what I can do to keep me out of trouble.

The Boys

The cats have been great. Getting into mischief as much as they can. They had full reign of my cabinets as I empty them back in NJ and want the same privileges here in Waipahu. But the Boss [my mom] doesn’t allow that. They also think the patio has the same breezeway privileges that they can run in and out of the house and the garage whenever they wanted. The patio is open to the side and backyard. So the only way out is with a harness and a leash. Ollie is up for the harness and we tried going for a walk. Orange, he’s another story and who would have guessed any different. It’s like I’m going to put him in the carrier.

The Heat

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Got me a ceiling fan!! Woowho! I still feel hot but it’s like a constant breeze on me now. [I owe someone delicious bottles of red wine.]  I hope Hurricane/Tropical Storm Lane doesn’t bring heat and humidity as he leaves the islands. It poured all morning since the time I got up at 3:00ish and stop at 7:00ish. It’s overcast and that might keep the temps down.

Please O’ weather gods keep the temps down for me, pretty please.

The only benefit of the heat is I don’t feel guilty for getting a shave ice as an afternoon snack. Luckily there is a good shave ice truck near the house. Too delicious to stop and get a picture, next time.

The Folks

I’ve been trying to keep them busy and getting them out of the house for entertainment and exercise. They have an aide that comes three days a week. She works with my dad on exercises for strength and takes them out and about or holo-holo in Hawaii slang, on errands and dr visits.

The aide that they have is a young girl from Chicago that just moved to Hawaii. Everything is new to here and I think it’s a good fit for my parents. My mom loves to feed people and she loves to try anything new. And she’s really sweet to my dad. Thought I think he would fare better with someone that was more on the rascal side.

I’m glad they have her because it would be all on me if they didn’t. I can see how hard that would be.

And me

I’m looking for things to do and meet new people. Here are a few of my ideas I thought I could try out in September

  • yoga class
  • swimming class to strengthen and learn more strokes
  • join the Y
  • knitting group
  • volunteer at Honouliuli National Monument
  • volunteer at Library
  • start walking/running consistently
  • lunch or dinner with friends
  • trying sell vintage stuff for my parents
    look out for my ebay or etsy shop if you like vintage housewares. Midcentury stuff.

I’m trying to keep busy and not just hang out in my room watching too much Netflix as I did before I moved. I got sucked into watching DeadWind, Finnish crime drama with I’m such sucker for. I think I have a few more episodes left then on to the next. I need to stop watching. . . ahaaaa.