There's a lot of New Year's traditions that I'd forgotten while we were away for 35 years on the mainland.One of them is to pay a visit to and offer flowers at the graves and niches of our departed family members and friends. This is especially important to my mother so we took her to Nuuanu Memorial Park this morning to place flowers at the grave and niche of my grandmother and father. Yesterday, we took her to the temple to place flowers and offer a prayer for her dear friend.
After a happy visit with my aunt and cousin (who live nearby) we took mom to commemorate the last day of the year at Gyotaku restaurant.
Mom and Art ordered the lunch special with sashimi (raw fish), shrimp and vegetable tempura and teriyaki chicken.
I'm not a big sashimi fan so I stuck with California rolls for my sushi, karaage (fried chicken), shrimp and veggie tempura. The dishes also came with a salad and miso soup. I have not been good with my diet this holiday season. I will have to really turn myself around next year.
Kalei was our server and she took our photo for us. The food was REALLY fantastic and we left so stuffed that we knew we'd have to take a nap this afternoon.
I was surprised to see this Believe It or Not comic strip in the Chicago Tribune at least a couple of decades ago.
It's very true. Even though I was gone from Hawaii for three decades, I still felt compelled to finish my newsletters and thank yous before the year was out. We also had to pay all our debts, organize our junque and above all CLEAN the house.
Hmmmm... what happened? Our house is not totally cleaned this time. I've been working so hard to finish the newsletters, etc. that I haven't gotten around to house cleaning. My mother has done her area, of course.
I'd better go clean the bathrooms, change the sheets, dust the floors, organize my desk, etc. Art is snoring on his recliner after that huge lunch and early morning jog. Should I wake him to clean the windows?
Kay, get all of the stuff out to wash the windows yourself. Gently lean the ladder against the glass. Then wake Art and ask him to come hold the ladder because you are afraid you will fall. I guarantee the windows will get washed and you won't have to do it! ;)
ReplyDeleteQuilly's advice is probably very good, and might just work. I,on the other hand, have no such requirement to have a clean house on New Years. In my house it's still the holiday season. I'll have plenty of time to do the work next week.
ReplyDeleteYep, Quilly's got the answer! Does look as though you all had a great day! Wishing you and Art and your Mom a most wonderful, Happy New Year! May it be filled with lots of love, laughter, good health and wonderful friends! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
I hope you followed Quilly's advice. Sounds like a perfect way to get the windows washed.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we don't have to have all that done by the end of the year, because I'm still not feeling very well. So silly, this cold lasting so long.
Wishing you and Art and your mom (she looks so sweet in the photos) the very best for 2011.
Luv, K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
HAUOLI MAKAHIKI HOU, KAY!
ReplyDeleteDon't be so hard on yourself!!!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy yourself!!!!!
Happy New Year!!!!!!
I just love Quilly's idea!
ReplyDeleteWe did a lot of cleaning the house these past two days.
Christmas stuff put away, furniture back in place!
Sheets washed and put back on the beds etc
I remembered from last year your Moms teachings about how to start the New Year!
Happy New Year to my dear friends!!! Almost time.
you are retired now, can make new traditions...lol!
ReplyDeleteYour January 1 sounds like our Shabbat. It is good to have a mandatory day of rest (but better once a week than once a YEAR).
ReplyDeleteHappy 2011 to you all.
Happy New Year Kay and Art. Thankfully, I consider I'm still on holiday until the schools go back. Even though I'm retired I still tend to think in school terms. So the housework will wait till then - it got done thoroughly just before Christmas. I think Quilly had a good idea, but you could also have made just enough noise to wake Art with the rest of your cleaning and then said 'sorry I wok you, I was hoping to get the windows cleaned to surprise you; I'm sure I'd have been okay on the ladder'. Devious, aren't we!
ReplyDeleteI do all my cleaning before Christmas and then sit back for eight days.
ReplyDeleteI hope Art wasn't too mad?
Happy New Year to you and your lovely family. I have really enjoyed getting to know you this year. xx
Love your traditions, especially the remembering-the-departed one.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year to you. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I have a compulsion to finish off the stuff from the previous year, and I managed that yesterday. Today I packaged up my journal things, and I bought, with two trips to the store, 2 archival boxes for the odd and ends. With almost everything on line, there's only a small box of things to save now.