Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Sweet and Savory from the Aloha Bowl!
Two months ago – seems like a lifetime – we visited Aloha Stadium in Oahu. No, not to watch football – but to walk its perimeter and shop its marketplace.
It was close to 80 degrees. I wore sunscreen and a hat – but no mask back then and neither did I practice social distancing. Instead, I ambled along with all the others, soaking in the sun’s rays, and looking for bargains, of which there were many.
Time for a locally made Hawaiian bag? Sure, why not?
How about some Jack Fruit?
I wish I would have. Instead I opted for fresh coconut (is it just me or does it taste a bit like rubber?)
And then – along with the jewelry and wood carvings and hats and sunglasses and beach towels and slippers and all manner of trinkets from the Philippines and China – I came across this:
SPAM??
First introduced by Hormel in 1937 this canned meat product became popular during World War II, and yes – Hawaiians love their SPAM!
And so does my brother. At least I think he does. So when I saw the stockpiles at the market I texted this picture and asked which one he wanted me to bring back for him. Tocino he said – whatever that is.
I picked one up for me too – though I probably haven’t eaten any since 1972 – maybe not even then. Because you never know when you might need some canned meat – say for instance, during a pandemic?
I opted for the Portuguese Sausage and it’s still in my cupboard. I’m biding my time.
If only there’d been a way to bring back some Shave Ice.
~ Susanne
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Happy National Pet Day!
“Hey Boys! Time to get up! It’s National Pet Day!”
“Tiger?”
“Benji?”
“Yes Sue?”
“It’s National Pet Day! I wanted to let you both know how much I value your love and companionship! ”
“Sure, sure,” they said. “That’s great. We’ll celebrate right here. Now could you turn off the light on your way out?”
“Sure boys. Sorry to bother you.”
Happy National Pet Day!
From Susanne, Tiger & Benji
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Bicycling the Green River Trail
Today reached 68 degrees and Bob was desperate to get out of the house so we used our ‘essential’ recreational time to take our electric bikes for a spin.
We headed for the Green River Trail and it was perfect. I hit the pedals and laughed out loud as I soared effortlessly down the path.
All was green and chartreuse and budding or blooming, and birds were out and about.
The Mountain was out too, a beacon in the distance;
and for a few hours today all seemed right with the world.
~ Susanne
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2020 SuperMoon
The closest supermoon of 2020 occurred last night so even though I already posted moon shots earlier this week I thought I’d give you another.
According to Wikipedia, “A supermoon is a full moon or a new moon that nearly coincides with perigee—the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth in its elliptic orbit—resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size of the lunar disk as viewed from Earth.”
Is it just me or does this photo remind you of E.T.?
~ Susanne
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The Unintended Consequences of Staying at Home
Yesterday I went to the grocery store – early in the day and wearing a mask and rubber gloves – and spent a whopping $400 – the most ever at a single time. That should hold me over for a couple of weeks. I realize now I was quite accustomed to running to the store at the drop of a hat, perhaps spending the same amount in total, but spreading it out in smaller amounts over the week. Lookie there! I just reduced my carbon footprint!
On the other hand, social distancing has meant learning and using new apps to meet others online. And that requires audio and video capability. My desktop has neither – I’ve been using my phone instead. So now I’m in the market for a laptop, which turns out to be even more expensive than a PC. Still good for my carbon footprint I suppose, but not for my wallet!
And last night’s photo shoot of the moon got me thinking about how fun it would be to have a telescope again, something else I can do at home. Ka-ching!
And all those pictures I take? How about a new portable hard drive to store them with ease, as suggested by one of my blogging friends (you know who you are.) Great idea! But this staying at home is getting expensive! 🙂
Finally, in case you are tired of seeing me everyday, I understand. This is my 16th post in a row – shattering my old record of 8 days, set during last year’s Snowmaggedon. Not a pace I plan to keep up with but no doubt another consequence of staying at home.
Not to make light of the pandemic. My heart and sympathies and yes my prayers, are with all those who are truly suffering during this crisis.
The rest of us do well to stay at home.
~ Susanne
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Embracing the Moon
It was a warm and pleasant evening, quiet but for the chirping of the frogs.
I watched as the moon rose full in the sky,
embraced by the trees,
and was blessed.
~ Susanne
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Making Face Masks with Help From Benji
Last Sunday I made my first face mask to wear to the grocery store. I made it quickly by hand without a pattern, and it worked okay.
Since then we’ve all been encouraged to wear them in public so I decided to make a few more, for me, my mom, and Bob. This time I would be more thoughtful about it, add an additional layer of fabric, and use the sewing machine. By the time I was working on mom’s I was starting to get the hang of it.
Then Benji showed up to help.
Don’t let that innocent look fool you. The boy’s a wild man.
So I tried to distract him with some thread
which worked for a while –
until it went the way of all small objects and ended up under the stove.
Still it gave me time to finish up mom’s face mask – the best one so far. Three layers of fabric instead of two. A few tucks and gathers for better coverage and fit.
By the way – I’ve been meaning to ask – does this face mask make me look fat?
Just kidding. Don’t answer that. 🙂
~ Susanne and Benji
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Say Hello to the Handsome Tiger
As you may know if you follow this blog I have two kitties – Tiger and Benji.
Tiger was here first and thus has seniority –
but Benji gets the most press.
So my apologies to you Tiger if you’ve had to take a backseat –
you’re still the most handsome – don’t tell Benji I said so.
~ Susanne and Tiger and Benji
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Venus and the Pleiades
This week Venus is putting on quite a show so I set up my tripod and got this photo from the front yard. Honestly I didn’t see the star cluster Pleiades with my naked eye but my camera did.
During these trying times it’s good to look up!
Psalms 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.”
~ Susanne
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Let’s Go Visit the Tulip Fields!
There’ll be no Tulip Festival this year and you already know why! But that doesn’t prevent us from traveling back in time to last year’s festival in Washington’s Skagit Valley, where fortunately I took enough pictures at Roozengaarde to have plenty more to share with you!
The fertile Skagit Valley – roughly sixty miles north of Seattle – is home to the largest commercial flower bulb industry outside of Holland. In March the daffodils are on display while in April the tulips dazzle.
The North Cascade Mountains provide the perfect backdrop to the mass of color in the fields;
while the display gardens mix and match varieties and colors into wonderful works of art.
For more information on the Tulip Festival that wasn’t and to drop by on your device, click here!
Until next year!
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 