Auntie Banana Comes To Visit!

Briana and Ted recently moved from Toronto to Vancouver.  Briana is now a Senior Planner for Translink.  Janet has no clue what that entails, but it sounds like a pretty good job.  It also took several attempts for her to nail this job description and this is the abbreviated version!

Briana's new job required copies of her UBC and U of T graduation diplomas so came for the weekend to dig around and find them.  Banana was super lucky and found them without too much effort.

Hard to believe it has been 10 years since Briana did her Masters Degree.  That's when I was just a teeny little puppy.

They had dinner at home on Saturday night.

Janet made a new dish she had made once before.  Swedish Meatball Stroganoff.

They also went to Sun Wah for Chinese food for Sunday lunch.

Headless Phil really enjoyed lunch and the rest of Briana's body also attended.

Phil went to his annual work "Kick-Off Meeting" where he was lucky enough to win a laptop computer.  Last year, he won a laptop AND an ipad.  He came home with 2 dozen roses for Janet, saying he wanted to do something nice for her.  Everyone knows that Janet sees only the best in others is about as brutal and tactless as they come.  She accused him of having won the roses at his meeting.  She had to eat crow pie when he pulled out the receipt for the flowers.  In fairness to Her Ladyship, Phil bringing home flowers for no special occasion is on par with a blue moon.

Janet saw these cute tissues at her "work".  She was sure Bronwyn would love them!

Janet gave Phil an umbrella for Christmas.  No, it didn't cost $350 like the one he bought two years ago in London from a fancy pants, really old umbrella shop.  Upon having the King's ransom umbrella home for about a week, he immediately broke it.  A year later, they took it back to London to have it repaired and shipped to their last destination.  Now we are probably up to around $400! He then left in Portland.  Janet's Christmas jobbie cost $40 and it has a light at the top so you can be seen walking at night and in the handle is a flashlight!  Perfect for nighttime doggie walking!

Phil saw LED dog collars in the U.K. on dogs, but couldn't find anywhere to purchase them.  He ordered some online from China for $4 each, which included the shipping.  Need we go on to mention the quality?

Who knows why?  Three nights in a row, Noodles has trooped upstairs to see Janet while she is sewing.

Coming up, Janet.

Checking things out - oddly enough, it's the same shit that was up here for the last two nights!

Goin' down.....very slowly and carefully!

This is what Janet was sewing upstairs.  I watched her carry it around on the main floor and followed her from room to room.  I just love to lie on partially made quilts when they are spread on the floor.

I think there is a chance that Janet has won the lottery and is keeping it to herself.  She has been throwing money around like there is no tomorrow.  Check out this purchase:

She "claims" it was on sale.

Their Vacation Ends!

Janet was sad their Hawaiian vacation was over.  The weather was so great and they enjoyed being in the sun.  It was also super fun having Meg, Mr. F and Auntie B.  The real key to the success of this vacation, however, was Mikey.  Doggie buddy extraordinaire!  He took such good care of us.  On our last day in PDX,  Mikey and Janet both noticed there was something wrong with Noodies left eye.  It has worsened, so we are off to torture land the vet tomorrow.  Everyone thinks I have gained weight from finishing off Noodles meals for the last few weeks,  but Janet says it's just the way my fur is fluffed up!

Last views from the condo:

Bye bye, fabulous view.  See you next year!

Phil's last hot tub:

Phil loves to B.S. chat with fellow hot tubbers.  You can tell the less chatty ones as the flee pretty quickly.  Happily for Phil, in the good ol' U.S. of A. there are tons of fellow hot tubbers that also love to chew your ear off!

They had lunch at Sam Choy's Restaurant three times.  First time was good, second time dreadful and last time, excellent.

Phil enjoyed his at this point in time unknown meal very much.

Fire pits at Sam Choys.

Not to mention, the super view!

This is incredibly hard to believe!  Before it was Sam Choy, it was a Wendy's Restaurant!!  Had to have been the best view with fast food ever.

On their last day, they drove "upcountry" to a chocolate farm.  This is a relatively new industry in Hawaii and is only one of a handful of states that is suitable to grow chocolate.  Janet came across the information in a magazine on their second to last day.  Two farms had tours, but were already full.  Next time!

From tree-

They had three varieties and the pods grow to be quite large.

To box...all in the same location!

Janet took Bronwyn's Hello Kitty quilt to Hawaii so she could hand sew on the binding.  She says this quilt is unbelievably light due the Liberty House fabric.

Hello Kitty on the lava!

Time to go....the most dreadful and one of the most expensive meals on the Big Island.  The airport!!

The one and only option.  Janet made the mistake of sending Phil up to choose the food they were to share.  He chose "Loco Moco", which is a much loved Hawaiian dish.  There is a hamburger patty on the bottom, topped with rice and furikake and finally topped with fried eggs.  They were to share this.  Janet can only tolerate eggs in two styles - scrambled and hard boiled in egg salad or salads.  She struggled to not make a scene in this dump.

Their old school plane paint job.

They spent two nights in PDX and the drove home on Sunday through absolute sheets of torrential rain and backsplash from big trucks.  Janet would have taken some photos but she was far too terrified.

Her reward!

Driving through Washington state, they purchased first of the season Dungeness crab.  Two for $20!  Major score!

It went from here:

to here:

and, finally to here!

Janet took this "staged" photo a day after the fact, which is why the green beans look uncooked.  It's because they are!  Ken is out of town, so they invited Karen over, spur of the moment, and Janet forgot to take photos.

Janet Gets A Fitbit For Christmas!

It  was a gift from Mr. Baby and his family.  Janet's first thought was "will I use this contraption?" and her second thought was "what the hell!  Why did they buy me the daily use model vs. the high performance model?"

At any rate, it turns out to be pretty addictive (and shaming) counting how many steps you take (or don't take!) in a day.  It syncs to your computer, so all the info is automatically downloaded.

So far today, Janet has walked 11, 654 steps.  Her one day record was over 15,000, but that's when she was on Mr. Baby all day duty and desperate to keep moving.

Here is what the fitbit doesn't do - it will not count falls, bleeding wounds or a hand so swollen it can barely be used.  Left hand!  Is Mrs. Stupid Ass Clumsy Janet left handed - you bet!  They went for a walk to a water lookout through a lava field and Janet's foot was caught under a ledge of lava.  She wants to cry...really hard!

 Here is the Fitbit.  Janet went to Target and purchased three more bands for some colour options - just like the Gucci watches of yesteryear, where you could change the outside ring to coordinate with your outfit.

This is new purple band.

Ouch!  The picture does not do the swelling justice.

Check out the legs!

Everyone was super sad when Finley and his Bodyguard/PR Person/ and Caregiver packed up and left.  He was a travelling superstar!  In the evening, he would sleep in a small alcove outside Janet and Phil's room.  Sometimes, the morning started with "wake up, Grandpa!"

After Meg and Finley left, the rest of the people moved to a one bedroom unit.  It was fine, but wasn't nearly as large or bright as the two bedroom.  Sad to say, but Janet is now mourning her La-Z-Boy sofas!  New kitchen:

We think Janet may have mentioned previously the salt water swimming pool at their condo.  It doesn't belong to the condo development and there are many signs warning you to use at our own risk.  If the waves have not been high, it's not a pretty sight as it fills with algae.  However, once you bring on the big waves, the pool is refreshed and it's huge fun to watch and participate in.

Bronwyn and Phil waiting for the waves to arrive.

The pool overflowing and cleaning itself out.

The really down side to the salt water pool - Phil was caught off guard with a rogue wave and his quite new, quite expensive camera was wet.  Thus far,  not drying out.

Please, please, can I, Mishy Mashy be a dog who hangs out at salt water pools in Hawaii?

Yesterday, Janet and Phil went to Umeka's Bar and Grill for lunch.  Their specialty is poke (pronounced po-kay) which is raw fish, cut into pieces and marinated in a huge variety of flavours.  All grocery stores have several varieties.

Janet's Poke Salad that came with three varieties of poke.  The waitress didn't get the order correct, but that appears to be a vacation theme this year.  Nevetherless, the salad was delicious.

Local avocados outside Umeka's, waiting to be turned into something delicious.

More sticker shock!  How about a quart of whip cream for a mere $9.33USD each?  Janet thinks moving here might be a diet plan!  To make matters worse, it's on sale!!  Every savvy consumer saves 10 cents/quart with this sale on!

Meet The Locals!

Janet says they have some animal type neighbours.  Check out this incredibly cute little couple!

Aren't they precious?

There is also a resident Muscovy Duck that pretty much wanders around all day long.

And then they discovered this guy in the water this morning.

Having a snooze in the sun!

A couple of days ago, they all piled into one of the rental cars and trooped 40 minutes away to Hapuna Beach.  Janet and Phil have been many times and they say it's rated as one of the best beaches in North America.  Long and wide with really nice sand.  And, big shore break.  In the one hour they were there, two separate shore break accidents called for the medics to have to attend.

After Hapuna, they went to Merrimans in Waimea for lunch.  Peter Merriman is reknowned as the founder of the Hawaii food movement.

Janet had arugula salad with tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese and mahi mahi.

Finley veered away from the norm and had chicken strips.

The next day, Finleys Case Manager went diving, so he was stuck with Auntie B, Yaya and Grandpa.  They went to  restaurant Janet and  Phil tried last time, which is just down the road - Habanero's.  Modern Mexican cuisine.  Finley adored the corn chips.

Nothing says "family time" like the phone does!

Phil was too cheap to buy Janet any data, so she has to sit there and stare into space.

When chicken strips are not available, chips and/or french fries are also top of his list.

Auntie B had a burrito and Grandpa had Ahi Stuffed Jalapenos.

While Mama is still out diving, Finley gathers all things required for Yaya to change his diaper.  He set them up on the floor.  Talk about a little helper!

Their condo is pretty good, although there are some things Janet doesn't like.  First up, La-Z-Boy sofa!  She is prepared to admit that she doesn't know a whole lot about La-Z-Boy but is pretty convinced that these are amongst the most ugly on the market.  Every night, in order to drive Yaya closer and closer to insanity, Meg and Bronwyn whip out the La-Z-Boy to it's full potential.

Nothing beats a delicious chocolate bar at the beach!

Janet made Katsu for dinner and even had some finely shredded cabbage to put under the meat.  Lots of people that put their condo in a vacation rental pool will leave a guest book for you to sign.  These guest books drive Janet out of her skull.  She says they are paying to stay there and have not been gifted with the accommodation.  Here is Janet's take on how she would sign the guest book:

"Dear Condo Owner:  Thank you so much for sharing your incredible home that we have paid through the nose for in Canadian dollars! with us.  The La-Z-Boy sofa was a super hit with my two interior design challenged daughters.  We also love the super firm beds that were one teeny step above camping on the ground so comfortable.  Oh - not to mention the kitchen.  I was pretty sure we had some dull knives at home, but I was mistaken!  Yours take dull to a whole new level!  Love, your new Canadian best friends!"

Given the knife situation, it's nothing short of a miracle Janet could finely slice the cabbage.  The side of a small plate would have worked equally well!

The Baby Whisperer and his personal keiki!

Auntie B doing her level best to ignore engage with them.