Early morning walk

 The lobby is dressed for autumn

    

Central Union grounds.   There is a big flock of green parrots that fly down from Tantalus every morning and evening and squawk and swoop around the trees

Time for a little prayer

Kapiolani Hospital's walkway connecting the new parking structure to the hospital.  There are cute drawings by children on the walls.     The demolition of the old parking building has started and it's exciting to imagine how the Hospital will be once everything is completed

Penny meets Miumiu

 Today was the second time Penny came with us to Craig Sensei's studio.  MiuMiu, the resident cat, was there and graciously greeted her with a nose touch.  Then she calmly went about her own business and disappeared.   This was Penny's first meeting with a cat, and MiuMiu was the prefect one.  Penny just took the whole thing in stride.

MiuMiu the resident cat

MiuMiu likes dogs, fortunately, and hopefully Penny will like cats

Early Thanksgiving at Yoshitsune

Grandma wanted to avoid the crowds and turkey and overeating at Thanksgiving so we went to Yoshitsune and had a very nice matsutake kamameshi lunch instead.  Grandma and I had the Matsutake Teishoku and R opted for the Shizukagozen Teishoku.

Takikawa tofu

Sashimi plate

Tempura and dobinmushi soup

 Matsutake dobinmushi.  I had brought back 5 dobin pots with ideas of making  it in Hawaii.  What was I thinking of.  They're still sitting in storage.

Cream anmitsu

Good, good Penny.

Grandma enjoyed the meal,  especially the matsutake kamameshi.
We frequented Torigin in Ginza often in the past.  At that time it was a small two storied, cramped and smoky atmospheric place, but it had turned into a regular restaurant when we revisited it awhile back.

Hide chans, meeting Lucy the doxie

M's last visit to a Honolulu restaurant before leaving for Maui.  One of our go-to's for sparerib soup, salmon and tempura.

Delicious sparerib soup, with daikon, konbu and mustard cabbage and lots of ginger

Bitter melon and Okinawan sweet potato tempura

 

Tonkatsu and sashimi teishoku

Good Penny

Cozy interior.  Mr and Mrs Hidechan are such nice people

Hide Chan




Took Penny walking in Manoa Park.  Manoa is such a beautiful place with lovely rainbows and clean air from all the greenery.   The late afternoon light on the mountains can be so clear 

Manoa park area

We met G out walking Lucy which was such a happy meeting because we both wanted Penny and Lucy to meet. Lucy is a lady and was wary of Penny, who is still a crazy pup.  Most of the photos had little blurs of moving puppy, but here are a couple to record the event.

Naginata demo in Aug., Penny and me in leopard, Chez Kenzo

This year's annual naginata demo at Byodoin in the Valley of the Temples in august.  It was a bigger affair with taiko, koto, bon dance, koto, shakuhachi and booths than in the past years.
    
   

           Shihogiri, naginata purification ceremony.

Demo of kata with naginata vs sword

October

    I just had to put on my Halloween recital costume to match Penny's collar.  Aunty L sent her the leopard collar to match her coat.  Thanks!

Chez Kenzo Bar and Grill on King Street.  Great variety of food and customers.
   

Beef kakuni

Shabushabu salad

 

Fried shiso and mozarella

 

Good Penny slept through it all

 

             

North Shore Haleiwa

Visited Haleiwa before M leaves for her new position in Maui.  

We found Kaiaka Bay beach park for the first time after having lived here most of our lives.   Wish we had known about it sooner.

It was Penny's first experience on sand and she loved it, prancing and digging around, but the water scared her.  

                      Stopped in at Breakers for breakfast.  

Not our usual type of place but interesting with surfboards on the ceiling and walls.  It was a noisy football sunday filled with customers ranging from surfers and bikers to tourists.  

Our waitress was nice and the waffle, though not crispy, was tasty.  We had the "local" breakfast, and the omelette.  And R had the Country breakfast, with biscuits and gravy with eggs and bacon and of course rice.  The waitress even brought shoyu without our asking.

    Penny, as usual, slept through it all, with an occasional side eye for assurance.   Good Penny.

Then we stopped at our usual tourist trap, the Dole Pineapple.   The last time we visited was about 8 years ago and it has grown!   Gone are the days when we used to enjoy salted pineapples in the dark no-nonsense buildings made of wood and cement floors.   Now it's an air conditioned, bright souvenir emporium, but fun for the tourists.
     Back then, my father would pick the Eucalyptus branches that had fallen off the trees in the parking lot, and put them in the trunk to scent the car. 
                                                                                                                                                                              Must try the maze someday, though.  Penny enjoyed a sunlit jaunt through the trees and the admiring tourists.

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      Congratulations to Stephanie and Henry as they start         their married life.  Coral Ballroom, Hilton

Congratulations

Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013

Congratulations to Erica and Jesse on the birth of their daughter


Congratulations to our naginata sempai

Good to have the six of our sempai and sensei back from the dan testing in Chiba.   Omedetogozaimasu.

Nov. 22, friday morning

Finally a clear and blue dawn after a couple of days of heavy VOG.    The Norfolk pines outside our window looked so refreshing in the dappled light.

We took Penny with us to buy our weekly oishii
musubi at Manabu's.   She enjoyed the walk looking at the students rushing to school at Washington Intermediate

 Penny also came with us to Craig Sensei's studio where she enjoyed the lesson as much as we did.  

Of course, we did all the work while she peacefully snoozed through it all.  Considering that this is the first time we did this, she was a good girl.

    

The mall at Ala Moana is decorated in Christmas finery.  There was even "snow" drifting down to Center Stage during a light show.  So pretty at night.     Santa is greeting children where the old stage used to be.   The newly finished area is pretty with even a Minamoto Kichoan selling Japanese wagashi.  Great for Tea Ceremony events.  

Cafe Laufer for lunch.   Saw A and her friend there and chatted awhile.   Love this place.

 Apple scone and Black Forest Ham and Havarati sandwich.

Found this old photo of R's dad and his band called David's   Melodians.  (He's the conductor)  


   According to R's mom, who is now 96, David's Melodians was popular at their Hilo high school dances and the girls would go only if they were playing.  It wasn't until later that she found out that  this was the same David she married.
  After school, David would go to an old Hawaiian man's place to sing Hawaiian songs and learn to play the ukulele.   He started his band and had gigs at Hilo High, the Volcano House, and various other places.  At the Volcano House, the manager told him to not be so conscientious about playing so many songs.  He wanted the guests to have time to buy drinks, which was the money maker.
   David gave up the band and went into business but music was always in his mind until the day he passed away.
     

Manoa Marketplace

Tokoname  opens at 4 pm so it's our go-to place for a light bite before we walk Penny in Manoa.   There is a decadent, delicious tempura ice cream dessert...umm...for days when you can walk that extra hour.

Chirashi, Ikura and crispy salmon skin sushi,  agedashi dofu.  Shot of Katana sake, merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.   For three of us, of course.  We still have to walk Penny.

Sweet Penny sleeps through the whole meal