Pretty Penny?

Happy Halloween.

I'm too tired trying to get the costume onto Penny to take her outside to see if it really glows in the dark. 

Voice lessons, J's Knicknacks, Penny

Penelope photo.
Just because she's so cute.
Big nose and everything.
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We had another interesting Voice Lesson with Craig Sensei .
Challenging, fun and never a dull moment.
Did I mention challenging?

He has a series of very helpful voice lessons, merging technique and humor,  on You Tube under Shimizu Voice.
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Here's Steve, a server at ChezKenzo.  He and several others always give customers that "welcome back" feeling.
It probably is not easy for a restaurant to  make people feel at home - the personality of the servers and their efficiency , the ambiance...

...and the food...

The filet steak with raw wasabi.

The parfait, Japanese style
with corn flakes (I got used to it and even like it now), mochi balls, chestnuts.

Penny has her treats too.

She stuck her hound nose into the Trick or Treat goody bag sent by Daren.   Putting aside the Ewok for the moment, she focused on the snack.

Her Penny cave, under the old hassock, which she decorated by disembowling and scratching at the underside.  Here is where she brings her "treasures" stolen, or otherwise, to eat at leisure.

Back to J's Knicknacks.
I had already picked up the die cutter, so now comes the fun part - choosing dies and paper to practice making things, using some of their cute examples.

On my way to and from the store, I found this little lane.
It's nice to walk and discover these places which we overlook as we drive by.

Angie's sax, Hokulani

Amazing Zumba instructor Angie and her hundred year old saxophone.
She played with the cooldown music today, but we were too excited to really stretch out.

Sweaty after class look.
Angie's grandmother played this sax.   Quit an accomplishment for a woman in those days!
The sax has an aged patina which is beautiful and sounds great, played by Angie.

Well, got a chance to really stretch out in my next class.
Our yoga instructor.

A Hokulani sighting!
Hokulani is the famous 13 year old pom who is always dressed up and riding her carriage.  I've seen her several times at the Mall and especially at Neiman Marcus, where I saw her this afternoon.
Her owner let me carry her and took our photo.  Wow, she is such a poised   dog.  Penny would be barking and snarling and struggling to get down.  A true star!

Mmm.  Tonight, at Chez Kenzo, I had the whole roasted garlic head and Tarako (cod roe) spaghetti.  Just like in Japan.
R had the Puttanesca.

food weekend

Mmm.. the kitchen saturday morning was filled with the aroma of Sweet Sour Spareribs that were simmering for our Naginata get together at noontime.
The bottle of White Peach flavored nigori sake has to be chilled
so it will be like biting into a cold, juicy Hakuto (white peach), according to Nadine of The Sake Shop.
Nigori goes well with spicy flavors so I hope people will try a bit with the ribs.

Hakutos, big fragrant and juicy sweet,  are wonderful late summer fruits in Japan which we used to look forward to indulging in as we got ready to return to Tokyo after spending the summer in Honolulu.

Our get together was held, as usual, at Janie and Isao's lovely home.  Here is Isao explaining a game he had made for some of the guys.

Miura Sensei and Koko chatting by Kent's homemade appetizers.
His desserts are amazing too.

Kent Sempai and Koko who was happy to see a cello again.

Today, Sunday, I tried my new lock that I had found so unexpectedly at J's Knicknacks.  It was a perfect fit- easy to maneuver!
After gym, we went to the New Food and Products Fair.

I spent a lot of time at the Hawaii Chocolate Festival section sampling locally grown chocolates and coffees.

Locally produced honey from bees on the Big Island.
By tasting the honeys from various flowers, one after the other,
you can taste the subtle differences between them.
In this case, Ohia, Christmas Berry and Macadamia nut.  

There were creative fudge flavors like "carrot cake" sold here, but I ended up with plain chocolate.
Well,  I replenished any calories I had lost at gym this morning, but it was worth it.

J's Knicknacks , The Sake Shop

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Daren and Lauren, looking for a craft store, found this shop, J's Knicknacks, on the internet, and since it was conveniently located (near a Zippy's), visited it the other day and told me about it.
So, being interested in arts and crafts, I walked to the store.
Cliff, the very kind and interesting owner, is also fun to do business with.

His shop, besides selling dies, stamps, paper, pens and scrapbooking items, has a section that is a jumble of everything you can think of.
There were dolls, dishes, bottles, cups, sieves, pans, shelves - and right there in a box were some little locks.  I had been looking for just the right size and shape for my gym locker and there it was.
The black one I was using was too small.
The stainless steel covered glass salt shakers were nice too.

                                  
                            I'm starting a new hobby, thanks to Cliff's store and a very talented lady I met there who introduced me to die cutting.  I know next to nothing about it, but it will be fun to learn.

And in another "what are the odds" moment, I found out that he is a very good friend of our vocal teacher, Craig Shimizu!  
It's a wonderful world.

Yesterday I saw this bag in a show window, and now I finally know what Hang Ten actually means.
(I guess the strange thing is that I grew up here not knowing)

Passing through Waikiki is always fun.

Even these Goldens love the scenery.
The side of Diamond Head is so green due to the recent rains.

We found The Sake Shop on S.King St. and entered the world of sake.
I was looking for a nigori to bring to our naginata party tomorrow, and had an introductory course about sake from the very pleasant owner, Nadine Leong.

What rice grains look like after having their outer surfaces pollished off in varying degrees.

Gym, Bairin tonkatsu

It was our Zumba instructor, Angie's birthday !
She said she had a karaoke zumba dance number and sang for us while leading us.
She can also play the sax and dance without running out of breath!

It's good to be young.  Of course, I could never have done that even when I was 18!

The lobby of the Condo our gym is in is all dressed up for Halloween.

Our spooky lobby, too.

Tonight we had a great dinner at Bairin with Daren and Lauren.
All opted for the pork fillet katsu, which was crispy and tender as usual, with lots of airy cabbage.

What's wonderful about Bairin (beside the tender pork) are the condiments.  Homemade tartar sauce for the shrimp, ume and  lots of sesame seeds you grind fresh and mix with the tasty tonkatsu sauce.

And they added something new...an old fashioned rice cooker that is brought to your table.  You let it steam for a few minutes and then put the wonderfully fluffy rice into your bowl.
Bairin is always satisfying.  We missed Les, Liz and CL this time, but see you soon.

On the way back to the parking garage, there was a lovely arrangement in front of one of the stores.  The braided palm leaves were interesting.

Then we went to pick up Penelope at Poi Dog puppy care.

There she was, barking as usual and so eager to come home.

Not used to such a big audience, Penny happily barked and growled.

HASR

Linda and I decided on HASR (Highly Allocated Spoiled Rotten) for lunch today.
The public parking is across the street from the restaurant so it is tempting to jaywalk but due to street repairs, an officer was directing traffic so we used the corner crosswalk, enabling us to have dessert because of the extra steps.  Yeah right.

Luckily, too, because there was a sign on the window announcing a $130 fine for jaywalking.

Linda ordered the Crab Benedict Sandwich, which was good.

The Vegetable Pasta was hot (so was the plate) and full of colorful lightly cooked vegetables.
One of the owners said she was changing the menu very soon.  She also owns the wine shop next door.  Too bad the lady who sold scones there moved.  

These desserts will soon be gone too.  Key Lime Cheesecake pie and Banana bread pudding.

At the gym, Zippy's

Al before his Island Tone class on Sunday.  He looks intimidating but he's a sweetie to us as we sweat through his class with weights, bars, push ups, abs.
He's so popular he also has the Island Sculpt class before this one.

We found time to eat again - this time Pork Saimin at Zippy's with Daren and Lauren visiting from California.
They are  faithful Sacramento Kings and Zippy's fans.
It was Daren who once told me to always order the Belgian Waffles here "extra crispy" and I've been doing that ever since.

Love today's class--Zumba Gold, with Kevin.  It's a fun class because he has great dance moves.
Good teachers here at this gym, but I also miss Melinda and Yanos from our previous gym that closed.

Waiting for the next class, Sattva Yoga, to begin.
I know next to nothing about Yoga, but am beginning to enjoy the stretches, especially after the weights and dance classes.