Kauai

 Kauai is called the Garden Island of Hawaii. Over 70 movies have been filmed on Kauai. On a tour bus, the tour guide would slow the bus down and point to many scenic areas where movies had been filmed. What I  remember most Waimea Canyon. 

OKJaquar Wikimedia Commons

Like all the Hawaiian Islands there were a lot of wild Chickens. The joke is what is more tender after being boiled, a rock or one of these chickens. These pictures of wild Chickens were taken in Fitzgerald, GA. The people in Fitzgerald either love them or hate them. They do not live outside of town. Too many animals think they make a nice meal.

Kauai does not have mongooses. The mongoose was introduced to the Hawaiian islands to eat mice in the the sugar plantations. Like a lot of introductions of exotic species, the mongooses have been a problem and did not cure the rat problem.

Jessamine

 One of my favorite native plants is Carolina Jessamine. It generously grows everywhere around me. I love the bright yellow blooms which look like Honeysuckle. 

One thing everyone needs to be cautious is that this plant is poisonous. It is not like Honeysuckle in that it's sap is poisonous. It can kill a small child or animal. The sap can be an irritant to your skin. One aspect of the alkaloid nature of the plant is that it is poisonous to the honeybee but not to the native bees. We forget that honeybees were introduced to North America. 

The blooms are just beautiful and short-lived. Every year Jessamine is a harbinger of spring. I have seen Jessamine in full bloom in January. This year, they bloomed in mid-March. We had a good winter this year. There weren't enough hard freezes but the ones we had were at the right time. Sometimes a hard freeze happens towards the end of March which hurts the peach crops. 

Isak Nygaard and the International City

 My hometown is Warner Robins, Georgia, USA. One way or the other, we all reflect Robins Air Force Base and we call ourselves The International City. So many service people have met their spouses in different countries or faraway states, We have had a lot of fascinating cultures that entered our lives. So many service members decided to stay in Warner Robins when they retired. Some military installations transfered people from Mobile, AL, San Antonio TX, and other Air Force Bases.

We are having my high school class of 1974 Fiftieth reunion this next September. Surprisingly with such a diverse group of classmates; we have reached a consensus on what is most important. One group is wanting to create a visitor's pack for those who come from out of town. 

One item that they want to include are Nygaard's Bakery cookies. My mind went to whether we could bake some because the cookies are quite expensive for that many people. We lived in a military town where people came and went. All of us when we turned 18, thought we were supposed to start moving around the world. So there are going to be a lot of out of towners.

The two cookies are finger nut cookies and the ever famous flower cookie. I did a google search about the cookies. In a long ago article, I remember reading that origin of the flower cookie was an adaptation of a popular jewish cookie in Isak Nygaard's home country of Norway..

In a later article, Isak Nygaard's oldest daughter states the origin of the recipe is lost in time. I suspect like many cooks and bakers, Mr Nygaard tweaked recipes to get what he wanted. My mother had at one time a few recipes of his. Nygaard measured ingredients by weight versus volume. Volume errors can cause errors in large quantities. The other item was a high quality margarine which was Fleishmans.

Isak Nygaard was born in Stavenger, Norway in 1909. He was a member of the Norwegian Armed Forces as a young adult. He moved to New York City with his brother and worked at a Larsen's bakery. In the 1930's Nygaard went to Germany to learn about cooking where he grew uneasy with the direction Germany was taking. He came back to the United States and joined the American Army and was with Patton's unit during World War II. After World War II, he met and married Bernice from Alamo, GA. They moved to Warner Robins. 

From Mr. Nygaard's life experiences, he probably came across so much information about all sorts of things. The Nygaard's had a keen appreciation of education. His four children went to college and have had accomplished careers. I remember the AAUW barrell to collect books in his bakery. Nygaard was a smart man and his cookies were probably a pretty fine tuned creation.

Being a cook, I can guess some of his secrets. He made Danish pastries. The dough is ordinary yeast dough which has had a lot and I mean a lot of butter mixed into the dough. The butter is added after you make the dough and let it rise the first time. Then you kneed the butter into the dough.

The nut cookie is basically the recipe for wedding cookies, Mexican cookies or whatever name you have read for the confectionary sugar coated nut cookie. The trick to this cookie is not to overbake it. People think you have to brown the cookie which entirely ruins this cookie. You cook the cookie until done but not brown. Instead of coating with confectionary sugar, You pipe colorful icing down the cookie.

The flower cookie is a bit of a mystery. I remember reading in an old newspaper article that it was created from a little Jewish cookie. So I googled Norwegian Jewish cookies to try to get a recipe. Jodekager is what popped up repeatedly. Jodekager is a type of icebox cookie. When I found recipes, I noticed they all used weights versus volume to cook them. This is a link to a blog giving the recipe for Jodekager. 

To address the elephant in the room is the name of the cookie which literally translates to Jewish cookie. The Sephardic Jews who settled in Denmark in the early 1600 as they were pushed out Spain introduced these cookies to the Danish people.. The popular cookie was named for the people that made them. 

I googled whether the name was offensive and I found this article in The Times of Israel which states that the Jodekager is something that is a small joy associated with the Jewish people.  Importantly, the Sephardic Jews were treated as equals in Danish society. 

My guesses about the change in recipe is that the cookie is lightly cooked. The recipe is a Spritz cookie with three major changes. Only the egg white is used. The egg yolk would make the cookie yellow. Either a clear imitation vanilla flavor, or almond flavor, or lemon flavor is added. Butter and margarine is not used, a vegetable shortening is used to keep the cookie white. (This supports the Sephardic version in that the cookie originally had olive oil as the fat.) The flowers have a smudge of colorful icing with a green icing leaf. 

Without a little flavoring, I suspect the cookie is not too good without some sort of flavoring agent. To prevent breakage, they need to be cooked on parchment paper. I think about all those cooks in the 1600's cooking up a storm with no parchment paper. .

Fortunately, I have come to my senses. There is no way I am going to cook a mess of cookies. I would regret the weight gain from sampling my progress, I want to enjoy the reunion and not work myself to death. Plus, the recipe was sold to the current owner. I'll just be satisfied I can make an egg mcmuffin every bit as good as McDonalds.

Southern Living's IceBox Cookie Recipe

Betty Crocker Spritz Cookie Recipe

Hawaii

 Hawaii was a special holiday for me. The first time I went to Hawaii, I enjoyed the trip and seeing everything. My earlier vacation a year before was Alaska and I was comparing the islands to Alaska. My second trip to Hawaii was a nightmare in that some of the things that happened was totally outside of Hawaii's control. I had a good time and good memories that far outweighed the disasters. I fell in love with Hawaii. 

Part of the old Dole Pineapple plantation tour

In my opinion, a great way to explore the Hawaiian Islands is a combination of a Cruise and a hotel stay. For both of my vacations, we went to O'ahu and stayed for several days before we boarded a cruise ship which sailed to Maui, the big island Hawaii, and Kauai. Not everyone is keen on a cruise but it does allow you to travel to all the islands. Each island definitely has it's own personality. 

O'ahu is where Honolulu is located with the famous Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head area. The traffic is mindbending in Honolulu during the day. We rented a car and drove all over the island which feels wild for those of us from the mainland. I got excited with unlimited mileage and I guess mentally ready for a 500 mile road trip to discover that O'ahu is 44 miles(71km) long, 30 miles(48km) across with 227 miles (365km) of shoreline. 

Being from a rural area, the first thing we did was drive away from the city. There is no telling what sort of nightlife is in Honolulu. When we got back to the hotel, we went to bed. If I did not have such frail people traveling with me, I would have ridden the bus all over the island. I did ride the bus some when I was picking up or dropping off a rental car. There is a certain bit of absurdity that we stopped at Walmart and K-Mart while visiting the islands.

What is unique about Hawaii is that the locals really seem interested and protective of the tourists. One time when I was on the bus, the doors opened for some people to load up. I'm standing there looking out the window not paying any attention to anything and a college student who is sitting taps me on the shoulder. He wants me to sit in his seat. I say I'm fine. He is insistent I move to the seat. Sitting in the seat, the bus starts up. The college student is standing there reading his book. I gaze at the new passengers. One is a man who is obviously strung out on some sort of narcotic. 

We went to the Highway Inn which is a restaurant in Waipahu, O'ahu, Hawaii, US. I had watched Guy Fieri visit the restaurant on Diners and Dives on the Food Network. He made it look so good.

Our dinner had pipikaula which is a dried marrinated beef. It was good. I'm not a big meat eater so I don't get too enthusiastic about any meat. The pork lau lau was good. It was pork belly (we call it fat back meat) and butterfish wrapped in lu'au and ti leaves. We liked the lu'au leaves. Lu'au leaves have their own flavor much like collards, turnip or mustard leaves have. Poi is made from powdered taro root. We did not like it. I can see where it is a comfort food for those who were raised eating it. I come from a part of the world where we eat foods that people who come from other parts of the country or world do not want to even try.  So I don't want to insult Poi. But it is an acquired taste. There was a nice serving of rice. 

 Like everyone, I like the foods I am accustomed to eating. We eat a lot vegetables that are not so common in other parts of the United States. We stopped one time to get lunch and I was so excited. We were going to get potato salad and macaroni salad with our sandwiches. That is when I got the Hawaiian specialty of potato, macaroni salad. It was mashed potatoes with macaroni, mayo, pickle relish. It was still pretty good although it was not what I expected. 

We stopped at a house under construction that was built on a bluff. You had a great view of Honolulu. If it wasn't so hard to get your dogs into Hawai'i, I might be living there. You feel at home in Hawaii. One tour guide on the big island in Hilo, Hawaii, Hawaii, US lamented that so many tourist and rich people have moved there that their children have a hard time being able to afford to live there. 

If you love to people watch, you are truly in paradise. We stopped at one beach and the young woman who had left the beach and was entering the parking lot stood at the end of the trail and just beamed with pleasure from the fun she had had. 

Across from the hotel where we stayed, a young man worked a coffee stand. He was a local and obviously enjoyed talking to people who came from all over. We talked spam which is a dubious spiced ham in a can which people associated with the United States and live in Pacific Islands eat. Spam is well liked where I grew up. I remember eating cooked spam with sliced tomatoes on a sandwich. My dad particularly liked Spam. He was first diagnosed with congestive heart failure after eating an entire can of the salty meat along with saltine crackers for lunch the day before. He would take a sister of mine to hair shows and a can of spam was packed to help stave off the hungries.  

I realize there are a bunch of letters I can knock off with my Hawai'i adventures. So stay tuned, I'll continue this drivel and a few facts in future posts. 

Get out of here

 There are phrases I don't use but I love them. I love it when someone says, "Get out of here." when they hear something surprising. 

I am not a cool person. I've never been cool. I am so nerdy that I have been asked if I was high in college when I wasn't.. 

It was more nerves. I constantly used to fidget when talking to people I was so uncomfortable. I remember being nervous about my neck twitching in that I felt I could not move my head from nervousness. 

There where several sources where my incredibly shyness was rooted. One was from teasing when I was kid in school. When the Colombine shooting happened, my evening students said they were made fun of. I told my students, that was not why. We all get made fun of. They all had that knowing look and shook their heads in that they agreed with my statement. The only thing surprising was I thought that many of my students were the ones who dished it out.

The biggest contributor was probably my parents. I had wonderful parents who were both incredibly shy people. What a family tradition. They say you get your culture from your mother.

My mother had two incredibly social siblings. The other two siblings were like her in that they were quiet people. One of the social siblings died of probably an aortic aneurism. His heart supposedly burst. In retrospect, this uncle had a drinking problem.. He had a weak heart and had had polio as a child. He died quite young in that he just shy of his 44th birthday in 1983.

The other sibling that was outgoing developed a hesitance to go out to eat in public places in her seventies. She passed at 80 and it was almost like she decided to die. The day before, my cousin said people were lined up outside her tiny apartment. She had something to give to each person and told them all goodbye. That night she went into a coma and by daybreak she was gone. 

Long story short, living with my mother, I understood so much about myself. You learn so much at your mother's knee.  I will climb a tree to avoid an argument which was so true for my mother. I will sometimes just pay for something that I am disatisfied with just to get it behind me. The first time I did it in front of my mom, I was expecting her to tell me to speak up and complain. She was so relieved I did it. Peace is a wonderful thing. 

I'm not milquetoast though. I just pick my battles. 

One time I shared with my mom that I always have felt on the outside looking in. Mom felt bad. She thought I had got those feelings from her. No matter how old you get, mom is ready to take your burdens. 

There is a special closoeness you get with an elderly parent. I had the chance to meet with a friend before her mother passed. She was frazzled with frustration. From experience, I knew her mother was leaving this world. But when it is happening to your mother and you, you are so in the moment. You are blind. 

I ordered an incredibly expensive mattress to prevent bedsores the month my mother passed.. A mattress that Amazon took back. I ordered the mattress before I brought mom home from the hospital at the end of November. I crunched numbers and was gearing up mentally to run a top notch nursing home room in my home. I figured mom wanted to be in her home. Nursing homes cost about $9000 a month. My friend Ron's mom lasted five years with severe dementia. 

 I never took it out of the box. There was some sort of fluke where I could not cancel the order and I had to wait about 5 weeks before it was delivered. I called Amazon in the middle of the night about the second week of December disturbed I could not cancel the order. The young woman on the other end was a saint. I was mourning the realization that my mom was leaving this world. Whether I was able to return the mattress was not the real issue. 

The mattress made it to my house about a week after my mom passed on December 22. In 25 days, I went from promising mom that she would not have to go back to the hospital to hospice to hectic days and it was over. 

My friend had taken her mom to a doctor about getting a hip replacement about two weeks before she passed.

One of the funnier things that happened during one of my mother's hospital stays during November. She had a bruise on her leg. I asked her about the bruise. My mom looks at me serious and says, "You got to fight these people in here." If you knew what a lady my mom was to become a slugger at 92. 

Get out of here indeed. 

Flycatcher

 The Eastern Phoebe pair are back. This pair of flycatchers come in the early spring. I enjoy their adeptness at catching flies. I feed cats and quite a few opossums on my back porch. 

The Eastern Phoebe always move their young chicks before a big storm. The cats are obviously in a sheltered spot to avoid the storm. The nest has been there for about five years. I pressure wash the siding but work around the nest. We can coexist. I'm one to always feel a bit privileged to have a wild animal guest. I do think the birds recognize me. 

The first year, I was so impressed with the bird swooping across the canned catfood to grab a fly and the cat could only watch in that it happened so quickly. I have a fence post that the bird likes to perch on and catch flies. I've seen the pair but it is my understanding that the female will chase the male off. Even though they mate for life, they are independent birds who live solitary lives with only their mate.

The Eastern Phoebe is a small bird that does live close to humans in that they like to build their nest in sheltered areas like under the eave of my house.. That portion around my house is really overgrown. But I will wait until the family moves along. I had planned to do that this winter but waiting later is a win-win for the birds. 

Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

EDIMGIAFAD

 EDIMGIAFAD stands for "Everyday in Middle Georgia is Armed Forces Appreciation Day. The military and federal government have acronyms galore. This acronym was coined by Dr. Dan Callahan

My home town is Warner Robins, GA. My home was probably about 2 miles from Robins Air Force Base. In the evening when we heard some one firing up the jet engines, my mother said it was my dad. My dad was an airplane mechanic as well as a car mechanic. Racing an engine is part and parcel of that profession. Dad told a story one time about a Captain being unsure of a plane. My dad got him to tell him about it and it had to do with the tires. Dad had the tires changed on the plane. It fixed the problem.

They had some fire out on the base late one evening. My dad called everyone he needed to contact to get the situation taken care of. After the emergency was over, one man came to see this man who  was in charge. He did a fine job. It was my dad. One of the rank and file airplane mechanics.

Yes, I have felt a lot of pride over my dad. As a kid, I thought he just did not understand the world. lol, How many of you had those dads you thought you were helping? I remember giving my dad a lecture about not sneezing so loud as a teenager. Right, I grew up to sneeze loud enough to wake the dead. My dad had blue eyes that twinkled when he smiled. I can see his eyes twinkling when I gave him that stern lecture. 

My dad always worked the evening shift. It paid a little more and there weren't so many bosses around. Dad had one boss who wanted cargo planes loaded from the right to the left. This boss left during the night and the next boss that came on close to daybreak wanted everything loaded from the left to the right. Dad said they paid attention to who was there and loaded the plane like they wanted it.  . 

Robins Air Force Base brought the middle class to Central Georgia. The jobs were well paid by local standards and the benefit package was excellent. It wasn't until I left home that I learned many did not grow up in houses with running water and bathrooms. I had thought that was a pre World War II, depression era thing. 

Even today, there are islands of good economy amongst the poverty of Georgia. Reconstruction did not begin in earnest until after World War II and the advent of air conditioning. One problem in Georgia is you would have families that owned much of the land and businesse. Everyone else was a hard scrabble farmer, mill worker or laborer who lived on low wages. If you live in the metro Atlanta, Columbus area or near a military installation, there are better paying jobs. Move one county over from these areas, the wages are low. 

When there is a recession, you have to go to Atlanta to get a job or at least that is what my older brother and I did. I worked in the Atlanta area for 19 years. My older brother worked for a little over 20 and it made a \huge difference for him. He worked at Custom Building Products until it was sold out. Except for the concrete dust, he had a good job which required a lot of mandatory overtime. Too much overtime in my opinion. 

Being a boomer with depression era parents, I was raised with the opinion of get a job, don't quit, just stick with it come hell or high water. It's funny as you get older how those opinions guide your life for good or bad. The good for me was I could retire at 51 with 30 years and move on to do the most important part of my life which was being a caregiver. The bad part was I had a job that stifled a lot of my creative life out of me. 

It was a shock to me when I first started writing that what some of my opinions were. One reason I think in the States we have gone so bananas with politics is that all of us boomers have slowed down and started having opinions. I was as obnoxious as everyone else. Except, I decided to not talk or write about politics. It was hard at first. I still get cracked up by people trying to slip a little politics into a conversation. We have become hopeless.

But never fear, I've gone for beer. That was one of my teetotaling dad's oft used phrases. 

And when someone gets real obnoxious talking politics. Just think EDIMGIAFAD. Then try to remember what the words are and thank Dr. Dan Callahan.