The Best Paper Airplanes?

My son and daughter-in-law are taking turns watching their boys while the other works from home. I thought I'd give them a project to do that would be fun. I know my 1st grade class loved it.

I had the class make the standard design of paper airplanes and gave them another one I made from a design that I found in this book.  The class decorated their planes and we went outside for test flights. The paper airplane I gave them had ailerons that they could move up or down to see how it would affect the air flow causing the plane to swerve up or down.

They absolutely loved it!

So I was thinking my grandsons would love decorating planes and flying the different designs too. Now that we have the Internet, I found a LOT more different designs.

I did put a little stamp on them so they could tell them apart. I'm hoping they will spend a lot of time decorating their planes before flying them outside.

After doing a whole bunch of different designs touting to be the best ever for height or distance I found this design to be the easiest and flew just as well as the others.

It really was a ton of fun!

I've mailed the planes to them. I can't wait to see how they react.

Mystified by Metrics

While texting with my tai chi mask making group, we were at first nervous about following certain patterns because the videos showed everything in metric measurement.

Is the U.S. the only country that uses the imperial measurement system? When I was teaching first grade between 1984-2004 we taught both the imperial and metric systems since we thought we'd join the rest of the world and measure things in the same way.

Besides, the metric system just seems easier.

I found this diagram on a site called Ruthless Reviews. OK, I'm sorry I didn't read the whole article which is called The Metric System is Stupid.

Anyway, while looking at those mask making videos from abroad online, we in the U.S. get a little rattled.

I was looking for a pattern with the imperial measurements when Art laughed and reminded me that rulers come with both kinds of measurements.

Of course. I knew that. I even taught that, for goodness sakes!

So once I got my brain to accept that, I was fine.

I really think we should join the rest of the world. Granted we do measure some of our soft drinks by liters.

It's a start.

Chickens, Chickens Everywhere

We see a LOT of pigeons around our street because there's another new neighbor that's taken delight in feeding them. I really wish they wouldn't because we don't have real winters here. There's enough food for them. Maybe they'll eat more mosquitoes and cockroaches if you stop feeding them bread, rice or whatever.

A couple months ago, we noticed a family of chickens looking for food outside a house during our 2 mile morning walk. There were 12-13 little fuzzy chicks staying very close to their mother in early April. By the time I took this photo, the chicks were developing more mature feathers.

We recently saw that family of chickens at the same yard at around the same time. Since the mama chicken is brown and all the chicks are black, I'm assuming that the daddy rooster must be a black chicken.

We were trying to count how many chicks there were but although they were somewhat together, they were venturing apart too far for us to get an accurate count. I counted 9, but some of them might have been behind a bush. Then again, we do have a lot of feral cats too, so I'm surprised this family has survived so well.

Actually, aside from the feral cats, the chickens don't have any natural predators which could account for us having so very many chickens running around everywhere. Hmmm... I wonder if they'd eat the cockroaches around our house.

POSTSCRIPT:

UH oh... Just got back from our walk. Looks like the baby chicks have left their mama and gone off on their own somewhere. They were nowhere to be seen.

AND... I saw why there were so many pigeons down the street from us. A little old lady was dropping a bag full of popcorn on the sidewalk while her caregiver watched. Sigh... I just couldn't get the nerve to ask them to drop it in front of their house instead of walking to our street to feed birds.

Losing My Kindle!

I'm one of those people who have to read to go to sleep. Otherwise, my brain starts running in circles thinking about this or that or even this and that. I turn the backlight on my Kindle Paperwhite down low so my brain doesn't get excited and after about a half hour or hour, I get calm enough to go to sleep.

Well, the other night... I couldn't find my Paperwhite! I remembered taking it into my office to maybe read in the afternoon, but it wasn't there. Art got up and tried to help me. We even looked under the bed, the bathroom, bookshelves... everywhere.

He finally loaned me his Paperwhite. He doesn't need ANYTHING to fall asleep. Believe me. Unfortunately, he doesn't have my books on his Paperwhite. Ah well... I just read something else and did fall asleep eventually.

This morning we started the hunt all over again after breakfast. We even looked downstairs in the kitchen, the bathrooms, closets, under all the beds again, under tables, arrrrghhhhh....

And then...

As I was searching in my desk drawers where I knew I didn't put it, I heard an, "Uh hunh."

Art was standing next to the dresser with a smirk on his face, holding back his laughter. It was in the drawer where I keep COVID-19 supplies. I looked in and remembered checking a mask I'd made recently for Art.

I guess I must have been holding the Paperwhite and put it down to check the mask.

Oh daaaang it!

Talk about being absent minded. Can I blame this on COVID-19 too?

My COVID-19 bag

I usually carry my trusty medium/small bulging backpack whenever I leave the house. It has EVERYTHING I could possibly need from coupon holder, glasses, keys, tissue, sanitizers, hand wipes, pocket calendar, notepad, pens, pencils, cell phone, any medication I might ever need, nylon socks (Who knows when I might buy shoes?) folded shopping bags, wallet, to lots more.

Nowadays, when I leave the house, this is what I carry.

It's a small thermal lunch bag with a long shoulder strap. I don't know where I got it from. Perhaps one of my students gave it to me and I've kept it all these years without using it. I have no idea.

So all I carry now are my mask, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, glasses, keys and cellphone. That's it.

It's my new COVID-19 way of life.

Have you changed what you carry when you leave the house?

Losing Steam

I was happily busy in the month of March sewing face masks. I made over a 100 masks and gave them out to everybody I knew who needed them. All that activity kept me content and super focused.

I have cut out more masks, about 40 of them. However, I just can't seem to find the motivation to work on them. (And I'm not the only one. I've been texting all my mask making friends and relatives who tell me the same thing.)

I guess since most people in Hawaii have masks now, there's no immediacy of the moment to spur me on.

Ah well... Art says I'll have all year to work on them.

Shudder...

POSTSCRIPT: 

I actually wrote this post a couple weeks ago. I did finish half of the masks and gave most of them out. I thought everybody would already have more than they needed. However, now that people are going back to work, it seems more masks are needed since it’s often hard to keep washing your masks each night. So I’ve got a few more masks to work on after all. But after that...

Hmmmm...

Finding Calm in Forest Bathing

It's been a time of fear, anger and turbulence.

Back in Maryland, my grandsons have been at home with my son, Keola and daughter-in-law, Sarah, unable to see friends or go out into public places. Keola and Sarah are luckily able to work from home. They take turns working, Sarah in the morning, Keola in the afternoon.

We love it that Sarah posts photos often for us to see. Every photo makes us smile.

Recently, Sarah has been taking the boys to the forest to play and explore (and maybe keep them out of daddy's hair).

With all the stress that we've been experiencing in recent days, just seeing this photo suddenly pop up on my screen gave me a feeling of calm, of peace.

I see my grandsons, tiny... on the trail, surrounded and embraced by the beauty of nature.

I've read that the Japanese practice shinrin yoku (forest bathing). It's supposed to be good for your physical and mental health.

I've always loved walking in woods and forests. I can well  believe how it would be good for your mental well being. After all, just looking at this photo made me smile and lift my spirits.

An Ordinary COVID-19 Explosion

It was just another ordinary COVID-19 day. Art and I were getting ready to do our early morning walk before the sun comes up.

Really... just an ordinary day.

Then I realized I had two masks and Art said to just leave it on the washing machine outside the house. No, I didn't want to do that so I called mom to take it in.

As we started walking Art huffed in exasperation saying, "For goodness sakes."

And it somehow caused something to snap inside of me. Out of nowhere. Anger grew as we walked. He was actually fine though. He doesn't stay angry very long (which is a good thing.)

It didn't help that he spent the morning downstairs reading the paper and working on his puzzle while I simmered upstairs with a balloon of anger that grew and grew. I tried to reason it out. It didn't work.

When he finally came upstairs, I told him I didn't want to leave my mask where it would blow away. He said he would have pinned it up. Well, he didn't say that. He said he saw my face and realized I'd gotten angry. I said I was angry because he got angry. And so on and so forth.

So we talked and talked and reasoned out that we were both under stresses we weren't even aware of. It was all an insanely stupid argument which is what frightened me.

It took another day of getting over the shock of what we'd gone through until we were back on our usual loving footing.

I look  back on that incident though and am shaken by the remembered explosion of emotion.

Mom mentioned a few weeks ago about "corona divorce" in Japan. Couples who normally didn't spend much time together suddenly found their marriages couldn't stand the strain of being locked down constantly. We grimaced on hearing it then, thinking it was very far fetched for us since we're usually together anyway.

But now we know and we're on our guard.

Why Racism Doesn't Go Away

My group of tai chi friends have been texting each other to help ourselves get through these trying times. I got the following text from my friend, Myra and she gave me permission to post her message.

Kay,

That was such a shockingly informative (to us Hawaiians) blog last Tuesday, "Understanding the Anger." You are so right!  As part of the majority here (Asian Americans) in Hawaii, we do not experience the horrible experiences that are the daily lives of African Americans.  And to think that they just have to accept and live with this kind of unthinking, illogical and just plain wrong prejudices and biases!  It is so sad!!!

I remember years ago when Cal and I were on a Circle-USA tour with a group of locals. We stopped by for lunch at a Pizza Hut in rural Virginia (near Williamsburg). The servers refused to clear our table.  So we all just sat and waited for our table to be cleared and menus to be brought.  After a long wait and no service, Cal and I walked out to go to McDonald's close by. Eventually we were joined by the rest of our group, who said the waitresses refused to serve them.  As they got up to leave, many of the patrons there made nasty cat calls at them. 

Then, as we waited in line at McDonald's, one boy (around 10-11 years old) who was in front of me turned around and glared at me with the most "stink eye" look, which scared me, never having experienced that type of blatant, in-your-face prejudice!!  Made me vow to myself that I would NEVER live in or visit the South again! 

So we are fortunate to live here in Hawaii, yeah?  But we are also insulated and thus are naive as to what African Americans (and Latino Americans and now Muslims) experience daily!  

Such a sad commentary on the why's and how's of children growing up so open and accepting when they are young and somewhere along the way having these terrible prejudicial biases becoming ingrained.  Exactly what you mentioned, Kay, in your blog!

Art and I lived in a more liberal area of Chicagoland, but we still managed to see racism lift its ugly head even there.

With all this going on, you have to remember that the majority of people we encountered were absolutely wonderful. We will always be grateful for the love, understanding and true friendship we found there.

But it only took those occasional instances of bigotry that could put a damper on your day.

It's one reason I really avoided traveling south in the U.S.

I was afraid.

I didn't want to chance what we might find there. Granted, we did go to Williamsburg several times and had an enriching experience. We also went to New Orleans and loved our experiences, but was told by a local person that so long as we stayed in the tourist areas, we'd be OK.

And why do we still see such hateful racism? Why do we still have the south celebrating the confederacy and all it stood for (because it wasn't state's rights)?

It's because it is taught by parents and environment. This video from South Pacific has John Kerr singing "You Have to Be Carefully Taught."

And yet, this hatred and evil can be countered by schools, churches, and government. Kindness and love can also be taught, if not in the home, then by others. Unfortunately, this isn't always done so racism proliferates. Right now, love and kindness isn't happening from the top of our government.

But again.... I'm remembering all the amazing, loving people I've met around the U.S. who have been absolutely wonderful to us. They are there everywhere.

And that is what gives me hope.

Thank you, Myra.

Kauai Cousins

It was such a long time ago. It was the first time my brother and I left Oahu for another island. My grandmother had decided to take my brother and me to visit with our aunt, uncle and cousins on Kauai. My aunt was my father's younger sister. I remember her as a straight talking, fun loving auntie who I always felt a connection to because she was always honest with me.

We lost my cousin, Peter several years ago to leukemia.

All three Kauai cousins grew up to be very accomplished people who their parents were proud of.

I didn't get to reconnect with Lorna and Holly until the advent of the Internet and email/texting.

I loved spending time again with them when we visited with our daughter and her family a few years ago.

And now...

Both Lorna and Holly are also making masks so we were/are constantly detailing our progress with each other. And since we are also of the same political bent, we can often commiserate with each other.

But when I think of Lorna and Holly, I also remember my grandmother who took us on our first adventure. I remember the wet and dry caves, Waimea Canyon, eating pipipi (tiny black snails that cling to ocean rocks), playing with my cousins, etc.

And I'm so grateful for the technology that allows us to once more connect and bolster each others' spirits as we trudge through these stressful days until a vaccine can be created.