Quincie Hamby

Having fun during the stressful holidays is the magic to everything. The pedicure party was one of these moments that people will remember. We “cut a caper” last night!

Mary Howard and Dobie

Just got back from Cypress Restaurant in Tallahassee, FL. I loved the wine, but the food was exceptional! We had a crab appetizer, broil salmon and lima bean, pork belly and sweet potatoes, veal and grits and then a raspberry jelly roll and toffee. Yum, Yummy. All is right in my world. Not to forget Hugh Hamilton’s finest wines; unoaked chardonnay, shiraz and a cab…divine. Life is good even though not perfect. I have to take deep breaths all the time….

Having made it through the summer and on reflection of those stressful months, I developed a stronger business tactic which forces me to work even harder. I made my findings from brass wire and loved the end result! The thing that I’m most excited about is that I applied for an import/export license from Fish and Game and received it the other day. This license will allow me to buy supplies directly from China, so I can delete the middle person that I’ve been buying from in the past. It’s a huge one for me!

I’ve also pumped up my exercise regime to working out with my personal trainer 3 days a week, which seems difficult to do with so much to do, but has helped reduce the stress that I carry around. Finally, I’m doing a detox and I’m loving the results. Watch out Tallahassee, I’m ready for the Autumn season!

Mom and I went to the Honolulu Academy of Arts exhibit of Charles Bartlett’s woodblock prints. He traveled throughout Hawaii, China, Japan and India and the Academy exhibited work that he did in every country.

We had dinner with Collin and he’s so much fun. Such a sunny disposition. We grilled steaks and Collin and I made a homemade mango ice cream.

Mom’s good today. After breakfast we’re headed to Koko Head Crater to walk around the plumeria (Frangipani) grove. For breakfast I had a papaya with fresh squeezed a fresh lime juice, coffee and a hard boiled egg. Eating the Solo papaya in lime juice was like tasting a little piece of heaven.

Only thing left of today is the beauty of the islands as seen in the flowers.

Mom got sick today. I guess it was the anticipation of my arrival and she had a sibling call today and depress her. Oh well, I didn’t push her out the door. I played around the house until I couldn’t stand it! I went to blockbusters and got movies. I thought that we’d continue on our Meryl Streep/Amy Adams fun with Doubt, and then only Amy Adams with Shopaholic and Miss Pettigrew lives for a day. I then went shopping a the local Times supermarket. I’m still on a search for Okra. I’ve included some photos at the market. My lunch was Tako Poke (octopus), seaweed salad (not pictured) and edamame(not pictured). The mangos are excellent and I can buy enough for all of you.

I haven’t visited Honolulu since my trip with my sister, Barbara in March. I heard that Whole Foods opened and I wanted to show Mom an alternative shopping experience, so we went to Whole Foods at the Kahala Mall. Sorry Kukua Market, it’s for Mom. We were on a search for staples; melatonin, cranberry concentrate, some essential oils and okra. Found the first three, but okra is still on our list. I promised Mom that I would grill okra and teriyaki chicken for dinner. Oh well, the search is still on. We went to the movie at Ward Warehouse after our shopping. They had a “local kine” lunch wagon in the movie parking lot and the food choices looked ono. So, I ordered laulau chicken which is dark chicken wrapped in taro leaves that is wrapped in ti leaves and traditionally baked in a charcoal pit. I also had a huge scoop of white rice (traditional for Hawaii plate lunch, but I didn’t eat – my Mom as my witness and she’s a tough witness) and ahi poki with a small square of haupia custard. Oh, well I can’t tell you how delicious that lunch was. As they say in Hawaii, ono grinds. We walked around the Ward Warehouse for awhile and then went and saw “Julia and Julie”. What a fun movie, perfect to see with Mom, clean fun had by all. We came home and changed clothes. I grilled the teriyaki chicken without the okra and made a perfect salad and we watched “pride and prejudice”, twice. Sorry Mom. I worked on jewelry and we made until 10:00 p.m. and then I gave us a 5mg melatonin and we both slept peacefully all night.

I finally arrived in Hawaii on Tues., not Monday which was scheduled. It seems as though tropical depression Claudette had other plans for the Atlanta airport on Monday morning by shutting it down at the time of my connection. I had a delightful stay in Atlanta and Charles and Beverly took me to see “District 9″, which I’ve been wanting to see. Beverly walked out and Charles kept telling me that I owed him one! I loved the movie and could see it developing into a cult film, but also a trend that we’ll see in a lot of movies. Charles did order prawns at the Thai restaurant, but I wasn’t quite a brave enough to go there. A Fun evening was had by everyone. I got to the airport the next morning and finally made it to Hawaii on Tues. afternoon. Mom was waiting with a beautiful flower lei (plumerias and orchids) and her love. As always, she said that she wished that time would stop right then and as always it never does. We had a talked that night about all my siblings and other connected people and exhausted ourselves with conversation. I had a white guava for dinner that was delicious and my Mom had an apple. We we’re both too tired to do anything else and that was my first short day/night in the land where palm trees sway.