In 2010, we had to clean out my MIL's house to sell it. She has Alzheimer's and had to move into an assisted living facility. In the process of cleaning, I got her old Singer 301a sewing machine. I held on to it for a year trying to decide what to do with it. She was a very talented quilter and seamstress. She sewed all kinds of things for my two daughters from bean bags to pants. She sewed many Hawaiian quilts. She made us a queen sized Hawaiian quilt for our wedding present and it is on our bed to this day.

Since my FIL passed away, she stopped quilting and has not sewn an inch. I don't know how long her sewing machine was just sitting there and I did not try it to see if it worked.

I ended up trading in her machine and all it's many attachments for a Janome. I probably could have gotten more if I donated it and wrote it off on my taxes, but...oh well. I'm satisfied, Singers are not my favorite brand of machine. I'd be very sad if my Bernina ever died.

Anti-Candida Diet and Orca Bay

This is what I eat for breakfast every morning. It's the only thing I can eat on this Anti-Candida Elimination Diet. I started this diet in October or November of last year. Dr. Jason Uchida started me on the supplements very slowly because I was extremely sensitive to many things. I have just finished adding in my last supplement. Hooray! My next visit to Dr. Uchida is in two weeks...hopefully he'll tell me that I can start adding some foods back in because I am getting the desire to eat more things.

I have started a new quilt in November of last year. Bonnie Hunter had a mystery that started in November and ended in January...I think. Anyway, it is called "Orca Bay". Almost everyone who started the mystery finished it, except me. I am working on part 4. This is a picture of part 1. I will post the other parts later after I take pictures of them.

On My Walks

Since yesterday was the first nice day we had in a while, I went on a short walk. As I walk around the block, there is a Puakenikeni tree which almost always has blossoms on it. I love the smell of the blossoms.

Down the street from our house, lives a duck. One day after some rain, the duck was in the middle of the street. One of our neighbors was coming down the street, but the duck wouldn't move out of the way. He honked his horn and waited, but the duck just looked at his truck. He finally ended up going around the duck. It was pretty funny.

Reflections 2011 (Diets/Carolina Christmas)

 This is the sunset from Roy's Restaurant out in Hawaii Kai. We went there to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary in 2011. It was delicious! We had the house salad with butterfish. As we were eating the butterfish, we were looking for bones. It appeared that we had boneless butterfish. After we were done eating, we asked about it. They said someone picks out all the bones from the butterfish! What a job! As you can see, we had fresh fruits for dessert.

The little anthurium was our centerpiece and they gave us a gift certificate to return to eat there again. We were planning to go back in December, but both of us are on special diets and can only eat certain things. :-(

 As I mentioned in my last post, DH was diagnosed with prostate cancer and is now on an Anti-cancer diet from Dr. Jason Uchida, naturepathic physician. His diet consist of fresh fruits, veggies (raw), nuts, seeds and fish. He is also taking an arsenal of supplements! He needs to juice some of his fruits and veggies two to three times a day.

I am on an Anti-Candida elimination diet from the same naturepathic physician to get rid of some of my allergies and food sensitivities. I can't have any of the major allergens along with whatever I am allergic or sensitive to. I can eat turkey, fish or organic chicken. I am taking enzymes, probiotics and hypoallergenic vitamins. I still need to take two more things. Dr. Uchida said that this will take about one to three years. Lets hope this works. I'd love to be able to eat more things.

Remember this quilt? Carolina Christmas? Well, I was having some issues with it because my poinsettia blocks were about 1/2" smaller than the Christmas star blocks. I ended up putting a 1/2" border around the poinsettia blocks to make them the same size as the Christmas star blocks. Since that has been resolved, I've been able to sew the blocks together. I put on an inner border, started to put on the last border, then I found a small hole! Arrgh. Now I have to patch the hole. Well, that's where I am on this quilt. I don't think it wants to be made. lol. Well, I'll let you know when I patch it.

2011 Reflections (Footprints in the Sand)

This post is for Eleanor, my niece. My brother and his wife were in the process of moving back home from Arizona, when they lost her at six months. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. I am sad that I never was able to get to know her.

My DM tells me that my brother and his wife go to visit her weekly.

While we are on the topic of life changing events, DH was diagnosed with stage three prostate cancer this year. Fortunately, the scans showed that it had not spread to any of his major organs. He had his prostate removed in April and will have to have radiation, however, before radiation can be done. He had to have hernia repair surgery to prevent complications once radiation has begun. His hernia surgery was in October, so much of my year was spent taking care of DH. His radiation is scheduled to begin at the end of this month.

As a result of the surgeries, I can really see where the Lord has carried me through these challenging times. The poem "Footprints in the Sand" illustrates how I feel I was able to make it through this year. This battle with prostate cancer is not over yet, but I know the Lord will be with me in whatever 2012 holds.

Oregon Trip #2!

 It's been a long time since my last entry and so much has happened that I don't know where to start. The first picture is of the view on the way to visit my MIL at Oceanside Hawaii Assisted Living. She has been there for a year now.

The next two pictures are from our second trip to Oregon. to get DD#2 set up in her dorm room. This is the sunset from our room at The Grand Hotel in Salem. It was a very quick trip.

We ate at Marco Polo Global Restaurant where they have delicious gluten free food. I had the Sauteed Chicken Breast with brown rice. It was delicious!

The next two pictures are of omiyage that I made to take up to Oregon to give as gifts. Of course I have to include some sewing/crafty items in this post. :)

I got the tissue holder pattern from an internet group that I belong to. These were fast and easy to make.

I learned how to make the combination tissue holder zippered pouch from a class I took at Bernina.

CPK/Summer 2011

During the summer, I heard that CPK had gluten free items on their menu, so one day when we were at Ala Moana, I had to try the food there. This was their Waldorf Salad, a half-order, without nuts and cheese. I had the dressing on the side, of course. It tasted good, but it wasn't very filling and I got hungry a few hours after eating it. It was also pretty expensive. I would have tried the pizza, but I couldn't eat the whole pie by myself.
I recently heard that CPK removed their gluten free pizza from the menu due to cross-contamination issues. It's a good thing I didn't order the pizza. I don't think I'll be going back there anytime soon.

The next picture is of how the summer went for both DDs. It was the summer of removing wisdom teeth. Ouch!

I also discovered gluten free pizza at Down to Earth. It is the best gluten free pizza I've eaten. It soon became my weekly treat. I've had to stop this recently. I will explain about it in another post.

 I saw this quilt at the Hawaii Women's Expo. I almost ordered the kit for it, like I could make it (haha). I think my skills are not that well developed yet to make something like this...one day...one can dream right?

The last picture is of a big green lizard. It looks like it is a good six inches. I don't know what kind it is. This particular lizard lives at my voice teacher's house in Manoa. If you know what kind of lizard it is, please tell me. I would like to know.