Ronny

 Ah yes,

A time to sit still and reflect on everything and absolutely nothing. Peace and quiet, light and darkness, a time to meditate for a while. I can’t afford it yet, but after I have finished some of my projects, I will create that time in my day. Right now, I am taking  time for daily exercises to promote knee health and back strength, together with some yoga poses. And it works, early in the morning, thanks to the  caregivers I have during the week.

Time out this week came as a wonderful break. Two of my friends from Waltonwood, where we used to live, invited me for breakfast yesterday. It was so enjoyable to see them again and to have pancakes with blueberries and coffee in a Cary coffeeshop and talk. Afterwards I made a stop at Trader Joe’s, always for fresh flowers and groceries, and I made it home before the caregiver left for the day.

Wednesday ruckus

Wednesday is gardener day. They come around for about two hours with mowers and blowers and make a lot of noise. Lani goes crazy and can’t stop barking, and Mike goes crazy and can’t stop yelling. I attended a zoom meeting with the dog training company I subscribe to, and they sent an article on how to stop your dog from barking at noise, at strangers passing the window and ringing the bell. Train her with special treats and the word “quiet”. Well, I got special treats, freeze-dried raw chicken breast, and went to work at her first barking session. Lani devoured the treats, which I started to throw on the floor after she almost bit in my fingers. She loved the treats, but got right back to her barking, then back again to the treats. The result was that she did not eat breakfast or dinner. I still have the treats in a jar close to me, but I don’t go to her when she barks, I call “quiet ” and throw her a treat when she comes.

I decided to send her to a day care place and found a very nice lady with a large fenced yard, living in the next neighborhood, willing to take her on “gardener day”. Lani and I met with her and I hope this will be an arrangement for a while that we both like. I found her through a company named Rover, through which I also found our dog walker. Monica still walks Lani in the early mornings for half an hour, and I have taken over the evening walks. I love being outside again and my knee is doing well.

Next for me are another blood draw and doctor’s visit for my six month checkup. I need more protein and eat fewer bananas; not hard to do with links to Amazon protein foods that our daughter-in-law sent me. Can’t wait to try some. It is not easy to get on a “safe, healthy diet” since I don’t cook dinner anymore but am depending on restaurants and our local chef. Mike is lucky in that he can eat anything and does not gain weight. I must admit that he does not like snacks; except for an occasional stroopwafel and the krupuk (shrimp snacks) that I serve when I cook nasi goreng occasionally. I can’t resist that, especially because there are no Indonesian restaurants anywhere in this area.

At this time I looked at the clock and decided it was time to go to the kitchen, so Time out!

Until next time,

Ronny

Exciting news from the next generations

While not many exciting things are happening in our lives at 86 and 84 years old, we are enjoying the
adventures of the second and third generation, near and far. Our oldest grandson, in California will be
rowing the Head of the Charles again in Boston with his team next weekend. He was invited six years ago,
while still in High School, and this may be his final year, with the Varsity from SBSU, in a boat of four.
The Head of the Charles is the world’s largest 3-day rowing competition held annually in October, in Boston,
Massachusetts, attracting 400,000 spectators, 11,000 competitors and 2400 volunteers.

His sister was invited to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York with her high school choir earlier this spring. She is touring colleges for a selection in 2025.

Another grandson, here in Apex, took his Dad up for a two hour flight in a single engine airplane. And that while he is only 18 years old! He graduated high school early, in January, and got his Private Pilot’s license five months later. He has been flying many hours with an instructor and is close to getting his next license: Instrument Flying. We saw a video of one of the training sessions, where he flew in dense fog, when suddenly the runway came into view and he landed the plane carefully. Amazing!

What a day!

From 6:00 a.m., when I got up, until just now, my day has been filled with calls and texts to doctors and  pharmacies, to schedule appointments, correct medication doses and refills. The Physical Therapist came for Mike, and I got nothing else done. On a day like this I opt for Chick-Fil-A with a kale salad for dinner with a frosted lemonade, nothing to thaw or cook, just take out of the bag and serve.

After a 6 hour night plus a 2 hour nap, I am now only able to serve ice cream. Then start the going-to-bed routine  at 8:30 to make it before the garden lights go out at 10:00. Ah! what joy to live in our own home in this wonderfully quiet neighborhood and be totally independent!

All is well with my soul.

And that’s a wrap!

Until soon,

Ronny

Walmart

When we lived in Prescott, Arizona, I used to shop at Walmart a lot. They had everything and I knew my
way around. I bought a pair of beautiful sunglasses there once, that were indestructible. I had them for
years. So when, some twenty years later in North Carolina, the frame broke after putting it in my purse too
many times, the best thing I knew to do was find a Walmart in Apex and see if I could find a nice pair of
glasses to replace the broken ones. I could not believe that there, on the rack, were two identical pairs of
sunglasses, just like the one that broke. For many years, I would have bought both pairs – just in case:
a remainder of the war, when there was never enough of anything. But this time, I resisted the temptation,
trusting there would always be another pair of sunglasses at Walmart.

Pumpkins

Last week, going to Trader Joe’s in Cary, I walked into large containers of pumpkins! They looked so inviting that I could not resist the temptation (there are many temptations in my life!) and I bought two large ones,
one of them a gift for the neighbors, and three small ones to decorate the coffee table with.

When the kids were little, we would carve the pumpkins. Now, I decided to draw a face on the big one in the front porch. That was fun. And to complete a nice entrance, Stephanie brought us a lovely fall wreath.
She makes those in her home and ships them all over the country. I have several that she made for different occasions during the year. If you are interested in seeing her beautiful collections, this is her website: http://www.welcomewreath.com.

We have a glass storm door in the front, and I don’t want to obscure any light coming in by a wreath. So our wreaths are hanging on the side wall.

Heating

Overnight, the wonderful, balmy temperatures dropped down to the forties. An early morning call to the heating company resulted in a technician coming around 10:00 am. He checked the furnace and reset the thermostat, so that we now have comforting heat all around. The days are still sunny, but down to the sixties. Tomorrow morning there is “Coffee at the Club”, a monthly opportunity to meet people in the neighborhood.

And that’s a wrap!

Until soon,

Ronny 

Sweltering heat no more!

The air conditioning was fixed, but it will not be needed for long: A full day of rain caused by Ophelia, the storm that blew right onto the North Carolinas, brought cooler temperatures. And September 23 was the first day of Fall!

Meniscal tear update

Last Monday, after eight weeks of physical therapy with a great guy, my non-surgeon took 25cc of yellow fluid out of my knee and injected some pain reliever. The next day I was on Cloud Nine: no pain in my knee at any time. I was delighted that I could walk Lani at night, half a mile, and I walked her again on Tuesday night. Wednesday morning was the first time that I had to put on a jacket and a scarf. From now on I hope to be able to walk her again in the evenings. In the mornings Mike needs me and I can’t just leave him in bed for too long. We are early risers, I get up at 6 a.m. and Mike at 7.

Dinners

Last week we had some delicious dinners from several restaurants: Turkish Tzatziki Chicken and a Vietnamese spicy lemongrass dish with tofu. Both so delicious that I have ordered them twice in two weeks. Tofu, in Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese dinners is a delicious, healthy alternative to chicken, and we try to limit eating a lot of red meat.

Flu shots and Covid tests  

We both got our flu shots at the pharmacy last week. The Pharmacist came out to the car to give Mike his shot, so Mike wouldn’t have to come in. The new Covid shots will be available in October, and we are on the list. Then, we also heard that 4 new do-it-at-home Covid tests are available free of charge. We have a box full of free Covid tests in the closet, but I heard for the first time that they have an expiration date, that expiration dates have been extended, and that there is a list of extended test expiration dates you can check. So that is another project: check all the tests we already have and see when their expiration dates really expire! They say that it is now clear that every year, together with our flu shot, we should also expect to get a Covid shot. If you get them at the same time, do them at different arms, is what my doctor advised.

I also heard that it is better to get your annual flu shots always in the same arm. Why? Because they then go to the same lymph nodes each time and you will build up better immunity that way.  And so we strive to go into fall and winter healthy, and always happy and thankful for the blessings we receive daily.

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time,

Ronny

A Makeover

A good friend has a business in makeup and asked if I was interested in a Makeover. Well, of course, any time! She wanted me to take a selfie of my face without any makeup in natural light and send it to her. I’m sure that everyone has taken many selfies, but this was my first one. Ha! It is surely not a picture to put on my website! Since my acting days are over, I have never used stage makeup anymore, but rather like the natural look with a little less makeup. So I was very curious how the Seint beauty products would give me a natural, but more beautiful look. The session with my friend was fun, the products I ordered are on their way, and in a few days I will proudly be able to wear my Hawaiian name Makalani again. Perhaps then I will take another selfie to show you the results 🙂

Back to the basics

Since I twisted my knee and tore the meniscus last June, I have not had much exercise, and I miss it. So I just set up a daily schedule for myself to get into the swing of things again: a goal that must be attainable. PT three mornings a week, dog walks two evenings a week, and two times a session of exercises for core and back on my yoga mat. Starting today: I’m looking forward to it. I did sign up  for a month of chair yoga on the computer, but found out that’s not for me. I prefer to go down on the mat.

Blackout: sweltering heat!

Two days ago, we had a short blackout, which threw off the computer. I got that started again, but I am afraid it disabled the thermostat. Two nights ago, it felt very warm, and indeed, it was 74 degrees when I got up instead of 60. Yet it showed that the cool air was running according to schedule. Well, 74 is ok as a daytime temperature, so I did not think about any possible problem. But at night, it was 77, then 78, and so I turned on the ceiling fan in order to be able to sleep. At 1:15 a.m., when I woke up, I shut the whole system down and opened the sliding door to the patio, because Alexa told me that it was 72 outside, and it was 79 inside. Today, Tuesday afternoon, it went up to 81 (27 C for my Dutch readers). When I found out that none of the fuses was off, I called an HVAC company and they promised they would come out today. But the day is almost over!

Coffee hour at the Club

We were lucky that today, the second Tuesday of the month, we could go to the coffee hour at the Club and be in a cool room with neighbors to talk to and delicious treats to eat with our coffee. Tomorrow morning, after PT, I will go to the pool again. It’s a funny thought: the pool water is right now 82 degrees, and it feels wonderfully cool. The house is up to 82 degrees as well, but it is stifling.

Dog training

Because Lani’s daily barking at everybody that comes by the window, and at every delivery, and at the gardeners on Wednesday was finally working on our nerves, and talking to her did not help a bit, I went on Amazon and found an NPS dog training device that has rave reviews. It came the same day. After charging and watching the training video, I have great expectations about the results.

Dinner’s coming

My Chef can be here any minute with dinner: a shrimp cacciatore for Mike and chicken cacciatore for me; with vegetables and desserts. Aren’t we lucky to have a Chef just around the corner in the next street, who cooks dinner for our neighborhood twice a week? We are truly counting our blessings!

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time,

Ronny

Labor Day Weekend

It was a hard labor week: days without caregivers, a visit to the dermatologist in Cary, always a hassle. But there were many positives: the clock repair man came to the house to do the bi-annual clock maintenance, the dermatologist prescribed a new medication for Mike, and the new physical therapist visited twice.

The weekend was memorable! I made time for myself and read and finished a great book. Because I was pain free one whole day, I had so much energy that I made nasi goreng for dinner one night and nasi with saté ajam and green beens another night! Our friend’s grandson came over and – although he said he had never done this before – he took all the weeds out of the border, so it looks beautiful. Perhaps he will get other job offers now: the neighbor across the lawn was also interested.

A Dentist’s visit

Not the same as a visit to the dentist! This dentist came to the house and gave Mike a professional cleaning plus x-rays while he sat in his own comfortable recliner.  He mentioned that he also visits people in Waltonwood and other retirement places. We knew about that, but in those days we still had a dentist in town and moving around was not as difficult for Mike. Four years can make a great difference when you are 85!

Two evenings I took Lani out for a half mile walk, and it went reasonably well. Our dog walker was out of town and her sister took over in the mornings. I am less and less thinking about that knee, and moving around without pain is wonderful. From now on, I will appreciate every day that I can walk on both legs; I will not take it for granted as before. You think you are invincible, but slowly but surely, when you are in your eighties, body parts wear out. It happened to me. Just my knee though, the rest is still in optima forma. 🙂

At the end of the month the pool will be closed. So yesterday, I put on my suit and UV protective long sleeve shirt and went to the pool down the street to do some water exercises. No swimming yet. The water temperature was 85.5 degrees, just wonderful. Three other residents joined me after fifteen minutes, nice to get to know them.

Trying to save my Cat Palm

It was beautiful when I got it, but I put it in the wrong place and gave it the wrong fertilizer. Poor thing. One by one the fronds turned brown. After I had moved it too my office, the wonderful sunny room, and it got some morning sun, new fronds sprouted out. And today, before it got too hot outside (98 degrees) I repotted it and cut off all the old stuff. It does not look good yet, but where there is life, there is hope, and I will try to get it nice and green again.

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time, stay well.

Ronny

An impromptu dessert birthday party

Mike’s 86th birthday started with a lot of surprises. When I opened the front door, there was a box with six fresh donuts. Ten minutes later, somebody brought two bouquets of flowers, a delicious cheesecake dessert for two, an apple pie, a chocolate bar and a small balloon. Dennis and Stephanie brought us a delicious lunch from Chick-fil-A, and the next-door neighbor brought a container of frozen custard.

My thoughts: Let’s share, let’s have a party! I made three phone calls, and five guests appeared at 7 o’clock on our doorstep. The apple pie was delicious with the frozen custard on top, and we also had chocolate oatmeal cookies, and chocolate Oreo cookie balls, leftover in the freezer from the time our grandson made them during his visit.

An hour and 45 minutes later the guests had left, there was very little to clean up in the kitchen, and we sat and reflected for a while on a wonderful evening.

Physical Therapy

It’s going well! I have a great therapist, five minutes from the house, who does special strengthening exercises with me for left knee and hip. On Monday, I will see the surgeon again and hopefully, when he sees my improvement, he will prescribe more physical therapy and forget about surgery. Ultimately, my goal is to walk again without pain, and not just around the house, but three miles a day with the dog.

Because Mike would also benefit from physical therapy, but it is difficult for him to go places, I looked for outpatient therapy services. Online, I found a company by the name of LUNA, that does just that. I called them yesterday, and already today a very sweet therapist came for an evaluation. She will come back twice a week. The company also gets in touch with Mike’s Primary Care Provider and they will bill Medicare. If I had known it was this easy, I would have started looking  earlier.

Lani

The day before Mike’s birthday, Lani turned five. It is amazing to watch her mature and change her likes and dislikes. When we still lived in Cary, she slept in the sunroom, separated from the living room by a half wall, and closed off for the night by a 24″ high little gate. She never attempted to jump the gate, although she could jump on the loveseat and in our laps. One night, she did not want to sleep there anymore. when I tried to force her, she almost bit me. I bought her a little basket that fit under my vanity in the bedroom. She loved it. For almost two years. Then, just around the day she turned five, she jumped on our bed. Try as we might, she would jump off and right back on when the lights were off. And that’s how it stayed for two weeks now. She sleeps at the foot end of our bed on top of the bedspread between our (moving) legs, until the birds start singing in the living room: that is our alarm, singing birds: time to get up, 6 a.m. Our dog walker Monica will stay on until my meniscus has healed enough that I can walk any distance with Lani. It’s been two months since the injury, and going well.

Labor Day

Everyone is excited with the long weekend, the end of summer and start of fall. Some of the plants in the patio border are blooming again, and I desperately need someone to do some weeding for me as long as I can’t squat down yet. Perhaps the neighbor’s grandson will be interested in earning a little money. Where has the time gone that my sister Paula and I were happy picking up snails for 1 cent a piece? We got buckets full of them, at least once a week. That was after the war, in our yard in Surabaya. A few years before that, during the last war year in the Halmahera camp, we ate them, if we could find any before our neighbors did.

Anyway, I’m wishing you a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Stay safe if you are traveling!

Until next time,

Ronny

Presentation Preparation 

Checking information in my books to talk about on August 14, I came across this book review of Anguished, the only book that has nothing to do with WWII in the Pacific. Did you read it?

Book Review on 11/22/2020 by Steve Daws, Cary NC

I read Anguished in one sitting.  The suspense overwhelmed me.  Here is a lovely story about a devoted daughter, living in America, and sorting out how to be engaged with her aging mother who was a resident of a senior living home in the Netherlands.  For more about the author and her mother’s life relationship and sheer survival,  one must read Herman de Jong’s Rising from the Shadow of the Sun depicting this family’s horrendous experience stranded in Java when the Japanese invaded during WWII.  Her mother was quite the hero and thanks to her wise, sometimes risky decisions, she kept her two daughters alive somehow, against great odds… The author is pure as pure can be, her intentions to be part of her mother’s final months.  But the plot thickens when another family member sabotages the author.  I am glad to report a happy ending, but I was on the edge of my seat throughout.

In these modern times, families are often scattered geographically.  In this case, scattered across two continents.  The reader may well relate to the struggles many families  dealing with distance, imperfect technology, aging parents and other relatives, and maintaining relationships.  These are emotional struggles, full of complexity, expense, time, travel, and  not to mention managing relationships with siblings who may or may not concur one’s belief systems about what is best for our aging parents.   This author has demonstrated throughout her life, depicted in her books,  persistence, courage, wisdom, and striving to do the right thing.

August 14: Power Point Presentation in Orchard Villas

I captured the full attention of my audience, mostly neighbors and friends, for the hour long presentation. It felt so good to share information about my early years in the concentration camps and historical events, including the Bersiap, that nobody had heard of before. It was one of my best presentations. The two books that I donated to the Club’s library were checked out before we had cleaned up.

Kona Village restored!

This was the resort on the west coast of the Big Island that was our favorite destination for celebrations when we lived in Onomea on the east coast. We stayed in several “hales” over the years, and payed “kama’aina” rates, special low rates for people who lived there. How we enjoyed that place! So many memories! It was destroyed by an underwater earthquake nearby, and just now reopened, with many new amenities: only affordable by the rich and famous. I hope you will read the article, and any reviews you can find, to agree with us that it

Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort

And with these two gorgeous pictures, I say: Until next time!

Ronny

It’s National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

…said our daughter-in-law when she walked in this morning with a bowl of cookie dough and proceeded to bake cookies in our oven. At the same time, Dennis took me to the Club, where we had a final meeting with the two techies to prepare for my presentation on Monday, August 14. The Club has a TV screen, but no internet. After two sessions with laptops and cords, and no good results last week, Dennis brought his laptop and made it all work – after he had uploaded (or downloaded) my Power Point presentation to his laptop. He took out the trailer, which I am going to show separately on YouTube. Great to know that Dennis will be there to set things up, after which he will sit down with Mike to watch the show.

When we came home from the Club an hour later, the cookies were ready, and there are so many, that I have prepared two little plates for our two neighbors, who often share things with us. One neighbor bakes scones, the other one brings a delicious white chocolate cinnamon swirl loaf whenever she goes to her hairdresser in Raleigh. There is a bakery that bakes these loaves only on Fridays, and a warm slice with butter for breakfast is a treat.

Skechers Slip-ins!

I had seen the wonderful commercials on TV so many times, that I decided those would be wonderful for me, to use as house shoes, more supportive than slippers or sandals, and no shoe laces to tie. To find them on Amazon was too complicated, because I did not really know what I was looking for, but I found a Sketchers store in Cary, and selected a pair from hundreds of others, not all slip-ins though. What a find these are! They are so comfortable in fact, that I forget to take them off when I go outside. Our granddaughter, when she was here two weeks ago, brought me another pair, ones that she had outgrown, so I can wear those in bad weather outside. Since I now know what to look for on Amazon, I ordered a pair for Mike, to replace his moccasins. Three pairs came two days ago (try-before-you-buy for one week) and Mike made a choice at first sight. To get them on, after wearing only moccasins, was difficult at first, but to my delight it’s getting better. His feet are better supported, which makes for better balance, no more using his (or mine) middle finger to put the heel in, no laces to tie, and they look great. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Mike will get to like them as much as I do.

Amazing Facts about Bees

Physical Therapy

Finished the second week (of six) of PT and am feeling very happy! With only two Advils in the morning, I can walk all day without pain, and I only use my new walker for convenience, to carry multiple things from here to there. Just before Labor Day, the surgeon will see me again and I am confident that he will decide I do not need surgery. At that time, I will keep my dog walker for a while for the early morning walks, because there is so much to do in the morning, and I will take back the evening walks with Lani, leisurely, building up to full length walks. Where a month ago my Fitbit showed a total of about 800 steps a day, the last two days I made 2000 steps, and that is almost a mile. Getting there, one step at a time!

Downsizing= Finding a good home for my treasures.

The ipu that I made when I was dancing with Halau Hula Napuaokalei’ilima (Arizonahula.com) in Prescott, had been sitting in the closet ever since my last hula performances at Waltonwood. I realized that, after a torn meniscus, I should really not dance anymore. And so I offered my ipu on the Hawaiian Club on Facebook. Two people responded, and one of them, hailing from Oahu some nine years ago, came to pick it up. He also happily accepted three heavy seed leis, and to thank me he sent me a bottle of his Chili Pepper Water (Hawaiian Hot Sauce) he is specializing in. I already used it on a spinach quiche and on a fried rice dinner, and it is delicious. Thank you Kimo!

And that’s a wrap!

Until next time,

Ronny

Great News: No Surgery!

Last week, I had an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. He showed me images of the results of the recent MRI of my knee, and explained the procedures of an arthroscopic surgery. That was much less invasive than I was mentally prepared for. It sounded so good, actually, that I almost said, ‘ok, let’s go for it.’ But then he gave me the choice: because I have no arthritis in my knee, 6 weeks of physical therapy would probably be sufficient to get me well again. So I chose for no surgery! It was such a relief that we went to Trader Joe’s to get flowers to celebrate.

A Treasured Family Visit

Ten wonderful days of family visits flew by. Our daughter with her two kids visited from Canada. They had rented an Air B&B and came over daily for games, cooking delicious treats and dinners, weeding the patio borders, taking Lani out for brief walks, shopping, visits to the neighborhood pool, and much more. I went with them to the pool, and sat on the steps, under water to my shoulders, moving my leg back and forth. Wonderfully cool! On Sunday, they flew back and landed safely back home.

Physical Therapy

I found a great therapist, four minutes from home and had my first session yesterday. He predicted I would be able to get rid of my walker soon. The blue walker I got on Amazon is great. Lightweight, with four wheels, a sturdy seat that covers a basket to carry things in, and easily foldable to put in the car. When I don’t need it anymore, I will store it in our big garage; because you never know if and when I will need it again :-).

Blessings

After therapy yesterday, I needed to drop off an Amazon package at the UPS store nearby. When I got there, I decided it would be too much of a hassle to get the walker out or the car and put it back in for the short distance to the door, so I took the package in one hand, my cell phone with the QR code in the other, gingerly got out of the car and closed the door. Very slowly, step by step, I walked to the entrance of the UPS store. An employee in an UPS uniform put out her cigarette in a large planter and walked to the door from the other side. When she saw me, she asked if I had a return. She then took the package and my cell phone, opened the door for me, bypassed the line of other customers in the store, got around the counter, processed my return and handed me back my phone with a receipt. Then she walked around again and opened the door to let me out. I am still emotional when I think back to it, both because somebody went out of her way to help me when she saw my need, and because I had never needed help like that before.

Books

Because I will continue to be very careful not to burden my left leg, and will sit down with my feet up as much as possible, I had time to read! I have read two books on my Kindle. The next one I will be reading is an actual paper copy of a book that was printed in 1929. It was a gift from an unknown giver, who left a sticky note with the words that he saw me once at Bucky’s Casino, hoped I had hit the jackpot, and that Angelina Jolie would produce a movie of my book. He signed with “a friend”. I have not read it yet, but it is on the table. The introduction is by Hendrik Willem van Loon, my father’s favorite author. The friend must be from Prescott, in his nineties, and must have known I studied at Leiden University. One of the first chapters is about Leiden University.

I have one friend that could have given me this precious book, who wrote two newspaper columns about me, and will ask him again if he did. He denied it earlier. As I am writing this I have another idea. Perhaps the giver is the daughter of a WWII veteran I met in Prescott: a book from her father’s library. Fess up friend! I want to thank you!

And that’s a wrap! Sooner than I expected!

Until next time,

Ronny