Skip to main content

THE GOOD LIFE AT 15 CRAIGSIDE

I of course celebrate St. Patrick's Day, for, after all, how many have a day named after you?  Here is what I will eat and imbibe for my major meal today.
I've had numerous postings of this day, and here is one:  Everything You Need to Know about St. Patrick's Day. You ask, why is St. Patrick's Day observed in America, and the answer goes back to when the Irish people came here to help found Boston and New York City.  The first parade was held in Manhattan in 1762.  In the early days of Ireland, Celtic charms of four-leaf clovers offered magical protection.  Did you know that four leaves are really rare?  Only ONE in 10,000.
Did you know that the political leaders of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland make an annual pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. on March 17?  This has happened for a century or so because the USA has had a positive influence over the politics of Ireland since the split occurred.  Here is Biden making remarks today.

If you regularly visit this blog site, you know that I live in a retirement community with around 200 residents.  20 of them pass away annually, so people come and go.  And we do get old, which is why I just got hearing aids.
There is security, comfort and good food.  Three times a day for the rest of my life.  However, I've only had around 20% of meals we are served, this St. Patrick's Day as a good example of my wanting something extra.   I come down to the dining room only four times/week, at dinner tables with specific residents.  Plus, perhaps, a lunch, as for example, just before our Photo Club gathering at the first Sunday of the month.  Here, Scott Kubo, our mentor from the Honolulu Museum of Art.

The gathering featured a review of photo contests.  On the first slide I noticed this somewhat colorful image below the screen.

So I went up and took this photo.  The window behind the screen was stained glass, and the sunlight showed this pattern.

Our dinner tables feature mostly wines, usually red.

People bring appetizers.  Here, roast duck with David and Steve.
I might add that these two, with Charlene are leading the effort to educate the residents about falling, as will later be mentioned.  Those red roses were from March 1, and as of today, they still look good.
We usually eat in my apartment, and splurge on otoru, foie gras, caviar and so forth, with a range of beverages.
Noticed a Gold Tree blooming a short walk away from 15 Craigside.
We have an abundance of rainbows here.
We are visited by the season.  Lion dance for Chinese New Year.
Another dinner with Gau Gee, Dexter, Violet and Steve.
Another wine night.
We sometimes skip to scotch.
A not so healthy Hawaiian luau in my room because of the high sodium content.  The chef rightfully tries to minimize salt in his efforts.
But a nutritious Oriental meal.
Kupuna Aikido has to do with teaching residents to fall properly.  At our age it is much more dangerous just to walk than to ride in a car.  Various other courses are regularly held on balance, coordination, and strength, leading to various Tai Chi classes.  The next phase will be on how to prevent injury when you fall.  So we had a long session on this subject.  David, Steve and Charlene are the first to take this course, and the plan is to educate the rest of the residents.  We had an introductory session, Kupuna Aikido with the instructors.

Then for the St. Patrick's Day weekend, we had a special cocktail hour featuring corned beef, Guinness beer, San Simeon wine and a Bailey's dessert.
Monarch butterflies are approaching extinction due to climate change and habitat loss.  At 15 Craigside we are doing a bit to help by planting crown flowers, food for the butterflies.  Here is a display.
I've had a calamansi tree on my lanai now for several years.  The latest crop show from 50 to 75 more fruits to come.

Tropical Cyclone Megan is just about making landfall over Australia at around 100 MPH.  However, don't recognize any cities.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THE ENIGMATIC PHIL SPECTOR

The first presidential debate of Donald Trump and Joe Biden ended up in a near tie.  Both lost.  However, it was an unmitigated disaster for Biden, who just might be too old to win this re-election. For Trump, it was a reinforcement of what he does all the the time, lie.   There will be significant calls for the Democratic Party to work out "something" to replace Biden as their presidential candidate.  Suddenly, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom and Michelle Obama are added to the spotlight.  But what can "legally" occur at the August Democratic Convention? The situation is different on the Republican side, as Trump is the Republican Party, and no matter if he gets 4 years at his felony sentencing on July 9, or even if the Supreme Court determines he is not immune next week or later, he will be the presidential candidate. Trump is a damned boastful liar and convicted felon, but that is the only option for Republicans.  His vice-presidential choice now become...

THE TRUMP ENERGY PROGRAM

From  Time  magazine, I begin with a slew of Trump topics.  You can read the details. The unpopular Big Beautiful Bill is now in the House . The only truly effective anti-Trump person:  Elon Musk. The Trump Gaza ceasefire proposal . The July 4th Free American Anti-Trump Protest planned across the USA . This site began as a renewable energy and environment blog, and has evolved to just about any subject.  I try to keep Wednesdays for sci-tech, with perhaps a monthly focus on energy.  More recently, I've drawn from the  Energy Matters  info sent to me by the American Energy Society.  I'm inserting direct quotes this time to eliminate my predilections for more credibility. This service starts with some broad topics. - Fossil fuels: Helium is locked in a supply crunch, and prices are surging. - Renewables: Congress will probably pass new renewable fuel standards for 2026 and 2027. - Policy: President Trump is now focused on Califor...

OSAKA EXPO: Day One

Well, the day finally came for us to go to the Osaka Expo.  We were told ahead of time that the long walks would be fearful, giant lines will need to be tolerated just to get into the Expo, with those ocean breezes, it would really be cold, and so forth. Maybe it was pure luck, but we avoided all the above warnings  We had a grand day, and are looking forward to Sunday, our second day at the Expo.  So come along for an enjoyable ride. Our hotel is adjacent to the Tennoji Station, a very large one with several lines.  We upgraded our Suica card and caught the Misosuji red line towards Umeda. Transferred to the Chuo green line at the Hommachi Station.  This Osaka Metro train took us to the Yumeshima Station at the Expo site.   It was a very large mob leaving the train and heading to the entrance. Took only a few minutes to get to the entrance.  This mob was multiplied by at least a factor of  ten of those already waiting to enter.  However...