pink dragon fruit (pataya)

Yesterday I was browsing the produce the dept. of the supermarket and saw this this amazing looking item that looked like flames from a "rock-a-billy" event. The sign said it was a "Dragon Fruit". How come I never heard of such a fruit? So I turned to ask the produce manager what it was, where it came from and what it taste like. 

The manager said the "dragon fruit" comes from Hawaii Island. It is a seasonal fruit that grows only 3 months out of the year. This particular "dragon fruit" is pink on the inside and looks and taste like kiwi. The manager said he would be right back with a sample to taste. So off he went and quickly returned with a freshly cut slice. So while he went to the back, I checked the fruit itself. The fruit was somewhat firm, but not hard on the outside. I thought it would have the hardness of a melon or artichoke with prickly tips. It wasn't the case. I could feel it had a softness to it. The sizes varied, which you could grab with the palm of your hand. It weighed about a pound. 

The manager comes back with a slice of the fruit so I can have a taste. The layer closest to the skin is a beautiful dark red color and the flesh itself looks like a fuschia kiwi fruit with tiny black seeds. It didn't have a taste at all, even though it's suppose to have a taste similar to that of a kiwi.

So with the nudging of my "hubby" to buy it and try, I did. Not the most cost effective, as it was $6.99 a pound. So in all it cost a little over $7. What the heck, you only live twice! So I went home and did my own taste test and a little bit of research.

The fruit was very easy to slice and the fruit comes away from the inner skin without any trouble. The taste of the fruit is really nothing that special. I thought it would have a unique flavor for such a beautiful fruit. It didn't taste like kiwi or any other fruit I could think of. It certainly is an aesthetically pleasing fruit, if you have the budget. 

The pataya is known to be grown in the regions of Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Mexico, South America, Australia, S. China and even Okinawa. It is the fruit of several species of cactus and can also been seen with a yellow exterior with white flesh on the inside. The red-skinned dragon fruit is a good source of vitamin C, rich in minerals, antioxidants, lowers cholesterol and blood suger. However, the down side is that it does have laxative properties which may upset the stomach.

I would love buy a couple hundred of these pink dragon fruits and build myself a Christmas tree. Nothing like having a a cool rockin' flaming tree for the holidays!

of japanese royalty~emperor akihito and empress michiko

Japan's imperial couple, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in Honolulu yesterday from their 11-day visit to Canada. Their visit to Canada was to mark 80 years of diplomatic relations between Canada and Japan. Their 3-day official visit to Hawaii began with a highly unusual public outing to Kapiolani Park in Waikiki to visit the "Rainbow Shower Tree" Akihito planted in 1960. 

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are here to celebrate the couple's 50th wedding anniversay and to strengthen Japan's relations with the United States as goodwill and to pay tribute to American Veterans (those at Puncbowl Cemetary) who died fighting against Japan in WWII. Unlike his father, Hirohito, Akihito and his wife are much more "the people's people", where it is not uncommon for the married couple to engage in conversation amongst common people. Their groundbreaking wedding in 1959 became highly publicized as Akihito married Michiko Shoda, the first commoner to marry an heir to the Japanese throne. And with this, the couple has changed the image of the royal family, bringing the royal family closer to "the people".

Today, Akihito and Michiko attended a wreath laying ceremony at The National Cemetary of The Pacific, a luncheon with the Governor, then a formal dinner with 1000 invited guests, marking the 50th Anniversay of the Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship, which promotes a better understanding of the US and Japan by offering scholarships to students.

(Prince Akihito and Princess Michiko's wedding day in 1959)

Thursday the royal couple will travel to Hilo before traveling back to Japan for a "paniolos" show at Parker Ranch, on the slopes of Mauana Kea volcano, one of the nation's largest and oldest ranches. 

storytelling:chapter 2 out of sight, not out of mind~part 4

...continued from storytelling:out of sight, not out of mind-part 3

We have a second bedroom, my walk-in closet. I like to act as though I have a formal dressing room in our house, that overlooks the Hudson River. It has two closets that are adjoined as one, from wall-to-wall, each having it's own closet door, typical of the 1930's. It has faceted glass doorknobs and antique glass clothing hooks behind each door. There is an old mirror on the outside of the closet door closest to the wall, attached by beveled glass fasteners. The interior of the closet is of cedar from floor to ceiling, with a sturdy pipe fixture used as a rod to hold clothing that stretches from one end of the closet to the other. Three 8 foot horizontal shelves are above the clothing rod. Each shelve is neatly arranged with handbags that are carefully blanketed and stored in bag-like shoe covers. On the carpeted closet floor are stacks of shoe boxes, labeled with a description and sorted for easy accessibility. The count is well over 100 pairs in the closet alone.

The clothes hanging in the closet are arranged accordingly. The left hand side of the closet is for blouses. The progression, beginning from left (wall) to right (middle of the closet) are long sleeves to short-sleeves to sleeveless, color coordinated. The closet on the right is used for dresses. The center to right wall would be~summer, casual, short dressy and long evening, color coordinated and all of which are covered by garment bags.  

In the room itself, there are three rolling racks in the bedroom, a tall antique dresser, matching vanity with a moon shaped mirror and bench. Nicely camouflaged  behind two of the rolling racks are stacks of large plastic bins full of neatly folded clothing that are color coded and labeled on the outside of each bin and hordes of make-up. One rolling rack are for coats. The upper portion of the second rolling rack are several wooden hangers of jeans, slacks and dressy jackets. The lower used for casual jackets. Shoved underneath the two rolling racks are more shoe boxes, suitcases and hat boxes. The third rolling rack are clothes that need to be ironed. I hate ironing!

I guess you could call me a fashion whore. I am. I love clothing and everything that goes with it. I love to shop for clothes. I've had a love for fashion and clothing since I was a child. I use to be a costume designer, stylist and make-up artist. I use to have more clothing than what is in this very room at one time or another. I could have and should have opened a re-sale boutique. My clothes were not cheap, but I don't spend thousands of dollars on clothes either. They are lovely pieces of art that someone designed and made. Someone that has a love of fashion and clothing, like me. However, each time I move, it becomes a chore and also very emotional to sort through, but I do. Trying to get rid of as much as I can and keeping what I think will be worth saving~a classic piece or "this will be back in style one day" or "one day I will fit into this again" and even the "I can't get rid of this because it reminds me when...." moment. 

I will spend a total of three weeks going through and trying on every single article of clothing, placing every single pair of shoes on my feet and walking around the house and standing in front of the full length mirror in the living room, like a little girl, trying on mommy's heels. Opening every plastic bin as heavy and dreadful as it was, folding and refolding clothes and sorting through bins of hair and make-up stuff. Many, many hours and days of sweat, tears and down right balling. It was disheartening, trying on clothes that no longer fit or that I would dare part with. I had to psych myself into think "c'mon now, are you really EVER going to wear that mini skirt or pair of hot pants again?...and what about all the latex wear I use to wear, but no longer have the use for because I don't work any of the clubs anymore or even go to clubs any more. I would literally have to have a talk to myself and say "AM I REALLY, REALLY DEEP DOWN INSIDE, TRULY EVER IN MY EVERLASTING WHOLE LIFETIME GOING TO EVER WEAR THIS AGAIN? REALLY NOW, CIN. WAKE UP AND GET REAL!!!!"

I had to convince myself, that if I'm going to make a major move to a completely different lifestyle, I would have to take a deep breath and let it go. And with that being said, I did. But not everything. A girl has got to have to have her things to keep her happy no matter where she goes. Am I right?

to be continued...

moonlight over diamond head

never can say good-bye

Today another historic figure will be laid to rest. The Ilikai Hotel will close it's front doors to already paid vacationers, traveling to Hawaii, to be shuffled off to another hotel. It's newest and current owner, iStar, purchsed the failing Ilikai earlier this year, in foreclosure, but has yet to make any decision what will happen to the Waikiki property. It may not be the star-studded icon of 50 years, but the over 45 year old legacy, with a promising future to re-brand the hotel, looked as though it would still stand tall and glimmer for another 45 years. But after being sought and bought, handled and mishandled, the Ilikai didn't stand a chance due to greed and poor misfortune, spiraling itself into bankruptcy and more unemployment. Another one for the books.

The Ilikai opened its doors in 1964 after 3 years of construction. Chinn Ho was the original developer and later sold the hotel in 1974 for $35 million. In 2006, it was purchased for $206 million, with the hopes of an up-scale renovation into luxury condo-hotels. The Ilikai has approximately 800 plus condos and time share units and over 300 plus hotel rooms. It looks as though the condo and time share holders will remain in the hotel and the hotel rooms will be vacant, until its future fate in known.

Riding up the glass elevator to the top floor of the Ilikai is Sarento's Italian restaurant. As for Sarento's, who knows how well it is doing. That's another story, since the owners are closing their other restaurant at Ala Moana Hotel. But the view of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor incredible, especially at sunset.

Long before the plight of the Ilikai's foreclosure, all of its retail spaces were closed, Canoes restaurant gone and a spattering of workers barely clinging onto a sinking ship, eventually loosing their jobs. It was a strange and very sad sight, as I roamed the premises. The ballroom, where many great festivities were held, is now boarded up with rubble as it's main entry, and long forgotten. It was like walking onto a haunted abandoned ship. What now remains are the over 800 condos and timeshares with its residency being left and orphaned. And its over 300 empty hotel rooms.

The (Renaissance) Ilikai will always be one of my favorite long standing hotels on the outer edges of Waikiki. A beautifully constructed site, much like that of the Las Vegas hotels of the 1960's, that barely exist today on the strip. The symbolic colors of turquoise and white, to which everyone related to as the Ilikai Hotel. Gone will be the staff that made the Ilikai what it was. A great hotel. What I will most remember o the Ilikai hotel, why many tourists came to Hawaii and what eventually made the hotel made famous~ the opening ariel shot of Hawaii Five-0 and Steve Mc Garrett standing on the Penthouse balcony. 

Michael Jackson August 29,1958-June 25,2009

fireworks are display of art

have a safe and happy fourth of july!

                                                                       with love from waikiki...prickly and "hubby"

colorescience:to protect and serve

We're now into the second month of summer and thanks to my wonderful facialist, I've discovered this really great product for us ladies who want to have fun in the sun without most the repercussions. And if you've got a load of tattoos and don't want to regret spending all this money on your tattoos and keep it's glorious colors, you've got to try this product. It's called "Sunforgettable SPF 30" by Colorscience. 

I live in Hawaii, where the angle of the sun's rays are unbelievably intense. You only have to be out in the sun for an hour and a half, even if its overcast or slightly raining, to get sunburnt. And the most crucial effects of radiation exposure is between the hours of 9am and 2pm. My main concern was my tattoos and my face. I didn't want to walk around with faded tattoos because there's a family history to them and I wanted to maintain it's beautiful colors. I wanted to try "Sunforgettable SPF 30" first, before I even endorsed it, because you and I know how many times we've been fooled by propaganda into buying products that don't friggin work! But this one does. It's a little costly, around $48 for .23 ounces, but, if you want to save your skin from the burning rays of the sun, I think it's worth the investment. This is how it works.

The water resilient minerals in the powder protects the skin from burning rays and locks in the moisture. Real minerals do not absorb water, so it rolls right off. The micro minerals called titanium dioxide reflects the light and provides coverage so that UV rays don't touch the skin. The micro zinc oxide minerals is an active ingredient, when altered, makes the elements water-proof and does not dissolve. It is free of dyes, mineral oils, talcs, perfumes and alcohol. Word of caution:this product does NOT prevent melanoma!

"Sunforgettable SPF 30" comes in 5 different applications~brush, orb, shaker can, roller ball or salve and three mineral colors~clear (whitish on the skin), perfectly clear (natural skin color) or almost clear (darker in color). I prefer to use the brush which has a retractable cover. It is refillable and also comes in a light-weight metal case. It's easy to pop in in your bag or pocket so that you can re-apply the powder throughout the day. The best way to use the powder for a lasting effect is to moisturize your skin first, let dry and apply the powder over it. I use both the clear powder and the perfectly clear powder. If you use the clear powder be careful not to over-powder your face, you'll look like a "kabuki" performer! Once you use the product you can apply to your liking. Happy Powdering!

Where to buy/store locator:www.colorescience.com

hanging lobster claw, heliconia rostrata