the only royal palace in the US

yesterday we took a tour of iolani palace. the modern hawaiian monarchy was formed in 1810, when king kamehameha I consolidated rule of the hawaiian islands, until 1893 when the monarchy was overthrown and queen liliuokalani was deposed. the palace was built by her brother king david kalakaua, during his reign in 1879. it's a beautiful little palace in the center of town and it's been such a joy to drive by and see most of my life.

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it's a lovely mixture of hawaiiana and western culture. the native koa wood furniture and staircase just glow with a patina. the dining room table is set with original tiffany silverware gifted from napoleon III from france and crystal from what was called bohemia (now the czech republic).

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each room features a different color filled with artifacts and period furniture, many of which were repatriated over time.

in 1893 the monarchy was overthrown and sadly queen liliuokalani was forced to abdicate and eventually imprisoned in one of the bedrooms in the palace for eight months. after her release she lived her remaining years in a residence called washington place, which was until recently the residence of the governor of hawaii. 

eventually hawaii was annexed by the united states government and became the 50th state in 1959. the palace was used for many years as various government offices and had come under disrepair. the group the friends of iolani palace was created to lead the effort of its restoration.

it's a wonderful tour and i'd recommend it to both visitors and residents. bravo to the docents and other guides who were wonderful!

fatigue

fatigue is a common symptom for those with chronic illness. it can range from being just annoying, to highly debilitating. for me it can be a low grade background tiredness that i can usually just continue on with my day, to days where i don't feel like doing much all. at first i tried to power through all the time, and found that created a lot of stress. i think it is a combination of trying to keep up with everyone else and trying to live the same life that i lead before i had parkinson's. but this is the new normal for me and just realizing that is a step forward and i'm learning to take on a more nuanced approach.

i've been learning to pay more close attention to my body and mind and getting better at knowing when to push and when it's just a slower day. sometimes doing an activity when you're tired can be helpful and can create some mental and physical energy. once you get kick started you start feeling better. other times i need to just pace myself with a bunch of different indoor activities and do them as i feel up to it. i call these days GTL. it's a silly reference from an old reality show called jersey shore where the stars were these vapid, self absorbed caricatures, and on days where they had nothing planned, they called it GTL for gym, tan, laundry.  silly i know but it makes me smile whenever i declare a GTL day!

my GTL consists of reading several different books, old movies, documentaries, family history research, listening to music or podcasts, gardening, house maintenance, cooking, and journaling. i find sometimes on these days it's harder to concentrate on one thing for a long period of time so i just flit back and forth and don't get stressed about whether i finish anything at all that day. it's about finding the right rhythm for me.

if you have fatigue, i'd love to hear your story and any strategies that you find helpful.

aloha friday

photo courtesy of Justin Ornellas

this weekend my inlaws are visiting from hawaii island (we call it the big island), so we are looking forward to spending time with them. we are also stopping by the made in hawaii festival that showcases locally made products. enjoy your weekend!

~between two ferns - zach galifianakis' show interviews famous people and is a total crack up. 

~beneath the scarlet sky - enjoyed this book. i'm not usually a ww2 book fan but the personal story was very moving. based on the true story this is an epic tale of one young man's incredible courage and resilience during world war II. pino lella is an italian teenager but his days of innocence are numbered. when his family home in milan is destroyed by allied bombs, pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the alps, and falls for anna, a beautiful widow. in an attempt to protect him, pino's parents force him to enlist as a german soldier--a move they think will keep him out of combat. but he is recruited to become the personal driver for general hans leyers, one of the third reich's most mysterious and powerful commanders. now, with the opportunity to spy for the allies, pino endures the horrors of the war and the nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.

~aware in care kit - many people with parkinson's or a chronic illness will have a visit to the hospital at some point. this is a great kit to have ready that will help hospital staff know about your condition so they can incorporate the knowledge into your treatment.

~ everlane linen box tee - this has been my favorite t-shirt this summer. it took me through the blazing humid road trip on the southeast coast and i've been wearing both the grey and navy colors constantly. i'm also only 5'2" and the length is perfect!

~ homage to the queen of soul - sad to hear of the passing of aretha franklin. she was truly one of a kind. however we are lucky to be left with her incredible music to enjoy forever. 

road trip here i come

For the last few weeks we were on a road trip. San Francisco, Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston, Charlotte, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York! Marc and I have never driven many of these southeast states and we had a fantastic time. We had a lot of wonderful conversations with people we met. Everyone from our Lyft driver to random folks on the street, and along the way ate some incredible food.

San Francisco –the weather was blazing hot everywhere we went except in San Francisco. The skies were sunny with cool breezes and we stayed in an airbnb in the Bernal Heights neighborhood, and enjoyed a wonderful little cafe across the street called Precita Cafe & Grill.

Golden Gate Park was in full bloom and has lots of interesting things to see including the Conservatory of Flowers.

Lolinda restaurant in the Mission. A bustling Argentinian restaurant with mostly small plates, melt in your mouth shortribs & provoletta which is melted provolone cheese drizzled with a chimichurri sauce. It was all delicious.

Redwood Regional Park in Oakland is a great place for a walk, hike, or picnic. The bed of green below are clovers and it was wonderful to soak up the nature. We will definitely be back for a hike.

Atlanta - What a terrific city. It was vibrant, tons of great places to eat, bustling businesses, and was the start of the incredible southern hospitality that was to come. A few highlights were the Ponce City Market, One Eared Stag, Piedmont Park, & The Lawrence.

This incredible place is called Wormsloe in Savannah Georgia. Savannah is just overflowing with old Southern charm and the antebellum architecture was just stunning. B. Mathews & A.Lure were two restaurants we enjoyed.

Charleston, South Carolina has a great buzz to it. It's a beautiful mix of older homes, newer buildings, and lots of young people moving into the city for opportunity. I loved it! We stayed at the Andrew Pickney Inn which was right in the heart of the historic district and walkable to great shopping and restaurants. Although we had many fabulous meals, one of my favorites on the entire trip was at Husk. If you visit, it's a must.

More to come in my next post with Charlotte, DC, Philadelphia, & Brooklyn!

aloha friday

photo courtesy of Justin Ornellas

this weekend we are going on an architectural walking tour of downtown and chinatown and then dinner at sorabol which is a fantastic korean restaurant. hope you enjoy the weekend!

~wild wild country - this documentary on netflix is so interesting. you can't make this stuff up!

~lauren's hope -these are the cutest medical id bracelets. yes you can still be stylish!

~this is such an inspiring story.

~send help, i can't stop making this sausage & broccoli pasta -bon appetit has a website called basically which has simple but delicious recipes. they are great for easy dinners.

~how to reduce social isolation while living with pd - this has great tips for all of us.

happy aloha friday...........

beauty without trying

sometimes it doesn't take any effort to grow something beautiful. when i was in real estate, i would put orchids in homes i was selling as part of the staging. then one day when the flowers died, i took the bare plants home and and crammed them into holes in the lava rock wall that runs along the walkway to my house. i spray them with water whenever i get a chance but that's about it. and voila!

it's funny how i try so hard to take care of some of the plants in my garden, and the one i ignored the most needed no help at all. hope you're keeping cool this summer!

aloha friday

happy fridays gals! next week we are headed off for a long road trip and i can't wait. san francisco, atlanta, savannah, charleston, charlotte, dc, philly, and nyc! have a wonderful weekend and here are a few bibs and bobs from around the web.

~something about the anxiety - a really personal and interesting article from fredrik backman 

~milk street - christopher kimball (formerly of america's test kitchen) has a fantastic show on pbs as well as a podcast that i really enjoy. although i enjoy america's' test kitchen, his newer concept with milk street is filled with "simple, bold recipes". on the 4th of july we grilled the singapore chicken satay skewers and they were delicious. 

~tips for traveling with parkinson's -this article has great tips for anyone traveling with a health challenge or takes medication.

~billions, showtime series- this is an awesome, hedonistic series about power, wealth, & corruption set in new york, but if you're a foodie it's even better if you look up this blog while you're watching it, that gives you information on all the cool restaurants they film in.

~striped cotton dress, linen tee - these two items from everlane are my favorites to wear this summer. the striped cotton dress is a great to throw on and go. it's cool and the fabric is just stiff enough that it has some structure. the linen tee was such a surprise. i didn't like linen in the past because it was too stiff and wrinkled in a strange way. but these tees are soft and again cool for the blistering summer heat!

~20 absorbing door stop novels for your summer reading - anne bogel has a great blog and podcast about books. just put the lake house and the time in between on my to be read list.

~are you an upholder, an obliger, a questioner, or a rebel? take gretchen rubin's quiz and find out. i'm an upholder.

subtle season changes

when you live in a climate like i do in hawaii, it's easy to let the years go by without much reference to the seasons. i recently listened to a podcast where the host remembered the books she read last summer because she remembered it was at the beach, which meant it was summer. well when you live in hawaii, that could be any day of the year (i know, i'm not complaining :).

in the past i was so busy that i didn't really notice, but now that i'm enjoying the slooooow life, i've been trying to notice the small changes that do happen, even in our climate. the wonderful thing is that certain patterns of memories evolve with the marking the seasons. here are few beautiful blooms in our little island garden.

the crepe myrtle is bursting with blooms. when we first moved in many years ago, it was a dying little plant and i had no idea what it was. i don't see many crepe myrtle in hawaii but i have ended up falling in love with gorgeous plant and look forward to seeing in bloom right outside my living room window. we are going on a road trip in a few weeks and can't wait to them in charleston s.c. and savannah georgia.

i wasn't expecting any mangoes this year as i pruned the tree pretty hard early this year and thought it wouldn't have much energy for fruit, but there is a cute little bunch. i do notice they are smaller than they normally are. this variety is called hayden and it's round with lots of sweet delicious flesh.

the torch ginger seem bloom all year long but in the summer the plants seem more lush and full of flowers. these are great for arrangements because they last quite a while.

the agapanthus wasn't getting as much sun as it needed so in the past it didn't bloom too much but this year it's going great. i don't know what type it is. it's smaller than the other type i have so it might even be some type of lily. if you know please let me know in the comments.

hope you're enjoying your summer and i'd love to see the signs of summer in your part of the world!