Remember that Google Alerts Blog I did?

I guess I spoke too soon. My google alert came up with the best thing I have ever read.

Jorge has pooped on the potty several times. 

But he still calls it "pee pee." So when he 

says "mommy I gotta go pee pee I'm not 

really sure what to expect. Oh unless he's 

holding his rear."

So I guess my secrets out: I hold my rear when I have to "pee pee." 

Garden Gush: Birds and Purps

I just noticed something. I am partial to purple flowers. That's right. I ain't afraid to say it. 

If I see a purple flower at the nursery, chances are I'm going to buy it (especially if I've never seen it before). I bought a flower today. And then surveyed my garden and noticed that purple flowers seem to be a recurring theme. 

My favorite might be this one. 

It turns out it's a jalapeno plant. I didn't know they came in purple. 

People who come to Los Angeles from other states often claim to "miss seasons" this is always sounds ridiculous to me. L.A. has seasons too. They are subtle. But they are there.  My favorite is when the Jacaranda are in bloom. 

Now... I'm growing tomatoes. I grow them because I got tired of buying tomatoes that get overripe or rotten too quickly. I figured if they just hung out on the vine until I need them then they will always be ready. But this morning I was anxious to pick my first tomato to use in a sandwich. I walk outside and find the tomato has been eaten off the plant. It was eaten practically all the way to the stem. I could tell it was  a bird. 

Damn! Now I'm going to have to wait for the next tomato to turn red. 

But later the afternoon I saw the damn bird struck again. 

Then standing at the washing machine I saw the culprit. A bird sitting there on top of my tomato plant. Fearless. 

I went to the hardware store immediately. It turns out the guy there new exactly the bird I was talking about. He called it a "bobo" but I think officially it's a  bulbul. Red-vented bulbul to be exact. Word is they like to eat anything red.

And it is kind of cocky. While I was gone my girlfriend told me he came back and was eating a different tomato.

 

When she walked outside, it didn't move. She walked closer, it didn't move. It wasn't until she was at the plant that it finally flew away. So now my tomatoes are in a cage of bird netting. 

Hopefully that means "bobo" will have to find a new place for lunch.

Careful! That carrot will poke your eye out!

I saw this carrot in the store today. I'd never seen a carrot with two points so I had to buy it. Don't know what happened to it to make it grow like this. All I know is that trying to eat it was a big mistake. Truly the world's most dangerous vegetable. 

What a CHARMing surprise

Okay that's a lame title. But I got this box of awesome Charm City Cakes stuff sent to me. T-shirts, hats, an apron, even drum sticks. It was awesome. I had to call them and thank them. I guess I had mentioned that I dig their show in a magazine interview. 

I got inspired and decided I'd make a new dessert for friends who were coming over. 

So I put on my chef jacket and some tunes and got in the kitchen. Tah Dah!

 Well my oven is really tricky because it's old, so my tres leches cake came out lop-sided. But when I covered it with whipped cream you could hardly tell. 

Oops! How did I miss this?

This is a bust of Jack Lord of Hawaii Five-O. It can be found at the side entrance to a shopping mall in Kahala. This is great. I've never seen it before. Man it made me want to go shopping. 

Man this bus is late!

Moloka'i Museum

Moloka'i Museum and Cultural Center is a small place. I think they had six visitors the day we went. So we paid the admission fee to discover the current exhibit is pictures of Hawaii's rare plants and animals. That's right pictures. Pictures of bugs and leaves. This is the happyface spider. I'm the one on the right. In case you don't believe me:

One thing that was pretty cool about the property was they had a restored sugar mill you could tour by yourself. But first you had to watch the video they made about the restoration. 

Then they turned us loose. The best part was the masher. 

It used to be powered by mule, probably looked kinda like this:

And in front they had a birthing stone. 

Where the ali'i gave birth to their babies. Included with the birthing stone is another stone in the shape of a club. It was either used to protect the birthing mother and child or maybe, just maybe, it could help the woman in labor by knocking the baby out croquet-style. 

By the way this toilet is much nicer on the inside. 

Not anymore. (Sorry that was stupid) But what's the tank of gas doing there?

Whenever I'm at any museum I have to stop by the gift shop. And there we found the highlight of our trip. Little molasses cookies baked  by the nice old lady at the front door. They cost fifty cents for a little bag of two and they were worth the price of admission to the museum. Hands down the best thing we ate the whole trip. 

More Moloka'i

This is me at the lookout in Palaau State Park overlooking Kalaupapa Peninsula. A safe distance from where Father Damien took care of the patients with Hansen's Disease (aka Leprosy). 

This is me with a statue of Father Damien.

And Nunu Makes a Fresh Kill