Finished Filing Our 2020 Income Tax

Aloha Everyone,

The third full day since we transferred to the hotel, the two of us are more than satisfied with the accomplishments we made so far.

We were able to secure a space for Honu at the usual RV parking facility. We also accessed our storage locker to get some items J.J. and I will need for Ecuador. This morning, J.J. made prints of documents and proceeded to a nearby H&R Block. As walk-ins, the two of us were given our initial appointment with a Tax Associate within the next 45 minutes.

Somethings have to be compromised. Our lunch venue was the Subway next doors to the H&R Block office. No indoor dining allowed, but they offered us a small “sanitized” outdoor table and chairs to enjoy our sandwiches — pastrami for J.J. and veggies on whole wheat bread for me. They were a nice change and healthy choices.

With our income taxes e-filing officially accepted by the IRS, we are now 80% done with our obligations of things to do prior to our departure.

Aloha -- Cathi

Epilogue to my 1,000 Letters

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. decided to digitally scan more than 1,000 letters I wrote my Mother.

One of the traditional Japanese customs is giving money to family members or close friends when they go on a major trip. The recipient then buys unique gifts from the destination.

For the past 30 years, my Mother made  frequent trips to Japan. On one occasion, my Mother travelled to Japan to spend 6 months studying Japanese musical instruments under two renowned masters. To acknowledge such a major personal undertaking, J.J. and I sent her yen notes.

What is amazing is that my Mother opened and read my letter and returned the yen notes back in the envelope and left them in her drawer. While scanning the letters, J.J. was astounded to find ten - ¥10,000 notes.

The bank clerk checked her computer and while they are old currency, the ¥10,000 notes are still exchangeable.  

$855 is the exchange based on today’s rate. The money was deposited into our account. J.J. and I love the happy ending to our 1,000 letters scanning story.

Aloha -- Cathi

From San Diego to Torrance, CA

Aloha Everyone,

First business after mostly immobile for a year is to get rid of Honu’s wastewater. Fortunately, we were able to use the RV dumping facilities of KOA (Kampground of America) in Chula Vista.

This facility is classified as a KOA Resort and it is popular with out-of town visitors. The main differences We noticed today from our previous visits were that all employees were wearing face masks. The pool and the playground were opened but they were few users.

J.J. drove from Chula Vista to our hotel in Torrance without stopping. Thank goodness that my sister dropped off a sumptuous array of Bento boxes for our lunch & dinner.

J.J. is extremely fatigued. He did most of the work including transporting nearly 20 bags plus 2 suitcases from Honu to our room using the hotel cart.

We have 8 days to accomplish our list of things to do prior to our departure.

Aloha -- Cathi

Our Wonderful Dining-in Dinners

Aloha Everyone,

The two of us will miss our unexpected enjoyment of sheltering with our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter at their home in the Southern California. There were countless precious moments which spanned over exactly 365 days. One can tell family dynamics when a couple of my friends expressed their envy of our close knit family. J.J. and I are extremely thankful and truly grateful for their assistance in keeping us healthy, safe and happy.   

Here is an abbreviated selection of our wonderful dining-in meals over our final few weeks.

Spicy Indian Chicken Korma

Xiao Long Bao (Taiwanese Soup Dumplings)

Fruits & Veggie Salad

My Eclectic Plate of Fruits, Veggies with Spaghetti ala Carbonara 

Baked Brussels Sprouts with Onions, Garlic, Ginger, Asparagus and Mushrooms

Thai Green Curry

Easter Apple Pie

Farewell Quiche 

Aloha -- Cathi

Megalodon & Black Cat

Aloha Everyone,

Several months ago, I asked my four grandnephews what is their favorite animal. The two younger ones, 12 and 13 asked me why do I want to know. My intention then was to make a hand drawn Christmas cards.

Megalodon, the largest known predator in Earth’s history had interesting information as well as scale models and drawings to get me started.

The Black Cat, requested by the youngest of the 4 boys had to be Eevee, one of his pets. Here I received photos from my sister but all of them were side views, behind a screen door or outdoor rolling on the lawn. However, I was able to find out some interesting facts about Black cats in general.

I am a bird person. I also love drawing landscapes, seascapes, trees, flowers and historical architectural buildings.

Keeping my mind open and taking this as a learning opportunity, I was able to finish two drawings in a total of three hours not counting my research time.

I am thankful that my repertoire of drawing animals have expanded just a little.

Aloha -- Cathi