Online Shopping

Aloha Everyone,

Friday is the weekly trash collection day in this neighborhood. It was interesting to note how many households are discarding cardboard boxes labeled Amazon Prime or Walmart.

Today many of us are limiting our time spent in supermarkets or grocery stores. Therefore online shoppings is an attractive alternative. There are numerous online shopping websites including “50 Best Online Shopping Websites in 2020.”

I made my first online shopping from Walmart. After getting a tutorial from my daughter-in-law, I was ready. Following my shopping list, I purchased a jar of vitamins, Celestial Seasonings Fruits Tea Samplers and 2 Hanes long sleeve T-shirts. Unfortunately, some items have minimum requirements. For example, I am getting 6 packages of tea. The good news is that after meetings a minimum order of $35, the items will delivered free of charge.

Happy May Day!   Also Happy Lei Day to our family and friends in Hawaii!

Aloha -- Cathi

Keeping Up with World News

Aloha Everyone,

Apple iPhone comes with a NEWS app which is organized by channels such as CNN, The Washington Post, NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, etc. You can also search via Topics and Stories.

On my iPad, I also have apps of BBC NEWS, NHK WORLD JAPAN, SMART NEWS (lets you browse the latest headlines), Al JAZEERA, HAWAII NEWS NOW and Stocks Pro.  

Many of these apps also provide separate access to COVID-19 Special Coverage.

The origin of Coronavirus seems to trace back to late 2019 to Hunan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China. By reading latest news from different international sources, J.J. and I hope that we are accessing impartial news.

Aloha -- Cathi

How To Find Your Happiness Webinar

Aloha Everyone,

An invitation to attend a webinar hosted by edX had an intriguing title.

A talk by Dacher Keltner and Emiliana Simon-Thomas from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center on The Science of Happiness focused on 3 main areas which they believe would help one be happy.

1.  Social Connection
2.  Positivity
3.  Resilience 

Basic takeaway is that happiness is within our control. I especially appreciated a mindful meditation that was led by Dacher Keltner at the end of  the session. To me, it was well worth allocating approximately 20 minutes.

Do keep in mind, as my son stated, that anyone can make claims or give guidelines, but each one of us is different and cannot be categorized.

https://blog.edx.org/scientific-self-care-feel-happy-grounded-grateful/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_course_tuesday_20200428&utm_content=q4_campaign

Aloha -- Cathi

Auditing My Granddaughter’s Spanish Class

Aloha Everyone,

On Tuesday mornings, from 8:00-10:00 am, my granddaughter attends her Spanish Class. As with all of her classes, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her classmates are learning online.

I was thrilled when my granddaughter suggested for me to audit her class. Just to make sure that I will not be late, I scheduled my morning walk from 6:00 am and came back in by 7:30 am to join her for a breakfast. Yes, I was ready at 8:00 am!

14 students signed in today. The Spanish lessons are at the high school level. This morning, the teacher began her lesson by showing common signages such as stop sign, do not enter, walk don’t run, etc. and then practiced them with her students. The segment which I was most attentive and took down notes was her teacher’s explanations and examples of “present progressive*” both in affirmative and negative statements plus questions/answers.(*What is currently happening).

After an hour or so, I quietly left my granddaughter’s side when the students played Spanish word games.

It is a well-designed class to keep students focused and engaged. It helped me clarify the present progressive tense plus I have a list of additional verbs to learn.

As long as J.J. and I are sheltering-in-place with our granddaughter and her parents, I look forward to attending her Tuesday Spanish classes.

Aloha -- Cathi

Special Treats & Dining-in

Aloha Everyone,

Chocolates and ice creams are most everyone’s favorite treats. They bring joy and smiles to our faces.

Our daughter-in-law bought 4 different kinds of ice cream. She also bought milk chocolates (J.J.’s favorite), dark chocolates (my favorite), chocolate covered marzipan (everyone’s favorite). 

Zucchini lasagna with ground bison meat is among our daughter-in-law’s signature bake dishes. It tastes as delicious as it looks.

Another excellent meal is tonkatsu (pork cutlet) with Basmati rice, seaweed, veggies and fruits.  

The rest is a sampling of my different breakfasts.

Aloha -- Cathi