Homespun Honolulu

This news actually came out a couple of months ago, but I wanted to be sure that nobody missed it! Researchers at Penn State did a controlled study and found out that macadamia nuts are good for you! Specifically, they are good for your heart.

Well, I think roses and macadamia nuts for Valentine’s Day would be a good thing. You can always get the chocolate covered ones if you must have chocolate. Now that Hershey has bought Maunaloa Macadamia Nuts those chocolate-covered guys should be better than ever!

According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin, this discovery was one that researchers at the University of Hawaii have known about for years. The “discovery” of the lowering of cholesterol levels comes as no surprise to local scientists.

I will make an editorial comment here. I tend to be picky about my macadamia nuts and I like them as close to fresh off the vine as possible. As far as the plain nuts are concerned (which generally means they are dry roasted and at least lightly salted), I prefer the Hamakua Plantation nuts you see pictured here. They taste fresh and never taste like they just came out of a tin can.

Where can you get them? Longs Drugs carries them right next to the other two competing brands. Longs is my drug store of choice for just about everything other than groceries. I’ve spent many hours browsing through the isles at the craziest hours of the day and night! It’s hard to get out of that store without dropping $70+ every time. Those macadamia nuts are about $10 a bag so they certainly won’t help you get out of the store with a small tab!

I wonder if the rest of the world is as dependent on 7-11 as we are. When 7-11 first hit town, many moons ago, people talked about the convenience and how you could get emergency supplies even after the regular stores were closed for the evening. But you paid for that convenience. It was not wise to go there when the other stores were open because everything was way more expensive at 7-11. Now it doesn’t matter. The stores are now open all night too and the prices are comparable.

The stores figured out that all they needed to do to compete was to stay open all night. Did it work? Maybe. Do I go to the grocery store at 2:00 am? Sometimes. But 7-11 still has something they don’t — easy in and out service and location, location, location! I might even go so far as to say that 7-11 changed the way we live and the hours that we keep. They do lock down the sale of liquor at some point in the evening; the 24-hour grocers do too. They have easy-access, hot food all night. Why am I talking about 7-11? Because they’re everywhere?

In Honolulu you can’t go more than a mile or two without running into one. Outside of Honolulu proper you might have to go a little further but each little town has at least one… maybe two. For me there’ are two — less than two blocks away from each other. Are they both busy? Yes! Are they both crowded? Yes! Location, location, location. We have adopted them and some of us have chosen favorites. The personality of a store is important to some of us. I know I have my favorites.

This is Eddie. Eddie is homeless but he has his favorite places too. About a year ago my car was broken into at my 7-11 (I’m still waiting to catch someone in the act and nail ‘em!) and Eddie wasn’t there yet. He comes in the evening usually and hopes for a Good Samaritan to give him a couple of bucks for something to eat. When I walked out of the store and saw the glass on the ground, Eddie showed up and pushed the huge chunk of glass, in spite of my protests, off my window and onto the ground.

After calling the police and calling my husband I whipped around and looked at Eddie and hollered, “Where were you?!?” He just put his head down. He has kept an eye on my car ever since. My husband always gave him a couple of bucks and now I do too! He’s a gentle person and always says, “God bless you.” The difference between Eddie and most of the other people that throw that phrase around is that he means it and you can hear the sincerity in his voice. It’s more money in 7-11’s pocket anyway because he goes in and gets something to eat. No, I have never seen him with liquor.

This same 7-11 is also the place that someone stole a car not realizing that they took someone’s baby with them. What does this say about my 7-11? That they need a security guard maybe? Pay Eddie! He needs a job! Now there’s an idea!

7-11 has been acclimated to our local culture so they carry the products that suit us best. That was a good business decision. The Spam musubi is pretty good. I like the Spam katsu musubi. I haven’t eaten it for a while but I know it was good a while back. They’re even selling manapua now. Their manapua, I have to admit, is not representative of the real thing. It’s edible but not quite right — the dough is too fluffy for manapua. If you like manapua, the first time you buy theirs might be the last. So, buy a hot dog instead — that’s always a sure thing.

I’m telling you, they have become a part of the way we live. Just recently a 7-11 opened up in Niu Valley. Suddenly this little shopping center that used to be so dead has come to life! See, they’re good for the businesses around them too! That’s a new favorite of mine too — they carry my soda and they are rarely out of it. I only asked once and they have kept it in stock ever since.

Thank you, 7-11. I have no idea what made me talk about you. I guess I must like you a little. Thinking about Eddie is what made me actually do this. He needs a dentist to stop the pain in his teeth. You need a security guard at the upper Nuuanu 7-11. We should clean him up and put him in uniform!

A few weeks back I was walking home and a familiar sound caught my attention. That sound… I know that sound… dragons! Somewhere there was a Chinese dragon dance going on! I kept following the beat of the drums and finally found it!

Nothing gets my attention like the sound of those drums and nothing warms my heart like the sight of the dragons, lions, whatever you want to call them. I will also point out that there are very few things that make me reach for my wallet and start to pull out dollar bills, but this is one of them!

After enjoying these darling creatures performing for this crowd of people, I finally asked someone, “What’s the occasion?” I was then informed that it was the grand opening.

Getting a grip on myself and figuring out that I have just stepped into a bloggable occurrence, I proceeded to figure out just where it was that those Chinese drums had led me. I then decided to take pictures of more than just the entertainment.

“Obviously you must have received an invitation,” someone said to me.
“Uh, no, I’m here because the sound of the dragon drums brought me here.”

Kim Taylor Reece has opened a gallery in downtown Honolulu! Most people, myself included, are very familiar with Mr. Reece’s artistic photography. From time to time you will walk right into it. Much of it has become part of the city’s decor.

To his credit, Kim has devoted many years to absorbing and perfecting the knowledge of his subject matter. He has developed one art form that displays another! His talent only enhances the beauty of the cultural treasure that is the Hawaiian art of the hula.

Few people can argue about the artistic achievement in this gentleman’s photography.

Much of his work, as I see it anyway, is derived from his fascination with Hawaii’s beauty and culture, and his obvious admiration of the female body.

It is truly an event for an artist to have a new gallery of their work open to the public! I was just lucky enough to fall right into the middle of the excitement!

He looks very happy here and he is not the only one. Everyone there was enjoying themselves. Although this was not really my realm, it was an interesting study in human behavior to be sure.

While this was not an atmosphere welcome to shopping that evening, I did manage to go back a few days later.

While I was doing a little research on Mr. Reece I stumbled on to this print. As I admired it I decided I had to have it!

I am no art expert, but I know what I like. This one tugged at my heart strings, probably because of 9-11, so I had to go back and I had to find out if they had any copies lying around. They had to bring one in, but it was worth the wait.

I love this print! It’s me on the inside! I’m going to have my husband take this to be framed for me so I can hang it right next to my computer… he just doesn’t know it yet!

Aloha Liberty and Lady Liberty… how could I have ever found a better statement than this?!?

Kim Taylor Reece Gallery
1142 Bethel Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Another icon from the past bites the dust. Ala Moana Shopping Center is quickly losing its attraction for some of us as it loses the stores that many of us grew up with. Pacific Business News reported a couple of days ago that Petland, Ala Moana is closing its doors. That does leave the one in Kahala Mall but that’s a further drive and I am not one for shopping malls anymore and will have to search for it to figure out where it is. The malls have become too crowded, parking is a nightmare and by the time Ifinda place to park I have road rage. Yes, it’s that bad.

“Ducky” is not one for shopping but she is one for reaping the benefits of what the pet stores have to offer. (She also likes to have her picture taken and gets in the way of the lens whenever possible.) Petland was closer than most of the other well-stocked pet stores. They carried just about everything you need for dogs, cats, fish, birds, etc., and had a lovely array of shampoos and things to make the felines and canines smell good and look good. I guess I’ll have to figure out if the Kahala Mall store is worth the drive and let everyone know.

I’ll wager the Ala Moana’s overhead is the biggest reason Petland has decided, after 45 years, to close up shop at the most heavily marketed shopping complex in Honolulu. Petland’s owner reportedly said they anticipated an eventual slow down in business. I was there the other day and was struck by just how empty the store was. I don’t think eventual is exactly the right word. It looks to me like it’s a little bit of both — too much overhead and not enough customers to cover the cost of that overhead.

Petland has been there longer than I have been alive! When I was little, I would walk from one end of Ala Moana Center, where there was one pet store (that vacated long ago), to the other end to visit Petland. It’s a little crushing for me to watch part of my childhood go out window and this is yet another reason to NOT go to Ala Moana. There is one less practical reason to go there now.

As Ala Moana sees fit to bring in more high-end stores, affordable Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club have opened just across the street, maybe a block away. Wal-Mart is very busy now! Ala Moana has become, for many of us, just a place for window shopping or emergency shopping; it has almost become a place to be avoided. Even the tour buses are busing tourists to Waikele Shopping Center — a good 20+ miles away. What does that tell you?

A couple of weeks ago I was completely frustrated while looking for a birthday gift. Unsuccessful, tired and seeing all stores as futile, I was about to give up. I ducked into a cute little wine store that I had never been in before. It looked peaceful, was close by, and it had a cute name, Simply Grape.

When I’m under a time crunch I am not the easiest customer to deal with and my patience is quickly expended. My lunch hour was almost over, I had been in all of the usual haunts, and I still had nothing to show for it.

Hey, I admit it, I can be the customer from hell if my buttons are pushed. But, the staff in this cozy little store asked if they could help so I told them what I was looking for.

They began to think. Hmmm… 29-year-old girl, it’s her birthday, well, maybe… There was some hesitation about bringing this item to my attention. “I don’t know if you would be interested,” someone suggested, “but this one is popular.” I took one look at the label and said, “Damn right I’m interested!”

Look what I got! Yes, you’re reading the label right. I was so stoked when I saw that label – talk about perfect! Perfect for the mood I was in and perfect for the birthday girl who would see the fun in it.

Then I saw the coasters that I could buy to go along with it — cute little rubber slippers for wine glasses! I suddenly realized that these nice people had just helped me fund the perfect gift!

Don’t let the label fool you, this is a wine that is definitely to be taken seriously – a red, Barossa Grenache that is 15% Proof. Real wine with a great label!

This store was small, attractive and very welcoming. What enamored me most about the store? It was neat, clean, inviting, and above all; the people were friendly and oh so helpful. They were smiling, sincere, and forgiving of my attitude. The latter is always key for me when deciding to adopt a business into my circle of places to hang out and spend money.

I signed the inside of the birthday card, “To the Bitch-in-Training.” She’ll get this down in time. We all do. In fact, some of us have honed it down to a fine skill, ahem!

Simply Grape, a Wine Boutique
Davies Pacific Center
841 Bishop St., #153
Honolulu, Hawai’i

Phone: (808) 447-9000
Fax: (808) 447-1100