Pre-Planning Christmas

Christmas is in 6 months.  My sister, husband, and I have discussed how we will not be doing a Christmas tree this year, because of my mom's advanced state in Alzheimer's Disease.  My mom was loving all the decorations from Christmas 2023, but as soon as it all came down, she was verbally and physically abusive.

I discussed this with her doctor and he agreed that rearranging things in our home can confuse someone in an advanced stage of Alzheimer's Disease (plus she also has Vascular Dementia).  What happened is my sister quietly took the decorations and tree down before any of us were awake, and rearranged the furniture back to the way it was.  When my mom woke up, she knew something was missing, but couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.  She began accusing my sister of stealing, being passive-aggressive, being aggressive, being violent, etc.

My mom didn't know what was "stolen" but came up with a different item all the time, whether it was her pajamas, suit, kimono, and even scissors.  She had no clue what was missing, but assumed it was something of hers and that the only person she could think of that would steal from her is my sister, because she was the one moving stuff around.

My mom has nothing to steal.  She has nothing to even borrow.  My mom is 5 feet nothing, probably 90lbs soaking wet, and in Alzheimer's has poor hygiene and very poor taste in "fashion."  None of us are that little, that desperate, or in whatever era of fashion my mom is in.  How can one steal when you live in the same house?  All of us work and buy our own stuff.  We buy my mom stuff, and in more recent times, much of my mom's stuff is gifted to her through Amazon by my amazing friends.  My mom does not own a suit, kimono, pajama set, or scissors.  She was very adamant all those things were stolen from her, constantly changing the items that were "stolen."   

We also took on my step-daughter's cat while she is deployed overseas.  The cat gets into everything.  She climbs and jumps on everything and attacks things that slightly move, like a foot, a plant, or even dust floating in the sunlight.  She WILL attack and climb the tree.  I just know it.  We all know it.

That said, NO Christmas tree this year, not even with a barrier to keep the cat away.  I did find some cute ideas on Pinterest (actual link to my pinterest board) such as hanging garland over the doorway, and maybe some bulbs hanging from the window sill.  Things that are higher up from the floor and away from the cat.  We shall see!

Las Vegas 2024

We went to Las Vegas, Nevada and to add to my collection of cute Christmas ornaments, I bought two Santa Ornaments.  I know I always want tiki and island decor, but I could not resist.  Santa takes vacations, too.  They do call Las Vegas "the 9th Island" because so many Hawaiians have moved to Las Vegas.  

We got these at the ABC Store on Fremont Street, which is a store located every few buildings on the Waikiki strip in Oahu.  If you're looking for Li Hing Mui candies and powders, the ABC Store on Fremont Street has it all.  They have expensive chocolate mac nuts and Hawaiian coffee, that you can get cheaper in the Islands.  

Anyway, Vegas Santa will be decorating my tree this year.  I don't care if my sister puts her tree up, I'm putting mine up too, even if it's a little tree, because I want to look at my ornaments.

Coconutty Christmas: Holiday in Hawaii - Ann Omasta

Book Title:  Coconutty Christmas:  Holiday in Hawaii
Author:  Ann Omasta
Genre:  Romance, Christmas Story
Main Character:  Kalea
Story Setting:  Hawaii  

Story Summary:  
A Hawaiian local woman named Kalea works the kitchen of a Hawaiian hotel.  A tourist named Russ is attracted to her, and she's conflicted in the fact he is from the Mainland and tourists tend to not last long in Hawaii.  It could be heartbreaking.  A freak storm happens, causing the electricity to go out, so she has to take her kitchen to an open flame to keep the guests fed and entertained.  She ends up explaining to Russ about her good friends Kai and Honi, whom he had a little insecurity with.

Review:  So many reviews like this short story.  I, personally, did not.  I thought it had potential.  It didn't feel authentic and felt like a very unnatural Hawaii.  The only thing Christmas about the story was that they get together at Christmastime.  Otherwise, the story is mainly just a beach scene and trying to figure out what to feed the guests and how to entertain this budding romance with Russ.  The author used such generic "Hawaii" names such as Leilani, Kai, and Honi, and the lingo was so off.  I'd have been more impressed if she chose names like Pi'ilani, Kawika, or Kainoa.  Having lived in Hawaii and being married to a man from Hawaii, I know the accent and lingo, and I couldn't hear it in my mind as I read the story.  

The author could have used the words, "my braddahs Kai and Honi" or instead of saying, "I'll be with my family, would you like to join us" she could have said something along the lines of, "I going stay wit' my ohana, like come?"  The book was so full of ridiculous stereotypes.  Coconuts falling left and right out of trees on the beach, a wahine that looks like a dashboard hula dancer, etc.  First off, yes, coconuts are ubiquitous to Hawaii, but they aren't easy to find fresh out of the tree.  There's one coconut farm in Hawaii.  Groves of coconut palms all over the beach cease to exist in the islands.  So, it just sounds so inauthentic.  I'm surprised she didn't say the pineapples were growing at the beach, too.  Kai wanted to know why she was talking to the "ginger."  In Hawaii, he most likely would have used the word haole. The guy Russ gives her chills, but in Hawaii she would have said, "He gave me chicken skin."  Pidgin is not a cultural stereotype.  It's a dialect and the official language of Hawaii.  If someone isn't from there or hasn't lived there, I can understand why she wrote the story with such a Mainland image of Hawaiian life.  

I mean, the whole story just seemed like cultural stereotypes and it made me cringe.   I was hoping to read about the Hawaiian fir trees, or the surfing Santa, or the Christmas parade going through Honolulu.  Otherwise, it was "ok."  The story line was cute to say the least.  That's all I can say.  Out of 5 stars, I give it 2.  It completely turned me off to short stories.  I'm so disappointed as I wanted to like this story more than I did.