For those of you who don't know my English Cocker Spaniel "Shadow" let me introduce you! She will be turning four years old next month and she's been struggling with a *low blood platelet count for about the same amount of time as I have been on ActiveRain. A year and a half.

Anyway, Shadow is a happy puppy (she'll always be our puppy) and no matter how fat she got she was happy. From the beginning of her 'steroid' treatment she gained weight quickly and ballooned up to 39 pounds. She maintained that weight until last week when I took her for her checkup.

Shadow lost FIVE POUNDS!

Shadow has been on a reduced fat diet for the past six months and we changed her 'wet' food to 'lite' Science Diet. She is still on a quarter tab of the steroid pill every day but her blood tests have been great and so far hasn't affected her organs.

Shadow's proud of herself too. She no longer looks like her middle is a balloon and she's healthier and has more energy.

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*LOW BLOOD PLATELET COUNT:  Usually, the platelet count is about 150 to 350 thousand platelets in a microliter of blood. With a low blood platelet count bleeding is likely to happen even after a slight injury. When the platelet count is very low (below 20 thousand), massive bleeding may occur even when there is no injury and it may be life threatening. 

(Shadows count was 24,000 the day she bled all over the floor and we rushed her to the vet.)

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In Celebration of her milestone the following are the stories I've written about her.

• Quit Blogging and Let ME In! 8/28/2008 
• Shadow and the Fourth of July  7/4/2008
• My Dog Rolls in Sashimi.....Does Yours?  2/17/2008
•  Dad's Home...... And Brought Me A Toy!! 12/8/2007
• Growing up (Literally) Shadow 8/29/2007
• There's a "Shadow" in Our Midst! UPDATE 8/3/2007
• Talking for Shadow  6/20/2007
• UPDATE#4....Virtual Tour of My Dog Shadow 5/8/2007
• UPDATE! Shadow doing better! 4/25/2007
• My English Cocker Spaniel "Shadow" 3/31/2007

Yeah...it's fun to play with the Flip Video. We use it for business and taping listings, local area scenes and even favorite restaurants.

And then the husband has got to get in the act and do a 'surprise shoot'. I always said he teased me about blogging from the beginning. And just because he is going to work on a Saturday morning and so he wasn't playing his game.....he decides to do a sneak attack.

Now this is going a LITTLE too far.

Independence Day:  July 4, 1776 was the commemoration of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence declaring the United States Independent from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

I wanted to shoot a video asking everyone what July 4th meant to them but it got too hectic today. With a home inspection at 8am, fighting with my insurance company until 11:30 and then heading to the office for the rest of the afternoon I didn't have the time to just have a little fun.

So, instead I asked a couple of people what they were going to do for the July 4th weekend. Some said they were driving over to the Kaneohe Bayfest and Fair, others said a day of rest and yet others said they were going to just picnic. By BIC said she had her granddaughter's soccer games all weekend.

Me? Who knows...I'll let you know IF we even decide to leave the house :) :)

But Shadow has something to show you......what July 4th means to her.....

Picturesque is the scene; falling into a trance,

Reminiscing on memories that are fading in the back of my mind.

Struggling to hold on to a vivid image; reminding me

Cherishing the memories; to remember and hold dear

Beauty just a step away; the sunset at dusk

Of peace, tranquility and silence

And all that is....my father.

Dedicated to my father:   October 10, 1929 to February 25, 2004

* It's just getting close to Father's Day and started thinking about him when I got home from the office yesterday evening. I glanced outside right then...and a flood of memories came popping up. 

I remember.

© 2008 Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman, All rights reserved

I am dedicating this Mother's Day post to My wonderful MOM first (of course) and also a tribute, with many fond memories to my Aunt Sally, who passed away on April 29, 2008 at the age of 93. Basically, this is a heartfelt wish to all mom's on ActiveRain and out, friends, family and acquaintances who are moms, stepmoms, single dads who are moms that you enjoy the time you have together and show the mom's that they are appreciated. 

I had written about my Aunt Sally briefly in Japanese in Hawaii: My Ancestry along with my mom and basically my heritage. My cousin and I were going back and forth by email two nights ago remembering the time we went to Kauai together to stay with Aunt Sally for the summer. That summer was the summer of 1969. Wow. 1969. No computers, cell phones or even a bunch of television. We MADE our fun. 

• Like, 'borrowing' the row boat next door and my cousin pushing it out with me in it and falling in the river because she missed the boat. (she claims it was the other way around) 
• Like, my cousin trying to crawl in the menehune cave (read more here: Hawaiian Legends - Nightmarchers, Menehune, and the Tiki Gods) and I ran away because I was afraid bad luck would befall me.....and left her there.
• Like, bringing home a pregnant cat from the beach and hiding it under the big wash bin. And then while eating lunch my Aunt Sally looks outside to see the wash bin 'floating' across the yard.
• Like, hating vegetables and acting like I wiped my mouth only to spit them in the napkin. And then accidentally dropping them all over the floor on my way to put the napkin in the trash. LOL!

My Aunt Sally was a very talented woman. She taught me to play the ukulele, to sew, to crochet and to clean a house. And if I did not do any of these thoroughly and correct, I would have to do it all over again. My Aunt Sally also taught my mom the same. To this day I am a very detail oriented person. I like it that way. :)

My Aunt Sally had a long life but for maybe the past 15 years she had Alzheimer's. From many years ago she has not recognized anyone but I wanted to show appreciation to her for this Mother's Day too because she was my 'mom' on Kauai for many springs and summer visits in my younger years.

So, my Mom, my Aunt Nancy, my cousins, Gary and I will be flying to Kauai tomorrow morning and attend the services for my Aunt Sally in the afternoon.

Mother's Day is a day to remember our mother's and all mother's in the world. To give credit for the strength and love a mother holds for their children, their family, their extended family, and that common bond all mother's carry. A day to show our appreciation.

 Happy Mother's Day Mom. Happy Mother's Day Aunty Sally and Happy Mother's Day to All!

 My mom turned 80 years old in January of this year. She's still spunky and works at Oahu Country Club 4 days a week, goes golfing every week and .....VEGAS twice a year. She left for VEGAS on Tuesday morning and we have been working hard to move her from the little room back to her master bedroom she hasn't used in 15 years. We remodeled the Master a year ago and with our busy lives we finally were able to get around to it ...now.

Prepping for painting, new screens and ....I'm pooped. My son and daughter will be working on it this afternoon and tomorrow and Gary and I be there on Saturday am to finish up before mom comes home that evening. Gary has been the model son in law....changing all the electrical outlets and switches ....I mean, the house is 37 years old!

Anyway, I took a break yesterday and grabbed my camera to take pictures of mom's LUSH foilage. (I hired a yardman for Sunday as a lot has overgrown in a year too)

You think mom will be surprised?

Enjoy the show.....

Our Sixth Wedding Anniversary

Thank you Gary:

• For complimenting our marriage with .....YOU
• For allowing me to compliment our marriage with.....ME
• For having a healthy sense of self....and not letting me run all over you
• For allowing me to have a healthy sense of self...and not letting you run all over me either
• For leaving an open avenue to discuss everything and anything so that we are both contributing to our marriage together
• For supporting me in whatever I do (me too)
• For being good to Michael and Dori and offering them help when they need it.
• For giving me the time to blog....while you take time for your pc games
• For going with me to meet ActiveRain friends.
• For giving me ideas for writing. (even though half of them I don't because they're pretty wacked out)
• For doing things to crack me up.
• For asking if it's okay before building yet another pc yesterday.
• For letting me buy many pairs of shoes....and making me donate the ones I haven't worn in six months
• For getting rid of clutter that we haven't used in six months that I never notice is gone unless you tell me.
• For accepting me for who I am....not who I am not.
• And vice versa
• For quitting smoking with me so that we can have healthier lives without the smell on our clothes and hair
• For working together to meet a common goal.

A healthy relationship equals a healthy home life ....... and everything else like success and happiness follow.

And more.....   :)

UPDATE:  Gary brought them to the office this am. :)

Little Sarah Cooper wrote her article on It's a Tiny Little World Out There  inspired by her Japanese exchange student and throughout our little conversations of my Japanese ancestry. Now it's my turn to give you some insight on the history of the Japanese immigrants to Hawaii and well as a little history of my mom and me.

The first Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii in 1868 as laborers in the pineapple and sugar cane fields.  My mother (Okasan) is full blooded Japanese although she is an American born Japanese and born on Kauai, Hawaii in 1928. (check my mom out in the picture!) American born Japanese are called Nisei Japanese if they were in the second generation (who usually were adults by WWII). The ones who were American born during the first generation....like my grandmother (Obachan) are called isei. My grandfather was born in Japan and my grandma was a "picture" bride which means they were set up by their parents.

There is a book called the "Samurai Sword" and my mom's family owned two of the swords from the Bizen era and made in the years 1081 and 1804. Click here to view the  Sukehira Swords info (page 160). Yup. Mom's maiden name is Sukehira. These swords passed down from generation to generation and my mom's only brother passed it to his son (my cousin), who still lives on Kauai. Many years ago my cousin gave them to a museum in Japan.

Now, my grandfather also owned a lot of land in Japan but since he chose to stay in Hawaii he had to donate the land and now there sits a college on the land. Ahhh. The price to live in paradise. They were flat our poor and really worked hard in their little Japanese country store in Nawiliwili, Kauai.

Of course, a lot of customs were handed down from generation to generation as well. (Not many in my house though) I am not literate in Japanese and only speak a little although we did live in Yokohama,Japan during one of my dad's tours in the US Navy during the years of 1962 to 1966. This gave me more insight into their way of life. I had a little Japanese girlfriend that didn't speak a lick of English. Funny. We got along just fine.My mom enrolled me in ballet in the village below us and this Japanese teacher hit my legs to teach me movement. Grrr.

By the time we came to Hawaii in 1967 I had no clue what "America" was like (as we had lived in the Philippines after Japan) and we were finally around mom's family which gave me more insight into my ancestry ....although Americanized. My cousin and I would always want to go to Aunt Sally's house on Kauai. She would cook Japanese food, and to this day I know every word to a Japanese song she taught me (and the only thing I can remember is about a boy and girl climbing up a mountain or something like that). She was also Buddist and prayed to her little temple. This is the only sister of my mom that married a Japanese ancestry man.

Sarah, decipher this:  Yuyake koyake de higa kuretei. Yama no otei ra no kane ga naru. Ote te tsu naide mina kaero Karasu to isho ni kaerimasho. (who knows if I even spelled it all right. But I sang it while typing)

The Japanese ethnic group used to account for 40% of the population in Hawaii back in the old days. Now, with so many mixtures of ethnic groups the % of "pure" Japanese has come down. Well, of course it has! Look at me. I'm half Japanese and half Swedish (dad was pure Swede from Wakefield, Massachusetts). The half/half mixtures of Japanese/Haole (Caucasian), Hawaiian/Haole, Filipino/Haole and so on are called Hapa Haole's. My children are one fourth Japanese and a variety of "haole" (Caucasian). 

My sukoshi (little bit) of Japanese History from Japan to Hawaii. And that's the way it was and is.

Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman's Mililani Hawaii Real Estate Blog 2007