Hauʻoli Makahiki Hou 2024 (Happy New Year)! Marc and I spent new year’s eve at home and enjoyed listening to some fun music and a bottle of prosecco, followed by an impromptu dance in the living room to Seal’s song “Crazy”. We were in bed by 10pm and I call that a perfect night. Hope your 2024 brings you something new and brings you much joy ..read more

When I was first diagnosed with PD, I thought about it a lot. I didn’t know anything about it, so my thoughts were all over the place about what it was, what it meant to my life moving forward, and about how it would impact my family. Nothing was ever the same. Then a certain time passed where I was able to let it sink in, where I became more educated about it and was better at taking it one day at a time. In the early days when my symptoms were mild, I could pop a C/L tablet it and I’d feel normal. I could go back to my life and almost forget about my PD. Now time has passed, it’s been 12 ye ..read more

sunrise walk at kailua beach It’s a beautiful early morning, as I sit and drink my coffee and listen to the birds in the trees. There is a little breeze so it’s comfortable still. I’ve got some chores around the house to do and then this afternoon is my shift at our local PD resource center. I take calls and walk-ins and provide information to people about PD and work on our newsletter. The saying about getting back more than I give, is really true. I’ve met the most interesting people from all walks of life and learn so much more about PD than I’d know otherwise. I just finished reading Th ..read more

This was the front page of the local newspaper. Lahaina Maui has been devastated by wild fires this week. The death toll is currently at 80 and expected to rise, and the entire town has been destroyed. We live on Oahu which is a neighbor island, so we are safe but can’t express the sadness that we feel for the people on Maui. If you’d like to help, you can make a donation to the Aloha United Way Maui Fund. This is a reputable charity that has set up a fund, where 100% of the donations will go to helping Maui victims of this tragedy. Thank you ..read more

I recently read Gretchen Rubin’s new book called Life in Five Senses and in it she talks about how we can learn to better use our senses to navigate and engage in our world. She offers a test on her site to see which is your most neglected sense and ideas to enhance that sense. I took the test and my most neglected sense was touch. That got me thinking about how having Parkinson’s has impacted all my senses. That touch was my most neglected sense doesn’t surprise me. I notice with a tremor and a weakened grip it’s more difficult to lean into the sense of touch. Gently touching something is di ..read more

One of things that I’m sure you’ve been reading everywhere, is how important having social connections are to our well being and longevity. When we are children in school, most of us go to a different class each year and are immersed in opportunities to meet and spend time with new kids. We study together, play together, and eat together, and as a result we have time to cultivate relationships. We may also have extra curricular activities like sports or hobbies where there are additional ways to make friends. Then we become adults and go off to work and that replaces school as a way to meet p ..read more

Any plans this weekend? The heavy rains seem to be lightening so there is lots of spring pruning in the garden to do. Followed by reading, watching an old movie and putzing around the house. Perfection. Hope you have a peaceful weekend. Here are a few things I enjoyed around the web this week. ~ Snack anyone? Here are some great photos from the golden age of travel. ~ Speaking of snacks, this sushi roll below looks delicious. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Elle ? Vegan Recipes (@veganbunnychef) ~ Remastered video of commuters in 1930’s New York. The fashions were amazing, the ..read more

One of my favorite things to do is drive to a street in my city that I have never walked before, park and just take a walk. Lauren Elkin can describe why I love it better than I ever could. Have a cozy weekend! "Walking is mapping with your feet. It helps you piece a city together, connecting up neighborhoods that might otherwise have remained discrete entities, different planets bound to each other, sustained yet remote. I like seeing how in fact they blend into one another, I like noticing the boundaries between them. Walking helps me feel at home. There's a small pleasure in seeing how wel ..read more

It’s January, which means new goals for the new year. I love setting goals and tracking my progress. I don’t see it as stressful, rather a way to see new possibilities. I never reach all of them but that’s ok, that’s never the point, it’s to acknowledge the things I did do. There are things that have been on and off my lists for years but it keeps it on my radar and when the time is right, I actually might do them. I like a mix of small easy things that can be done quickly, which gives me instant gratification to tick the box, there are things are more ethereal than concrete, and there are mo ..read more

Lanikai beach Well another year is coming to an end. It’s been a year of transition coming off of the pandemic and many things have changed in how the world works. But things always change and getting comfortable with not being comfortable can be good. It forces me to learn new things, think out of my normal box and can have many positive benefits. Of course there has been much, not so great going on everywhere, but there will always be an endless supply of sad, traumatic, and anger inducing things happening and it doesn’t serve me well to let that dominate my overall life. Certainly I should ..read more