Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Rate and Review The Watercolor Cat on Amazon.com

Go to Amazon and search for The Watercolor Cat or click http://www.amazon.com/Watercolor-Cat-Shelly-Mecum/dp/1566478383/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-9962844-4385566?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193786280&sr=8-1

Go to the bottom and rate the book. If you have some time, also create a customer review!

Dr. Visit Report and Calendar Events



Peggy had her doctor visit today. See the lovely photos...we especially like the close up of Peggy's ingrown toenail - Dr. Davis got a good laugh when he zoomed in on that one!

The visit went well and Dr. Davis will coming tomorrow at 1:30 to zap off Peggy's skin tag on her face.

Hope everyone will check out the new Peggy calendar (see post below) - on it, you'll see that Magda is having a Father Damien sorting party this coming Friday from 4 to 7. Hope you can all join us!

We also set a date for Bug the Cat's memorial. It will be November 14th around 5:30pm. Join us for a celebration of Bug's furry life.

And more news - The ALS Association has just reopened their estore where you can find Peggy Chun 2008 ALSA calendars and notecards. Here is the link http://alsaestore.compet.com/store_home.asp

And DON'T FORGET tomorrow - Halloween party at Peggy's!!! Potluck, starting around 5:30pm. Come for some haunted Halloween fun!!!

New Calendar Feature!

Since we're so busy busy busy, I've created a calendar of Peggy's events that you can all view online. The link is located to the left of this page at the top of our Links section. You can also check it out here http://ical.mac.com/chunzy/peggychun

It works best if you choose the tab that says "month" so you can see the month at a glance...

By the way, if any of you Mac users use iCal, you can subscribe to this calendar with this link webcal://ical.mac.com/chunzy/peggychun.ics

Monday, October 29, 2007

Happy Monday!!!

It was a busy weekend full of fun! We had a blast at the book signing at Wally & Christine's Chip & Cookie Store in Kailua on Saturday. Then we had Kelly's Sweet and Spooky Baby Shower here yesterday. Kelly's mom and family did such a great job with the food - we had lots of spooky and delicious foods. Kelly's mom also set up her adorable Halloween village - so cool.

Today there was a great article on Peggy, Shelly, and the book on the front page of the Island Life section of the Honolulu Advertiser - check it out here - http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/LIFE15/710290307/1076/LIFE15

Peggy's working on her Halloween costume with Marvel today...not sure what she has planned, but I they've had the big vulture on Peggy's bed all day.

Her eyes have been great all day. She did mention that she thinks the stint in one of her ears may have fallen out - those are the little stints put in there to keep the eustation tubes from collapsing. She also is still concerned about her left toe possibly getting an ingrown big toenail. We'll check with Dr. Davis on all those things tomorrow during the doc visit.

By the way - hope everyone will be coming here for the usual Halloween fun! Everyone is invited! And you all know this is the BEST neighborhood for trick-or-treating! Hope to see everyone!!!!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Peggy's Eyes are Great!!!

I have great news to share - I just got in and Peggy's eyes are fabulous! She is spelling away as if there had never been a problem. Her trach is gurgling a bit, but Cathy will be coming over to check the cuff in an hour or so.

Here are some photos from this morning's Halloween celebration at Indy's school :)



Peggy's Eyes

Peggy's eyes were really bad yesterday. We could barely spell with her all day. They were off and on the day before and then yesterday they were just awful. Nurse Cathy came by to drop off supplies (drain sponges/gauze - by the way, please be sure not to use the trach gauze on the g-tube since the trach ones cost significantly MORE - thanks!). Cathy was worried about Peggy's eyes so she had Dr. Davis do a video visit.

Peggy was semi-responsive in the video visit, she was at least able to communicate with Dr. Davis. Peggy also just seemed VERY tired. She seemed to be drifting in and out of sleep throughout the day - not sure if she was sleeping or just resting her eyes. Dr. Davis didn't say much, but at least he is in the loop.

I think mostly Peggy just was having a down day since she's been going going going. She may also have had a bit more oxydose than usual which could have led to her drowsiness. It was not clear if HCA had given oxydose, so Peggy just told us to give her another dose which is fine for Peggy, but does tend to make her drowsy. I spoke with Cathy about this and she said that in the future if it is not clear whether HCA has administered oxydose, we can call the office and they will check with their staff and call us back.

This morning I am volunteering at Indy's school for their Halloween celebration. We're dressing up as witches! I'll be sure to take photos. Then I'll be at the house and hopefully I'll have good news to report about Peggy's eyes.

By the way, I found a dead rat in the office yesterday. My super nose detected it. It was underneath the computer desk. Eeeewwww. I made Lolo clean it up! Ha! She says I'm a "wuss" - whatever, so long as I don't have to touch a dead rat :) Thanks Lolo!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Silence of the Bees

Peggy wanted to recommend to everyone a TV program that she thinks will be interesting. Peggy loves this type of show. Here is the info:

"Nature" on PBS
Episode Title - "Silence of the Bees"
Sunday, October 28, 7:00pm
CHANNEL 11 (PBS Hawaii)

The Season 26 opener probes colony collapse disorder---the dramatic loss of honeybees in North America and Europe. The honeybee is responsible (via pollination) for one of every three bites of food people eat. Included: long-term ramifications.

Save the Date - Na Mea Book Signing/Concert

CELEBRATION FOR PEGGY CHUN

Na Mele Nei Concert,
Sunday, November 4, 1 to 3 p.m.
Ward Warehouse Amphitheatre

New Hope Singers
Holy Trinity Choir singing Daniel Ho’s song for Peggy, “Come See Her Smile”
Na Hoku Award-winning band, Pali
Zanuck Lindsay
KFC, Keith & Carmen Haugen & Frank Uehara on pakini bass
Yvonne Elliman
Ellen Martinez & The Na Mele Nei Backyard Gang
And, Wally Amos reading Peggy’s book, The Watercolor Cat

The first 50 folks to purchase Peggy’s book in Native Books Na Mea Hawai’i will receive a free Peggy Chun poster of her watercolor, “Old Style.”

Contact: Ellen Martinez, cell: 778-2945, phone: 536-0609

New Blog Feature

To make things more convenient for you guys, I've added a new feature on the website. Look beneath my Meez on the left hand side and you'll see a little box that says "Blogarithm.com" - if you enter in your email address, you will be notified by email every time I update the blog. Isn't that cool?!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Forgot to Mention...

Forgot to mention one thing from the doctor visit...Peggy has a mole on her cheek (her face, not her okole) and she was a bit concerned about it since it has been changing in appearance and growing a bit. Dr. Davis took a look at it today and feels certain that it is a skin tag and he will be coming over to nitro-freeze it off soon. She has a cute little round band-aid on it for the time being.

Photos from Indy's Party and Peggy's Sick Humor


I'm excited to share with everyone the fabulous photos from Indy's Princess Party this past Sunday. The party was so fun and Indy loved the decorations. In fact, we all loved the decor so much that we decided to keep them up and just add spooky stuff on top for our "Sweet & Spooky" Baby Shower for Kelly on Sunday! Here is a link to the photos http://www.pegslegs.shutterfly.com/

Peggy had her doctor visit today and she and Hanna came up with a great (albeit twisted) costume for Dr. Davis's viewing pleasure. They call it "Doctor Visit in the Nick of Time" (yes, that is a stuffed vulture on Peggy's chest).

Monday, October 22, 2007

Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Some of you might be interested in a film titled Diving Bell and the Butterfly that will be showing at the Dole Cannery this Wednesday at 7pm as part of the Hawaii International Film Festival. You can find out more online at hiff.org

Here is a synopsis of the film:

Diving Bell and the Butterfly
(Le Scaphandre et le Papillon)

At 43, Jean-Dominique Bauby, the rakishly successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle suffered a massive stroke and his brain stem was rendered inactive. After lapsing into a coma, he awoke to find himself the victim of a rare "locked-in syndrome" - mentally alert but permanently deprived of movement and speech. The only way he could communicate was by moving his left eye. Like its cinema predecessors MY LEFT FOOT and THE SEA INSIDE, the film captures the power of human resolve.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

In Between Book Signings...

I just got home from the Ward book signing, Peggy is still down there, but I had to get my 2 spastic munchkins down for a nap before taking them to the Windward book signing. We'll be stopping at the VCA Kaneohe animal hospital to pick up Bug's ashes on the way. I have a few quiet moments while they nap, so I thought I'd blog a bit.

Yesterday was a funny day...poor Lehua had one thing after another happen to her on her shift. First the bed deflated and wouldn't re-inflate. It seems as if it may have gotten overheated. Lehua urgently asked Magda to hold Peggy's head so that it wouldn't fall forward while we tried to fix the bed unit. Well, poor Magda - we didn't explain to her what was going on and so she thought it was a medical emergency of some sort - she was holding Peggy's head thinking that some of her medical equipment failed and didn't realize that it was just the bed. She was very relieved when we finally explained what was going on. She even did some praying and reiki energy work on the bed and within 20 minutes it miraculously started working again.

After that, Lehua called me in because the feeding tube popped apart and all the Jevity emptied out onto the floor into a big sticky puddle. We cleaned it up and then it happened again! Peggy said that it has just recently started happening and so we think that we may have gotten a defective batch of bags. I called Apria and they are sending us a new batch on Monday (FYI - we are supposed to give them the defective bags back).

The girls helped me decorate the front room for the princess party - it looks so cute!!! Indy is very excited. Peggy got to get up in the wheelchair yesterday to see what we had done.

Tedi from Joey's Feline Friends came by withe more antibiotics for the cats. They have been doing really well on the meds and haven't had anymore accidents around the house. Yay! Cola, however, is still VERY bald. Tedi gave me some oral flea medication that I gave her yesterday and can give her every few days. We will see if that helps with her scratching and balding. Thanks to all of you for helping with the cat meds.

I'm off now to get ready for the Windward book signing. Shelly wrote the cutest song for Peggy and she surprised her at the book signing today by signing it (with the help of everyone around!).

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Thursday Update

Peggy's eyes were pretty bad today, but they are better now that she has been resting them and taking cat naps. She was up late watching the Father Damien movie with Magda and Shelly again, so she's a bit tired today.

Eric installed track lighting in the new gallery area/middle room. He's going to be adding another track and more lights to it next time he has a chance. Being in that room reminded me that I want to find a chimney sweeper to clean the chimney before we start lighting fires this winter. Anyone know of one?

Eric picked Indy up from school and brought her back here so she could play with Kalai (Karen's grandson). So Indy, Kalai, and Sawyer are all here hanging out, munching on snacks, running around the house, drawing...

I saw a large rat in the office today. What's up with our cats not doing their job? So Eric set the "Rat-Zapper" up in the office. Eeew.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Happy Birthday, Indy!

Today is Indiana's 4th birthday. This morning Eric, Sawyer, and I went to her school for a snack time celebration. We brought stuff for the kids to make "Healthy Halloween Snacks". We made "spider cracker creatures", "edible eyeballs", and "apple monster bites". It was a really cute project and we felt good giving Indy a memorable experience without loading her and her friends up with SUGAR! Her teacher appreciated it too and the kids had a great time. Sawyer loved hanging out with all the big kids.

We had dinner with my parents last night since my dad and Indy share a birthday. Tonight we are doing just a small dinner for Indy at our house - she requested miso soup, spaghetti, and a big cake. On Sunday here at Peggy's we are having a small "Princess Tea Party" here for Indy with just a couple of her girlfriends and girl cousins. I know that Peggy is really looking forward to it. I am really excited too and have been working on an all pink princess menu (pink mac & cheese, pink lemonade, strawberry tea sandwiches, strawberries, raspberries, pink cookies and sweets, and pink cupcakes baked in pink ice cream cones). We'll be sure to take lots of photos to share.

Pretty mellow around here today. This place is really looking GREAT. Karen has been going above and beyond. And have you noticed the beautiful new carpet in Peggy's room? That was a gift from the fabulous Andy Yim. Thanks Andy!

Madga and Peggy have been busy discussing plans for the Father Damien mosaic. Magda has been sorting and sorting and sorting all those itty bitty little pieces. Peggy seems very happy that progress is being made on this big vision of hers - you can see the excitement and light in her eyes as she talks with Magda about the project. This is so great for her spirit.

We are excited to share that we have added yet another book signing for Peggy (we didn't think she was busy enough!). Wally & Christine Amos have invited Peggy and Shelly to do a book signing at their fun and yummy Chip & Cookie Store in Kailua on Saturday, October 27th at 1pm. They have generously dubbed it "Peggy Chun Day" and are donating 10% of sales that day back to Peggy. Mahalo nui loa!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Respiratory Home Care Vent Check

Respiratory Home Care came today to do a vent check. They checked the machine and the oxygen. They took our empty portable oxygen tank (we had 2, so now we have 1). They told us that the filter on the oxygen tank needs to be cleaned at least once a week - it was filthy! So please take a moment to check it if you can. It is located on the back of the oxygen tank. Just take the filter out, dust it off, and then rinse it with just water (NO soap). Then dry it well with a towel and put it back.

Mellow day around here...Lehua is painting Peggy's nails black for Halloween and Sawyer is sleeping at the foot of her bed.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Sad News About Bug the Big Orange Cat


I have some very sad news to report about Bug, the big orange cat. He passed away last night at the VCA Kaneohe animal hospital around 11:30pm. Bug was 18 years old.

Last night, on Hanna's shift she heard him howling. He seemed to be having some trouble with his back legs and was quite listless. I called Jenifer, who used to be a vet tech, to go and check on him. She graciously went to Peggy's to help him. I also called Teddie from Joey's Feline Friends, who called Jack & Cola's vet - they were so caring and wonderful and recommended that we take him right away to VCA Kaneohe. Jen was so kind to take him for us. Hanna and Peggy spent the time waiting for Jen petting Bug and taking photos of him.

I talked with the emergency vet after she had a chance to look at him. She needed to do further testing to see what was going on, so I had her do blood work and x-rays. She called me back around 11pm to let me know that he had a hip fracture, but even more troublesome was that Bug was in kidney failure. They are not exactly sure what happened (aside from his age), but they felt that a cat his age would really not be able to recover well. Any treatment they could have given him would have been quite hard on his body and would have cost thousands of dollars.

We chose to have Bug put to sleep instead of putting him through any trauma. The vet told me that his body seemed to be in a bit of shock and therefore, he didn't seem to be in too much pain. Bug has had a wonderful long cat life of 18 years. We chose to have him cremated and I told Peggy that we would plan a memorial at the house just like we did for "Boo".

Lisa was on shift with Peggy last night when I called her with the news. She is obviously quite upset. Bug will be missed by all of us. Bug got to spend time in Peggy's room earlier in the day yesterday. Lehua brought him in and gave him lots of cuddles. I know he's having a blast in Kitty Heaven with Boo now. They will be smiling down on Peggy and Shelly as they spread their cat propaganda around the state (and the world) on their book tour.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Dust Bunny Central

There has been A LOT of activity around here the past couple days. Our amazing Karen had a vision - to move the gallery into the middle room instead of the front room! She is a genius! So she and her son Bryce have been turning the house upside down, cleaning and reorganizing. Her motivation is contagious, so we've all been bustling along with her. I had Eric take a huge load of stuff to Salvation Army yesterday - mostly old kid toys and stuff.

Today, we tackled Peggy's room...I spent quite a bit of time trying to untangle all the wires around Peggy's computer. Finally it is a little more manageable. We cleaned off the caregiver table in Peggy's room and refilled the snack basket, so dig in!

Andy and Maria Rose helped vacuum and wet swiffer Peg's room. They put a mask and goggles on Peggy first to keep her dust-free. It is all very exciting and hopefully it will stay clean in Peggy's room for at least a day.

Madga is officially moved in to the cottage, so if you see a cute Polish girl lurking around, that's her! We feel so lucky to have her here.

The cats are now on antibiotics. I have to give them a dropper full each 2 times a day for 1 month! Ugh. I am keeping the meds in my drawer in the office. I may have to call some of you night shift folks and weekend guys to administer cat meds - hope you don't mind. Oh and by the way - they HATE it. So you have to grab them by the scruff and force it in the back of their little cat mouths.

Kelly's Sweet & Spooky Baby Shower



For all of you who know Kelly Jones, hope you can join us Sunday October 28th at 4pm for a Sweet & Spooky Baby Shower here at Peggy's. Kelly is due in November and is having a girl.

Please RSVP if you can make it to me as soon as you know - we're trying to get a head count for food.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Looking for Stampers, Special Book Signing/Sale at Peggy's Nov. 11

We are looking for volunteers to help us stamp Peggy's signature and Boo's paw print this Saturday Oct 13th (Waikele at 12, Pearlridge at 3) and next Saturday Oct 20th (Ward at 12pm, Windward Mall at 3). You can call or email me for more details.

All Peg's Legs and their friends/family, please save the date: Sunday, November 11th from 11 to 5pm. We are planning a special Christmas Sale/Book Signing at Peggy's house. Shelly will be there all day to sign books and we'll have our stampers ready. We'll be sending out more information as the day gets closer. So for all of you Legs that can't make it to the book signings, you don't have to worry - we'll take care of you on November 11th!

Peggy & Shelly Meet the Lakers!


HONOLULU - OCTOBER 9: (L-R) Brian Cook, Luke Walton, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers pose with Peggy Chun (in wheelchair) and Shelly Mecum as they attend a read to achieve event and dedicate a Lakers Reading Room at the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii's Hale Pono Clubhouse on October 9, 2007 at the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii.

NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/photo?slug=getty-76112959ab015_read_acieve&prov=getty

Elroy's Famous Too

Recently Elroy was interviewed by AARP Magazine for an article about caregiving. On the article page, they have sidebar discussing Share the Care. Here is what it says, including Elroy's wonderful quote:

Interested in going several steps beyond helping out a caregiver now and then? One innovative idea is shared-care networks—groups of people who get together to share the work that otherwise would fall on one caregiver.

“I think of it as barn building,” says Sheila Warnock, founder of ShareTheCaregiving (see “Getting Help,” above). “Everyone has to lend a hand.”

A care network can be two people or many more, Warnock says. “It works as a way of re-creating the nuclear families that we had years ago.”

That’s precisely what happened five years ago in Honolulu, where volunteers formed a network to help 80-year-old Elroy Chun and his son and daughter-in-law care for Elroy’s wife, Peg, 61, who has ALS, a progressive neurological disease.

There are now 25 volunteers, and they call themselves Peg’s Legs. They work in four-hour shifts alongside paid health care workers. That allows Elroy to report to work each day as a building-industry consultant and to do manageable tasks such as laundry. “Thank God they are here,” Elroy says. “They help keep me alive and Peg at home.”

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/family/caregiving/caring_for_the_caregiver.html

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

So Famous!



It has been a whirlwind of activity the past 5 days. On a personal note, Indy was out of school Thursday, Friday, the weekend, and then yesterday - so I've been going nuts dragging 2 kids around! Indy finally went back to school today and Sawyer just went down for a nap, so it is blogging time!

We had the "Splendor of China" show at the Blaisdell this past weekend which was fun and definitely worth the effort. On Saturday, Eric had a big kayaking race for his Iolani kids and I had not sitter, so I dragged the kids along with me to help sell Puna's artwork! Train 'um young, I say! I've attached some photos of them in their fort under the table at the show. I suspect Eric spent his fair share of time under a craft show table growing up.

Yesterday was the Barnes and Noble book signing at Ala Moana. There was a huge turnout and all the local TV stations were there to catch it. Kahu Julia did a beautiful pule (prayer) at the start. Next, Wally Amos did a reading of the book. Then Shelly signed books and Suzanne Maurer and Gay Austin helped us by stamping each book with Peggy's signature and a stamp with Boo's signature and paw print!

Even Indiana got to autograph her photo in Pat Gamble's book! (Indy's photo appears mid-story in the book). On the side, we had Magda and the Holy Trinity kids demonstrating how they paint the tiny mosaic pieces for the Father Damien mosaic. Indy, Bella Grace, and their friend Jazz got to paint some squares. It was a fabulous and exciting day for all of us. I've uploaded some photos to Shutterfly. Here is the link http://pegslegs.shutterfly.com/ - you can also reach the photos by clicking the link to the left of this page.

As I mentioned there was tons of media coverage for this event, so I'm going to list some links here to what I could find online:

KHNL's coverage with video clip
http://www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=7186390

KGMB's coverage with video clip
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/678/40/

We also thought it was a fabulous coincidence when we found this article titled "Cat tells life story of his "best friend" the Pope" Check that story out here http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071003/tod-uk-pope-cat-1a5e080.html

Now the next exciting thing is that Peggy is off to Ewa Beach today to meet the Lakers! Yes, that's right...The L.A. Lakers are in town here and today members of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, along with some of the Laker Girls, will be in 'Ewa Beach today to dedicate the new Lakers Reading Room in the Hale Pono Boys & Girls Clubhouse. The very exciting news is that they have picked "The Watercolor Cat" as the book that they would like to read at the dedication! So Peggy and Shelly will be going today to listen to the Lakers read their book! How fabulous is that?!

You can read the article about the Lakers Reading Room here http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071009/NEWS01/710090321/1001/NEWS01

Phew! So, are we blowing your mind yet? Well, just to send you over the top, we just got news that the previous diagnosis of Feline Leukemia for Cola was a false positive and that both cats have tested negative for Feline Leukemia. In fact all of their blood work looks great. They do have a mild infection that requires antibiotics, but the great thing is that it is TREATABLE! Cola's balding is due to an allergy to fleas - also treatable. So things are looking good for Jack and Cola. They will be starting their antibiotic treatment today. By the way, we are still trying to collect stool samples for both cats, so if you happen to be there when they...well, we'd really appreciate it :)

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Breaking News on HonoluluAdvertiser.com

Notice the typo!! We got a kick out of this "breaking news" on their site...


http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Oct/04/br/br6742503189.html

"Artist Peggy Chun to make rare public appearance"

Advertiser Staff

Artist Peggy Chun, painting while still battling ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, will make a rare public appearance with co-author Shelly Mecum, to autograph their book, "The Watercolor Cat," from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday at Barnes & Noble Ala Moana.

Chun is the celebrated watercolorist known for her whimsical art. Over the years, she also has explored other media: collage, photography, pastels, oils, acrylics.

Though not paralyzed except for her eye movement, Chun communicates and digitally paints with a computer system called ERICA from Eye Response Technologies, enabling her to continue her creative expression. "After all," she said in a prepared statement, "you don't paint with your hands, you paint with your heart."

"The Watercolor Cat" is a children's book about Chun's life and art told through the eyes of her beloved cat and is hailed as a triumph of the human spirit.

Peggy's Overnight Care Tips

Here are a few tips that Peggy wrote up regarding her overnight care...This mostly applies to her care from 10pm to 10am, but the rest of you might find it interesting/informative as well:


There is a new chart specifically for my care. However, I cannot read the chart, so please read every line in each block I am looking at.

Eye care - At night, when we put the bubble over my eye, the bubble must be taped to face securely so that air doesn’t escape. The bubble must be full enough to not hit the eye. Cover NO MORE than half of the un-patched eye with the little black cloth.

At night, make sure that you have set up the white foam cardboard that blocks the TV (we keep it behind the bed) – this blocks the TV so that I can sleep when you are watching

I like to use a mask when I sleep to cover my mouth to keep the inside my mouth from drying up. If I seem to be in a deep daze it is not because I am sleeping, it is because I am having trouble with my eyes. Please don’t hesitate to wake me out of it by manually using your fingers to open my eyes. You can follow that with gel drops and then PM gel.

If my eyes dry out, it takes at least 24 hours to remoisten them. The pain is excruciating. My eyes are the only moving part of my body and that’s whey the care of my eyes is the most important.

Peg's Legs Update: Peg's Busy World

Sent this out today...

Aloha Peg's Legs,

Things have been BEYOND busy at the Chun House. First of all, did you know that Peggy is going on tour? Yes, that's right, Peggy is about to go on a local book tour with Shelly Mecum for their wonderful book "The Watercolor Cat". Peggy has her FIRST book signing (or book stamping in Peggy's case) at Barnes and Nobles this coming Monday, October 8th from 2 to 5pm at Ala Moana. Please join us!

Last night they aired a news bit about the book on KHON. There is a video clip of it on KHON's website, http://www.khon2.com - click on the image of Peggy and her cat Boo. The story is called Meet "The Watercolor Cat"

The books will be available in bookstores Monday and anyone that lives outside of Hawaii can order the book through Barnes and Noble or Borders Books and Music stores. They make great Christmas presents!!!

Peggy and Shelly are going to be on tour all this month and next. We've got her wheelchair charged and she's raring to go!

Being on a Book Tour, however, doesn't mean that Peggy isn't busy with other projects. The Father Damien watercolor mosaic project is still in the works. And the great news is that Peggy's former artist assistant, Magda Hawajska, is flying in from Poland to help Peggy with the project. She will be arriving Friday and is going to be staying in our cottage! We feel so blessed. She is the perfect person for the job and Peggy is so pleased that Magda will be able to help her complete her vision.

We also have the most amazing news to share. Our family has grown in the most wonderful way. A couple of years before the birth of Eric, Peggy had a daughter that she gave up for adoption. To make a very long story short, 6 months ago a detective that we hired found her. Her name is Leslie and she currently lives in Rhode Island.

Leslie and Peggy have been communicating by letter and email. A couple weeks ago, Leslie and her husband Stuart arrived in Honolulu. They planned a trip here specifically to meet Peggy (and Eric too). The visit exceeded any expectations that any of us had.

Leslie is the most amazing person, so warm and open to everything. It is not easy to walk into to all of this Chun craziness and she did it with such grace and warmth. We all feel so blessed to know her and Stu. She truly has touched all of our hearts, especially Peggy's. I have never seen Peggy so happy and content.

We had so much fun with Leslie and Stuart. They are very active, outdoorsy types which Eric loved! He got to take them canoe surfing a couple times and showed them his friend's taro farm. Eric and Leslie got along so well. It is really all so wonderful.

So as you can see, we've had a few things going on. Peggy's health has been pretty stable. We've had a few bad days with Peggy's eyes, but nothing that a little eye care and rest hasn't been able to cure. The birthday season is upon us - we just celebrated my birthday, then Eric's...yesterday was Jade's 5th birthday and then on the 17th is Indy's 4th birthday. Then Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas...oh my gosh, I need to go lie down.

Take care all and lots of love from all of us Chuns!

Me ke aloha,

The Chun Ohana

KHON News Clip Online

Here is a note from Shelly about last night's news clip:

I hope you are able to access this video at the news station of KHON (Fox News).

This is a news clip about Peggy Chun and our new picture book that will be launched next Monday at Barnes and Noble (Ala Moana) Yes! Peggy will be there! She is going on a book tour!

Here's the link: http://www.khon2.com/ Click on the image of Peggy and her cat Boo. Story is named Meet "The Watercolor Cat". I love technology!!!

Anyone that lives outside of Hawaii can order this book through Barnes and Noble or Borders Books and Music Store. They will have it in their database! Monday is the pub date for The Watercolor Cat!" Hope to see you at Barnes and Noble from 2:00-5:00!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

News Tonight and Our Busy Month

Peggy's got an outing tomorrow night and then the Barnes & Noble signing on Monday. Shelly told me that they are making a BIG DEAL about this at B & N - it will be a lot of fun! Don't miss it!

They are doing the first media bit on The Book and the signings TODAY on KHON News at 5pm.

Us office gals are selling Peg's artwork at the Blaisdell at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce Show this Saturday and Sunday.

This is a busy month! Today is Jade's 5th birthday (Jason & Jenifer's daughter). Happy birthday, Jade! They are coming by to visit with Peggy this afternoon and then we're going to Dave & Busters tonight to help them celebrate.

We also have Indy's birthday coming up this month on October 17th. She's going to have a little Princess Tea Party here at the house with just a few of her girlfriends/cousins. We're going all out with a pink princess theme in hopes that it gets it out of her system!

Next, we have an important "Save the date" for you:

Please mark your calendars for Sunday, October 28th at 4pm at Peggy's house. We'll be having a baby shower for Kelly! She's 7 months along already - time sure is flying by!

And then we have Halloween at the end of the month...our theme this year is simple - SPOOKY!!! Karen has already started decorating and the house is looking great!

Peggy's eyes are looking great today. We've had a few bad eye days here and there, but for the most part, it clears up with enough "eye care" (PM gel, blinking, patching, and positive thinking).

And great news - Healthcare Alternatives nurse, Salote, will be taking all of the empty shifts this month! Yay! Lisa and Lolo are also helping us with some overnights and between all of them we have the whole month covered!

Last thing - the cats aren't doing so great. They have been leaving "presents" for us all around the house - number 1 and number 2. Ugh. One of them took a big dump in Sawyer's playpen. Nice. Clearly, they are not feeling well. Elroy will be taking them both in to the cat clinic on Saturday to have them checked out and find out more. We'll keep you posted.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

The Watercolor Cat

I know I've been neglecting my blogging - sorry all - I've been in PARTY MODE!!! But it is back to the grindstone...so first off, here is all you needed to know and more about The Watercolor Cat and Peggy's book tour:

First, here is a note about the book tour from Shelly -

Hi Suzanne and Peg's Legs,

Peggy will benefit with royalties for every book sold. As a special deal--Mutual is offering a $5 donation to Peggy through every book that a Peg's Leg buys through Mutual.

However, if no books are sold through the bookstores--the unintended consequence will be that the book's potential future sales will collapse, Mutual will not reprint it, and the book will have a very short lifespan. It's important that the book does well at these bookstore signings or the stores will stop carrying the book. In the long run--we are working for the royalties and keeping the book in print and available in the book stores--especially for the holidays.

I would recommend that Peg's Legs show up in force to all the book signings to buy a few copies in order to help Peggy and me maintain an enthusiasm for the book--Especially during the Christmas Holidays.

Here's the schedule of signings. Peggy will be attending all of these.

Monday, October 8th Barnes and Noble (Ala Moana) - 2:00-5:00 p.m.
(A Special Book Fair for Holy Trinity School--again, trying to flood the signing with customers to yield an enthusiasm for the book's potential!)

Saturday, October 13th Borders Waikele, 12pm

Saturday, October 13th Borders Pearlridge, 4pm

Saturday, October 20th Borders Ward, 12pm

Saturday, October 20th Borders Windward, 4pm

Sunday, November 4th Na Mea Native Book Store, 1pm (A special Book Launch Party in celebration of Peggy's Life)

Aloha,
Shelly

Suzanne mentioned that the books weren't ready when she called Mutual yesterday. However, they said they would be ready today or tomorrow.