Calories

I think I am fighting a losing battle! Here are some pictures to show you what I mean.

Every morning around 6:00 I go off for a walk for about an hour. This is actually a longer walk than I have in Japan, but there is a good reason for this. I eat too dang much!!! I always know this is going to happen. The food is soooo good here and it's been soooo long since I last had it and the servings are soooo much bigger than I usually get in Japan. Soooo that means a lot more calories, ding dang it all!

Ok. First the walk. This is just a little of the scenery along the way. Up at the top of the driveway, still on the property. I see my brother has got wood stacked for the winter for his fireplace.

A block or two away on the main road heading to the high school. I can remember about 5 times in my 4 years of high school that I walked to school. Usually had my mom or a friend drive me. It would have been so dorky and un-cool to walk to school! But here I am in my old age making this walk every single morning. It really isn't that far but I don't ever see any high school kids walking. Still dorky I suppose. (And it is summer.)

And here is the high school. I really like the mural they've painted on the walls. Yep. We were the South Hills Huskies though I had very little school spirit. I like the motto up there too.

Down and around and head back through some residential areas and past a golf course and then up and down a few hills to get back home. A good walk that gets the blood flowing and some calories burned!

But look at the calories I'm contending with!

Pastrami sandwiches! Chili-cheese french fries! Mexican fried rice! Carneasada! New York style Cheesecake! And Marcy is of the theory that too much is better than not enough so she either makes a lot or buys an extra of something "just in case" and that "just in case" person turns out to be me! Just this morning there was a left over pastrami sandwich that no one had eaten and of course rather than let it go to waste I heated it up for breakfast. (Pastrami? For breakfast?) Then Leiya came in with half of her piece of cheesecake (which she loved, it was just too big! For Leiya even!) so I finished that off for her too!

My gosh. Will I be recognizable when I get back to Japan? I'd better put in another walk today!

Cleaning

Thank you for your encouragement yesterday. We're hanging in there!

I find I can't send e-mails from this computer, (I have no idea why and I haven't wanted to bother my brother with asking him to teach me) so I haven't replied to anyone's comments. I wish I could.

While camping out in my mom's house I've been trying to do little chores though she isn't happy with me when she knows what I'm doing. I've tossed some plants that seemed to be ant infested and I've rearrange piles of paper so that at least people can sit down. Hardly dare to throw anything away except for pizza adds and old magazines but even those she is liable to notice are gone. She is queen of paper clutter that's for sure! She has typewritten copies of all the cards and letters she's ever written plus copies of all meeting minutes that she was ever secretary to etc. Paper is piled in mountains! My theory is that even if you save it, if you can't find it, it is as good as gone, but she and I have never agreed on this and there is no purpose in trying to reason with her now. So I move the piles.

In the process of cleaning I came across a couple of my quilts. The one is another Bible quilt, probably one of the first I ever made. I gave this first one to my mother and since she doesn't have much room in her little house/apartment, it has always been hidden behind a door. Isn't it interesting how our color preferences change? I really fretted over the colors in this quilt but it doesn't really strike me when I look at it now.

The next little quilt I made is a paper pieced one I found and ordered from Paper Panache. It was just cheery and I had been ordering other things so I decided to make this for my mom since she loves birds. I don't really know if she liked it or not and she's had it stuffed under some PAPERS for the past couple years. I pulled it out for a picture but unless I put it up somewhere I think it is going to end up back in the piles. Maybe I should just steal it and take it back to Japan! (What a low-down daughter to think such a thing!!) I won't. I'll leave it for her piles.

Washing windows, vacuuming, cleaning spots off of the carpet, dusting. What a busy bee I can be when I put my mind to it! No thought of patchwork or quilting whatsoever! Tetsu probably wishes I were so industrious when I'm in my own house!

Changes

Hmmm... Not the way I'd planned to spend the day but not altogether unexpected.

For years we have joked that every time I visited from Japan my mother would get sick. In the last couple years it has been a couple of times while I was here always entailing a trip to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room. And, in the past couple of years Marcy and Keion end up taking her there a few times a year the last time ending up for an eight day stay.

Last night, Mother was feeling sick so Marcy gave her some nausea medication (always keep it on hand) and by night she seemed better. Today Marcy and the kids had a trip to the beach scheduled but I bowed out thinking I'd do some cleaning, some washing, and be around "just in case". Well, the just in case came true. At 10:00 Mom's not perking much, at 12:00 she's downright sick and I panic! I'm really terrible at this. My instinct is to call for help! Call Marcy on the cell phone. Nope, she's not answering. So I grab Mom's purse, a towel, her medication and Mom herself and take off wildly headed for the Emergency Room! (I'd spent a night with her there last summer.) Once on the streets though, I realized that it was noon, it wasn't a Sunday, Urgent Care would be open so I switched directions.

Urgent Care was packed so we waited and waited with Mom groaning and her head wobbling here and there. Finally after an hour or so we get some action and I won't go into all the details. We stayed for 5 hours and after much prodding and needle pokes and tests etc. we are home and Mom is in bed not looking that much better but at least she's been checked and has been given some shots. I have a headache.

I don't know what I want. I'd like Mom to be her rather proper, ladylike self, always a bit absent minded but quite high on the uptake usually. This is changing. She asks the same questions. She tells me the same things. Embarrassing body functions she hardly realizes are happening. She isn't interested in my Blog!

You may think, "my how egocentric Tanya is!" but truly, there was a time when she absolutely loved my letters, showing them to people, telling me I should write a book someday. Over the past few months I'd ask her if she'd read my blog and always the answer would come back.
"What's a blog?"
"Ask Keion to show it to you. I write almost everyday about my life. It's like my letters to you and better yet, it always has pictures!"
But every week we'd start the same conversation "What's a blog?"

When I got here and showed it to her she seemed so surprised though Marcy had said they had showed it to her before. But she found it hard to concentrate on the computer screen, so I read a few posts, but not really that much interest.
"Oh, she's really aged!" a light seemed to flash in my head.
I'm taking a risk writing this here in case some lucidity returns and she suddenly wants to read my blog! Boy, will I be in trouble!

Ah well... All part of life...

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."
John 14:1-3

Teenagers

Ok, I've got permission to post this and a picture so I'll tell you about the nice girl that Leiya's become friendly with. Here again, just thinking about differences in culture again...

Stephanie is 17 and will be a senior in high school from September. She's off on summer vacation and she drove over (her own car) to spend a couple of days with Leiya. Stayed the night, went shopping together, watched DVD's etc. We got to talking about some of her classes in school and she said she'd taken a class in forensics. For my Japanese blog visitors, forensics is a science that uses methods and techniques to investigate a crime. This means that Stephanie's class was going down to the coroner's office and studying corpses etc. Stephanie explained that she needed to study forensics since she wants to go into epidemiology. New word for me again! (Sometimes I feel like a foreigner when I'm in my own hometown!) Two summers ago she did some volunteer work at a local hospital and she came across the epidemiology lab in one of the corners of the hospital and after asking questions of the people working there she suddenly knew that this is what she wanted to do with her life! Study what causes diseases; research all the factors, environmental, hereditary etc. in figuring out why the person is sick. The field has to deal with science of course, but also with laws and politics since a lot of the research is connected with public health and preventive medicine. Stephanie has practical plans laid out for checking out what colleges offer the best opportunities, for taking science and law classes, for improving her research and writing ability. I'm sorry if this doesn't seem extraordinary to American friends but again, I don't think a young person in Japan would have put so much thought into their future at this young age. Most high school students in Japan are mostly concerned about getting into a good college, and they don't worry about anything else until after they have been accepted somewhere. Anyway, Stephanie was great fun to be with, quite into make-up and fashion, ate large quantities of food and bubbled and laughed and had lots to say on almost every subject. A very delightful young lady.

Here's a picture of the sleep-over. No one ever made it to a bed. If you look closely you can see four bodies spread out on the sofas. Stephanie, Leiya, and my niece and nephew. (You can only see his arm.) Looks like a wild night!

Southern California evenings

Sometimes I wonder what I would have been like if I had stayed all my life in Southern California. I find that I'm definitely not as laid back as most of my family is, nor as inclined to just sit and relax. I must seem like a compulsive worrywart to people around me here. I wonder how much of this is personality, how much is summertime thinking, how much is Japanese influence. The daily sleeping in and sitting on the porch listening to the birds is relaxing to a point but there is no schedule set for the day. In Japan usually I have my week planned out in hour increments. Here someone mentions going to the mall or out to eat and then I jump to it, sit clutching my bag and ready to go while everyone else starts a new TV program or decides to take a shower or something. I put my bag down and maybe 45 minutes later someone will say, "Ok, shall we go?" and I jump up again. The phone rings and we all go into hold again for another 15 minutes. The same thing happens in reverse. "Ok. Time to head home." and I've gathered up things and am ready to start out to the car when a new conversation starts or something in a store catches someone's attention and it's another 20 minutes before we get going in a specific direction. I can just picture Tetsu in the throws of irritation over this and it throws me for a loop too. That's not to say I'm not relaxing. I've usually got a book open but I feel like I need to keep myself on call in case someone makes a suggestion.

We spent the evening with some family friends and I made a few observations there too. First of all, one of Marcy's friend's daughter who is about Leiya's age, came over to spend the day. I was a little surprised that this very bubbly teenage girl who had never met Leiya until the day before would warm up so much and be so willing to want to be friendly. What I'm saying is that I don't think Japanese teenagers would be so easy going about making a new friend. This girl has got her own friends and life, why would she want to put out the effort of getting to know Leiya? Anyway, we decided to go to the mall. Just as we were leaving, the family friends (neighbors) called to invite everyone over for fish tacos so my brother and nephew went but we girls went shopping and picked up the neighbor's daughter too, promising to stop by later.

After shopping, all of us went back to the neighbors' s house where everyone was sitting around the pool chatting and eating. The husband deep fried some of the fish that they'd caught a couple of days ago and there were tortillas and salsa and cabbage and cheese and it was a serve yourself meal. The "party" lasted until 10:30 and candles were lit, the children were swimming, someone brought out a guitar, a bit of singing began. The neighbor's teenage son was there as was Leiya and the girl who had spent the day with us (the other kids were all 12 and younger). I just thought it nice and a bit unusual that these teenage kids would sit around on the porch with their parents and parents' friends listening, singing, talking about school and part time jobs, just being friendly and social. What's unusual? Well, I don't think too many Japanese teenagers would feel comfortable participating in the mainly adult conversation nor would they be expected to by their parents. I know when my kids were in Japan I always made Takumi and Leiya greet guests but they didn't stay around and socialize. Ahh!!! Southern California evenings!

Nothing in the way of pictures. Here are some shots of the bougainvillea around my mom's house. The one in the pot she just bought a few days ago and my brother came home and looked horrified!
"Not killer bougainvillea!? That stuff is deadly!"
He is referring to the fact that he can't seem to kill the bougainvillea that grows up over the roof of the house every couple of months.
"But it's so pretty." my mom says.
"Then you go out with the chainsaw." he mutters under his breath.

Barbecuing!

We've been eating and shopping and doing a little reading when we can manage to stay awake. Leiya has finally decided that she really should be reading a book that she has to know about by September so we spent a couple of hours at the library yesterday.

Last night my sister-in-law, my niece, Leiya and I went to a street fair that is held near here for a few hours. Every year we go at least once and I love to wander through the booths and look at all the hand made things that people are selling. Lots of crafty things, lots of home grown fruits and vegetables, lots of food booths set up selling steak and corn, baked potatoes, popcorn, cookies, candy and cakes. Unfortunately once there I realized I had dead digital camera batteries so I didn't get a single picture! Rats!

While the girls played, my brother and nephew were off for a day of deep sea fishing (a once a year event) and they came back really pooped! We didn't get to hear about the trip until this morning when they finally woke up and showed us their catch. I think they caught bonita, sea bass and perch. Tonight we had a great barbecue of fish and steak! None of the Californians here can stomach the fish skin nor the idea of cleaning fish so I guess the boat crew did that for them. Marcy grilled it with butter and lemon salt! Delicious!

And here are Leiya and me in the newly put in lawn in the back yard. I remember this area full of ivy and geraniums but it looks like a park now!

Arrived!

Arrived and posting no less! Wow! I am impressed with my ability to figure out a new system in less than a day! I think I can even download pictures! (We'll see...)

An easy flight and arrival in California. Some tears from Leiya when we said goodbye to Tetsu but that is understandable. Tokyo's Narita airport is lovely and a lot of fun to wander through. It is a very pleasant airport and has lots to see and do. The flight was crowded and I slept the whole 9 and a half hours so not much to report there. My mom and Marcy and family were waiting for us at Arrivals and after a quick stop at In 'n Out hamburgers, we were home.

Lots of changes at my brother's house. A newly remodeled kitchen (they're still putting things away so I'll take a picture later.) A new lawn in the backyard. A new car. After a quick rest, the women in the family took off to WalMart for... fabric!!! I had heard that WalMart was closing down their fabric department and I wanted to check it out so I found lots of lovely bright fabric there for $2 a yard! I bought a yard of about 10 different shades of the same print. I know, WalMart may not have the best quality but it's nice for a simple project and I don't have a whole lot of money to spend so it suits my purposes. When I asked the lady to cut the fabric I said "One meter each." and she looked at me and said, "What's a meter?" I'd forgotten we use yards in America!

Speaking of fabric, look was waiting for me at my mom's house!! I package from Thelma! She sent me some hand dyed fabrics. (I have yet to figure out how to e-mail her a thank you note, so if you're reading this Thelma but don't hear from me, Thank you!!!) Now this is quality stuff! Look at the beautiful colors!!! Oh, I am going to have so much fun when I get back to Japan and get back to the sewing room!! Anyway, this was a wonderful welcome gift that greeted me when I walked in the door.

Ok. I'm off again. Just reporting in!

Wonky Word Finished!

I FINISHED!!!!! And I've even got the label on!!! Now I can go to bed!

I love the colors, I love the words, I love the stars, I love the quilting. And more than that, Leiya is happy with it too. The Wonky Word quilt is going with us to America tomorrow. I think I started January 20th of this year, and that means it took me six months to do. It was a great six months and I hope I'll find a chance to make another one. Thank you again Tonya for your inspiration and advice!

The upstairs is a mess and the bags aren't packed yet, but Tetsu the whiz packer will help us tomorrow morning. Talk about cutting it down to a fine line!!! I'm leaving here at 10:30 so I won't be able to post again, but we'll see what I can do from the States. Thank you Ulla, Tonya and Calico Cat. I'll take the address and password with me.

Bye!

Blogging?

Well, I'm leaving tomorrow morning for the States so this may be the last post for awhile. My brother has a computer so I will probably will be able to look at blogs but I'm not sure about logging in to my own and posting. Does anyone have any advice for me? What should I be taking? A blogging address. A password, but what else? I usually just push my Bookmark's button to get into Blogger so I don't know what I'm going to go if I'm at another computer. If I get this figured out great, but if not then you'll not be hearing from me until the middle of August.

I also probably can't monopolize my brother's computer (he's got kids in the house who play their games on it too so if I remember correctly I have to make an "appointment" for computer time.) What I'm saying is that I'm not going to be able to comment much or reply very much but I haven't forgotten you all and I'm probably going to be lurking around in the back of cyber world.

See you in August! (I'm putting the binding on the Wonky Word quilt right now!!!)

Wedding Anniversary

Well, I'm three days early on this but my poor husband is going to be alone on our 27th anniversary and I wanted to get this posted anyway. On July 13th we are celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary but I will be in the States, and he will be here in Japan. This happens almost every year so I guess we didn't plan well when we set the wedding date (which by the way we chose because his summer bonus came in so it was the only way we could afford a wedding!)

I wrote a couple of months ago about how Tetsu and I met and first communicated. We dated about 2 and a half years before we got married. Many of the people around us probably didn't think this was such a good idea. Tetsu wasn't interested in learning English and although my Japanese had improved it was far from perfect. Interestingly our families gave us their blessings. My family figured when I went to Japan at age 22 that it was likely I'd marry a Japanese, and Tetsu's mother, though surprised that he'd found a foreigner in the out-of-the-way city where we met, made me feel welcome. So we planned our wedding.

Tetsu himself wanted to wear kimono for the wedding but I was not about to get dressed up in the traditional garb with the heavy white make-up and wig. I wanted to wear a wedding gown. Ok. How about half and half? We agreed that we'd do it both ways.

First the wedding dress. Normally Japanese brides will rent their wedding finery, both dress and kimono but I wanted mine to be my very own so I decided to sew it myself. My mother sent me wedding dress patterns and lace samples and with the help of friends I sewed the dress. Ok. No problem there.

For the kimono though I was at a loss. Then a ladies' English class I was teaching came together and offered to plan my Japanese wedding outfit. One lady brought the kimono she had worn to her wedding. It had been hand painted by her father-in-law, a famous artist. Another lady brought an obi (the wide belt). One lady supplied the embroidered collar, another the footwear. And finally, one lady who had studied kimono offered to dress me on the big day.

So here you have it, Tetsu and me nearly 30 years ago. I keep the pictures displayed on a dresser but Tetsu says we ought to put them away, we look nothing like we did then!

I think, even though Tetsu and I have battled with a language barrier, that we communicate better than many Japanese couples. As he gets older he is more free with kisses and hand holding and I tease him and make him laugh. We are not gushy nor romantic and probably could use a little spice in our marriage but I see us growing old together sedately and happily. We take time out to tell each other about our day and consult each other about problems and decisions. I trust him with everything and he tells me that I'm the only place he feels comfortable.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Games

I am running around madly trying to tie up loose ends before I head for the States. Post office, bank, teaching, taking Leiya to see friends, shopping. etc. I've got to get the binding on the Wonky Word quilt (it's not completely quilted even, but I don't think my mom in the States has a working sewing machine.)

So, here is a bit of useless information for those of you without children in the house or visiting.

I've taught English in my home for over 20 years, mostly to elementary school age children. Sometimes the kids arrive early and want to play awhile, sometimes we finish up the lesson 10 or 15 minutes early and have a little extra time. This week, since it is the last week before I leave, I'm giving them the whole hour to play a game and eat cookies (store bought. I'm not baking at this late date.) I must have over 30 games in my closet and I'm always on the lookout for more. I don't even know why sometimes. My kids are out of the house. Tetsu and I don't play games. I have a theory somewhere in the back of my mind that game playing, interacting, using your brain etc. will all be great mental exercise and will of someday be of help when figuring out the problems in life, working with people, even helping communication skills. Whatever reasons I put to it, the kids like to play the games and I like to collect them though I'm not sure how this ties in with English learning...

So, here are three of our favorite games that any of you with kids or grand kids might like to try.

RAT-A-TAT-CAT ------ This is a card game that can be played with quite a few kids at a time and adults seem to like it too. It takes some memory work but it isn't hard to grasp and if there is 10 or 15 minutes, it is a good game to fill up time.

LABYRINTH ------ This is a board game put out by Ravensburger. It can only be played by 4 people, but it is another great thinking game based on mazes and shifting blocks. Like many of Ravensburger's games, the board is different every time you play.

SET ----------- This is an all time favorite card game based on... sets. I'm pretty sure this game has won an award for educational games and often the child grasps the idea before the adult does. It takes a little catching on to play it, but once you know what you are looking for it is very interesting. Some kids can't be bothered to even understand the rules other kids can find the sets in seconds.
You're either going to love this game or you're not going to be able to understand it at all.

All three games are non-verbal games so they are good for non-English speakers or with a mixed group of native speakers and non-English speakers.

Hope this is of help to anyone wondering what to do with their kids this summer! If you know of any great games that your kids like please let me know!

Tanabata

July 7th was Tanabata which is a famous Japanese summer festival. When Takumi was little we lived in Sendai, a northern city of Japan and it had a huge Tanabata festival. I remember dressing Takumi up in a little cotton kimono and wandering around the decorated streets and eating cotton candy and roasted squid. I think the tradition comes from the legend that two star gods fell in love on separate sides of the universe and they were only able to meet on this night when the Milky Way made a bridge across the sky. Of course this makes the festival popular with young couples and lovers. Very romantic to go out walking under the stars during Tanabata, even if the stars are colorful paper streamers. The beautiful paper decorations are supposed to represent shooting stars in the galaxy.

Families with children in Japan will cut a bamboo shoot from the forest and place it where it can be easily decorated with paper rings and streamers and prayers that are often written in the form of poetry. I remember buying my kids Tanabata kits in the store and all we had to do was write our messages, cut out the paper, do a little origami and tie the decorations to the plastic sprig of bamboo provided.

Tanabata unfortunately went by our family with hardly a thought this year. Hmmm. No little kids in the house and somehow Tetsu and I forgot to take the romantic walk under the stars... (pictures off the Internet again.)

Fruit

Look at the jewels in this box! And at first glance can you tell what they are? (besides the fact that it's written on the side). Aren't these gorgeous cherries?! And look at that packing! This is quite an expensive gift from a friend and since taking the picture we've been enjoying the wonderful sweet fruit! Just the careful way that the cherries are packed, with their stems hidden in a line beneath and their rosy faces shining up at you, you know these cherries have been cultivated and tended with loving care and that the farmer is proud of the results of his labor! And they are expensive! Suffice it to say that I wouldn't be buying our family these cherries for a snack!

Japanese produce is always gorgeous. The fruit and vegetables in the supermarket have no blemishes or bruises or dents and there isn't such a thing as a misshapen piece of fruit. Everything looks like it has been polished and is displayed with care. In the department stores you can see a perfect melon displayed in a velvet lined box ready to purchase as a gift for someone special. I've never bought one but I have been amazed that people will pay the equivalent to $100 dollars for a single melon! Of course, the everyday housewife will pick up fruit at "normal" prices that are packed in plastic boxes or bags, but in general the odd shaped fruit and vegetables aren't readily sold.

I found these pictures on the Japanese Internet. Anyone want to buy a bunch of grapes for $50?

Summer quilts

I've gotten so far away from sewing recently, everyone probably has forgotten that I once was a quilter... I'm still plodding away on the Wonky Word Quilt and am seriously worried that I won't get it done in the next 4 days. When I sit down I really do get a lot done, but I rarely am sitting down, instead wandering around with Leiya in stores or visiting people.

So, I'm showing you a couple quilts that I have up on my walls now that I consider my summer quilts. The two were originally planned to be one quilt but as I got to putting the blocks together I decided the colors didn't work so I ended up making two separate quilts. I'm so glad! The first is a Hawaiian quilt (obviously) and one summer I found some hand dyed fabrics at a small quilt show and just had to have them so I bought 9 fat quarters and started making blocks from a couple of books. This was amazing to my friends as well as to me since up until then I had sworn that I disliked applique. I spent nearly a year making the 9 blocks and I really enjoyed the process! Then I started on the sunflowers that are in the second quilt. I had planned to put these in the block corners of the Hawaiian quilt but it just didn't go together. So the Hawaiian got put in the closet for a year and in the meantime I made up the sunflower quilt. I must say that I am very proud of my hand quilting on this one, but horrors after I first washed it and found that the red backing I had used bled through to the front around the quilting! I don't know how or why since I'd washed the backing first and hadn't noticed bleeding then. (It could have been the red quilting thread but I don't think so.) After the initial despair I decided that the "bled" part wasn't so far off color wise and it gave it an extra dyed effect (positive thinking works wonders) and I have accepted the imperfections.

A year or more passes and again I'm in the States and I find this great rainbow fake batik-like print with a miniature Hawaiian pattern. I've found the fabric to use for putting the Hawaiian blocks together! Back home and I strip pieced and roller cut and made the grid to fit between the blocks. Quilting came next and why, oh why, I don't know but I hand shadow quilted in 1/4 inch increments around each applique design! I look at it now and wonder if I was going through some psychologically distressful period at the time and was trying to shut the world away by concentrating on the quilting! It took at least another year to quilt the thing!

I'm very happy with these quilts and love it when summer rolls around and they are up on the walls!

Mourning

This is not a very cheerful post today.

Yesterday I had to attend the wake of the son of one of my friends. He was only 23 years old.

You may think I'm not very sympathetic but I found myself thinking a lot about funerals and what they mean to people. Maybe I shouldn't have been analyzing the situation at a time like this but I was.

Of course since I am an American living in Japan there are a lot of cultural differences and when it comes to funerals this is always quite obvious. On top of that, being Christian in a Buddhist culture brings out many more differences and this is true for even Japanese Christians.

There are the petty differences that Christians can get hung up on. Do we burn incense for the departed or don't we? Some churches will tell you that you shouldn't. Others will say it doesn't matter, there is no need to flaunt your faith. I have done it both ways though usually people assume that since I'm American that it is not my custom and I'm not insulting anyone if I don't offer it. Tetsu gets involved with a lot of funerals since he works at a convalescent home and he just assumes the custom of the funeral service.

I've been to Buddhist funerals when the person who has passed has actually been Christian but the family isn't and so they wouldn't know what to do in a church setting anyway. This seems a shame to me. The person I know would have wanted to have a Christian service, but then I get to thinking, well, isn't the funeral for the people who are left behind anyway? It's supposed to comfort them and at least for the Christian it doesn't matter what kind of send off he gets.

The wake that I went to yesterday was held in a memorial hall and was attended by close to 500 people. Formal black wear is required and if you live in Japan one of the first things you buy is a black ensemble or suit. Actually all the formal mourning wear looks alike though there are differences in lace and style. Basically the women wear black stockings, black shoes, carry black purses and wear a simple strand of pearls. Depending on the season there is a black matching jacket that can be worn.

Yesterday's Buddhist service was a little over an hour long and the priest, dressed in robes, entered and knelt before the very elaborate altar with a picture of the boy and began chanting and hitting a drum. The chant is incomprehensible to me of course but I have asked Japanese friends and they too say that nothing that is chanted can be understood. Only the priest seems to know what he is saying but the chant opens the road for the person who has died to enter heaven so it has to be long and no one is expected to understand it. Part way during the chant the people attending were asked to line up and offer incense that was provided and in some cases I've seen incense sticks, at other services it is powdered incense. Since there were so many people this took a long time yesterday and the priest chanted throughout. No words of comfort were spoken nor any eulogy. In some cases the priest may say something at the actual funeral but often not. Yesterday, the boy's parents and brother stood at the exit to say thank you to the guests for coming, but very few words were passed between the family and those attending.

Is this comforting to the family? Maybe it is. Maybe the endless chant numbs the pain and grief. I think everyone felt the service was exhausting and wanted it to be over. Maybe the number of people attending gave the family comfort to know their son was in so many people's hearts. Maybe words of comfort and relating details of the boy's life would have made the situation more unbearable. I don't know. It is not how I would like to say my farewells...

I remember the boy from Sunday School and kindergarten. I pray his childlike faith from then will open the gates of heaven for him now.

"The Lord is near the brokenhearted,
And saves those who are crushed in spirit."
Psalms 34:18

A day in Nikko

Yesterday Leiya and I went with my Tuesday morning English class to upper Nikko which is home to some famous shrines and temples. For the past couple years we five ladies (sometimes with Leiya, sometimes without) go for a day or weekend trip to somewhere not too far away. Yesterday we spent about an hour walking along the moss covered cobblestone paths til we got to the uppermost shrine. I had given Leiya the camera and I find she took over 200 pictures on our hike! So here are a couple to give you a feel of the day.

The weather was cool and drizzled a couple times during our walk but no out and out rain. Even though, the cobblestones were damp and slippery, probably like that all year round. The forest was thick and smelled wonderful and we met very few people along the way. It was a beautiful, peaceful walk and I can see how hundreds and hundreds of years ago people would feel that God lived nearby and would build a shrine.

After our walk we had lunch at a very fancy Japanese restaurant that specialized in yuba which is made from soy milk and is similar to tofu but has a completely different texture. It was delicious and I wish I could explain all the different forms of yuba used in this meal. (Too hard to explain and you really have to taste it to understand!)

Then we went to a wood carving studio and tried our hand at wood carving. Nikko is very famous for the gorgeous wood carving works that traditionally developed here (probably an off shoot of the carvings done on the Toshogu Shrine) and along with Mashiko pottery, this is another handcraft that has made our area famous. I have a couple of Nikko carved trays that I use daily to serve tea or cakes. Well, yesterday we tried carving ourselves and it was a lot of fun, very difficult to do and gave me a better appreciation of the work involved. Leiya and I had a great time and came away thinking we'd like to try it again someday! Here are our meager attempts at carving. They look pretty good if I do say so myself! The design was stenciled onto the wood piece and we used an interesting shaped knife to carve away the stencil lines.

Another great day planned by my good friends. Thank you very much!

The surprise

Well, I blew the surprise. But what a surprise!!! Yesterday I wandered into Leiya's bedroom asking her to help me look for something and my eye caught a jumble of a patchwork block stuffed under some clothes. Did the cat drag out one of my blocks again.? But I've never made a block in those colors... And I pulled it out. Leiya let out a groan!!

"You found it! You weren't supposed to find it until it was done!"

"Done? Done with what? Where did you get this?"

"I'm making it."

"Who? You? You're making a patchwork block?! How?"

How is right! How can my daughter who has never sewn anything be making a patchwork block? And look at this block! This is advanced stuff!

"How did you do this? With a book? Did someone teach you?"

"No. I just remembered you cutting pieces out of cardboard and tracing around them so I tried it myself."

"Where did you get the pattern? This is really difficult!"

"I just made up a design in my head. It's a lot harder than it looks. I was going to give it to you for your birthday but I didn't finish it in time."

Spoken like a true quilter!!!

You can imagine that by then my eyes were welling up with tears. Look at this labor of love with no help from anyone or anything. Pure effort and love.

It's not perfect. Look at that block with all the seams meeting in the middle. That is enough to drive an experienced quilter to frustration. I've been known to reject a block with too many interlocking seams. Look at the inset pieces at the corners. She was sewing and turning at the corners to get them to fit. Can you tell how small the pieces are? Do you realize how many different sizes of crazy shaped pieces she made?

It is absolutely perfect! She was also making another one in pink and the end is far from sight on this one too. How was she planning to put these blocks together? All the jags and corners and impossibly unmatching seam lines! It boggles my mind!

I don't know when Leiya will finish her blocks or if they will ever get finished. She wants to put on borders but isn't quite sure how. I'm not sure if I should advise and help or not. I want these up on my wall or on a table or something but I don't want to take over her project. Mom, the family professional quilter takes over! That's not right. Even undone they are beautiful and a work of art to me.

Anyway, I just wanted to share Leiya's step into her mother's world.

So, how old are you?

Yesterday was a lovely day of doing what I liked, when I liked and how I liked. Tetsu and Leiya pampered me in honor of my birthday!

After church we went to my favorite restaurant for lunch, a fantastic Indian restaurant where we stuffed ourselves with good food and atmosphere. I could go here every week if someone asked me!

After lunch we did a bit of shopping but I couldn't find anything I absolutely needed or wanted. Guess what I asked for but couldn't find... A standing ironing board! I decided I don't want to iron on the dinky Japanese board and I wanted to stand tall and iron my patchwork! Since I never iron clothes, you could see the big question mark over Tetsu's head when I asked for an ironing board but alas none to be found. I've got permission to buy one if I find one or order one if need be.

So... I spent most of the afternoon quilting and got quite a bit done! Leiya napped, Tetsu got a haircut and came back with a couple presents for me after all. A beautiful handbag and pajamas. No, I'm not modelling the pajamas for you! Mrs. Yano brought me a beautiful hibiscus plant too!

And I started the 365 Challenge so I've completed one goal. (That was easy!) I'm praying that year 52 will be a good one!

"Whatever is true..."

Back again. Did you notice I changed my profile picture? I knew I had done it once before but why it took me two hours to figure it out this morning, I don't know!

Well, it is July here in Japan and time to think about what I want to get done this month. Nothing!!! Maybe I'll just sit around and watch the weeds grow! After missing my goals last month I'm hesitant to make any this month. I did get the 5 kindergarten collars finished though so I can go back to the Wonky Word Quilt (that I will work on as soon as I finish this post!!!!!)

Goals for July:

1. Finish quilting the Wonky Word Quilt
2. Start the 365 Challenge (don't forget to take a month worth of blocks to the States with me)

And that is about it. Sounds like a quiet month. I hope to hit at least one quilt shop while I'm in California. Last year I decided to buy 2 fat quarters of batik fabric at every quilt shop I visited. Hmmm. What do I want to buy this year? Fabrics are somuch cheaper in the States that I should really stock up on creams and things I can use for backgrounds and also backing fabric. But as of now, I don't have any plan for a big quilt in the next year. I'll have to put my thinking cap on and decide what I want to make so I can buy fabrics in the States...

As for the 365 Challenge, I've been thinking about how optimistic one has to be to be doing a journal quilt. I picture rosy little entries everyday about the wonderful things happening in life and hardly give a thought to the possibility that unhappy events may have to be recorded too. I guess that's true of blogging in general. I could report the frustrations or the arguments but I choose not to. It's not that I'm trying to present a perfect life to blog visitors, it's just why dwell on unpleasantness? God works it all out in His time. Anyway, I'll begin my first entry on the 365 Challenge quilt tonight.

"Finally, bretheren,
whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,
let your mind dwell on these things."
Phillippians 4:8

Try me again later...

As you can see, I'm playing around with blogger and have "wasted" two hours. I have to be off for awhile so I'll try to put this back in order later. Maybe I should stick with what I know...