Hot baths

Yesterday evening Tetsu and I decided to go a spa that's in our town. It isn't really a hot spring because I don't think it is natural but it is a very nice place to take a hot bath and we spent an hour there.

Tetsu loves hot baths and spas. Most Japanese do and throughout Japan there are whole cities that boast of being built over hot springs that have curative powers (good for rhumatism and arthritis etc.) If you are going to stay at a hotel anyway, you might as well stay at a hot spring and enjoy an elaborate Japanese dinner, wear cotton kimono and take numerous hot baths during your stay.

Not only can you stay the night at these hot baths/hotels, you can also stop in for a few hours and just enjoy the baths and this is what Tetsu and I did yesterday. Since this was a city owned establishment, it was quite inexpensive, just a few dollars, and we brought all our own supplies with us. Soap, shampoo, towels etc. There were actually two main baths (per gender) and I chose to relax in the outdoor bath.

I'm not quite as fond of hot baths as Tetsu is. For one, I like a morning shower and sitting in hot water doesn't thrill me. For another, the water is usually so hot that I have to let myself in gradually and I can't stay in long before getting light-headed. For another, since I go with Tetsu, he's on the men's side so it's not like we're out on a date enjoying each other's company. And I'm not so great with small talk with any other ladies that might be soaking beside me. Over the years I think I've gotten over my qualms of walking around naked in front of strangers, hey, we all have our flab and sag, though going to the baths with friends, people I normally hide my flab from, makes me want to jump in that hot water before they see too much!

Yesterday, Tetsu and I parted at the entrance (the blue curtain says "Men" and the red one says "Ladies") and I undressed and put my stuff in the lockers provided. A quick look outside and I realized that I had the whole bath to myself, so my friends, this was a photography chance that one not often gets! I grabbed my camera (I'm taking this thing with me everywhere!) and went back out and took a couple pictures before anyone else joined me! I'm sure people's attitude toward public nudity would change if I pulled out a camera on them!

So here is a picture of the outdoor bath that I enjoyed yesterday. The setting is separate from the main building and is all enclosed by fence and trees so that no one can peer in. There is constant hot water running in and draining out and the pool was artistically arranged with rocks and seats. Not unlike a California swimming pool but only thigh deep and very hot. Off to the side is an area for washing with hand held showers and basins and sitting stools. Soap, washcloths etc. never get near the pool itself which is kept clean.

After about 10 minutes of enjoying the bath by myself a couple ladies did join me and as I was leaving a whole troupe of ladies came in chattering away ready to enjoy a social visit in the bathtub. A very relaxing way to enjoy the evening.

Stash additions

Yesterday I spent the day slowly working my way through the cleaning that needs to be done before I go back to a regular routine. Most of the day I devoted to washing curtains and hanging them up wet so they could dry. (Made the house cool but probably didn't help the mold problem!) I'm still working on the walls and dishes.

I also unpacked all the craft stuff that I got while I was in the States. Do you think I've got a year's supply of work cut out for me? The amazing thing is that even after I buy all this stuff at great prices in the States, I still find more fabric that I absolutely have to have at exorbitant prices in Japan throughout the rest of the year. Well, for starters this year I have:

8 batik fabrics,
7 bright fabrics
14 assorted calicoes
3 Christmas fabrics
2 backing fabrics
2 packages of pom-poms (for children's crafts)
2 packages of pipe cleaners (same as above)
1 box of felt craft (same as above)
1 large rotary cutter
3 rulers
1 cutting mat
various fleece scraps
1 pin-cushion and caddy
4 spools of thread

This is not to mention the fantastic fabrics that both Connie and Thelma sent me, (And Nancy sent me some too before I left for the States!) I am sitting high and anxious to get started on making something fantastic!

This is my progress on the 365 Challenge quilt. I finally got caught up on the journaling I kept in the States. Colorful isn't it?! I ran across On the Hill blog (June 1, 2007) with her lovely weekly borders on her quilt and decided that I wanted more color in mine so I've adapted her idea. Her picture looks so gentile and feminine. Mine, well... cheerful? Crazy? So far I'm pleased. I dislike my handwriting but that can't be helped. I'm afraid to sew these rows together yet because they seem to be different lengths (I think I know why) and I'd like to get a couple more rows done so that I know what the standard row size is going to be. So far so good!

Obon

Since returning to Japan I haven't been able to receive e-mails so yesterday I took the bull by the horns and called our computer server (I guess that's what you call them) to get help. As I've mentioned before, Tetsu and I are computer illiterate but Tetsu more so than I am. Thus the dilemma. Do I call the people and try to explain things to them in my limited Japanese, or does Tetsu call them and try to explain what is wrong even though he hasn't touched the computer in weeks and has no idea of what a tool bar is from a desktop. I called. I let the man know ahead of time that he was in for a long haul with me. I explained my problems and gave my questions and he was very clever about comprehending my non-technical terminology for my situation. He gave me advice. We determined that a lot of the problem could be alleviated if I'd get a new e-mail address so we started that process made more difficult since I was using English software rather than Japanese so I couldn't follow him step by step. After a long hour I had a new e-mail address for home and for this blog (in case anyone doesn't recognize any incoming mails from me, yoo-hoo, I've got a new one!) I hope I can get back to e-mailing and blogging as I did before I went to the States.

I don't know if this is interesting to anybody but I'm posting a picture of a Japanese altar set up for the Obon season. Back in December my friend (Mrs. Yano)'s mother passed away and this is the first Obon for her so the ceremonies are quite elaborate. Obon is a holiday celebrated from August 13 to 15 to honor the departed spirits of the family ancestors. During Obon, most families will have a reunion and make visiting the grave site a central point of the time together. The first Obon is the most important and so a special altar is arranged and family and friends bring gifts and money and burn incense to welcome the spirit back. I think the paper lantern in front of the house lets people know that this is the first Obon for the family.

I stumbled on this quite unexpectedly since I'd forgotten it was Obon and I had just gone over to tell Mrs. Yano that I was back from the States. She was just heading out to go buy a disposable camera so that she could take pictures and I offered to run back and get my digital, thus the pictures. You can see the picture in the middle (which conveniently reflected glare for my blog picture) of Obaachan (Grandma) in the middle. On either side of the picture are mounds of pounded rice cakes and under the gold flowers even farther out are baskets of canned fruits. In front of the picture is a table with the Buddhist spiritual name (spirits are renamed) and in front of that is the little area for burning incense. All the stuff in front (next to the cushion where you kneel to offer incense) are gifts. I think I even see a case of beer there!

Ok. That is what Obon is though my knowledge of the Buddhist customs is sorely lacking!

Initiation into sewing again

Yesterday I got a few of the things accomplished that I had on my list but definitely not all of them. Continuing today.

One of the things that waylaid me (happily) was a visit to Quilt Pixie (Aug. 13) where she threw out the challenge to make an object of art from one of your old rags. That got me to thinking about how Japanese make rags, so before starting my cleaning etc. I decided to make a rag to show you (and use!) Not art but it is a rag.

A rag is a rag right? Actually I love these and have made loads over the years. An old t-shirt or holey socks just won't do it for me. These all turn out uniform in size so they store nicely and they are just right for squeezing out water, not to mention that they hang over the side of a bucket well and dry fairly quickly. (Whoever heard of being a connoisseur of rags!) In Japan, businesses will give out cheap towels about the size of a hand towel but longer, with the business logo printed on them. Going into establishments (restaurants, post office, mom and pop stores) at the beginning of the New Year, and you will be handed a nice little packaged folded towel. (There are other things you may receive too, such as tea cups, figurines etc.) Actually the towels are not great quality but they are extremely handy. Almost everyone drapes one around their neck when they are doing yard work, or the men will tie them around their heads to keep the sweat out of their eyes etc. Traditionally, housewives will sew them up into rags.

All through the years when my kids were going to school they were requested to bring in rags a couple times a year. This is a post in itself, but briefly, Japanese children are required to do cleaning chores as part of their education experience. They wash toilets and wipe down floors and even wax the classrooms so there is a great need for rags. I'm sure that each year, my children brought in 3 to 5 rags to be used at school. Multiply that number by how many kids are in the school and think of the number of rags that get used in a year! And no, they are not considered disposable rags (as in one-time use).

As I recall (it's been a few years now) I would sew up the cheap towels by sewing machine though perhaps most women do the sewing by hand. There are loosely set rules for making rags. Fold the towel in half with the long edges meeting in the middle. Fold the sides again and then sew all along the outer edges and in a criss-cross in the middle. All Japanese women know how to make these but I had to have someone explain it to me the first couple of times.

Yesterday's rag I made by hand using left over 6 ply embroidery floss. Just a simple running stitch to hold everything together and Voila! A rag. This is a pretty rudimentary sashiko stitch and I suppose that since sashiko was once used for function (mending) before it became decorative this is one way that it got started.

Ok. Now to get a bucket and use my rag today!

Things to do

Yesterday did not go the way I thought but isn't that true of most days...

All my luggage arrived including the suitcase I'd sent up from the Tokyo airport by truck and the box I had to send airmail from the States. I had hoped to get some of that unpacked but fell asleep as soon as I wrote my blog entry yesterday. At 5:00 I was awakened by a telephone call from Tetsu asking me to pull myself together and hurry over to his mother's. She'd taken ill and the neighbors were debating whether to call an ambulance or not and had called him. I hurriedly drove over to her apartment (about 30 minutes away) being careful to keep my wits about me and not start driving on the wrong side of the road (Japan and America drive on different sides of the street. It takes me a day or two to reorient myself). Actually, Tetsu asked to leave the office and he met me at his mother's but no one was there so we headed to the hospital. Yep. She was just being admitted (Japan's heatwave and her high blood pressure contributing to her symptoms) and we spent about three hours at the hospital with her. This is actually good news in a strange way. She and Tetsu had had a falling out and hadn't seen each other for the past two months. I think because of yesterday's emergency they can get back to the loving relationship they had before. Thank you, Lord! We finally got home around 10:30 last night.

I really need to get my act together today. I've got a list of things I need to do before I crash again from jet lag

1) Buy groceries--The month of non-cooking was wonderful but not for my waistline. I am thankful again that the Japanese diet is wonderfully healthy. We're going to be eating brown rice and soybeans for awhile! (There will be more of course but I haven't thought that out yet.)

2) Buy cat food and dog food--The dog food is easy, just go to the local pet supply. Cat food I'll have to go into the next town and get it at the vet's. Two cats are on special food for their urinary tract problems.

3) Get unpacked--I have two big suitcases, the craft box, a backpack and junked stuffed in my purse that I need to put away.

4) Clean the house--This is a biggie and just thinking about it makes me want to go back to bed. Tetsu did a great job but the cats have sprayed and there is a smell... I'm going to have to get down on my hands and knees with rags and cleanser. Then try to figure out where to use the Feliway spray I bought (for cat problems). There is the dust to contend with which layers everything but worse than the cats and the dust, there is the mold!!!! Yes, the walls, the dishes, the refrigerator, the shoes, the furniture, everything is covered in mold. Japan is a very damp country in the summer and with the house closed up during the day while Tetsu was at work, the mold just grew. I spend a week every year conquering the mold that greets me when I come back from the States. Yuck!

5) Exercise--Even though I walked everyday that I was in California I still feel like I've come back to Japan just a big blob. I need to go step on the scale today but that is a scary thought. Like New Year's Day, I want to make resolutions to get a daily exercise routine going on top of the walking but the heat and the mugginess saps at my energy.

6) Get my pictures into the computer and get them sorted so that I can make prints--I usually do this online so I've got to decide what to delete and what is worth printing out, what pictures I should make copies of etc.

7) Sewing--Can you believe that I went a whole month without once doing anything creative? (Actually Idid tie that fleece blanket for my mother-in-law. I also sewed a rip in my niece's jeans while I was in California.) I have to sort out what projects I'm actually in the middle of... I've got a Feathered Star quilt that I need to get back to. The bazaar quilt is at somebody's house and I've got to take another turn at the quilting. I've got that 365 Challenge quilt that I did one week of before I left for the States. I took all the fabric to work on and... gave up after the first two days. I did keep a running journal so I hope today I can transcribe some of those entries onto fabric and get back to this project.

I guess I'd better stop blogging and get to it. 15 minutes a project for the rest of the day!

Flying home

I'm home!

The flight wasn't bad but getting out of LAX was a nightmare. Remember the picture I painted of myself stumbling through the airport dropping things and wresting with my suitcases? I sure hit the nail on the head! That was me yesterday again.

We woke up to the news that LAX had been in shambles the day before from some computer breakdown in customs. Something about 17000 travelers being delayed on Saturday just in LAX. From what the news was reporting, I was very glad that I hadn't chosen that day to leave the States. And since the reporters were saying that the Los Angeles airport was back to normal I had great hope for a easy departure. Hah!

One look at the lines at the United terminal told us that this was not going to be easy! Found Grandma a place to sit and left her with my brother and nephew while Marcy, my niece, Leiya and I lined up and made our way slowly to the check-in counters. Half way along the line some airline worker came over and pulled us out (who knows why) and pointed, and said we could take the elevators and check in faster somewhere else. At least that's what Marcy and I heard, but when we piled into the elevator the man didn't join us and we didn't know whether we were supposed to go up or down. A few stops and we realized we had no idea what we were doing so we went back to where we started. We wasted a lot of time (dragging all our suitcases) but finally found the man who was by now, angry at us.

"I told you to wait in front of the elevators and I would take you where you needed to go. You didn't follow directions!" I felt like a child being scolded for bad behavior. He grudgingly took us to a different line and with no explanation left. This line seemed to be for people who had made on-line arrangements (which we hadn't) and there weren't many people to help. This new e-ticket system leaves me in the dark but I have to keep up with technology so I bravely started punching in numbers and information while Leiya did the same at her computer. Leiya got through but I didn't. The computer didn't like my ticket.

In the meantime some man next to me had lassoed some airline worker to help him but his baggage was overweight so he was arguing with her and they were having some heated words. She finally gave in but quite rudely brushed him off with a wave of her hand. Annoyed was putting it mildly. I didn't want her to get away since I needed help with my ticket so I started waving at her and calling for help.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Could you help me please! I'm having some problems!"

"Can you see me dropping this suitcase on my foot? I will get to you when I get there!" she didn't actually say it but you could tell that she wanted to add "you blankety-blank blank."

The poor lady was really trying to hold her irritation in as she finally helped me and I felt for her. Especially when my baggage was overweight too. I guess I'm intimitated easily but I didn't argue with her. My papers said I had a 66 lb. weight allowance (I'd double checked). The new law or something says only a 50lb. weight allowance. I was 4 lbs overweight. I could pay $50 or rearrange the weight. I chose rearrange, so there I was with hundreds of people very upset with me while I opened suitcases and pulled things out. I was grabbing underwear and stuffing it them in my handbag, (Leiya was so embarrassed) re-packing packages and small boxes into a paper bag I'd brought. Leiya was having her own problems with a carry-on that they wouldn't allow, so there we were bags open, things spillling out around us, airline people re-weighing the bags, the scale closing down as we used it (they had to close down that computer), other computers going down so that the poor lady "helping" me just let me pass through while she called somebody to come help her reboot two computers. If I hadn't been so frazzled I would have been terribly embarrassed or maybe a bit disgruntled at the attitudes of the airline workers. On the other hand, I really could see that they were having a bad day, and since the day before had been worse, I tried to keep my own temper.

When I got back to my family there was Takumi who had come to the airport to see us off but I could barely give everyone a peck on the cheek before Leiya and left for the boarding areas. I walked Leiya to her boarding area and we had a very tearful goodbye, then wiping my tears I walked back to my boarding area. Suddenly I hear a "flap-flap-flap" and it is Leiya's sandals as she ran over to me. She wanted a last hug so came running through the airport to my boarding area and this time I sent her away with a swat and a laugh saying she'd better not miss her flight! So we did part with smiles rather than tears!

Back home, the cats have welcomed me warmly, Choco, the dog doesn't seem to realize I've been gone or have come back, she's just hyper as usual. The house is clean (Tetsu's a great housekeeper) but there is a mold problem.

I found over 500 e-mails waiting for me when I opened up the computer and I apologize to people who wrote and I never answered. Tetsu never once looked at e-mails so I never knew what was was coming in. Beth had hoped we could get together, Roberta had wanted to correspond, Thelma had written to thank me for some stuff I'd sent her, Elaine had offered advice about my mom and Margaret invited me to join a quilt swap. Thank you so much for writing and please understand that I wasn't ignoring you, I just didn't get the e-mails and will get to answering when I get my head back together.

Signing off (going back to bed) from Japan!

Summer's end

Well, my vacation has drawn to an end and tomorrow I'll be winging my way back to Japan. It has been a good summer. Lots of shopping, reading, eating (too much eating!) and talking.

A bit of melancholy as I leave; things that were left undone. Mostly this relates to my mom. I should have cleaned for her more but she would have been insulted so I've left it and Marcy will have to deal with her someday. (Bathroom cleaning especially, yuck.) I wasn't trying to get out of the dirty work, honest! I can see dangers for Mom everywhere and I suppose I could have insisted that my brother do something about it (his screen door is a tripping hazard, more lighting is needed for Mom to navigate between the two houses). But the family has gotten on without my advice all these years and you can always find things that might go wrong. It is enough that Mom is surrounded by love.

I talked with Marcy about getting Meals on Wheels for Mom while the family goes on vacation for 8 days at the end of this month (I can envision all sorts of dangers for Mom during that week.) We could have even coordinated things so that I would be here during that time but we didn't. Unfortunately Meals on Wheels has a lot of red tape and bottom line, if the person isn't living alone and doesn't have a limited income, then no go. Marcy's mother will have to come in daily after work to check on Mom. Do you think I should call daily from Japan?

Things accomplished? Mom has an unlisted number now. There have been no unwanted calls and no collectors.

Leiya finished reading her book, George Orwell's 1984 (I read it again too) so we have had intellectual discussions about it and maybe she can write a fairly intelligent composition about it when she starts pre-college English in September.

I took Leiya to see two colleges while we were here but somewhere in our tours I think we decided that she would have to make her own decisions with the help of her school counselors.

I've given advice to Leiya on school, on relationships, on finances, on decision making. Who knows if my advice is right or if she'll take it.

Takumi has matured and I am satisfied that he is happy and has own plans for his future.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.


Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

It's been a GREAT summer!!

Packing

Yesterday Leiya and I decided that we needed to pack our stuff to see how much would fit in the suitcases and how much we'd need to be sending home by mail. Let me tell you folks, I won't be sending any more packages back to Japan and I advise the rest of you to think twice too if you live in the States!

Leiya and I made up a box each. I don't know what she had in her box but I think it was clothes and the blanket she'd made and her quilt. As for me, most of my box was made up of craft articles. Lots and lots of fabric that I got at fantastic prices and some new craft rulers, scissors, things to use with the English kids etc. Actually I was surprised at the weight of all of it together, but it wasn't outrageous.

We lugged our packages to the post office and I said I wanted to send my package to Japan. The post office man knows a little Japanese so the conversation went like this:

Post office man: "Konnichi wa!" (Hi!)

Me: "Konnichi wa!" (Same) "I want to send this package to Japan."

Post office man: "Oohhh. Takai." (Oh, very expensive.) "Hikouki" (Airplane)

Me, laughing: "Dame. Hikouki dame." (No way by air!)

Post office man: "No. We don't ship by surface any more. It's all airplane now."

Me: "WHAT!!!!! I've got to send this airmail!!! You're crazy! Find me some other way!"

Post office man: "That's the only way to do it now unless you want to go down to the docks and find some ship that will take it to Japan for you."

That exchange left me perspiring and my my head started aching when he quoted me a price of $75 to ship the box. To make a long story short, I paid the $75. The nice post office man tried to help me figure out a cheaper way, but dividing the contents into two boxes was going to cost the same and putting them in regulation boxes as $30 a piece (size of a tissue box) was still going to run it up because I'd need at least three.

A couple of years ago my luggage at the airport was overweight and I ended up paying an $80 fine so I've been careful not to have a repeat of that scene since then. I hate wondering at the Check-in counter whether I'm going to be charged extra for my baggage. A couple of days before leaving the States, (like about now) I start to get a little crazy. I pack and repack and drag suitcases on to the scales and move things around trying to stuff the heavier things into the carry-on. I regret all my shopping sprees and bewail about why oh why I bought so much stuff! It was so cheap in the stores but when I have to pay shipping or fines it all runs up to the same as Japanese prices! (Well, not absolutely true, but in fits of hair-pulling that's how I feel.) I have dreams of toodling off to the airplane pulling my cute compact carry-on bag behind me like a little square poodle. It's not going to happen in my lifetime!

Day after tomorrow you're going to find me wrestling with my two suitcases, two carry-on bags (one masquerading as my purse) my camera, a shopping bag or two, my shoulders hunched, my face red, dropping pens and passports and trying to remember to say goodbye to my family who is there thinking "Get on the plane lady! Why does she do this every year?"

My son, the geek

Yesterday Takumi became very interested in the camera I'd brought from Japan, the one that clicked. Then he started asking if Marcy had any sharp implements or tools.

"Don't tell me you're planning to do what I think you're planning to do!"

When Takumi was in seventh grade we had a computer that we'd used for a few years but that was starting to act up. It would freeze a lot and sometimes rebooting it didn't help. One day I came home from somewhere and there were my two kids with screwdrivers and pliers and little bits of computer all over the floor! I mean they had even taken apart the hard drive! The one that says "Do not touch the hard drive" on the outer casing! The two kids were stumbling over the pieces and pushing screws and wires randomly into piles on the table and they were having a great time. As I recall, I don't think it occurred to either child that this might be a no-no. Well, you can imagine the end of that story. We were without a computer for about a year and a half!

So the gleam in Takumi's eyes yesterday brought back memories. I had really planned to give the clicking camera to Leiya (she broke hers the first six months she was here. We are very hard on cameras) but said that if he wanted it he could talk to her. Even if she gave the ok, I suggested that he just take the camera back to his apartment and do what he wanted with it where I wouldn't know what he was doing.

"Well, it's broken anyway. I just want to see why."

"I don't want to watch this. Don't tell me the details!" and I left him.

If Takumi didn't learn anything, the childhood experience with the computer taught Leiya that I might not be too happy with this situation so she came in a few minutes later.

"Did you know that Takumi is taking apart that camera?"

"Well, I suggested that he not do it and if you want that camera even with the clicking, then you'd better stop him now."

"Ok, just so you know what he's doing. You don't mind this time, right?"

About 15 minutes later Takumi handed me the camera (all in one piece) and said "It stopped clicking."

It had! It still flashes an error sign but no more sound comes from it. Takumi was so pleased with himself. He said there were lots of little screws and the inner workings of a camera were cool but that it was touch and go whether he'd get the thing put back together. Too bad I chickened out and didn't get a picture of the inside of a digital camera! Now both kids want the non-clicking camera...

The funny thing is that Takumi is not particularly mechanically minded. He has no interest whatsoever in his car engine nor does he want to know why the car might need oil or a fan belt or whatever. His interest is just for electronic things I guess. My geek.

Sorry for this picture, my hunk of a son! I know Tetsu and my Japanese friends are going to get a laugh out of this!

Dinner

Last night's Mabodofu was fairly successful. A few challenges but it certainly was edible and disappeared quickly. The recipe is here. Marcy made comments about why I would saute green onions in oil when I had all that grease coming from the ground beef (logical but I used oil anyway.) She didn't have chili pepper paste, sake (or cooking wine) bouillon cubes or cornstarch, all things that I think of as staples in a Japanese kitchen (I'd bought the miso, garlic and ginger and those are staples too) but Marcy does keep a good supply of soy sauce.

Instead of chili paste I tried using chili powder from Marcy's decorative set of spices but that gradually made it all taste like Mexican food. I think bouillon is bouillon, so I used some powdered stuff that she had but it may be that because the label was in Spanish that bouillon is different too. Gradually my mabodofu was turning into a Mexican dish but I opened the spice bottle filled with red pepper flakes and that turned things around! Definitely use red pepper flakes if you are going to make this recipe in the States. Don't use chili powder! I just skipped the sake but I did have to send Takumi to the supermarket to get me cornstarch. Oh well, he's got to work for his food.

The dinner also included Oriental Salad that didn't make a hit, (fake crab meat, sesame seed oil, garlic and salt. Squish together) pizza (for the kids) and chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were the most popular (a given!) I love the way that you can just buy a container of cookie dough at the store and plop it on cookie sheets and have instant home baked cookies! So good! I ate way too many!

Grocery shopping

You know a real fun place to go to when you are visiting a foreign country? The supermarkets! (or markets if you're in a country that doesn't have buildings, aisles and shelves.) Tetsu always loves to spend time in the supermarket when he visits the States and when any visitors come to Japan I know a great place to spend a few hours is in the supermarket.

Yesterday, Leiya and I were shopping for food and I had the camera so we snapped a few pictures. Nothing hugely different from Japanese supermarkets I suppose. Of course everything is bigger and more extensive here and though there are a lot of things you can't find in a Japanese supermarket (rutabagas for example) there are lots of things in Japanese markets that you'd never find here (fish heads for soup). The American supermarket seems more colorful maybe and the cheese and delicatessen section is enormous! I don't think I've ever seen a bakery section like the ones in the States either. I also can find balloons which I had wanted to buy in Japan for Leiya's homecoming last month, but balloons are not sold in supermarkets in Japan (nor anywhere else.)

So what were we buying in the supermarket? I was doing the very thing I tell people not to do when they are visiting another country. I was buying Japanese food! This is ridiculous. Why would you travel halfway around the world to buy food for a meal like in your own country?

Actually this is a subject that can strike a nerve with me. People will say they visited France but the sushi wasn't very good or in Hawaii the tempura was lousy. Excuse me, did you ever hear the saying "When in Rome do as the Romans"? Do not expect to eat great Japanese food when you're not in Japan. Try some of the local food.

You will be horrified to know that since I arrived in the States that I have cooked once. Curry rice. All other meals I leave to Marcy or we eat out. There are good reasons for this. One, I am a lousy cook. Two, any possible menu that I might make (mostly Japanese) is going to be met with suspicion, especially from my niece and nephew and Marcy would just have to make them a separate meal anyway. Three, my mind literally pulls a blank. Menu? Yeah, I guess I do cook every night in Japan but I don't remember what... Rice, that's for sure... And four, I can't figure out how to cook anything! The ingredients are different! The carrots are smaller, the potatoes are larger, the apples are a different color, the meat isn't sliced paper thin. Anyway, there are a lot of reasons why I don't cook while I'm in the States.

The reason why I was buying Japanese food in an American supermarket yesterday was because Takumi longingly had said he wished he could eat some of my mabodofu. Of course I wanted to satisfy any feelings of homesickness (not to mention that I was a bit flattered. I have never heard anyone say that they missed my home cooking!) so off I went to the supermarket.I should have run to the next town and shopped at the Japanese supermarket to begin with. That alone would have made it easier to find the ingredients. But Leiya and I started our treasure hunt and hoped we could find all the things on the list.

"The menu is Mabodofu and Oriental Salad. Start with ground meat. Wow! That is a lot of meat!!! (Packaging is so much bigger in the States!) Oh well, we'll make a lot. Ground turkey? No. It would probably work but I've never seen it in Japan so we'll stick with what I know."

"Green onions. Are these green onions? The label says they're green onions but they don't look like any green onions I've ever used. These are thin and have a bulb at the end. Anything else we might use? Nope. Ok. I guess we'll try these and hope for the best."

"Garlic. Do I have to buy a whole bulb of garlic? I need two cloves. They don't sell cloves. If I were in Japan I'd use this up in a week or two but I'm only making one meal. Hmmm. Marcy has garlic salt, should I use that? No. Wait! Here is packaged garlic! Yeah! Do I want minced garlic, chopped garlic, garlic paste or sliced garlic? Let's go for the paste. That will keep even if I don't use it all. It may still be in the refrigerator next year."

"Ok. Ginger. Where is the ginger? There are taro roots, there are parsnips, there are mushrooms. Ah ginger. Get the smallest piece you can find." (Only one meal remember.)

"Check the delicatessen section for tofu. Great! What a cosmopolitan supermarket! Three kinds of tofu! Fantastic! (Don't even look at the expiration date. You don't want to know how long Americans are able to preserve tofu for long shelf life.)"

"Ok, this one is tricky. Miso. Should we ask the girl working in the aisle where they have miso? No. She'll think you sneezed. Try the foreign food section. Nope. But they do have sesame seed oil. Do we need that? Great! But look at that price! Well, what you need is what you need. No miso here. Try the refrigerated section. Yeah! What a great store! I don't know why they put miso next to the tamales."

At the checkout counter I paid a fortune for all this strange food and I almost lost my ginger piece because the bagger thought it was a dead piece of potato and tried to throw it away. "Wait! That's my ginger!"

For all that, Takumi didn't show up until 10:30 last night so we went out to eat again and I didn't make him mabodofu. Maybe tonight.

Patriotism

Ok. Ramble, ramble, ramble.

One of the things I notice when I come back to the States each year is the patriotism that is evident. Of course this was really true the first couple of years after 9/11 and I don't notice quite so much of it this year, but I still wanted to comment on it.

On paper, Japan does not have an army or any armed forces. They have something called a self-defense force but I don't think the enlistment is high. Japan considers itself to be a neutral nation, much like Switzerland, and it prides itself on its anti-war stance. This is because they are the only country in the world which has suffered the effects of a nuclear bomb and the government and citizens are very outspoken about the tragedy of war.

For me, as an American, August is an uncomfortable time because August 6th and 9th are the anniversaries of the nuclear bombings where the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by America. I'm not saying that I have ever been ostracized or criticized for being American. Japanese really welcome Americans, more so than many other nationalities! But many older Japanese feel it necessary to speak out on the horrors of the war that they experienced and it always makes me a little uncomfortable to hear the tales about what "my country" did to "their country".

Besides the fact that Japan is not happy about America's policy on the war in Iraq nor their own involvement, Japan is not patriotic. They do love their country and many people probably pity everyone who does not live in their technologically superior country. But there are no flags waving over front porches, no recognition for their enlisted men. The children do not sing patriotic songs in school plays. There are no cute displays of patriotic colors and figures on the mantle. I wonder if they appreciate their freedom and how it is maintained.

I walk along the streets of Covina and see the flags over the doorways. I notice the patriotic decorations sold in gift shops, red white and blue paper napkins and candle holders (I know, we just celebrated Independence Day.) I see the banners on the street lamps recognizing the young men and women from the city who are serving in the armed forces. I join in with the prayers given from the church pulpit for the protection of the young people serving in Iraq. I am moved when at a park performance the MC asks anyone who has served to stand so that we can acknowledge them. A few older men will be prodded by their smiling wives to stand creakily and shyly while the crowd gives them an ovation. I admit, I even get choked up when the audience stands to sing a song declaring their love for the country and their fellow citizens.

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be living here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Downtown Los Angeles

Yesterday we drove in to downtown Los Angeles to Little Tokyo. Marcy has been wanting me to come to a little Japanese restaurant there since I got here. The food was great!

As a child my father would plan Sunday afternoon as the time when the family went out somewhere together and every couple of months or so we'd hit Little Tokyo. I remember it being bigger back then! And more exciting. There used to me lots of little shops with Japanese dolls dressed in kimono, elegant looking chopsticks and paper balloons. We could challenge our taste buds by sampling the fancy bean paste sweets and we'd wonder about how the Japanese deciphered the strange Japanese writing we found in the book stores. Yesterday there were lots of hole-in-the-wall eating places but not as many shops and the ones that were there had dragon embellished T-shirts for sale. Not too authentic.

LA is a slightly scary place for me. A bit run down in places and some homeless sitting on the street corners. I suppose it depends on where you are walking because some of the glass buildings in the distance give it a futuristic air.

Quite a few months ago I wrote about Ninomiya-san who was a great educator and economist in Japan in the 1700's. There is a statue of him in front of almost any school and in the parks in Japan. Well, guess who I came across hiking through the outback of Los Angeles! Mr. Ninomiya!

"Hey, who's that over there?" my 10 year old nephew piped-up. And I was able to give him a mini Japanese history lesson. I wonder where else in the world Mr. Ninomiya is exploring today.

Takumi

You know, daily life on vacation doesn't have too much to write about. Do you want to hear about the library books I'm reading? How many Starbucks I've drunk? What my newest Summer Super Sale purchase has been?

Takumi has gone back to his apartment and part time job but I think he'll show up again once before I leave. People ask me if I think he has changed. No, not really. He looks the same, (I'm not thrilled with the straggly beard but he's not unkempt) and this year he isn't dying his hair. He acts the same, still very affectionate, a lot of shoulder hugs and he pats me on the head. Takumi always has been a private person so inquiries into his personal life as to what his roommates are like, whether he has a girl friend, what his plans are for the future, are met with a smile and the counter question "Why do you want to know?"

I was happy to see that he doesn't have any tatoos or pierced ears and doesn't seem to smoke. He's 22 so he can do what he wants to but the Southern California environment does seem to be filled with a lot of people who decorate themselves with various piercings and artwork. I couldn't get him to go to church with me though he apologized that that just wasn't his "thing."

The little Takumi did tell me about school gave me a good feeling. He enjoys his part time job and he makes good money from tips so I barbed him with the question of whether he plans to be a professional waiter. "No. You just worry about Leiya. I think if I can continue working and get some financial help through the schools that you won't have to send me so much money. I still want to transfer to a 4 year school and I think I can do it. You don't have to worry about me."

Before Takumi took off for Santa Monica he handed Leiya quite a bit of money "a birthday present" which really touched my heart. He's a good kid.

Thank you for letting me show my pride.

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Leiya and I have just come back from spending two days with my good friend from my high school days who lives down by the beach. Jane lives in a world with chandeliers, glass goblets full of candles and Tuscany interior decorating. It has always seemed like we are visiting another foreign country when we visit but she welcomes us each year with good food, shopping sprees and late night movies.

This trip we took a detour when we happened to be eating lunch quite near to the Mission San Juan Capistrano. All California 4th grade school children study California history and the history of the twenty-one missions established for the purpose of converting the Indians in California. I'm pretty sure I went on a field trip to Mission San Juan Capistrano those many years ago! In fact when we were telling people that we'd just visited the mission almost everyone's comment (all Californians of course) was "Oh, I haven't been there since 4th grade!"

Of course with my more "cultured" eye, the mission is much more impressive and beautiful than I remember it being when I was only 10 years old! It was a wonderful afternoon walking around the peaceful garden. Seeing the indigenous flora and the historical artifacts, transported us back to the era of the Indians and their life within the Mission itself. Leiya had the camera so she took hundreds of pictures but here is a quick photographic tour of the place.


San Juan Capistrano is also famous because of the swallows that return there every year on March 19th. Legend has it that the birds, which have migrated from Argentina to the San Juan Capistrano area for centuries, began making the Mission their home after an angry innkeeper who thought them to be "filthy" repeatedly destroyed their mud nests. A passing Padre invited the birds to come and live in the ruins of the old church and the birds have returned to Mission San Juan Capistrano every year hence.

"Vaya Con Dios"

"Go with God"

Quilts and pets

Let's see... A fairly quiet day yesterday. Thanks for all the comments about my mom and about Leiya the day before. I really treasure all the advice and information that you all share.

Yesterday when I was putting things away I found a couple more quilts that I'd made years ago. Both are baby quilts that I made for my niece and nephew. I'm not really very fond of the Double Irish Chain one. I can't imagine why I chose these colors or prints or why I stenciled rather than quilted. Probably we didn't know if the baby was going to be a girl or a boy so I went neutral. This isn't Marcy's style either so she probably didn't like it herself but she's kept it tucked away for sentimental purposes.

The little boat quilt is very colorful and the "ocean" is a print of little fish. I used some of that from my stash in another quilt just this last year so that means I've had that fabric for at least 10 years! This little quilt still catches my eye and makes me smile!

How about some animal pictures...

This is Red. He is a fiesty old parrot that doesn't like anyone but my brother and Takumi. It took many months and a lot of painful bites before Takumi could gain Red's trust but they are friends now. I actually can claim that I held Red once many years ago when he flew into the swimming pool and I saved him from drowning! That didn't change his opinion of me though and he still will try to bite me when I come near!

This is Kitty Kat my mom's cat. She is getting friendlier in her old age and will tolerate petting but not holding.

This is Cassie whom everyone calls the little pig dog because she is quite pink under that fur (after a grooming session she really is pink!) and she snorts when she walks.

And this is Scrappy my brother's dog and one of the nicest dogs I've known. He isn't pretty (he's referred to as a junk yard dog) but very smart and wonderfully obedient though it comes naturally. Just a very lovable dog and such a cutie pie!

Animals are the best!

Trickery

You know, there's not a lot that get my blood boiling and my blood pressure soaring but yesterday that's what happened. Maybe you'd better just stop reading here...

Over my life my mother and I have argued very little especially since I only see her a month out of every year nowadays. Our relationship stays pretty level. There is one situation however, that is growing worse and we butted horns yesterday!

I don't know when the buzzards first started circling but for quite a few years Mother gives out donations to different causes. As she gets older it doesn't matter really what the organization is. They send her address stickers or calendars or note cards and she would automatically write out a check for $10 or $15 and send it to them. She must have been on twenty or thirty mailing lists! Then the telephoning started and daily she'd get people calling asking for a donation so she'd say yes and write out a check and send it off. Now there wasn't too much I could say about that. It is her money and she felt she was helping.

A few years ago Mother began to get forgetful about sending the checks off. They'd sit on the window sill gathering dust (along with other bills that had to be paid.) Marcy was the first to notice the vast numbers of organizations that Mother was donating to and how regularly the same organization would be contacting her. "She just sent a check two weeks ago!" One summer, when I was here, we suggested that she limit her donations to four or five organizations once or twice a year in a larger amount. (Just think of the postage she'd save!) This turned out to be a very touchy subject with her and it remains so to this day.

"It's my money! I can do what I want with it! You don't have any right telling me how to spend my money!" My mother has never been short tempered or argumentative so this reaction is really out of character for her. Can you hear me retort "If you've got so much money to throw around then throw it to my kids! They've got to figure out some way to get enough money together to go to college!"

This is where I'm not sure we're morally right or not. Marcy and I decided that she should just screen all of Mother's incoming mail (Mom can't walk up to the mailbox anyway) and just give her the adds, the personal mail, the magazines and one or two charities. (Just so Mom doesn't get suspicious.) We also decided that any mail Mother sent out, if it looked like a donation, to just tear it up. So you see, we are tricking her now. Mail fraud.

The next scene in this melodrama is that the people who phoned Mom for money realized that her checks weren't coming to them so they started sending people to collect the checks. Marcy hit the roof with this one because she doesn't want strange people driving back to the house knowing where a vulnerable old lady lives not to mention two young children. Marcy and Mom have had "discussions" about this too but Mother insists that people aren't bad and Marcy is making it all up. Mom puts her checks under her doormat.

Just in the two weeks I've been here I've confiscated three checks. I've deflected two telephone calls (I'm not in the house much) and Marcy has confronted two collectors. I've found letters under the doormat from the collectors who wanted to know why the check wasn't there "as promised".

We have politely asked the collectors to stop coming. They come back. Marcy has called the organizations. Usually tape recorded messages. One organization agreed to call off their collectors. The collector showed up at 10:00 last night and was very rude about the wasted trip he made! Marcy is no longer being polite. My brother stays out of it which makes Marcy angrier. We have shown Mother that she wrote two checks to the same organization only three days apart yet she doesn't want to believe that (even with proof!) and can't even remember that she wrote the check an hour ago!

I know... I'm ranting and raving now...

So, I guess today we'll try to get a phone block on Mother's phone. She is "with it" enough to know that we're doing something behind her back but she can't figure out what. (I've disconnected the phone for now.) Marcy keeps wanting to make her understand but I think that's a hopeless and upsetting scenario. Even if Mom does understand for a couple of hours she'll forget the next day and go back to writing checks. I wondered if we could give her a packet of false checks and let her write to her heart's content but I think she still would notice if they weren't her pretty, pre-addressed checks.

When Mother realizes we're "meddling" she gets upset (like yesterday) but she forgets the incident in an hour while I toss and turn all night and can't sleep. I really hate the conniving and trickery but Keion and Marcy and I do it because we love her and we don't want her to be taken advantage of.

Ok. I'm off now to sneak through her drawers and try to find a telephone bill with account numbers on it so we can stop in-coming calls... I hate this...