Donations to Japan?

Not too much going on. I ran errands. Got my hair cut. Bought winter ski pants (hopefully I can wear them while I do crosswalk duty. They look enough like my uniform but are WARM!) I think I have decided on a Christmas craft to do with the English classes next week and I bought beads and such for that. Went to the vet to buy cat food.

Last week someone asked me about the animals in northern Japan. They had seen a video about pets left behind and their plight. The person wanted to know if there was any way to send a donation to help.

I checked out the Internet and then talked to my vet yesterday. There is an organization, JSAVA, Japan Small Animal Veterinary Association, that is selling goods to donate to the centers helping the animal population in the north but I can find no way for someone outside of Japan to send donations to it. I wrote about this in an August post and you can see the T-shirt better there.

Many local veterinarians sell the specially designed T-shirts and handkerchiefs in their clinics and the money is sent to centers caring for rescued animals... neutering, feeding, purchasing cages and leashes, supporting care staff who rescue and feed the animals, walk dogs and locate new homes. My vet said that neutering the animals is the biggest job right now, as many kittens and puppies have been born, and then finding homes for the young. Cats that have been rescued are more content than dogs because they don't much mind being kept in a small space as long as they are fed. It is the dogs that are frustrated by lack of exercise and human contact.

I find all this so disturbing to think about. I don't have to go to northern Japan to know that there are animals who need help, there are some down the street from me. At the reception desk my vet has a donation box and I have decided that whenever I go I will put $20 in the box. (And with 7 animals I really do go quite a bit!) This isn't a short term problem. As long as I have animals of my own I hope I can continue to support the organizations that are willing to work for others.

If you can't help one of northern Japan's animals, think about helping a local animal organization near you.

Joy to the World

Yesterday I was at the kindergarten for the Christmas program's dress rehearsal. I've shown similar pictures in previous years but I'll show some again. The eldest class, (age 5) are dressed in robes and hold lighted candles throughout the service. The Mothers' Choir sings softly throughout the service, the younger children carry penlights... After the Candle Service, the children perform songs and the finale is a Christmas pageant. The kindergarten's program will be this Sunday.

My blog friends know Mrs. Furui as my patchwork mentor but you don't know that she has also led the kindergarten's Mothers' Choir for more than 20 years (and tried to get me involved but I'm not much of a groupie...) And the wonderful pianist is Mrs. Takagishi, another patchwork group member (pssst... you've known her as our "least confident patchwork member".) Mrs. Takagishi accompanies the Mother's Choir and also teaches Rhythm and Music to the kindergarten children.



Now... will this video upload today?

Kizuna

Yesterday Japan announced the annual Chinese character chosen by public ballot. The character chosen to represent this year was KIZUNA, which means bonds or ties.

Every year the Japanese Chinese Character Calligraphy Society challenges the public to select a character and then a calligraphy temple priest in Kyoto will announce the character by writing it in ink by brush. (picture from the Internet)

"Bonds".

In English the word isn't very impressive. But in Japanese the nuance is the connection between team mates, between family members, between people. And one of the reasons why kizuna was chosen was because of how the bonds between people during and immediately after the earthquake developed. Couples who had resisted marriage suddenly were made aware of the importance of their beloved and wedding "knots" were tied. Connections were made between strangers thrown together in evacuation centers. The compassion of the international community linked Japan to the wide world. Families found comfort in togetherness.

As many of you who have been reading my blog since March know, I was with Lorraine from Australia when the earthquake struck. We escaped from the bottom of a rock quarry and spent the next two days in a cold house keeping each other calm and trying to clean up. (Tetsu, stayed with the convalescent home). Lorraine and I were patchwork friends before the earthquake but experiencing a major earthquake together definitely strengthened the bonds between us. I understand how she feels about her family here in Japan maybe more than her Australian friends. She has seen me at my panicked, distraught worse. For the rest of my life, when I recall the hours of the March 11, 2011 earthquake I will see Lorraine's face!

When Lorraine and I were racing out of the quarry a young couple sped past us, the young man protectively leading the girlfriend to safety. As we all sat around outside hanging onto benches while the earth shook, the young man comforted the frighted girl even finding her something to drink from a nearby vending machine. It occurred to me that if that young couple hadn't been seriously dating before, the boy sure racked up positive points in the girl's eyes for his gallant actions after the earthquake! She will never forget him, that's for sure!

When I told one of my friends this story she sighed and said,

"Yes. My son was visiting Tokyo with a classmate (female) when the earthquake hit. They ended up walking for hours, had to stay in an evacuation center over night, huddled together to stay warm. He even brought the girl back to my sister's house until transportation arrangements could be made to get back to college. That relationship may be sealed thanks to the earthquake."

So here and there, new bonds between people were made this year and old bonds were strengthened as we realized how important our loved ones are to us. People have supported each other through radiation scares and the plummeting economy, and banded together to commit to rebuilding northern Japan. (Calligraphy care of Tetsu!)

I write to and hear from Lorraine in Australia quite a bit. She is even planning another trip to Japan in January! (Tetsu's comment was "a courageous woman coming back to who knows what!")

And when we sign off on our e-mails Lorraine and I always write,

"Love,
Your comrade from the quarry."

Yep. Bonded for life! KIZUNA!

Cold

Grrr. I am a Southern California gal. I do not like cold winters. But here I sit in a cold Japanese house that has no central heating and poor insulation.

When I first came to Japan 30 some years ago, I lived in one of the coldest areas in Japan, Iwate Prefecture. Now, I've lived in snowier places since then (the west side of Japan gets more snow) but Iwate and the city of Morioka (where Tetsu grew up) is considered the coldest outside of the northernmost island of Japan. (Someone is going to remind me that there is a farther north prefecture on the main island that is pretty cold but Morioka is located in a basin and the temperatures really fall there.) ANYWAY, it was cold!

The first year I really didn't believe that humans were meant to live in Iwate. How could anyplace be so cold! I wore a heavily padded kimono coat CONSTANTLY, even to the classes I was teaching and I stayed close to the kerosene heaters not getting anywhere near the blackboards. I burned holes in the back of my kimono coats because I got so close to the heaters! This is slightly risque to say, but I wondered at the romance in my friends' life when both husband and wife wore long-johns and scarves to bed!

I have been back to visit Iwate Prefecture and though the outside is still breathtakingly cold, the houses are warm! (warmer.) Better insulation and heating in the newer northern homes...

Tetsu and I bought a nice fuel burning stove recently. It heats the living room well. JUST the living room. In the dining room where I teach I have an electric heater under the throw rug so that the ladies' toes stay warm (but often feet have to compete with cats).

Until recent years, Tetsu and I just slept in a freezing room (I remember when I lived in Iwate I would wake up with the frozen condensation on the blanket around my face!) but last year I bought a portable radiator and covered the bedroom door with one of my quilts. This year I'm thinking of buying window insulation (much like popping plastic for shipping things.)

And finally, we have a heated mat for the sofa so that Tetsu can stay warm while he watches TV. The cats absolutely LOVE the heated mat. Not much room for Tetsu on the sofa.

(The heated toilet seat is lovely but how long can one sit on a heated toilet seat?)

We are doing what we can to stay warm!

What's cooking?

You people are going to know my kitchen well enough to come over and do some cooking for me!

I knew I was going to post about this when I showed my refrigerator because last week I bit the bullet and ordered a new gas range!!! And yesterday it arrived.

Our old range (two burners, 15 years old) started sputtering this fall. One of the burners wouldn't stay on for more than two or three minutes. That left me with ONE burner to cook dinner on! Tetsu wanted to fix the gas range... and he tried! Took it apart, brushed the gas outlets to clear them of debris, jiggled, wiggled and pushed buttons. A couple of times he even claimed that he'd fixed it! But in a day or two the burner wouldn't work again.

Now, I can't think of anything more dangerous than a poorly functioning gas range. And to be honest, I didn't really trust Tetsu's repair capabilities. A new range seemed to be a non-luxury, must be purchased item.

I could have opted for spending a fortune and revamping my kitchen to an electric Induction Heating system. That is the way many homes are going and for awhile this was lauded as the future mode for cooking in Japan. Because of the March earthquake and the scheduled black outs, some people determined that having an all electric home might not be the perfect solution and gas ranges are making a comeback. (Besides the initial costs, you have to replace all your cookware too....No thank you.) I did NOT want an IH cooking system which was a mighty relief to Tetsu.

I started on my quest of a reasonable gas range. For such a small appliance, there are numerous options nowadays in Japan. Did I want the high temperature burner on the left or the right? Did I want drip pans? Flushed heat for equal grill cooking? Water in the grill or waterless?

I knew I wanted a waterless grill. What does that even mean? It used to be that when grilling fish in the grill (it is called a fish grill... That's what Japanese grill in it. FISH!) the fish oil would fall into the pan and be hard to clean so someone figured putting water in the bottom of the grill solved the problem. Unfortunately I found it difficult to clean out the grill without spilling the messy water all over the floor. I wanted a WATERLESS grill (using Teflon these days I think...)

I also wanted flush grill heating (because when I flipped my fish to cook on the underside the fish would fall apart.) I didn't want drip pans because I wanted to be able to wipe up with a swish of a rag. (I dream of this range improving my cleaning skills). Okay... and while we're dreaming, throw in a thermostat and a timer. OOooh... Really going for fancy!

Tetsu stayed out of the purchasing process. I am going to buy myself a gas range. I am the one who will use it. After taking a survey with my friends and students I made a decision and then started combing the stores. Expensive! And then I went online and found what I wanted at a reasonable price. AND I PUSHED THE PURCHASE BUTTON AND BOUGHT MYSELF A NEW GAS RANGE!!!! I don't know what surprised Tetsu more. That I bought myself the fancy range or that I did it online. He was sure I would read the website wrong (in Japanese) and end up with something completely different.

BUT I DID IT! I have a brand new sparkling range in my kitchen! It is a set in type... (came in a box and I hooked up the gas hose and set it on the counter.) This too is pretty normal in the Japanese home. (As opposed to built in types that have three burners and a carpenter has to be called in to remove a counter or something.) It is Teflon coated all over for easy cleaning!

Last night I cooked on it and Tetsu politely suggested that the soup tasted delicious because of my new gas range. Flattery, flattery.

Now I have no excuse not liking cooking. Except that I'm going to hate to use my new range and dirty it up...

Lunar eclipse

I am normally in bed by 9:30. Tetsu claims the TV after dinner and usually watches sports. If I have hand quilting or piecing to do I sometimes bear with the sports just to get my handwork done but I really look forward to reading in bed for 30 minutes or so. In the morning, Choco and the cats let us know that they are ready for breakfast around 5:30 and I don't find it that difficult to get out of bed, feed them and take a walk.

Last night throughout Japan, a full lunar eclipse was visible from 9:45 to 11:50. And it was a cold clear night so the moon was lighting up the countryside! And the eclipse won't be visible in Japan again for another 11 years. It seemed to me that a lunar eclipse was something to stay awake for.

Interesting... I'm not knowledgeable about astronomy so I probably didn't appreciate what I was seeing... Yes, that's the moon... Yes, it looks like a cloud is covering the moon.... Yes, the moon is hidden more than it was 30 minutes ago. This must be the eclipse!

Unfortunately, it is impossible to take a picture of a lunar eclipse with my little Sony digital camera. My hands wobbled. All I got was a spot in the sky or an orange blob. (Did you know that when the eclipse is full, the moon, hidden in the shadow of the earth, turns orange? It really did!)

At 11:50 I took my last glance of the moon from the front yard.

"Yep. That's the moon. Yep. I can now say I have seen the eclipse. Time for bed."

This morning Tetsu and I woke up after 7:00. Late for us! The cats were cranky and Choco was desperate for a potty run. I blame it on last night's eclipse.

And since I stayed up and took the pictures I'm posting them though I know they look like blobs.

Our refrigerator

I'm afraid this is a boring post again today. I cleaned my refrigerator. Now why in the world would anyone write a whole blog post about that? And take pictures?!

This is my refrigerator. I decided that it needed a scrub before the end of the year (Japanese do all their spring cleaning at the end of December...) This refrigerator has served us well for nearly 20 years. When we bought our house and moved in, our American friends who were returning to Japan, left us all their furniture including their refrigerator.

Our refrigerator is very basic. Japanese kitchens do not have a water supply that will feed into a refrigerator (for an automatic ice cube maker or water dispenser). The Japanese housewife tends to go shopping daily and so a huge double width refrigerator with a giant freezer isn't really necessary. (And it wouldn't fit in the tiny Japanese kitchen!)

There is a vegetable compartment on the bottom, refrigeration in the middle, and freezer on the top. (Oops. I didn't really clean out the freezer... Just moved things around a bit there.) I have two ice cube trays that I fill by hand. I have heard that recent Japanese refrigerators have a tank that you can fill with water and THAT will supply water for an "automatic" ice maker, but we are not that technologically advanced yet.


Our refrigerator doesn't beep when the door is left open, nor have eco mode etc. If I really wanted to be ecologically minded I could buy a refrigerator curtain that hangs inside the refrigerator and keeps the cold air inside. That seems like it would be a bother to paw through to get to your food but I hear that it is a good way to save electricity... (Picture from the Internet.)

Tetsu noticed this morning that our refrigerator was shining. Gives you an idea of how long it had been since I last cleaned it!

Comments

I thought Maggie's comment yesterday was so funny.

"I wonder if you ever read your comments."

Hah! Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am keeping a blog for myself and family not for the number of comments that come in! Comments are encouraging, enlightening, they make me feel like I have friends who care about me. But if I were just writing for comments then I might not write about the dull everyday things or I might avoid some topics.

But Maggie! I DO read every comment and strive to answer them (but sometimes get too bogged down and decide that most bloggers would prefer to be visited on their blog than get a reply to their comment). I think you are on no reply so I've never answered personally, but I do thank you for visiting!

What I DON'T do is respond to comments on my own comment page (I've seen bloggers do that). I sort of like to see how many people came visiting and with myself on there too I'd get confused. So you see... comments may be more important to me than I think.

And speaking of comments.

Lois~~~! TWO people asked on my comment page what takes you to the high seas for much of the year. They read YOUR comment on my page and would like more details! Go right ahead and fill us all in on the comments page if you feel inclined!

Knitting and piecing

Now that I am done with Tetsu's Christmas vest I am back to doing random handwork. I took my four tree blocks to Mrs. Furui last week and in exchange she gave me another set of templates for another tree block.

"Since you're already finished..."

No deadline on the new block but without knitting to do I got it put together in time to hand it to her yesterday. It was almost like she was expecting it!



"Since you're already finished..."

and she handed me ANOTHER set of templates! Such a slave driver!!!

(I know that Mrs. Furui never cajoles, never pushes, never manipulates. That's why I love making things with her. And she is such a whiz about making those templates! I would never think of complaining about the homework I get from her when she is the one that does the hard work.)

I have also been knitting! Just when I get one set of needles put away I pull out another set!

This time I am making a scarf for Leiya. (Sorry Leiya, I'm blowing the surprise.) I really liked this variegated yarn that was fluffy in parts and smooth in other parts.

I found a nice pattern called Directional Scarf on the Lion's Yarn website, (I think you have to be a member of the site but it is free to join.) This isn't difficult and it is interesting.

And don't you like my little knitting needles? I found these in some yarn shop nearby and though I have the same size knitting needles the birds make me smile. (I also bought sheep needles in a different size). Talk about collecting things that one doesn't really need!

Bank talk again

I've just spent 30 minutes talking with my American bank (again.)

Last week my mother , age 90, sent me a hand written letter and included a bank card. On the top of the page she wrote,

"I don't know when I wrote this. It has been on my desk awhile. G.L."

(she initials her messages... like I wouldn't know it is her?!)

My mother predicted that I'd be surprised at getting a letter from her and I was. It's been years since I've seen her handwriting! Looking good! She wrote that since the bank had sent me a new Visa card, that she decided to enclose a letter. Oh how nice. Newsy but hmmm... Haven't I heard this news before? Ah well.

I waited until this morning to try to activate my card by telephone (since I'm not in the States to use the ATM machine I couldn't do it that way.) And it didn't work! Story of my life with the bank. So I had to call and talk to someone in person and explain my predicament.

The nice lady verified and re-verified that I was who I said I was. She gave me a temporary PIN number. She said she would activate my new card and that I could cut up my old card. And I brought my old card out to look at it before cutting.

WAIT! The old card is valid longer than the new card! What does this mean? The nice bank lady went away for 10 minutes and came back telling me that I should use my OLD card and cut up my NEW card! And that the old card's PIN number would remain the same and my problem was now solved. Nothing was changed.

Now... why did we have this rigmarole? I have a feeling that along with the old news in my mother's letter, she also enclosed an old bank envelope... with an older card that never got sent to me (last year?). That may have been why I've had so much trouble with my bank this year...

The nice bank lady never hinted that I might be the culprit in this card game and she apologized profusely for any inconvenience (although I'm pretty sure the inconvenience came from my side.)

Got to love my mother for trying!

I got a nice handwritten letter out of it!

Seminar disaster

On Saturday I was "required" to help with a city "Safety" seminar. I think the police department and the traffic safety office collaborated on this. My job was to stuff envelopes, greet people at the door and hand out reflector gloves. There must have been about 20 of us crosswalk guards doing odd jobs (some were sent out to direct parking).

It was a LONG~~~ program starting at 1:30 and I actually had no idea what the seminar was about. City Council members and the mayor giving speeches, police chief speaking on the importance of safety, a couple other people who I never figured out. While listening to the speeches I sat wondering WHY this was important. (Isn't that terrible of me?) The same words used in each speech, the same points...keep our children safe; the elderly population is growing and drivers need to be careful of them; Japan is trying to recover from an astronomic earthquake.

After speeches someone in the police department got up and read traffic accident casualty figures. Then someone else in the police department got up and read city crime figures. All the figures were written on a paper so I don't really see the need to go over it all in such detail. (I feel like such a bad city citizen writing the above.)

Next there was a small "musical" about watching out for those pesky elderly that are going to jump out at your car. The musical was put on by one of the young police officers and his wife and was really cute, but maybe grade school drama level.

Next a bicycle simulator was brought out on stage and another "grade school drama" was put on about being careful while riding a bicycle. The "grandma" who demonstrated the simulator wasn't very good at using the simulator so it took many falls and many restarts before she got the hang of it. She and another policeman did another skit about watching out for the elderly.

By the end of that everyone started filing out of the auditorium. I stood at the exit wishing people a good day.

"What are you doing! The main speaker hasn't begun yet!"

What? But it is already 4:00. I thought city auditorium was supposed to be empty by 5:00... But sure enough the main speaker was being introduced to the minimum audience who had stayed.

"Forget the introduction! I've spoken to over a thousand groups and this is the first time I have been kept waiting nearly an hour! I had a lot of very important information to speak about today (earthquake and disaster preparation and protection) but I'm going to have to skip most of it to be finished by 5:00."

The speaker was ANGRY!!

His talk was interesting but he let his irritation show throughout the hour.

"Do you know what this sign means? Raise your hands if you think it means this... Okay, raise your hands if your think it means THIS. Well, that sure proves how little Nikko city citizens know about safety. I label you WORST 1 of all the places I've ever spoken."

And at another point, speaking about fire prevention...

"...and first of all, yell out 'FIRE!!!!!!'"

and the speaker let out a scream that had us jumping in our seats... And I was listening carefully!

"There! That should wake up those of you who feel the necessity to sleep while I'm talking!"

As seminars go, Saturday's was a disaster.

A vest finished

Yee-hah! I have finished Tetsu's vest! Hey, it looks good! It took me much longer to knit this than most of my winter knitting... the afghan stitch is tedious but makes for a thicker, less stretchy stitch. This looks like it is going to be a VERY WARM vest. I'm glad I'm finished with it though and probably won't use my afghan needed again for awhile.



Tetsu has seen me knitting this every evening for the past two months so this vest is no secret. Still, I'm putting it away until Christmas so you'll not see it on him for awhile. If I ask, please remind me that it is on a clothing box in the bedroom closet. I can picture me frantically looking for it on Christmas Eve!

Ouch

Thursday I had to go for an endoscopy (stomach camera) checkup. The last one I had was 7 years ago and this time when I made an appointment the doctor said that technology had improved and the camera could be inserted through the nostril these days.

"Much easier on the patient."

I didn't know what to expect. The nurse did her prep stuff. OW!!! This is painful!

"Hmm. Let's try the other nostril. Feels the same? Okay let's go with the right side again."

I had tears on my cheek by the time she finished.

A few minutes later the nurse was back by my cot apologizing.

"I'm so sorry. I forgot to give you anesthetic. Let's do that all again."

I would rather have not but we did and it was a little easier but not much.

With the doctor the exam went smoothly and I saw my pretty pink insides. Looks good to me!

But I needed a nap in the afternoon. I sure hope I won't have to do that again for another 7 years. And next time I'll know the routine and make sure I get some extra anesthetic! OW~~!!!

Endurance race

Yesterday was the neighborhood elementary school's annual "Endurance Race". The school (and others around Japan) has been doing this since education began. As can be expected, some kids enjoy this but a lot do not.

It was an cold day yesterday. All of the parents that turned out to cheer on their progeny wore fluffy down coats and mufflers that hid their faces. The kids were in gym shorts and t-shirts and stood at the starting line shivering!

"On your mark! Get set! Go!"

The first and second graders went around the school yard and then out the back of the school, along the roadside and back in the front gate (the first graders got a bit of a head start.)

A teacher brought up the end and when all those children had returned, the third and fourth graders took off with the bang of a starting gun. The third and fourth graders had to make TWO laps out of the back of the school, along the roadside and back in the front gate. My English student Soichiro made a star run coming in way ahead of everyone else! (He is usually not much of a star in other endeavors.)

The same teacher brought up the end of that group and when all those children returned, the fifth and sixth graders pounded around the yard and then had to do THREE laps out the back, along the road and back in the front. The very last girl over the finish line walked the last two laps and she was NOT a happy runner despite the fact that all the parents cheered her on and the same teacher trailing behind her kept up a running patter of encouragement.

"Come on K-chan! We're almost there! Don't give up! Yeah K-chan!"

As they turned the corner to go back into the school a little kindergartner, come to watch an older sibling, yelled out.

"Yeah Teacher! Don't give up!"

I guess so! That poor teacher ran the whole track 6 times. Albeit at the slowest child's pace...

Irons

I'm still knitting. Tetsu's vest is almost finished.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Ide (the knitting wizard!) brought over her iron to show me. Mrs. Ide has studied knitting (at a school!). She knows all these tricks and tips for making something extra nice. The one tip she says over and over again is

"Blocking the knitted piece is the most important part of knitting."

Now I don't understand that. I spend weeks knitting parts, put them all together, sew in the dangling yarn ends and give the whole thing a few tugs before wearing. A couple years later I may send it to the dry cleaners. But Mrs. Ide says that's all wrong. It is important to steam iron each piece before connecting them, it is important to steam seams open, it is important to steam set the ribbing. Once steam set, you never have to do it again... Ever!

Okay... I tried steaming Tetsu's vest... with my cute little pink plastic iron. It seems to spit steam AFTER I set it back in its cradle. And I don't see much difference even after I steam iron my knitted pieces (sorry Mrs. Ide). Is my iron bad or is it me?

Mrs. Ide's iron is one that she bought 35 years ago for a couple hundred dollars (for an iron 35 years ago that's pretty expensive!) She bought it for the specific purpose of using it on her knitted pieces. (She has another iron for patchwork and regular clothes ironing. It has no temperature adjustment, it has no buttons. It is just very heavy and steams (but you are NEVER are supposed to touch the iron to knitted pieces! Just the steam.) I thought the brand name was interesting. Bamboo Co. LTD.

Mrs. Ide demonstrated her steaming technique on another friend's Work In Progress and I must say that her iron does a better job of steaming than mine.

Anyway, I will finish Tetsu's vest this week AND STEAM IT!

Sky high

Somewhere on the other side of the mountains is an electric power plant and high tension wires extend from it going across the fields and over the farms and forests.

Yesterday when I was driving home from somewhere I looked up and saw little dots within the wires.

Crows? No... Too far up and too far away to be able to see crows.

Those... are... people up there! I stopped the car and took some pictures. I wonder if they noticed me down on the ground appreciating their hard work. How would you like to have a job like that? I'm glad other people can do it!