Volleyball

The weird thing is that my finger is growing back. It was like a scoop had been taken out of it but now, a bubble is forming. Amazing, I am growing a new finger tip.

Mandy has been playing on the girls volleyball team this year. She is great and I can see a real difference in her self confidence. She walks taller, her head held a bit higher. Those girls really work hard.

I went to a game a few Saturday's back and I noticed that all of the girls were confident. I got to thinking that I don't think I have ever had the pleasure of seeing a room full of high school girls who possesed such amazing self esteem.

I have never really been a sports fan at all, now I get it. It is amazing how much of the world I was missing out on.

Processed Food

What do the following foods have in common? Grapes, tofu, cheddar cheese, bananas, rice, beans, chicken, beef, pork, fish, broccoli, beets, potato

give up? These are all foods Lily eats. Do to her food allergies (wheat, corn, oat, egg, apple, tomato) she has a bit of a limited diet.

What these foods have in common? Cookies, crackers, chips, brownies, bread, Macaroni and Cheese

Yes, they are all foods that Lily cannot eat.

But wait, I found a company that makes all of these foods without any of the ingredients that make Lily sick, so $50 later we had a box in the mail.

But, Lily wouldn’t eat any of it. There is something wrong with my kid she hates junk food. Should I be upset? I have been trying to figure out how to make all this crap from scratch and then when I got it in the mail I was so excited, and yes, it all tasted good. But, no she wouldn’t eat it. She eats tofu plain, but wont eat a cookie.

Board Games

Over the weekend we had some friends over for a game night. I have collection of about 100 board games, things like Monopoly and Risk. My friends brought over a new type of board game which includes a DVD. We had a blast, Jeff and I, we not only lost all the games we barely got any answers at all. But, did I have fun. I can't remember laughing so much. Once I got started I couldn't stop. And I wasn't drinking.

The next day Mandy came home from her volleyball game in Tokyo and she asked me, why are you laughing so much today?

The next day playing at the playground with Lily I was acting so silly that she was almost falling over with the giggles.

I had one of those morning running errands where I ended up driving around for hours. Where we live the speed limit is between 8 and 30 miles per hour. I spent a lot of time looking around and I noticed that the lake was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the mountains. The trees are beginning to change colors. The sidewalks were littered with people, walking dogs, pushing strollers, and joggers. I can't help but love this place.

All my troubles seem to melt away because of a few short hours playing games.

Potato Slicer

I love watching Japanese cooking shows. I cannot understand what they are saying but I can usually tell what ingredients are being added and the process being used. As I watched I fell in love with a Japanese Mandolin similar to this one. I went to all my favorite Japanese stores and found one. I was so excited. I have been using it daily for months. Yesterday, I got over confident, and I lost the tip of my finger. Now I am wondering if this goes in my recycle bin or regular trash. Lots and lots of pain, at almost 24 hours bleeding and it hasn't stopped. I have huge gauze thingy wrapped around the finger. I am typping without the use of my right middle finger. It is amazing how much I use my right hand.

What a baby I am but this has been one of the most excruciating experiences of my life and the ER doctor told me to take Tylenol. This was after I had the wound irrigated with what looked and burned like Lysol. Then they wrapped me up and sent me home. I was up all night. I had another appointment this morning where they removed the bandage and poked it for awhile and then made me wait alone in the room on my own. I just started bawling. I was so scared they would re-irrigate the thing. But, no they cauterized it, which was much worse. They sent me home with Tylenol 3 and I don't have to come back until Monday.

Tanasashi Seashore

Here is a picture of Mandy at the Tanasashi seashore taken over a year ago. Jeff, Lily and I went there Sunday, but didn't take any picutes. This is one of my favorite places to go but we haven't made it out there in ages. Besides the Pacific Ocean and rocks seen here in the photo there is a medatative like peace I associate with this lovely park.

For the first time we took a hike along the three mile trail. Usually we visit the beach or picnic in the park, but this time we strolled along the secluded trail. The day was perfect. Not hot or cold, a wisper of clouds in the sky. We were practically the only ones on the trail. On one side there were tall trees and flowers which walled us off from the outside world. On the other side of us was the ocean. At times there are many beautiful, rugged rocks in and around the water. Some of these boulders even have small trees growing out of them. At other times there are stretches of open beaches. Big crashing waves sounding as we walked. I collected a few shells. I have always found the sound and smells of the ocean refreshing. To be able to partake in such beauty privately while we strolled along a well maintained path is priceless.

This is truely one of my favorite places in the world. Perhaps the beauty is ordinary and it is the privacy that is so enchanting. We would occasionally walk past a family or little old ladies. They all still love our Lily. She was absolutely a perfect angel the entire trip. All told we were away from home over 4 hours. She ran along the big hills and down the trail for a bit but mostly rode in the carrier. We did not force Mandy to come along. She stayed home and enjoyed her weekend of sleep and tv.

Fall is nice here in Misawa. The temperatures are mild. The humidity is gone. The trees haven't started to change colors yet, but soon. It doesn't rain very often. It is just pleasant and comfortable. Plus, having the neighborhood kids is school all day is quite peaceful.

All told a lovely and free family adventure. Hope you had a great weekend too.

Oriase Gorge

Oriase Gorge, Tawada, Japan 2003

Adventure free

Wow, I haven't posted anything in a month. That is because we haven't had any adventures. We tried to go camping, but Jeff ended up going without us. We tried to go to a grape picking festival but a volleyball game took precedence. We have been so busy with our day to day lives we haven't had time to do anything off-base.

I am planning to go to the fish market this week. I am excited about seeing Lily's reaction. I will take pictures. Hachinoe is just south of us and it a huge fishing port. We first went to the fish market when we arrived here in Japan, it was part of the introductory tour. Lily was in my belly at 20 weeks. I was worried about eating raw fish and didn't partake in any of the free trials. I bought what I thought was a cookie but ended up being something made from fish in the shape of a cookie. Most of the fish are familiar, some seemed like they were from a science fiction movie. I will try to get pictures of them.

Mandy is busy with Volleyball. Lily is just getting over being sick. We had to give her fever reduction medicine, which contains corn and now she is done with the virus but still reacting to the medicine. On a really weird note, I have started to get stomach aches whenever I eat something that Lily is allergic to. I think this is phychosamatic, since I have been eating these foods my entire life with no problem. But, who knows.

In November we are going to the Ono festival again. School takes a big bite out of our schedule. I am hoping to visit the Tanasashi sea shore before it gets to cold. We didn't go at all this summer. We only went to the gorge once, hopefully we can go and see the fall colors this year. I also wanted to see the monkeys this summer. Where did the summer go? We still have a bit of time before the snow. I hope we will find the time and energy to go, go, go.

Camping in Japan

We just got home from a camping trip. We drove about two and a half hours south and paid $70 in tolls, and $25 in camping fees and $100 in groceries all for one night. It was a blast though. This camping site like all the others we have been to here in Japan, has a hot spring one can enjoy before turning in.

Our camp site was pretty small and all the camp sites were pretty close together, but it was very nice for Lily. Last year we went camping twice and both times were very difficult. Now that she is two it is a bit easier. There were several children around her age and that was nice. Nice not to have the only screamer. The Japanese children could say bye-bye and Lily sometimes says Konichiwa (hello). The was an ankle deep stream that we played in and a water spicket that she loved.

We went with our Japanese friends. They always pick the campsites for us and we just follow them there. They have tons of great camping equipment, we are slowly trying to catch up. We used our new lantern and camp stove this time, which was fun. The food I made went over pretty well. I am always so nervous because Ritsico is the best cook ever and I am barely so-so.

On the way home we were about five miles from the base and had to stop and get gas. Usually we make it but our AC is out and I think having the windows down the whole trip caused us to use ¼ tank more gas. This was my first time getting gas off base in Japan. It was awesome. We paid $10 and the needle didn’t even make it to a ¼ tank. About six guys came to our car and started washing. They were running around going very quickly, and chanting thank you very much in unison. It was like a dance. When we were done, they went into the street and stopped traffic and waved us on. Talk about service. They even handed us a towel to wipe down our dashboard. We still had to fill up when we got on base but it was an experience worth having. Jeff and I are wondering why is it that gas is so much more expensive in Europe and Japan? Do we get a better price on the barrels of oil or do the other countries charge a higher tax? I guess I should try to learn a little more about how the world works.

I am glad to be home. We are all squeaky clean and the rest of the family is dosing. I actually remembered to bring the camera on this trip but forgot to take it out of the car. I looked really bad, so that might have been a good thing. Lily was in a cute pink dress, soaking wet with bare feet. Mandy was reading, and Jeff looked like he always does, cute and happy. I spent three and a half hours trying to put together a tent I bought at a garage sale, I finally got it up, but I was pretty dirty and sweaty. Jeff took care of Lily that whole time, so I think I got the better end of the deal. It was a second tent, with netting on the walls, a place for Lily to play in the shade. It was almost dark by the time I got it up, but it was still fun.

Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada

Otome No Zou

We went hiking at the Oriase Gorge this weekend. We haven't gotten the pictures developed yet, but I found this one on the Internet. It is a statue at Lake Towada that we saw for the first time. We drove around the lake and walked around for awhile before we found it. Hopefully our pictures will turn out as well.

Mandy got her feet wet at the tall waterfall and instead of hiking back to the car we sat and waited for Jeff. We got to sit together and enjoy the beauty of the Gorge, just the two of us and have a nice conversation. I am glad it wasn't me with the wet feet. At Lake Tawada we ate some fried bread on sticks, we thought it was a hot dog until we bit into it. It was ok. Later at the Statue we had some chicken on a stick that was terrible. My first bad food in Japan. We had a nice drive home. Lily didn't scream too much and didn't throw up at all.

I hope to have some picutes soon.

Happy Mother's Day

funny how sweet she looks in these pictures.

I am experimenting with collages, here is Mandy in Japan

Spring is here, time for festivals.

Last weekend we went to two festivals, the Sannohe festival on Saturday and the Ohno festival on Sunday. We had a blast. Below are some photos of our adventures. Both days were beautiful. In the two years I have been here I think this is the first weekend to have both Saturday and Sunday beautiful. It was absolutely amazing. I am really enjoying our time in Japan, especially now that the snow has melted. I think a couple days of good food and sunshine would make anyone happy. Both days we grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, brats and terryaki chicken wings. We had more food than we could eat. This trip I didn't even try to cook, I brought the meat and some chips and soda, now that is American. Our Japanese friends brought the most amazing food. We all got a little sunburnt, especially Lily, break out the sunblock momma. You can see in the Ohno festival pictures my success at keeping a hat on her.