Boxing Day

Among my British friends opinions vary as to why it's called Boxing Day. Here in Japan in the Missionary community many times it is the first day in a long while where there are no deadlines or activities looming.  Church activities are over, family celebrations, if there's been time, are finished and in one last effort you reach out to others in your circle who are important to you. 

I've been invited over the years to share in leftovers of the Christmas meal at the homes of several friends.  This year Christmas fell on a Sunday, so that meant postponement of some activities until all the church events were wrapped up.

Monday, our Director and his Wife invited ten of us to their home for dinner together.  Two Americans, three Singaporeans, three Australians  a Canadian and an Englishman joined this German couple.

We enjoyed ham and chicken curry, rice and potatoes and lots of side dishes followed by pie and cookies.

Some time was taken to sing some songs together and share some encouragements we've received and pray together.

Outside our building our Japanese neighbors were busy taking down any Christmas decorations they may have put up and getting ready for their most important holiday - New Year's Day.

Weaving an Obi

Today Miss Sachiko and I had planned to go to a concert at the I-Link building, but when she arrived Sachiko said there was a Textile Exhibition at a little Gallery in Suwada and today was the last day.  Which did I want to go to.  She knew the answer - Textiles.

The exhibits were mainly obi and kimono or things made from obi or kimono. In the center of the room was a loom and it wasn't too long till a woman in kimono sat down to the loom and began weaving on an obi. She was clearly flattered at the attention of 5 or so people and happy for me to take pictures. Her work is incredible. For example the piece at the right.  It's something easily recognized in Japan - take no ko (maybe literally "little one of the bamboo") Americans probably won't recognize this as the source of their "bamboo shoots" but here it is sold in the spring - whole, looking something like this.

Here is the weaver at the loom happily chatting away while weaving.  Her base warp thread is white and her pattern was being worked in gold, bronze, green and yellow mainly. The loom itself was a thing of beauty. Her work was varied and really quite interesting.  I find that the photos I took show more dimension that I noticed when looking at them. I also found my own reflection in some of the framed pieces :-/




To see the whole set please go to the link here: https://picasaweb.google.com/107123733477272247567/AWalkAndAnExhibition#

A Year of Difficult Things

I'm sure I'm not alone in having difficulty remembering much of consequence that happened to me or that I did or saw this year prior to what everyone refers to as 3/11. The triple disasters in Japan have colored and changed much of what is said and done here even now, nearly 9 months later. Experiencing the earthquake in it's milder form here in Ichikawa was frightening, I was alone at the time. When the shaking stopped, no one quite seemed to know what to do next. It seems we've spent the days and months since making up our own script. It's been difficult, but taken as it was given, in increments, we were able to mostly figure it out.

The very day of the earthquake, my friends and coworkers, the Aylings learned of the return of a long dormant cancer that would change their plans, and mine too, in time. When it was determined that stronger action needed to be taken, they made preparations for returning to England for an early retirement. It seemed a natural decision to offer to step into the breach in running the Guest Home. I had, after all, done it before, albeit in a less busy era when I was ten years younger and, as I realize now, was much more actively supported by my co-workers.
 
It didn't seem, when I left the US almost exactly three years ago that I would ever be able to work here this long. My finances, while adequate throughout the time, are now on a different footing, and even though I am providing a service for the mission, and to quote our business manager, I'm "cheap as chips to keep on the field," I loathe the thought that I might not be holding up my end financially here. It's difficult.

As I said, I'm here three years - on a three year visa.  I had to make application for extension. The last time I did this was in 2002. I remember it as being a confusing process that involved lots of form filling and waiting with a large group of other aliens until one's number was called, then answering questions asked by officials in Japanese. Last time, a bilingual colleague went with me and fielded the Japanese. This time no one stepped in to that gap. Our Admin Assistant, however, was asked to prepare paperwork for me. I didn't like the idea of going on my own. I anticipated difficulty, and feeling stupid. Afterward, despite having to ask directions to the monorail several times and walking to the wrong building, it went exceptionally well. I especially appreciated all that our Japanese staff did on the paperwork/instruction side of things.

There were difficult separations this year as a cherished coworker got married  and moved to another part of Japan, a colleague and her family left for Home Assignment in Northern Ireland, and Our Dear Ruth went to be with Jesus.

So what's the moral to this story? I've got a little less than a month to decide.

Two Turkey Dinners and a Lot of Thanks

Since I arrived in Tokyo in 2008 I have spent Thanksgiving Days doing what ever the normal work schedule called for. There just weren't any Americans among my colleagues on the Ichikawa side of the city to celebrate with. This year, however, we have a Serve Japan Worker here at JHQ from the US.

We decided a few weeks ago to do a Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday and invited our coworkers in the office. The ones who were in that day were mostly Japanese which always makes for lively conversation about American traditions, recipes, and finding the proper ingredients in Japan. We had fun and we were thankful together. I found when it was all finished and cleaned up that I am out of shape for cooking for a group!

Shortly after we had made the decision to do an Ichikawa Thanksgiving, we were invited to a dinner to be made in the main by American friends on the other side of Tokyo on Friday.  The choice of day was due to the children's school schedule.

The Thompsons, The Driscolls,
Christine and me

So we made what we pledged to contribute to dinner, and in the early afternoon started the hour and 10 minute trek by way of three different trains to our destination. We were 11 in number, and 5 of those were young men in the upper grades of secondary school. Two turkeys were prepared with all of the attendant side dishes and desserts in an effort to satisfy every one's appetite.  I think we might have come close. No question the adults had enough or a bit more than enough, but with boys that age any meal is at best a stop-gap measure.

I'm thankful for friends who think of you on special days like this, for lovely food prepared by loving people, for hospitality, for trains that run regularly and on time to the places you want to go, for relatively safe environments in the places I walk at most any time of day or night, good weather, fun conversations, and most of all for a Loving Heavenly Father who cares for us and about us.

Yokohama Quilt Week 2011

"Festival!"

I was able to visit this annual show sponsored by Patchwork Tsushin Magazine with my quilting Sensei again this year. I took photos of many of the pieces where photography was permitted.  You can view them in my Picasa Photo Gallery. The quickest way to get there from here is to click on one of the slide shows running to the right.

As always, from the first time I saw a quilt made by a Japanese artisan sometime in the 1990's, I was totally impressed by the tremendous amount of work that went into the individual works. Also the great artistic sense, the freedom to experiment, and tendency to intense detail. Take a look, and see if you don't agree.

Feeling Old?



Hanako

This is for several of my good friends had birthdays recently.  You know who you are. 

On my recent visit to the Kichijoji area I took a walk one day through Inokashira Park.  There is a zoo inside the park that I had heard about, and since I had never been to a zoo in Japan, I thought I'd take a look. This zoo is small and rather old fashioned. The star of the zoo is the lady pictured above, Hanako the Elephant.  I read some of the literature about the zoo and found that she was born in Thailand and came to the Ueno Zoo when she was two years old, in 1949. Well, guess what, she's the same age as I am! Looking at her I had very mixed feelings. 

You can see more pictures from Kitchijoji and Inokashira in the slide show running to the right. If you click on the slide it will take you to the album where you can see the pictures and captions individually.

I got a little surprise when I came upon the fellow in the picture here.  The sign said he and his mate were from America and that they are Capybara.  For some unknown reason I had a mental image of a capybara being about the size of a cat. Well I was wrong.  These guys were as big as hogs. Not really exuding much charm either.

Shopping in Kitchijoji

The window of a shop on a side street in Kitchijoji shows clothing from America and proudly states that they are made by foreigners. I was in this part of Tokyo recently and was really excited to see so many different shops that were new to me. It's a really popular place these days with young people, and it swirls with activity.

There were lots of import shops. I could find many things from boxes of Jello to my favorite Digestive Biscuits in one shop with mostly food and household items. At the quilt shop there were fabrics from the US and the UK as well as great stuff from Japan. Other shops had things from India, Nepal, Pakistan.

This shop was in the station and sold fabrics from France. The cute girl on the right was one of the staff and went out of her way to speak and try to understand me as I asked questions in Japanese when I could and English when my vocabulary failed me.  They had a basket of remnants and I came home with a piece of canvas weight fabric in narrow bright stripes.  It'll be a great summer bag.

This shop was pure Japanese, selling pickled daikon and other pickled vegetables.

I actually spent almost two days altogether looking around this town and walking between the shopping area and where I was staying in the next town, Mitaka.

It was different enough that I felt like I was really far from work and the day to day stresses and strains.  I came back to Ichikawa really refreshed.

An Air of Sadness

Upon my return from a short four days holiday on the other side of Tokyo I immediately learned of the passing of Ruth Ayling in the UK.  It was her illness that precipitated my resuming full time care of the OMF Headquarters Ichikawa Guest Home. She and her husband, Gareth were in charge from autumn 2002 till spring this year and in that span of time they broadened and deepened their network of friends and proteges.  I was fortunate to have contact with them and to give them a day off every week and to meet with Ruth for a weekly time of sorting myself out and prayer together.

She is greatly missed by her husband, Gareth and her children and grandchildren, and also by many many more to whom she showed kindness, consideration, generosity, interest. With whom she shared many meals, letters, calls, visits and prayers. She is an excellent example of a Godly woman. We could all learn something from her life. 

Till we meet again in Glory.

La France

It just occurred to me that when I was growing up my mother used a laundry product called La France. I think it was "bluing." You know, to make your whites look whiter?  Am I speaking to people with blank looks on their faces and no idea what I'm talking about this time?

Why I thought of La France is that there is something in Japan that is called La France (ra furansu). It is a fruit that is in the stores now. For all the world it looks like a Bartlet Pear until you grasp the size of it. It is enormous!



In the picture to the left is a La France with a ruler in front showing it to be at least 12 cm long. (Are you out there Ed?)  Beside it is a 500 ml carton of La France drink (1% real fruit juice!) It took me a while to figure all of this out a few years back because Japanese people tend to think if something is written in katakana - the alphabet for foreign words - it should follow that foreigners should know what it means.

By the way, the La France is like a Bartlett Pear on the inside too, with the same taste and texture.

While we're on the subject of food, I found this to be amusing. On the left we have a small package of potato salad.  In Japan you're likely to find carrot, cucumber and a bit of whole kernel corn in it, but it tastes pretty good. When I first arrived in 1999 my first taste of it was in a package of mixed sandwiches between two pieces of white bread at an after church lunch

Here we have the empty plastic tray with the lettuce leaves printed on it. I often tell people at home that almost everything is done in Japan with an eye toward aesthetics. So, rather than putting in real lettuce leaves that would just go limp and nasty in a day and everyone would throw away anyway, they print the leaves on the tray. It makes the potato salad look more attractive without the waste.

Kinchaku Project

Kinchaku are items well known to Japanese people.  They are cloth bags with a drawstring top. They come in many sizes, and the fabrics and embellishments make them anything from utilitarian to quite beautiful. Small ones are used inside purses to hold small items.  Medium sized ones, like the one at the right, can hold the mouse and power cord for my computer. Larger ones are commonly used by school children to carry shoes or books. In fact a child starting school should have a set of bags to carry all the things they need each day. Sometimes mother makes the set and it all matches and reflects the likes of the child. Sometimes they are purchased at school bazaars, or maybe grandma makes or buys the set. There are even books you can buy that show the proper sizes and how to make each one.

The one in the photo here is made from a traditional Japanese fabric called Shibori which is the ancient Japanese version of tie dying. The process gives the fabric both design and texture. Great care was taken with this one to make it aesthetically pleasing as well as useful.

After the earthquake in March my quilting teacher was thinking about practical ways to help the people in the Tohoku area of Japan where the Earthquake was centered and the Tsunami hit and where the Fukushima Power Plant was in limbo. She thought about people who had lost everything and depended on others to supply their needs.  She heard about all kinds of projects providing food, water and clothing and how difficult it was to match the supply with the current need. She thought about a Japanese woman sitting in an evacuation center with clothes and bedding that were unfamiliar to her, among family (if she were so fortunate) and neighbors who were equally in need and dependant on others.  If someone gave this woman some small thing for herself, she wouldn't have anywhere to put it.  She could use a kinchaku if she had one. From these thoughts came the Kinchaku Project. 

Friends and students were asked to make a few kinchaku each to send to Tohoku.  It didn't take long till the finished bags started pouring in.  The response was almost overwhelming. Everyone wanted to help and contribute.  When it came time to decide how to get the bags to the people who could use them, a Japanese quilting magazine, Patchwork Tsushin, said they would like to help. In late spring they shipped 1000 kinchaku north.  Each package of 20 contained  message from the makers expressing their desire to do something useful and hoping that the bags would be of use. Several months later another shipment of 500 bags was sent off.  Last week when I attended my quilting class, the students packed up 400 more kinchaku to send.

I love being part of the group doing something useful. I like the care that went into deciding what to do. I love the way Japanese people care for each other. I like the cooperation between teacher, student and community services.

Hats off to Kuraishi sensei, her students and friends and Patchwork Tsushin magazine for making this all work.

I Keep Hearing...

a tenor voice singing...

In the summer
We can rent
A cottage
On the Isle of Wight,
If it's not too dear.
We shall scrimp and saaavvve.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UTjBrdj8Pc

Typhoons and Water and Guests, Oh My!

It's Sunday late morning here. I've been available at 8am to give the pastor the key so that he could get into the office building to make copies of the bulletin, attended the 10 am service and then talked a little with a friend who stopped by after. I just made a pot of chai tea so I could have chai latte while I type, and I have the Osenbei, rice crackers open at my elbow. Until my guest arrives late this evening I'm pretty much free.


This past week was pretty busy with guests and a typhoon and guests because of the typhoon, the return of the Field Director's wife who has been in Germany for several months helping take care of her frail mother and dad, giving her siblings a bit of an easier time. The typhoon was very similar to some hurricanes I've been near. The center travelled south to northeast a bit inland from here, so we got lots of wind and rain. They shut the trains down sometime during evening rush hour and started them back up sometime after 10.30. So the Business Manager and the new Accounts Clerk couldn't go home and asked to stay over. Another friend was stuck at Tokyo station wanting to go to Osaka, so when she could get here and not there, she asked for a room. We had a team of Americans here (3 men, 3 women, all middle age or older) who had been in Sendai helping with the relief work and had a few days before going home to California. One of their churches in the US had the secretary call me when they heard on the news that there was a typhoon coming to Tokyo. She was unconcerned that the time difference meant she had rung my telephone at 5.40 am.


One of our friends who pastors a church in Tokyo had scheduled to use our auditorium and another area all day on Friday for a kind of church retreat. They also wanted to baptize three people which meant I had to find out how to fill up the baptistery which is under the platform on the far end of the auditorium. Fortunately our pastor who has used it several times was able to consult with us on the method. The major glitches were that the hot water heating system has an automatic shutoff after running for between 45 minutes and an hour. It takes three hours to fill the baptistery - it's a lot bigger than it needs to be, but that's how it got built. So you have to be rather alert when filling it to get enough hot water. The pastor doing the baptism was sure I didn't have a clue how to do it, he wasn't far wrong, so he came out Thursday afternoon and filled the baptistery about a third of the way up then asked me to fill it up the rest of the way on Friday morning. when it was done, he pulled out a thermometer like you use to see how hot the ofuro water is before your bath. He was happily surprised that it was 32 degrees C.


This next week we get busy again with the Home Council's autumn meeting on Tuesday. Some of their members and those giving reports live far enough away that they have asked to stay overnight. We have several people here for a few days before they fly to their home countries for their Home Assignments. We also have people here visiting with an eye to seeing if this might be where they'd like to work. The first week of October is the autumn Field Council meeting which sees representative members from all over the northern part of Honshu and Hokkaido here for several days.


After that, around the middle of October, it looks like the pace might slow down a little for a while, or it may be that people are just now thinking they should write to make reservations.


I'd really like to go to Quilting Class this week. It got cancelled last week because of the typhoon. I need to get some kind of a project cut out or planned to take however. We'll see. I'd also like to go to the grocery store and fruit market. And, there's the ever present "stuff" that still needs to be gone through or to have a home found for it.

No, I didn't get lost, I've just been busy!

After two weeks of fairly constant Guest Home work I realized I hadn't done a blog post for nearly two weeks.  That's no way to keep the readership interested. The other part of that is I attended a new (to me) English Circle today and invited participants to take a look at my blog.  Well, who wants to see a two week old blog entry?

So, where was today's meeting? Narashino City. One of the IVIS members who I met some years ago on the bus trip to Yokohama, I believe, invited me to come to speak to this other group he belongs to in his home area. Their format is quite different. The speaker has an hour to fill and then after coffee break there is a Q and A time.  Since I had been asked on relatively short notice, and this was a new group, I drew on something I had already prepared and expanded it a bit.  I took my "To Everything There Is A Season" wall hanging and after giving a brief history of my travels to and from Japan over the last 12 years I told them about my "Japanese Memories." 

They were a lovely responsive group and took the lesson on the proper pronunciation of the word "Quilt" in good stride. They also stayed with me in my explanation of the block I call "My Japanese Family Name" and made the jump from Andoh to Andoh san to Anderson eventually.

I will admit I was apprehensive, but I ended up having a really good time.

Thank you for inviting me, Narashino City English Circle!

Sanma Season

My friend Sachiko san came by after church today. I hadn't seen her for a month.  Usually on Sundays she brings one or more of the grocery store ads from the newspaper.  I have never had any success in getting the ads delivered with my Daily Yomiyuri Newspaper. It's in English you see and it is presumed that people who receive it wouldn't be able to use the Japanese ads for the local stores.  I learned to read pictures early on and some hiragana and a kanji here and there, so I quite like looking at the store ads, as I do at home.

So today's ad featured fresh Sanma.  These are a kind of fish that is very economical and only available this time of year. Sachiko described how she cooks them and how she dresses them and assured me that they are "Oishii". So, we walked to the area around Ichikawa Station and visited several different places.  Most stores had whole Sanma in a container on ice and bags available so you can put as many as you like in the bag.  They were priced per fish. There were also some pre-packaged and some of those had already been cleaned and were headless and gutless. These appealed to me.  After we made the rounds we returned to Y's Mart. and discovered that their price had been reduced while we were away! 88 yen each and some of them were the cleaned ones.  I bought two.These were for the grill, which is like a small broiler and is part of most of the gas cookers in Japanese kitchens. Here is a picture of them ready to go in:

They just took a few minutes on each side.  Note the cuts in the skin. I asked Sachiko san if they were usually split for cooking and she said that she makes cuts in the skin like her mother did.  She merely smiled at me when I said that my mother never cooked Sanma.

Had I been a bit more on the ball I would have added something a bit more colorful to this meal. But it was tasty enough all right.  The fish is mild flavored and comes off the bone easily. The rice is half white rice, half brown rice with rolled barley and a package of a mixture of 14 seeds and beans that adds a bit more nutrition and fiber. 

The salad was a mixture of lettuce and sliced hakusai (Napa Cabbage) with a peeled Nashi.  These are also in season at the moment.  Sometimes they are seen in Florida stores and called something like Asian Pears. On the way to America they lose a lot of their flavor and juiciness. Ichikawa City is the Nashi Capitol of Japan, and as we had a rather reasonable growing season for them this year, they are both plentiful and economically priced in the stores. Nashi for the uninitiated have a yellow roughish skin and when cut open resemble an apple or a pear. The fruit is quite crisp and very very juicy. They are quite refreshing in the hot weather. 

So, that was my dinner tonight. What did you have?

Karuizawa Revisited

I'm just back from 5 days in Karuizawa.  It felt like at least a week more. But, no, I'm back in Ichikawa.  Tomorrow guests start arriving again after almost two weeks without any. So it's back to work. 

I promised something new in the way of Karuizawa pictures.  As it's one of my favorite places to go I have lots of pictures.  This time I did make it to the Outlet Mall, which I hadn't visited before.  Most of the stock is aimed for twentysomethings and most carry only Japanese sizes, even in the American or British shops (L.L.Bean, Burberry's). and everything is pretty pricey, or spendy or expensive.

I didn't expect to get to the Pearly Gates, and who knew it was a Golf Shop? And who can make sense of a golf shop being called Pearly Gates?  One of those inscrutable Japanese mysteries perhaps. Or is it a shop started in another country?

There was a quartet of young people playing wind instruments in a central area of the mall.  The music was classical and the young musicians disciplined as one begins to expect in Japan.

I came across this fungi family near our house.  They really looked like flowers, but are probably a kind of mushroom.

The last time I photographed this small lake near Ohga Hall there was a rather sizable bridge across it.  The bridge is no more, alas. I rather liked it. Don't know why they took it down.






So, back to the grind.  Still trying to get settled in my apartment. Wanting very much to start some sewing projects as few things I have fit very well. I'm stuck with super casual with a few pieces of dressier clothes, some of which fits and some too large.

Digestives

Living in a country where you were not born and brought up often presents challenges in the area of food.  At home I'm asked if I eat sushi. In Japan I'm asked if I eat natto. Those kinds of things one could anticipate.

Living where I do, I have come into contact with lots of people from the UK or former Commonwealth countries as well as Europe, N. America as well as Asia.  When you socialize you learn quite a bit about foods from where your companions grew up.  Actually I had come across Digestive Biscuits when I lived in Pennsylvania and met twins from Scotland - another long story - who I believe introduced them to me.

Digestives are made with whole wheat flour, butter, sugar/honey, oats and milk, leavened with baking powder. At least that is what this recipe called for.  These are square, usually Digestives are round.  They usually have holes poked in them.

Why would I attempt to make them myself?  Part of the reason is the difficulty I have finding them in the stores here.  There is a Japanese branch of the British Company, McVittes which makes Digestives, but for me it's rather like Hershey's having the contract to make Cadbury's in America. I could go on, but won't.

So, I looked on the Internet and found a couple recipes, one of which I tried today. When they were baking the aroma reminded me of the unleavened bread we used to make for communion. 

They aren't as crisp as commercial ones, which seems strange.  What if I replaced some of the butter with olive oil - you food chemists out there, would that make them crisper?  I want to reduce the sugar too, and add just a little salt for flavor.

They might not be authentic Digestives, but they will certainly keep me from missing Digestive Biscuits while they last.

I've actually put most of them in a tin and frozen them because tomorrow I'm off to Karuizawa for 6 whole days for my summer holidays. (See how the British influence creeps in?)  While I'm there I will try to get some photos of some things I haven't seen before, and will blog on my return.  I'm not taking my decrepit computer with me this time.

Rain!

And the promise of cooler weather for a couple of days.  Whew! We have had about two weeks of scorching hot weather for a city with only room air conditioners in most houses, and a campaign to save electricity in full swing.

At the beginning of summer at the OMF office next door, personnel who work weekdays were moved to the third floor to conserve power.  The computer system functions better when it's kept cool, so that's where everyone has camped.

I have been catching up on cleaning the Guest Home after having a full house several times in July and August with quick turnovers, which sometimes puts me behind where I'd like to be as far as having things in place for the next guests arriving. As of yesterday all the rooms and bathrooms are clean and made up for the next guests (August 28.) Kitchens and living rooms have been cleaned, and the new book shelf incorporated into the mix of books and games and videos storage. OMF members who stay here now are assisting with the clean up and its been a great help.

Yesterday the temperature was in the low 90's with the "feels like" temperature near 100 degrees. This morning I woke to overcast skies which have gradually given over to darker and darker grey.  As I opened the window in the office before starting this entry, I heard the rain start.  It's supposed to be an all day affair with temperatures cooling in to the 70's on the weekend.  Ah, now I hear thunder!

I will be leaving for my summer holiday on Sunday afternoon.  This year's trip is abbreviated quite a bit from last year's 4 weeks.  I could only find a week for myself (I'm the person who makes the booking schedule!) at the old Karuizawa House.  Maybe I'll get another week or two in the autumn.

This year, however, I feel my overall health is better. Just after my holiday last year I was finally diagnosed with Type II Diabetes.  In the intervening year I have lost 8 kilos (a math problem for my American friends ^.^) and the blood glucose test numbers have come down to very close to (and sometimes within) normal limits.

In a little while I will go down to Ichikawa Station, walking under the railway line most of the way, to get my tickets for the train on Sunday.  If I get a little wet, I don't think I'll mind at all!

Kamakura without the shrines

In Japan you quickly become inured to seeing shrines.  They truly are everywhere.  Down the back street from the Guest Home there's a private home with a wall around the back garden and just above the wall you can see there is a red torii inside. On the way to the closest railway station you pass two full sized shrines.

Today, Jaime and I went to Kamakura. It is a town steeped in history and is a popular tourist destination. It also has a high concentration of shrines and temples.  We went to see the big buddha statue and the surrounding grounds, we studied and photographed design elements and growing things. Observed people and looked at what was on offer for souvenirs.  Otherwise our day was spent shopping and visiting a couple of small art museums. One about Japanese film history, and another showing the pen and ink drawings of a venerable Japanese artist.

There's plenty to see - without the shrines.

Down the garden path

Jaime Marie is visiting me till Monday, so, what a great excuse to grab a little of my holiday time and take her sightseeing in Tokyo. 

Today we visited the Imperial East Gardens. I was hot, bright and sunny when we started out and became more and more cloudy and at one point thundered and dropped a few raindrops on us. 

So many beautiful greens.  So many kinds of bamboo - who knew?  So many opportunities to capture the ancient in the foreground and the ultra modern in the background.

We especially also enjoyed the exhibition at the small museum at the Gardens.  The had on display books of paintings from 1885 through 1981. This style of binding paintings by the same or various artists into an accordion book for convenient viewing and storage was popular in the Edo through the Taisho periods but gradually went out of style.  The newer books were made to be presented to the Imperial Family on various auspicious occasions. A very wide range of styles subjects and techniques was represented making it a very interesting display indeed. Sorry, no photos were permitted.

After the Gardens we went to Omotesando, Harajuku, then Akihabara and home.  Dinner at the okonomiyaki restaurant was really good.

And now to bed.

On the Downhill Stretch

Over the past few days I have said goodbye to numerous guests and washed sheets and towels and cleaned bathrooms and remade beds.  Today there remains one couple - here to next Wednesday and one Serve Japan worker who is spending one more night before he flies home, and a family of 5.  It sounds like a lot when I put it on paper, but compared to last week's mob it's really light duty.

After a couple of weeks with temperatures less than 30 degrees, Celsius it's starting to get warmer again.  I turned the air conditioning on in the office this afternoon to see if it would render me more alert and less sleepy.  The jury is still out. However, I do feel like the burden of the summer Guest Home schedule is lifting.

Tomorrow I will go lead the Free Discussion time for IVIS.  I haven't been able to do that for several months, and have heard that they have found some other people from some countries, where English is a second language, to converse with.  I plan to see what their plans are for their summer vacation or what their "dream vacation" would be. My job is to see that everyone has a chance to speak and express their ideas on the subject. 

Next week I will have a visitor from California! Yay! Visitors are good.  She is one of my Prayer Partners and has been doing some short term missions work in several places in Japan over the last month.  She'll stay with me for about 5 days and I hope to be able to show her some interesting things in and around Tokyo.

I've got some fabric and patterns waiting for me too, so it looks like it's goodbye drudgery, hello fun during the summer season at the OMF Ichikawa Guest Home.

Full House

Actually, tonight is one of those rare occasions when there is no one at the Guest Home. Kenton left this morning, and JP is away for the weekend.  So, it's quiet here except for the three Sunday School classes using our buildings at the moment.

This all changes starting tomorrow evening when new guests start arriving and by Tuesday night all the rooms will be occupied. This is the way of the Guest Home in Ichikawa.

When I took over management of the place in June it was a sudden change for me and I had to jump into a schedule that had already, in the most, part been set for me. The busy schedule continues for another week or two and then glorious down time and perhaps an actual vacation!

The 10th of August a prayer partner from America, whom I have not met in person, will visit for 5 days.  Even though it is likely to be hot, I will try to show her the highlights of Tokyo. Just planning for this upcoming change of schedule is rather invigorating. It's something to look forward to.

Sobetsu Kai

Today was another "Good Bye Party" at church.  This week the Orr Family will go to Northern Ireland for a two year (at least) Home Assignment. They've gone home before of course, but this time when they return, they will not be assigned to The Chapel of Adoration in Ichikawa because this church now has a Japanese pastor and should not need missionary leadership. So, after 13 years of the Orrs being there, they won't be.

I met them in 1999 when I first came to Ichikawa and they were the pastors of our host church, the aforementioned Chapel. Some of us had a little trouble understanding Graham because of his accent and because he talked so very fast.  He either improved, or I learned to follow him over the years. The first time I met Alison was at a Thursday Prayer Meeting.  She came in and sat her young child (Daniel) down on the floor with a puzzle. My jaw dropped at the level of puzzle he was doing with ease.  I asked his age, and when told, I replied, "He shouldn't be able to do that."  Over this past year I have gotten to know Alison a lot better as we worked together in the Serve Japan program. When I have been in Japan, the Orrs have been my pastors.  So, as I am staying here a bit longer, I will be missing having a pastor here.  

And so it goes in Foreign Missions.  You learn that goodbyes are as sure as hellos.  I don't think you ever get to like them though. Today we looked at some old pictures, had speeches, sang some of the songs Graham wrote, laughed and cried together. On Wednesday they'll be on a plane for the UK and it is quite possible I will not see them again in this life.

Meet the Happy Couple

Today was Yuka and Tomoyuki's wedding.  This was the first Japanese wedding I've attended that hasn't been at my home Church. Yuka has worked as Accounts Assistant at the Japan OMF HQ for 8 years. We followed the progress of this relationship with great joy and anticipation culminating today with the wedding.

All of the details were worked out in advance and you could see the thoughtfulness in every phase of the afternoon. If there were any missteps, the congregation at large was not aware of them. Here is the happy couple serving cake to their guests. Lots of smiles.

Close to exhaustion I think, but plans well made were executed and the wedding was truly a celebration of God's love and care for these two and their friends.

A new level of busy

Last week at one time or another all of the rooms at the Guest Home had to be cleaned. Several more than once. That's nine rooms varying from singles to a small two bedroom apartment.  The job would have been next to impossible on my own, but I had several people come help. So thanks to Yuka, Reiko, Junko and Yoko my load was a lot lighter.

This week there are people coming to stay for slightly longer periods for the most part, so a little room to breathe. I definitely have a "day off" planned and might even get to go to quilting class if there is one this Wednesday.

Nice to be able to think back on scenes like this one from two weeks ago in the mountains. So calm and serene early in the mornings...and cool.

And last week, being able to have lunch with sweet Julie, away from Ichikawa.

I'll post these photos from Karuizawa on Picasa as usual. Happy viewing.

Comments

I really, really like getting comments on blog entries and photos.  Nearly 60 people have accessed this site since my last post.  I got one comment, and because it was of a certain configuration and anonymous it went into the spam filter.  I have rescued it and allowed it to appear on the post below, because it has no links embedded and just might be from someone I know. I know that some friends say they read 'Jyojia's Journal' on a regular basis, and indeed, some complain when too much time elapses between entries. But, it would be nice to know who you all are. Well, some of you then.

East Japan Conference 2011

This year's conference was held at Megumi Chalet, a Christian Conference Center in Karuizawa, Japan. Since I will be responsible for booking space at our Holiday House in Karuizawa for summer visitors, I went a few days early with an OMF couple to do the spring cleaning at the house.  We aired all the blankets and futons and made sure everything was clean and organized so that people who need a holiday will be able to spend most of their time enjoying Karuizawa.

On Monday afternoon we went to the Chalet and joined our colleagues for three days of speakers, discussions, music, activities and enjoyed the meals prepared by the staff there.  The facility is built on a hillside, and our meetings were mostly held in the Chapel about two-thirds of the way up. My room was on the lowest level, so I got lots of stair climbing exercise. A lovely little lake is nearby and provided a nice place for a morning walk.

It was a great chance to catch up with people we don't see all that often and to see how their kids have grown. We took several short term workers along to run a program just for the kids, so everyone had something to do.

 Here's a picture of us:

Zeri de Zero

A food that appears here all year round, but even more in the warmer months is individual servings of gelatin usually with fruit and/or yogurt in it.  The gelatin is related to agar rather than the animal based gelatin we use in the US. The texture is a bit different, but easy to get used to. It is cool and refreshing and not as sweet or strongly flavored as Jello.

This season there is a new product in the markets.  Phonetically it's zeri de zero - zeri being as close as Japanese seems to be able to get to Jelly.  (Jelly is what the British call gelatin.) So what about the zero? They are claiming that there aren't any calories in this stuff.  There are, however, blocks of nata de coco - the meat of immature coconut, and blocks of collagen in the gelatin. It comes in mikan (tangerine) strawberry and muscat grape (never to be confused with concord!) varieties. A bit of flavor, three different textures and no calories. What more could a sugar avoiding person ask for?

Changing Times

When I was in college, many long years ago, one of my mottoes was "Nothing's Quite As Sure As Change" I have in subsequent times discovered that God never changes, but stuff having to do do with human beings often does.

This week and next I re-experience the role of Ichikawa OMF Guest Home Manager while the Aylings are in Hokkaido.  Yes, I have subbed for them before, but this time they are preparing for their imminent departure from Japan. When they go I will be in charge for real. True, I did run the Guest Home myself from 2000 to 2002, but then I was younger, the Guest Home was new, and not so many people knew about it.

So, now, I relearn the rhythms of cleaning, and greeting, and laundry, and bookings, and accounting, and shopping, and finding time off for myself. While this is going on there are still a few things I need to do in the Serve Japan Office from time to time. 

I'm praying that I can pace myself to run well in the race that is set before me.

Kyoto trip May 2011

 Just click on the photo!

For the quilt lovers in the crowd

Last month I visited a small quilt exhibit at a community center in Yawata (part of Ichikawa City) I think this is the same quilting group that exhibited last year around the same time of year. I thought the pieces in general showed that the students had begun to branch out a bit in their ideas and work.  Let me know what you think. The rest of the pictures are on my Picasa Web Site.

May, 2011 Quilting Class Outing

 Click on this picture for the rest of the collection!

At Long Last!

The first group of photos that have been languishing on my computer have been successfully uploaded to Picasa.  They go with the Post from "April 11 More Sakura," and are mostly taken on the stroll with my Quilting buddies in Ichikawa City.  There are 94 pictures in the group and if you go to my Picasa space and look at the May 2011 album, I have captioned some of the photos. You can leave comments if you like. As always, if you want to know more, just let me know. Hopefully I will be able to load them as a slide show to the right.

Watch this space!

Well, maybe not constantly, but soon, very soon, I will be doing a spree of updating.  I am currently on a long planned holiday in Kyoto and will return to Tokyo on the overnight bus tonight.  I have something like 379 pictures on my camera at the moment that have not been uploaded to the web, so anticipate a Japanese overload. 

Actually I am experiencing a Japanese overload of my own with all of the "culture" here. So, talk to you soon with pictures and everything!

24 hours in Kimitsu

I walked to church today, even though it would have been possible to ride the bike. During my wee jaunt to the Boso Peninsula yesterday I rode trains and in a car the whole visit. So I figured I needed  the exercise.

The city of Kimitsu is quite a bit more hilly than Ichikawa, and since I was not driving, I continually felt I had no idea where I was geographically nor any sense if which way to go to get anywhere. During my stay I sampled Chinese, Australian, American and Japanese cuisines.

The coverage of the Royal Wedding by Japanese television was interesting in where they decided to cut to commercials. You kind of got the notion that they felt that since they were all speaking English it didn't much matter if they cut away mid-sentence from the Scripture reading or the homily.

I loved the Queen in yellow, but thought poor Phillip looked like he was being swallowed by the collar of his uniform jacket. And Fergie's girls - well if you can't say anything nice... Loved the trees in Westminster. It looked like they were getting married in a formal garden. On reflection it probably would have been nice to manage the bride's train another way than to make her sister run around to straighten it out every little whipstitch.

I'm still wondering why there are so many shops I've not seen before in Kimitsu. I am also wondering when I'll be able to return to see the things I've missed.

A Sudden Idea

A friend called a little while ago and said "I've had a sudden idea!"

The result is that I will be catching a train around 4:30 this afternoon to visit the "Hatazawa Hyatt-Weston" to watch the Royal Wedding and then tomorrow a nice breakfast and some shopping before returning to Ichikawa and packing.

Some days it really pays to be flexible!

Time Flies Whether You're Having Fun or Not!

It's kind of a mixed blessing - I haven't posted for a week and no one has emailed to see if I'm still alive.

Spring is here for sure. I didn't even switch on the heater this morning when I took a shower. We've been having strong winds since early today, and now it's clouding up and calming down. It will likely rain sometime this evening. (The weather report and my left big toe concur.)

I'm spending time relearning how to keep the Guest Home Accounts and sorting through things in preparation for moving back to full time work at the OMF International Guest Home. I will be giving up my apartment, so need to get rid of the stuff that I have kept for who knows why. Today I'm working on my desk. There's a chance that a new employee at the office will want some of my furniture. Just a couple more decisions on the part of others, and I will have a definite timetable for the move. Till then I can sort.

How are you these days?

Quilting Day

Actually a lot of different kinds of projects get worked on by the members of my quilting class. Today I worked on a handbag. The fabric is from a small shop that used to be in Karizawa. The owner of the shop likes to  experiment with different weaving techniques. This fabric is a grey base with grey, black, silver and white yarns kind of "floated" on top using a jacquard loom. I've paired it with black "leatherette" read vinyl. It's coming out rather well. Pictures later.

We're also working on "kinchyaku" to send to Tohoku. I think I talked about these before. The cloth drawstring bags that have been traditionally used by ladies in Japan to carry stuff in.  We were given fabric and instructions today - Homework!

In anticipation of my moving back to the Guest Home to run it when Aylings go back to the UK, notice was given to my landlord that I will be vacating. Lots of good stuff to find new homes for. Busy days ahead. Tomorrow Ms S and I go to get tickets for our trip to Kyoto in May.

A New Week

It's Monday again, funny how those keep coming around with regularity. I've just spent the morning and half of the afternoon catching up on admin work for Serve Japan.  I will soon head for home on my bike. Once there I will put the cover on it because they are predicting rain for the next two days. (Some of my joints confirm that forecast.)

I sent a newsletter email out a little while ago with a link to a video recently put together by OMF and open to anyone to distribute.  The pictures were taken in the last week or two and permission was obtained to use a Twila Paris song to enhance the theme.  If you haven't yet, take a look at it: http://vimeo.com/22420842

I took more pictures over the weekend, but haven't resolved the online storage issues.  I hope to do so soon. This past Sunday event was a walk to the Yawata section of Ichikawa City to see a small quilt exhibition by the students of a local quilt teacher who is a former student of my quilt teacher.  There were some interesting pieces and some really nice hand bags.  Photos some day soon.  stay tuned. 

We had lots of wind last Friday and sun over the weekend, so the blossoming trees mostly are now showing their new leaves and the Fuji (Wisteria) are getting ready for their show which always comes in the wake of the Cherry Blossom season and is somewhat overshadowed by it.  The Kanji for wisteria is a part of my surname in Japanese, so it holds it's own special place in my heart.

Sorry to Make You Wait

There are probably close to 200 photos I've taken, but haven't gotten on to Picasa yet. I ran out of space in my free storage and had difficulty getting some more. Hopefully when I get it all worked out I will still remember where and why I took them! Till then here is one that is my favorite. All of these colors of blossoms are on the same branches. I don't know how the tree does it!

Tomorrow is the OMF Women's Spring Lunch, and were going to a Sizzler Restaurant about four stations away. It occured to me this morning that I haven't been on the train into Tokyo since before the earthquake. I guess I've just been too busy running around Ichikawa.

Lots of things happened since my last post

You've probably heard we've had another quake. It felt pretty strong, but not enough to get under the table. There have been numerous aftershocks. I'm fine, but my nerves are a bit frazzled.

Earlier today I met my friends from my quilting class and a couple of other classes. There were 8 of us counting sensei. We had lunch together at a sushi restaurant on the pedestrian street that leads to Mama zan, Ichikawa's high point. After lunch we walked a couple blocks to sensei's favorite coffee shop; some had coffee, some had coffee and cake, one had macha with milk.

Thus fortified we climbed the ancient stone steps up to the combination shrine and temple grounds to the famous weeping cherry tree and a lot of other cherry trees, and the big cemetery. I realized today that there's a big preschool there as well - great view of the cemetery from it's grounds.

The cherry blossoms were glorious. Tree after tree, avenues with cherry trees forming a tunnel of delicate pink. A single huge tree in a barren school yard with girls in blue track suits learning to twirl batons under it's boughs.

From Mama we walked to Satomi Koen - more cherry blossoms. I'd be showing you my pictures but yesterday I ran out of storage space on Picasa and couldn't upload them. I don't have my new credit card yet, so I couldn't buy more space. I tried to get Shutterfly to work, but failed.

For our snack this afternoon, we went to a very tall building on the campus of the Konodai Girl's High School to the cafeteria on the 18th floor. There are fantastic views from up there. We had Cream Anmitsu - a traditional Japanese dessert. I'd describe it but it would take a whole lot of explaination that I'm honestly not up to at the moment. Near the close of a school day the cafeteria might be expected to be a bit of a mess, but this one was neat and clean. A large group of girls left an area near us and in their wake the tables were clean, and the furniture was neatly in place. You've gotta love Japan at times like that.

The skies clouded up and we headed for the bus back to Ichikawa station. I walked back from there and was just unwinding a bit when the earthquake hit, shortly after that it started to rain, and I'm ready to go to bed.

Maiko Chan And Her Quilt

This week at church the Katoh family had time for a couple pictures of Maiko (and Mommy Megumi) and me with her quilt.

Quiet Day

It's been kind of rainy and cloudy and windy today, so I stayed close to home and stayed quiet. Just did the necessary laundry, made some chicken curry rice and worked on a knitting project (a scarf, now that cold weather's almost over!)

Tomorrow will be a bit busier with my weekly walk with Sachiko san. Hopefully today's weather won't have totally ruined the cherry blossoms.

I've been thinking about how to put some kind of a structure to my diet as I have fairly recently been diagnosed with type two diabetes. The initial shock scared me into dropping a few kilos, but I need to drop a few more. Dieting is not my strong point. Glad I'm not in the U.S. for the Easter candy season!

Another Shake

I was already asleep last night when the latest aftershock hit. It was an earthquake in it's own right at 7.1. The location was close to where the big one hit. The shaking did wake me and the length of the movement impressed me, but after a minute or so things were still again and I went back to sleep.

I hear that power went out in north Japan, but Ichikawa seems to be waking up as usual.

Another Reserved Blossom Viewing

Today was the day for my regular quilting class, the first of two in April. The cherry trees on the way were still not fully blooming, although more than on Sunday.

Sensei has decided that we (her students) should do something special for the victims of Japan's triple tragedy, so she has gotten together appropriate fabric scraps and on Monday after meeting for lunch together at a reasonably priced local restaurant we will walk together to Mama san to see the famous, ancient weeping cherry tree and then spend the afternoon making small fabric drawstring bags (kinchyaku) to send to Tohoku.

Sleeping Sakura and Taiko Surprise

For the third Sunday in a row my friend Sachiko and I have headed off for a walk after church. Today we headed east to the Nakayama area of Ichikawa City. We visited a gallery there exhibiting the water color paintings of a local artist named Oshitani. He is a retired businessman who has been painting for only 14 years or so.  I really like his pastel palette and his interpretation of water and sky elements. Many of the paintings were from his travels in Europe. We were invited to sit with the artist and enjoyed ocha and conversation.

Having walked along the JR line to get to Nakayama, we returned along the Keisei Line. We walked beside the Mama River at several points and looked at the cherry trees. I had read that Sakura had officially opened in the Tokyo area on March 31, however cold days followed and the trees have not yet really opened their blooms. Sachiko san says they are sleeping, waiting  for warmer weather. However, we were rewarded with a chance encounter with a Taiko performance by some young people. I love Taiko. It's loud and rather primal. These kids, as is usual were well practiced and gave a really charming performance.

Free Discussion

Sometimes on a Saturday morning my friends at the Ichikawa Volunteer Interpreter Society (IVIS) ask me to moderate a two hour session called "Free Discussion". The participants are Japanese and the session is conducted in English. My job is to set the topic and make sure everyone has a chance to speak. Today the planned Cherry Blossom Viewing Picnic was canceled and we had free discussion instead. Springboarding from recent events in Japan I asked them to tell me something they learned or something they planned to do as a result of Japan's triple disaster. There were around 16 people there this morning so I learned a lot. Oh, did I mention that I usually learn as much or than anyone?

1. A reason for not having Cherry Blossom Viewing Parties this year is that people in Tohoku would see it  in the media and feel really bad.

2. One woman said several times that everyone she knows is depressed.

3. The Japanese Self Defence Force helicopters can't land anywhere that isn't authorized for their use, but American Forces could land anywhere they deemed safe and convenient.

4. One member had been on a plane flying to Osaka on 3/11, and was surprised when he finally found there had been an earthquake that they hadn't had ant kind of turbulence.

5. Part of the training for earthquake preparedness is figuring out the best route from your workplace to your home on foot which helped explain why so many people chose to walk when the trains weren't running.

6. If Japan can build a robot that can play the violin why did they have to borrow a remote control bulldozer from France.

7. Saving power is relatively easy now, but no one is looking forward to Tokyo summer without air conditioning.

I was able to tell this group how much I admire the Japanese People. It was a good session, and truth be told, the cherry trees won't really be at their best till later in the week.

Three Weeks...

since the "Big One." Aftershocks have diminished. Power outages are few and short. Food and gasoline are readily available again in the area. The Japanese people have put their shoulders to the proverbial wheel and are getting on with things. The task of searching for victims and the massive clean up grind on. They will build again and build better. Other news in the world has distracted people from thinking about Japan. Here were not likely to forget any time soon.

What are the Limits?

Several times in the last three weeks I've thought I was at my limit for accepting and assimilating major upheavals and change. I think it would be great if it would all stop for a day and give us a chance to catch our breath. And then you see the stories in the paper about people living for who knows how long in shelters. My life is not so bad. I can do this.

In a world where it appears that "nothing's quite as sure as change," we have the glorious option of hanging on to the God of the universe who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hallelujah! 

4 Bears for Maiko chan

My latest quilt project is finally finished! It's a baby quilt for little Maiko, the baby of friends of mine. Of course this took longer than I anticipated. Maiko chan will soon be 9 months old. Story of my sewing life - better late than never - usually.  Maiko actually attended the Quilt exhibition I participated in last July. Her mother was delivered of her two days later.

The pattern is "Bear Paw" and it is set in the traditional manner with four blocks set with each "paw" pointing to one of the four corners. So, four paws make a bear, and there are four sets = four bears. Hopefully I'll have a picture of Maiko at the weekend to post for you. Watch this space.

I learned some things doing this quilt. It's paper pieced, which is the technique I wanted to practice. I used the same colors in each block for the paws themselves, the other triangles were scraps and other than trying for not putting light next to light etc. I was going for random placement. Also in the larger squares - some had roses in them others didn't and instead of deliberate placement, I let them fall at will.  It would have been better if I had been a bit more deliberate. The corners were an intriguing idea from sensei. I found turning the corners on the binding was just difficult and I didn't figure out the best solution till I was almost finished - turn the corner twice instead of trying to do it all in one turn.