Big News of the day

Occasionally in Ichikawa the weather conditions come together to produce some snow. This usually happens in January or February.  Weather forecasts yesterday were predicting that the rain would change to snow sometime in the early evening.

Around 9pm the rain did start to take on a distinctly white and flaky nature. I know these pictures are dark, but it was night time! (If you click on the picture you should get a larger version.)

Before going to bed I saw out my window that there was some snow on the ground.

This morning, this was my view of the deck and the street beyond.

Turning the other direction the neighbor's houses and Ando's car are covered.  The sun is shining however, and that with the rising temperatures mean that this afternoon it will be mostly a pleasant memory.

2012 Tokyo Great Quilt Festival

 Some of the people who follow this blog are really interested in the quilt shows in Japan.  So, since I was at the Tokyo Dome yesterday for the Opening of this year's show and took a load of photos I thought I would share.  The arrangement of displays and vendors and the stage were changed this year.  At the beginning of the day it was quite easy to get around and take photos. As the day progressed it got more crowded, but still not as bad as my experience last year. Don't know if it was the day, the weather or the rearrangement.

My Quilt teacher has a framed piece in this year's show, as well as a bag in the Silent Auction, and on the first day did a demonstration of her Paper Piecing technique.  

Find the whole collection at the following:
https://picasaweb.google.com/107123733477272247567/2012TokyoGreatQuiltFestival?authkey=Gv1sRgCP_VgK7U_v6RbQ#   

Busiest Week of the Year?

One can only hope!

This last week was the first week of this year's OMF Japan's Pre-Home Assignment Workshop.  I am not taking the workshop, but am providing places to stay at the Guest Home and, for the last few days, meals for the participants and presenters. I had a day off Friday. The Workshop met for a half day today and I made them lunch. They will resume on Monday and continue through their final dinner on Friday evening. 

This next week a co-worker from Hokkaido is in charge of making the lunches and dinners.  I only have to provide food for breakfast (preparation left up to the individual), morning snack and afternoon snack.  I also offered to make a few desserts. Today I collected the towels from my guests and still have one batch in the dryer.

Providing edible food in quantity on time is a stressful job for someone who has merely provided for themselves for the most part these last few years. I'm happy to be the sous chef, shopper and goodies provider for the next week.

I spent several weeks before this one planning, shopping and cleaning to get ready for everyone.  When everyone leaves there will be lots to do in the way of laundry and straightening up and restocking soap and toilet paper and such in the rooms.

The workshop is highly recommended to our members who will be going on their Home Assignments in the next year, and past participants have appreciated the instruction in how to reconnect with supporters and families and churches at home. It's an intense time for us all if for different reasons.

On January 20th the 11th annual Tokyo Great Quilt Festival will open at the Tokyo Dome.  If all goes well I will be at the opening ceremonies (Princess Masako sama usually presides) and will be among the first to see the exhibits this year.  All this at the invitation of my Quilting Teacher who, for the 11th year, has her work on display at the Dome.  

New Year's Day 2012

This morning I traveled to Kichijoji to go to church.  There is a fellowship there  that has a Japanese congregation and an English speaking congregation.  This morning they had a well-done bilingual service combining everyone into one service.  Everything was said, sung or read in both languages.  We sang, we read from Isaiah, there was a message for the children. the pastor preached from Colossians and we celebrated communion. It was great. I enjoyed myself. 

The trip involved two trains - with an easy across the platform transfer - and took about 45 minutes. Today it was not in the least bit crowded.  The great majority of businesses are closed today and many tomorrow as well.  There are a few stores open like this one where a line of people waited, snaking all the way around the block. They must be known for bargains on New Year's day.

At a major intersection near the church was a shrine where another line of people waited to get their fortune and/or good luck charm for the new year. At the entrance there was also a stall selling takoyaki (a kind of golf ball sized dough ball with bits of octopus inside.)



Around another corner was a temple where a different set of activities were going on, and I had a chance to see something I had only heard about up to this time in Japan.  People sometimes mention being sent out to play on New Year's Day when they were children and what the often played was a game using battledores.  From just verbal descriptions I gathered it was something  using sort of paddle shaped wooden bats to hit an object back and forth between two people.

Today, in this space in front of the temple there were people playing just such a game!  The other thing I had gathered about the battledores is that there is another holiday where the bats are decorated and there is a competition for the best. So, I went over to one couple who were playing and asked to see their battledores. Then I asked to take a picture of each.  The girl was also holding the flower with a bit of rubber fastened to the bottom.that they had been batting back and forth.

The trip back to Ichikawa was a bit more crowded, but not uncomfortably so. All of the shops in Shapo were closed. No temptation to spend any money at all!

When I started to write this blog entry I was reminded, as I'm sure many others here in Japan were, that life is tenuous, as we felt the edges of a rather strong earthquake occurring out in the ocean near the Izu Islands.