For now, I am just going to give you a few images.
More to come.
t
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Cabin Update
There is sooo much I could write about our little mountain hut in the woods.
For now, I am just going to give you a few images.
More to come.
t
For now, I am just going to give you a few images.
More to come.
t
What a flu can do!
Just recovering from the flu, so, here I sit in front of the computer screen again.
Hope you are enjoying my writing frenzy!
I've been taking pottery (togei) classes in Kushiro City. This is my first creation!
This 'simple' coffee cup is HEAVY. Apparently, the more your practice, the lighter your creations get.
It may be heavy, but drinking out of this cup made by my hands is wonderfully satisfying.
t
Hope you are enjoying my writing frenzy!
I've been taking pottery (togei) classes in Kushiro City. This is my first creation!
This 'simple' coffee cup is HEAVY. Apparently, the more your practice, the lighter your creations get.
It may be heavy, but drinking out of this cup made by my hands is wonderfully satisfying.
t
Monday, October 25, 2010
Halloween Past
Our tNt Adventures in English class celebrated Halloween by making a fire, doing fireworks, carving pumpkins into Jack 'o lanterns, and trick-or-treating.
Halloween is not a Japanese tradition. So when trying to explain how we do things back home, I really have to think about how we celebrate or celebrated these special days.
Here are some of my childhood memories of Halloween.
A few days before Halloween, Mom would take us to the store or the pumpkin patch so that we could pick out a few big ones. On Halloween morning she would help my brothers and I carve our pumpkins into a Jack ‘o lanterns. Just before dark on Halloween night, we would put our candle lit Jack ‘o lanterns in our front window. This was a sign to other children that our house was a place where they could come to trick-or-treat. The seeds that we scooped out of the pumpkins would be roasted in the oven. They were very tasty when sprinkled with salt.
Trying to decide what to wear for a costume was sometimes difficult. There were a lot of laughs when my little brothers would dress up like old ladies. They would wear wigs, high heeled shoes, dresses and even lipstick!
I was very fond of a lion costume I used to have - a mask with a lion’s face and a brown one piece jumpsuit that had a tail attached to the rear end. I think I wore that costume for three years in a row!
When we were little, Dad would take us out trick-or- treating. When we got older, we would go by ourselves and pillow cases became the candy bags of choice. The goal was to go to as many houses possible so that we could fill our cases before the neighbours ran out of treats.
I think only those mean boys who stole other kids treats came home with full ones.
Hopefully most of their teeth have fallen out by now!
At home, our parents would be sitting in front of the crackling fireplace waiting for us to return with our loot! We would dump our bags out onto our family room floor so they could check all of the candy to make sure that none of it was tampered with. Stories of poison or razor blades put in candy were on the news...possibly only urban myths? My parents eagerly accepted any rejects - In my case, they could have all of the black licorice they desired!
It would take about a week for me to eat all of my candy. I ate most of it on Halloween night!
How on earth did those seldom few I knew save their sweet morsels until Easter? This I will never know!
t
Halloween is not a Japanese tradition. So when trying to explain how we do things back home, I really have to think about how we celebrate or celebrated these special days.
Here are some of my childhood memories of Halloween.
A few days before Halloween, Mom would take us to the store or the pumpkin patch so that we could pick out a few big ones. On Halloween morning she would help my brothers and I carve our pumpkins into a Jack ‘o lanterns. Just before dark on Halloween night, we would put our candle lit Jack ‘o lanterns in our front window. This was a sign to other children that our house was a place where they could come to trick-or-treat. The seeds that we scooped out of the pumpkins would be roasted in the oven. They were very tasty when sprinkled with salt.
Trying to decide what to wear for a costume was sometimes difficult. There were a lot of laughs when my little brothers would dress up like old ladies. They would wear wigs, high heeled shoes, dresses and even lipstick!
I was very fond of a lion costume I used to have - a mask with a lion’s face and a brown one piece jumpsuit that had a tail attached to the rear end. I think I wore that costume for three years in a row!
When we were little, Dad would take us out trick-or- treating. When we got older, we would go by ourselves and pillow cases became the candy bags of choice. The goal was to go to as many houses possible so that we could fill our cases before the neighbours ran out of treats.
I think only those mean boys who stole other kids treats came home with full ones.
Hopefully most of their teeth have fallen out by now!
At home, our parents would be sitting in front of the crackling fireplace waiting for us to return with our loot! We would dump our bags out onto our family room floor so they could check all of the candy to make sure that none of it was tampered with. Stories of poison or razor blades put in candy were on the news...possibly only urban myths? My parents eagerly accepted any rejects - In my case, they could have all of the black licorice they desired!
It would take about a week for me to eat all of my candy. I ate most of it on Halloween night!
How on earth did those seldom few I knew save their sweet morsels until Easter? This I will never know!
Happy Halloween!
t
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Seeds to Sweets
Tiny seeds in the spring....
Bring delicious harvest treats for everyone!
Happy be-lated Thanksgiving!
t
Bring delicious harvest treats for everyone!
Happy be-lated Thanksgiving!
t
Monday, October 18, 2010
Please don't leaf me.
Looking out the window this morning at the Japanese maple.
Vibrant red and yellow leaves
that have only appeared the last few days
blown off by winds just soft enough
that they fall
to the ground
like floating bubbles.
A fresh autumn carpet surrounds her now.
t
Vibrant red and yellow leaves
that have only appeared the last few days
blown off by winds just soft enough
that they fall
to the ground
like floating bubbles.
A fresh autumn carpet surrounds her now.
t
Hardy Kiwi Fruit Picking
Our tNt Adventures in English autumn semester began last week.
It was so great to see the parents and their kids again. It's as if we never had a break...little ones coming in with 'Good morning' and heading right for the book shelf to find their favourite book, puzzle or game.
This past Saturday we went for a walk in the forest to find hardy kiwi fruit (kokuwa) vines. Upon finding a tree we lay a tarp under it and I went up a ladder to shake the vine wrapped branches. Down came the grape sized hardy kiwi berries. Some even bonking us on the head.
We used upside down umbrellas to help us reach some of the high branches where the berries just would not let go!
After gathering the fruit that landed on the tarp and popping a few sweet ones in our mouths, we continued our journey down a forest path that led to a large open field. Here - green grass, blue sky, fluffy white clouds...well...
I just wanted to run!
One of our three year old girl students beat me to it. She started running and squealing with delight. Then the rest of us (12 in all) joined her. We ran clear across the field, laughing and puffing all the way!
When I told my friend Yuka this story, she looked at me, smiled and said,
'Running in the classroom'.
Now isn't that a perfect title for a book!
t
It was so great to see the parents and their kids again. It's as if we never had a break...little ones coming in with 'Good morning' and heading right for the book shelf to find their favourite book, puzzle or game.
This past Saturday we went for a walk in the forest to find hardy kiwi fruit (kokuwa) vines. Upon finding a tree we lay a tarp under it and I went up a ladder to shake the vine wrapped branches. Down came the grape sized hardy kiwi berries. Some even bonking us on the head.
We used upside down umbrellas to help us reach some of the high branches where the berries just would not let go!
After gathering the fruit that landed on the tarp and popping a few sweet ones in our mouths, we continued our journey down a forest path that led to a large open field. Here - green grass, blue sky, fluffy white clouds...well...
I just wanted to run!
One of our three year old girl students beat me to it. She started running and squealing with delight. Then the rest of us (12 in all) joined her. We ran clear across the field, laughing and puffing all the way!
When I told my friend Yuka this story, she looked at me, smiled and said,
'Running in the classroom'.
Now isn't that a perfect title for a book!
t
Saturday, October 2, 2010
'Hollander' on the Roof
I was in Canada for a month and a half. Only a few days back in Tsurui-Mura, I returned to the Kushiro Airport, this time to welcome my friend Itamar from Holland! :)
Taking advantage of the warm fall sunshine and the extra hands, Tomohiro had us climb the cabin roof and hammer down asphalt shingles. Once we got our roof legs and completed the task, (roofing being a first for all of us), we felt quite satisfied.
Hard at work
tNt
Celebrating a job well done. Thanks Itamar!
Taking advantage of the warm fall sunshine and the extra hands, Tomohiro had us climb the cabin roof and hammer down asphalt shingles. Once we got our roof legs and completed the task, (roofing being a first for all of us), we felt quite satisfied.
Hard at work
tNt
Celebrating a job well done. Thanks Itamar!
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