This is a terribly neglected blog...
I am in Illinois, laying on my mother's sofa, knitting my face off, and eating lots of yummy food...some not so yummy, but mostly yummy. Nana and I fly back to Tokyo for two days the 29th, and then we are going to take a little holiday in the land of deutsch...with my favorite baseball fan.
That is all I can muster for the evening.
Happy Sunday.
and no, I'm not talking about Santa Claus....
I've been super busy, but it is finally up. If you meander over to fiber republic you will be able to see the english version of the fibertarian. Since my translator totally crapped out on me, I had to ask my poor husband at the last moment....and thus we are still working on translations....should be up by the end of the week though.
This is the last week I have in JP before I head over to the US of A.... Every time I go I have a small panic attack before I leave....like I might never see JP again. This time I am freaking out a little more because I am leaving the husband behind. I feel a mixture of guilt and regret for perhaps ruining his christmas and oshougatsu holiday. We will be back on the 30th, which should just make life good for the new years holiday...and My time fuck up will be fabulous for staying up on new years eve.
So, this week I am making a list of the shite I have to do before I can step foot on a plane. Let us review:
1. Get a haircut
I refuse to do this in america, as it will not include a fantastic massage and conversation with my favorite hairstylist in the history of ever....
2. Do a little Omiyage shopping
I don't know why I feel like I need to bring stuff back....but I always do.
3. Make copies of passports
I think I might just have to find the copies I made for NZ if I still have them lurking about
4. Purchase travel insurance....
Because we all know how much a health emergency in America can cost....I have the policy reserved...just need to pay.
5. get all of my knitting things in order....all of my needles in one compact little baggy and ready to go.
Yes, I am going to knit my face off in america...
6. buy a bunch of little toys for Nana's back pack for the heinous 21 hours of travel...
.never done this with a toddler....she is so busy all the time...wiggly + on my lap +13 hours + 6 hours in a car + 2 hours in train = misery...for us both....
7. Buy my husband's christmas present
8. Pack a meager suitcase....I don't want to take much with me, as luggage is a total pain in my arse....will be minimal, one suitcase...
9. Put air in the stroller tires
10. figure out my phone situation...whether I can make international calls from my iphone or not...I think I can....but I'm not sure....
anyway, one week until take off....
Happy Monday
My friend H and I decided to have lunch today at this posh little french place in Bubaigawara because the pizza place (with a fancy stone oven I'm told) next door was fully booked. No matter, the french place was delish...
We both ended up with three courses...
I started with some warm bread, a small slice of quiche and a lovely green salad. After Nana and I snarfed that right down (quiche was veg and cheese...yum) they brought the entree "steak frites"....I wasn't expecting at all what came, and I was puzzled for a moment, believing I was perhaps in texas instead of Tokyo...
ummm....moo? Recently I am not much of a red meat eater...I am more of a poultry girl myself....but usually Tokyo steaks are thin, and delicately cooked...
Not this piece of meat. It was thick...fatty (err...and delicious). I finished the entire thing, which I really shouldn't have done...but as red meat is so rare for me, what does it matter eh?
After a long bike ride to work off a bit of dinner (over 10 km counting my trip to shimachu and back) I went home to prep for the rest of the afternoon. I had to teach at 4:30 and then the Komada's came and we did this:
Am I not a little old to be playing with legos? Perhaps....but it was really nostalgic, and it put me in some sort of holiday mood...so for the last hour I have been vegging on the sofa staring at the christmas tree...listening to the carpenters christmas album.
Don't let the word "lego" fool you...that house took 3.5 hours to build, and was SO detailed it even had tiny little tools to go in the toymakers tool bench. Me thinks I will search for more bits of the lego christmas village when I am in america. K said it was quite expensive but the dollar dropped again today so I would get at least a 20 percent discount!
That is all for the evening...my fingers are sore from lego building.
Good evening, Happy Thanksgiving, and most of all...
Happy Thursday.
I have great friends. 4 of them came over to the park today to say hello and offer support. I am continued to be impressed by the ways they make me feel loved...The Tezuka's even brought us starbucks, which was just what we needed on a cool autumn day....
I sold a little bit of yarn, but I think the most important thing was getting my business cards, and information about the upcoming issue of the fibertarian out to the public. I had a lot of people pass by that seemed honestly interested, which made me incredibly excited.
Speaking of my magazine...it is coming along...slowly, but it should make it to the press on time (ha ha). I will probably have to do an all night push on the evening of the 4th because I am a procrastinator...but little by little, the patterns are going up, and it is starting to look like a real publication!
Happy Monday.
I agree...my tree is a bit bare...it had a hard summer in the pot and barely survived my bout of food poisoning, but it did survive, and as kudos to the tree, we strung it up with decor and lights again this year.
A few weeks ago I ordered some really beautiful faux candles from a little company in America...When I got the box in the mail I was surprised to find the inside stuffed with jesus information, and their "religious philosophy" in bold letters on a piece of paper taped to my candles...My favorite bit was the catalogue full of tiny shelf statues of Santa praying to baby jesus in the manger...ahem....
I like the lights though, and am glad they came in time for me to enjoy them before I go to America.
Nana had to help me decorate:
She kept asking "hep hep?" (help help) as I was putting on the ornaments, and really, who could refuse?
And recently I am steeping myself in autumn foods. I am obsessed with Maitake and I think I have quite possibly cooked them every way they can be cooked.
Seen here: Stuffed paprika with a gouda cheese center, roasted autumn veggies (maitake included) and mixed greens...
I think the only thing that would make it taste better is a little mayonaise and canned corn sprinkled around the plate (ha ha)
Happy Monday.
We made it over to shinjuku today to see the lights even though it is a smidgen early. We came to the city early and had lunch at a little Italian place on the southern terrace. It is one of those places that can't decide if it is fancy or not... We drank our water out of stem ware with real silver on a plastic tableclothed table with paper napkins. Seriously.... Would you make up your mind please? The food was nice though and as usual, the lunch was really reasonably priced.
After lunch we window shopped for a good while and had a coffee while we waited for it to get dark.
They had some new and interesting light displays in the mylord tunnel thing this year and I nana really enjoyed oohing and ahhing as we walked through... On our way home now....
Happy Sunday.
Or at least she tried...over and over and over again....
A valiant effort...
Happy Monday
