this week has been very low key.. just me and the darlings hanging out, not doing much.. we went for a short walk along the path leading through the woods behind the houses across the street... we made a cake... we blew bubbles on the porch yesterday, it was raining.. ray has been drawing pictures for me to "take to america".. he loves to draw, nanny thinks he is pretty good at it too!
it has been pretty warm the last few days and casey said it is supposed to get really hot today.. i'd like to get some outside time in this morning, before it gets too bad... mornings tend to be lazy (i like it) so it will probably be noon before everyone is dressed and ready to get moving!!
i am coming up on the end of my vacation.. the time has flown (for me) as usual.. i think i heard talk of another barbecue this weekend, i'm not sure..
did i mention that casey grew corn in his fantastic garden.. it was so sweet and delicious... i have never eaten corn so fresh... i am going to make a tomato pie for dinner, using some of the tomatoes he picked this morning.. he is a regular farmer
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
july 22, 2014
saturday was a beautiful day.. chieko and i took the boys to a kiddie pool for a couple of hours in the morning.. it is only for little kids, not even elementary school age kids can go.. i think the deepest part was up to my knees.. they had a great time and since it was lunchtime when we left, we went to mcdonalds for lunch 😳.. i had a blt..with pesto...don't think that's on the menu where i live.. they also had shrimp burgers...
saturday night was another barbecue with neighbors.. i am so happy to know that casey, chieko and the kids have, once again, moved into a neighborhood with such nice, nice people.. i love their old neighbors and the old neighborhood, but it's nice that ray and leo have kids around... i thought it was going to be just one or two families, but it turned into 6 or 7 familes with their children.. it was quite a crowd, but not as big as the july 4th bash!😳😳
sunday was neighborhood clean up day.. i was going to help, really, i was, but chieko said it was just a smallish clean up.. she thought only the playground (it has been mowed and weed whacked a couple of times since i've been here so i don't know what they were going to do).. anyway she said she was going to go by herself, it was going to be easy... she was gone about an hour.. they also spend time weeding the grass that was growing in the cracks between the street and sidewalks.. all along the street, not just in front of the playground.. such care in the way the whole neighborhood looks, a real community effort, wouldn't that be nice at home...
it was also recycling day, so casey and chieko did that, then went to an open house nearby to check out a house that has been under construction..
sunday afternoon chieko and i went shopping and left the darlings with casey.. i picked up a few things and we stopped at the grocery store on our way back home.. casey was hoping we'd get back before dark so he could go for a run.. we did..
monday was ocean day, a national holiday... we went to the beach.. there were only a handful of people there.. one family was huddled in a beach tent!... the water was warm, but i didn't bring a bathing suit so i just waded a bit.. casey swam with the boys, chieko took pictures.. apparently there was a sign up that said it was not a swimming beach(?), so there were no lifeguards, no bathrooms and no showers!! there was an awesome playground though.. fenced in with climbers and swings and slides and a huge grassy area for running around and throwing frisbees or whatever.. we got some kakigori (shaved ice) before going back home... it was another awesome day..
casey made gazpacho with some of the garden harvest...
saturday night was another barbecue with neighbors.. i am so happy to know that casey, chieko and the kids have, once again, moved into a neighborhood with such nice, nice people.. i love their old neighbors and the old neighborhood, but it's nice that ray and leo have kids around... i thought it was going to be just one or two families, but it turned into 6 or 7 familes with their children.. it was quite a crowd, but not as big as the july 4th bash!😳😳
sunday was neighborhood clean up day.. i was going to help, really, i was, but chieko said it was just a smallish clean up.. she thought only the playground (it has been mowed and weed whacked a couple of times since i've been here so i don't know what they were going to do).. anyway she said she was going to go by herself, it was going to be easy... she was gone about an hour.. they also spend time weeding the grass that was growing in the cracks between the street and sidewalks.. all along the street, not just in front of the playground.. such care in the way the whole neighborhood looks, a real community effort, wouldn't that be nice at home...
it was also recycling day, so casey and chieko did that, then went to an open house nearby to check out a house that has been under construction..
sunday afternoon chieko and i went shopping and left the darlings with casey.. i picked up a few things and we stopped at the grocery store on our way back home.. casey was hoping we'd get back before dark so he could go for a run.. we did..
monday was ocean day, a national holiday... we went to the beach.. there were only a handful of people there.. one family was huddled in a beach tent!... the water was warm, but i didn't bring a bathing suit so i just waded a bit.. casey swam with the boys, chieko took pictures.. apparently there was a sign up that said it was not a swimming beach(?), so there were no lifeguards, no bathrooms and no showers!! there was an awesome playground though.. fenced in with climbers and swings and slides and a huge grassy area for running around and throwing frisbees or whatever.. we got some kakigori (shaved ice) before going back home... it was another awesome day..
casey made gazpacho with some of the garden harvest...
Thursday, July 17, 2014
july 18th 2014
wow, i cannot believe it is friday already.... let's see... it has been a pretty low key week.. the darlings did go to school yesterday.. they went swimming and came home with curry packs (the flavor base, just add meat, vegetables and water) and bottles of water.. the curry here is more of a stew flavor and consistancy..
since i was alone here for the day, i did some chores, made a chickpea salad and watched "call the midwife" for hours and hours on netflix. i also took a nap...
casey's garden is producing faster than we can comsume everything.. i'll have to google some tomatoes recipes!... he has a ton of cucumbers too. we have had eggplant and corn (so good).. ray and i have been able to harvest a handful of peas every couple of days, which he pretty much justs eats raw as we walk or sit on the porch.. i think we cooked them one time, when i first got here.. they are mostly gone by now..
casey is off today and we may do something touristy, but he is fighting a cold or something so we may just hang around here, which is also fine..
more friends are coming over tomorrow and monday is a national holiday.. ocean day... so casey and chieko are both off.. also the start of my last week here, boo!
since i was alone here for the day, i did some chores, made a chickpea salad and watched "call the midwife" for hours and hours on netflix. i also took a nap...
casey's garden is producing faster than we can comsume everything.. i'll have to google some tomatoes recipes!... he has a ton of cucumbers too. we have had eggplant and corn (so good).. ray and i have been able to harvest a handful of peas every couple of days, which he pretty much justs eats raw as we walk or sit on the porch.. i think we cooked them one time, when i first got here.. they are mostly gone by now..
casey is off today and we may do something touristy, but he is fighting a cold or something so we may just hang around here, which is also fine..
more friends are coming over tomorrow and monday is a national holiday.. ocean day... so casey and chieko are both off.. also the start of my last week here, boo!
Sunday, July 13, 2014
july 14th, 2014
the humidity has mostly gone away (for now) and the temperature has been perfect.. rain, but that's okay..
saturday was a really great, lazy day... for me.. casey spent part of the morning raking away some of the gravel in the side yard, to make space for more grass... then he, ray and i went to the home center to buy sod and sand and fertilizer... ray and i went to the pet section while casey gathered some of those things.. (he didn't like the look of the sod so we went to another home center for that).. there were several kittens and puppies.. there were bunnies and ferrets and chipmunks.. and fish and crabs and turtles.. quite a selection.. casey said they had monkeys when they first opened...
after the home center we went to the grocery store.. i wanted to buy fruit for a fruit salad, guests were coming for brunch on sunday.. the quality of fruit is excellent, but the quantity/packaging is small and the price is high.. i love the grocery stores here.. even the marked down produce is fresh.. nicer than some of the fresh fruit and vegetables i often find at home.. you wouldn't find a squished or moldy berry hiding in the container, maybe that's why it's small containers of quality goods...
when the grass was laid down and the day was done, casey made a lovely fire in the pit/grill and we had wine and toasted marshmallows... the boys lit off some fireworks (sparklers and such).. they sell them everywhere here
some friends/coworkers of casey and chieko came over for brunch on sunday.. it was a feast.. there were 5 adults, 2 kids and 1 baby... more than enough food was prepared and consumed.. french toast (with real maple syrup), scrambled eggs, bacon (from america), homefries (potatoes from the garden) fruit salad, yogurt and of course.. mimosas
i wish i could still post pictures on this blog
the rest of the day was spent just hanging around.. lovely
my darlings are up now, gotta go
saturday was a really great, lazy day... for me.. casey spent part of the morning raking away some of the gravel in the side yard, to make space for more grass... then he, ray and i went to the home center to buy sod and sand and fertilizer... ray and i went to the pet section while casey gathered some of those things.. (he didn't like the look of the sod so we went to another home center for that).. there were several kittens and puppies.. there were bunnies and ferrets and chipmunks.. and fish and crabs and turtles.. quite a selection.. casey said they had monkeys when they first opened...
after the home center we went to the grocery store.. i wanted to buy fruit for a fruit salad, guests were coming for brunch on sunday.. the quality of fruit is excellent, but the quantity/packaging is small and the price is high.. i love the grocery stores here.. even the marked down produce is fresh.. nicer than some of the fresh fruit and vegetables i often find at home.. you wouldn't find a squished or moldy berry hiding in the container, maybe that's why it's small containers of quality goods...
when the grass was laid down and the day was done, casey made a lovely fire in the pit/grill and we had wine and toasted marshmallows... the boys lit off some fireworks (sparklers and such).. they sell them everywhere here
some friends/coworkers of casey and chieko came over for brunch on sunday.. it was a feast.. there were 5 adults, 2 kids and 1 baby... more than enough food was prepared and consumed.. french toast (with real maple syrup), scrambled eggs, bacon (from america), homefries (potatoes from the garden) fruit salad, yogurt and of course.. mimosas
i wish i could still post pictures on this blog
the rest of the day was spent just hanging around.. lovely
my darlings are up now, gotta go
Thursday, July 10, 2014
friday july 11, 2014
no typhoon here.. no complaints.. we are having a lovely, cool, rainy morning.. i am sitting on the porch enjoying the breeze and much cooler temperature... i have been fooled before by the morning weather..
if it stops raining and the temperature doesn't soar, we will get out for a nice walk.. i am not familiar with this new neighborhood and it is hilly.. the old neighborhood was flat so even if i walked or rode the bike far (for me anyway), there was always a familiar landmark for me to head towards.. i haven't even been out in the car much to familiarize myself with the area, casey and chieko are both working and usually pick up any groceries on their way home, but i am not scared!
when we were at the 100 yen shop the other day, i bought some toy cups/plates/chopsticks/food etc for the darlings.. they have been having fun "preparing" tea and hotdogs and serving them to us.. ray made many many origami bats and paper airplanes with his new origami paper and enjoyed cutting up pages from the sky mall magazine (they always say it complimentary and please take it, so i did.. does anyone ever buy anything from sky mall?)...they both spent a lot of time drawing..
one of the neighbors was out front admiring the garden while ray and i were on the porch sharing a bottle of juice and leo was napping.. she started talking to me and of course i had to use my most often used japanese phrase (i don't understand)...so she came up to the porch and apologized that she only spoke a little english.. she said to tell my son that the garden was beautiful and i found out that she is a retired librarian she loves agriculture (gardening) and has been enjoying it since she retired a year ago.. she has either 2 daughters and one son or 2 granddaughters and one grandson... or 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren one of them a boy... she also told me she was taking a walk and she lives up the hill....at least that's what i think she told me..😁
chieko had a 2 hour (?) work party last night and casey and the boys dropped her off there last evening, she was getting a ride home afterwards.. the good citizens i have met here will not have even 1 alcoholic beverage and drive.. very commendable... ray fell asleep on the way back so i told casey to put him on my futon, it was all set up and the tatami room was cooler than his bedroom upstairs.. he slept there all night, he is a restless sleeper.. vertical, diagonal, horizontal.. repeat.. pull the covers off of nanny.. i ended up arranging some floor cushions for myself and grabbing another blanket..
today we will bake bread.
if it stops raining and the temperature doesn't soar, we will get out for a nice walk.. i am not familiar with this new neighborhood and it is hilly.. the old neighborhood was flat so even if i walked or rode the bike far (for me anyway), there was always a familiar landmark for me to head towards.. i haven't even been out in the car much to familiarize myself with the area, casey and chieko are both working and usually pick up any groceries on their way home, but i am not scared!
when we were at the 100 yen shop the other day, i bought some toy cups/plates/chopsticks/food etc for the darlings.. they have been having fun "preparing" tea and hotdogs and serving them to us.. ray made many many origami bats and paper airplanes with his new origami paper and enjoyed cutting up pages from the sky mall magazine (they always say it complimentary and please take it, so i did.. does anyone ever buy anything from sky mall?)...they both spent a lot of time drawing..
one of the neighbors was out front admiring the garden while ray and i were on the porch sharing a bottle of juice and leo was napping.. she started talking to me and of course i had to use my most often used japanese phrase (i don't understand)...so she came up to the porch and apologized that she only spoke a little english.. she said to tell my son that the garden was beautiful and i found out that she is a retired librarian she loves agriculture (gardening) and has been enjoying it since she retired a year ago.. she has either 2 daughters and one son or 2 granddaughters and one grandson... or 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren one of them a boy... she also told me she was taking a walk and she lives up the hill....at least that's what i think she told me..😁
chieko had a 2 hour (?) work party last night and casey and the boys dropped her off there last evening, she was getting a ride home afterwards.. the good citizens i have met here will not have even 1 alcoholic beverage and drive.. very commendable... ray fell asleep on the way back so i told casey to put him on my futon, it was all set up and the tatami room was cooler than his bedroom upstairs.. he slept there all night, he is a restless sleeper.. vertical, diagonal, horizontal.. repeat.. pull the covers off of nanny.. i ended up arranging some floor cushions for myself and grabbing another blanket..
today we will bake bread.
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
july 9th 2014
monday the little darlings went to school/daycare for 1/2 a day then chieko picked them up and brought them to me.. she realized that if she wanted to actually eat during her lunch break that that wasn't going to work, soooo... she told school that it was likely that they'd be absent for the duration of my visit.. yay... they had eaten already so it was pretty much nap time when they got here around 1..but first we made cookies..
tuesday turned hot and humid... eeks.. it brought back memories of last august.. we took a walk to the little playground down the street but it was too hot to stay long.. one of the slides, (metal) was hot enough to burn flesh, so it was not an option for playing..we found a couple of frogs, one of which jumped onto ray's nose!! he thought that was hilarious! leo ran to the edge of the playground when i blinked.. he was sitting under some low tree branches wearing a green tshirt so i didn't see him.. there are several ways for him to escape the grounds there but before i started to panic i saw him, just sitting there watching me.. the little "angel".. never responded to me calling his name... anyway, neither of them wanted to swing or climb so we headed back to the house after a short while... when we got back home i was unpacking my little bag with the water bottles and realized leo was not in the room... again, i called his name.. no response.. i thought i had locked the door when we came in (i am learning) but i must not have pulled the door tight because when i looked outside he was half way down the walkway... out i ran, barefoot, because this is japan and i had taken my shoes off, down the gravel (ouch) walkway...i caught him before he got to the rocky driveway.. he is laughing.. it's fun to be chased by an old lady who pees a little when she runs at full speed... we spent much of the afternoon, after leo's nap, playing in the playroom and reading....we went to the grocery store with chieko when she got home from work... the kid took off out the door there too... run nanny, run
today was too hot to even breathe outside, let alone go for a walk... the air conditioner went on before casey was out of the driveway... i tidied the house, although it was pretty tidy anyway... i took some stuff out to the compost pile and forgot to lock the door when i came back in... guess who noticed? guess what happened?.. i didn't catch him till he was in the driveway this time.. double ouch...i brought some toys down from the playroom, we watched some dvds and went to the hundred yen shop (like the dollar store) when chieko got home today.. we needed drawing paper and glue sticks and dry erase markers..i spent 3200 yen... what?!... obviously i got more than paper...
tomorrow.. typhoon
tuesday turned hot and humid... eeks.. it brought back memories of last august.. we took a walk to the little playground down the street but it was too hot to stay long.. one of the slides, (metal) was hot enough to burn flesh, so it was not an option for playing..we found a couple of frogs, one of which jumped onto ray's nose!! he thought that was hilarious! leo ran to the edge of the playground when i blinked.. he was sitting under some low tree branches wearing a green tshirt so i didn't see him.. there are several ways for him to escape the grounds there but before i started to panic i saw him, just sitting there watching me.. the little "angel".. never responded to me calling his name... anyway, neither of them wanted to swing or climb so we headed back to the house after a short while... when we got back home i was unpacking my little bag with the water bottles and realized leo was not in the room... again, i called his name.. no response.. i thought i had locked the door when we came in (i am learning) but i must not have pulled the door tight because when i looked outside he was half way down the walkway... out i ran, barefoot, because this is japan and i had taken my shoes off, down the gravel (ouch) walkway...i caught him before he got to the rocky driveway.. he is laughing.. it's fun to be chased by an old lady who pees a little when she runs at full speed... we spent much of the afternoon, after leo's nap, playing in the playroom and reading....we went to the grocery store with chieko when she got home from work... the kid took off out the door there too... run nanny, run
today was too hot to even breathe outside, let alone go for a walk... the air conditioner went on before casey was out of the driveway... i tidied the house, although it was pretty tidy anyway... i took some stuff out to the compost pile and forgot to lock the door when i came back in... guess who noticed? guess what happened?.. i didn't catch him till he was in the driveway this time.. double ouch...i brought some toys down from the playroom, we watched some dvds and went to the hundred yen shop (like the dollar store) when chieko got home today.. we needed drawing paper and glue sticks and dry erase markers..i spent 3200 yen... what?!... obviously i got more than paper...
tomorrow.. typhoon
Saturday, July 05, 2014
Party at Casey and Chieko's!!
Yesterday the iguchi-beans had a GIANT party...just about everyone they invited showed up with food and drink (and children).. One young man told me it was the biggest party he had been to here in japan... The kids were wild (not my darlings of course :-) ) Casey rounded them all up before the party was over, to pick up the toys they'd dropped everywhere, inside and out.. It certainly made that part of the party clean up quick!
It was "interesting" to see the different parenting styles.. It seemed there was a lot of "let them figure it out for themselves".. Ray came to me at one point ant said "nanny, there are some kids doing something dangerous outside". They had gotten into the tool shed and were using rakes and garden stakes as weapons.. None of their parents,who were all nearby, seemed to be concerned.. I told them they should probably put those things back in the shed..one parent said "you think they shouldn't be playing with them?"...what?!? Anyway they just switched to fallen branches after that..
Rain was in the forecast but mostly held off.. A good time was had by all..
Ray also had a program at school that Chieko and I snuck away to with the boys for about an hour.. Ray's class, as well as others, performed a little song and dance/marching routine and the kids then went into various classrooms for games and prizes...
8:20.. Everyone is still sound asleep here..it was another late night for the darlings...no plans for today except to tidy and recycle..
It was "interesting" to see the different parenting styles.. It seemed there was a lot of "let them figure it out for themselves".. Ray came to me at one point ant said "nanny, there are some kids doing something dangerous outside". They had gotten into the tool shed and were using rakes and garden stakes as weapons.. None of their parents,who were all nearby, seemed to be concerned.. I told them they should probably put those things back in the shed..one parent said "you think they shouldn't be playing with them?"...what?!? Anyway they just switched to fallen branches after that..
Rain was in the forecast but mostly held off.. A good time was had by all..
Ray also had a program at school that Chieko and I snuck away to with the boys for about an hour.. Ray's class, as well as others, performed a little song and dance/marching routine and the kids then went into various classrooms for games and prizes...
8:20.. Everyone is still sound asleep here..it was another late night for the darlings...no plans for today except to tidy and recycle..
Friday, July 04, 2014
japan 2014
going through security was awesome yesterday (or was it the day before, this time travel confuses me).. i got to go through the prescreen line for some reason, so i didn't have to take anything out of my backpack or take of my shoes and i didn't have to get x-rayed or frisked... thank you united airlines.. another bonus.. i got to check 2 free bags.. thanks again united..
the flights were uneventful, a short one, a really long one and another short one... the 5 hour lay over was the hardest part for me... i managed to doze off in a chair for a while and fell asleep before take off on the last flight...
casey, ray and leo met me at the airport and they all seemed happy to see me, i know i was happy to see them!!! it was a late night for the little boys (11:00 before they went to sleep) so they got to stay home from school today 😉.. as if there was any question, hah
everybody was up early despite the late bed time. casey and chieko went to work and ray leo and i made alphabet soup... we ate lunch out on the porch and the boys are napping at the moment.
leo was not too happy about it, he cried, but i think he was more angry than sad..
❤️
it's kinda warm here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
