august 13, 2018

time flies!

tomorrow morning i head back home.. when i arrived i had a WHOLE MONTH ahead of me.. now  i am down to just over 24 hours.. today will be spent packing and listening to casey finish reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows so that we can watch part 2 of the movie, probably this evening.

casey finished up the tree house on friday.. it is magnificent.. still a little too warm for me to spend much time there, but the kids are in and out throughout the day..

and please leave your shoes outside before entering!

we had guests on wednesday and, of course, no barbecue is complete without children playing with fireworks 🎆🎇🎌

ray and chieko are raising beetles 🐛

leo keeps cool on these hot, hot days

august 7, 2018

hair update:

it took 3 hours, but the sides are 99% color free and i am pleased with the results...

what i don't really understand though, is why the color washes out after a couple of weeks of shampooing, but needs repeated bleaching to remove color i DON'T want!  anyway, this color, what ever it is, is fading much slower than the previous times.. yay..

casey has a couple of weeks off now, and has spent the last 4 days building a fort/treehouse for the boys.. one of his friends came over on sunday to help him get the foundation (?) started... 

he has been on his own, with limited help from me and chieko, since then

day 1

before clearing

after clearing

day 2

view from the house

view from the tree house/fort

day 3

leo played in the dirt underneath after doing a little staining of the siding....

casey rigged up the hose so he could rinse off in the "outdoor shower"

he had a lot of fun running back and forth.. still wearing his shoes and socks 😂

day 4

today the walls, siding and roof were completed..

tomorrow may be a day of rest or maybe a day of doors, painting and perhaps a ladder!

july 31, 2018

happy birthday harry potter!🎈

casey is reading The Deathly Hallows to ray, we watched the movie, part 1 that is, the other night since he had reached that point in the book.. i read the books and saw the movies, so i was able to tell him when it was "safe" to watch the first part.

last week chieko took me to get "inner color" on my hair... i was hoping to get something that will last a little longer than what i have been trying at home... i got something darker this time, although it is only going to last 4 weeks at most..

i made a mistake though, the stylist asked if i wanted the color to show when i put my hair behind my ears and i said sure..she applied the color about an inch above my ears and it shows all the time.. i don't really like it.. she also mixed a second batch of color and i don't know if it wasn't exactly the same (well i guess i DO know that it wasn't), because as it is kind of a rusty color at the sides as it fades...😕... does not match the back at all, which is fading more purple, in spots.. kinda unevenly .. anyway, we are headed back this morning to bleach the rust color and even out the rest.. wish me luck.. i may give up on this "peek-a-boo" hair!

last sunday,  casey, the kids and i went to the beach.. it is usually the one we (casey) choose because it is normally clean, the water is warm and there are hardly any people there.. i counted 15.. but this year, because of the typhoon a few weeks ago, there was a lot of "stuff" (trash) along the beach and floating in the water near the shore.. we did go in and it wasn't bad once we were out a bit farther .. we heard from one of casey's friends that a lot of the beaches were in the same condition... never the less.. we tried another this past sunday and i'll admit i was not really crazy about going, even though it is freakin hot here (i am just as happy to sit in the air conditioned house reading).. the kids need to get out and burn some of their energy and they love swimming.. this beach was just fine.. the water was a little cooler and  refreshing..there were some small, crashing waves which made it challenging, for me at least, to get in out of the water... there is a bit of a drop off almost immediately at the waters edge.. before heading home afterwards, we had some lovely shaved ice  🍧.. mango for me!

july 22,2018

there is really not too much to tell you about...
monday was ocean day, so it was a day off from work and school for this family..
ray was still sick so we just hung out at home for the most part..

i think this might have been the day leo and casey and i went to the indoor playground (wicked cool, in a hanger at the airport) and watered casey's school garden.

(a cool cloth for a feverish brow and itchy eyes)

he actually ended up back at the dr for almost non stop coughing and kinda wheezy shallow breathing.. new medication and by thursday his fever was normal and he had his appetite back.. friday was his last day of school (1/2 day) before summer vacation and he DID make it in for that.

leo was going to school (daycare) for 1/2 days all week.. even though he had his summer festival performance last week, because this his last year there before starting first grade at public school in april, there is ANOTHER performance next month, put on by the "graduating" students from several of the local daycare centers/schools.. i was fortunate enough to be here when ray had his, but i'll be back in the u.s. the leo preforms...
he will still need to go in some days to practice, but for much of the time i am here, he will be home..

yesterday we went to this river swimming area..
i didn't end up going in because it was pretty rocky and i was a little unsure of the rockbed stability and my footing, etc.. with the wrist still not fully healed, i didn't want to risk a fall.. i sat in the shady area by the waterfall on the right and had panic attacks watching, while a group of guys took turns jumping, farther down, into the pool below... lots of rocks along the edge and i don't think that water was too deep either!

we went for ice cream afterwards.. always yummy 🍦

my friend laurie sent a puzzle for us to work on.. we started it 2 days ago.. 1000 pieces

while most of us were outside enjoying a beverage and listening to music, leo was inside completing the puzzle on his own!  those last 20 or so pesky pieces that are all the same color, i was impressed.. he was so excited when he came out saying "i finished the puzzle!"

july 16,2018

i've had a request to update this blog!

i know, i know it is so so interesting to read about my exciting life and adventures 😉.

i am back in japan for my annual (it seems) visit with casey and his family.

i left home last thursday morning and after an uneventful, but as usual, long day, arrived on friday evening.. (japan is 13 hours ahead)

the boys are still excited to see me and it makes me smile to see their reactions when we first see each other.. i wave and they jump up and down.

handling my 500 pounds of luggage was a little awkward, as you know i broke my wrist recently, while filming my own stunts, no wait... i fell down, forgetting that i am old and uncoordinated, but anyway.. i should be completely healed for the trip home, yay!  also i will only have about 100 pounds of luggage 😁

ray has been sick with a fever and cough since i got here, so he has been sleeping a lot.. chieko took him to the dr. saturday and he got some medication.. leo had a summer festival at his school on saturday evening,  the kids sang and danced and afterwards had games and snacks and got prizes.. it was hot and loud and quick!  i'll try to post pictures.. i have to figure it out again..

on sunday casey, leo and i went out for lunch and to Costco... casey made some delicious pizza for dinner ..

one month later ...

these pictures are so out of order, but i'll do my best to describe/explain..

top is the vinyl flooring in the basement

next is the far end of the basement with new paint, but old flooring

next.. painted living room and painted 1/2 bath in the basement

next is the painted garage

the last 3 photos are of the bedrooms and back down to the far end of the basement..

there have been a lot of changes in the last month..

all of the painting is finished.. 

the floors have been refinished..

the kitchen cabinets have been delivered, but won't be installed for a couple of weeks..

there is a bit more flooring to be installed in the basement first and some trim..

the kitchen window is going to be moved and replaced, that will be easier to do before the cabinets are in place..

last weekend all of the furniture, etc were moved from the storage unit to the house, so i spent the week unpacking and organizing... i got a lot done but there is still so much left to do..

i'll take more pictures and post again soon!

painting begins

all of the time consuming prep work has been completed..

here are some pictures of the basement in its current state..

the walls will be painted white and new floors will be installed..

the floors are "looks like wood" vinyl..

i am not quite sure what to do about the ceiling.. some of it has been covered up, while  some of it has  not.

here is marc.. painting away..

this is what he is working on

the living room

my bedroom

the guest room...

he had much of it painted when i checked in yesterday..

the bathroom is at a standstill until the plumber makes an appearance..

it has been a week since i spoke with with him and said i'd like to schedule an appointment, 

i emailed him as well, but so far.. nothing.. if i don't hear anything today, i will look for someone else..  here is where we are now

that baseboard heating has got to come out.. a "toe kick" heater will be installed in the linen closet and vents will be cut into the door..

hopefully i'll have "after" pictures soon!