HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMBO !!!
I am enjoying looking at old photos of you over the years and thankful to have you as a son. Lots of fun memories....Pops and I feel so fortunate to have shared our lives with you and Kalen and we look forward to many more years together. Hope you get one of your favorite iced donuts to celebrate. Cheers Grambo!! We love you !!!
It is actually the morn of the 24th here in Japan on another overcast, cloudy, cool and rainy day here in Japan. Looks like a week of wet weather here, how is it where you are? I have been busy reading and researching places to go and see in Thailand and today after CJ makes the plane arrangements I will try to firm up hotels and any tours we want to take. We are planning to be in Bangkok for a few days and to take a river cruise and see the Wats, maybe the floating market, the old city..? Then we will head north to Chaing Mai and go on an elephant trek and hopefully see some hill tribes..maybe the long necks?
After we are there for a few days we will fly way south to Phuket Island on the end of the elephants trunk where CJ has a work trip and I get to hang out my last 2 days at a 5 star resort on a 17 mile stretch of white sand beach. I don't know if I will get out of the 27 acre resort to see the sights as we are very far north of the tourist area and I may just like to be pampered a bit...I will wait and see?
On Saturday I went to Costco and the Outlet Mall with Yumi and her parents my Chinese/Japanese friends. It was nice to get out of the house and to talk with people again. Yeah!
CJ then came back that night and Sunday he and I went back to Sankeien Gardens. I thought he better go see what blossoms there were now, as with all the rain and wind I did not know if they would all blow away. We had a nice day leisurely walking through the park looking at the white plum blossoms shimmering in the sunlight. It was cool and breezy though. We then meandered back through new neighborhood streets and I took many a photo of different container gardens in bloom with tulips, hyacinth, cyclamen, kale, pansies,daffodils. Many bushes were in bloom with pink, fushia, white, R & W candy cane looking camillas and lots of oranges were hanging on fully loaded branches of many a citrus tree.
As we walked down one street I saw fancy tiled roofs and white plum blossoms over the high brick wall fence, but a small wooden gate was open and so I poked my head in what looked like some kind of temple or garden area. I saw nooone around so I started to walk to catch up with CJ, but then I just had to go back and see what it was.
I said "Konnichiwa", but no one answered and so I stepped inside, took a quick walk around and a few pics of the fish pond, tea house, shrine,colorful kale garden. I saw a bunch of shoes by the door and could hear bells but noone in sight or to tell me to get out? It was so pretty and a very tranquil area. I will have to go back there another day, to see what it is all about.
I then ran to catch up with CJ and we continued our walk back home zig zagging our way through the tiny narrow neighborhood streets. On our way to Sancho Park we passed a teen age boy doing bike tricks in a plaza and then we walked past a new shrine where there was some kind of ceremony going on with a bunch of men standing under a tent. A tent like we have at graveyards ceremonies back home in the USA for funerals. I thought perhaps it was a funeral ritual of some kind, but I really have no idea. The 4 or 5 priests were all in their colorful robes of maroon, orange, blue,green bowing and clapping before the decorated alter with fruits and branches of some kind? One played a flute like instrument as well. It was very windy and the mens overcoats which they laid on the base of a lion statue actually blew off and onto the gravel as they all stood under the canopy in silence.
We then made our way up the long metal staircase where I then ran into a young couple who were out for a walk and trying to get the wife Yoko to go into Labor. She was very big and due NOW. David and she had English accents but she was Japanese. That was odd to hear her speak with such a strong British accent. He is a 4th grade teacher at the Int'l School just down the street. I asked him about volunteer work and hopefully he will get back to me with some possible opportunities? He said they may need someone to do the Scholastic Book orders and I said I have lots of experience with that as I did the Club Leo Books for the Hogar in Honduras the last 5years. So hopeully...I am keeping my fingers crossed? They were having their first baby... a Boy. I asked if they had names and they said if it was a girl they wanted to name her "Sakura' as that is cherry and it's that time of year. I told them maybe they could have S as his middle intial or call him Sak? We exchanged numbers and names and I bid them good luck and farewell and then ran again to catch up with CJ as he can not stop all the time like I do. (I guess it is good I go wandering by myself during the week)
We then passed by a fully loaded fushia blossom colored tree before making our way across the park and down the other side of the slope which path was lined with plum trees covered in white flowers. We walked through the mom and pop shops with a stop for a fresh loaf of bread and then up the last slope before reaching home. CJ then prepared a nice salmon steak dinner for supper with some rice, salad and green beans. Yum!
Last night CJ and I watched Dream Girls on TV after dinner and it was nice to see a movie again. We celebrated Graham's BDAY by having our favorite Jumbo-cho for dessert :-) I was hoping to see the Academy Awards, but it was not on here in Japan.:-(
I think I am finally going to make my way down to Chinatown today and get that looooong over due massage from the ex monk. I am sure I am loaded with toxins and need to relieve my sinuses, get some feeling back into my hands, feet, shoulders.. I actually had two big bumps in the roof of my mouth last night, slightly swollen glands and my jaw has been popping lately? A good head massage would feel wonderful I am sure.
Take care and keep warm ....sorry to hear you all got more snow in MN....Do you feel like winter is dragging on and on . Like enough already?
CJ and I are thinking of going north to Tokyo this weekend if the weather is nice and to check out the Fish Market and some other areas we have not yet seen
More soon
Karla
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