July 17, 2009 Japan, MN, WI, Honduras, IL, IA, MN Japan

Hi all
WOW has it really been 2 months since I last wrote. Life has been pretty crazy and a bit stressful as of late. :-(
Let me try to replay the last few months (I began this post on July 8th and am now back in Japan and finishing it up on July 17th)
I came back to MN on May 23rd and a few days before that I was going on a hike with some ladies I had met from the Yokohama International Womens Club and while we were waiting for a train we witnessed a man being run over and killed by a oil tanker train. It came to an unsual screeching halt and then the engines began to smoke. One of the ladies with us, lived near by and she said that it was not a normal stop. So we waited and watched and all of a sudden we saw men looking under the train and our worst fear suddenly came true. We don't know if he threw himself in front of it, but I did see his dismembered body parts lying in several locations under the train wheels. Sad! The other sad part I learned, was that many people do this I guess and so they have made a new rule that the family is responsible for paying all the expenses while the tracks have to be shut down for the investigation and clean up:-( Needless to say we had a pretty somber hike that day and it left me with not the happiest of thoughts as I left Japan for a few month visit back to the USA.

CJ and I then arrived in MN and then we went over to WI for niece AJ's HS graduation party. We stopped and took my mom and dad with us as well so they could get out and see all of CJ's family again. Kalen and Graham both came home and so we had a crowded fan ride there and back. It was fun to all be together for a few days and we enjoyed playing the "I went on a trip to WI and I took"... as we road along the country roads from MN to WI. We enjoyed lots of laughs and it was a good memeory test for us all. :-)
AJ had a nice outdoor party in the woods behind the log cabin. It was nice to meet her friends and to see most of the family for the day. Back in MN CJ I and the kids had a day together before we all had to seperate and go back to MN, WI and Japan. I stayed in MN for the week and was busy getting things ready for my annual trip to Honduras.
I ended up going on Sunday June 7th but got stuck in Miami overnight due to 3 previous days of bad weather and a snowball effect to cancelled flights. They told me I would not be able to get another flight out till Wednesday and I said you have got to be kidding. Finally after waiting for 2 standby flights that day and not getting on I checked one last time before heading to the hotel for the night and they had then made another new flight for Monday am and so thankfully I was able to get out the next morning. To bad for the man who was picking me up as he had to drive for 3 hours to get me and then I did not even show up. The next day I told him to stay put and I would take the bus from San Pedro..a first for me alone, but it ended up being just fine. Yeah!
I too had been told not to go to the Hogar as there was an investigation going on and I would be flying into a wasps nest and so I stayed my first week with Margarita. Margarita is a girl who lived at the Hogar and then got the great opportunity to go to El Alba Bilingual school. She had been there for the past 6 years and was now going to graduate. She asked me to be her madrina (sponsor) at her graduation and I was so thrilled and honored. We had a really nice week together getting to know one another better and having lots of girl talks. We went shopping one day for her graduation dress, shoes and jewelry. It was very interesting for me as Margarita is just the opposite of me. She is under 5 feet tall and very shapely. She has a hard time finding clothes to fit her that are not little kid styles and everything is either too long and too BIG. She kept apologizing that she was being so picky and I told her no worries as I go through the same things when I shop, but for me everything is either to small or too short or to matronly. We luckily found 2 cute dresses a pretty necklace and a pair of shoes that fit her like Cinderella when she slipped them on. I felt very lucky and she looked beautiful.
We enjoyed walks, senior photo day around the school grounds which is surrounded by a beautiful pine forest and I took more bug pictures in the garden outside her front door. One night we went and saw a movie together and another night sat in the park and talked for 4 hours. It was a most enjoyable and realxing week for me and it was such a nice opportunity to get to know her better as well as Dr C.
Margara is so fortunate to have had this wonderful opportunity and now I am crossing my fingers she will be able to go to college in the state of Washington. Many wonderful people are trying to help make that dream come true for her?
I then went to the Hogar on Saturday June 14th and had a fun time with Michelle who also joined me from MN. It was great to have her there as things, we soon found out were quite confusing and tension filled. I can only say at this point that there is an ongoing investigation at the home and we hope things are rectified soon. It was a bit too unnerving for the volunteers and so we sadly all ended up leaving early. It was a trip cut way too short and it was a very hard goodbye on June 22nd when I came back home. I hope was not my last. It left Michelle and I wondering if this might be our last trip to the hogar...I hope not.
I will tell you more when I can, but at this time I ask for your patience and understanding.
Well it was not much longer and we quickly realized we were actually glad we left as the coup then took over Honduras and I guess it was like a war zone there within days. YIKES. I was very sorry my early departure made me miss Margaritas Graduation day :-( Darn!
I then came home to MN and decided to take advantage of the extended time I had here in MN and to go and see Kalen in Chicago. I had hoped to see my friend Randee and family in Milwaukee on the way, but she too was having some more severe health issues again (now thhe cancer is in her lungs) and so we were sadly unable to connect this time. I hope she is doing better now. She called me before my return to Japan and we had a nice long conversation.
Kalen and I had an enjoyable time together hanging out at the park and beach one day laying in the shade of a tree and catching up with each other. We attended a concert in Millinnieum Park one eve, had fun taking reflection pictures in the Bean, found cousin Sarah Slick's HER catalog cover in Macys downtown Chicago store. CJ came in from Japan the next day and the 3 of us enjoyed a day walking around Chicago along the river walk went to the Lincoln Zoo and botabical gardens, had a Portillo Hot Dog...Then Sunday we went up to Evanston to see Kalens work before bidding her farewell and then we were off on a road trip to Iowa City. There we saw Mikey P in A Mid Summer Nights Dream. He was Snug and a very brave lion. I took pics and then got caught by the stage manager and had to delete them all. Oops!:-( We had a nice dinner and visit and the next morning enjoyed breakfast at the local diner and I had sweet potatoe pancakes and a pie shake. It was actually very good when they blended a piece of raspberry pie and ice cream together. Yum! We then visited a location outside of Iowa City that had fossils from long long ago unearthed a few years back when the river flooded. It was interesting and hot as we lwalked amongst many layers of rocks as deer were running past.
WE bid Mikey P goodbye and then another road trip for Cj and I back to MN. As we entered the Twin cities area we got a call form my brother Mark and my mom Solvei was in the ER up in Blaine. So we headed directly there. Mom had gone to a new doctor for a check up and when she had chest pains the docotr did an EKG which came back abnormal. He told her he was very concerned with the results and he wanted her to go right to the ER at Mercy hospital. That is where we met up with them as she was waiting of the table to open up for an angiogram. When they did a Cat scan they found mom had blockage in her heart. We waited in the ER for about an hour or so and then they took her in to do the angiogram and tried to place a stint in her artery. While they were doing that it was in the back of her heart in a difficult location and so the doc came out and told us it was going to take longer due to the location.
Later he came back out to tell us they ran into some problems. When they were putting the ballon in and getting ready to insert the stint they found her aorta to be very brittle like a rusty old lead pipe and something actually caught and tore her artery. They immediately pulled the stint back out and hoped that her blood would seal itself off and the blood flow would re route itself to the 2 other arteries. He told us the risk factors for him to try and put the stint in were far greater for death or major problems with the rare conditon of her aorta. WOW!. So she went in with a bad heart and I guess will leave with a even worse situation. They had her stay in the hosptial fomr Monday to friday to see if it would close and heal itself anf it seemed to work as she came home on Friday. Now we will wait and see what happens. let nature takes it course I guess. So I stayed with Mom and Dad that week while Mark and Lisa went on their annual scuba diving vacation. They dive in old pit mines up in northern MN and Mark showed us some very cool videos of life down under in the water. I was glad he was able to get away for a few days as this taking care of elderly folks can be an exhausting responsibility. CJ too worked in MN and then came and stayed at the Slick's at night. He then went back to Japan , India and I will meet up with him next week for a mini vacation in Singapore.
I stayed a week longer and also got to go to WI on the weekend to see CJ's aunt Sheri get married. Fun too, to see many cousins I had not seen in about 10 years and actually met some of their teenage kids who I had either never met or they were vey small the last time our paths crossed.
Back in MN I decided to have an open house one day in EP as the week before I was busy with mom and dad and was glad to see 15 or so pals that stopped by to say Hi. It was nice to see so many and to also get emails and phone calls from others that could not make it.
Graham came home for a day and we had fun eating, watching movies, chatting, taking pics, and I always enjoy his guitar playing. He took me to the airport for my return flight to Japan and that is where I am now.
We are now starting our 2nd year here in Japan. Hard to believe a whole year has gone by already. CJ is in the southern part of India this week and dodging rain puddles in monsoon season. I spent the day unpacking and cleaning the house here on top of the bluff. Tommorrow I will do a bunch of bookwork I think and make my way out for a few food items. I wonder if there are fireworks for Ocean Day this weekend? I remember when we came back home last year after the big fireworks display only to find out the sad news that CJ's dad had passed away. It has been a crazy year of health issues for our 4 parents and we are fortunate we still have 3 of them left. They all have had life threatening issues that could have left them dead as well. We are very grateful they have recovered, and are still fighting so to have more time here with their families.
Well I guess that is about it for now. Hopefully I will have lots more adventures to share this year with you all from Nippon. I will meet up with CJ next week for some fun in the sun and humidity of Singapore. I am trying to read up quickly in my travel books, so I know what not to miss when there. Any one been there and have any suggestions?
Take care and hope to share more with you soon. Thanks to all for your caring, concern and prayers for me, our folks, family and friends. It is really nice to know I have so many wonderful and supportive people in my life. LOve you all
HUGS
Karlita and family