Well it looks like Typhoon season has blown over Japan once again as it has been raining very hard since yesterday afternoon and the wind is blowing pretty good as well. Wonder just how wet I will get when I walk down to Kofu later this afternoon to play with the orphans for an hour or so. I am thinking I will play Pictionary with them on the white board? Guess this morning will be a good time to get caught up with some of my computer work, blogs and photos. CJ left this morning for a week in China so if it keeps raining I will have lots of time to get caught up with many other things as well.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to niece AJ who is now in her first year of college at Mankato and slowly adjusting to life in a dorm and away from home.Do you remember those first few weeks as a new college freshman? I sure do, even though it was years ago--35 to be exact. YEs I am that old :-) haha
Last week Wednesday Aug 26 , Ty and I enjoyed a walk along the Miura Peninsula coast line with 7 other Int'l ladies from Holland,Wales,Britain,New Zealand,Japan,Scotland, Sweden. We first stopped by Setsuco's friends house and she gave us each an ear of sweet corn and a box of chocolates for our hike. How sweet was that. We took pics with her and her dog and then she was so excited to have one taken with just her and Tyler. He was quite the man about town with all the ladies. He said he was told he was handsome and good looking more times here in Japan, than he ever was back home in his 22yrs. :-)
We then bid Tomo farewell and walked along the coastline of Uraga along the boardwalk out to the lighthouse. CJ and I had been here before, but we walked from the light house back to the boardwalk so it was good to see it from the other direction. We also went beyond the light house and over to the Uraga Bay where we then took a short ferry ride across the inlet so to catch the train back to Yokohama. It was a lovely summer day and was actually quite hot, but with a nice breeze to keep us a little bit cooler. We passed by a some local kids who were having a BBQ on the beach, other kids playing in the surf, and a lady who was drying seaweed on her front sidewalk, so we stopped so she could explain that she uses it for soups and such.
While we sat under a canopy of shade we also watched as a film crew filmed a man and woman dressed in some black leather like body suits...and we saw another girl dressed like a sea nymph in turquoise suit with hair down to her knees almost getting photos taken on the rocks. We had our lunch under a canopy while big cargo ships, sailboats and many other types of boats passed us by when entering the mouth of Yokohama Bay from the Pacific Ocean.
We walked past 2 or 3 little fishing marinas where many a fisherman was busy working with nets, getting their boats ready.... We had hoped to stop at an Italian restaurant for some gelato, but sadly they were not open that day, so we then took the ferry across the water and made our way back to the station for our ride home. Ty and I stopped at Yodobashi Camera so he could get himself a Japanese Wii and some Japanese video game he can only get here I guess. Needless to say, he was very happy and used the money he saved by staying with us for 10 days.
Thursday Aug 27th Ty and my new Taiwanese friend Ally and I went to Kamakura together to check out all the temples and shrines and to hike in the woods a bit as well. We first walked along the beach where Tyler found the biggest whole shell he ever saw on a beach in his life. There too were many a dead baby shark laying along the beach as well.. You could tell the end of summer was near as the beach shacks were being taken down and only 1-2 windsurfers were out and only a few people at the far end of the beach. It was another beautiful day here in Japan and a bit hotter than the day before. We then saw the Big Buddha, and fertility shrine where we stopped for a bite to eat as well. Ty had soba noodles and Ally had udon, while I enjoyed a very cold and refreshing lemon shaved ice. After that we began our hike up onto the mountain ridge which runs through the city and over many a big tree root in hopes of catching a glimpse of Mt Fuji, but sadly it was too foggy in the distance. We then made our way down the steep slope to walk through the tunnel where we could wash our money for good luck. Many a toddler was there that day, and it was fun to watch them with their parents. Back up the steep inclined slope and through the park and down the very narrow brush covered path along the cemetery before coming out to the road and over to see the lotus blossoms before making our way back to the train. Ty had enough climbing for the day and didn't want to climb any more steps to see the big shrine in the city center. So back on the train we went.
Friday August 29th Ty left for Tokyo and I spent the early morning cleaning the house and then went to the Int'l school and sorted through about 600 books I think. They are sending them to Africa to build a library and so I had to look for ones with copyright dates before 1980 and also weed out the too scientific and higher level reading ones. I was invited to eat lunch downstairs in the cafeteria and so that was fun for me to see the kids washing their hands, dishing up their own food and then I even got to sit and chat with my friend Yuki and some of his 5th grade classmates while I ate my salad, mac n cheese, sauteed eggplant and onions in a tomato sauce. Very tasty. After lunch I went back up stairs to the hallway where i was working and was able to get all the books sorted and bound in stacks of 10 or so for shipping. With the sun shining in the window, it was very hot and they were so kind to keep checking on me and serving me iced tea while I worked. They told me to sit and rest and not kill myself, but I was bound and determined to get the job done. I finished at about 2:30pm and they were delighted. Back home I sat on the couch to read one of the books they let me take home after my early dinner and I'm quite sure I fell asleep after the first page or two and did not wake up till 11pm.
I then drug myself up the steps to my futon where I slept soundly and did not wake up till 8am the next day. I guess I was a bit worn out.
It felt good to catch up on my sleep and also to read again. It has been awhile since I sat and read a book other than a travel guidebook. The book "Let Me Follow The Narrow Way" by Keh Hwa Kim was about a lady in Korea who had a ministry for 8 years running prayer centers and she heals through God with her hands. Very interesting and if I ever get to Seoul it would be fun to see if I could stop by one of her places and see it with my own eyes/
CJ was to come home Friday eve, but got stuck in China till Saturday. This past weekend we just hung out at home and each worked on our different projects we had going on and enjoyed time to just chill in the house. I know I had enough walking last week to last me awhile and now I need to regroup and get things in order for our next guests to arrive on the 12th of September. I need to read about Nikko and see what we can do up there.
Talked with a few relatives back home and all seem to be doing well there. My mom and and dad continue to do well and are still working with doc's on pills and trying to eliminate ones they feel are unnecessary or not working like they thought. Dad had another recheck appt and the radiation doc said all is going great and no cancer is growing back so things are good. Mom is slowly understanding what the right kinds of food are for her to eat and she is getting more serious about her exercise. Yea! Graham is getting ready for Rugby season and his last year of college at Duluth. He will student teach history in January somewhere--maybe EP? Kalen is busy with her massage job and she is also going to go out to Sacramento to attend a class in Oncology massage. She too, is thinking she might want to start dabbling in some acting again if things she likes come her way?
My brother Mark continues to be of great help to our folks and is busy running them to and fro to cardio rehab 3 times a week and still getting to work. He has been very fortunate that his job has been so understanding with him being the only one around to take care of mom and dad. I know it has to be lots or pressure on him, but he too says he is enjoying it and it is helping him to learn things about himself as well. I am VERY THANKFUL for his hard work, love and dedication to the rents. Thanks again Mark for all your doing. His kids are doing great as well. Sarah his daughter who is modeling out in NYC just got her first magazine Cover on Lou Lou a plus size Canadian Magazine and more pics inside (pp 17-21)in the editorial article. Check it out. Source: www.myvirtualpaper.com
Mark's son Stafford is now playing AVP sand or beach volleyball and just spent a week out at the Olympic Training center in LA. Last word, was that he may be moving out there in October? He even has his own stats sheet now too:-)http://bvbinfo.com/player.asp?ID=10939
So you can see, they are living their dreams and loving every minute of it. COOL!
I added a bunch of photos to my Face book profile as well, so if interested look there under Photos to see more than what is here on the left of this blog.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1026932101&ref=profile
More talk lately of a possibility of CJ and I moving to China after our stint here in Japan next year and so that is something exciting to think about as well. Still waiting to hear what the verdict on things are in Honduras at the Hogar, and my hope is things will be rectified soon, so I can go back and see my buddies sooner than later?
Well the rain is falling even harder now,and the wind is howling. Guess air conditioning season may be over for another summer and if and when the water droplets dry up I can open the windows for some fresh air to flow through the house.
Hum...I wonder when that will be.
Hope all is well with you and yours. I need to end this now so I can make a few long overdue phone calls to friends and family back in the states so to check up with them on their health issues. Please keep the prayers and positive thoughts coming for all our friends and family who so gallantly continue their fights with all the various health issues they have
HUGS
Karla and CJ too
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