The time has come to say goodbye

Earlier this year my husband applied for a new job. As usual, I encouraged him as he went through the interview process. It was a long, drawn out process, but he was finally offered the position. This new job is located in Austin Texas - meaning it is time for us to leave Japan.

After living in Tokyo for the past 5 years, I find myself flooded with conflicting emotions. I have loved so much of our time here. We have lived and experienced as much as we could. I will never look back on this time and say I wish we had done more. I have said more than once - if you are bored in Tokyo, it is your own fault. This city is had endless options to keep people's attention and interest. Yet, a part of me has always wanted to be back in the US. Living as an outsider is exhausting and being so far from loved ones is VERY challenging. Although I missed home pre-covid, it was nothing compared to the the past 3 years of isolation and distance.

As I reflect on our time here, I am most grateful to the people who embraced our family. From the park moms who took me into their group, to the neighbors who gave me the connection and friendship I desperately needed, to the helpful individuals that made life easier, to the work friends I encountered and cherished. Just thinking of all these special individuals has me tear up. There were so many times that I felt like I was at the end of my rope, only to find myself rescued by a kind person. There were the moms that gave me a listening ear and a reality check. There were the English-speaking parents at my kid's school who let me know what was going on when I didn't have a translator. There was the farming family that gave me hope, inspiration, and so many vegetables! The list goes on and on.

Our house is a flurry of activity today. The movers are here to pack away our memories, cherished possessions, and the tools of our life. I've spent weeks sorting what goes with us on the airplane, what is shipped with the movers (which takes 3 months, by the way), and what gets left behind (either with friends or the garbage gods). It is a stressful day, in part, because it is the end of an incredible chapter in our lives. So much of me is excited to see what is in store for us in Austin - a city I've never been to. But a huge part of me is sad to leave a place that is so incredibly special to me.

I have loved learning more about Japan. I've delved into the world of how to make traditional Japanese ingredients, like miso and ponzu, that will forever bless my table. I taken a stab at several traditional Japanese crafts, like sashiko, that were fun and amusing. Our family has thoroughly enjoyed attending events, like summer festivals, and exploring the area beyond the common known haunts.

We have explored and tried and seen and done so much here. It has been truly incredible. Of course, these past three years have been a lot of time spent at home. But, pre-COVID, we tried to cease all opportunities for having fun. From magical winter light displays to awesome summer fireworks to flower fields that captured our hearts to autumn-colors that made us stop in our tracks. We delighted in visiting shrines and temples. Devouring incredible food that were incredible for our eyes, noses, and mouths were taken to a new level. The views of both cityscapes and nature are incredible here. I am so glad to have this blog as a reminder of all the fun we've had (and even some of the not so fun parts).

I recognize that I am a different person than the person who arrived here 5 years ago. I have changed because my life experience has allowed me to grow in a way that I wouldn't have been able to if I stayed put in Seattle. Living in a foreign country has opened my eyes to so many things I was never aware of before. I'm still the hard-headed, opinionated, passionate woman I've always been. But now I have a different level of patience, tolerance, and understanding. (Of course these are not always obvious, as those levels are not infinite amounts!). I even feel like I understand my husband a little bit better because I have seen his homeland in a way much more familiar that just a visit here and there.

No one really knows what the future holds. I hope it will consist of many more adventures and experiences that bond us as a family and make us stronger individuals. May our future be filled with lots more laughter and really good food and friends that make our worst days seem bearable, no matter where we are in the world.

Impressive ride

My husband and I have been debating whether or not to get a coffee table for over 2 years now.  We don't really have room for a permanent one in our living room because I like clear floorspace.  However, I also like to have a space to do puzzles and play games.

In the winter, we spend a lot of time indoors.  In Japan, many families have kotatsu or a low table with a heating element tucked underneath.  We decided before our first winter here to not invest in a kotatsu, but instead go with a heated carpet.  It made sense since it meant it would be a permanent fixture.  But over the past two years, I have yearned for a short table again and again.

Today we were wandering around Nitori, a home store with furniture and decorations.  We were looking for Christmas lights for my Santa-obsessed son.  After locating the lights, we found ourselves back in the coffee table aisle rehashing the debate.  They had coffee tables with foldable legs, so we would be able to store the table when it wasn't in use.  Suddenly the table didn't seem like such an imposition.

After discussing what size table would best fit our needs, we decided on a table that was 90cm by 60cm and 35cm high (35.5"x23.5"x14").  The only issue left was how to get it home.  We had ridden our bikes to the store since it is a 30 minute walk from our house with some hills along the way.  I offered to come another day when I didn't have our son with us so I could perch the table upright in the child seat.  But my husband said he was willing to take it home tonight.

The store employees affixed a handle on the box and my husband carried it out to our bikes.  He would balance the box on the front of his bike and ride one handed, trying not to crash into anyone.

I rode behind my husband, our son sitting on the back of my bike in his child seat.  I was so impressed as he deftly weaved his way around pedestrians, other bikes, and other obstacles.

I laughed and gasped repeatedly as he made his way down the sidewalk.  It was so impressive for a number of reasons, least of all because I doubt I would have attempted the same.

He made it home safely with the table in one piece.  He didn't even start to drop it even when a man almost walked right into him.  Instead, my husband swerved and kept on going.

Tomorrow we will open it up and test it out with a game of Slamwich or Sushi Go, two new games I picked up on our recent trip to the US.  Tonight I shall go to bed with a smile on my face, thinking of my husband's impressive ride.

A scrap of fabric

While going through all my belongings (thank you Marie Kondo!  My house is making me so happy and less stressed.), I have found several tenugui, Japanese hand towels.  I have collected these while traveling around Japan.  Each is printed with beautiful designs (at least the ones I buy are beautiful).  I bought them because they made me happy and being in a box was not bringing the joy.  So I needed to do something to put them on display.

Many people use their tenugui as hand towels, scarfs, or put them on display in their houses.  While I could have purchased frames for them and stuck them on the wall, I decided that I would prefer to make pillows with the long pieces of fabric instead.

I folded the first tenugui in thirds to make a square pillow.  I happened to have a pillow form laying around, a guest left it at some point this past year and didn't want it back.  I put this pillow in our guest room on my glider.  Now every time I walk past the open door, I smile, appreciating the pillow.

The second pillow, I used two tenugui and left them as rectangles.  This way I could display the pillow on my couch with whichever design strikes my fancy that particular day.  I purchased several bags of filling at Daiso, the ¥100 shop.  My son is now hauling it all over the place.  I am pretty sure he likes it as much as I do.

Both took me less than a half hour to complete and now I get to see these beautiful Japanese cloths all the time.  My husband suggested I start sewing all my furoshiki into pillows, but I prefer to use those as bags!

One step too far

There is a certain brilliant feature of my kitchen that I have been overjoyed with since we first saw this house.  My yukashitashuno (yew-ka-she-ta-shoo-no, try saying that 3 times fast!) is such a wonderful invention.  It is a box in my kitchen floor that uses the cold air from under the house to keep food cool year round, similar to a root cellar.  It is just over 2 feet square.

Since moving in, I have taken full advantage of having this extra storage space.  I like to keep my Japanese cooking essentials (large bottles of sake, mirin, and soy sauce), apples, pasta, and jars of various things (like maple syrup, peanut butter, and chili oil).  I appreciate the convenience of it.

Whenever I open it and someone else is in the kitchen, I always proclaim "don't step back" or "the floor is open!"  After all, I wouldn't want someone to fall in!

But tonight, I didn't have someone to remind me.  I was the one cooking.  I was the one who opened the darn thing.  And I was the one who stepped in it. 

I was making soup for dinner and had opened the yukashitashuno to grab some potatoes.  I should have closed it immediately, but instead I was focused on my task and immediately started peeling and chopping.  I went to drop the potatoes in a bowl of cold water, and took a fateful step back.  I immediately went down and went down hard.  The knife went flying.  Potatoes went all over.  And I was sprawled on the floor feeling not very bright.  As I gathered my pride and my body, I looked down to assess the damage.  There at the bottom of the yukashitashuno was a very large crack. 

Now I had really done it.  What was I going to do?  I quickly texted my husband forewarning him that I had a little oops, so he wouldn't be surprised when he got home.  When he walked it, he looked at the crack and immediately started researching replacement inserts.  The crack was at least 4 inches long in a crescent shape.  After calling three stores and not being successful, he went to take a closer look.  He disappeared while I put the final touches on dinner.  He returned after a few minutes with some superglue from the convenience store (where would we be without them?) and quickly got to work.  He was able to glue that big crack, saving the day.  Then he put the insert back into the hole in the floor so the crack was near the hinge of the door instead of near the opening.  It now resides under the basket, where the lighter weight stuff lives.

My ankle didn't fare as well, and has been throbbing all evening.  I'm sure it will be fine.  But for the time being, I'm just going to pretend that I hurt myself doing something awesome and not stepping into a big hole in my kitchen floor that I had created.

All set up and ready to go

After a short break in furniture buying, we finally made the last couple of purchases to complete furnishing our house.  It took some time for a couple reasons: the cost of furnishing an entire house is staggering, the last couple of items were low priority, and it is exhausting looking at and choosing furniture!

We put a date in the calendar and went shopping.  In preparation, my husband found a deal online for a couch that converts to a bed that fit our size requirements.  After looking at the photos online, we agreed it was probably the right couch.  We knew we could find the shelves and desk we wanted at the same store.  So, we headed out to Shimachu and found what we were looking for in record time.

The furniture was delivered today.  They gave us a window of delivery between 11 am and 1 pm, so I was able to drop my son off at the park with the park moms and kids and return to a quiet house to wait.  However, they arrived 15 minutes early, just as I was riding my bike up to the house. 

One of the delivery guys spoke English, so it made things much easier.  I was able to show him where everything should go and explain how we wanted things set up.  They brought the couch in first, which was delivered to the spare room.  It feels a little odd calling it a couch since it sits directly on the floor.  It doesn't have any legs.  Many couches in Japan are super low or sit directly on the floor.  After all, sitting on the floor is totally normal here.  I'm sure it will take some getting used to and then I won't notice the height at all.  Also, since it isn't in the living room, it isn't going to be a focal point.

Second, they assembled the desk in our bedroom.  At first we were going to put the desk in the spare room so it could be our office, but we realized that having a desk in there along with some furniture for guests would be pretty cramped.  In addition, we would loose our office anytime someone stayed with us!  Since we had plenty of room for it in our bedroom, it was an easy decision to make.

The final piece of furniture were some shelves in the spare room to hold most of my son's books.  I have a little addiction to children's books.  He and I (or any adult that will agree to participate) will sit for long stretches of time reading.  He loves books and so do I.

They were done in about 45 minutes.  The delivery men left and I was left with my new furniture.  It's so strange, but it brought so many mixed emotions.  I was so glad to finally be set up for guests.  Our first overnight guest will stay one night on January 31st.  We are so excited to see our friend from Osaka.  Following her visit, we will have several guests in succession from the US!  And we can't wait!!!

Although very excited about impending visitors, I was also a bit sad.  Getting our house all set up seems so permanent and final.  When I agreed to move here, I agreed to two years and I haven't budged on this.  While I don't expect (or want to) live in limbo for 2 years, having all this furniture and organization makes it look to me like I am planning on living here longer.  When I was a kid, we moved a lot.  We always had at least a couple boxes in the garage that never got unpacked.  Sometimes they would be unpacked at the next house and sometimes not.  It was normal for us.  It was a sign of not staying in one place too long.  If you meant to stay, why wouldn't you unpack everything?

As of today, I don't have any more boxes.  Everything is unpacked and in use (with the exception of 2 boxes of dishes that I repacked and will be pulled out when we have guests).  I don't have anything that doesn't have a place.  And I am not 100% happy about this.  I find it unsettling and a little bit scary.  Suddenly home feels so very far away.

Warm me up

Let's face it.  Japanese houses are cold.  They don't have any insulation to speak of; carpeted houses are unheard of; central heat is for the very, very rich (I've never experienced it here); and outside is really cold!  It is a recipe for frigid winters where you don't thaw out for months.  At least inside you aren't hit with the bone chilling wind. 

When I lived in Osaka, I would rush home after work and dive into my futon upon arrival.  I'd stick out an arm or a leg and push the button on my room heater, a portable heater that sat on the floor.  I would then lift of a corner of the futon to let heat between the layers of the bed.  It was the only way I would get really warm.  Even though I would dress in layers and stay close to heaters, I was always cold.  Even the school I worked at didn't have central heat, so I wore gloves and a scarf whenever I was in the hallways or waiting for my classroom to warm up.  I will be interested to see if it is the same at my son's kindergarten. 

I learned a couple tricks back then.  First being the bed trick.  Second was that I needed to invest in some heating supplies.  Since I knew I was only going to be there for a year, I decided not to invest and I suffered because of that decision.  Even thinking back gives me chills.  Third was to drink lots of tea and alcohol, as well as eat lots of soup, because it warms your insides.

Now I am older and wiser.  First off, we bought curtains that are supposed to hold in the heat.  Since putting them up, I've noticed a vast improvement.  Second we purchased a heated carpet.  It is basically a heating pad that goes underneath a soft rug.  We opted for an "Eco" version that only heats up half of the carpet for 90 seconds and then the other half.  This will help save money while still keeping us toasty.  Third, we still wear layers.  Layers are so very important.  But these layers include fabrics meant to keep us warm - like HeatTech from Uniqlo. 

These three things will really help keep us warm without killing our bank balance with huge heating bills.  We've also strategically placed blankets around the house to be able to toss one over our shoulders if needed.  And finally, I stopped at the fabric store today and picked  up fabric to make a rice snake for the one door frame that has a large gap at the bottom.  Keeping the cold air from an unused room out is just as important as keeping the heat it!

We decided against the kotatsu, a table with a heater installed under it with a blanket draped over it to hold in the heat, realizing that it takes up too much real estate.  These are very popular in Japan and are often considered a reason for tightknit family relationships.  After spending 3 months eating, watching tv, doing homework, and simply hanging out at the table together, it brings families together.  Some people even sleep under their kotatsu!  It's a bad habit, but a common one.  We had a kotatsu in the US and will miss having it around.  But the carpet serves a similar function without taking up so much space. 

Kotatsu in a living room.

Photo credit: tokyoweekender.com

Under the kotatsu - a view of the heater.

Photo credit: democraticunderground.com

After all this prep, if I still get cold, at least now I have people to cuddle with to keep warm!

Raining electronics

Rain, rain, rain.  It was the theme of today.  It rained all day.  Sometimes lightly.  Other times heavy.  The clouds opened up and poured today.  Another typhoon is expected to arrive at midnight. 

But a little (or a lot) of rain never stopped us.  My son and I went for a walk today in search of a festival.  We passed by several local farms/gardens that were lush and green.  The cabbages, broccoli, onions, and carrots were happily drinking up the rain.  We even saw some kiwis growing on a tree.  You don't see a lot of kiwis in Seattle, so I always feel a bit of a thrill when I spot them growing around here.  But to be fully transparent, seeing almost any food growing gets me excited - especially on a small scale.  When you see someone's garden, it is like looking into their heart.  You must share love and caring in order to be successful at growing food and flowers.  Without tending, things would go haywire.  I find the saying "you reap what you sow" to be very true.

We followed the GPS to the location of the festival, but didn't see the school where we were supposed to be.  So, I asked a woman walking past and she kindly walked us to the entrance.  It was around the block.

The festival was more like 7 tents, each selling something.  It wasn't really a festival.  But we bought some yakisoba and (what I assume to be) local veggies.  I carried the carrots, orange cauliflower, daikon, and cabbage home - in the pouring rain, with an umbrella, and a coaxing a 4 year old to keep up with me. 

Back at home we dried off and made vegetable soup.  A simple mix of onion, carrots, daikon, orange bell peppers, mushrooms, cabbage, ham, chicken broth, and miso were tossed into the pot and simmered.  My son helped by peeling veggies and using the food processor to slice them up.  Just before serving, I added some pasta letters for fun.  There's nothing like a big bowl of soup on a rainy day.

While we ate dinner, our doorbell rang.  The man my husband has been waiting for finally arrived.  His TV was being delivered.  If  I sound less than enthused, you would be right.  We have very different feelings about TVs.  My husband loves to watch TV and thinks of it as an essential item.  He often has it on even when he isn't watching it.  I find it to be an annoying addiction that I get pulled into and waste way too much time with, then feel guilty about not getting more done.  I've never been able to find a balance with it, so I prefer for it to not be in my house.  We haven't had TV since moving in to our house two and a half weeks ago.  For me, it has been refreshing and I love not having the TV fight with my son constantly. 

I suggested we didn't even have to turn it on, which didn't get a very good reception.  So, we agreed to have movie night.  I walked to the convenience store for popcorn and other junk food while my husband set up the TV.  There was a brand of chips without helpful photos on the packaging, so I pulled out my Google Translator.  One said "salt" and another was something else pretty standard.  But another read "cows sum of the enchanting."  What the hell was that supposed to mean?  I was so curious, I bought a bag.  Luckily, my translator at home informed me that I bought grilled Wagyu beef flavored chips.  They actually weren't half bad.  I don't need to buy them again though.

As I checked out, the clerk indicated to pick a card out of a box.  This is very common promotion technique here - thanks for your purchase, pick a card and we'll give you something for free.  Usually I get the dreaded one-ply uber thin tissues.  But today, I got a free beer.  I might not drink the free beer, but it was exciting nonetheless.  And I will use it - just probably in bread and not as a beverage.

When I returned, the boys were ready to start movie night.  The first movie to be played on our new TV was "My Neighbor Totoro," an old favorite.  I was first introduced to the movie in my first really bad bout with homesickness/culture shock the last time I lived in Japan.  I've been a dedicated fan ever since - it makes any day, rainy or otherwise, a bit brighter.  And now that our son has gone to bed, my husband is watching his ultimate feel good movie "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

They came and they delivered

At 9:00 am sharp, my doorbell rang.  My shipment from the US had finally arrived.  The three gentlemen from the shipping company greeted me and explained the process - they would bring in the boxes/items and I would mark them off the list as delivered and tell them where to put it.  46 items - some boxes, some furniture.  One of the moving company guys was from Minnesota.  I was not expecting that!

Within 30 minutes they mostly had the truck unloaded.  As I looked around my house, there were boxes everywhere.  I suddenly felt like I had brought too much.  Before we left, I worked tirelessly to reduce, reduce, reduce!  I gave stuff away left and right.  I had a garage sale and had Northwest Centers pick up loads of donations.  Anyone who came over was most likely going away with something.  I packed away valuables that weren't coming to Japan with us and put it into a tiny storage unit.  I gave away over 1/3 of the items in my kitchen, and packed away 1/3 for storage, leaving only 1/3 to make the journey to Japan.  I donated boxes and boxes of clothes and toys and, well, stuff!

As they unwrapped furniture, they found one broken trunk.  The leg had snapped off at some point.  It can be glued.  But it was unfortunate all the same.  Otherwise, things arrived pretty unscathed. 

The next step was unpacking the boxes and putting together our bed (the only piece of furniture that needed assembly).  As two of the guys disappeared upstairs and one guy started unpacking the boxes in the living room, I started on the kitchen.  As I unwrapped, I gave my son the job of taking the paper and stuffing it into an empty box.  He enjoyed his task and it kept him busy.  I had 2 large boxes and 3 medium sized boxes of kitchen wares.  I wanted to do the kitchen because I wanted to put things away as I unpacked instead of stacking everything on the counters.  But soon, I realized how unrealistic that was.  Although I had a round idea of where things went, it seemed like I was not opening those items.  Instead I was unveiling a vast array of random dishes that I didn't have a plan for.  More and more items were going onto the counter and when I would put stuff away, there was too much of it and I was running out of space super fast.  What was I going to do?  Soon my counters were filled and I still had more to unpack?  The main cabinets were overflowing, not nice and neat like my kitchen in Seattle.  Was it all going to fit?  Why did I decide to bring 12 pint glasses?  How did I accumulate so many bowls and why did I bring them all with?  Why?  Why?  Why?  I don't have an answer.  At this moment, my kitchen is a disaster.  I finally gave up and just started shoving to get everything out of the boxes and send the boxes away.

There were several joyful moments as I unpacked or discovered sitting somewhere certain items that I had been missing quite a bit.  When I unwrapped my plates and bowls,  I couldn't help by think of my grandmother who gave them to me.  Seeing my favorite photo of my husband holding our son for the first time made me so happy.  Getting all the mugs on the shelves made me warm inside thinking of all the tea we drink while sitting around relaxing.  And I happily checked all my baking dishes and confirmed the ones that came to Japan all fit in my oven.  Seeing my son's joy when his toy box was brought inside delighted me.

When I was done in the kitchen, I looked at my living room.  There was stuff everywhere.  The mover had decided the couch was a good place to put everything and my son had dived right into his costume box with a fervor, leaving a huge pile of costumes on the floor as he put one almost every item in the box at least once.  The kitchen table was piled high with personal effects.  Suddenly I was overwhelmed with the house being too full.  I like a bit of space.  I hate clutter.  And right now, my house is cluttered!  Deep breaths.

I went upstairs and saw that there was basically nothing in my bedroom, except the bed and bedside tables.  This made me so relieved because I knew I would sleep better in a sparse room.  Clothes and hangers were in the closet.  The folded clothes were still in a box in the office.  I was fine with that.  Everything was moving too fast.  I'm used to doing things by myself and the speed of these guys doing their job was throwing me off.  The toys were unpacked in my son's room and neatly put in piles in the corner of the room.  The office still had boxes (8, to be exact), but I was fine with them leaving them as it so I could take my time with them. 

That was it.  They were done with their part of my move.  I signed a couple forms and they left.  Part of me is so happy to have my stuff.  But another part feels so far away from the US and home, which makes me so sad.  It seems like everything about this move, this transition, is full of mixed emotions.  The older I get and the more experience I have under my belt, the more gray everything becomes.  Life is no longer filled with black and white, right and wrong.  It is a multi-dimensional mixed bag of gray abstract paintings.

I needed to get some fresh air to process things and my son needed to play in the sunshine.  My neighbor told me that Piyo-Piyo had another activity in the park today.  I quickly heated leftovers and put them into a lunch thermos (that had just been unpacked).  We headed out, looking forward to a break from the craziness of the house.  Piyo-Piyo did not disappoint.  Today there were different toys to play with.  My son really wanted to ride a skateboard down the hill.  Once I convinced him to do it sitting down, he did it again and again and other kids soon joined in the fun.  Before I realized it, 5 skateboards had been located and were rolling down the hill with laughing kids on them.  We sat on the big tarps to eat our lunch and found out that one of the kids we were sitting next to was going to be starting at the same Kindergarten as my son in April.  As soon as he was done eating, he was back rolling down the hill over and over again.  At some point, he switched from the skateboard to a little wagon or cart.  When one of the staff members told the kids it was story time, we joined the group to hear a story and sing a song.  Then Piyo-Piyo time was over.  I loved how everyone just pitched in to clean up the area.  Everything is disassembled and put into one of three storage sheds. 

We returned home and I got the living room cleaned up.  We can now sit on the couch, the table is clear, as is the floor.  I made the beds upstairs and put away some of the bathroom stuff.  I will tackle the kitchen tomorrow.  When my husband got home, we went out for sushi and then stopped and picked up desserts to enjoy at home.  We deserve some celebratory desserts.  Two whole months without our stuff, major transitions going on, and because the desserts here are awesome. 

Now it is time to head to bed.  Our beautiful, comfy, wonderful bed that I have missed so much.  I shall sleep soundly tonight - if not out of pure joy, then at least out of exhaustion.

Stone Soup

As a gardener, who always plants too much and loves to share, I have dreamed of creating stone soup.  You know the old tale, the people come to the village and get the villagers to work together to make enough soup for all to share.  That stone soup.  I always wanted to have people come together with bits of their garden and we put things in a pot to boil and become beautiful soup.  I just thought it was such a novel concept and a wonderful way to bring the community together.

Two weeks ago, a woman I met at the community center invited me to a gathering in the park put on by a "child-raising group."  Unfortunately, the first week it was rained out and they didn't meet.  But this week they did and we were able to join the gathering.  The group, Piyo-Piyo, meets regularly in the park for family activities.  Today's gathering was to make soup!

Each person brought a vegetable to put in the pot, bowls, and ¥200 per family.  When we first arrived, the 2 staff members were putting out some toys.  For example, they stretched out a rope net between trees for the kids to climb on, built a ramp for rolling acorns down, and put some toys in the sand box.  They built a fire pit out of bricks and sticks, and put some wire racks on top along with 2 large pots. 

The leaders welcomed everyone and informed us that we were making pumpkin soup.  They would use smashed pumpkin, soy milk, and dashi (fish broth) as the base.

The children played and enjoyed the beautiful weather we had today.  The shady areas had some mud, which made some children very happy.  My son wanted to run up and down the grassy hills with some newly made friends.  He also really enjoyed climbing on the net and in the trees, as well as rolling the acorns down the shoots.

Once the water boiled, everyone was called over to cut up their vegetable.  There were peelers and knives, as well as cutting boards made from flattened milk cartons, for everyone to use.  It was encouraged to work with your child to cut the vegetable.  Since my son helps in the kitchen regularly, I was happy to let him peel the carrot we brought by himself and then we worked together to cut it up.  Other families brought onions, carrots, eggplant, sweet potato, bell peppers, and more.  I loved seeing the variety!  Once it was diced, we took it over to the pot and tossed it in.  Then we went back to playing. 

After a while, we were told that the soup was ready.  Everybody brought their bowls over and the staff served the soup.  There were large tarps set out to sit on.  Makeshift tables were made with children's chairs and long boards.  We sat with our new friends and enjoyed the soup.  We also brought some onigiri (rice balls) for ourselves to round out our lunch.

When we were all seated, I looked around and saw that there were at least 40-50 families at this gathering.  What a wonderful way to spend the day with our new community!

Later, we came home to receive deliveries of living room shelves and a kitchen cupboard.  Then we received another surprise - one of the Piyo-Piyo staff members from today's activity is our neighbor!  Such a great day for building community and receiving gifts.

Ode to my oven

Before we moved to Japan, I tried to come to terms that I would most likely not have an oven for the duration of our time here.  As someone who loves to cook, this was really hard.  I was going to miss whipping up batches of cookies with my son.  I wouldn't be able to make roasted veggies on a cold day.  My family could forget eating baked chicken and salmon.  Casseroles, lasagnas, and braised meats would be a thing of the past.  I knew there wouldn't be a chance to dehydrate fruit and veggies (like I did before I had a dehydrator).  When moving to a new country, there are a lot of changes and this was one I reluctantly agreed to when I agreed to move. 

But a couple of weeks ago, my husband bought me an oven.  (Read more here.)  This futuristic oven is incredibly advanced.  On the most basic level, it is an oven, steamer, and microwave all in one.  As you learn more, there are crisping features and soft steaming and heating to a desired temperature.  There are actually 41 different functions.  What???  Seriously???  Yes.

When I tried to find an English version of the owner's manual online, I only found the following feedback: This model is only available in Japan and does not have an English manual available.  Well, great.  Now what?  Now my husband stepped in and walked me through the manual.  Page by page, he told me what it said and how to operate it.  I scribbled notes on each page so I could use it when he wasn't at home.  It took us over an hour to go through each function.

A couple amazing features:

• Auto Bake - Put various items on the baking sheet and hit start.  The oven scans the items and determines the temp and duration.
• Auto Defrost - Tell the oven if you want partial defrost or total defrost.
• Heat to a Desired Temperature - Specify how hot you want something from 90*c to -10*c.  Why -10?  To soften ice cream!
• Crisp Finish Microwave - Uses steam to refresh that crispy outside on deep fried items.
• Moist Finish Microwave - Uses steam to ensure items do not dry out while reheating.  Hum bow anyone?
• Sanitizing - Put your baby bottles and other items to be steam sanitized.  Where was this when I was pumping?

Since walking through the manual, I've used the oven daily.  The first night I made pork steaks, mushrooms, asparagus, onions, and kabocha (winter squash).  I tossed the veggies with a small amount of oil, salt, and pepper; and spread some miso on the pork.  I then put it in the oven and hit "Oven" and "Start."  20 minutes later, everything was done.  Perfectly.  No flipping, nothing.  I honestly couldn't believe it.

The next two nights, I roasted veggies - eggplant, more squash, and daikon (long radish). I even tossed some chicken meatballs in there with the veggies on one of those experiments.  Everything has turned out just right. 

Once our dishes arrive from the US (we're eating on paper plates right now and I'm getting really creative with how to cook dinner without many tools), I'm going to get creative and play, play, play!

Taking time to play

Well, it is official.  We have left temporary housing and are now camping out in our new house.  Since our furniture won't arrive for a while, we really are camping out!

When we left the apartment, the front desk staff said "We will miss your son so much.  And you, too, of course."  I've heard this a lot the last few months.  I don't take it personally, as I think my son is the brightest ray of sunshine I've ever come across.  Throughout this whole adventure, he has (for the most part) been so optimistic and cheerful.  It has been hard leaving all his friends and the only home he has ever known.  Today we were reading a story about a little girl that traveled from her home in Africa to visit her grandmother in Canada.  Suddenly my son started crying that he missed his friends so much.  After a few minutes, he smiled and said "But I have you and Otousan and that makes me happy."  (Otousan is father in Japanese.)  His positive attitude is so inspiring.  No wonder people miss him so much.

On our way to the new house, we dropped my husband off at the Ward office in the Civic Center to register with the city and do some other errands.  My son and I went to the house and unpacked a bit.  We then went to meet my husband for lunch.  As we headed to the street, we saw a praying mantis on a car.  I don't think I've ever seen one outside of a zoo before.  It was so neat to look at as it looked at us.  Earlier, my husband saw a beautiful butterfly.  It's like we're being welcomed by the insect world.  As long as they greet us from outside our home, I'm more that happy to see them all - except for the horrid mosquitoes that have been eating all three of us nonstop.  They have been so vicious that I fear they are going to leave scars on all of us.  Even when we spray ourselves with insect repellant, they find where we didn't spray and go to town.  I now regret not buying the insect repellant soap!

 

During lunch, my husband said he had gone up to the 4th floor of the Civic Center to the Jidokan, a recreation center for kids, and registered us.  Since our appliances weren't scheduled to be delivered for a couple hours, my son and I headed to the Jidokan to play.  It was rather old and well loved, but my son immediately lit up and started to play.  He found a little girl that he attached himself to and they played dolls, hair dressers, ice cream shop, and many other things.  I had noticed that she was wearing a tutu and fairy wings.  After noticing a few other kids were in costumes as well, I asked the little girl's mom where the costumes were.  Between her broken English and my broken Japanese, we were able to communicate.  She took me to the front desk and showed me how to check out costumes!  My son was a pirate for the rest of the play time.  He loves playing dress up and was so very happy to be able to do it.  It has been quite the bone of contention that his costume box was loaded onto the ship and not in our suitcases!

Shortly before our appliances were scheduled to arrive, we left and headed home.  On our way my husband called and said the delivery guys were early.  So, by the time we arrived home, the fridge was already installed, the stove was being installed, and the washing machine was getting set up to go inside the house.  It was such a joy to see!

We then headed out to buy shelves and go out to dinner (all our dishes are on the boat... I'll be buying paper plates tomorrow...).  Three very tired people returned home after our errands.  It was a long day.  Now we all get to sleep on the floor and my husband gets to find out what his new commute will be like in the morning.  And with those two thoughts in my head, I simply think like my son does and say "We have each other.  We're having an adventure.  And that right there makes me happy."