NEX BAZAAR

Today is the first day of the fall bazaar! I am going solo. Andrew will spend the day with his daddy. I'll update with photos of all the goods later this weekend. If you are in Virginia, here is a little weekend outing you can look forward to...http://www.fallfiberfestival.org/ Anyone going? Tanya????

Moving on....

Rob Perez with Plastic Eddie has moved on to the next round. Great job guys. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated as to when they'll be on and need your votes again. A big THANK YOU to all who have voted.

Mail

I don't know why getting mail in Japan is so much fun, but it is. It just feels good to open the mailbox and find the yellow (blue...the last tour) card indicating that there is a package. Here's what came today...

WHAT A GOOD DAY!!!

I am really excited about the "Spin-Off" magazine. This is the first fiber related magazine/catalog that has caught up to me here in Japan. In other "fiber" related news, I have requested the updated instructions for the "TKGA Master Knitting Program...level I". As some of you may know...I ordered them last year (2 houses ago) and never started. So now that I have 6 1/2 hours free every day...I hope to start (and finish) the program....(now that I have this in writing...I'll be forced to "make good" on this project) I'll keep you posted.

I thought I'd try to answer some of my loyal followings' (all 2 of you) questions...

Tanya...

We were eating at the Yakuniku restaurant on the 4th floor of the Daei across from Shiori... oishii desu. I loved that knitty article...I wonder if I can do a "minimum amount of felting" to fix the guage/size problem with my cardigan sweater....hmmmmm? If it doesn't work, it could always be a presento for Eliza :)

Stacey...

I'm so sorry I'm not updating daily...please forgive me. Yes, I've been to Shonan Takatori a few times...mostly to see Setsuko and family. Your house is still vacant. It is all overgrown. I don't think anyone has lived there since you. The fence you and Winston put up is still there but it really looks sad. My house doesn't look much better. It looks like the owners are using it as storage. If I remember correctly from our last tour they have several houses. It looks awful...appliances on the porch...weird, it kind of has that "Fred Sanford" thing going on. I haven't been to any of the stores there yet but will be sure to "kampai" you when we do break in to our first bottle of "shonan takatori" wine. I haven't seen any old candy at the exchange yet but I haven't really bought any, so... it is quite possible that the bag you speak of is still on the shelf. I did however see frozen ground turkey in the commissary with a November 2004 expiration date. The lady in the commissary was assuring another customer that since it was frozen before that date it was still safe to eat....maybe so but what about the freezer burn that sets in after 2 years????

A face from home

We are lucky to have a friend from home in town on business. We met John and his coworker Dean for dinner. It was fun to catch up. And Andrew enjoyed seeing "Uncle John". We look forward to seeing him more this week.

On the road

Here are some pictures from our summer in the States prior to our arrival in Japan...

Andrew and I had an opportunity to spend a week in Sandbridge (Virginia Beach, VA) with my great friend Maria and her family. What a great time. Maria's family is Greek and the food was to die for....yum...I'm hungry just thinking of her mother's Moussaka. These are my two favorites from the week...

Andrew, Eleni, and Sofia

hula, anyone?

Eleni, Sofia, Katarini, and Andrew

These two are from Chattanooga, TN at the Aquarium. This is a "must do" for anyone visiting TN. Jeff's mom and dad spent the day with us and this is our "picnic" outside the museum.
Andrew and "Nemo"

AND WHAT TRIP TO TENNESSEE WOULD BE COMPLETE WITHOUT VISITING ELVIS?

Seriously, Graceland was a lot of fun. Even Andrew enjoyed it more than I thought he would. He was certainly visually stimulated. We even listened to ELVIS #1 in the car on our way to Fort Worth, TX.

Finally....

Andrew passing time in the lodge....sock puppets...




SCHOOL DAYS...I can't believe that my "baby" has started school. Japanese school! When asked if he likes it, his response is..."it is a lot of fun, but I don't know what they are saying". Andrew has also mentioned that his favorite times at school are lunch (he thinks it is great that he gets miso soup, EVERYDAY) and music class. I think he is just the cutest thing in his uniform. These shots go out to Tanya and Stacey who have been waiting oh so patiently for me to upload.

BOXES, BOXES, AND MORE BOXES...oh the fun of unpacking...add to that mold and boy do you have a party....AGGHH. We had mold on all of the master bedroom furniture...gross. I have also found mold on clothes, shoes, and the sofa. As if unpacking isn't enough of a headache, I now have to add extreme laundry and cleaning to my "to do" list. I have yet to unpack a box labeled "yarn" for fear that I will just dive in to the comfort of knitting. Knitting vs. cleaning...not a tough choice so I won't even tempt myself.

9/11

Was going to blog my first "from Japan" entry today but thought I'd wait until tomorrow and instead I'd take a moment to say "thank you" to all those who protect us both in the US and abroad to ensure that 9/11 is never repeated. My thoughts and prayers go to all the families who lost a loved one that awful day 5 years ago. And to Stacy, I'll never be able to think of 9/11 without thinking of you....thanks for being there.