Weekend activities

What has been going on around here?  I came down with a cold this weekend and was in bed for a couple of days again.  NOT GOOD as I am heading for Detroit tomorrow afternoon!  I really don't have time to be sick!

Tetsu and I went to a Nikko wood carving exhibit this weekend because one of my former students (from like 10 years ago!) sent me a postcard saying that her work would be displayed.  E-chan was always a quiet girl who couldn't really find her place in school but she had let me know earlier this year that she had fallen love with wood carving.  I was very happy to go to the exhibit and E-chan and Tetsu talked at great length about the pleasure and difficulty of wood carving.

Nikko wood carving is a handcraft that developed in our part of Japan after the wood carvers of the Tosho shrine had finished their many decades of work. 

The shrine is covered in carvings that get refurbished every 20 years or so... 

Anyway...  this wonderful handcraft tradition has been carried on in Nikko and there are a few teachers in our area.  From E-chan we learned about the different tools and techniques used and about the differences in lacquer.

The many layers of carving into one piece of wood is much more complicated than one might think. 

I thought this was an interesting piece by one of the students that isn't even finished yet.  On the right side is the rough carved outlines of the cherry tree blossoms and on the left are the finished blossoms.  I assume that once all this is finished the piece will be lacquered.

Though most of the pieces displayed were flat sided pieces like trays and wall hangings, there were a couple of examples of the famous Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See no Evil monkeys that are on the walls of the Tosho Shrine.

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Even though John has been with us for a week, we still have a complicated relationship with him.  He loves walks and bounds along happily with me when we go out together.  He barks somewhat but seems to understand that that isn't behavior that makes us happy (he tones in down when he looks at us).  But John has definite aggression to possessions and he growls and snaps when I reach for his leash or blanket or whatever.  I have had to get very angry with him and then we have a contest of wills.  I have started wearing gloves when I go out with him just because I'm afraid if I reach down to do something with his leash that he will bite me.  John gets along fine with Mi but again that is more on account of Mi being a very laid back kitty.  And Chip has come back downstairs but hisses and growls herself when John gets too close...

Ah well....  As I say, I am taking off for Detroit tomorrow so I really can't worry about John training right now.  Hopefully John and Tetsu will have come to an understanding while I'm gone or else we are going to have to get a trainer involved to help us overcome the aggressive streak John has...  It is far more difficult to adopt an older dog than I thought it was going to be!  Any more advice would be appreciated!!!

Tomorrow I will be on an airplane for 11 hours and tomorrow night I'll be in Detroit.  The weekend plans hold wedding dress shopping for Leiya and Tony's mother and me!  It will be my first visit to Detroit and my first time meeting Tony's family.  I'm really excited!!
 

Day 3 with John

John and Tetsu and the cats and I are learning what each of us expects.  It is not as easy as I'd imagined...  John is rather strong willed and makes his likes and dislikes known...  He does not like the cats, or rather he is very interested in the cats and wants them to notice him (making his presence known with barking) and wants to sniff and "play" when they meet head on in the living room.  Mi will allow John to sniff but she covers her back side by hurrying away when he tries to check her out from the rear...  Flight from John means chasing by John and flight is the very first reaction from Chip who WILL venture downstairs to look at John when he is inside his circle.  When he is outside the circle Chip is gone in a flash!  And poor Cleo hasn't been downstairs once since John joined our household.  I've resorted to bringing him food and water upstairs.  (He spends a lot of time upstairs anyway burrowed under blankets but still...  it was HIS house first.)  Cleo and I cuddle at night so that he gets the love he misses during the day.

I'm not sure if John recognizes us as his owners yet or not.  He is happy to take a walk with us. 

He is happy to wander around the living room.  He obviously doesn't think he should live in a circle when people are milling around.  We have to scold him constantly for barking...  He is possessive of his dish and blanket already and I am rather fearful that he might really bite if I try to take his things away...  That's not good...  An owner already fearful?  He did NOT like my friend who came to do patchwork yesterday.  Every time she was in his line of sight he barked which was embarrassing and I had to keep scolding him with my stern voice...  The only good thing about that is that maybe he understands who belongs to this household and who doesn't...  Time will tell. 

When John finally gives up whining at night and settles for bed he sleeps through the night so that is GREAT!  It's like having a baby all over again!!!  My mind runs in circles trying to figure out what he is thinking and how to get him to understand our point of view!  Whew!  

John loves tummy rubs but that makes it difficult to take his picture because every time I bend down to photograph him he flips upside down...

Yes, I will have to get a brush for John as being so close to the ground he picks up dried leaves and sticks in his fur as he walks along.  Sort of like a tumbleweed!

Hopefully I will have other things to post about pretty soon but for right now John is about all that goes through my head!

John's arrival

We picked John up from the vets yesterday!  A new chapter of all our lives has begun! 

 A couple of days ago Leiya texted Tetsu...

"Do you miss not having Takumi there anymore?"

"We're doing okay.  Besides, we have John's arrival to look forward to."

"Who's John?"

"Ask your mother."

A bit later Leiya texted me...

"Who's John?"

"Mmm.  Well... We've only met him once but he is coming to live with us..."

And then I continued to explain about our vet's phone call and that John is a miniature dachshund and that he is 7 years old and that we are adopting him.  But Leiya was at the supermarket or somewhere when she wasn't focusing on my text messages and so she missed a lot of the important information when scanning the text.  When she finally reread my message she sent me a lot of laughing emojis.

This weekend Tetsu and I had gone to the home goods store and looked at what was in the pet department (this is a major effort for me to step inside a pet store).  We checked out cat trees thinking our cats may need a place to escape.  We checked out dog circles and cushiony mats and dog clothing. 

"Please tell me you're not planning to dress up John in clothing.  I don't understand this culture of pet costumes." 

I promised that I wouldn't start a wardrobe for John.  Tetsu dissuaded me from purchasing anything suggesting that we needed to talk with the vet and ask what he thought John might need...  what type of food, how big a collar...  if he needed a dog bed etc.

But Tuesday night Tetsu came home with a big box saying...

"Don't get mad.  I know what I said.  Just take a look.  I know we can use this someplace."

He had bought a dog circle!  It actually becomes a sort of eight sided circle if need be and Tetsu found it brand new in its box at a second hand store.  (His favorite shopping locale.)  Instead of using Choco's somewhat smaller (and sturdier) kennel, Tetsu thought that this would be a good corner space for John to live in while he gets used to our house.  And if nothing else, in the summer we can set up the circle out on the patio for John to be safe inside as our yard isn't gated.  At any rate, Tetsu assembled his dog circle which turned out to be much bigger than he thought it was going to be. 

We started moving furniture.

It is plain to see that our very small house has too much furniture.  There is not a space for anything more and moving tables and rearranging the layout didn't do much for the atmosphere and convenience.  Sticking John in the entry where Choco's kennel had been seemed rather like we were pushing him aside (it had been convenient for Choco because she spent most of her time outside and only came into her kennel directly after the last walk of the day.)  We finally moved photos and a quilt rack and John's corner now claims a main corner of our living room.  All we needed was John!

Our very nice vet and his wife and daughter...  All veterinarians .

 John's coming home with us!

He didn't seem too upset about leaving the clinic where he has stayed for nearly a year...  And we brought him home with some food and his original collar and leash so actually there was no need to go back to the pet store with him as planned. 

Unfortunately the cats freaked out and streaked upstairs and they haven't been downstairs since.  All except for Mi.  Wonderful, up-for-anything Mi!  She didn't mind meeting John through the bars of the dog circle and she even will approach him and sniff him out when he is outside the circle.  Her slow movements around him brings tail wags but the other cats darting up the stairway landing brings about barks and a rush for the stairs...  This is going to take some choreographing...

 We took John on his first walk around the area... 

"This dog doesn't really walk...  It skitters.  We're not going to get much exercise at his pace!"

It is true that besides the fact that we need to take smaller steps just so that John can keep up, he also finds the forest and grass and sticks and everything very interesting and stops constantly to check things out. 

We also find it hard to tell when he is sitting or standing or lying or peeing or whatever.  He is just so close to the ground and we look down and there is this long black tube floating next to our feet...Very different from walking Choco!  (At least I won't be pulled down...  Of course I might trip over John...)

My first selfie with John.  Our first night with John was limitedly successful.  He isn't happy about being left in the circle and whines a lot.  The vet's advice was to let him know who's boss and not give in to his crying.  He barks at the cats and I've had to scold him.  And he has snapped at me for doing something in his circle.  Already he has claimed his territory I guess.  I had to whap his nose for that one.  He is certainly not a retiring, quiet dog!  Tetsu was planning to sleep on the sofa and keep John company throughout the night but I squelched that idea.  I don't want John thinking he will always have someone jumping up to do his bidding whenever he makes a sound!

It is going to take a bit of adjusting for all of us...  But John is cute and rather clever, and doesn't seem too fazed by his new family... 

Takumi pictures

We are excitedly waiting to pick up John tomorrow morning!  It is amazing how an animal that hasn't even joined our family yet can bring so much expectation and happiness to our house!  Well...  The cats are still unaware...

The last couple of days that Takumi was in Nikko we did souvenir purchasing for him to take things back to his American friends...  Senbei shops (rice crackers), supermarket to pick up Japanese flavored salad dressing, some Lemon Milk cookies that are a specialty of Tochigi prefecture and that Julieta-san wanted, a few used clothing stores that are always fun to look through.

Takumi said he ate so much this visit that he really felt he needed a bit more exercise so we made a stop to walk around a very large park for about half an hour before heading home so that he could pack his bags.  I guess my back was feeling better by this day because I sure can twist myself about to take a picture can't I?

And a last picture when we dropped Takumi off at the train station for him to get to the airport.  We will hopefully see Takumi next in May when the family gathers for Leiya's wedding in Detroit.  At least that's the plan...  And by the way, I am flying to Detroit November 1st to go spend some mother and daughter time with Leiya and get a few wedding things decided.  What fun that I get to spend time with both my kids this year!

No pictures

Does anyone remember a post I wrote years ago admitting my mental imbalance concerning stray animals?  Well.  We had an episode this weekend which sent me into a downward spiral for the following few days.  What with the sore back and mental anguish, I was a mess... 

Actually the situation started a few weeks ago with the sighting of a stray dog darting away from us through the fields.  And it was limping.  If there was no possibility of us taking it in then my only alternative is to hide my head in the sand and pretend I didn't see it.

Tetsu and I have talked about someday having another dog...  But we decided that we have enough animals as it is...  We are living on social security and finances will be tight.  Taking in ANY dog, not to mention an injured dog, was going to be beyond our means.  At any rate, we did nothing about the dog we had seen in the fields.  (I have since heard that it is being fed by some factory workers and that people are looking after it.) 

So I've been feeling badly because I couldn't/didn't help the stray dog.

Then on Saturday afternoon, Takumi and Tetsu and I came home after a very nice day together and find a kitten in the road next to our house.  With a collar on.  Well, it was going to get hit by a car in the road so Tetsu went to move it to safety while I ran to a neighbor's house who I knew had a cat/kitten the same coloring (I wasn't sure as I'd never seen their cat).  I banged on the door, woke the wife from a nap, and explained that I thought their cat had escaped.  Nope.  Their cat was at home.  SO...  I went to another neighbor's house.  Nope not THAT neighbor's either.  That left Tetsu watching over a kitten that didn't seem to have an owner.  Another neighbor came out saying that the kitten had been in the vicinity since the morning.  ANOTHER neighbor came out and said he had thought it was one of OUR cats that had escaped (he doesn't keep track of the size of our cats).  And at about that time I lost it completely and went running through the fields as the kitten decided it wanted to come play with me.  I truly went crazy, sobbing and holding my head and trying to get as far from our house and the kitten as possible.  Tetsu had to call me on my phone and come and get me in the car and when I got home I bolted upstairs and hid my head in a corner and cried.  We just cannot have any more cats!

Sunday while Takumi went to his wedding I stayed in bed (the sore back was a good excuse, but it was because of the kitten).  Most of the day I couldn't function at all and none of us have ever asked nor found out what became of the kitten.  I am just so furious with God and cruel humans and myself for these stray animals that I cannot help!

With prompting from Tetsu, we finally got away from our neighborhood on Monday and tried to keep our minds off poor, stray, needy animals.  By Monday afternoon we could actually have a conversation about what I was thinking and feeling.

"Tetsu, I don't even WANT to have another cat!  Even if we decided we COULD take in another cat I would be just as upset!  It would mess up our already rocky cat family dynamics.  We'd have more vet bills and have another 15 years of worrying about another animal.  I'm upset because I can't DO anything to help these animals and I feel guilty for closing my eyes on them.  I feel guilty about the dog we saw and now I feel terrible about the kitten."

We got to talking about our love for animals and how despite the complications all our critters don't have too bad life with us...  But we were resolved to never owning another dog as we had heard that there was a new rule made by some authority that people over 60 couldn't adopt dogs unless they had someone who would co-sign saying they would assume responsibility if the original owner could no longer care for the dog.  That cuts us out.  No children nearby who could co-sign.

The rule that people over 60 can't purchase/adopt a dog seemed somewhat reasonable to me.  I had talked to my vet about the problem of older people owning pets and then the owner died or had to go into a facility and the animal was left...  Yeah...  I could see how there needed to be someone who would assume responsibility...  And my vet had mentioned that he would really like to set up an animal care system or a facility to take in animals whose owners couldn't care for them anymore.  Tetsu and I could calmly talk about my vet and his dream.

Monday evening Takumi was still out and I went to bed early but around 8:30 the house phone rang and I let Tetsu answer it.  He had a long muted conversation and a few minutes later he came upstairs and flopped on our bed.

"Well...  Um...  Did you hear any of the phone conversation I just had?"

"No..."

"It was Yabe-sensei.  (our vet!)  He called to ask if we would be willing to adopt a dog that he has at his clinic that needs a home.  I told him that we probably couldn't take this on because this wasn't a great time for you what with the kitten situation and I explained that you were rather sensitive about animals right now.  Do you want to hear more?"

(God!  Why are You doing this to me?!)  "Okay...  Let me hear it."

"The dog is seven years old.  It is a male miniature dachshund.  It was owned by an elderly man who had a stroke.  The man was hoping he'd be able to return to his home and his dog but he had another stroke and it is pretty plain that he's not going to be able to take care of his dog.  Yabe-sensei thinks we would be good for the dog...  What do you think?"

I actually began to smile!  That was a surprise to even me!  We talked late into the night and decided that we WANT to take on this dog.  This might be our last chance what with the rule...  We didn't help the other animals who might have benefited from us stepping in, but here was another opportunity supported by our vet who knows our cat population, who would be willing to help us if we ran into problems.  And we'd just had the conversation earlier in the day about how our vet was doing his best to connect needy animals and reliable owners.

Tetsu called the vet back the next morning to say we were willing to go ahead with the dog adoption and the vet suggested we come in and make our decision after we'd met the dog.

Actually Tetsu and I both feel that meeting the dog shouldn't be a deciding factor in our decision so we told the vet that we'd already decided to adopt.  We want to be this dog's owners because he needs us, his former owner needs the help and it doesn't matter that the dog is cute or friendly or well-trained or whatever.  That is how it has always been with all our animals.  They have all come to us with quirks and problems but we don't give up on them and we learn to adjust and basically they do too...

Takumi and Tetsu and I did meet the dog Tuesday night.  His name is John!  (Probably not going to try and change that.  It wouldn't have been my choice of name for a dog but he's probably too old to get used to a new one.)  He is a long-haired brown miniature dachshund.  He actually has been under Yabe-sensei's care for nearly a year as his owner had wanted to take him back.  Living at the clinic John is used to cats and other dogs...  (the question is, will our cats get used to John!)  He was neutered last week and the stitches come out on Monday.  He had dental work done at the same time he was put under for the neutering and he has a bill of good health.  Yabe-sensei's family has already taught him the basics...  Sit, Down, Stay.  Of course that is all in Japanese and Choco used to get her commands in English so either John or I will have to change our ways...

I mentioned the over 60's rule I'd heard about.

"That is actually terrible reasoning.  Older people NEED pets!  Pets brighten people's lives, it gives the older person something to think about and care for and helps them feel needed.  Older people should be encouraged to have pets and then when it does happen that they can't care for the animals there needs to be a network of animal lovers who will be willing to take over the care.  To tell a person you can't have a pet because you might become too frail to care for it is a terrible premise!"  

My vet is very passionate about animal care and already my mood has changed.  I guess we can't do everything, but we can do some things.

We pick John up Tuesday night or Wednesday morning!

Takumi's visit!

With my back out of whack and Takumi arriving Friday evening I needed to do something fast and thus made an appointment with the acupuncturist for Friday afternoon.  And while I was at it, I made an appointment at the same time for Tetsu because he's been complaining of a sore back since the sawing and carting away of trees from the typhoon a couple weeks back.   Friday afternoon found Tetsu and myself both laid out on the acupuncturist's beds with needles in our back.  This may be the way our dates are going to go from now on!

The acupuncturist treated me with needles on my back and EAR and HAND and also sent me home with tiny patch needles that needed to stay in my back for a week.  Tetsu got off easy with just the regular needle treatment at the office...

(My tiny patch needles)

But anyway, I was able to be up and around enough to meet Takumi at the train station that evening and stayed erect while he was at home but took to my bed when Takumi was off with his friends during his week stay.

Takumi also went out with some of his friends the days before and after the wedding so we actually didn't see much of him the first few days that he was here.

 Takumi brought his friends In 'n Out hamburger t-shirts from California!

Takumi's purpose of visiting Japan was to attend the wedding of an elementary and jr. high school friend and as his friend was marrying a girl from their elementary school class the whole wedding party was like one big class reunion. Three good friends and both of the other guys have visited Takumi in California.

Getting ready for the wedding.... Takumi is holding the gift envelope which is given with money when attending a wedding.  By the way, Takumi wore his blue suit but every other man in Japan who attends a wedding wears a black suit with a white tie.  Takumi said he could get away with his blue suit.  He's American...

When the weekend and wedding ended we had a few errands and touristy things we wanted to do...

This is the pear season and so we visited my friend who owns a pear orchard and we bought a lot of pears and were given some also.  My friend hasn't seen Takumi since he was in elementary school.  Now she and her son are caring for their pear farm and the pears are delicious!!!

Takumi was very happy to get some excellent Japanese pears which are quite different in taste and texture than Bartlett or Bosc pears.

We had a fancy lunch on our way to an onsen.

We visited an odd sulfur onsen with all these hundreds of ojizousan...  the little statues with red caps.

It was the first time for Takumi to see these and interesting for him to see how the sulfur keeps the plantlife and animal life at a minimum...  The name of the place has an eerie name...  you wouldn't want to go visiting at night!

 The sulfur air even turns the coins black!

The men in my life!  The two of them went to the onsen and experienced the bubbling sulfur water hot spa.  I declined as I've been to this onsen before but it was much too hot for me.  I think it was a bit too hot for Takumi too as he came back to car quite a bit earlier than Tetsu.  I don't think he much liked the rotten egg smell of the place either...

I sure enjoy having my son around!
 

Bus trip

I've got so many things going on I don't know where to start... 

I'm still back in last week before Takumi arrived....  I had signed up for a Crosswalk Guard day trip a couple of months ago as I have never spent much time with any of the other crosswalk guards and it was recommended that I try to participate in more of the activities.

We had a very good bus trip mostly to see things I've already seen but it was interesting to talk with other crosswalk guards about our jobs...  The dilemma of asking bicyclists (jr. high and high school students) to ride on the left side of the street when that is what the law says but there's no bike lane and on Japan's narrow roads it is practically suicidal.  Instead the kids ride to school on the pedestrian path which causes different problems and the debate begins about who will be held responsible if there is an accident...  Another topic of opinion was about presents of money.  Each crosswalk guard is invited to their schools' activities and it is customary to bring a gift of money... so should the gift be a standard amount or should it be left up to the crosswalk guard?  Some guards get invited to more activities than others... some guards receive reciprocal presents from the schools and some don't...  Japanese society can be very confusing with all the rules of convention...

So this day, I didn't get many photos taken anywhere...

A delicious lunch on the top floor of the prefectural building.  Let's see...  pickles, little rice balls, candied fish, greens, sashimi, bean paste sweet, vegetable custard, cabbage roll, salad and of course rice and miso soup.  And coffee and sesame seed mousse.

After taking a tour of the prefecture building we boarded the bus and headed off south...  I THINK (but I'm not sure) that when I made a stop at the prefecture building's bathroom I used the Japanese style squat toilet and trying not to put stress on my knee (which had been iffy last month) I put stress on my back and that may be how I threw out my back...  At any rate it was about this point in the day that my back began bothering me...

Our next stop was at the prefecture's Self Defense Force base for which entrance is allowed only by permission (and no photos most everywhere except for the outdoor display).  We were given an hour lecture on the workings of the Japanese Self Defense Force and heard about the history and the recent missions.  It is all very complicated again though the men crosswalk duty officers were very interested and asked numerous questions... 

Japan does not have a military force.  It has a self defense force.  I'm not going to be able to explain the politics behind all this but when the Japanese constitution was being written (with help from the American military after World War 2) Japan agreed to not having a military.  They hold very fast to the idea of being a neutral country and the self defense force is just that...  "Military" preparing to defend.  There was a lot of flack when the self defense force was sent to Iraq to help with reconstruction...  Self defense should be just for Japan...  That has been the philosophy though in the international world it hasn't been so easy for the Japanese government to ignore the treaties and duties of being an ally etc. etc.  Sorry I'm not very knowledgeable about all the goings on...  ANYWAY...  The self defense force spends a lot of time on missions to help reconstruction after natural disasters in Japan.  Tsunami clean-up, search and rescue, building new roads, access after earthquakes etc. 

It was a somewhat interesting stop in the bus trip and as people can't just walk onto the base and ask to look around, it was worth the couple hours to get there.  (Even with a growing sore back).  We headed back to Nikko in the early evening where I hobbled into the house and collapsed for the next three days!
 

Hiking in Nikko

My week has been taken up with good things and bad things...  Good...  Takumi is visiting us this week.  Bad....  I managed to throw out my back the day before Takumi arrived and so I am rather slow and achy and when Takumi is out with friends I am taking long naps.  How I messed up my back I'm not quite sure.  The day before, Tetsu and I were even out hiking and I wasn't having any problems then!

Last week on Wednesday's morning news, the weather forecaster aired from Upper Nikko and showed the fall colors.  The next day after lunch, Tetsu and I decided to head to Upper Nikko and check out the fall leaves... 

 Hmmm...  Autumn is just beginning.

 There were a couple red leaves but I think we were a little early for the season.

We joined lots of tourists who were visiting the Ryuzu Waterfall.  Ryuzu means Dragon Head, and the dragon's body is the river that runs down the mountain and into the Chuuzenji Lake. 

(Photo from the Internet) 

Can you see the dragon's white horns flowing back from his head?

The twisty-turvy dragon body flows swift and strong...  And there in the distance is Lake Chuuzenji.

 We decided to hike up farther following the river.

We headed deeper into the wilds where there were warnings of bears present but we saw no bears.  We saw hardly anybody!

 Do you think this is how I threw my back out?

We found a promising road to follow which turned out to be the gated area where only the eco electric buses were allowed to run.  Again, we walked about 40 minutes without seeing anyone but getting passed by eco buses twice.

At the end of the road was Odashiro Marsh which had also been in the news recently because of the pond that appears only every couple of years in this area.

Yep... there is a pond there in the middle of the marsh.  And the white birch tree called the Noble Woman, Kifujin, brings many Japanese photographers to the area.

The trees hadn't really begun to change colors in this area but there were the somber greys and browns that made the scenery very lovely.

A blanket of trees.

And different shots of the Noble Woman.

I always have fun with my camera, choosing, positioning, making camera adjustments.  Tetsu takes about three times the amount of photos as I do, most of them on the fly... and I seem to be his subject in a lot of the pictures...

Odashiro Marsh is extremely well maintained with paths keeping hikers in certain areas to preserve the environment.

It was beginning to rain when we caught the electric bus back to the Ryuzu forest which left us with another 15 minutes walk back to the waterfall.  Farewell noble lady!