Sweet potatoes

I was at the kindergarten yesterday and found all the kids very excited because they were getting special snacks. Sweet potatoes! I have never understood the great joy in eating sweet potatoes but there is a Japanese tradition of craving sweet potatoes. The older generation will tell you how in their day the only food that was sweet at all were sweet potatoes and how kids these days are spoiled with all the chocolate and cookies and candy they can readily get.

"In my day, all we had were sweet potatoes! And we appreciated them!"

You can buy roasted sweet potatoes in the supermarket and they make the whole store smell heavenly. And in the winter I can occasionally hear a sweet potato seller wandering around the streets in his pickup truck with a potato roaster in the back. He calls out as he goes;

"Sweet~ potatoes~! Stone roasted sweet potatoes~!"

People stop him and for a few dollars he will sell a hot roasted sweet potato wrapped in newspaper that women and girls will carry away giggling. This is supposed to be a special treat for women. Men are not as interested in sweet potatoes. I know the reasoning behind it but I have my doubts.

Japanese men are not supposed to like sweets. Eating candy and cakes etc. are supposed to be below them. Macho men are supposed to be drinkers and not have a sweet tooth like women and children. A hot sweet potato in the pocket is supposed to be a great hand warmer and the menfolk will deign to nibble on one now and then but enjoy? No that is beneath them. See. A little hard to understand.

And the giggling? Well, sweet potatoes have a lot of fiber and so they produce gas.

"Tee-hee-hee! To think these refined ladies are craving after gas producing sweet potatoes!"

Here again, I don't really understand this thinking either but it is a common joke between sweet potato eaters.

Yesterday's sweet potatoes at the kindergarten were even more special because the children had planted the potato plants in the spring and helped dig them up last week. And one of the kindergarten staff was busy yesterday roasting sweet potatoes in a barrel in the kindergarten yard.

So all the children were very excited to get a hot slice of sweet potato and many were coming back for seconds and thirds.

I was given a great big sweet potato too and it was delicious! Tee-hee-hee!

New Year card

Yesterday I spent the day at Mrs. Ochiai's house. She was trying to teach me how to use Photoshop Elements 7 in Japanese. This is a challenge. Any computer software of any type is a challenge to me. And in Japanese? And I could go buy a book so that I don't have to remember everything Mrs. Ochiai is trying to get into my thick head, but that is more Japanese.

I was planning to make our yearly New Year card yesterday. We've done this for 24 years (since Takumi was born). For the first 20 years I just took a picture to the camera shop, paid a fee and they made the card for me. For the last 4 years I have done it myself.

HA! That's a lie! I have had Mrs. Ochiai do it for me and I printed it out myself. But this year I was going to get step-by-step instructions from Mrs. Ochiai and with two computers side by side I was going to mimic her every move and make a family Christmas card.

"I was going to..." means I didn't.

Just learning the different buttons (I've forgotten them all this morning!) took a lot of time. And then trying to make decisions like, do I want to fade out a picture or put a frame around it or use this font or that font etc. etc. took time. Mrs. Ochiai was patient. She made lunch and coffee. She made suggestions. She fixed things that I messed up.

I came home to try it alone last night. I want to put one picture of Tetsu and me and one picture of Takumi and Leiya on the card. And I want to include all the animals in our family. I am confused again. And I've found another reason why 1 dog and 6 cats are too many for one household. All their pictures won't fit on the card.

I wonder if my friends are going to hear from me this Christmas and New Years.

NEW

I have never understood the automobile industry in Japan. When I first came to Japan and probably even now, I noticed that there are no old cars on the streets. In Southern California there are cars that seem to be held together with rust and twine but in Japan all the cars look new. It is true that occasionally you will see a dent on a fender (and that used to be unheard of) but Japanese drive nice, well-running vehicles.

One reason is because of the sha-ken system. Sha means vehicle and ken means testing. By law all cars must be registered every two years. The car goes away for a day or two, the vehicle owner pays a horrendous fee (like a couple thousand dollars!) and the car comes back registered. Supposedly the mechanics have given the car an overhaul but that is of course extra and if the car is somewhat old then it may break down again in a couple months. I think that sha-ken must be done every year once the car is older than 12 so you can guess that most people would rather buy a NEW car than pay the exorbitant fee for just another year.

Of course, I know nothing about cars... and neither does Tetsu.

We sort of live on a shoestring and so in all the 30 years of marriage Tetsu has never bought a NEW car. We buy used cars that a dealer friend will deliver at our door and Tetsu never looks over a car, chooses between styles or even cares how the car looks or runs. We trust the dealer friend and whatever he says is available and can be used for another two years (the length of the sha-ken) then we buy. No haggling of prices, no options no accessories.

Last month Tetsu sighed and said one of our cars was up for sha-ken again. Is it worth it to pay all that money when already the back light is broken, there is a funny noise in the engine and the air conditioning is irratic? But even buying a used car is a big purchase for us. Tetsu contacted our dealer and asked him to look around for a used car again this year. And he told me that the car (the one I drive) was only registered until Saturday so he would take it in Saturday night.

Saturday evening Tetsu asked if I'd like to go with him to the dealership to return the car, pick up another one and stop off for Starbucks on the way back. I could care less about the car but yeah, a Starbucks might be nice so off we went.

And on the way Tetsu breaks the news that he is thinking about buying a NEW car! A NEW CAR?! The Watanabes have never owned a NEW car! I never thought in my life we'd own a NEW car. We are recycle shop, hand-me-down, used car people. A NEW car is a major luxury item. Is a NEW car even affordable for us? I don't think so.

It seems that the Japanese government is trying to get old cars off the street in order to cut the carbon dioxide emission percentage and for every car over 13 years old the government will give a major cash back if you buy a NEW one. (If you buy a hybrid car there is a double cash back but that is definitely out of our bounds). And Tetsu noticed all this in the morning newspaper. Of course our dealer friend had mentioned this months back but at the word NEW, Tetsu tuned the conversation out and the dealer, who has supplied us with cars for the past 20 years never really expected us to think of anything but another used car.

Of course I just thought I was along for a Starbucks and was a little put out by this turn of events. Has Tetsu thought this through? (Yeah, from earlier that morning...)

"Okay. But I'm driving your car then. You can have the NEW one. It would be too scary to be driving a NEW car."

"No. Tanya, I want you to drive the NEW car. Here. What color do you like?"

The dealer just sat back smiling saying it didn't matter to him which one of us drove the car but wasn't this a lovely lavender? Wow, this is getting to be way too affluent a conversation for me. Choose? We get to choose something?

Tetsu did think this over another night (he couldn't sleep Saturday night) and yesterday he signed papers on a NEW car. And I guess it really is going to be my car. And lavender to boot! I have a week to get used to the idea that we are going to be NEW car owners!

Houses of prayer

I was sort of on the run yesterday all day... Saturday but I spent time in two churches.

In the morning Tetsu and I went to our neighborhood church to help wax the floors. (We did our own floors last weekend, so we should be pros.) It is a tiny church but it sure took a long time to do the waxing! Push all the benches to the back. Wax once. Wait 45 minutes. (I hate to say this but Tetsu was too liberal with the wax and it wouldn't dry!) Wax again. Wait another 45 minutes. Push all the benches to the front and do the same thing again. And finally wax the hallway, upstairs and kitchen. I left at 11:00. Tetsu and the others waxed until 3:00.

From our little Protestant church I went to the large Catholic church in the next town over to attend a charity concert that Marlene was giving. That is a beautiful church made of stone and the altar is so striking.


I couldn't help looking at the pillars and thinking of doing some Celtic quilting again. (My mind wanders.) Isn't it interesting the differences in God's houses?

I finished making Yumetaro-san's prayer quilt and here it is ready for Tetsu and me to tie prayers into it. I guess Mi is helping. She sure became a quilter's kitty quickly. She sees a quilt and claims it for her own territory. I will deliver this to Yumetaro later today.

Off to do more praying this Sunday morning!

Christmas boots

Last week I asked one of the ladies that I teach to show us how she makes felt Christmas decorations. Yesterday she gave us a demonstration. YEAH! I think I just solved my English Christmas art project problem this year!

Every year for the last English lesson in December I make Christmas decorations with my English kids. I try to use English... Anyway it gives the kids a taste of Christmas traditions and hopefully they keep the decorations as mementos of English class. We have made angels and wreaths and stars and hearts etc. etc.

What to do this year? I'm running out of ideas!

Well, I haven't done this with the kids yet but I figured I'd show this in case anyone else wants to try it this Christmas.

You need a large "cheap" sponge and one sponge can be cut (by scissors) into 48 boots. (Yes 48!) Cut the sponge in half and mark 8 boot shapes on the top. Cut those apart and then cut the width of the sponge into three. (Got that? There are three boots in one width of sponge boot shape.)

Cut off the corners rounding the boots a little and sew a string through the bottom of the boot to the top.





Wrap each boot in felting wool (raw wool?) A piece around the toe and heel part,






a piece around the ankle part.








Using hot water (not boiling!) and a drop or two of dish washing liquid, play around with the "boot" for about 10 minutes, squeezing, patting, rolling, petting. If you are too vigorous the wool will move around too much and you'll get bald spots.

OR you can play around about three minutes and then make a new boot in a different color and when you get 48 half made felt boots throw them all in a laundry net and put them in the washing machine. How neat is that! That is my student's invention for making lots of boots at one time. (Not so fun for the kids but a real time saver if you are making lots of boots.)


After it looks like most of the wool fibers have intertwined themselves you just rinse well in cold water, squeeze dry and glue on trim and a ribbon.








That's a pretty simple art project and I was thinking if there was more time and if I supply sequins then the kids could decorate their boots a little more.

Hidden skill

Thank you for the prayers for Yumetaro-san yesterday. I have started making his quilt and that is on the docket for this afternoon. I'll be sure to let him know that you are thinking of him.

Yesterday I went to patchwork and had a good day of sewing and chatting. We are STILL working on the embroidery. (I'm afraid I lit a fire under a couple of people.)

"Uh-hum. A little more sewing and less chatting please."

When mouths and hands are trying to move at the same time it seems the mouths take priority. What a slave driver Tanya is.

Mrs. Furui cut and I got on the sewing machine while other ladies did back stitch (and chatted).

I had Mrs. Ochiai take a picture of me sewing. This USED to be my normal way of sewing for years and years. Before I had a sewing room (or even a dining room table) I would be down on the floor controlling the foot pedal with my knee. Even my Japanese friends were surprised at this hidden skill! Most Japanese sewing machines have a manual button for sewing speed but that is an impossibility for me. If you are sewing at a low table and don't do knee control well, then I suppose it is the next best thing...

My knees thank me that I usually sew at normal height these days.

Mrs. Furui sews at her dining room table too. Normally. But since the table was taken over by embroidery, tea, snacks and chatterers, the sewing machine yesterday was relegated to the low table and my "skill" was put back into use.

This is as far as we got yesterday on the bazaar quilt. Next to work on some corners...

Prayer quilt

I've got another quilt to make... This one I'm not happy to say is needed. I think I will be making a prayer quilt sometime in the next few days.

I have a neighbor that I see almost every morning when he walks his dog. He must be a few years older than I am and has never been married. He lives with his dog though he helps his sister run a small day service for the elderly. I've posted about him on my blog when he has brought me little things that he makes. He is shy but usually very cheerful. I don't know his real name... I call him Yumetaro.

Yumetaro told me in August that he was going for a checkup because maybe his ulcer had flared up. Well, you can guess where this is leading. It wasn't an ulcer. I could start ranting about what I think of the medical system but to make a long story short his scheduled surgery this week has been delayed and he needs to go for more tests later in December.

Here again, I don't know what I think is wrong with this. I often lose my sense of what is normal and what is outlandish. Why does it take so dang long for Japanese doctors to decide what to do when they have already determined that the big C is present? I have had three or four Japanese friends who have suffered from cancer and every single time, MONTHS go by before some real action is taken. Tests. More tests. And more tests. For heaven's sake! Just do something! One or two of my friends' results have been good, so the doctors know what they are doing, right? But one or two of my friends are gone so it is easy to say that if the medical system had been more decisive there would have been a different outcome. All of my friends, regardless of the outcome have felt despair, anger and helplessness during the months of waiting.

I wasn't going to get into bashing...

I asked Yumetaro if I could make him a prayer quilt. I have made quite a few of these but in one case the recipient took the offer to mean that he was a lost cause and there was no hope for him. People receive offers of prayer in different ways and in this case Yumetaro isn't Christian. I have prayed about this this week and wondered if this was stepping beyond being neighborly. "Coincidentally" I was given the Bible verse:

"We should consider the good of our neighbor and build up his character." Romans 15:2

I also was reminded that we are all given certain abilities and God wants us to use them to help others. We are to pass on to others God's many kinds of blessings.

Well, obviously I can't do much for Yumetaro medically. But I am a quilter with quilting abilities from God, resources at hand and belief in prayer. So I asked Yumetaro if I could make a quilt for him. A prayer quilt that would surround him in prayer when he goes to the hospital. He is so down and out that he just said that he's not Christian. And I said it didn't matter. And he said he was grateful for any prayers.

So I'm going to make Yumetaro a quilt and sew in lots of prayers.