Babies

November is winding down...  

The stove is out and oden is simmering on top which makes the house smell good and feel warmer...

Recently I asked Leiya to keep us updated on what is going on at her house so I've been hearing from her daily.  We had gone back and forth about whether I was going to go to Indiana in December to be there in time for the baby's birth or if I was going to go after to be of some help taking care of the baby.  But in the end I guess we've decided that we will just wait and see what happens with Covid19...  

I think we all, Leiya, Tony, Tetsu, even Takumi and Julieta and I were trying to make decisions from the other person's point of view.  I was happy to go to the States if I could be of some help though I didn't want to put anyone at risk by going through airports and being on airplanes.  Tony had really been pushing for both Tetsu and me to come, not so much to see the baby maybe as to see what their new house is like and where they live now.  Takumi and Julieta were trying to arrange time off and travel to Indiana so that they could come for a day or two while I was there.  And Tetsu though he is very excited about becoming a grandfather, felt it was my place to go alone and be of use and that he wouldn't be much help.  Leiya just wanted us to come and meet the baby, but she was also rather realistic saying that in the dead of winter there wouldn't be anywhere to go and we'd all be housebound (well, with a newborn you usually are!) and she'd almost rather we came in the spring when we could do things, maybe Covid would have settled down, and Tetsu could play around out in their new garden while I did baby care...  Leiya made the final call.  I will NOT be going to Indiana in December nor in the winter months.

 In Japan, it is traditional that mothers-to-be head home to their parents a couple of months before a baby is born.  When I first came to Japan this was a surprise to me because I'd think the poor father was just getting left out of all that baby preparation (maybe in those days he WANTED to be left out).  Then the baby would be born and the father would come from wherever he lived and "visit" at the wife's family home.  He might come on weekends if he lived close enough or he might just be able to make one trip while the mother and baby stayed at the parents.  Again, I thought this rather unfortunate because I believe in family bonding and think that the father should be as involved in baby care as the mother. 

Added to this was the Japanese belief that a new mother shouldn't touch water for the first month after her baby is born and that a new born baby should not leave the house until after the one month check-up.  This is where it is necessary for the new mother to go back to her parents house.  She is taken care of, the grandmother does all the cooking and laundry, and baby and mother are protected from germs in the world I guess...  

When our first baby was born I chose NOT to go back to my parents house and I was considered quite revolutionary at the time.  

"What!  You're not going back home?  You mother isn't even going to come and stay a couple of months to help you?  Oh my gosh!  You plan to have your husband be at the delivery!!!"

We lived in a very small town and Tetsu was the first father present at birth at that hospital.  I can't say that I felt undue anxiety having my baby in a country foreign to me without family nearby, but Tetsu's mother did come to stay with us for the first few months.  Her presence was difficult in some ways (she didn't like western food...  She didn't approve of the crib I had arranged for the new baby) but she was a god-send in the end.  As I've mentioned in past posts, our first baby passed away from illness nearly two months after she was born.  Tetsu's mother did all the baby's hospital laundry (yes, in Japan that was still the practice 38 years ago) and her hand washing sparkled and amazed even the nurses at the hospital.

We had moved to a new city by the time Takumi was born and this time the hospital wouldn't let Tetsu attend the birth ("that's okay.  I've seen it before."  "It is NOT for your viewing pleasure!")  I admit that I was probably a frantic, perfectionist new mother (the first experience was traumatic) and even now I consider it God's grace that Takumi turned out to be a rather normal young man.  I OBSESSED about doing the absolute best for this baby!  I took breast-feeding to a religious level, monitoring my food intake, watching Takumi's complexion for impurities in my own diet.  I hung on the words of a breast-feeding specialist who took me under her wing and I went nearly daily for advice and breast massages and instruction on baby care.  

When Leiya was born 4 years later (Tetsu again, not allowed attendance) we were in another city and this time I had to figure out the breast-feeding by myself.  And maybe by that time I was a bit more relaxed about baby care.  I think I took both Takumi and Leiya back to California when they were each about 5 months old...  (Though for both grandchildren, my mother did come to visit during her summer vacation when they were a couple months old).  Tetsu's mother was NEVER comfortable with baby care and couldn't imagine being left alone with her grandchildren.  (But she was forever great at cleaning!) 

So I wonder about my role with my grandson...  Tony's mother has offered to take off time from work to spend as much time as needed helping with the new baby and she is thrilled.  I expect that Tony, who has so many hospital cases, won't have a lot of time free at home.  From the Japanese point of view I feel I'm shirking my grandmotherly duties by not being by my daughter's side, but actually she is quite capable and independent and it is not a matter of needing me as wanting to share with me... which we will do online in this era of technology...
 

We are counting down to 25 days now...  

 

"Pretty" weeds

Tetsu and I are not getting out and about much these days.  Though Tetsu would like to, we are avoiding hot spas and thus we don't even have much reason to go out for a drive...  Still, we wanted to take photos so this week we walked across the street one morning and took photos of...  weeds.

Here is Tetsu getting a photo of the an abandoned flower field.  There are quite a numbers of farmers in our area that have Rindo fields and hot houses but the season is over and these are the left-overs from the second growth.

And this is the Rindo flower...

This is one of the Rindo hothouses that has been abandoned for the rest of the winter.  It is getting cold but maybe not as cold as I seem to be dressed for...  I get cold easily thus all this outer wear.  

Past the hot-house the autumn leaves were beautiful!

We wandered into an unkept field with all the weeds.  It was about 7:00 am and the shadows were still long.

Tetsu likes the sky and clouds.  He looks up a lot.

I like things around my feet.  I look down a lot.  Does that say something about our personalities?

Anyway, the autumn leaves were falling around us...

And weeds were blowing in the wind.

I love the sparkle of dew on the weeds!

Happy with my camera!

The camera can add a starry mode to my shots.  It picks up the light on the dew and makes it glitter!

Speaking of glitter.  Did anyone see this?

Makes it clear to me!

Giving Thanks

Thinking about Thanksgiving from Japan...  

I didn't do much Thanksgiving celebrating when I first came to Japan.  For one, it is an American holiday and I was the only one in our family that had any memories of it (and we didn't even have close relatives in California when I lived at home).  But after becoming friends with Marlene's family we have had a somewhat regular Thanksgiving.   Marlene's husband had spent time in America (unlike Tetsu) and so he has good memories of celebrating Thanksgiving.  Marlene also has an American kitchen in her house with an oven large enough to roast a turkey (I can make 12 cookies at a time in my oven/microwave) and so if any celebrating is to be done, Thanksgiving is held at Marlene's house!  Alas this year Thanksgiving has been shelved or at least postponed...  

Tetsu was off in Morioka for nearly a week...  Marlene and husband went to an Onsen the same week... and her husband is traveling this week also. Their son and wife who live in Tokyo don't feel comfortable traveling at this time....  Another set of friends who also are included have had members traveling out of the prefecture...  All-in-all, except for me, there have been too many ways for us to come into contact with Covid-19 and the numbers of Covid cases are increasing alarmingly.  We will all hunker down in our homes and think about the possibilities next month... Hah!

So...  How about a Japanese lesson on saying "Thank you"?  I was walking towards the crosswalk this morning when I crossed paths with a jogger.  As I went by him I said "Good morning." and he said "Otsukaresamadesu".  And that got me thinking about how we say thank you in Japan.

Maybe the term you have heard the most if you have heard any Japanese at all is:  "Arigato."  It means "Thank you".  But Japanese isn't that simple!  Depending on to whom you are speaking the language and the words change!  I might say "Arigato" to a child who brings me something but I'll say "Doumo Arigato" to someone maybe my age, or maybe after I've made a request.  "Doumo" alone is a bit glib sort of like "thanks" and if Tetsu brings me a coffee while I'm busy doing something else I might only get a "Doumo" in.  Actually "Doumo Arigato Gozaimasu" is the most polite form and even that "gozaimasu" (which is present tense) can be changed to "Gozaimashita" if one is thanking someone for something in the past.

Doumo

Arigato

Doumo Arigato

Domo Arigato Gozaimasu.

Ah!  But the language changes again depending on where you are!  If I am at a workplace then I might say to someone "Otsukaresama" which is what the jogger said to me.  It means that he is thanking me for doing my job, (he could tell because I was wearing a uniform) and it literally means "thanks for your tiredness", I guess recognizing the effort.

Another workplace expression of gratitude, maybe used with subordinates (Japanese are big on knowing where one's place is in society) is "Gokurousama".  It is used when recognizing the person's very hard work and I might say it to a workman or someone in a service position.  Literally I think it means "Thank you for your hard work."

"Sumimasen" is another phrase that I actually use quite a lot.  It can also be used for apologizing as it means "I'm sorry" but it can be used for thanking someone when the nuance is "Thank you for your help, I'm sorry I've taken up your time."

There is a whole other set of vocabulary depending on dialects in Japan though the only one I am half familiar with (I hear it on TV) is "Okini" which is the way "Thank you" is said in the central part of Japan.  I'm pretty sure that each area of Japan has a different way of expressing gratitude and one learns it as one lives in the area...

It can get confusing. 

Thank you for visiting my blog again today.  

Doumo Arigato Gozaimasu!  with a smile and a low bow included!

Unique

I had an interesting time when I went to my friend, Mrs. I's, house on Tuesday.  Mrs. I is very crafty, knitting, weaving, painting, doing dried flower art etc.  She always has an interesting project going on!

On this day, two of us visited Mrs. I and she asked if we would like to do some paper dying.  Do you have to ask?!  Of course!  Out came the supplies, regular acrylic paints, even some tole paints, Japanese paper used for practicing calligraphy.  It wasn't actually washi paper (hand made paper from fibers) but it was a non-shiny paper that "grabbed" ink.

In about an hour and a half, the three of us had made numerous pages of colorful paper by folding the paper and dipping the corners and sides in different puddles of paint on our pallets. 

 Aren't they colorful!  Now what to do with all this color...

So I came home and gave it some thought...  I've kept up with Bullet Journaling the last 6 months and my bullet journal has actually turned into a sort of scrapbook/art journal/Bible study journal.  All sorts of things get added to it!  Okay...  I need to put a page of my new dyed paper into my journal!

I have been lurking on Valerie Sjodin's blog and I love her use of color and Bible verses and quotes (and bullet journaling).  I decided to recreate one of her pages...  well loosely recreate.  I used most of her quotations and many of her ideas but I sure can't do her artwork!!!

I had so much fun with this project!  First to figure out how to glue the paper to the page (tore my first attempt) and then I penciled in writing.  Finally I went over the writing with many of my different pens I've bought in the past months and doing the Bible quotation in a vibrant blue Frixion pen I really like and use for many of my Bible verses in the bullet journal to make them stand out. 

 

I chose the quotes and the idea from Valerie because when dying the papers I realized how unique each one was turning out.  I'd try to use the same colors as my friend but our two papers would come out completely different!  I continued the idea of individuality by adding numerous snowflakes in gold and white.  

And all the time copying the quotations and Bible verse I had in mind my grandson who will be born next month...  My art project was very meaningful for me and I am very glad that I have these two pages recorded in my bullet journal.  (And I do realize how ironic it is to have chosen the word UNIQUE and then try copying an idea but that's the way I work... in patchwork too!)

I'd actually used quite a lot of water when glueing down the colorful paper and so as a last step I ironed my bullet journal pages flat.  BIG MISTAKE!!!  Um...  That Frixon pen...?  Does anyone remember that the way Frixion pens erase the pen marks is with HEAT caused by friction when rubbing the "eraser" back and forth?  Well, I forgot that little piece of information and when I looked at my page the Bible verse had completely disappeared!!!  Ah!  Heat!  Not necessarily from friction but any heat will make the ink disappear.

I had a similar color in a non-Frixion pen and I rewrote my Bible verse on my page...  BUT I also realized that at least 5 pages back in my bullet pages entries, my Bible verses had disappeared!  I spent a good hour going back and rewriting those verses, again with my Frixion pen...  Unless my bullet journal comes in contact with a fire I don't think my pages are in danger of disappearing again...

I've got a lot more paper that I made so I'll probably have another fun day of paper and pens and quotations at a later date!

Tetsu's Morioka sunsets

Tetsu arrived home safely yesterday morning and though he looked exhausted he said he had a great time!   His camera was filled with 567 photos!  So today's pictures are a continuation of Tetsu's trip to Morioka.  He spent nearly 6 days going and coming and staying and he got done most of the things he had planned.

The purpose of the trip was to do some repair work to our family grave because usually our quick visits don't allow for more than a bit of leaf raking or weed pulling.  This time Tetsu spent about three days of 4 or 5 hours each day, scrubbing, weeding, even making adjustments to the head stone.  He said that the grave has shifted over time and so he ended up removing all the old gravel, removing the flower pedestal block, hammering the white marble slab in front back an inch or so and then replacing the flower block.  He said he even checked inside the grave (you can do that in Japan) and sure enough, our two urns are placed side by side.  He then laid out bricks that he had bought (colorful you note!  He loves color) and then spread some new gravel.  He was very proud of his efforts and said he had been given advice on moving the stone from a workman that was nearby laying the foundation for a new grave.  Satisfaction!

As Tetsu spent three days at this cemetery he also enjoyed taking pictures of the scenery from the hillside.  Mt. Iwate is the pride of Morioka and he so many pictures of it from different angles.

He also played around with his camera a bit and took pictures of the sky with the creative mode on his camera.

Tetsu didn't spend his whole time at the cemetery and he checked out his old elementary school, his high school and a long ago date spot of ours.  He also visited his two friends making a surprise appearance at the houses but refusing to go inside (social distancing) and thus the visits could only last as long as he and his friends could stand the cold.  

Tetsu had told me that he was going to leave Morioka in the morning and return in the early afternoon (6 hours later) but actually he left Morioka in the early evening the day before AND IT TOOK HIM 17 HOURS TO GET HOME TAKING THE BACK ROADS!!!  He avoided the highway in order to save the toll fare!!!  This is why I'm never too thrilled to travel with Tetsu.  His way of being economical is hard to grasp.  I would think his way takes more wear and tear on the car and uses more gasoline, but this was HIS trip and he drove it as he liked.  

I do love the last two photos that I've posted though.  He said he was just getting out his camera to take pictures of the sunset when suddenly a flock of birds took off from the tree. 

I'm glad Tetsu had fun and that he is back home safely again.  Next trip I guess I'll go with him... insisting on taking the highway though!

From Tetsu's phone

Life has been quiet the past two days.  VERY quiet because Tetsu is off in the northern part of Japan while I am staying home with the animals!  This is a first for us!  Usually, I am the on who goes off for the summer (to California) or even away with friends for a day or two while Tetsu holds down the home-front, but the roles have been reversed this week.

(From Tetsu's hotel room I guess...)

The main reason that Tetsu has gone up north is to do some clean-up around our family grave located in Morioka, Japan (where Tetsu grew up and where we met).  We have been talking about getting up to Morioka this whole year, to visit friends, to see to the family grave, but what with Covid and Tetsu's duties as Homeowners' association head, we never found the time.  The trip takes about 6 hours on the expressway and I am not so gung-ho about making the drive.  I also don't much like traveling with Tetsu because we never make PLANS.  It is all about suddenly discovering two or three days are free, taking off with hopes of finding someplace to stay when we get there and not having an itinerary for what to do or see while we are anywhere...  I'm sorry but things need to be arranged like pet care, me taking off from crosswalk etc.  I guess you could say that I'm not a spontaneous type of person...

(His buffet breakfast.  He is sure eating better on his trip than I am!)

So...  As our plans to go to Morioka got pushed farther and farther back, and what with me already taking three days off from crosswalk because of the slipped disc last month and because I basically believe we shouldn't be moving around during this pandemic, I bowed out of this year's trip.  Tetsu doesn't plan to see his friends anyway because of Covid... just do some weeding around the grave, maybe spread some new gravel around the headstone.  

(Our family grave.  We have the low red stone in a Christian part of the cemetery.)

Actually, Tetsu and I both love Morioka.  It is SO beautiful up north and Mt. Iwate looks over the city and the rivers that run through it.  Tetsu would actually like to move back to Morioka now that he is retired BUT it has always been way too cold for me there (the coldest part of mainland Japan) and though spring, summer and fall are beautiful, winter wipes this Southern California girl out!  No thank you!   Tetsu has two or three friends that he would love to see regularly but I think my life there would be pretty lonely...  I have one friend who still lives in the neighboring mountains...  Who knows... Tetsu may be scouting out the possibilities of permanent residence for us up there.  He'd better find someplace warm!!!

(Beautiful Mt. Iwate and the Kitakami River flowing through the city)

Anyway, today's photos were sent to me from Tetsu's iPhone.  He says he has over a hundred photos on his camera already but he sent a smattering of things taken on his phone.   

In the meantime I have been sewing most of my hours of the day, doing some practice lettering, walking John, and eating the same curry rice lunch and dinner for the past three days.  Maybe I'll splurge and go get myself a hamburger this afternoon!

My friends' quilting progress

My own quilting progress isn't much to talk about I'm afraid.  I'm still appliqueing flowers onto strips...  One of these day's I will be able to get started on the flower centers which will be a job in itself as I think I have over 50 flowers appliqued now. 

There was a time when I did only needle turn applique but a few years ago I learned the technique of prepping the pieces beforehand with spray starch and that has worked wonderfully and made for very sharp-edged applique pieces.  I make a freezer paper template (double the paper to make it stronger), then iron the paper onto fabric, cut out the piece with fabric to turn under.  The edges of the piece get starched with a paintbrush (not sprayed on) and then I use a stiletto in my left hand to turn the edges to the paper while ironing with my right hand.  It took practice but I'm pretty dexterous now!

Though not really patchwork, I spent a few days this week collaging another block for the McKenna farm quilt I've been working on al this year.  No sewing started on any of these blocks yet...

 But it is nice to report that my friends are getting some sewing in!  Mrs. N who is actually living in another prefecture during the pandemic, had asked me to help her design some small quilts that she wanted to give her friends.  Mrs. N is known for her love of cats and so cats are what her friends are getting!  The fabric is basically mine (lots of leaders/enders used!) and Mrs. N machine quilted the little quilts and added a bit of whimsy to each to make it seem as if the cats are looking at something. Let's see...  Two cats are looking at falling cherry blossoms, one cat has its eye on a butterfly and one cat is getting ready to bat at some soap bubbles.  I think Mrs. N's friends will be enchanted!

Then I have my friend M-san who finished her quilt of coffee cups!  I had sent M-san home with a coffee cup template and some fabric and suggest she make a few and she came back a couple of weeks later with 30 some coffee cups!  She made a few coasters and a small tapestry and a table center etc, and her finale is this beautiful coffee cup wall hanging!  Isn't that nice and cheery!?  M-san has now started on STARS and we'll see how many she can make before I see her again!  Such gung-ho patchwork apprentices!

Shasta at High Road Quilter, has a quote quilt that she's making and though I haven't (yet) incorporated this quote that she had into a quilt, I did put it into my bullet journal.  

Okay...  Back to my flower applique!