A Moment of Graditude

Today is Thanksgiving. As concerned as I am about the state of the world, our status here in Tokyo and the frightening sight of our 401k's, I also look around and see how much I have.

Two years ago (today!!!!!) the powers that be placed a beautiful (despite the fact she was screaming her head off) daughter in my arms. Today she surprises me regularly with her inquisitiveness and her humor. I have a loving husband who is caring and compassionate and who cooks and even cleans up (ok, not all the time and not everything, but enough). I have two step children that occasionally surprise me with their insightful observations and constantly amuse me with their antics, two of the best in-laws a girl could have (even my mother thought so, so you know they have to be great) and friends - oh, where do I even begin to explain where I would I be without my friends......

Life is good......

Food Glorious Food

After spending an afternoon at a Japanese cooking class, I have come to a realization. I really don't like Japanese food. I eat it and enjoy most of what I eat, but not enough to take the time involved to actually prepare an entire meal.

Part of the problem is finding the ingredients you need. The teacher will show us a bag of something and everyone will pull out their cameras to take a picture of it, but if that brand isn't sold in your local store, you may never find that store's equivalent. I have tried to write out the kanji, but sometimes there is so much writing on the label, I can't find the word that spells out the actual contents.

The labels on fish are truly confusing. Written down is everything from where the fish came from to how to cook it. I have a little cheat sheet and still I can't figure out what I have. I routinely answer the question "what are we having for dinner?" with "possibly tuna" or " some sort of white fish". Baba san has gotten used to it. The only major error was buying the saltiest of salmon (salmon comes in 4 different ways - unsalted, lightly salted, medium salted and mouth puckering salt with a little bit of salmon). Up until then, I didn't know this and afterhaving to swear up and down that I didn't put too much salt on the fish, we went 6 months without salmon at all, least I risk having to go through that experience again.

I can do better with Miso as I actually know what that looks like in the store, but then again, there are something like 17 different kinds, so I'm not sure exactly which kind I am buying. I found out on Saturday that there is actually "chunky" miso - just like peanut butter. Which is exactly what it looks like on the shelf. And yes, I will make miso soup, if only because you need a cute little gadget to make it.

The cooking tools are great though. Skimmers and knives and pans and other gadgets that anyone who gets "called" to that section of the store will appreciate. Little graters just for ginger or Daikon, strainers used exclusively for making miso soup and rectangular pans used for making the sweet omelets that are found in every bento box. - these are all on my wish list.

Next week I have a trip to Kappabashi planned with some of the moms from school. Kappabashi is actually one long street filled on each side with stores catering to people who like to buy kitchen gadgets. A former wholesale area for restaurants, it is now basically a place for people like me, who get a thrill from seeing store after store filled with bowls and plates and cookie cutters and knives (there is one store devoted to nothing but) and a bunch of things that I don't know, but feel certain I will need. Which is why I am happy to be visiting with some of the Japanese moms, who will be able to explain these enticing little items. Of course, they don't actually shop there, finding out long ago that it is far more convenient to do one's shopping on line.

Ah, The Magic of Christmas

"I want Simba doll......................I want Mickey Mouse doll........................where's Simba shirt?...........I tell Santa I want Simba shirt.....................can I buy this at the store? (sitting on toy firetruck at friend's house).......................where's Santa?..........................we go Santa tomorrow...................I want to buy this...........................I get money at the store......................I have money for Santa.....I want to buy this DVD and this DVD and this DVD (pointing to the insert in one of the DVDs she already has)...................we go see Santa tomorrow?..........................I think I want to buy this (different truck at friend's house)......................I think I want to tell Santa about Mickey Mouse boots.......Mama, we need a Mickey Mouse Telephone. We don't have one and this one (pointing at our perfectly good land line) doesn't work...........I need a Mickey Mouse back pack. I ask Santa for one .............. I think I want to get Mickey Mouse gloves and shoes and boots"........................ah yes, such a magical season...

The Fun

We had a visit from Arny's cousins on Sunday. As you can see, Ariana was feeling chipper, entertaining us all with her jumping skills. Bob was happy they were so good, as his knees wouldn't have been able to take a hard landing.
Ryshin is getting big - at two, he is almost as big as Ariana. They played happily most of time and had several lessons in sharing after they were not.

The energy of the weekend disintegrated into illness after I received a call from school saying Ariana had a fever. She has been fighting off a cold for quite a while and it finally got the best of her. About a third of her class was out sick yesterday and two of her other friends were home so something is definitely going around.


But, we have vaporizer pig to provide much needed moisture in the air. You gotta love Japanese design. We named it Goldie. Last night Ariana slept on the couch right next to it and had her first almost full night sleep in days. I did too, which is even better. Thanks Goldie!!!

More Happy Pictures...

Fall In Tokyo

The leaves change color, the vending machines now hold hot drinks as well as cold and the toilet seats are warm - these are all signs that fall has come to Japan. Potato digging is another. In pre-schools all over, little children followed (or in some cases led) by their teachers and parents make their way to one of the small farms to commune with nature.

Ariana and I went last week. While many children were actively digging and pulling at the vines, Ariana was waiting until the farmer came along and dug out the potatoes that were left in the ground. Then she would gracefully pick them up and put them in our bag.

The farm was small, probably about 2 acres, and as you can see from the picture, smack in the middle of a neighborhood. In addition to sweet potatoes, they also grew other vegetables and had a few pomegranate trees.





This is a Daikon radish, a very popular vegetable here. It can be sliced or grated into a salad or sauteed. It grows straight down into the ground and as you can see, with the leafy top was almost as big as Ariana.

Ariana was quite interested in the bug she found (eew!!) - picking it up and waving it around for all to see (eeeeeeeeww!!!!!!!!!!!). Luckily this one did not make it into the bag of potatoes.

As you can probably tell, I am not a big fan of bugs - not a good quality to have living here. It is easy to forget that Japan is one big island, but it is and it has the variety of bugs and insects to prove it. Like I said before, eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!

What a Week

The excitement still has not faded here in Japan after the election on Wednesday. I watched the returns with fellow democrats at a restaurant in Roppongi. Two friends, neither US citizens, met me there to participate in the celebration. They were thrilled to be able to see American democracy in action and asked question after question about the process (luckily, I was able to answer all of them). The interest in this election was truly worldwide - and I am being congratulated by people from every part of it.

I am back to being proud to be American, instead of apologetic. We did it. We chose hope over fear; integrity over deceit; respect over contempt. Yes, we did.

Yes.

WE.

DID!!!!!!!!

And the Winner Is......................

Finally, Halloween is Over

We celebrated in school on Friday - all the kids in their costumes were ridiculously adorable. Given Ariana's slight cold, we did not go out that night, preferring to stay inside and eat the treats she got.

On Saturday, we had some friends over (both little and big) and they brought some of their take from the previous night. They were kind enough to share with Ariana, which made her very happy.

And yes, she does have a new haircut......definitely more manageable and less likely to attract spaghetti sauce, since she is not into hair accessories of any kind.

So now that Halloween is over, the Christmas decorations and displays are already up - even here!! While not a national holiday, the gift giving and visual aspects of the day are very popular here in Tokyo. Thankfully I have not yet heard any Christmas music - I do hope they hold off for a little while.....