A Brief Announcement

Homeland Children's Foundation is run by the two women who were instrumental in assisting us bring Ariana home. They do wonderful work in China, providing health care, educational opportunities and much needed supplies to children currently living in orphanages. Clicking on the icon below will bring to you their page where you can find out more about the organization and how you can help.

Leaves

With guests gone, it is now time to set our sights back on the house - specifically the leaves that have surrounded us like a winter blizzard. Unable to see the grass underneath the vast autumn colored carpet of fading green, orange, scarlet and brown, we rake and blow, blow and rake, curse the fact that our inherited leaf blower is on it' s last legs and rake and mow some more. And the sadistic thing about it is, we can get every last leaf and tomorrow there will be more.

I take the adventurous, cardio burning route as in: "What fun it is to be outside as a family", "look at all the beautiful colors", "beats going to the gym and being stuck inside on sweaty machines". Arny, while everyday heading out to split logs, ever proud of his growing pile, has a very different opinion of the leaf removing task - "tell me again why we bought a house in the woods?". Ariana has the entrepreneurial viewpoint, stating "I'm going to do a lot of jobs and make a lot of moneys". Her "jobs" consisting of riding the Lighting McQueen car around the driveway and pushing at the leaves with a stick. She did rake a bit, but quickly tired of the repetitive nature of the task and went off to play in the ravine.

The weather was lovely yesterday and the cold air was crisp and clean. Today is another day - our piles still there waiting to be picked up. A quick look up at the treetops this morning and I can see a few stragglers - those leaves that are hanging on for that last bit of sun. I admire their tenacity, though sooner or later the rake will be adding them to the pile.

The Big Halloween Days

Day I - Friday, was filled with school parties. Ariana was so excited to be able to wear her costume to school.
Personally, I think the pink shoes and backpack with the Transformer costume was an inspired choice. She and "Dorothy" patiently waited for the school bus.

Once at school, there was a parade for all of the kindergarten kids and then a pumpkin making craft. Here Ariana's teacher is helping out.....

At home, we made the second pumpkin with our house guests and roasted yet more seeds. The anticipation was mounting but unfortunately, so was the rain. Add the flu for our three house guests and it was touch and go whether or not everyone would be able to participate on Saturday for the big events planned.

Saturday, part 2. Our guests had a quiet morning while Ariana went to her Chinese class - no Halloween celebration there; just learning.

Everyone was well enough for a little trick or treating, so we started around 4 to visit at a friend's house - the kids decided to catch some zzzzzzzzz's before the festivities.

We made our way into town where we went to a party and then visited house after house, filling our pumpkins with lots of candy and treats. Due to the rain, the big street is having their "stroll" tonight - we will see if we are up to putting on the costumes again. Here is our group - the dentist, the Hulk, Ms. Vampire and a french woman, little miss transformer, a dinosaur, a unicorn and Mr. transformer (there were many, many transformers last night)

Pumpkins and Leaves and other Fall Things

Every morning I take Ariana to the bus stop, I curse myself for not bring along a camera. For each morning brings another breathless sight as the leaves continue to change and the water on the like shines, mirroring the ducks as they swim back and forth in a tight procession. I will get pictures - one of these days.

Fall means apple picking, pumpkin carving and leaves. We are experiencing all of them thanks to the area we live in and our friends from Japan who are visiting, prompting us to leave the chores of the house and venture out.

Our first stop was the Blue Jay Orchards, where rows and rows of apple trees greeted us as we drove up. With five of us picking, it didn't take long for the bag to be filled. It will take longer to figure out what to do with them all.


While they are spending a few days in the city, my cousins Suzan and Woody came down to visit with home grown pumpkin in toe. Ariana helped water it when we were visiting them on their farm in New Hampshire and they were kind enough to bring it down with them.


Ariana had a fine time drawing the face - it seems all of her faces look like Ampanman.
My job was to scoop out all of the gook and separate the seeds for roasting. They are drying off as I type.

While all of this was going on, baba san was being manly:
We do have a fireplace after all................

Random Things

Driving up to Connecticut with our EZ pass, we come through a tollbooth and for some reason, it doesn't read the pass. A policeman slowly and rather menacingly walks over and asks us for it. Sheepishly, Arny hands it over. The policeman, without changing expression or making a sound, takes it and rather violently whacks it against the gate a few times, until the gate rises. He then hands it back to Arny without a word.

Birthday Girl

We used Ariana's birthday as an opportunity to have some friends over. "Brave" was the way some responded, having people over to a house that was still being unpacked and worked on, but we know our friends don't care. Or, if they do, they are smart enough to keep their comments to themselves.

Ariana decided the decor, which was a combination of Lightning McQueen, Pokeman and the Care Bears - let's just say she has an eclectic nature. We (or should I say baba) splurged on an electric "Lighting McQueen" car, which Ariana took great pride in. Sharing was a challenge, but most of her little friends got to ride in it, if only for a second or two.


No child's party is complete without a pinata and while it was one of the Kinder and Gentler one with strings attached, so all the kids just pull one and the candy comes out, Ariana wanted the challenge of actually smashing it apart.

Afterwards, we had cake, which she and Molly enjoyed immensely, black icing and all.

The parents were slightly horrified, but after all, that's what makes a great party.

My Big Girl

We talked about getting on the big yellow school bus. Now that she was going to kindergarten, she was a big kid and big kids go on the bus with their friends. The first day, all three of us walked down to the bus and waited to see it come into view. We carefully crossed the street and met the driver, Tina, and was relieved at her big friendly smile. Ariana returned the smile as she got on and before I could say "bye" the doors closed and she was off. I turned away and there were tears in my eyes.

My big girl who still likes to be carried and needs help putting her socks on. Who still likes being fed sometimes and tucked into bed. Who loves riding in the cart at the store, preferably those huge ones with the little cars attached.

This big "little" girl who likes all those things, can confidently climb on a big yellow school bus without a tear.

Time flies, doesn't it?

Taking A Break

After almost of month of "guys" traipsing in and out of our house, we have decided to take a break. They will finish painting the upstairs early next week and then we will reclaim our house, if only to find the things that seem to be missing. A random shirt, my camera battery charger and cord (this is why there have been no pictures), etc. These things and more seemed to have fallen into one of the many boxes that have been opened and shut again in the mad search for what we need.

We want to unpack, organize and otherwise feel like this is a home. Which means unpacking books, hanging artwork and maybe even putting down a rug. And you can't do that with guys with heavy, dirty boots walking around - even if they are very considerate and clean up nicely after themselves.

So, the work will go on outside (painting the outside of the house), while we stay in, trying to get any site of cardboard to disappear. We have about two months to deal with the stuff we have before more arrives from the last of our storage facilities. Then, we will start all over again....what joy.

Ouchy

"Don't touch me!!" Ariana screamed at the nurse as she received the third of four vaccinations. Afterwards, walking out with four band-aids and lots of stickers, she looked up at baba san and I and said "that was not fun".

No.

It was not.

Swag

I have welcome swag.
From the Welcome Lady.
Apparently everyone who moves to our lovely little town gets a visit from Dee, a very friendly, very talkative lady who arrives at your house carrying a large picnic basket which she proceeds to unload, covering your table with a seemingly never ending supply of pamphlets, papers, magazines, business cards and gifts from local businesses who want your patronage.

She arrived yesterday just after the electricity went out (a whole other story), so we sat in the dark and heat while she gave us our voter registration cards, told us about parking in town and divulged information on just about every service in town by way of business card or coupon, often accompanied by a recollection of a personal experience with the service.

And gave us lots of refrigerator magnets, which Ariana proceeded to grab.
And a yard stick.
And a cup filled with pens and pencils.
And several jar openers.
And a t-shirt made out of bamboo.
And a packet of seeds.
And a trowel.
And a ruler.
And an empty paint can filled with candy.
And maps.
And a screwdriver.
And a calendar.
And a nail file.
And plant food.
And an ice cream scoop.
And a ruler.
And picture hooks.
And facial cleanser.
And shampoo/conditioner.
And many little notepads.
And a reusable bag for shopping.
And yet another ruler.
And a insulated coffee mug for dog walking or driving into town to visit one of the lovely establishments that have provided us with the one of the aforementioned items.

After reviewing every single piece of information with us over the next hour and a half (during which time the lights came back on) organizing and filing as she went along, she conveniently put all of the coupons into a plastic bag ("to keep in the car so you have them right with you!") and left us to wonder at what we should take advantage of first.

We now have certificates for free dinners at a couple of restaurants, free chocolate (mine!!), free lawn fertilizer, free plants, discounts off of spa treatments (also mine), a big discount at a hardware store (which we may use to buy a generator so we no longer have to suffer when the electricity goes out) free passes to museums and more information than I will ever be able to read.

Our Guys

The roof guy.
The molding guy. Who just happens to be the roof guy and we like him so much that we wish he did everything so we would only need one guy.
But he doesn't.
So, we have the plumber guy.
The tree guy.
The septic tank guy.
The phone guy.
The electric company guy. Who we don't like at all because he turned our electricity off because "I got things to do". (See below)
The cable guy. Actually two cable guys. Because we needed two visits because the office guys are dumb. But the technician guys are not.

It seems when you buy a house, you start collecting guys. Guys who will come to your house, tell you what is wrong (alot) and then tell you how much it is going to cost to fix it (alot).

Or, guys who come to hook something up and then tell you they can't.

Or, the guys that tell you they will be there between 10 and 12 and don't show up until 7.

Or, the guys that tell you they will come and never show up.

Or, bad guy guys who come to the house to turn off your electricity for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON and when you get on the phone with the company, and are put on hold for 15 minutes of torturous phone "music", they tell you they don't have time to wait around and pull the plug on the power.

While you are standing right there.

And then they leave.

Which leads you to spend many, many, many minutes listening to more torturous phone music trying to get someone to come out and fix it. Since you have a well for water, which requires electricity to get it to faucet level, you no longer have running water and because the promised "there by 7 guy" never shows up, you therefore end up spending the night at the house of the only family in town you know. Since they have also just moved in and are still waiting for their stuff to arrive, you are asked to bring your own sheets and towels. Which you think you can do until you realize the ones you have been using are in the washing machine. Which means you have to find more sheets in the hundred or so boxes that are littered around the house. Which means you end up finding the sheets that have been in storage for three years and take them, trying to blot the idea that you will be sleeping on sheets that have not been washed in three years.

Which leads you to wish you were back in Tokyo where these things just don't happen.

The Inquisition

Twice or three times a week, we cross the US - Canadian border. This involves interacting with immigration inspectors who quiz us on a variety of topics. Failure to answer may result in being asked to vacate your car and join them in a little room for, well, I'm not quite sure but I know it wouldn't be pleasant. Some of the guards are more inquisitive than others. So far, this is a sampling of the questions we have had to answer:

what is your citizenship? (this they ask as they are holding our US passports)
where do you live?
where are you going?
how long have you been in Canada (US)?
how long will you be there?
whose car is this?
why do you have your father's car?
does he know you are driving it?
(to Ariana) are these your real parents? (yes, I wanted to reach out of the car and strangle the inspector, who was a young, bright eyed blonde woman, but I didn't want to risk being arrested)
are you carrying anything in the car?
any guns, fireworks or liquor?
where were you born?
where are you staying?
what are your intentions here in Canada?

I can't say the US guards are any worse than the Canadian ones, it's more a question of personalities. Some are very laid back and the others are more militaristic. Either way, I'm always relieved when I make it to the other side.

Summer Vacation

With a very temperamental internet connection, I have decided to take the month off, returning to write when we are in our new house. Have a wonderful July all............

Canada oh Canada

A most confident boatwoman out for a ride with her bubba...........


It really is beautiful up here.

Tess and I take a walk every morning, most days before the others are up. It is so peaceful. We are the only ones on the beach and all we hear is the gentle surf and 'early bird' birds. Except today, there was a large white dog on someones porch who was barking his "good morning". Of course, Tess had to return the greeting.

We are on Lake Erie, in a small colony of about 23 houses. Most have been in families for generations, so most people know each other. The ones that have been recently sold are spoken about with the qualifying "you know, the old (fill in the name here) house". During each walk, I study the houses, the gardens, every detail filed away for when we finally get to our house in CT. There is much to be done and I'm getting ideas. What color to paint the house so as to make the most of our woodsy locale, which flowers to plant in the garden. You see, while not on the beach, we are in the woods, which is where the "not beach side" side of the houses are here.

In fact, the house we are in is not on the beach, but one house away and on every side are trees. As I look out the window, a bunny hops by, amusing both Ariana and Tess.


Ariana flashing for the camera. It is really tough to get a husband, child and dog to look at the camera at the same time......
the view from the beach.....
this is the most crowded it has been - a weekend of course. During the week it is mostly empty.

"mommy, is this our car?"

It surprises me that Ariana isn't more confused than she is. In the past 3 weeks, she has been in three different beds, three different cars, two different countries. First in NY, then in Canada, now in Florida and soon back to Canada for most of the summer until we close on our house.

Our house.

Yes, we found one in CT that we really like. The contract is being worked out now and we hope to close at the end of July. Never in a million years did I think I would be living in a rather rural part of the state. At the start of our search I was adamant about wanting to be able to walk into town and not be dependent on a car. We looked at houses in "walking" communities and all I could think of was how crowded everything seemed. I didn't like the idea of looking straight into my neighbor's house or hearing their conversations.

I wanted space.

I have it.

Every window in our house looks out onto green. There are houses within sight, but far enough away that looking into their windows, or have them look into ours, is impossible. Past the house below us is a beautiful lake where we can keep a boat. It is peaceful. Which is exactly what I want right now.

Living in "the country" will require me to get over my fear of bugs. I am getting good practice up in Canada. When we first arrived, I had to summon baba san to dispose of even the smallest thing. When Ariana cried "there's a bug", I instructed her to put the word "baba" before any such sentence. Now, I am swatting them away with hardly a thought. I barely flinched when I saw a wasp at the pool yesterday, although I did suggest to Ariana that she get in the pool "NOW".

It's progress.

And now, some random pictures .......Ariana with baba san at the Museum of Natural History - Ariana is now officially obsessed with dinosaurs.....




Ariana with her friend Mia............


.....and watching an IPod with her friend Jack.....

On Leaving.............and Returning

It's 3am and here I sit in a hotel in Westchester, waiting to return to a normal sleep cycle. The process will be slowed down by a child who has the unique talent of waking up just as I am about to fall asleep - desiring food, drink, cartoons or just a playmate until she tires again.

I am happy I have flown my last 13 hour flight for a long time. I was in heaven in the Stop n' Shop, being able to read all the labels - a quick trip for some staples ended up being close to an hour as I gazed at all of the products that have been introduced since I left. Being literate is a wonderful thing. We are busy house hunting - the decisions are endless. We can't wait to see our old friends - it has been way too long.

But there is sadness too. Prior to leaving Japan, we had to say goodbye to our friends there. While we intend to keep in touch, the reality is we will lose touch with some - and probably not the ones we wouldn't mind losing touch with. Rather, the ones that were meaningful in some way. I left the women who listened during the last few months of our wait for Ariana; waited impatiently for our return from China; commiserated over the misadventures of potty training; sympathizes over the effects of "one too many" at Karaoke. The friendship were made quickly - and deeply, and I will not see them for a long time. And that is sad.

On the other hand, I am learning to love the east coast all over again, warts and all. I witnessed my first verbal fight on the street today - a male pedestrian and a female driver going at it for all to hear. I will have to get used to the dirty and rumpled dollar bills while fondly remembering the perfectly clean and crisp yen notes in Japan. Where does all of the crumpled money go in Japan? Everyone here is much, much nicer than I remember - perhaps because we are spending most of our time outside NYC.

And English - all the time.

Never Give a Four Year Old a Finger Bowl

During an absolutely delicious and mostly well behaved dinner in the dining room of the grand Fujiya Hotel in Hakone, finger bowls appeared at the table and Ariana thought she would save time by taking two of them without spilling a drop. I think we have a type A multi-tasker on our hands.

As our time in Japan is coming to an end, we decided to finally take a trip to Hakone. Only about an hour and a half from Tokyo, it was one of those places that we kept thinking "we'll go one of these days", but only now had the motivation to go. Despite the raining weather, it was a beautiful trip. After checking in at the hotel, our first stop was the open air museum.

A collection of sculpture placed in a gorgeous park, even the rain couldn't dampen our enjoyment of it all.



And, in typical Japanese style, there was a full supply of umbrellas to borrow if you were lacking one.

With Ariana taking one of her several naps during the day, Baba san did the pushing as we visited a Toy Museum and yes, Ariana woke up just in time to see an amazing collection of old toys.

To see all of Hakone, one must take a train, a tram, a gondola and a boat - Ariana almost missed out on most of the gondola ride, but woke up in time to wave at the others passing in the opposite direction.

And our room - what can we say about the Fujiya Hotel - it was fantastic. Very rustic in an elegant way. They have several different wings with different style rooms - it opened in the late 1800's and has hosted people from all over the world. It is a definite must see if you ever get there.

This was our room, with a great view of the train that passes by. On a single track, it moves slowly enough for you to see the sites - though not into our room as it stops running before dark. I would say I can't wait to go back, but I know that won't be happening for a very long time. In any event, it was a memorable trip.

The Egg

The challenge: eating raw egg
The place: home of Mikoto, Hanako and Eri.
The Dish: sukiyaki, made the "western" style; not western as in American, but western as in western Japan, which is where he is from. As in most dishes, each region has it's own way of preparation. This is one of several "hotpot" Japanese dishes made on a heated surface right on the table. Sukiyaki involves thin slices of meat, tofu, vegetables and noodles in a mixture of brown sugar, sake and soy sauce . In between plucking pieces from the pan and putting them in your mouth, a brief dunk in a raw egg is suggested.


Mission: Accomplished, with some trepidation and thoughts of salmonella coursing through our veins. The thought of eating raw egg was slightly nauseating but, we finally decided, after seeing Eri, age 9, dipping away, that it couldn't be that bad. And it wasn't. It was really tasty and softening the rich taste of the sugar, sake and soy sauce.

Ariana of course did not participate, taking one look at the meal and stating "I don't like it" preferring to play with Eri's toys.

So Jaded.......

An earthquake hit this morning as I was having my coffee. As I watched the lampshades sway and the cord bolting the television to the ceiling strain again the movement, I wondered if I should get up. I didn't and it passed.

It was only a 1 on the scale here in Tokyo, but apparently quite strong where in originated up north.

This is one thing I won't miss about Tokyo when I leave, which is exactly 29 days from today.

Yikes!!!!

Economics, 4 year old style

We were in a park last week which has a view of baba-san's office building. Ariana pointed at it and says 'there's baba". We then went on the discuss what baba does in the building. Ariana chimed in with her opinion "Baba goes to the money shop".

Yesterday in the mail, we received a flier for Acachan Hompo, a popular children's store here in Tokyo. There were lots of pictures on the large page and Ariana started pointing at things saying "I need this". "This" included Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh chopsticks, Anpanman pajamas and band aids and Lightning McQueen pajamas. I replied that perhaps she needed to make some money to go buy these things and she replied "we need to get it from Baba's magic box (actually my change box that baba-san routinely scrounges through). I told her to ask Baba and she went to him and said "baba, can you share?".

You see, sharing is a big thing in school and at home. I think she has learned the lesson well, particularly when someone has something she wants. She needs a little more studying when it's the other way around.

This morning, she again stated a list of things she wanted and I said we have no money. She quickly replied, "we have to share baba's money".

Baba san and I had a brief conversation about 1) what the proper age to start an allowance is, and 2) can we give Ariana little jobs to do and if so, what? Since she is interested in money now, we figured this was a good time. Any thoughts???

Enlightened Sumo

On Friday, Ariana's school had their annual picnic in one of the many parks in Tokyo. It was the perfect day, with the cherry blossoms in full blown pink with petals falling like snow. Each class had their spot under the trees and the kids played as the moms watched. Our class, learning about Sumo wrestling, set up a ring and the kids took turns. Ariana held back at first and finally decided to take the plunge. She lost her first round but came back to win the second:




After her big win, she played again and this time, lost the match. She was not happy and started to cry "I won, I won" she cried. "Honey, you won the last time, not this time". The little boys in the class heard this and set up several other matches with one of them standing behind Ariana and helping her "push" the other player out of the ring. They were all announcing "Ariana won" over and over.

It was the sweetest thing - all these little boys taking turns "losing" so she could win. She was happy and I was very proud of the kids in her class - they have learned well the spirit of kindness and generosity.

They made one very little girl feel very big.

What I Will Miss - The Courtesy

I went to pick Ariana up at school yesterday. She was in the playroom in the basement of the school, reachable only by elevator. There was another woman waiting there as I approached. The elevator doors opened and she motioned for me to enter first. The elevator was going up, so I told her I would wait as I had to go down to the basement. She said "oh, it's ok. You take it - I can walk" and away she went, up the stairs, leaving me the elevator all to myself.

This.
Would.
Never.
Happen.
In.
New.
York.

In the Pink...random pictures of spring

Violette, Ariana and Ulysse making faces...
Ariana, the photographer, takes a picture of her friend Riku....

cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, look and see........
still life of shoes in park........taken by Ariana
the Hanami (cherry blossom) party in Shinjuku goen - yes, Ariana took this one too. She is turning into quite the photographer. It started in Bali and now whenever I pull out the camera, she wants her turn.

But, getting back to the party - every year when the trees start to bloom, people everywhere gather in parks, beside rivers, anywhere where there are trees, and celebrate. This year we met up with friends in Shinjuku park, one of the larger ones here in Tokyo.

there is a lot of taking pictures...................
yes, Ariana was getting creative in this one........
reminds me of central park during an Philharmonic concert, minus the blossoms of course.
there are even lines to get into the park, because you must buy your ticket (a big 200 yen - about 2 dollars US) before entering.

They say there is no alcohol allowed, but everyone brings, because that is what you do. Sit and sip and wonder at the beauty of it all.

Anpanman

Japanese children everywhere love Anpanman - a cartoon character whose head is made of bread. He and his cohorts fight the evil Baikinman in every episode. With Ariana off from school this week, I told her I had a surprise for her and we took the train down to Yokohama to visit the Anpanman museum. We found the museum with no problem as we just followed the parade of excited little children and their parents down the street. Ariana was very excited when she realized where we were going and ran right up to Anpanman and wouldn't leave until I took her picture.

These are just some of the characters that make an appearance in the show....
As most children's "museums" here, it is basically a big shopping arcade with a play space thrown in; so the children can play with all the toys they will then bug their parents to buy them. You are then starving, so you end up in a theme restaurant eating kawai ("cute") food
You then visit the stores, buy a lot of stuff your child may or may not play with, wear, eat, etc.

You return to your stroller, which has been parked in the "lot" along with all of the others and make your way home.
In the end, it is all worth it, as right before she falls asleep in her stroller, your child looks up at you and says "mama, I liked my surprise"

Spring is Here

Last year I spent an afternoon viewing Bonsai with the old men who make up most of the practitioners of this most exacting art. This week, I switched sexes and spent my time viewing Ikebana with the older women who practice this most fragrant one at an exhibition. The selections were amazing - each one so painstakingly constructed; each vessel so different.

For someone like me who has not a green thumb, but rather the black thumb of death when it comes to anything growing, to even be interested in the art of Ikebana is a truly bizarre concept. Introduced by my friend Darla, I have grown to love not just viewing but creating as well. Every other Friday we gather with our Sensei and with our chosen selection of flowers, set about to create something beautiful.






The difference is obvious, but I have really learned to enjoy the process of creating an arrangement. I have started a collection of vases and after seeing the exhibit the other day, fear an obsession coming on. A longer list will accompany me on my flea market outings from now on, although I fear I will have to fight Celine over a particularly unusual find. (thanks to her for the photos of the exhibit- she was the one with the camera and she so generously shared them with me).