Add a Sixteenth to Three Quarters

J finished a jigsaw puzzle three days ago.  It is a 950 piecer, one he got for Christmas.  It is of his favorite comic characters, One Piece.  He already has a 1000 piece one he finished last month which is hanging in his room. I am amazed at how quickly he can get these things done!  Not at all like getting ready for school or studying for a test!

Three quarter moon, kind of unremarkable, the moon tends to be when photograhed.  It's just that the disapeared sun left a trace of itself on the horizon presenting quite a beautiful scene in real life.  Too bad it doesn't come across here


 The three quartered crecent moon.  In fact it looks bigger than a three quarter one, add another sixteenth on to that?



 Pink splendor at sunset, two days ago.




This picture bugs me because I seemed to have held the camera at a tilt so that eveything to the left appears to be uphill to everything to the right.  A bit maddening because I'd love to fix it but I can't.  No such technology for that!!

E is down with a cold.  It's all this partying and never being home.  She wants to have her boyfriend over for supper tonight, which would be fine, except that I think she should just stay in bed (without him!) and nurse this cold of hers. I will suggest it.

This is me yesteday, retrospectng.



Everyday I walk the same coarse with my doggie and I come across this simple yet quite stunning view.  It is just a garden and a house, but the roof, trees, blue skies, and even the telephone wire seem to be in sync.

And this is my doggie who I walk every morning, rain or shine, (OK, I admit, when it is cold and rainy he goes to the roof...)  Isn't he handsome?  He is 12 years old, an old guy, but he's still handsome!

Sunset from last night. It is almost twilight.

Cheers!

Starting a New Year

Happy New Year!  It is already the eighth day of the year and I am finally getting around to my first post.  I haven't resolved to do anything new except to eventually get J to make his own lunch when he starts in High school in the spring.  He is going to be going to private school so it is almost certain that they have to take their own lunches.  I Made E's lunch for six years until the end when she made her own.  I am hoping to jump right into getting him to make his own lunch.  As far as resolutions go, I think it's the easiest to go with the flow of what happens, but that is one thing I will try for.

The holidays went by in a flash.  It was really nice just to enjoy the last few days of the year, clean the house, and get ready to welcome a new year.

Our New Years bouguet.


This was taken on New Years Day.


And ths is the morning sun of the first day of the year on Mt Fuji.  I wanted to get the sunrise, but didn't make it.  I usually always wake up for it... so this is the next best thing.


This was taken a couple of days ago, a different mood.

This morning while walking my doggie I caught the mountain from a different angle for a change.


It' such a clear icey day.  It has turned cold, bellow freezing in the night and in the single digits during the day.  With kerosene stoves as our main sorce of heating it really is cold indoors too. Only designated places are warm.


My kitty has the right idea, lounging on the table in the morning sun.  The table itself is warm from the under side because it is a kotatsu, a covered heated table, so this is definately the best place in the house at this time of day.

So you see we haven't done much of anything, but it is time to get back in the swing of things!  We went to the Shrine on the first it was very crowded...

like this.  The garish pick of the sign for 'baby kastela' (little cakes) contrasts with the traditional beauty of most any Japanese Shrine.  See the spirts on the stairs and under the pink sign? they are there floating among the New Years Day crowds.  Most shrines peak with visitors right at midnight on New Years Eve so as to get there first for the new year's prayers.  I wonder if it makes a difference weather you get there in time to ring in the New Year at the Shrine, perhaps the gods like it better, the closer to midnight!! The gods must get sick of the un-originality of the prayers, yeah yeah, pass the entrance exam, win the lottery, get a job (a very difficult thing to do), find a husband, wife, yawn yawn yawn.  Excuse me!  Who is to know the prayers of people, but the gods, I mustn't presume to know others' hearts.  Forgive me, I only know my own heart. I pray for world peace, Ha Ha!  How original is that!
  
I do have one bit of news.  We got i phones, E, Hubby and I are knew owners!  I love it!  But at first I was put off with E because she got grumpy when I asked her for help in figuring something out about it.  She got hers first.  She can be as grumpy as she likes I am going to enjoy my i-phone, it really is fun!

Cheers!  Ringing in the New Year a little late, to friends, may you all move foward in the direction you wish if only a step!! 

The First Day of the New Year

I missed the sunrise but by seven fifteen Fuji san looked something like this.

                                                                                  

My おぞうにturned out good.  Add a little sake and you're fit for the New Year!

My favorite is the いくら the best stuff!  The one day of the year I am aloud to be tipsy before noon!

Starting a New Year

Starting a New Year

Happy New Year!  It is already the eighth day of the year and I am finally getting around to my first post.  I haven't resolved to do anything new except to eventually get J to make his own lunch when he starts in High school in the spring.  He is going to be going to private school so it is almost certain that they have to take their own lunches.  I Made E's lunch for six years until the end when she made her own.  I am hoping to jump right into getting him to make his own lunch.  As far as resolutions go, I think it's the easiest to go with the flow of what happens, but that is one thing I will try for.

The holidays went by in a flash.  It was really nice just to enjoy the last few days of the year, clean the house, and get ready to welcome a new year.

Our New Years bouguet.


This was taken on New Years Day.


And ths is the morning sun of the first day of the year on Mt Fuji.  I wanted to get the sunrise, but didn't make it.  I usually always wake up for it... so this is the next best thing.


This was taken a couple of days ago, a different mood. 

This morning while walking my doggie I caught the mountain from a different angle for a change.


It' such a clear icey day.  It has turned cold, bellow freezing in the night and in the single digits during the day.  With kerosene stoves as our main sorce of heating it really is cold indoors too. Only designated places are warm.


My kitty has the right idea, lounging on the table in the morning sun.  The table itself is warm from the under side because it is a kotatsu, a covered heated table, so this is definately the best place in the house at this time of day.

So you see we haven't done much of anything, but it is time to get back in the swing of things!  We went to the Shrine on the first it was very crowded...

like this.  The garish pick of the sign for 'baby kastela' (little cakes) contrasts with the traditional beauty of most any Japanese Shrine.  See the spirts on the stairs and under the pink sign? they are there floating among the New Years Day crowds.  Most shrines peak with visitors right at midnight on New Years Eve so as to get there first for the new year's prayers.  I wonder if it makes a difference weather you get there in time to ring in the New Year at the Shrine, perhaps the gods like it better, the closer to midnight!! The gods must get sick of the un-originality of the prayers, yeah yeah, pass the entrance exam, win the lottery, get a job (a very difficult thing to do), find a husband, wife, yawn yawn yawn.  Excuse me!  Who is to know the prayers of people, but the gods, I mustn't presume to know others' hearts.  Forgive me, I only know my own heart. I pray for world peace, Ha Ha!  How original is that!
   
I do have one bit of news.  We got i phones, E, Hubby and I are knew owners!  I love it!  But at first I was put off with E because she got grumpy when I asked her for help in figuring something out about it.  She got hers first.  She can be as grumpy as she likes I am going to enjoy my i-phone, it really is fun!

Cheers!  Ringing in the New Year a little late, to friends, may you all move foward in the direction you wish if only a step!! 

Last Year's Trip

Moom shinning on lamp

 Looked out the window that night catching with my eye the stark white light of the moon outdoors contrasting with the soft light of the lamp indoors and couldn't resist this picture.

I was actually in a very raunchy mood starting Friday night, caused by the 'I hate this country' mode I get in sometimes.  It is when things build up, when Japan becomes the reason for all my sorrow.

Here the boys are relaxing in our room of the Yaizu Grand Hotel. Angry at the world I was hoping for a western room, not a Japanese room, but apparently all they had left was Japanee style, it was nice, I was just in this mood.  No mood to get undressed in front of strangers at all, so I sent the boys out to the bath, you see this is an onsen hotel, hotsprings that is.  I went down the hall to the drink machine, God bless this country, You can buy beer from a machine, mixed nuts too.  So I got myself 500 mls of Asahi super dry (my favorite) and a can of nuts, sat down next to the window looking out to sea, and read Kate Atkinson.  Jackson Brodey is as far away from Japan as you can get!

This is the morning view from our window.  But let me continue from last night.  By the time the boys got back from the bath, I was feeling mellow enough to consider a bath myself.  I usually love going to the hot springs, but this mood....  'I hate this country' still reverberated through my mind.  The scene of the time I undressed for a bath, when some little girl commented loudly over my pubic hair being the same color as my head to her mother, played over obnoxiously in my mind.  Beer mellowed me enough to send me down to the bath, which I usually love undiscriminantly.  But there was NO WAY I was going to wear one of those stupid yukata, no, I am NOT trying to be Japanese THANK YOU!

So the bath was nice even tainted by my sense of 'hate japan'.  Nobody commented on my white flab!!  Of course nobody would, but I was feeling vullnerable, and being naked in these situations doesn't help, otherwise the bath was relaxing!!  I am used to going alone to the bath, ignoring everyone as I strip down.  This is the kind of place you need to go with female friends.  The bath is a great place to chat with a friend.  No friend around, can't even bring in the book, it would just get wet.  I was compensated by scenery which is always lovely at these baths, especially the outdoor ones.
The meal was nice, a buffet, a chef guy was grilling steaks right there, not to mention the sushi chefs slicing up and putting together anything you wanted.  I refused to go to the sushi table for then I would be that 'gaijin' at the sushi table.  NEVER!  So I got the boys to bring me my sashimi and I got everything else I needed.  I had a glass of red wine as well as a glass of plum wine too.  We went back to the room feeling stuffed, with no pain.

As soon as we got back I went to sleep on my futon.  It was only eight o'clock but I was full of food and alcohol.  I slept through noisy TV to when it finally got quiet around eleven o'clock.  My eyes flew open, basically I didn't sleep a wink the rest of the night.  I rarely have sleepless nights, this was one of them.  I kind of rested all night with my eyes closed, then finally drifted off in the wee hours.


After checking out we went to Omaizaki, I've posted pics from there before.  This was on a little walking path we took.
We went down to breakfast, I, feeling better, with only a tinge of my lingering negativity, enough for me to refuse the Japanese breakfast, NO WAY!  Except I got hubby to bring me a dish of this sticky yam stuff with maguro, raw tuna, which I really love any time of day.

E didn't come with us as she really isn't a part of our family you see, she is only a part of our family when it suits her to be, like when she wants money or some thing!  She hangs around the house and leaves messes for me to pick up and I get fed up.  She is rude to her mother so she really needn't come with us on our trips, even though I have to go to the bath alone.

This is the lighhouse at Omaizaki.  One of our favorite places.
The trip, short though it was, mellowed me out enough to be ready for lifes next frustrations, we all need a one night trip once in a while!

Hope to blog this year about all the good things happening!