California Christmas '09

Taka and I, in front of our little living Christmas tree, Grandmom lent it to us again this year.

Our Christmas presents from Ischin and Kahori for us!!! Can you tell? I'm blowing them a kiss~~

Dinner at Uncle Lynn and Lorraine's with everyone

Back to California and right into Basketball

I left Japan December 10th.
Noon.
And flew into San Francisco December 10th, 8am.
Taka came for me, and I got in an hour nap before the start of a yearly basketball three day tournament called The Dad's Club.
Zen's team, Santa Cruz High, won the first game.
The second game was against a rival school, which they lost to last year by one point.
This year... well can you see the news?

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_13983539?source=most_viewed

These were the two last shots Zen made, to win the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSpVTHqam2g

Here's their team:

The last jobs and "last meal" in Japan

We have had a basketball hoop for Zen on the road by our school-house for years. The last typoon knocked it over (thank goodness not onto Ischin's car!). But then we knew it was time to say "good-bye" to the much appreciated and well used equipment.
I had the job of disassembling it.
I worked at figuring out how to pull out the rusted bars and screws, using Japanese style WD-40 (called: "5-54", Taka doesn't know what it means!) and screw drivers and hammer (I've always LOVED using tools and doing that kind of thing! When I was in 8th grade I asked to be put into woodshop, NOT home-ec with all the girls! I was the only girl in woodshop- SO COOL!!!)




So, I managed to get it apart into three large parts. And then I had an old friend, actually old student, now friend, Yasuyo. who would come in a little Japanese pick up to help me take it to the recycle center.
It was a race to get there before they closed, but they all were waiting for us (a photo of them would have been awesome to show you!!!). They finished tearing parts apart and we were waved away to leave.

Efficiency at it's best as they say! xoxoxo
It had been part of our home for the past five years.Helping Zen to master the sport.











The other work I wanted to show you Is how I've tried to manage
knife sharpening.
Not as incredible as it may sound, but for "simple" kitchen knives, I've learned how much more sharp Japanese knives are. I come back to America and am so shocked by the dull knives. My ex-mother-in-law always sharpened her knives on a sandstone and they were seriously dangerous.


I'm ashamed to say, I can't read Japanese after 23 years, but I can study pictures rather well. The drawings of "what to do next" are explanation enough, really. Well, should be.

And who can't love how amazingly well a knife can cut?!

The last night for me in Japan with Sheon, next to me, and next to her Kahori, and Ischin.

In the back ground, Hiromi and Naoki, both students, and the teacher for the school and her husband.

Then I went home to finish packing. For departure the next morning.

To see my son, Zen, in his school's first season game. This is his team's photo in Oakland Coliseum after they played and beat a league team in a preseason game recently, by about 30 points.

Akko-chan's baby! The Work of that and other work

Akko-chan's baby was born November 14th I think. We visited when he, Teruma, was 10 days old. Akko-chan, at 28.
With her first AKKA-CHAN 赤ちゃん("baby") and Naomi

Naomi and me getting a baby dose. No, I don't feel it in me to be a grandma myself yet. Even though my oldest boy is almost 26 and Naomi's 23. It's not in the air yet.

So, another sort of "work". Here is one of our classes, at a cram school, at 9:30 pm the new teacher for my school Elaine, finishes teaching perhaps the most challenging class we have. But, they look innocent enough! Well, the most innocent are the girls who wouldn't turn around for my photo. The owner, Miyuki Kurono, on the right, an amazing woman teaching for kids all year round late into the nights.

And on the homefront, Sylvester does his thing~ the real work is keeping mice out of our kitchen. Outside he wants to practice on birds though.

All the sights!

Well, there are many different sights in Japan for sure. Here are my girls trying to clean out their old house, their father's old house so they can live there again. ( I wouldn't step any closer, too much dust would have triggered an asthma attack for sure)

And THEN Sheon got her nails done!!

A concert, the young new age youth in Japan!!!

And some of us old folks xoxox

Taka's Papa meets our Girls

In Japan, saw "This is it"!!!

So many people I know have gone to see it!!

Sheon and I went to dinner before going to see Michael Jackson's movie. Ohhhh SHABU SHABU and meat in Japan is THE BEST! I want to eat it FOREVER!!

!

Before we went into the movie theater Sheon got me to make Purikura's with her, she's amazing with that machinery! and the art!!!

The movie theaters are on a small scale. We were there early and could pick where ever we wanted to reserve our seating. Got to have tickets with seat numbers here! Hey- check out the spirit orb in the middle of the photo! (click on the photo and you can see it up close)


It's so gorgeous to see from outside the front of our school-house. Upstairs, where Ischin is living now, with the light shining through the shoji, one of the best sights!

I couldn't really take a better lit photo, oh well, just to give you an idea~

SYLVESTER Cat in Japan~~

In front of our school-house


This cat is getting SO much loving with Elaine and Brad here!!!

Of course with Sheon-chan too~

Welcome-to-Japan (and to my school) Party for the new (and LAST) teacher I would hire

Yaari, and Hiromi, Shuji, Syvester cat, Hiroaki, and the new teacher and her husband.

The Kato's and~

Kazuko brought along her good friends!!

And George came by too. George taught for me- how many years did we figure out? About 11 years ago?!


And our dear long time friends and students the Sugisakis, Tomomi, Suzuyo and Nachi
HARU MAKI!!!! Our landlord made it for our potluck was DELICIOUS!!!

And this RICE!! It's called "SEKIHAN" I thinkおいしかった！！！There also was chocolate cake and strawberries and japanese marshmellows decorated with some pretty green leaves! THANK YOU Kazuko's friends



Here's what I made- banana bread, some with chocolate chips... yes, that's Trader Joe's coffee in the background, yes, that's my glass of Kirin beer... yes, this little tray of cake is the quickest way to bake it...
in this tiny oven! Two trays can fit in. Everyone will tell you it turns out WONDERFULLY tasty! I've got it DOWN!