Recently a few new and old shots

Diana with me below, was here in Santa Cruz recently, from Oregon. Us old mamas! Diana and I met in Santa Cruz and hung out at D.Q. University too around 1981!

Below, about 4 years earlier in Japan was her son Lafa (with the baseball cap)

who my kids once played with when he was a little boy. Lafa performed

together with these guys of the band Def Tech.

That's my girl Naomi posing with them in the middle.

This was a rare chance, Zen asked for a photo with ME.

It was strange~ why he asked out of the blue!! I think he titled it "ma madre" where ever it was that he posted it.

Zen Maki Highlight's

Yes, I'm posting this for the third time perhaps. Our friend, Mr. Free, has kept working on it, and adding to it, making it show Zen's playing better and better~ SO I send it again hoping you care to see the newest version!

(Zen's #14, the one making the shots, and some of the awesome passes)

Enjoy the hardworking guys here! xoxoxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXXfnEBSg5I

Naomi's 24th Birthday April 7th, 2010

We couldn't be there- in Japan- to celebrate~ but they could have her birthday party at my school-house with all of her friends!!!

(THANK YOU KAHORI-CHAN FOR SHARING THESE PHOTOS WITH US!!!)

Doesn't that photo above, look like ghosts are giving peace signs behind Naomi's head?!!!

See, those kids had a great ol' party in our little abode!!

And then the one sibling to miss it, ZEN...oh yeah, and me~of course and Taka~

~ "stuck" here in California.

I was shocked...Zen ASKED to take a photo with MOI!!! Don't know why...maybe he's going to post it on his facebook and joke about his mother?!!

Flower Power

By Grandmom's house, are these beautiful Poppies. They shimmered and shined so powerfully my camera couldn't capture them clearly!

Across the street, at Grandmom's, these poppies, a minute's walk away, these were beginning to close for the night. The shadows hadn't come upon them yet, but they knew the evening dark and cold was coming- so they were closing before the flowers just across the road.

See, those yellow Poppies across the road are the ones in the first photo above.

This is Jasmine on our patio. And some chimes my sister gave me about twenty years ago. I brought them back from Japan to California again to have to enjoy the sound of them in the breeze. Another friend doctored the chimes, restrung them and they are as good as new.

Ahhhh Jasmine...in my mind Jasmine=California...well Eucalyptus=California too...oh, and snails=California too!

NCAA 3/19/10

It's the College Playoffs, and it just so happened that in San Jose some of the games were scheduled! Taka, Zen and one of his teammates Cody got to go last Thursday.

This was what was on~ up on the screen over court~

And here is where they got to sit.

Yes...now-a-days we're thinking about how this is where Zen will be in a short time from now!

Random Things~

How hard my kids work at their jobs~

and the notes they have sent... I miss them too much~

I have always loved California, and I have loved Nishio, Japan for more than 20 years. I love my dear man Taka, and I love my kids so, so much. I can't have everything. I will always be sad about something. But if the kids and Taka are happy, I can feel mostly happiness. And I'm so happy Grandmom, who's almost 91, she's loving Zen and his basketball, and I can see her and hang out with her almost everyday.

And here's a nostolgic one: My Mom and Dad. Mom says she was 16 years old. They were married when Mom was 19? And Dad was 20? Oh, Life!!!

Ischin's travels in the U.K.

Ischin~ he's off and around in Europe! Here are a couple of his photos, and some of his news from his blog~

Enjoy! I enjoy except for the reading- I can't read it! ~ anyone want to translate for me?! Love!!!

http://ischinmaki.jugem.jp/

ニースからロンドンを経由して、

アイルランドまでの移動。

ＴＧＶ、ユーロスター、バス、フェリー、バスバス。

計２０数時間。へ、へこうきにしとけばよかった・・・。

着いた先はコークという町から少し北に、

ブラーニーという小さな村。

人口３，４千人？

ブラーニーキャッスルの観光一つで、

村が成り立っているようなところ。