The Family, 1/2 a century and 3 years

A dear (IRL) friend who I actually SEE pretty regularly commented on my consistent lack of blogging.  And she is right.  One "problem" is that Jun is growing up!  So, I feel a little guilty sharing her stories as freely as I did when she was little.  This DOES NOT mean the stories are over!  OK!!!!  Here's one of the more recent ones:

Jun - Jun's 1st grade teacher is off having her baby...by C-section...OUCH!  So there is a substitute.  (A wonderful teacher, I MUST add, from my experience with her in the class.)  Jun has been giving the sub advice.  She isn't as strict as the other teacher!  The kids aren't minding as well as Jun thinks she should, so she reprimands them too!  Only child?  Bossy?  Leader?  Wonderful Kid?  YEP!

Ryu - I've been keeping up with Ryu's professional life on his Facebook page.  R.I. Leather.  You can see his company's blog in the sidebar...I hope!  He makes custom ordered leather products.  Many wallets, bags, belts, book/Bible covers.  Recently he finished a notebook, and is now working on a two-toned bag made of Minelli leather.  This is SO soft.  Blue and dark brown!  Can't wait to see it!  He seems to learn/discover/invent new techniques with each product he "builds."  I can see him growing and growing in his chosen profession!!!  And sometimes I get to help!

Me - Well, let's start with 1/2 a century first, shall we?  Ryu and I turned 50 last year!  I really feel older, finally!  Like an adult.  Like I finally understand my 20 and 30 year old self.  And, better understand other people who are in their 20's and 30's.  The 40's are still a little fuzzy!  I finally understand people who were in their 50's when I was in my 20's and 30's.  It's a good place to be at in life. 

And 3 years!  We celebrated our "3 Years in America" on Easter Sunday this year.  I made Ginger Pork!  But, more than that, Ryu and I reflected on all we've learned in the past 3 years.

• I re-remembered how to pump gas and taught Ryu how to do it.  (Oregon is NOT self-pumping.)
• I can use my debit card anywhere without INTENSE feelings of foreignness/ cluelessness/ embarrassment and without thinking!  This is a HUGE change for me!
• We bought a house.  Still can't believe that our brains were working well enough to even think of buying a house when we hadn't been in the US even a year yet.  In reflection, we truly see God's hand in THAT!
• I no longer cringe at huge chunks of meat at the grocery store.  I have a few ideas/plans/options on how to cook them!  Unfortunately, then we eat them.  We are consuming much more meat than we did in Japan, I'm sure!  We even BOUGHT 1/2 of 1/2 a COW!  Seriously!  Buying meat by the cow!  I was happy that the meat was grown by our ranching friends.  Organic or organicish is becoming more important since living in the US.
• I can shop at Winco now without running screaming to the car.  I do have to take someone with me, but that someone can be Jun!  And that is always fun.  She is a huge help to her Mama.
• I can shop at Walmart...most of the time.  AND.........Sometimes I do the Self-Checkout!!!!!!
• I am more familiar with all the different coffee options.  And know to get myself something else when Ryu orders a plain double shot of espresso.  YUCK!  Jun and I even know what Italian sodas are now!
• I can shop for a very limited time for CLOTHING for ME!  Kohls seems to be the store I can handle. If Ryu is with me, I come home with something too!  I wish I could shop for shoes!  UGH!  Still making do with shoes I bought YEARS ago or that were given to me.  Jun, on the other hand LOVES shopping.  We rarely take her!
• Speaking of shopping, Ryu and Jun enjoy shopping at "recycle shops."  Who knew you could actually get brand named items at a decent price at thrift shops?  I, on the other hand, would rather wear cheap and new.
• We walked through the process of getting our home loan refinanced and getting a new credit card.  Not a scary process at all, unless you consider the fact that our credit card application was approved in, literally, the 5-10 minutes we chatted with the bank woman on the phone.  That is Scary!  No wonder America is in debt up to its ears!
• I am working in an office part time now.  With Americans.  That speak English.  My English level has improved a lot.  Though the other day I was asking my boss if he wanted the form to be "up and down" or "cross-ways."  They forgive my momentary (I hope) lapses in English.  I blame these lapses on living in Japan.  I fear they are also related to being 50!
• Schools.  Having Jun in public school has been a big surprise to me.  I thought I'd homeschool her, but..for a myriad of reasons, she 's at the public school.  Public schools are not the same now as they were in the mid-60's.  On one hand, I understand better why many parents choose to homeschool.  On the other hand, I wish those homeschooled kids and their awesome parents were part of the public school system for all the kids and teachers and community to benefit from their time and talents.  I enjoy volunteering once a week.  It isn't much, I know, but I give lots of hugs, ask lots of questions, and help a few bright boys with Math.

I feel that I should add a "Looking Forward" paragraph to this post!  I'm not good at these.  So I will just make a few comments:

• Would benefit from some REGULAR exercise!
• Would benefit from some GOOD sleep!
• Need to continue to learn about lawns.  I BELIEVE there is a reason God gave us a house with 1/4 acre - much of it to be turned into lawn.  Once I'm out working on the lawn, I begin to enjoy it.  Looking at its sad state from inside the house is quite stressful!
• Would benefit from a more SANE schedule.  See Sleep and Exercise above.

Well, that is it for today!  Gotta make breakfast and today is Week 2 in our "FINISH THAT BEDROOM!" project for the month of April.  Not a big project at all, but, we've decided to take it in small weekly bites.  See "Sane Schedule."

What's a Summer Vacation?

If I took off Ryu's shoes and socks too - we might be able to count up just how many years it has been since either of us had a summer vacation from kindergarten.  Or not.  No, I think we'd have to borrow a few of Jun's fingers or toes as well!

So, this was our first "summer vacation" between school years.  Happily, my day job is at a school too, and this summer we were off!  I/we just weren't sure what to DO with a summer vacation!

So, breaking it into three categories we did:

FUN with the FAMILY:

June - a fun drive, where we got terribly lost, and stops for ice cream and Chinese Food!
July - a fun trip to the zoo, where we got terribly lost.
July - a fun camping trip with Grammy and Grandpa, where we waited for them to meet us so we wouldn't get terribly lost.
August - a fun trip to drop off Jun for her first overnighter at Grammy and Grandpa's and a quick stay in Bend, OR for Ryu and I.  We did not get terribly lost.  I stayed on Hwy 97 and Franklin Streets - or we walked!  LOL!
September - I hope to celebrate my birthday (#50) by being on the receiving end of a GPS!

FUN for JUN:

June - Vacation Bible School at the Presbyterian Church - studied Daniel and had a camel visit!
July - Vacation Bible School at the Friend's Church - studied ... I don't remember, but it was good!
August - Vacation Bible School at the Baptist Church - studied creation and beyond.
June and July - 5 weeks of Swimming Lessons.  She dove off the low dive.  She didn't get that from ME, I'll tell you!

FUN for the HOUSE:

June - we finally finished the bathroom renovation.  We tore it apart and put it back together enough to block the view of the studs and to be able to use it last year.  This June we FINISHED it.  It is beautiful!  Really!
June and July - I started two lawns.  One grew very well.  One is not growing well at all.  More seed this coming Monday and lots of hope!  Note to self - don't plant a lawn when it is 102 degrees in July!
August - Cleared land (doesn't that sound outdoorsy? - it means a LOT of raking dirt) for another bit of lawn.  I'll start it Monday too - now that the temps are no longer in the 100's!
May? - we set up our planter boxes for veggies.  We grew a few eda-mame, a few green peas, a few tomatoes and hopefully some green beans?  And lots and lots of weeds!  We'll be working on that this month!

So, miles to go on the house and property - sounds huge, doesn't it?!?!  But 1/4 acre IS huge for us!  LOL! 

Ryu made lots of things for his leather business.  I started a blog for his company and a FB page for it.  I read tons of books - no brainier, but fun books.  Jun read tons of books, sang tons of songs, played for hours in the mud, and generally we had a very nice summer.

Then came yesterday.  We were rearranging Jun's bedroom for 1st grade - another post in itself.  And someone cried and cried and cried about First Grade.  And it wasn't Jun!  LOL!  Kids growing up is quite hard on the Mamas!

The Seed

Well, now I know EXACTLY why many peoples did/do? fertility dances around the time they plant their gardens.  Seriously!  You plow up some brown dirt.  You read the small print on the back of the package to see how deep and far apart the seeds are supposed to be planted.  You plant said seeds with your "just-graduated-from-kindergarten" kid rather randomly and then water and wait.   And wait.  And wait.  How FRUSTRATING!  There is not ONE THING that you can do to make those silly seeds come up.  And how is one to know WHAT IN THE WORLD the seed is actually doing down there!?!?  I NEED to DO SOMETHING!  (Thus the caps!)  So, I finally understand a few ancient rituals.

That being said - the faithful radish did come up!  I put the last few in "clean out the fridge" stew.  No one was very impressed - but...hey!  We had to thin the carrots.  I wouldn't try transplanting baby carrots.  I mean - you could try.  We did.  To no avail.

Then some grass-like leaves started coming up by the tomato that we thought froze the first night after I planted it - and that Jun then pulled all the leaves off of - and that then came back to life and now has tiny green tomatoes on - but I don't know if I bought a mini-tomato plant or a real life sized one...  So - back to the grass-like leaves.  I couldn't for the life of me remember what we'd planted there.  I thought beans, but...even novice gardener that I am - I knew beans DO NOT come up looking like grass.  Apparently spinach does!  So, we are having a bit of spinach now!

The eda-mame seeds (that I sm*gg**d into the US) - the ones that produce early in the season?  The seeds did not read the package.  Not a flower on them!  The peas, on the other hand, are growing up and up and up.  Guess who did not read the FRONT of the package and notice she was buying POLE PEAS - who knew they existed?!?!?   And who would NEVER buy POLE anything if she could help it - as she has NO POLES?!?!  They are making pods!  Yeah!

I planted beans after the broccoli went belly-up.  Lots of beans!  One thing I learned was why people plant so many seeds!  Many DON'T come up!!!!  Well, most of the beans have come up.  Looks like Jun and I will be thinning (and replanting? - Jun has this thing for life) beans soon!

On top of all that gardening stress, our neighbor plowed our back 1/8 acre!  So, I raked and raked and raked and planted some grass seeds and watered and watered and watered!  Right when I was getting the package out to see just when these little grass seeds were supposed to sprout, they started.  Now the weeds are also sprouting.  So, between the two - we should have a flattish green space out back that kids can play on - in two months!  So much for summer!

Anyway, I looked at the townhouses with longing when we were in Boise the other day.  No yard to mow.  No flower garden to weed.  No veggie garden to worry about.  Just a nice grey sidewalk.  Well, maybe when we get lots older and Jun looses her love for seeds and DIRT!

Gardening RIP

Yep! Gone to the US for two weeks. In spite of all the rain and hubby's best intentions - LOVE was not available. So, this week Jun and I RIPPED out the tomatoes and cucumbers (lovely yellow flowers on the tip, though), and went to the Flower Shop to buy PINK flowers. Well, we got one purple one and one white one too.

I really enjoyed "gardening" while it lasted. It was just so amazing that those little dead seeds sprouted and made PLANTS! I am still in awe. Maybe next year they will bear a veggie or two? Maybe!

That being said, I AM still gardening! WHAT? Yep. Ryu has been longing for an avocado, sardine, and alfalfa sprout sandwich that he saw on a movie with Clint Eastwood - maybe. So, I found some seeds at a health food shop at home and we are growing alfalfa sprouts on our kitchen counter. Well, in a jar from the 100 yen shop on our kitchen counter!

Estimated date of consumption? This Saturday. I am trying to convince Ryu that bacon would be a wonderful substitute for sardines, but...he is a pretty authentic guy! We'll see!

Fish and Naps and Family and Upside Down Tomatoes

Well, my new approach to life (this week, anyway), is to give up "my time" in the afternoons and take a nap with Jun. This allows me to be a kinder and better person in the evenings. So, when Jun doesn't fall asleep till 10 or so, I am a relatively nice person, still.

Speaking of naps, I know she is probably ready to give hers up, but...she is almost three. Whoever said the 2's were terrible and the 3's were terrific...well, I have a bone to pick with THEM! The writing is ALL OVER THE WALL about the next year of our lives! Seriously. Jun's 2ness came in one week spurts. Manageable, and in hind site, gentle squalls in life. This ALMOST 3ness, is a long lasting storm, and I think there is lots more to come! So a nap, helps a little. Maybe.

Speaking of fish - well, now we are, anyway. Jun told Sensei (our pastor who was babysitting) that she wanted to shake hands with a fish...He told her that was difficult, and she should talk to her Mother and Father about it. This was last week. She hasn't forgotten. Anyone know of any fish in Japan that would like to shake hands with an ALMOST 3 year old? Where did she get this idea, anyway?!?!?!

And, speaking of family. My Dad gets a pacemaker Friday. Should get his heart up to speed - literally. Ryu's Mom was hospitalized last night. The consensus of Ryu and his sister, is that she needs a break from her nearly 50 years of being married to the (fill in the blank) man. SMILE!

And, we are healthy and the radishes are coming up. If you have gardening advice, please check out my post a few days ago...HEATHER!!! And, have you heard of the tomatoes in the US you hang upside down?

So, if I don't post as erratically as regularly, I'm taking a nap! HAHAHAHA!

Gardening 103

Well, I'm still gardening! We have eaten about 6 leaves off the leaf lettuce plant I bought. I think we are almost ready to eat leaves that WE raised, rather than those that came with the plant. Hehehehe! Thanks for the advice, Heather!

One planter of cucumbers never came up, so I "plowed" it under with my handy dandy scoop (shovel), mixed in some fertilizer - more on THAT in a minute - bought some seeds whose picture LOOKS like red radishes, and Jun and I planted some of them. We poked holes in the ground with our little fingers and dropped seeds in. And, some of the seeds are coming up! I figure after we EAT (I have hope, I have faith, I have a Pollyanna outlook on these "radishes"), I will just poke more holes in the ground and plant some more of the seeds! Need to get my 315 yen worth!

I have two cucumber plants that are up to 4-6 leaves. I need to Google cucumber plants to find out what to do next, unless Heather wants to give me a tutorial. I would much prefer that!

There are too many tomato seedlings to count. How many should I leave in each of the two planters? When should I thin out the "extras". What a waste, by the way! Next time I will start tomatoes in those little square seed box thingies. But, plant and learn, I never say!

Oh, and about the fertilizer. If your sweet hubby buys you fertilizer - for either flowers or veggies - and it is made by fish (you know what I mean!)...well, don't put it on your flowers that are in the window box and leave the window open. Just...don't!

Lastly, I want to report on our Living Christmas Tree. The Yule Log of 2009, is still alive. Is budding (with no room on our balcony), and...well, please sing the following song to the tune of "Under the Big Big Chestnut Tree" (Ooki no kuri no ki no shita de)

Under the Living Christmas Tree
Lives a yellow pansy
Came up from a strayed seed
Under the Living Christmas Tree

What else do I need to know?!?!?!

Gardening 102

I just had to report that one of the daffodil bulbs I planted two weeks ago has begun to poke its head above the ground! While all around the neighborhood daffodils are nearing their end...MINES (oh, that's Junnie ese for mine) is just getting started!

And, it looks like we will have some leaf lettuce for dinner tonight. It has grown to 6 leaves, so I will pick? cut? the two big outer ones. Wonder if there is a special way to pick/cut them? Hmmm...Heather???

No tomatoes or cucumbers doing anything yet...if the seeds are even still there?

Ryu bought some fertilizer the other day. Smells terrible, so maybe I will just mix it in the pots and find some radish seeds? Hmmm.

And, on kind of a gardening theme, I wonder if you can dry strawberries, and how to dry tomatoes? Anyone???

Gardening 101

Right along with quilting, crocheting, and bread making, I kind of figured that if my grandmas did it and my mom did it, I could do it "gardening" too. Well, I have kept my geraniums alive for years, anyway.

This year, with a bunch of pots of soil and no flowers to put in them, I decided it was time to "teach" Jun how to grow vegetables. So, I went to the 100 yen store and bought a package of cucumber seeds and one of tomato seeds. I also paid a buck at the stationary/craft shop for some leaf lettuce that came nicely sprouted.

As Jun and I sprinkled those veggie seeds over that completely unfertilized, unprepared soil, I have to tell you...if these seeds come up, I will be the MOST surprised person in the world! Each time we water the cucumber seeds, they float to the top, and I push them back down. Can't see the tomato seeds, so...who KNOWS what THEY are doing unsupervised! Whoever thought of putting "dead" seeds in the ground and then had patience to wait till they came up...amazing! I am definitely a hunter/gatherer!

And for the leaf lettuce. I heard you keep picking off the leaves and then more come. If you pick it, they will come. Right? So, how big do the leaves have to get before you pick them? I can't believe I need to GOOGLE leaf lettuce!

I just want to say that my grandparents and Mother really did not prepare me well in THIS area of my life! They made it look so easy and natural. And it isn't!