Popcorn and Sushi

What I Will Miss, Part 1

We leave Japan one month from tomorrow (!).  While I am thrilled about our upcoming move, and delighted about all we've done and seen since arriving in Japan almost six years ago, there are definitely some things I'm going to miss.  Among them:

Our 'hood  (Street names?  HAHAHA!  Good one--try again!)

Our street.  Power lines everywhere=what's not to love?  And that monster hedge was ours for almost four years!

The neighborhood soda machine, a glowing beacon when walking or driving up the hill at night.

Brainiacs Second Child and his supah-cool "brother" (that's what they call each other!) using tons o' spare change to buy sodas from said machine and letting them drop down one after the other until they get stuck, thus requiring the attentions of older sister (First Child, taker of the photo) to get them unwedged.

 

Neighborhood cemetery.  There's bamboo (and chestnuts, if the old ladies haven't gotten to them first) in them thar' hills.

 

The Purple House, one street over.  More than a little subversive.

Husband's mini-mobile, nicknamed "Pikachu" for no clear reason.  Fighting over the shared arm rest: good times!

 

Bubble mirrors, for negotiating sharp turns and narrow roads in virtually any neighborhood

 

frequent walks in the 'hood--apres-sushi this time, I believe

 

And speak of the devil--sushi.  Kappa-maki here, a fave of the kids

 

Don't forget the Sushi-Dudes--we love them so!

 

And, the stacking of the sushi plates by color.  Yellow=cheap=our favorite.  Waaaaaah, sushi!

I'm a Little Slow...

Image by tiffanywashko via Flickr

As I've mentioned, I'm something of a procrastinator.  I read a lot, and dream.  I make big plans and sometimes follow through.  I make smaller plans and sometimes follow through.  One small plan I had last year was to start making healthy green smoothie drinks.  I'd read the book Green for Life after seeing it in my blog-friend Leslie's sidebar, and I was filled with the urgent desire to start making green smoothies and foisting them upon my family on a daily basis.  But as is so often the case, I set the book down and moved on to other books and other recipes. 

I continued to think about green smoothies, though.  It just took me a while to start making them--as in SEVEN MONTHS. I think one thing that held me back was the fact that we don't have a fancy-schmancy high-powered blender.  Yes, it is absolutely preferable to have a high-powered blender for making smoothies--but it's not a necessity. I found this out once I actually tried making them.

Green smoothies are incredibly healthy and easy to make and drink--and they taste quite good, too.  I even have my kids making them now.  We haven't been going by a recipe lately--just using whatever fruits and green veggies we have on hand.  Want to know more about green smoothies and how to make them?  Rather than blathering on here, I will direct you to a true green smoothie motherlode.  Go have a look (you won't believe all you can find at this site--you could be there for hours!), then start blending away! 

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• Green Smoothie Recipes (losethattyre.co.uk)

Destination Procrastination

Our home will be packed up a month from today.  Oh, thankfully not by me (what were you thinking?), but by a group of industrious, polite, slip-on-shoes-wearing, cigarette-smoke-drenched Japanese movers who will surprise us with their wiry strength, stamina, and ability to wrap absolutely everything carefully and properly.  Unlike the dolt U.S. movers six years ago, one of whom lovingly triple-wrapped a light bulb from an antique lamp (bought several years before off a down-on-his-luck raggle-taggle guy in an El Camino heading through California to visit his aunt, no lie).  The light bulb arrived in Japan in pristine condition, while the (antique) lamp, loaded diagonally into a flimsy box--crunch!--did not.

But I digress.  Which is not surprising, in light of the fact that I am doing just a tiny bit of procrastinating, and I am very, very good at it.  Husband thinks I should take great interest in sorting through our craft-room/computer room/"green" room (lovely carpet)/equivalent-of-a-junk-drawer room.  Someone has to do it, and I'm the only one home at present.  

But who in her right mind would want to take a stab at weeding through piles of stuff like this?

And can't it be done later, maybe 29 days from now?  Because I am busy eating chocolate and drinking multiple cups of Tulsi tea while reading blogs, like this beautiful/hilarious one about small-town Germany, this American crafter-in-Germany one, and this super-informative one about being an expat in Germany.  All in the name of research, of course.

Hanami: Cherry Blossom Viewing 2009

Were they especially beautiful this year?  Maybe it just seems that way to me...

The Big Reveal

Pardon me if I've been a bit distracted.  Just over a week ago, right before Spring Break started, we got the word:  it's Germany!  Since we found out, we've been busy researching, contacting friends in the area, and getting a start on the zillions of things that must be done before we leave Japan.  We'll be moving in early-August to a part of Germany that's very near the borders of France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.  Husband will be working as an elementary school Information Center Specialist.  And yes, we are excited, though we will miss Japan tremendously...

The fact that Husband got a transfer meant that he could shave off the Rally Beard:

 

He planned to grow it until a transfer happened--thank goodness we didn't have to wait until next year!

Where will it be?

First Child recently found herself in a frenzy of designing and making friendship bracelets, and she decided to make several for her dad to wear.  Each one has the colors of a particular country's flag.  The countries represented are Belgium, Germany, England, and Italy: all places where we have a chance of moving this August.  

We should be hearing something any day now.  When Husband finds out, he'll leave on only the bracelet representing the country to which we're moving.  Exciting, isn't it?  Which bracelet will be the sole survivor?  Stay tuned!

Sleeping Girl and Large Cone

 

We're continually baffled at how easily the Japanese can nod off in all sorts of places, at any old time.  Husband couldn't help snapping a pic of this sleep-deprived girl in Hiroshima the other day.

And what's up with this huge traffic cone (that seems to have met with some misfortune) at the back of  a 7-11 parking lot?  Second Child thinks he needs to alert Guiness!

*Have a look at my latest posts at SuperCozy, if you're a homekeeping/cooking type!*

Snow in March

 

Behold this view of our inner courtyard yesterday.  I'm not sure what to think about snow in March.  But there it is--or was; it was all gone by mid-afternoon.  I'd say it had disappeared by right around the time the guys came to remove our non-functioning, brand-new stove and replace it with another of the same model.  Chilly and stoveless, I hinted on the phone to homeward-bound Husband that a warm beverage might be nice.  Half an hour later, stoveless and beverageless, I recalled that the direct approach usually works better.  Oh, well--I'd already drank half my weight in tea earlier in the day.  And later, since we had to wait until 6 p.m. for the newest new stove to be ready for cooking with gas,we went out for nice, piping-hot bowls of ramen--so right on a cold, moist evening.

Now, for another depiction of snow in our town, showcasing the famous Kintai bridge:

 

P.S. I've already posted again at SuperCozy--SuperWow!

My Husband, the Photographer

He naps!  He rows and runs!  He watches documentaries!  He buys dinners with spare change!  And he takes great pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

These are just a few examples of the fun he had with the D80 while we were gone.  Very nice, yes?

P.S.  Feel free to hop on over to my poor, languishing SuperCozy blog, if you're so inclined--I've actually posted something there!

My Husband, the Bachelor

I have just arrived back in Japan after three weeks in the States with First Child and Second Child.  We were on our annual homeland pilgrimage without Husband (someone in this family has to work!).  Every year, Husband becomes increasingly morose in the days leading up to our departure.  He envisions afternoons, evenings, and weekends spent alone, talking to no one but the neighborhood feral cats who occasionally peer in windows, and anyone who will answer when he Skypes them. He pictures days upon days with no home-cooked meals nor their resulting lunch-bound leftovers.  He imagines our cold Japanese house as much more frigid than it usually is in reality.

He knows he and his social, family-loving self will become, for a few weeks, a bachelor.

This year, he found a new way to occupy his time and avoid the kitchen: he spent his evenings sorting through mounds of loose change (a great many five-and ten-yen coins!) and presenting said change as payment for convenience-store dinners.  Never the slacker, he did photo-document his convenience-meals (so much better than they sound!) on his Facebook page, to the amusement of various friends and family members.  And I am happy to report that he has not been banned forever from Family Mart (the checkers quickly wised up and began pulling out a change-counter when they saw him come through the door, though one of them wasn't too happy about it).

One night, he actually entertained: he invited over a handful of friends who all contributed to a Breakfast-for-Dinner meal.  But he confessed to me that, true to his bachelor existence, he found someone's tub of butter sitting on our dining table--a week and a half later.  Funny, because I'm guessing the table was less-cluttered than usual, when it's laden with the books, pens, candy wrappers, and miscellaneous papers of four individuals instead of one.  But whatever--the butter tub was somehow mislaid.

He had a few meals with friends who took pity on him, in their homes or in restaurants.  And he got to be the center of attention at dinner out with a group of teachers he calls the Golden Girls (though in reality none of them are senior citizens).  

He disposed of trash, um--improperly, and I'm betting he didn't make the bed.  But before we got home, he changed the sheets on our bed and vaccuumed.  And bless his heart, he stopped by the grocery store and after our arrival insisted there was "plenty to eat" (carrots, yogurt, kimchi, and potatoes, anyone?).

Now that we're back together, all is right with the world.  The bachelor is no more--at least until next year.