The Art of Eating Senbei

Rainy Season.

2010-07-13T21:54:00.001+09:00

A break in the weather lets Annie and good friend Taito enjoy some frog hunting in a nearby paddy field. Summer is so close that we can smell it.

SAYONARA .

2009-05-18T11:10:00.003+09:00

Enough is enough and after unsuccessfully trying to edit functions,including the "comments" section, I have moved this blog over to Word Press.

Come on over!

Something that is missing....

2009-05-16T20:36:00.002+09:00

...in my life here in Japan is the concept of charity.Back in the UK,charity events are part of daily life.And such events are lacking in this country.The other day,one of my closest and dearest friends, the wonderful Rebecca, mailed me and mentioned that she is taking part in a well known UK cancer charity event called "The Race for Life " this weekend.And ,my sister,who incidentally has lost a tonne of weight and looks and feels brilliant,also decided that she will be taking part in her local Race for Life in June.And last year,my brave brother-in-law ,Robert,announced that he will be taking part in the 2010 Madrid Marathon in aid of a local charity which you can read all about on his blog.

Charity is said to start at home so I really think I must start thinking about a way to pass on this very important message to my own children.Any ideas are most welcome:)

Life in Japan.And why I love it(mostly!)

2009-05-11T21:24:00.003+09:00

9.30pm.

Annie should be in bed.

But she isn't.

A firefly came and rested on the window.

Annie ran outside and caught it.

And spent a few minutes playing .

Then it was gone.

But the memory remains.

Foiled again.

2009-05-11T11:30:00.003+09:00

This time I really thought I would be able to do it.I kept my mouth shut,acted normally and even didn't tell Kenichi.I dressed for work and was as grouchy as I usually am on a Monday morning.It was a close run thing but yet again,I was foiled.Damn damn damn and bugger it all.

You see,I have today off.This coming Sunday is sports day at school so we are supposed to go in on Saturday for a practice hence today is a day off in lieu.And every time I have a day off,something happens to ruin my plans;usually Annie is ill and needs to spend a good few hours at the hospital,the drains get blocked up or there is some kind of neighbourhood event that I must attend...the list goes on.

So I decided to keep really quite about today,especially to Kenichi who has the cruel habit of getting me just as he leaves for work ; "Have a great day and take it easy .Oh,and if you happen to have a spare minute maybe you could blah blah blah".The "blah blah blah" bit always being something that involves cleaning,scrubbing,sorting through cupboards or washing.But once it's been said,I know I can't rest without doing it.And basically it ruins the entire day.Grrrrr.

And naturally,today is no expectation.I have just come back from seeing the doctor with Millie who overnight,developed spots of all things, on her face and head.It doesn't seem to be chicken pox but she has to stay home today just in case it is contagious.She is now fast asleep after a wonderful (for her)visit with the doctor during which she screeched her screechiest screeches,giggled insanely every time she looked at him and kept attacking my boobs so he got a good eyeful of foreign cleavage and goodness knows what else.Poor man will need the rest of the day to recover.

Millie,I love you to bits but honey,why did you have to pick today to go all spotty?

Conversation

2009-05-06T14:34:00.004+09:00

Me: Annie,can you come and play at the front of the house because if you play near Maggie,she starts barking and Millie is having her nap so I don't want her to wake up?

Annie: OK,I'll come later.

Me: No Annie,now.

Annie: Sorry,I can't .

Me: Why ever not not?

Annie: Actually,I have to ask Maggie something about Italian parsley.

Me: Oh,right................

Maggie,our resident herb expert.

I made it!

2009-04-29T11:53:00.007+09:00

So,according to the blog,I am still in hospital with my mastitis.Obviously(!)I am not but have just been too lazy or busy(depending on my mood) to update.Many thanks for your concern and I am fine again and all is good in the world.

I was determined to have at least one blog entry for April and have just about made it with one day to spare.This month has been hectic.Yes,so hectic in fact,that I am using italics.I started back at work on April 1st and that meant that Millie started full time daycare.It was as tough as I knew it would be on both of us.More to come at another time when I fancy a pity party;).

Since April 1st,I have already used up 6 days of my 30 day annual paid leave so am hoping that things do not continue like this for the next 11 months.Both girls got ill soon after starting daycare as is always inevitable, but Millie has her sisters' wonderful intuition of only being ill when Kenichi and my in-laws are away/busy/planting rice/in meetings etc etc. so that I am the one who has to take time off.Little tyke.But it always gives us more cuddle time at home and I am never made to feel in the least bit guilty for taking time off which is another reason why I like my job.Annie had a nasty attack of gastroenteritis and lost quite a bit of weight so we are feeding her up and also squashed her thumb under her bicycle resulting in a number of visits to the hospital for dressing changes and x-rays.Millie has just had a few bad colds and coughs and the odd fever to add spice to it all.

Both girls are developing in their own way.Annie is really enjoying daycare.In the UK,she would be starting reception this year.Here in Japan,she has another year and 11 months until she starts 1st Grade(Year 1).She is beginning to read and write English which she seems to prefer at the moment but is also doing well with her Japanese.We are not pushing her at all with either language as we still have so much time until she starts school and follow her daycares' policy of "play now,study later".She loves drawing and spends a lot of time with a pencil or pen in her hand.She also loves dancing at the moment butit is the worst dancing you have ever seen(apart from that of her mother) which is so very amusing.She is going to swimming classes courtesy of daycare and Kenichi takes her once a week as well and she loves it.We are also in the process of finding a local piano teacher for her as all the classes in the big town near us were full before we had time to get her name down.What bad parents we are.Her English and Japanese are great as ever and she speaks Japanese with a broad local dialect.And she retains her Surrey English of course.Splendid!All in all,she is a happy but rather shy four year old but gaining in confidence day by day.She now actually sleeps in her own bed in her own room as well,thanks to my mum buying her fairy and flower duvet covers.Aren't girls are delightfully fickle!And she still has the most amazingly vivid imagination which makes me very happy.

Emilie is now 7 months old and still a very small baby for her age.She is just about 13lbs and not actually on some of the weight charts.Oops!But she is very active and alert and we have been told not to worry at all(but being parents,we do have the odd moment of doing just that.) She is crawling a round a little but hasn't actually realised how she is getting places so we are still relatively safe in leaving her to shuffle back and forth although she seems to be reaching up quite a bit and starting to pull herself up.She is pretty vocal and my goodness,she is a smiler! One of the two Japanese characters which make up her name is for "smile" or "laugh" which is so very apt.She still has a dimple but not sure how long that will last.She is weaning and so far her favourite foods have been bananas and spinach.In the last few days,she has reached that ever so delightful stage(hmm) when she realises that if she blows a raspberry with food in her mouth,she can have lots of fun.I am still breast feeding her exclusively and have an hour at lunch to dash over to daycare to feed her.It is well worth the rush and lack of break time and it gives me a chance to see her during the day.No sign of teeth at the moment and no sign of any new hair growth.Just like her Ji-chan(grandfather).

So that's about it! We work.We play.And try to sleep as much as we can....

Seven down,thirteen to go!

2009-03-25T21:37:00.002+09:00

Yesterday morning I developed a high fever and was rather painful when I fed Millie which rang some alarm bells.So Kenichi took me,with the girls in tow,to see the doctor at the clinic where Annie and Millie were born.And as I had guessed,I had developed mastitis.The treatment at the clinic is a course of antibiotics given intravenously over a five day period.So I am at the clinic until Sunday in a lovely private room and receiving excellent care.Millie is with me and in 7th heaven as she adores all the attention from the nursing staff and has me on tap 24 hours a day.I had 4 drips yesterday and four more today and feel much better.But I am beginning to feel like a pin cushion.But its a small price to pay for being looked after so well and having the excuse to do absolutely nothing!So seven drips down and yep,thirteen to go...my poor hands(and veins).

Changing the rules.

2009-03-19T21:20:00.003+09:00

By now,many of you will have come across the recent craze in "Pay it Forward Giveaway" blog entries.It is a great idea,lots of fun and I have joined the bandwagon after reading all about it on a friend's blog.

So I am here to join in ,but with a twist.As many people who read blogs do not necessarily have their own, I wanted to try to include everyone.So,I am offering to send gifts to the first 3 people who blog but if you don't have a blog yourself(or would prefer),the "pay forward" part will instead be done by giving a donation to a charity of your choice.I hope this meets with approval.

So the rules for those of you who haven't come across this before;

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a gift from me some time this year. There's a small catch. You must post this same thing (Paying it Forward Giveaway) on your own blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in, along with a link! OR,as explained above,you must come back and leave a comment telling me what charity you have donated too(and no,don't need to know the amount of course!).

And about the gift...it will not be homemade(as if!) and for those of you living in Japan,my in-laws are farmers so I have quite a lot of vegetables at my disposal.For those of you elsewhere,I may even take requests;)

Looking back.

2009-03-16T22:29:00.008+09:00

It's coming up to 10pm and all nursing mothers should be fast asleep and awaiting the midnight feed.Instead,I am catching up on my blog and ,at the same time waiting to hear news from my friend in the UK announcing the birth of her twins.So I am multi-tasking at night....impressed?

I have spent the day compiling a montage of our snap shots from our UK trip and at last have finished.I spent more time than anything on deciding on the music so no complaints please;I was desperate by the end and the songs chosen just seemed to fit.

Apologies to the many people who do not appear in this montage(including the fore mentioned mother of the twins and family amongst others);I forgot my camera on many occasions,was too lazy to take photos myself as someone else always seemed to have a camera or just took video footage instead.So silly of me and next time I promise to stick to the faithful "digi-came",as it is called here in Japan.

Anyway,here you go.A few of the best moments of our stay in England that I managed to get on film(figuratively speaking!).Hope you enjoy it.

ENGLAND 2009

Edited to Add...Congratulations on the birth of Harry and Megan,who arrived long before I worked out how to get that damn montage working;)

Happy Moo Year

2009-01-01T02:22:00.005+09:00

For those of you who may not know and think I am just being stupid with my titles,I must mention that 2009 is Year of the Cow...

So,Happy New Year! It is still before 7pm on New Years Eve here in England but it is next year in Japan and as half my heart is there,I am feeling very "New yearish".Let's hope that 2009 is a peaceful year for us all.

All is well here in the UK although rather chilly with frosty days and nights.But with central heating,who the hell cares when it is cold outside??!Annie loves the cold weather and I have to say that I do like it too.We are hoping for snow and the weather forecast is promising a bit next week.However,as any Brit will know,the weather forecasters in this country are never to be believed so I am not holding my breath nor telling Annie about the promise of a wee bit of the white stuff.

We had a fantastic Christmas and all the kiddies got on really well with lots of laughter and fun plus the odd tear jerking moment;just how Christmas should be.And a real,proper needle shedding Christmas tree to boot;).Annie is loving her life in the UK and has settled in with ease.She is eating like a horse(ditto me) and we are keeping in touch with Kenichi on a regular basis via Skype.Millie is being Millie and a sweetie.I am just enjoying being with mum,eating well(no,I am not food obsessed but nothing like a good sausage or three) and starting to catch up with friends in the coming weeks.So much to do and so little time!

Well,Emilie has started making "feed me" noises even though I only fed her an hour ago(so I am not the only one obsessed with food then) so that it is all.I leave you with a few photos from over Christmas of my 2 and my gorgeous nephews Dominic and Eddie.

Helping to decorate the gingerbread house made by Auntie Helen.

Kiddies in their PJ's and being allowed to open one present each on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day in the morning and Annie blocks her ears as Millie complains very loudly.

Waiting for the FOOD.

A rather bemused Millie with her Christmas present and card from Annie.

Obligatory Boxing Day walk.

Back in the UK

2008-12-20T00:44:00.006+09:00

We made it and the flights were pretty good and easy all considering.Annie was on her best behaviour for most of the long flight and slept for the last couple of hours .Millie slept and woke as all babies do but only cried fleetingly a few times and was complimented by all the surrounding people as we were arriving at Heathrow;the same passengers had,of course,avoided all eye contact with us as we boarded,obviously not at all happy that they were seated next to not only a child but also a baby;).

Jet lag has been and gone and we only had one "bad" night when Annie woke at 3am.Apart from that ,it has been so easy probably because I am feeding Millie every 3 or so hours anyway so haven't felt any change in my pace of life! Hooray for babies!

Annie has slipped into life here with great ease which I do think has a lot to do with the fact that she is so confident in English.She remembers a lot from our visit in 2007 when she was 2 and a half and she and my mum are loving being together and its a joy to watch them.Millie is just being herself and cooing ,chuckling ,sleeping,crying and feeding as ever.

Highlights of the last 4 days for Annie include a very exciting visit to Santa's Grotto to meet the man himself,going to buy a Christmas tree with Oma and decorating it with our help,talking to her cousin Dominic on the phone,eating Heinz tomato soup,baked beans and spaghetti hoops,a visit to the local library to borrow a pile of books,watching new episodes of Charlie and Lola on TV ,snuggling under the new "In the Night Garden "duvet that Oma bought,playing with the toys Oma has or has borrowed from the neighbours and seeing all the Christmas lights and decorations in the shops and houses.

Highlights of the last 4 days for me,include seeing mum meet Millie for the first time(hankies out),walking around in a centrally heated house,eating proper bread,smelling the frosty air,watching Annie experience a real Christmas,going to the supermarket(something which will mean a lot to everyone living in Japan!),listen to Annie chatting away to mum and listening to mum and Annie giggling away, actually remembering the security code for my credit card without having to get a new card and number for the first time in 10 years and knowing that my retail therapy will help the UK out of recession.

A busy few days to come and my sister and family arrive on December 23rd for Christmas.We will have 4 under 5s in the house and they will rule......Cant wait !

Off we go!

2008-12-13T18:51:00.002+09:00

It's now just before 9am on Sunday morning and we are about to leave.The car is packed,Annie is in the car and Kenichi is putting Millie in her hated child seat as I type.I did 99% of the packing last night and this morning and it was much easier than I had expected.I wasn't sure quite what we will need on the flight(apart from obvious) so have thrown a few things i and hope that 11 nappies are enough for Millie,eleven being my lucky number;)We will stay the night in Fukuoka so have a 5 hours drive ahead of us now and on Monday morning we will go to the airport,say goodbye to Kenichi and off we go! We are flying via the fancy schamnsty Incheon Airport in Korea as there are no direct UK flights from Fukuoka.Korean Air offers the best deals and flights to suit us and hopefully the will be wonderful service for mothers travelling with kids;)

So,hoping to check-in again(ho ho) when we are at my mum's in the UK.Getting rather excited now helped by Annie's escalating excitement (hysteria??!)And we both like flying so let's hope we enjoy the flight as well as the other passengers;)

In Limbo

2008-12-10T10:31:00.002+09:00

I am in that strange "in between countries" state many of you who live in a foreign country probably know well.On Monday,I will be going to the UK for nearly 3 months with the girls.There are still things to be done,bags to be packed etc and I have a mental checklist of everything I want to get done before the weekend.

Transcending cultures is such an odd experience; after 16 years of life in Japan,so much here is now the norm so when I leave it all behind,I feel some sense of loss,angst and even regret.However,the familiarity of my childhood home awaits which is exciting and I feel so very comfortable back in the UK .

Hopping from one culture and one language to another isn't easy.And I find that this "in between"time seems to be one of self preservation; physically I am still in Japan but mentally,I am already in England.It is a strange feeling and hard to explain but I find that I can only really relax now if I am thinking about the upcoming trip and getting ready for it in some way or another.Once the final suitcase is packed,I will be able to sit down and just focus on the flight and look forward to everything that awaits us.And try to ignore that horrible feeling I get when I think about being away (and taking the girls away from) Kenichi for so long.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-02T14:45:00.004+09:00

I dedicate this photo to the few people I have met who think that the girls don't bare any resemblance to each other at all...

Kimonos Galore

2008-11-24T14:55:00.010+09:00

November marked two very important occasions for both girls.Emilie had her "Miyamairi" after which we were officially allowed to go outside so it was very eagerly awaited for by me!And Annie had her "Shichi-Go-San" celebration .

On November 1st,Millie had her special day.Miyamairi ( "shrine visit") is a traditional Shinto rite of passage for newborns in Japan.One month after birth (31st day for boys and 32 days for girls), parents and grandparents take the child to a Shinto shrine, to express gratitude to the deities for the birth of a baby and have shrine priest pray for his or her health and happiness.

The baby will be draped in a kimono and often one of the grandmothers will carry the child;my mum carried Annie and this time,MIL got her go as mum wasn't here!As for the kimono,in Annie's case,my PIL bought her a very beautiful kimono that is used during the later Schichi-Go-san celebrations when the child is older.For Millie,my SIL gave us the kimono her daughter(Annie and Millie's cousin) also used; it was a lovely gesture as usually the child will keep his/her kimono to pass on to their future offspring.

My PIL with a slumbering Millie(and Annie running away from the camera in the background).My FIL is carrying a bottle of sake which is presented to the gods then given back to us to drink in celebration of the day.

The ceremony itself is quite short and private ; before the alter ,the priest wearing robes and headgear will recite a prayer and swings a Tamagushi right and left.During the prayer,the priest cites the name of the parents,the family's address and the baby's name and birthday.Afterwards,the parents,grandparents,siblings and other relatives(if present) go forward one by one to bow to the alter and place tamagushi on a table in front of the alter.Then the priest bangs on the taiko drum to wake the gods,announcing the news of the child's birth and to finalise the ceremony.

It is a simple yet beautiful ceremony and as important to the Japanese as a Christian Baptism is to Christians.And as with most baptisms,the child is given gifts but in Japan they are monetary gifts which are given by family,relatives and friends.Millie was asleep for most of the ceremony as just like her big sister,she slept through the taiko drumming as well!

This time I manage to get in the background and seem to be complaining about something to someone.What a surprise;)

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Then,on November 15th,we had Annie's "Shichi-go-san" which means "Seven-Five-Three" This is one of the most important festivals for Japanese children, observed annually on November 15. On this date girls of three and seven years and boys of five years of age are taken by their parents to the Shintō shrine to offer thanks for having reached their respective ages and to invoke blessings for the future. In former times the day was also marked by five-year-old boys of the samurai class being dressed in a hakama (pleated, divided skirt) and presented to their respective feudal lords, seven-year-old girls wearing the formal obi (stiff sash), and the three-year-old girls having their hair arranged on top of their heads, all for the first time.

Nowadays,it is quite an event and of course a chance to dress up your children and get some professional photos taken as well as visiting the shrine.Due to busy lifestyles,children are taken for their snapshots and shrine visits anytime from the beginning of November(and sometimes earlier).This year,November 15th fell on a Saturday so we were able to do things as traditional dictates.Which delighted my MIL;)

At 9am,we took Annie to the local hairdressers/beauticians and they started work on her hair.Annie was really nervous at this point which was a blessing as it took a long time to do her hair and she stayed still for nearly all the time!After her hair and make-up(the latter a request by Annie),her kimono was fitted.This all took over and hour.Then we went to get some professional photos taken and by this time,Annie was sick and tired of sitting and standing still so Kenichi and I emerged from that feeling a wee bit stressed.

Then on to the shrine where we were joined by my PIL and and Mattea,our friend who also took some fantastic photos for us; I never knew she was so talented and if we'd known,we wouldn't have bothered with the professional pics!Thanks again Mattea and also for giving permission to use some of the pictures here.At the shrine,Annie was blessed along with a few other childen and prayers were said by the priest along with some more drumming.After the shrine,we all went out for a meal and Annie changed out of her kimono and wanted her hair down again so spent the rest of the afternoon looking like a Cher throw back from the early 1960's.

Anyway,I will let the photos tell the story of the day!

The last photo is is my favourite.Notice Annie's footwear; we were lent some zori by the beautician(which you can see her wearing in previous pictures) so we couldn't let her wear them outside.Instead,she wore her old grotty daycare sneakers which upset MIL no end! Also,if you look on her back,you can see white envelopes hanging from her kimono;again,as with Miyamairi,this occasion is marked with monetary gifts from family,relaltves and frineds.The money is put in special envelopes and tied to the back of the obi.Annie,like Millie, did pretty well ;)

My Little Diva

2008-11-20T13:37:00.004+09:00

After perfecting her ABC song earlier on this year,Annie refused point blank to sing it.Until recently and now she wont stop.I managed to capture this "performance" on video and it is(TG) a short one;some go on for 10 or 20 minutes...After the ABC song(s) is her rather odd rendition of "Ponyo Ponyo",the theme song from the new film "Ponyo on the Cliff"by the master of Japanese Anime Hayao Miyazaki.

One down,one to go.

2008-11-17T10:49:00.001+09:00

Kudos to the British Embassy for processing Millie's application and sending us her passport within 7 days.Her Japanese one will only be ready on Wednesday and we applied for it before the British one.

Drum Roll please...

2008-11-12T21:39:00.005+09:00

The time has come(and both kiddies are fast asleep so I have time) for,yes,The Birth Story.My reason for blogging about it is actually three fold; I want to write it down so that I wont forget,my family in the UK still have no idea of what happened and finally,a few people have actually asked me to blog about it.

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As you may remember (and I will never ever forget),I was rather anxiously awaiting the birth of Millie for what seemed like an age.She was a week late when my doctor told me that we would give her one more week to make an appearance and if she was still not out,I would be induced.That was on a Monday and by the Thursday,nothing at all had happened so I was dreading the days to come as I was so convinced that I would never give birth.the only sign that something was happening was that I had Braxton Hicks contractions on and off.Every time I had a few I would religiously note the time and get vaguely excited if I had a few in a row but each time they just stopped and I felt disappointed again and again.On Thursday night,I had a few more and they were getting quite painful but low and behold,they just disappeared into thin air.On the Friday morning,I had a few more and they went on for some time but never got worse and were random.I settled down for my afternoon nap and decided that if I was really in labour,I wouldn't be able to sleep as the contractions would be too painful...I was asleep for over 2 hours.

When I woke up,I still had the pains.And by 4pm I realised that the pains had worsened and although no more frequent than before I couldn't really drive.So I asked Kenichi to pick Annie from daycare when he finished work.So he finished work there and then,rushed to get Annie and was home within 10 minutes.Amazing what a men can do when they put their minds to it.In the meantime I had a shower and was feeling fine and after dusting off my hospital bags and putting them in the car left a message with my mum to say that we were off to the hospital but may well be back later as I felt I was in false labour.

We got to the clinic and my room was ready for me and after a few questions and a blood test from the nurse and midwives on duty I went up to settle in.The room was lovely and big with an en suite loo and we spent a good few minutes opening cupboards and expecting things.A meal was waiting for me so while I ate,Kenichi and Annie went out to a local restaurant to eat.By the time they came back,I was in bed and hooked up to a baby monitor and feeling very perky.Annie and I had a few cuddles and I told her some stories and we just relaxed together.The contractions weren't increasing or worsening .At 9pmish,Kenichi decided to take Annie home and gave her a bath and settled her to sleep.My mother-in-law arrived at our house soon afterwards and stayed the night with her.Kenichi then came back to the clinic.

"Woo Hoo...Look at my room with an en suite loo eh!"

In the meantime,some of my contractions were getting pretty severe and at 10pmish a nurse came and took me through to the delivery room.Now usually they would have waited but the clinic was being re-vamped at the time which meant that my bedroom was on the 3rd floor and the temporary deliver rooms were down on the 1st floor with a little walk from the lifts.So they were moving us all down earlier than necessary just in case we started giving birth in the lifts which would be rather a nuisance no doubt.

So off we went and I settled on the horrible birthing bed/chair thingy and was hooked up to a drip and the baby monitor again and watched as most of my contractions didn't actually register on the damn machine; indeed,they were weakening.So the waiting began.Kenichi returned at 10.30pmish and we just chatted away and once in a while if I got a nasty contraction,I would start concentrating on self-hypnosis,or what I think self-hypnosis is.Clever eh?!And this is were the fun began.I wanted to relax as much as possible during the contractions so had these wonderful imagines that I had previously decided on .I had one image of myself in a garden,walking under autumn leaves which I though would be very apt and keeping in with the season.When that stopped being of help,I had one of me and my father and us talking together and that really did help a lot.When the contractions started to get quite nasty,I had an image of dad holding out his had as well which was very comforting.And then the images that I had no control over suddenly popped into my mind and I am still rather taken aback by them; I had Ricky Gervais talking to me as his character,David Brent , in the comedy "The Office".....he was telling me all about his thoughts on labour and pain control during natural child birth.Then the character of Gareth also started chiming in.It was a truly bizarre experience as I would have peaceful images of flowers and gardens,then dad and suddenly during the next contraction I would have David and Gareth advising me.Bizarre.

Anyway,the contractions were not getting closer together but one in 5 was pretty bad when I would retreat into my own world to see who would be there waiting for me but the rest of the time,Kenichi and I chatted and commented on wanting to shoot the seemingly hundreds of people who had confidently told us that your second labour is far shorter than your first blah blah blah(and these people,incidentally,were also the ones who told me that the second child is always born early...yeah right!).

We were left alone most of the time but once in a while a nurse or midwife would pop her head in to see if we were still there.There was another women in labour in the adjacent room(her fourth) and it was comforting to know that she had been in labour for a good few hours as well.And I wonder if she also felt the sense of competition in the air to see who would pop the sprog out first...hmmm.

It was now coming up to 2 am and all my hopes of a fast labour and of winning the birth contest were over.The woman in the next room started to give birth and the doctor was called to come.He lives just a minute or so away so is only called at the last minute or in emergencies.God,I was so jealous of that woman but wanted to tell her to shut up when we could hear her screaming "Itai Itai" (Owww) over and over again...grief,it was her fourth kid so she should have know that it bloody well hurts;).She had her baby and the doctor came over to see me and I had an internal and he said that I was nearly 10cm dilated at last.But the contractions were still not as bad as I knew they should be and I had no urge to push.Then he was called back to the other woman's bedside as apparently her placenta was not coming out as it should be so we were abandoned yet again.

But I had a cunning plan.At close to 3am,a midwife popped her head round the door so I said that I thought that I was getting the urge to push which was actually a bit of a lie.I just wanted something to happen for goodness sake.So a few minutes later the doctor came in after having safely delivered the placenta next door and at last decided to burst my waters.It was an odd experience and as they burst I asked rather sarcastically if my waters had burst then,forgetting that in general,sarcasm in Japan isn't much used.So I was given a lot of nods and assurance that they were indeed burst.Then the doctor started asking me to push and bugger,I remembered what I had told the midwife so I had to just start oushing.And it was all rather tough and painful.But after a set of pushes or two,the nice doctor(who incidentally,turned out to have a rather nice body for a soon to be 60 year old when in a T-shirt) told me that he would have the baby out in the next set of pushes,I was so happy as (a) it took about 2 hours and 100 pushes to get Annie out and (2) I wouldn't have to worry about pushing from below my waist to avoid bursting blood vessels in my face and eyes as all the books warn you about(coz who wants to look like they had a round with Mike Tyson when they are seeing visitors the next day?) and could just push any old how.Which is just what I did and suddenly ,after the episiotomy which I will not go into(although let me add that here they don't use any namby pamby anaesthetic so yep,you can feel it;) ) he started pulling out the baby's head and then that was out at 3.10am .And that was the end of the pain I thought,but NO.It hurt when her body came out so I protested loudly as I was not happy that the pain continued.But then she was out and held up for us to see and bless her,Millie was born screaming her little lungs out...and has continued to cry for England and Japan ever since.Then I was given a few whiffs of oxygen that had been hidden away until then,go figure and enjoyed the drama of having the mask over my face and it all felt very ER-ish for a minute or two until that damn doctor started to get my placenta out ASAP no doubt worried that I would be like the women next door and take ages doing so which meant that he would only be back in bed after 4amish.So he really used brute force and pushed on my tummy like his life depended on it and again,I protested loudly and told him to stop it...In Japanese and English just to get my sentiments across to him twice.But very soon the placenta

Then it was really all over and I was cleaned up.I rang my mum on Kenichi's mobile and told her that Millie had arrived and then Millie was brought over to us after having been cleaned up,weighed and measured.She was bound to my chest and we spent the next hour or so like that and she even suckled a bit like a little barracuda.Then she was taken to the nursery,Kenichi buggered on back to the bedroom and I was left all alone on that nasty old bed thing until 5am as they don't let you move for 2 hours after the birth.And they left the lights on so I couldn't even doze.Sheesh.But after that,I was allowed up at last and went back to my room and Kenichi and I lay down together and talked about it all as neither of us could sleep.

"Hard work this birth business..."

And that is that.Except the comment that I have absolutely no recollection of making just seconds after Millie was born but Kenichi swore I said it.I said to him,it seems,with a big smile on my face " Well,that's two down,One to go". Oh My Goodness...What was I thinking??!

I love this photo...I was so knackered but thought it best to put my hand on top of Millie so I looked more like a loving and caring mother.And note that nasty old bed and killer stirrups...

2008-11-11T06:52:00.004+09:00

One of the nicest people I have worked with in the past 16 years is Matsushita-Sensei ,a vice-principal at one of the local junior high schools.Friendly,funny,easy to talk to,caring,compassionate,interesting,witty,energetic....the list could go on and on.He is the kind of person to remember names and the names of family members so when I was absent due to Annie's sickness,he always asked after her by name.He also spent 3 years teaching at one of the Japanese Schools in Indonesia which made him pretty aware of the challenges I face every day as a foreigner living and working in a foreign country.Little things but they do make a difference and it is not surprising that he is probably one of the most popular teachers I have known;popular amongst not only the student body but also the staff and parents alike.

Last Wednesday,Matsushita-Sensei woke up at 5am with a blinding headache.By 7am,he had been rushed to hospital after suffering a massive stroke.On Sunday afternoon,his life support machine was switched off.

He was just 48.

There are no words to describe how we all feel ;"devastated"doesn't really come close.His wake was last night and funeral is today.As so many will attend,the family have hired the biggest funeral hall to cope .I hope that the sheer number of people will be of some comfort to his family.

Just minutes before I got the news of Matsushita-Sensei's death on Sunday,I received a forwarding mail from my friend in New Zealand.The timing was so apt and I ask you to take a minute to read through part of the mail :

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) .she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 pm Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ.

Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die.... they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.It only takes a minute to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE Remember the '3' steps, STR . Read and Learn!Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S.... Ask the individual to SMILE.
T..... Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently, e.g. It is sunny out today)
R ....Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke -- Stick out Your Tongue NOTE: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other,that is also an indication of a stroke.

Thank you.

Settling In.

2008-11-07T09:46:00.005+09:00

It took me all of 2 days to realise that Millie has extra special powers ; I swear she knows the second I go near the PC or touch the keyboard or mouse.She can be in the deepest sleep and still seems to sense when I am trying to sneak in a quick mail or,woe betide me,do some blogging.So that is why I haven't been able to blog for so long and have so many mails to write.And needless to say,she is stirring right now but I have her on my knees so am ready to shove my breast in her mouth if she tries to sabotage my attempts to get up to date here yet again.Crafty little minx.

The last few weeks have whizzed past and I can hardly believe that Millie is nearly 6 weeks old.We have had the usual ups and downs of newborn life plus a few other unforeseen events including Annie sick with a high fever again the day Millie and I came home from the clinic and Millie nearly hospitalised due to a bout of diarrhoea.Lots of fun as you can well imagine as well as the battle to keep breast feeding,the usual sleepless nights and coping with visitors popping in at odd hours(and more often than not when we were having our afternoon naps) and trying to keep ourselves fed,dressed and sane.But we managed and it was mostly due to Kenichi doing everything and anything and friends who took Annie for a few hours,made food for us and even did the cleaning on a couple of occasions.

But now we are settling in and I am out and about now that the first month has passed.Here in Japan,one is strongly encouraged to stay in the home for the first month of the baby's life.I am not going to argue the pros and cons of this but just to say that living in the sticks,these traditions are not taken lightly and yes,I could ignore this one but it is not worth the hassle and the backlash.So indeed,I stayed at home for the month although did have a few trips to the hospital and the clinic,and to a friends house on the way back from the clinic which doesn't count;).

So we are officially allowed out again and it is really nice but we don't do much or go far as yet as I am concentrating on breast feeding and Millie feeds every 2 hours so that limits the amount we can do .And she is rather vocal baby and makes herself heard when she is not happy which is rather embarrassing when we are shopping at the local supermarket.

Millie is a real snuggler and wants to be held all the time and,as I said,very vocal,She is also a smiler and I had my first proper smile on day she reached 4 weeks old.She also "talks" a lot and com-plains a lot already.She adores Annie and Annie is totally in love with her; she tells me every day that Millie is the best baby in the whole wide world and gets terrible worried if anyone apart from Kenichi and me try to touch her.She loves giving Millie bottles which is so useful and is a great help during nappy changes as well and it wont be long before she is doing the nappies all by herself.We sleep together in the "girls" bed and Kenichi has moved into one of our tatami rooms for the time being which suits us all well as he gets uninterrupted sleep so can get up early to walk the dog,put the wash on,clean,make breakfast etc and Annie,Millie and I get a big bed to ourselves.As we co-sleep,Millie rarely cries as I am there to see to her every need at once, and Annie sleeps through it all anyway.

And finally,a bit of video that I took to send to my mum but it was too heavy to send as an attachment,so I am adding it here.Annie was telling Millie a story(which doesn't make much sense) and they looked so sweet together!

Still alive

2008-10-14T08:40:00.001+09:00

Yes,we are here but it has been rather busy lately! And just as I start to write this,the baby wakes up.Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

In denial

2008-09-28T10:26:00.001+09:00

I decided last night that I'm not that hormonal this time round. Then why did I cry this morning when I heard that Paul Newman died??!

((THANK YOU))

2008-09-28T10:06:00.001+09:00

A massive thank for all your wonderful comments and messages.As I can blog and recieve comments from my mobile phone I feel more in touch with the outside world despite having no other Net or PC access.It makes such a big difference especially as we will be at the clinic until Friday.But I must admit that it is more like a hotel here and the food is amazing.And come Friday I will be begging to stay...

Millie

2008-09-27T10:01:00.001+09:00

She is here at last!

2008-09-27T07:36:00.001+09:00

Photos to follow as we forgot to take any with our mobiles.But she is the spitting image of Annie at birth...so bad luck Kenichi but the western genes win again:) She was born on Saturday at 3.10am and kudos to Annie for getting that right.She was 3,152g,just 2 more than Annie and 48cms. Kenichi was with me for the whole ride and Annie is on her way now with her grandparents and then it is sleep time all afternoon .Hooray! Well thats all for except the name...bet you thought I forgot eh! Her name is Emilie and Millie for short.Hope you approve:).

We are not amused...

2008-09-25T12:10:00.003+09:00

She looks just how I feel right now.....

DUH...

2008-09-23T13:56:00.001+09:00

Forgot the photo.

Back to the beach again.

2008-09-23T13:54:00.001+09:00

Annie has changed her predication date to Saturday which is a bit cheeky.But you get away with a lot when you are 3 and your mother is clutching at straws.
So here we are at the local beach again.It is another hot day but there is a nice breeze.Annie is making me a sand cake and I am blogging using my mobile phone.We are both content:)

The Oracle has Spoken.

2008-09-21T07:08:00.003+09:00

We asked Annie when the baby will be born.

She had a think and then slowly said "Tuesday".

And the scary thing is that I so believe her.

I need some hope for goodness sake ;).

A Friday Post....for Lily;)

2008-09-19T10:41:00.004+09:00

Cooeeee...Yep,I'm still here and no signs at all that the baby is on her way! Except that after a big old moving fest yesterday she is very quiet.I think she is getting pissed off at the lack of room.Which is a good thing as it may be the enticement she needs for her to come out;)

All in all I'm feeling much for laid back now thanks to my good friend K who I spoke to yesterday.She had her second baby just 3 months ago so could commiserate beautifully with my feelings.And she told me to just relax.And hey presto,when I put the phone down,I was suddenly totally relaxed about everything.Amazing!

I have been more energetic.I spent a good few hours tidying yesterday,concentrating on the areas that have been blatantly ignored for the last few months.And I even made kuri-gohan(chestnut rice) which is delicious but a bugger to make as it is rather time consuming if you use fresh chestnuts.But such was my jolly mood that even that was a fun thing to do.And this morning I have had another clear out of a few danger areas and cleaned the house.So am all smug now.I even dusted on and around my hospital bags....

And as for the typhoon,well ,yesterday afternoon,we had some strong winds.And that was that.Thrilling eh! We were very lucky as the thing changed course and is heading for or is already over Shikoku.We have blue skies and very warm sunshine here to stay which is lovely as I managed to do lots of washing after 4 or 5 dreary days.

Annie was a little disappointed that the typhoon didn't come this way.She was all ready to catch and tame it as she is convinced that she is "Milky-Rose" a girly super-hero type anime character from her favourite Japanese anime "Yes!Pretty Cure 5".I would have loved to see Annie vs the typhoon so I have to say I was a little disappointed too.Maybe next time!

Wordless Wednesday.

2008-09-17T09:41:00.009+09:00

All is quiet.

2008-09-16T15:50:00.004+09:00

Thank you so much for the wonderful comments on my last post.I do apologise for being such an old misery guts but that's how it is! I know that the baby will come out when she is good and ready(or else we both go through the "joys" of induction together;) ) and that this is the calm before the storm and I should just sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet but even so,I still hate the wait.

I was thinking about it again last night and think that what gets to me most is saying goodbye to Annie each morning at daycare and not knowing if I will see her later on or not.And knowing that even though we have prepared her as much as possible for the birth ,that she is going to be pretty upset when I am suddenly not there.As my mum said the other day,one spends a lot of time worrying about the older kid(s) in this situation which makes it more stressful.I have had to leave Annie before for a couple of weeks; when dad was dying I went back to the UK see him alone without Annie.It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do and it still upsets me to think about it (but I will never regret having made that trip!).She was just 2 at that time and in some ways it was easier as she didn't really understand what was going on.This time,she knows I will be gone for a week and on bad days it upsets her.The other day she said that she wants to come and sleep with me in the clinic.She cried and cried when I told her that she and Kenichi will be sleeping at home.

Anyway,enough emotional talk as it does me no good! I went for my check-up this morning and the good news is that the baby is still head down.Yesterday,after a few tough days of lower pain and trouble with walking,the pain and pressure suddenly eased and she was really active again so I half wondered if she had flipped up again.The doctor said it was quite possible but that she is down again TG.He was talking about starting to induce me if my body was getting ready but after an internal,he said that everything was still shut if you KWIM;) So no induction and we will leave her there for another week.

In the meantime,a bloody great typhoon is slowly moving this way just to add to the fun of things.The slow ones are nasty as they are with you for longer.It keeps changing it's course so hard to say if we will be on the direct path or not.As Kenichi is in charge of bad weather,typhoon and earthquake damage and patrols at work,we are very much hoping that the damn thing will not mean that he is called out when I need him most.Oh ,we do live exciting lives,don't we;)

Oh,and for the FWC girls,I hope one of you hits the jackpot.I have managed to disappoint quite a few so far but I am sure I will be forgiven at some point;)

Kicking my heels.

2008-09-15T09:19:00.004+09:00

For me,this is the worst bit of this pregnancy lark...the waiting.It was the same with Annie and during the last weeks I got so grouchy and just wanted the baby to arrive.And Annie was born slap bang on time which is pretty rare for first timers.So now I am grouchy,moody and fed up.I want to go outside and walk and move but it is Sod's Law that we have had rain for the last couple of days and it is really hard today so no chance that I will risk slipping and slidding as I tramp along the muddy roads.

So with No 2 you hear from everyone(it seems) that the baby will arrive early.Even the doctor said it.Since the end of August I have been ready mentally and for the last 2 weeks,I have had those bags packed;hell,I have even shaved my legs,done my eyebrows,filed down my nails(chalk-based indigestion tablets during the last 9 plus months have made my normally weak nails so strong that I got to grow them for once),and made sure my dear husband knows what Annie needs for daycare every morning and when he needs to make onigiri(rice balls) for her lunch etc.

Yes,I AM READY.But the baby is not.And my due date is the day after tomorrow.Lots of cramps,painful and not painful but that is all.I am going for my check-up tomorrow and let's see what the gyn. thinks.The baby was ,last week,just about 3,000g(6.6lbs) which sounds a good size to me as I am the one who will be doing the pushing;)

Luckily I am surrounded by wonderful friends who have been texting and mailing every day but not asking that oh so annoying and should be banned" Have you had it yet then?" question but just asking how things are and if they can do anything to help.My friend Mattea popped in with some freshly cut pineapple which didn't sadly work but the thought was so nice.And we have had offers to look after Annie for a few hours whenever I need a break.The little things mean so much and do make me smile.But tell you what will make me smile even more?Indeed,meeting my second daughter for the first time.So HURRAY UP !!!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-09T15:51:00.003+09:00

Where does the time go?

The weekend

2008-09-09T09:43:00.004+09:00

Had a good one but busy.Akane-chan came to play again,we took Annie to the park after seeing an old friend who lives about an hour away by car, Kenichi took Annie to the pool and the library so I had a little quiet time.And the weather was perfect,albeit it a little on the warm side.And Annie didn't get stung by jelly fish at the beach which is a good thing.

And now I have even managed to upload a wee video of Annie jumping in the park.And it didn't require any brain power.Which is another good thing.

Animal Crackers

2008-09-04T09:06:00.004+09:00

Title of this post is blatantly stolen from one of Annie's favourite songs at the moment which is one of a CD compilation sent over by my lovely friend Sophie in Seattle.

I digress.A question for you.What have the following creatures all got in common?

* An octopus
* A penguin
* A hedgehog
* A snail
* A bee
* A giraffe
* A hippopotamus
* A fish
* A worm
* A rabbit
* A butterfly
* A seahorse
* An elephant
* A spider
* A polar bear

Any idea? As I hate guessing games I shall be kind and tell you.These are all the creatures that Annie has recently pretended to be upon waking up in the morning.We co sleep so at around 6.30am we gently wake her up and after a few moans and groans,she snuggles up to me,squeezes her eyes shut again then suddenly take on the "persona" of her chosen creature.It doesn't last more than a few minutes and usually ends after she has pretended to have the breakfast of whatever she is that day but that can take time if I don't come up with the menu of let's say,a seahorse,fast enough.She seems to know when I lie which is a nuisance but I have been researching the facts a little.

They say you learn something new everyday and recently,have to say it's true for me;)

FYI: Seahorses feed on small crustaceans floating in the water or crawling on the bottom. With excellent camouflage and a lot of patience, seahorses ambush prey that float within striking range. Mysid shrimp and other small crustaceans are favorites, but some seahorses have been observed eating other kinds of invertebrates and even larval fish.So now you know.

Update

2008-09-04T09:04:00.001+09:00

Thanks to you all for your "Spin Baby" vibes as they worked and the baby was,on Monday,down again although still not "locked in" there.She has been very active again during the last few days so I am hoping that even if she has been bobbing up that she will settle down again.Next check is next Monday....

And Friday comes again.

2008-08-29T09:38:00.004+09:00

Quite a week it has turned out to be.But as I am living in my own little self-centered bubble at the moment,busy for me is probably not a word that comes to mind for the normal beings amongst you;)

Highlights of my week were my friend M,who is also starting my job on Monday,coming over for a good girly gossipy chat.She just came back from a trip back to Canada so we hadn't met up for a few weeks.Somehow the hours just ticked past and it was afternoon before I looked at the clock.Then we had fun and games when the in-laws popped in early one evening to tell us all about the single girl in the next town who grows tomatoes with her brother .And they had just gone to check her out as potential wife material for my BIL.My MIL was so excited about the thought of her beloved youngest son settling down in married bliss to someone who would be the perfect partner as she likes farming,that she seemed to forget that the vital component in the equation ;her son's enthusiasm and willingness to be introduced to said girl.After a few hours of chit-chat my in-laws trotted off home to tell my BIL about their match-making plans.And my BIL didn't let me down and did exactly what I told Kenichi he would do; he hit the roof and refuses to have anything to do with the entire plot.Amazing that I,who have only known him for 15 years can predict how he will react to a tee while his own mother,who has known him for all of his 36 years,still has no idea what he is thinking.Food for thought Dear MIL!

Low lights of the week.Annie came down with a fever out of the blue and as some of you might know,when Annie gets a fever,we all worry rather a lot as she had a nasty time in hospital with lumbar punctures,CT scans and the works a couple of years back.And just dug up these photos of that episode.

Anyway,if she has other symptoms like a runny nose,cough etc we relax a bit.But have strict instructions from her paediatrician to bring her in if the fever gets high but nothing else seems wrong.Which is what happened mid-week.Her fever started going up to 38.5C in the evening and I dosed her with a UK over the counter fever reducer.Knocked her out for the night and her temperature lowered a wee bit.And she seemed fine in the morning and really wanted to go into daycare so despite having a low-medium grade fever,I took her in and her teacher said they would see how things went.The phone call came from said teacher at 9.30am to say that she was feverish again and off we went to see the doctor.Annie had a lovely time as ever with him and they adored each other for a good 20 minutes whilst I twiddled my thumbs and watched them flirting away.She was given some strong medication so off home we went.We had a rough day as her fever went up again to 39.5C and that night wasn't the best.But by yesterday morning,she seemed better although not well enough to go into daycare.

So,she was allowed to come with me for my weekly check-up at the gynaecologist's .How fun! Until I got in there and lay down and realised that my tummy was looking a funny shape.And this turned out to be because my sweet little baby has decided to go into breech again.Arghhhhhhhh!And we all thought she had settled down so well.Seems she is a smallish baby so still has room to move around.And move and wiggle and punch she does.No more twinges down "there" as her head is now back to butting me in the ribcage.I was given some very interesting and bloody painful exercises to do twice a day for 10 minutes and will be back for another scan and check on Monday.As I only have 3 weeks until my due date,we are all hoping and praying that the babe will go down and stay down.Or at least deign to come out bum first so I can try for a a natural birth.Here the C-sections are still rather drastic and they still make a big old butchers-type vertical incision rather than the horizontal bikini line types.And because of this,you have to stay in hospital for 2 weeks,which is I suppose very sensible as it is major surgery.But the thought of being away from Annie and home for 2 weeks just ain't nice. So that is why us Japan-based gals do get overly antsy at the thought of C-sections.

And back to today(Friday).Annie is back at daycare,Kenichi is at work after a night out with the lads and only coming in after 1pm ,which seems so early compared to the nights out of youth but at 37,he is feeling it.Ha!In a few minutes,my friend M is coming round again for a cuppa then I am out to lunch .

We have been having some pretty busy weekends and this weekend is the same as we are going out and about and seeing friends and doing things that I will not be able to do so easily once the baby is here.

And that's that.

The Facts of Life

2008-08-26T08:50:00.003+09:00

During the last couple of weeks,Annie has been asking how and where things are made.We have discussed factories and looked on the Net to see photos of houses been built,cars being put together and clothes being made.So she seems to get the idea.I nearly made a big blunder when she asked who made and where her doll was made; I went for the factory option to be looked at with narrowed eyes.Her comment was ,"But Father Christmas made my doll.You said so."Oops! I managed to cover my tracks by saying something about the elves in Father Christmas' toy factory making her doll and breathed a sigh of relief when she accepted the answer.

Last night,she suddenly came up to me before bed and asked the inevitable question; "Who made me?".I have to admit that although as a parent we know this question is going to be asked,I really did expect to hear it quite so soon;she's only 3 and a half for goodness sake.But asked she did and answer I did.Thank goodness,mum brought across a couple of "How Babies Are Made" type of books that I was given when I was 5 .So we ploughed through them and Annie learned all about eggs and sperm and fertilization in plants,chickens,dogs and then humans.She was very interested in everything but the plants(was a bit boring) and after we had been through both books,she started pretending to be an egg herself and grew into a baby.So she seemed to understand some of the concepts and was fascinated by the baby frogs that come from the daddy's chin-chin(penis) so Kenichi had to be examined,ho ho.

And you know that there was always one kid at school who knew all the details about the facts of life and everyone crowded around them to listen in awe?Well,it amuses me to know that most probably in the next year or so,that kid will be my Annie.And I bet all the parents of the kiddies who go home and tell their mums and dads what they heard will be cursing "that bloody foreign woman" for being so upfront with her daughter;)

Beating the heat.

2008-08-20T11:49:00.004+09:00

As I write,it is actually a wee bit cooler than it was this time last week.No need for the A/C at the moment as it is only just over 30C and the humidity is down to 70%.We have had a few amazing thunderstorms and since then,things have been improving.

But it is still HOT and just thought i would introduce a couple of ways that our family has been beating the heat this year.

Number One.

The best apple drink ever known,100% homemade and so easy.In Japan it is known as "Apple Sour".There are 3 ingredients; apples,rock sugar and vinegar.The apples are sliced,skin on,and placed in a container.You add rock sugar and vinegar.Stir the contents once a day for a week and hey presto,you have your drink.You drink it diluted with water(or shochu ) and it is cheap,very healthy(all that vinegar) and so refreshing.

Number Two.

The paddling pool.This actually only concerns Annie and Kenichi as I have been banned by Annie as my tummy is too big(and also,I don't think I would ever manage to get out if I did flop in).We bought a new pool this summer and although rather needs no blowing up and folds down for easy storage.It was also cheap at 1,500 yen.But as you can see,it needs rather a lot of water.However,during the summer,we only take showers .We figured out that what we would be saving on bath water could be used for the pool.And our water bill has actually decreased as we only fill the pool once a week or so and it lasts.And what better way to spend the hottest part of the day.It has been a life saver for me as it has been too hot to take Annie to the beach in the past weeks so when Kenichi is working or off doing things,Annie gets to have fun at home and I don't have to risk life and limb but taking her to the seaside alone.And a number of her friends have also reaped the benefits may I say;)

Number Three.

This applies to Annie only...her own way of staying cool in the other sense of the word.The picture below was taken about 2 weeks ago when everyone and everything was melting;The A/C was on all the time and even then we were still sweating.One morning,Annie put on one of her favourite summer dresses(thanks Rebecca;) ) and then decided that it wasn't cool enough.So she added a fleece hat and denim jacket and after the picture was taken,pink rain boots.She was really happy with the outcome and went to daycare happily unaware that even by just looking at her in her setup caused everyone to feel that heat even more.And in fact the photo is slighty blurred as my fingers were sweating so much that I couldn't get a proper grip on the camera.

Gender Issues

2008-08-20T11:25:00.003+09:00

Yes,I have major gender issues at the moment.Yesterday,I had yet another conversation in the supermarket with an older woman.I have had similar conversations countless number of times during the last few months and they drive me mad.They go like this:

Woman: Hello there! Not long to go now.

Me: No,just a few more weeks.

Woman: You must be very excited.Do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?

Me: Oh yes.It's another girl.

Woman: Oh dear.Really?So you'll be trying for a third then because you must have a boy.

Me: ................................

What is it with people??I know that here in Japan it used to be very important to have an heir and the over 50's still think a son is necessary to carry the family name as well as to take all the family responsibilities in the future and look after the older generation when the time comes.But nowadays things have changed.First born sons do not necessarily stay in their town of birth to carry on the family line.They go and live their lives as they wish.The pressure is not,in most cases,there any more.It is a dying tradition.And the irony is that most of the ladies who have told me that I must "try again for a boy" usually have sons who have left home and this area .

And on the subject of gender,another bee in my bonnet is the Boys versus Girls issue.What is it with people who have,for example,all boys saying to another all boy family how glad that they are that they only have sons?And of course,it works the other other way round for the all girl families as well.I hear these ridiculous comments being flung around about "Boys are best" or "Girls are the greatest" ,"Aren't we luck to have just boys/girls",etc.Sorry,but there is something wrong here.

I am happy and blessed because I will have 2 children.I am also happy that we didn't have to spend more money on clothes for the baby as she will have Annie's collection,skint flint that I am.But I do love shopping for girl's clothes as they are gorgeous and there is a wider range for girls.The End.

Basically ,what I want to say to the people who think that we should have another baby and hope and pray for a boy, and for those people who somehow feel that one gender "rules" is this....

Love your children for who they are,not what they are.

Woo Hoo!

2008-08-14T17:24:00.002+09:00

How funny,after all the worry,the decision just came about so quickly.We have at last decided on a name.It was on our list for ages and at No.1 for a week or two but I still had my doubts for some reason.But this afternoon,Kenichi texted me out of the blue and said "Let's go with *******".Then a few minutes ago,I spoke to my secret advisor and that person said they love the name which evokes "Sunshine".What a lovely thing to say and that's all I needed to realise that this is the one after all.And the name also comes with a shortened version,so two names for the price of one.Clever,eh!

And needless to say,the name will remain under lock and key until the baby in question is born.

NB.The number of *'s above is random:)

Just wondering...

2008-08-10T14:58:00.003+09:00

Somehow the last month of my pregnancy is creeping up on me and next week I am officially in my 9th month or,as they count differently here in Japan,my 10th month.Then the waiting game begins and who knows when the start of the end of the pregnancy will be.Annie was born spot on her due date and I only know one other baby who managed that(wave to Joey:) ) so I really don't know what to expect but should be prepared for an earlier arrival just in case.As a friend pointed out yesterday,even if the infamous "Hospital Bag" isn't ready,I need only grab a few things and Kenichi can bring the rest at a later date...it's not as if they turn you away at the clinic door if you don't have all the bits and bobs you need.And as we have a longer stay after the birth in Japan,Kenichi would have 5 or 6 days to go buy nappies and breast pads and all sorts if necessary.

So the only thing left is ...yep,the name.Kenichi is at the "yeah,that sounds fine" stage to the name I throw out at him at odd moments ,but I want us both to decide this.But as getting the kanji to match the name takes a very long time,we don't want to suddenly be in the situation that I have the baby early and we have 2 weeks to register her name plus kanji so panic and go for something we may not be happy about later

And the only way I can think of doing this is to write a number of names down and well,pull them out of a hat. But is that normal?We did it to name our dog when I was little and nobody I know has done it with a baby and even if they have,it's not really a thing you tell people about,is it?And don't want our daughter,x years down the road to come and ask us why we chose her name as she has to do a school project about her name and it's meaning.Annie will pass with flying colours as she was named after someone so her name has an impressive story behind it but we can't really turn round to Daughter No 2 and tell her that if she'd been a boy,she would have had a really cool and family related name with real history and an even more impressive story than Annie's name behind it but sorry love,we couldn't think of anything for you so just went with the old fashioned method of pulling a name out of the hat...

Or can we?

Wedding Bells...

2008-08-08T08:20:00.003+09:00

Annie: "Mummy,I'm going to marry daddy.Because I think daddy wants to marry me."

Ousted by a 3 year old.

Evening entertainment

2008-08-05T09:25:00.002+09:00

Living near the sea not only means lots of swimming,sandcastle fun,beautiful sunsets and sea breezes,it also means fish.And yesterday evening we went off to catch our supper for today.At this time of year,"aji" or Japanese Horse Mackerel are incredibly easy to catch and it is the only time of the year that I actually enjoy fishing because it is so easy to get the little things to bite.In fact you probably don't even need bait.

We caught 20 fish in as many minutes.Kenichi was happy as he loves fishing,I was happy as I just sat there,plonked the rod in the water,caught a few and Kenichi did the rest and Annie was happy as she loves being outside and will become,we are sure,an avid fisherman/woman/girl/person in the future.She even touched the fish which I still can't do after x number of years here unless they are very dead indeed.

What boys do on a boys day out.

2008-08-05T09:00:00.002+09:00

Kenichi really enjoyed his male bonding day last weekend and it all sounds very boy-like in the fact that they drove their big bikes,had a big lunch with meat,did a bit of sightseeing(which,actually,isn't that much of a boy's thing and I was quite impressed) ,drove back again ,then ate more meat in the evening,sculled a few beers and talked about bikes and lunch.

And the boys even took the camera so we can see what they got up to.

Exhibit one.

The most important of course.LUNCH.Now this photo can be enjoyed forever by the boys.Hmmmm.

Exhibit two.

Sightseeing,boy-style.They all took turns to pretend to be a samurai warrior.

Exhibit three.

The park they stopped at for a coffee break.Amazing.Yawn.

But,have to admit that K took the photo to show me as he wants to take Annie and Baby No-name there someday....

Exhibit four.

My all time "Boys will be boys" photo of two of the gang,taken by my dear husband as he was biking along at 90km/hr.Way to go...NOT!

Pregnancy update.

2008-08-04T14:12:00.003+09:00

Yawn Yawn Yawn,I know.But a few people have kindly asked me how things are going so I feel forced to oblige;)

Things are going well and the baby is still,you've guessed it,un-named.After all that car talk you'd have thought that we'd have managed to get our acts together but sorry,we had a lot of catching up to do and unfortunately,the name thing didn't quite make the list.We need another road trip but that ain't going to be happening for the other reason I mentioned a post or two ago...yes,that.

My feet are doing OK although were not happy campers after the drive on Friday ,but had no rest on Saturday as Kenichi buggered off with his biker friends all the way to somewhere in Kagoshima,leaving at 5.30am and home at 5.30pm then off to drink beer together and do some more male bonding type things.So Annie and I were here together.Had a quietish morning with play dough,writing "letters" to Annie's friends,doing the washing,hoovering,reading and re-reading some new books that a lovely friend in Seattle sent to Annie and then making sandwiches for lunch.

After lunch,the pool was filled up to the brim and Annie went out as she was too eager to wait for her favourite boyfriend,Yuichiro to arrive with his mum and little sister.Once he did arrive,the little love birds spent an amazing hour and a half in the pool giggling and going up and down the slide we put in it and splashing each other.Annie was also very coy and waiting for Yu-chan at the bottom of the slide so that he would slide straight into her arms.And Yu-chan seemed to enjoy the hugs rather a lot too and also stripped off later on.Honestly,they do start young nowadays.

Once Yu-chan and co had gone home,we had something to eat,took Kenichi to his Man Party and then Annie fell asleep on the sofa.We were due to pick Kenichi up at 9pm and she was so eager to go that when the time came,I woke her up and blimey,she was up and ready in an instant.She gave me a wonderful rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" when she saw the night sky and then ,yep,chatted all the way to get Kenichi and all the way back.Then we went off to bed and she was still chatting when Kenichi and I out the light off.

So,yes,the pregnancy....so easy to get side-tracked.The feet we pretty bad on Saturday but had a lie-in on Sunday and that was also a busy day(but not going to be side-tracked again) but they are fine again now.

I have loved this pregnancy as much as Annie's rather short one;).I was lucky not to get morning sickness that badly and in general apart from feeling the heat so much and having feety problems,I feel great.Funnily enough,my cravings this time have been fruit and vegetables and I still get amazing yearnings for the veggies so am extremely grateful that my in-laws provide what they do.The baby is a real mover and doesn't stop.Between her and motor-mouth Annie we are going to be kept on our toes.Oh well,at least Kenichi and I have the perfect excuse to escape every 3 years ....Hooray for re-entry visas I say!

Time to Talk

2008-08-04T14:01:00.002+09:00

Well,well,well.What d'you know?Put 2 adults in a car for 6 hours and what happens?They talk.Yes,really....!On Friday,Kenichi and I talked for 6 straight hours in the car plus at all the other places I mentioned.Incredible,eh?Neither of us can remember the drive as we were so busy putting the world to rights.We had actually forgotten what it is like to chat away together without the "Mummy?Blah blah blah" voice piping up from the back seat.We finished sentences and could discuss things without being asked "Why?" three trillion times.And didn't have to listen to any happy clappy " Boogy with your toddler" type CDs.Nor watch a single Maisy DVD.So that drive was quite an event in itself and perhaps I should be thanking the crappy bureaucratic system in this country for letting two people have a little chat.

Oh,and we even got back in ample time to take Princess Chatterbox to see the doctor and get enough medication to kill the little wormies in all of us.Yes indeed,we all had to be dosed which delighted Annie and she spent the evening asking to see our bums in case she spotted a worm or two.We didn't oblige.But Annie and I,apparently,have pink worms and Kenichi has green worms...Food for thought isn't it.

Off on a "date"...??

2008-08-01T06:42:00.004+09:00

Today Kenichi and I are off to Kumamoto City.Hopefully the drive will be less than 3 hours one way as the baby has put herself in the correct position(head down) but is fidgeting so much and is,how do I put this delicately,touching on some delicate areas.Ouch.

So,the reason for this hot date?I need a re-entry visa.Thrilling eh.So we are off to the immigration office to get the damn thing.If I don't have it,I can't come back into Japan without losing my permanent residency status so it is rather important that I have it.SO we will be making this 5 to 6 hour journey to do some paperwork that takes 10 minutes.Oh,I love Japanese bureaucracy:).

Annie is not coming as it is just a waste of time for her to sit in the car and watch DVDs all day,says mother.She has no idea we are planning this covert trip and we will not be telling her as she would have a fit if she knew.

So some Mummy and Daddy time.In the car.Then in the immigration office.Then at the restaurant where we have lunch.Then at the bike shop where Kenichi wants to buy(at last) a full face helmet.And then straight back home again.How about that for a hot date?

Then the piece De la Resistance,we are taking Annie to the doctor as she has thread worms...which we are being really naughty about and denying the existence of until after the visa is sorted as otherwise we will be told by daycare to take her this morning thus missing the opening times of the immigration office and have to wait until next week to go by which time I will be less inclined than now to sit in the damn car with a baby banging on my **** for 5 -6 hours.

On the up side of things,by tomorrow,Annie's bum will hopefully be worm free and after so much time together,Kenichi and I may have actually manage to agree on a name for the baby.

HOT!

2008-07-29T09:28:00.003+09:00

The forecaster said that it is going to go beyond 35C today.So why oh why at 9.30am is it already 34C inside the house with the curtains drawn to keep out the sunlight and the breeze(??hot air??) wafting through the windows(which we have many of)? I am tempted top take our little thermometer outside to see how hot it is out there,but I fear that I may start melting if I venture out.Which would not be good for the baby.Or me.

So to cool me down,I will stare at this photo of Annie taken on Sunday when we were invited to a friends house for the day.They live about 20 minutes away from us in the mountains.It is cooler there and the river was lovely and yes,cool.They wined and dined Kenichi and dined me and Annie, and all I did that day was gently move from area to area and enjoyed being looked after for a change.Unfortunately,the camera battery died after taking this one photo of Annie.But hopefully it will cool me down a little and I wont have to resort to using the A/C this early on the morning.

Fun at the fesitival

2008-07-28T12:01:00.006+09:00

Looking through some blogs this morning, it seems that this past weekend was a favourite for festivals here in Japan.And we had the annual town festival on Saturday.And it was HOT but a lot of fun even if I did overdo it and practically have to crawl home.

Before we went,Kenichi doing his new job.I was next in line.

Kenichi took part in the street dancing so Annie and I dropped him off at the meeting point and went to our friend's house.There,along with her kids and another friend and her kids,the girls were dressed up in their yukatas,had their hair put up and a lick of make-up on.I just sat and watched as I am hopeless at all this.But maybe next year I can try myself.Yeah right!

The girls all dressed up with the token boy enjoying his harem.

Once the girls were ready,it was time for the dancers to come past the house so we went outside and waited.The kids were really excited and loads of people we knew were taking part and passed by.It was really nice and everyone was in a jolly old mood helped ,no doubt,by the copious amounts of beer they were consuming.I remember taking part as well years ago...it was a lot of fun but the route was much longer back then and with all the beer supping,loo stops were needed and I got to see inside so many peoples' houses.Ah,the memories.

The children waiting for the dancers to pass.

After the procession had gone past,we walked along to the festival area.And it was quite a walk but parking is always a bugger so we though the exercise would do us good.Eventually we arrived and there were hordes of people.They had a action hero show later on so Annie went to watch with her friends and some lovely mums who looked after her while I walked around with Kenichi picking up some nice unhealthy food for our evening meal.We had spare ribs,really greasy chips,fried chicken,yakitori(skewered meat),yakisoba noodles and relatively healthy grilled onigiri rice balls.Marvellous and my gynecologist would have just flipped out:).After the Whatever Rangers show,Annie wanted her photo taken with the super heroes so we queued up for ages just to have her freak out just as we got to the top of the line.Then we watched some local taiko drummers and then a very cool performance by some more drummers and dancers from Okinawa.And all the time we were seeing friends,ex-students(half of who I pretended torecognise but actually had no idea who they were),present students,relatives,neighbours,colleagues etc etc.Very very busy are these local festivals.

Super heroes or not,no way was Annie going to pose.

Kenichi then did something really stupid and showed Annie the stall where you could win goldfish .I really didn't want any more(we have 2 now but my friend had warned me that the little fish her kids got at the festival a few years ago has grown and grown and now it is seriously as big as a very big persons hand,and I saw the monster fishie earlier in the day when the girls were having their hair done and thought it was a Siamese fighting fish or something).You pay for a little scoop that is made of thin paper and you try to scoop up goldfish before the paper just dissolves or rips.I could foresee this ending in tears and tried to warn Annie that it was really difficult and that if she didn't manage to get a bitty fish,she could have a glow in the dark bracelet(that I had my eye on ).Well,do I need to go on.She bloody well scooped up 2 fish at once and we now have these tiny little things at home.And they eat more than our other fish .So Mobey Fish here we come.Ewww.

Clutching her fish and having a good laugh at my expense.

The climax of the day was a big old firework display and we had been invited to watch from a friends boat in the bay overlooking the festival grounds.But I was just exhausted by that time so we made our way back to the car(so so far) and then drove down to the beach near our house and sat and watched there and ate our feast.It was lovely and the breeze was so cooling.We got back home late and then spent a good few minutes trying to catch Annie who really didn't want to take her yukata off.Then it was shower and bed.And dreams of giant goldfish eating chips.

A little brag.

2008-07-24T20:34:00.002+09:00

Please humour me.I just want to have a tiny little brag about Annie.

This morning,I was getting ready to take Annie to daycare when she suddenly announced that she wanted to take a clothes hanger with her.I asked why and she said that her teacher had asked her to.I thought this rather odd as the teachers will always tell the parents as well at the children if they want us to bring anything special.But Annie was insistent and she picked her hanger.I put it in her bag and off we went.

On arrival,we went in and I pulled out the hanger as Annie rushed off inside to find Akane-chan.I was a wee bit embarrassed to be wielding the thing and asked her teacher about it.The reaction was electric." How did you know about the hangers?" she gasped.I explained that Annie had told me they were needed,and the teacher called Annie's other teacher over to tell her.It seems that the day before at going home time,the children had been asked to bring in a wire clothes hanger the next day so that they could make bubbles.As they had some already in the classroom and only needed a few more ,they decided to just tell the children and see who managed to tell their parents.The youngest in the class are Annie's age group so all 3.The oldest are 5 or 6.And the teachers have done this kind of thing before,it seems, many many times and over the years,it is only the older children who have managed to relay the message.Until today.And my little girl was the first ever 3 year old to ever manage to remember to pass on such a message.

Ironically,the teachers are all very aware of Annie's slight weakness in Japanese,although I have assured them on numerous occasions that she understands every word and just doesn't want to speak much.So today they were able to see for their own eyes that Annie may not be very talkative at daycare but she knows exactly what's going on.

She showed 'em alright:)

How bizarre?

2008-07-22T09:09:00.003+09:00

Last night,I had trouble sleeping and lay in the dark thinking about everything and anything.And for some reason,I suddenly remembered the oddest thing I have ever had in my working career here in Japan.And this makes the NTT telephone answering competition judging stint I did for 2 consecutive years look quite normal.

It was a summer a year or so after Kenichi and I got married when I was summoned out of the blue to the Board of Education office.They are my official employers so it was obviously a work related matter so I trotted along from school to see what they wanted.I could have never imagined what was to come.I was taken to a small meeting room where my boss of the time(a dreadful character may I say) was waiting with a couple of black suited men.I was introduced and the men gave me their business cards and the meeting began.It was a bit confusing as they were so vague in what they were discussing and although it was obvious that I was involved(doh,why else would I be there?) but also very obvious that my boss had been discussing things with them prior to my arrival and that this was basically the end of the meeting and that plans had been made.I got the jist that the visitors were from a school and wanted me to make a speech.But no mention of the subject matter was made.Then as abruptly as it began,it was over.Lots of grunts and nods and my hand was shaken warmly and they asked to take a photo of me.

Once they had left,I asked my boss WTF it had all been about.Then he dropped the bombshell.It seemed that the men were the Principal and head teacher of the biggest agricultural high school in the prefecture.That coming autumn,the school was celebrating it's 100th anniversary and part of the celebrations was a series of lectures and panel discussion about farming in foreign countries.And that the school had been looking for young participants from Europe to lecture the students and join the fore mentioned panel discussion.My heart nearly stopped as my boss went on to say that the school had telephoned every Board of Education office in the bloody prefecture and were delighted when they found the perfect partcipant....Yes,indeed.My boss had received the call and said that of course,M would do the honours as her parents in law are farmers here in Japan so she knows lots about farming.BASTARD!!!

So,that was that and the meeting had been to confirm everything.My boss told me that the lecture was to be half an hour in length,all about British farming and also about the problem of BSE.And the speech was to be in Japanese as would be the hour long panel discussion.OMG.

So,I did the only thing I could do.I called my dad in a major panic.And he did what I had hoped he would do...he offered to write the speech for me and to research everything.Bless him.A few weeks later,I received the speech and it was LONG.It was very technical and very detailed and I learned lots of things about farming in Britain and about the BSE crisis.And I also learned lots of new words.

Then came the really tough part.I had to translate this speech into Japanese.Kenichi was my second knight in shining armour(dad being the first).We spent hours and hours translating words,phrases and sentences that I had try and understand in English before explaining them to Kenichi in order for him to make sense of it and write the Japanese.As we were both working,the only time we could work on the speech was in the evenings.When we were tired already.But it had to be done.And after a few weeks,it was.And we didn't kill each other....

But then came the next barrier.I had to practice reading the damn thing.And all those new words and phrases in Japanese.So many tongue twisters and so much technical stuff.It took many many more hours and even then,I sounded like a bored robot spewing out a load of sounds that had little or no meaning.

The day of the big event came and we had to leave home at some dreadful hour of the morning to get to the school which was 3 hours away by 9am with time to spare in case anything went wrong.After our arrival,Kenichi left me as I went to meet my fellow panelists and get the low down on the morning.My memory is vague at this point but I do remember sitting on the stage looking important and feeling like the total fraud I was .Then the curtains went up .In front of us sat over 1,000 very bored looking boys between the ages of 15 and 18,obviously not at all titillated at the thought of spending a the next few hours hearing about farming around the world,a large number of OB's, parents,random dignitaries and my dear husband sitting right at the back of the gymnasium with a massive grin on his face enjoying every moment of my humiliation.

There were,I think,5 or 6 panelists and I was the last to speak.The others were from Asian countries and knew their stuff as they were studying agriculture or had there own farms etc.But the lectures were seriously boring.I spent most of the time trying to look interested,trying not to yawn and wondering if it would be a bad idea just to get up to and flee.The guy before me from Korea seemed very laid back about the situation and when it came to his turn,I knew why.He had a bloody translator with him so just rattled off bit and waited for the hapless translator to do his thing.I couldn't believe it...this guy had a fricking translator so why not me??It came to light afterwards that my bastard boss had told the school that I didn't need a translator as my Japanese was good enough.That was the final straw and I never spoke to him again unless I had to.Seriously.

So,at last it was my turn at last.I got up to the lectern and just machine gunned my way through the whole thing.Forget feeling and intonation.No sirree,I wanted to finish this thing as fast as I could.Half an hour later,the deed was done and Kenichi swears that it was understandable and made sense but I don't believe him for a second.Come on,I was supposed to know what I was reading yet didn't understand a word of what I had just rattled off.But I still to this day know how to say BSE in Japanese.

After that,we still had the panel discussion to go.And that was fun,er,NOT.Everyone knew what they were talking about...except me.All these complicated questions about this,that and another.I didn't have a clue but they always made sure they called upon each panelist for their opinion.So I just agreed with however was before me and if not,blatantly lied.It was then that I realised that this was quite fun.I just said what I wanted to and it was all so tongue in cheek but only Kenichi seemed to realise what was happening.The only bit I can recall is when they were very seriously discussing pest control and the use of Eco-friendly ways of dealing with the problem.I took over that bit by saying that in Britain,each farmer has hundreds of specially bred cats to deal with the problem and that the cats not only control the venom but also love crunching on all those pesky insects too.And that lead to a very animated discussion about the use of snakes in some rural areas of Indonesia and all sorts of fun ways to kill the local rat population.

And then it was all over.I was elated..It was all over and to top it all,I was given a nice fat wad of money(40,000 yen) and a collection of produce that the students had grown and things they had made including jams,biscuits and best of all,a big old bottle of some mystery wine.We drove back home in high spirits feeling so carefree and polished off the wine and spent hours have a good cackle at how ridiculous the entire affair had been but what fun it had been for me to blindly take part in a discussion about something I knew,and still know bugger all about.

The other day I found the original speech that dad wrote for me.Which must have triggered my memories last night.So if anyone out there ever needs to give a lecture about farming in the UK and the BSE crisis,do let me know and we can come to an understanding;)

Sunday morning.

2008-07-20T06:54:00.004+09:00

It's coming up to 7am and the inside temperature is already hitting 30C .It's going to be another scorcher methinks.Annie is still fast asleep and has been since 6pm last night;at daycare they still give them afternoon naps so she only settles down at 9 or 10 pm but over the weekend,no time to nap baby! And we get our evening s back.It's a lovely compromise as during the week,we can all eat our evening meal together and Kenichi gets to have a bath/shower with her and we can all chill out together.

Anyway,2nd lot of washing is spinning away in the washing machine but have just realised that I probably don't have enough space to put everything out so am hoping that the first lot will be dry within an hour.Yesterday,we got out all of Annie's old clothes and bloody hell,she has a wardrobe to be proud of.TG we are having another girl and indeed,I think we might be trying for a few more after this one to get full wear out of the stacks of stuff,although would be buggered up royally if we had a boy.So I will be spending some of my day sweating it out and trying to sort out the clothes into piles that make sense(very confusing as Annie was a winter baby so some of her stuff will be too hot but then I have to work out what will be OK for Baby No-name and what will be out of season and to confuse matters have the British/American easy to work out sizes done in months compared to the Japanese size system which is done by length and I can't remember how old babies are when they are 70 cm,and if you think this explanation is confusing,you try the actually sorting). Then I will be doing some vegetable cooking as my PIL brought around a pile of fresh veggies again last night.They are great and I appreciate them more and more as hell,we don't have to buy rice all year round(a BIG plus in Japan) nor vegetables.And FIL even caught us a big old octopus the other day(which was yummy in a vinegared dressing with cucumbers although Annie refuses to eat octopus as she was traumatised by an incident I had with one last year which is another blog entry sometime).And he also brings freshly caught fish a few times a week.So that's my day.

Kenichi is off at 8am to join a neighbourhood fishing trip for the younger men .He will not actually be fishing as they are going out on a couple of boats and he gets seasick(even though there is seriously no wind ,so go figure) but will stay behind with the other weak stomached men to tidy up and weed and cut the grass in our neighbourhood "park" which is pretty small but lots of trees and a loo so perfect for parties.After the fishing fleet return,all the families have been invited for a BBQ lunch to eat the fish(so hopefully they will catch enough ,if not,the local fish mongers will be rubbing their hands in glee).Kenichi will be taking Annie along but I think I will be staying out to put my feet up .Then Kenichi has promised Annie that we will go to the beach in the afternoon.But as beer is on tap at the BBQ I seriously doubt this will happen and foresee that I will be stuck with a howling Annie,devastated that the beach trip looks like being a sleep fest instead and will take her to the beach by myself and spend a couple of hours chasing after her.But I will go to the town beach this time and there will be people we know there who can spare me the indignity of waddling around in the heat.

So that will be our day.And on that note,off to empty the washing machine and try and sort out what to do with it all.And I thought Sundays were supposed to be days of rest.

Parcels and such.

2008-07-18T08:58:00.002+09:00

The other day I received 2 wonderful parcels.The first to arrive was a brand new ironing board that I had ordered from the Flying Pig ,a company that shops on your behalf from Costco.As we live 4-5 hours away from our nearest Costco,we don't go much;).And this company is a godsend although I haven't ordered through for ages.But I wanted a proper ironing board.Everyone in Japan knows how pathetic the mini ones like this are.Once in a while you can get a small version of a full sized one,but they are way too short and it takes forever to iron anything .I had the latter for years but on seeing the proper full sized one at Costco,I couldn't resist.7,000 yen later and I have it here.And it looks great.Ironically(hee),I don't do that much ironing and my iron is crap but once I have a new iron that works I have no excuse.

So,I have my new sexy ironing board and a few hours later,another lot of goodies arrived.A wonderful person ,D,who lives in Chiba,sent me a massive parcel of clothes for Annie and the baby.When I say massive,I mean" So,you're going on holiday for a month then are you?" type of massive.And it was filled with clothes and blankets and comforters and onsies and shoes and boots and videos and magazines.And the clothes are seriously gorgeous.Annie was so excited and spent most of Wednesday night in a very cool bikini and Hello Kitty shoes which are far too big for her and she stomped her stuff.I spent a good few hours ooohing and arghhing over the little onsies and we are off tomorrow to buy a new chest of drawers for all the baby clothes.I cannot thank D enough(ditto Kenichi who couldn't believe how much she sent us) and wish her luck in the next week as she awaits to move into her sparkling new house.

Retail therapy and friendship therapy,can't beat 'em!

Happy Days.

2008-07-14T09:14:00.003+09:00

No doubt due helped by the fact that I am now off work,but I have been feeling so content in the last few days.We live in Amakusa, in a little town of 8,000 odd people .Our nearest big cities are either Kumamoto or Nagasaki ...Kumamoto is a 2 and a half hour car ride away.Nagasaki is closer as we only have a 70 minute ferry journey from here then a 20 minute bus/car ride.But basically we live in the sticks.There is a small city 20 minutes away with a shopping mall,McD,KFC and quite a few eating places and other shops.No Starbucks though...yet;) We have what we need and there are many other things that we would like to have nearby but don't.Oh,and we have a cracking paediatrician in the local hospital...he is one of the top paediatricians in the prefecture if not No 1....Living and working here....In our town of 8,000.We don't ask why.And worship him.

So,we have the basics and a bit more .Until it comes to summer.Indeed,we live on the coast.So we have the BEACH! Not the best beaches in the world but my goodness,it is the best feeling to wake up on a beautiful Sunday morning in this heat and think,well,let's go to the beach then.Which is what we did yesterday.Within a few minutes we were all decked out in our beach gear,sunscreen on and even the dog all revved up to go.Off we went to one of our local hang outs.Not a person to be seen as every one tends to go to the town beach which has a shower and loo facilities.We aren't fussy.Pitched our beach umbrella and hit the water.It was bliss.Beautiful blue sea,gorgeous sky,sandy beach and all ours.The dog was happy(as long as were out of the water...she is a shiba mix and they just don't do the water thing),Annie was in 7th heaven digging away making sandcastles and cakes for the dog(??),Kenichi was happy to wander up and down the beach and occasionally go for a swim and I was SO happy to bob around in the water feeling as light as a feather and lovely and cool and then sit on the beach and read a bit.We got home and all had a bath and then Annie had her tea and was conked out on the sofa by 5.30pm and slept through until 6am.Which left Kenichi and me to have a meal alone and to have some adult talk.We were both in bed by 8am and read until we dozed off.

This is what we tend to do during the summer months.We spend at least one day each weekend at the beach,sometimes two.And at home we have a big paddling pool and have a BBQ and do fireworks as we did on Saturday with Annie's boyfriend,Yuichiro.After 11 years of living here,I still feel that we are living a beach resort life for 6 months of the year.

Doesn't take much for me to feel content after all.

PS The above video was actually taken back in March.But it is the same beach that we went to yesterday you see.

And that's that.

2008-07-14T08:59:00.002+09:00

Had my 2 weekly check-up on Saturday.Stupidly took Annie along as she insisted on checking with the very serious and rather unsociable doctor that the baby is really,truly a girl.We had a bit of a wait as there is only one doctor and he got called upstairs to do his thing at a birth .So Annie was a little jumping bean by the time we got to the scan.But was delighted to here the immortal words" Hai,hontoni onna no ko dayo"(Yes,it really is a girl) from the man's mouth and celebrated by dancing around and rushing off to try and look at the newborns who were there to be weighed.Next time,I will be going alone.

Anyway,the doctor advised me not to return to work due to my swollen feet(although they are fine again ).So I called my boss this morning expecting lots of teeth sucking and whatnot.But it was dealt with in seconds...and that's it.I am off work from now.Today.This minute.I was supposed to teach until the kids break up this Friday and had a full schedule and then was going to use paid leave until my last official day on July 31st.But not any more.I will have to go in sometime in the next few weeks to clean my desks(3 desks at the 3 schools I teach...not good!) ,finish a couple of translations that fell on my desk last week(grrrr) and have a meeting with the person who is taking over from me(but she is a very good friend and lives about 5 minutes away from me so when I say meeting,it'll be more of an extended gossipy session) and that is all.As easy as that.

HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Other news.

2008-07-11T09:38:00.002+09:00

So I didn't post since last November and it's now July.Looong time.What has been happening?Mum came over for a 7 week visit arriving on Christmas Day,so she was here for Annie's 3rd birthday which was lovely.We got a new desk top.And got pregnant.That was rather unexpected but a wonderful way to start the year.

So,Annie will be a big sister and she can't wait.She is so excited.I am due on September 17th so in my 3rd trimester now and boy,it is HOT! I would never recommend anyone to have a baby in summer but I am surviving.Unfortunately I have had problems with swollen feet...they look OK but if you press down,they leave a massive dent.My gyn. seems to be the over cautious type so I have had 2 weeks off work(fully paid thank you!) and although I was back again this week,have had to give up after 3 days as my feet went funny again.I just need to take it really easy and put my feet up a lot.Then all is well.I have managed to do so much reading which is bliss and also just to relax alone,by myself,in peace and quiet with no Annie and Kenichi rushing around;).Anyway,maternity leave starts at the end of the month but I have enough leave left so that I only have to go in until the end of term(next Friday) so the end is in sight.

And yes,of course we found out the sex of the baby,but it took ages to find out as the baby was in breech.So when it turned,all was revealed.We are over the moon that we are having another little girl.The reason that we are so happy goes back to last year and one of the last conversations I had with Dad,just hours before he died.He asked me if we were planning on having more children.I said that we would love to,but as Annie took 7 odd years to come on the scene,we were not holding our breaths.He then said that he would be so happy for us if we did manage to have another child but that it must be another little girl,please....

So,there you go! Dad must be tap dancing with joy somewhere.My MIL was slightly taken aback as she was so convinced it was a boy that she had been telling her cronies that it was a boy months ago.But she had a good laugh and agreed that either way,a baby is a baby and she is happy.Kenichi is quiet smug about it all but trying to come to terms with the fact that it will be 3 versus 1 in the house.I did promise him that once the dog dies( female) we can get a male dog.

So now all we have to do is decide on the name.We had a name picked out but have since changed our minds.There are so many to chose from that work in both English And Japanese but we also want a good kanji so already a few have been rejected as the kanji doesn't work out.We still have a couple of months left and have focused in on one name in the last week so maybe that will be the one.The unveiling will be a long with her birth announcement:).

Annie

2008-07-10T14:25:00.008+09:00

Well,the diva is now 3 years and 5 months old.She is nearly 100cm tall and weighs in at 14.5kg .She has become quite the little girl in the last months and long gone are the days when I chose the clothes for her to wear every morning...we now have battles and she is tough.But usually content if she can wear a dress or something she deems as being pretty and if possible,pink.I am also struggling to improve my hair skills as she like her hair up in bunches or a pony tail most days.She still loves being outside and is in her element now as summer is here so she gets to go to the beach a lot.I managed to find the arm bands(water wings) I brought in England so Kenichi is hoping to teach her to swim this summer.She eats everything except shiitake mushrooms and cucumbers(but she will eat both when they are served up at daycare).Her favourite foods are carrots,especially raw ones which she steals from my vegetable tray,spinach with natto,miso soup and fish.She gets chocolate on Fridays only as otherwise she wouldn't have any teeth left.Her best friends are Akane who started daycare 2 weeks before Annie did when they were both 7 months old,and Maggie the dog.She has a boyfriend,Yuichiro,but they get rather shy when we watch them.He also goes to her daycare.

Language wise,Annie has amazed both of us so much.If you remember,we spent 3 months back in the UK last summer.She picked up English and came back here speaking nothing but English.The sceptics were out in force(and I must admit that I was also sceptical but still,we had a lot of negative feedback) saying that she would soon lose her English and resort back to Japanese so basically to prepare for the worst linguistically.But my baby proved 'em all wrong...a year on and her strongest language,by far, is still English,In fact she speaks nothing but English at home.At daycare she is quiet and speaks Japanese when she needs to and with some of her friends.When I pick her up in the afternoon,she lets rip and doesn't stop chatting until she falls asleep.I have been criticised for letting her speak so much English at home and for letting Kenichi speak English with her but we do things our way and although her Japanese level is lower than that of a local kid her age,she understands every word and once she starts school in 2 and a half years time,I have no doubt in my mind that she will be as good as the rest.Her English vocab has been slipping a little recently and she makes grammatical mistakes but she has a British-English accent to die for and can express herself with ease.She only likes to watch the odd Japanese cartoon or film(Totoro being one) and the rest must be English.Favourites include Charlie and Lola,Hilltop Hospital,Barbar,Maisy(still!) ,Kipper,Spot and the Mr.Men. She loves ,loves,loves reading and we are building up quite a little library here.She will quite happily read to herself and it is amazing how she mimics my story telling and how much she recites from memory.Also shows the importance of reading.She gets 5 odd books a night and of course knows the longer ones and tries to get maximum value.

So,there you go.That's our little girl.

So,as I was saying......

2008-07-10T12:29:00.002+09:00

Whoa,that was a long break! The time has just flown by since my last post but for quite a time I really wasn't into blogging.But over the last few months,I have had itchy fingers again .I have been keeping up with blogging friends and find myself feeling quite disappointed when people don't update on a regular basis and then realised that ahem,perhaps I should have be the one updating.And miracles of miracles,I remembered my log-in details so here I am.This blogging business is all much easier than I remember .Hopefully I can manage to keep it up again.Will be back later to let you know what has been happening in this part of the world and in the meantime,try to find some recent photos of Annie....

Nearly but not quite...

2007-11-10T22:19:00.000+09:00

A big THANK YOU to everyone that commented on the last post.I will be getting in touch personally soon.It really means a lot to me...

I was wondering about what to write about next and then in just fell into my lap.To cut a long story short,I was in the UK for 3 months this summer with Annie and we took a lot of video film footage.Or so we thought...we arrived back in Japan to discover that the video camera was broken and that seemingly,all of the footage I took during that 3 montrhs,had gone.Very upsetting it was too.

But tonight,I found a 90 minute tape that actually works.I am SO happy...I have some wonderful memories on tape now with friends and relatives.

Priceless:-)

9 months later...

2007-11-05T20:10:00.000+09:00

And with a title like that,I'd better re-phrase!!It is just about 9 months since I posted and at long last I feel ready to blog again.I missed it, and I missed everyone who read it and commented on it.

So,9 months...what a roller coaster they have been and not something I ever want to go through again.For those of you who don't know(and I did keep it rather quiet),my Dad was diagnosed with secondary lung cancer in February.He died,at home,on May 29th at 8.15 in the morning.All the family were there.

I cannot describe how devastating it is/was to lose him.We were so very close and once in a while it actually scared me that we were so close simply because I knew that I would lose him one day.

And that brings us to now.Lots of pain is left,lots of tears to shed(and boy,have I cried!) but also lots of wonderful memories.I think I like the latterthe best;-)

Taking a break

2007-03-01T21:47:00.000+09:00

There are too many things happening at the moment(sorry to sound mysterious but nothing exciting...on the contrary:-( )and I have no time nor the will to post at the moment.I feel very sad about this as I do enjoy blogging and I love the wonderful feedback I get.But now is not the right time.And to quote yet another famous "guy"(although F.Gump rules!!) "I'll be back".

PS After changing over to the new blog style thingy(whatever you call it..and thank you Gina for going first and making me realise it wasn't so bad;-)), spell check actually works.Hallelujah for small miracles!!

The little things in life

2007-02-18T09:22:00.000+09:00

My husband...Infuriating,stubborn,totally unromantic,selectively hard of hearing...At times I could happily smack him from one end of the country to the next and back.

A week or so ago,it got very cold and we had snow in the morning.It didn't settle near the coast but the mountains around us were covered with snow.After a cold day at school(remember,no heating in the classrooms..Brr),I drove home in the sunshine.I pulled into the driveway and there,sitting by our front door were 2 little snowmen.They were already half melted but still,they were snowmen!As Annie has never knowingly seen a snowman,I picked her up from daycare early and took her home.And she had a lovely time with them(and put their eyes and arms back in!).The next morning ,they were gone.

And the lesson I learned from this?So OK,my husband can be the most annoying person I know, but a man who drives up to the mountains during his lunch hour at work and without time to eat ,gets a bucketful of snow,rushes home and makes a couple of little snowmen and just manages to get back to his desk in time simply so his daughter can see her first snowman,is a very good man.And this is the man I married nearly 10 years ago. It really is the little things in life that count.And I could do with remembering that a little more often.

Forrest Gump

2007-02-17T23:12:00.000+09:00

To quote the great guy,"Shit Happens " and "That's all I have to say about that.".

And with that,I will continue blogging :-)

Updates

2007-01-27T20:35:00.000+09:00

Totally forgot to post about the results of the local elections(as though you were all desperate to know..).But anyway,the present mayor won again so I am happy.And that is that!

And the chicken pox.Annie is doing better.Her fever is down to normal(and many thanks to the lovely offers of fever-reducing medicine that I had) and is as hyper as ever.Counted her spots last night and she had the grand total of 121(and I only counted because she has to have a bit of cream on each spot...I am not that anal,honest!) but more spots to come from the look of it.Sounds bad but she isn't covered from head to toe at all.Her arms,legs and face only have a few,thank goodness.The itching hasn't started as yet.She isn't eating much apart from her beloved yogurt,so is down to just 11kg again.

And what is rather ironic is her choice of bedtime reading matter...I let her decide what story she wants every evening and since she has come down with chicken pox,all she wants is "Spot".Go figure.

20 spots and counting

2007-01-25T22:13:00.000+09:00

Annie has chicken pox.It has been going around her daycare centre for the last few weeks and we were expecting it.But still,not nice when it actually happens.The spots are starting to appear and her temperature is still very high and she has been delirious a couple of times today already.And,grief,this sounds awful,but it is kind of nice when she gets delirious as she speaks English.Recentley,she has been talking so much in Japanese and her English is on the side-lines and I have to pull it out of her which makes me feel like a teacher rather than a parent.But give this kid a fever and hey presto,the English flows..."Mummy,look in sky.Airplane and moon.Miffy hello.Noodles and rice.Come here.No no no.Potty.I love you.Pick it up,please". Works for me.

Fashion Week in Reihoku

2007-01-17T22:17:00.000+09:00

Yes,I think we shall have to start a fashion week here.Annie has started deciding what she wants to wear.And it is very..... "original".The following photographs say it all.

Starting with the half-naked look and the loo-seat hat.Very fetching especially ,we think ,is the mode of transport.

Next we have the "Domestic" look...nothing like doing the cleaning in a traditional happi coat with matching hat and scarf."Chic" is the word that comes to mind.

Next we have the "Swimsuit" look.And beautifully modelled here by Annie.The optional hat adds to the whole "Sunny yet Bloody Freezing Out" collection.

And finally,the classic "Swim Suit yet again and I love it so to hell with you all" pose.

I am sure that you will be delighted to know that each and every one of the above has been worn out and about.Splendid stuff.

Election Time

2007-01-16T12:30:00.000+09:00

I dread this event.We have local elections every 4 years(which,I suppose is a blessing) but OMG,it is horrible.One word to describe it(and anyone who has either lived in Japan or been in Japan during a general or local election will know this)....NOISY!

Japan is a noisy noisy country at the best of times with BGM playing everywhere possible,town announcements boomed out over a tanoy a few times every day,tanyoned chimes 4 times a day(here in the countryside they boom out at 5am,midday,5pm and 9pm for those unfortunates who don't have any way of telling the time and need to know when to get up,have lunch,finish work and go to bed...Hmmm),people in trucks driving around playing music and making announcements about what they have to sell(from ramen noodles to sun-shades to old motorbikes) etc etc etc.

But at election time we have 6 days of hell as everyone up for election drives round the town in vans and trucks with a little possy of supporters following,blaring out messages and "Vote for X,Blah blah blah".They use women to screech out the words to get that message across and woe betide you if you are caught outside or nearby when they pass.....the screecing will go up another decible of two as they "thank you" for your support.Yeah,right.The frenzy when someone actually waves back or acknowledges the passing convoy is just too painful to either hear or see.And all those in the election convoy wear matching jackets,(pink,bright green and yellow being this years favourites from what I have seen so far)bandanas around their heads and they all wear white gloves,all the better to wave with.

The election is this Sunday and today is the first day of the convoys as thank goodness,there is a certain date when they are allowed to shatter our peace.This year not only do we have the council seats up for grabs but also the town mayor for 16 years is being contested by a dreadful little man who is using money and bribery to get support.We have also been approached and told that we will be given a lovely piece of land to build a house,free of charge,if the contender wins the mayoral seat.They can keep it.I was also given some lovely home-made pickles by one of the present mayors supporters.But I kept them;-)

So,until the elctions are finished we will not be going anywhere on foot in case we get accosted by one of the 18 separate convoys and sorry,dog,you will only be walked when it is pitch black out.When driving around,eyes on the road because even eye-contact will produce a volley of screams and yells of gratitude from the candidates.Self-imposed house arrest.Sounds good.

And the irony of it all for me is that I can't vote in either the local or general elctions.But there is no doubt about who I would vote for.That would be the quietest of all the candidates.Someone,please pass me the paracetemol.

WARNING: Viewer discretion advised;-)

Make an online slide show at onetruemedia.com

Woah..

2007-01-06T23:12:00.000+09:00

I am shell-shocked.What a very "Two -Cultured" time we have had.All very lovely but doing Christmas and going on to do the Japanese New Year without a break has been pretty exhausting.Christmas cards and presents,New years cards,Christmas decorations and New Years decorations,then all the food to be prepared...turkey plus trimmings,German food and then the local cuisine....Woah.Lots of fun but I am ready to drop.The house has been full of happy chaos,cooking smells,cleaning fanatics(Kenichi and myself),friends,hyper-active children and close family.Our futons have been well used and it seems very quiet now that we are back to "normal".Annie got the best of both worlds with presents plus otoshi-dama.Back to work and normality on Tuesday.Holidays are fun but so is,quote me on this later,work;-)

And anyway,happy Year of the Boar .Oink.

A little something to say....

2006-12-25T23:58:00.000+09:00

....Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year to our family and friends all around the world.We love you and miss you more than you'll ever know.

Make an online slide show at onetruemedia.com

SMUG-ish

2006-12-13T22:28:00.000+09:00

Spurned on by Tigermama and her Christmas card writing and gift wrapping,I have just finished all my cards and all but one parcel.Other parcels were sent out last week and have arrived safely in the UK and the US.Hooray.It took 3 hours this evening and I am knackered but SMUG.

But we still have to do over 100 New Years cards for everyone in Japan.Not so smug.

Anyway,here is a photo we took this evening of Annie.We need one for the New Years cards.This one wont be the one as Kenichi has now decided that he wants an action shot of her outside during the day.Give me a break!!!

Christmas Meme

2006-12-13T22:01:00.000+09:00

I've been tagged this lovely Christmas Meme by glowing mother-to-be Medea.And this time,not limited to one word.Thank god for small mercies;-)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot chocolate. That was easy...never had Egg Nog....

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Always wrapped.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White but threw in a few spare coloured lights this year as Annie liked them.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No.How the hell I would find it in this country is beyond me.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
First advent Sunday or the day before.And they come down on Boxing day ready for a fresh round of traditions with the Japanese New Year.Best of both worlds.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
The little sausages which Mum roasts with the turkey.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Singing Christmas carols with my parents,sister and Grandparents on Christmas Eve.Then Dad disapperaing and soon after a ring at the bell,my sister and I listening to Dad "talking" to Father Christmas.After Father Christmas left,we going into our sitting room with the tree lit up,candles all lit and carols playing in the background and all the presents which Father Christmas had put under the tree.Pure magic.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I have no idea.But don't seem to be traumatised by the truth....

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
All on Christmas Eve keeping with German family tradition.Used to have stockings on Christmas Day but don't do them here.Maybe next year.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Er,lights and baubles and loads of ornaments many of which my Mum sent over a few years ago.So lots of memories.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it.Probably because we never really have much here (apart from a light covering that melts by mid-morning )and only sometimes back in the UK.

12. Can you ice skate?
I could when I was little.Wouldn't dare to now.The mind boogles...

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Nothing specific(sorry Mum and Dad!) but used to love getting books and also the parcel my aunt sent from France(or Germany,the US where they were posted) was so exciting.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Family and friends.Eating and merry-making(ie wine!)

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Got to be Christmas pudding.Because that's all I know!Am I missing out then?

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Advent candles.And opening presents on Christmas Eve.

17. What tops your tree?
A very simple,small angel that is older than me.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. But that being said,I am so touched when we get parcels sent from abroad.Just lovely to know that we are being remembered.Sob sob.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Oh,this is hard!I have to admit that "Happy Christmas,War is over" is a firm favourite.But being the Brit I am,can't help but loving "I wish it could be Christmas Everyday."

So there we go.And I tag...Midori and Gina.Go girls!

Bugger

2006-12-08T19:58:00.000+09:00

Kenichi is out at the first of his many end-of-year parties and Annie is fast asleep an hour earlier than usual as she has her Christmas Concert at daycare tomorrow(although as her daycare is owned by Buddist priests and set in temple grounds I don't suppose "Christmas" concert is a good description but you know what I mean).I have a bottle of rather tempting red wine and some real,proper cheese at my disposal.Perfection...but not quite.

Bugger me if I didn't go and ruin it all by deciding that tonight I wanted to watch "Love Actually".This film gets me crying within the first few minutes(you know,the airport scenes?) and I love it.Anyway,I decided that I wanted to watch it when I had the chance to enjoy it and get into without Kenichi peering over at me and asking"Are you crying yet then?"Arghhhh...SHUT UP!!!

So,why is all ruined?Simple.Can't find the bloody DVD.I have spent 45 minutes looking for it and no luck.My evening is ruined.Bugger.

Who'd have known?

2006-12-01T23:00:00.000+09:00

I had a bit of a revelation the other day.After years of going through the agonies of shaving my legs(oh good god,what has my life come to when I am blogging about this but please humour me) with those stupid little safety razors,something amazing happened.I hadn't done my legs for weeks due to the illness-thing and,to be quite honest,I was begining to freak Annie out during our daily bath-time.And I won't even start to imagine what Kenichi thought when he saw me....Urghh.

Anyhoo,when we were out shopping last weekend,I trotted off to find a pack of sturdy razors and for the first time noticed that they had these really amazing looking razors for women as well as the usual cheapo ones,but 3 times the amount money.But hey,I thought to myself,why not splash out and try one of these" 3 blades with massage rollers" Rolls-Royce's of the safety razors?So,I did.And it felt good;-)

That evening,I told Kenichi not to send Annie into the bathroom for at least half-an-hour as I was going to tackle my legs.Off I went to the bathroom ready to do battle.I picked up my new "Aqua-Glide" (got to love that name) and bugger me,if I emmerged radiantly 5 minutes later with smooth,silky legs and not a cut or notch in sight.

So,I want to know ,how long has shaving ones legs been such a pleasure?It took me years to figure of the Internet but,by god,this may be the ultimate discovery since that.My life,I do believe,has changed for the better.Now all I need to do is figure out how to make a Blog-Roll and how to make Spell-check work on this PC.

One word...

2006-11-29T10:07:00.000+09:00

I have been tagged by the lovely Tigermama living in warmer climes, and this is my first tag and Tigermama's first go at tagging.So isn't that nice!

And yes,in case you were wondering,I did have to drag out my dictionary for a lot of these words and I have also bent the rules by using hyphens when they shouldn't be used but to hell with it!

One word, and only one word:

Yourself: Shy
Your partner: Charming
Your hair: Mousy
Your Mother: Compassionate
Your Father: Loving
Your Favorite Item: Computer
Your dream last night: Scary
Your Favorite Drink: Beer
Your Dream Car: VW-Golf
Your Dream Home: Homey
The Room You Are In: Staff
Your Ex: Far-away
Your fear: Isolation
Where you Want to be in Ten Years? Content
Who you hung out with last night: Daughter
What You're Not: Skinny
Muffins: Blueberry
One of Your Wish List Items: Tumble-dryer
Time: Lacking
The Last Thing You Did: Teach
What You Are Wearing: Suit
Your favorite weather: Snowy
Your Favorite Book: Poignant
Last thing you ate: Cauliflower
Your Life: Unexpected
Your mood: Happy
Your Best Friends: Irreplaceable
What are you thinking about right now: Weeing
Your car: White
What are you doing at the moment: "Working"
Your summer: Beach
Relationship status: Married
What is on your tv: Nothing
What is the weather like: Overcast
When is the last time you laughed: Just-now

So now all I have to do is to tag TRISHA!

For Eddie

2006-11-22T22:55:00.000+09:00

One thing that I really hate about living so far away from my family is not being able to take part in special occasions.And on Saturday,I am missing another such occasion.My nephew,Edward,is being baptised.I missed his big brother Dominic's baptism in spectacular style just a few years ago; I was honoured to be asked by my big sister,Helen,and brother in law Robert,to be Dominic's Godmother.So the dates were set for the ceremony that would take place when I would be back in the UK.And then,BAM,I found out that I was pregnant with Annie.So,that trip to the UK was out and I missed the baptism of my only Godchild.

And now I am missing another big event yet again.For months I have been planning the gift that I wanted to send Eddie for this big day.And it took time because I wanted it to be good.I wanted to give him a name in Japanese kanji characters.Maybe I have been in Japan too long,but I really did take this seriously.And a couple of weeks ago,I found the perfect kanji name for him.And now,all I needed to do was to get a talented person to write it for me.So I asked a teacher I have know for years(and incidentally Kenichi was taught by 20 years ago) who writes the most beautiful calligraphy.And she was so happy to do it.But due to all our ill-helath,I was only able to go and pick it up from her yesterday.So,yet again,I miss the occasion.I feel so bad.

BUT,Eddie,let me tell you this,you have a little family here in Japan that loves you so much and can't wait to meet you.And you are,to us,our little "English Samurai".

PS The characters would usually read phoneticaly as "Ei Ji",but I took licence for them to become "Eddie".The first character means "English" or "British" and the second is "Samuari".Many names in Japan are now like this is the sense that a little give and take is needed...In fact Annie's offical kanji name would be prounounced as "A-nyu"(amongst other things)rather than "An-ni".

PPS This is on its way to you Helen!

Small Talk

2006-11-20T20:40:00.000+09:00

On Sunday,our town held a country fair.Although I was not feeling too wonderful(see previous post for all the boring and whinging details;-)) but had arranged to meet up with a couple of friends and their children.So off I went with Annie(Kenichi was working both days there as it is run by the town hall staff but hey,he gets paid!)but the nearest car park was about 3/4 of a km away.Couldn't be helped and Annie was a star and walked all the way to the fair ground itself.Which took half a bloody hour because she wanted to pick up and throw every damn stone she came across.Arghh!

We had a really good time despite the fact that I had to rush to the loo every half hour but all in all,a lovely morning.Annie had a ball with her little friends playing in the children's area with things to climb up,over,under and through.After a good few hours,it was time to go home.So,we started in the long walk back to the car.

Annie did really well at first but after a while started dragging her feet.I encouraged her to walk as I was feeling a little green around the gills at this point.On we soldiered until Annie did that"I refuse to walk one step further and look how I can drag my feet behind me" thing and collapsed her legs.So,I picked her.And boy,although she is only just over 11kg,she weighed a ton that day!We only had a little way to go but it seemd like forever.It was then that Annie looked at me with her eyes open wide,cocked her little head and said ,"Mummy,Annie's tired".Oh,my heart just melted.And then she added the piece de resistance...patting my cheek in that rather heavy handed way that toddlers have she added "Mummy's tired too". All of a sudden,the carpark seemed so much closer.

Moans and Groans

2006-11-20T17:25:00.000+09:00

We have had a really rough 4 weeks here health-wise.Nothing serious but just one thing after another.Annie got a cold which Kenichi and I caught.As she got better,we got worse with the most annoying coughs.After 10 days or so of hacking away,we both decided one morning that enough was enough and took ourselves to see the doctor.We were both shocked to the core when the doctor said that we needed chest X-rays and blood tests as he suspected the start of pnuemonia of all things.Who'd have guessed it?The coughing was pretty bad but no pain at all...Anyway,we spent the morning having the said X-rays and blood tests and went home with a barrel load of medicine with warnings to keep quiet and not over-do it.

So,of course,the following day we were both back at work.STUPID!!!Kenichi's cough did start to clear up but over the weekend,mine got worse and I woke up on the Sunday morning with breathing difficulties.Back to the doctor and I was told that my childhood asthma had returned.So,I had 20 minutes inhaling some asthma medicine and when that didn't work,was put on an IV drip for a couple of hours.And that,thank god,worked.

So,Sunday was a quiet day for me and I felt much better.Kenichi took Annie to see the in-laws all afternoon.In the early eveing,they got back but Annie was not her usual chatty little self.And she refused her tea despite it being her favourite of natto and spinach(how gross can you get..).She joined me in bed and after rolling around for a few minutes,vomited everywhere.She kept being sick all through the night and poor mite was dry heaving after a while as she had brought everything up.The next morning I took her to see her doctor and realised that I was feeling pretty shitty as well.To cut a long story short,Annie was very badly dehyrated and a blood test showed that she had the nasty stomach flu that is around.In fact,the doctor was thinking about hospitalising her at one point.Whilst she was having her blood test,I went off and had more of the asthma treatment and as I was feeling so sick,it looked like I also had the beginings of the stomach flu.So,from midday until 4pm,Annie and I were both put on drips(Annie had 2 due to her dehydration) side by side.What a low-light that was!But after a few hours,we both felt much better.Annie in fact was feeling so much better that she started singing her little heart out to the amusement of everyone.

We had the next 2 days at home and Annie was fine.I wasn't so hot but had to go back to work on Thursday.I made it to the weekend and was finally starting to feel better on Saturday.But on Sunday morning woke up with tummy cramps and had diarrhoea all day.But thank goodness,I found some medicine that I hadn't needed earlier on this year for just the same thing.And this morning,I woke up feeling pretty good.No runs,cough much better and at last,I really do think that we are all going to be healthy again.

Jeez,what a boring old post.But seriously,never has the well known Japanese saying "Kenko Dai-ichi"(health is number one) meant so much to me!

Picture this

2006-10-21T21:17:00.000+09:00

Scene 1.

The supermarket.A harressed mother runs after her toddler.The said toddler is being chased by an equally harressed father trying to stop the running child before it's too late.Crash.Too late.Looks of horror from nearby shoppers,the shop assistants and the parents.But,thank goodness the two big bottles of vinegar don't break.The toddler screeches with delight and runs off to find something else to grab from the shelves.

Scene 2.

The resturant.A family arrive and sit down.Well,the parents sit down but the child refuses.After a few stern words the child starts to protest...LOUDLY.The parents give up and let the child down.The child is delighted and tries to dash to the other tables to grab the condiments but is stopped and told to behave.The child starts chanting for rice...LOUDLY.The parents order quickly and the food arrives just before the child is about to have a full-blown tantrum.Peace at last.

Scene 3.

The Swimming Pool.Not a busy day and the regulars are contently swimming up and down in a quiet fashion.Then in comes the toddler,screaming with delight, and shatters the peaceful enviroment.The toddler is followed by a stressed father trying to get the child to keep on the swimming cap which is obligatory in all pools.The toddler refuses yet again and the father gives up.The father takes the child to the baby pool.But no.This babe wants none of that.The child makes a break for the main pool and runs to the edge of the pool and just drops into the water.Thank goodness the childs mother is ready and waiting to catch the child.The child scrambles up and rushes off to leap into the water again.And again.And again.The other swimmers look on in disbelief as the child continues to throw itself over the edge of the pool.The mother is kept busy swimming around ready to catch the little torpedo.But after a while,it is time to leave.The toddler has to be carried away kicking and screaming.The parents apologise to the nearest swimmers.The swimmers smile kindly and,no doubt, with relief.

*****************************************************

So,we have 3 scenarios.What a horrible child.And what is the problem with parents who cannot control their children??Is it so difficult to ask parents to have some control over their children when they go out in public?Surely a young child will listen to his or her parents?If not,the problem most definetly lies with the parents...

Yep,that is what I would have thought 2 years ago.But now? You've gussed it....Annie is indeed "the toddler".Eeeek..............!!!!

Yeah right....

2006-10-21T21:02:00.000+09:00

Back with a vengance....what a totally idiotic title that was for my last post.What was I thinking??Anyway,at last I am in blogging mood which is the first time since the last post(evidentally).And god,it has been busy here mostly for me at work but a hyper-active Annie has been the icing on the cake.But,things are,at last,starting to quieten down a wee bit at work.Annie,however,is not quietening down at all..

So,it's a Saturday night and just gone 9pm.Annie is asleep at last,Kenichi is supping a beer watching a baseball game and I am here.We are having a quiet weekend for a change.We only have 2 weekends free now until the end of the year.Shocking but apart from one,it is to do fun things,and to stay with friends.

Kenichi and I spent the morning buying plants for our terrible excuse of a garden.We put Annie into kindergarten from 9-midday as the thought of her running around a garden center is just too dreadful.This afternoon we did some weeding and gardening and Annie run around eating earth,stomping on the newly planted flowers and throwing stones at us.She has a great time.We are knackered.It was lovely being out though as it is still so bloody warm here...up to 30C today so on with sunscreen and hats(except Annie threw off her hat and filled it with stones and soil).Tomorrow I am working.We have a school event so I work all day but get the day off on Monday in lieu of Sunday.Kenichi therefore has the pleasure of spending the day with Annie.Maybe I should go get him another beer......

Back with a vengance

2006-09-30T06:07:00.000+09:00

Back to the Blog after a rather busy start to Speptmeber which saw Annie in hospital with a suspected case of viral meningitis.All is well now and she is back to her usual happy little self.Except that she has discovered,since her hospital stay, how to get lie and get attention at the same time.She suddenly realised that if she starts yelling "Ouch ,ouch"( or the Japanese version of "Itai,itai") she gets attention at once.Not so good when we are out and about and she suddenly starts yelling ""Mummy,ouch,OUCH" for no reason whatsoever.And as soon as she sees her pediatrician now,she does the "Ouch" thing again and then for some odd reason,shows him her tummy or her bum........LIAR!!!!

So,apart from the worry we had with Annie and now a very very busy time at work approaching for me,life is good.And it is now cooler here so no more AC so we don't have to go into hiding when the electricity bill comes anymore.Cool mornings and evenings and lovely and warm days with blue skies and sunshine.I love autumn in Japan.

Reality Check Update 2 !

2006-09-04T21:09:00.000+09:00

Couldn't think of a more inspired title but,hell,it will do! Anyway,Taiji is doing well.He only had one night in the ICU unit and all the drugs he took just didn't do the damage that they should have.Lucky guy.

Now he is back in hospital and on medication but eating and talking(as in the "communicating" sense of the word).He will be moved to a local specialist clinic in the next few days.Thanks so much for all the kind thoughts and concern about him.I bet he would be amazed if he knew that he was such a topic of concern in my little Blog world!

Reality Check Update

2006-08-31T20:51:00.000+09:00

All the town hall employees met at 6am and were split into groups and searched specific areas.At 8.30am,the voluteer firemen in the town were called out to help in the search,plus those in the neighbouring town.Kenichi had a business trip and had to leave at 9am.

There were renewed tanoy announcements every few hours throughout the day to ask people to be on the look out for Taiji.From midday,a helicopter was brought in to search the coastlines and mountain areas.And then the rain really got heavy and thunder and lightning made matters worse.But at just before 5pm,there was a tannoy announcement to say that Taiji had been found "safely".Kenichi heard from friends that Taiji was found in his room at home.The mind boogles.Did they not check there or did he arrive home after the search had begun?

Anyway,we then found out that in his room,Taiji had in fact taken a host of tablets and pills.He is in intensive-care on a life-support machine now.

I aplogise for a rather OTT post last night.I re-read it this morning and cringed.But this all opens old wounds.Things with us could have ended up just like Taiji.And I really hope that this time next year ,he will be able to look back with the same confidence that we have right now.

Please keep him in your thoughts.

Reality Check

2006-08-30T22:01:00.000+09:00

I think most of you know but last year,Kenichi had a stress-related breakdown,followed by months of depression.It was horrible .And for a moment,I nearly lost the man who I am proud to call my husband and the father of my child.But we were so very lucky.We had the help and support of family and friends.And now ,a year on,life is looking good and he is medication free.

This evening,we heard that a friend of Kenichi's is missing.He was admitted into hospital due to depression a month ago.He is 32 years old and went through the divorce from hell 2 years ago and lost custody of the daughter that he brought up (whilst his wife ran around with her lover...small town and you know it all).

Kenichi will go out tomorrow from 6am to search for him along with all the staff at the town hall and the people in his neighbourhood.

As soon as I heard the news that he was missing,I started crying.Tomorrow morning, they are out to find his body.And everyone knows it.

I hope and pray that we are all very wrong.

Taiji,come home.

Feeling peachy

2006-08-27T20:08:00.000+09:00

Popped into the shops this evening after taking Kenichi to a high school reunion.Only went to buy some milk and a bit of fish for Annie's evening meal.But as I was meandering down the aisle on the way to get the milk,I spelt ambrosia...the smell of ripe peaches.Fruit here is,at times,outrageously expensive and I refuse to buy it.Until today.When I was husbandless.And Annie was preoccupied with rolling on the floor and showing off her Winnie-the-Pooh nappy to the shop owners(not that she would squeal on me but still,you never know).And before I had a chance to think about what I was doing,I snatched a single small peach and placed it in my basket.

So,here I am at home alone.Annie alseep.Kenichi still out.And my beloved peach chilling nicely in the fridge.With the price sticker taken off.But I am terrified of eating the damn thing(and I have to destroy the evidence before Kenichi gets back)in case it doesn't taste that good.I paid 380 yen for the stupid thing.

I leave you in suspense.Will it be a peach to remember or will I curse my weakness for wonderful smells?Oh,the excitement of my life here is just killing me;-)

Anpanman LIVES!

2006-08-26T23:12:00.000+09:00

Annie is so into a cartoon character called Anpanman and she sings along to his silly little song and gets so excited when he appears on TV every Sunday morning at 6am(yes,that's right,6 freaking am and I would love to see the powers to be about that time scheduling). But we never realised that the freaky little bread guy is,for Annie,a real thing.Until she started,as of a week or so ago,pointing him out to us.

Yesterday we had two Anpanman spottings and today the three.She does it so forcefully ,too.She sees men with a roundish face and wearing either a hint of yellow and /or red and,at once, the finger comes out and she narrows her eyes and says in a loud and low pitched voice "Anpanman da" .Oh gawd.The Anpanmaned men/boys so far have either laughed with us or,but in the case of one of ex-students,escaped with a red face with Annie screaming "Bye bye Anpanaman" after him in front of a host of his delighted classmates.Hope he doesn't take it too much to heart.Anapanman is ,after all,a "Super-hero".....

September 1st :-(

2006-08-26T19:48:00.000+09:00

I have had a great summer.No holiday, albeit ,and at work every day apart from weekends off plus a "bonus" day at home with a grouchy and snuffly-nosed Annie). But even going to work has its advantages .As schools in Japan don't close over summer(yep,the teachers come in and do club activities with the kids and extra study) but no classes as such.And I have been coasting along every day spending my time happily from 8am-3pm in casual clothes in a ACed staff room ,more often than not sipping green tea and gossiping away with my colleagues and eating ice-cream.And I get paid for it and get to keep nice and cool.Over the weekends,we have done all the summer things like swimming at the beach or river,hanging out with friends a lot,drinking lots of cold beer,having BBQs and fireworks,going to the odd festival and really having a ball.We have AC at home and hell,all the washing dries within minutes so even Annie's linen nappies are no trouble.

But then,this afternoon,waking up from a lovely afternoon nap with the AC and electric fan keeping us cool as we slumbered through the worst heat of the day,I had a really horrible thought. You see,on Septmeber 1st,term starts.And I will have to actually start working in the true sense of the word.And work means teaching.In classrooms.And they have no AC. With temperatures of 33-5C.And high humidity.And more often than not,no breeze . I leave the rest to your imagination.I ,in the meantime,am wimpering over the keyboard and trying to think that it could be worse somehow.Couldn't it???

Hmmmmm

2006-08-21T22:24:00.000+09:00

Two comments in so many days about Annie pissed me off.

1. Went to a local restaurant for a meal.The owner came out,saw Annie and happily exclaimed "Ooooh,she looks just like JonBenent". Sorry but although JonBenet Ramsey was a beautiful little girl,she came to a very tragic end and I really wouldn't use her in a comparison with another child .Maybe I am being too sensitive.But I,Kenichi and MIL all found it rather distasteful.And really,however hard one might squint,our Annie ain't no blonde American babe.

2. I was asked by a local lady how many foreign children go to Annie's day-care centre.I said "None". She replied with "So,it's just your daughter who is foreign then". WTF???I was so taken aback with her comment that I let it go.I am ashamed with myself.

Typical!

2006-08-12T22:37:00.000+09:00

Had a really good photo that constituted a blog entry about the local festival.And just now discovered that I must have deleted the thing before I uploaded it.So now I will have to wait until next year to post. Damn!

In the meantime though,here are a few snaps of Annie enjoying her first summer festival in Reihoku,dressed in the tradition Jinbei .Next year or whenever we next go to the next festival,I hope that MIL will splash out and buy her a cheapo(15 quid or so) yukata ;-)

Watching the street dancing.Fascinating stuff when you are just a year and a half!

Comparing Jinbeis with friend Kousuke.And he had the Winnie the Pooh version which Annie was pretty impressed with...

A letter

2006-08-04T14:17:00.000+09:00

I can't believe it.I am going to do something that I always swore was a dreadful thing;I refused to do the traditional Japanese "Thank you for bringing me up" speech to my parents at our wedding here in Japan, as I found it all too sickly-sweet and over emotional.But,since then,I have also come to realise that being very British,I rarely put my sentiments into words.SO,here I am this afternoon,home an hour early from work,the house to myself,a big bottle of iced water in front of me and time to say some things that should have been said a long time ago.So,let the true feelings come forth....

ETA(Edited To Add) Posted a few days late for various reasons.

***************************************************************

East Germany,Honeymoon,August 1966.

Dear Mum and Dad,

HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!

40 years on August 5th.A big cheer from me here!Being a mere pup in the married sense of the word (10 years next May),I know just what an amazing and inspiring couple you are.But I don't think you actually realise what a special and unique relationship you have.So,let me tell you some things!

For starters,something very close to my heart is the fact that you have an "international marriage".It seems easy to forget that you, Mum, were born and brought up in Germany.Although you are British now,you were not born that way.You had to learn to speak English.Learn to accept different morals,customs and ways of thinking.You had to learn from scratch and although you kept much of your "Germaness",you have also adopted a lot of "Britishness".And that takes time.And patience.And bravery.As I know too well,it isn't easy leaving family behind to start a new life.It takes so much courage that sometimes it feels plain wrong and is too hard to bare.Mixed marriages are often seen as being exotic,fun and exciting.Yes,in many ways they are.But the concept of being able to give your children the best of both worlds,well,that is just one factor .And without a partner of great patience,understanding and devotion I don't think it can work.And that is where you come in Dad!!

The love and devotion you share is obvious to all those around you.Oh,there have been tough times .And times of despair and frustration.But,you know what,I never knew that;throughout my childhood and up until this very day,I have never once seen or heard you quarelling ,rowing or fighting.I remember vividly a few years ago when I came back for a visit and one of you(I forget which) snapped at the other.One of you was feeling grouchy and the other got the tail end(perhaps it was Dad then!).I was shocked to the core.Seriously,shocked.I had never heard you do anything like it before!It was a few words and then forgotten by you both but not by me!And that in itself showed me what a great gift you have given me....Total trust in your relationship and reassurance that whatever happens around me,you,my parents, are both there.And in love with each other in a strong and firm and everlasting relationship.And nothing will ever change that.

Good times,Bad times.As any family we have had our fair share of them but,I often think that we have been fortunate as we have had much more of the former than the latter.Good things and bad things will happen from now onwards.But I know that whatever happens,whether we laugh or cry,however far apart we may all be,you will always be there.

Thank you for letting me follow my heart.Thank you for letting me go.And thank you for showing me just how it should be done.Kenichi and I have a long long way to go in many respects and in 30 years time,if we are even half as happy as you are,we will be truely content.

And another thing I'd like to add,is please win that damn lottery so that we all have access to First Class aeroplane tickets whenever we feel like seeing each other.Not much to ask now,is it??!

We love you so very much and are with you in spirit as you celebrate your 40 years together.

Mariannexx

Amakusa,May 2006.

Late night craving

2006-07-31T22:33:00.000+09:00

Not really late night I suppose,as its only 10.30 pm but I am off to bed in a minute so it feels late.I was happily brushing my teeth and realised that I really fancy some fish fingers.Damn.No chance of getting them until I next go over to the UK.Very frustating when these cravings happen.Usually it is for fish and chips.Don't know why fish fingers are on my mind.And no,I am not pregnant again.Ho hum.Off I go to join Kenichi(already snoring) and Annie(smiling in her sleep).And I shall dream of Captain Birds Eye,no doubt.

Good news comes in threes

2006-07-29T22:54:00.000+09:00

What a great day!I had 3 pieces of really fantastic news.In the order that I heard them they are ;

1. A little boy called Nils was born 5 weeks ago to my wonderful friend Stefan and his beautiful wife,Marika.See you all soon on Skype!

2. A friend (who I have never actually met but hope to soon!)is expecting her first baby in February.Weeeeee!!!

3. My friend Naoko who lives about 30 minutes away will be moving back to Reihoku in the near future with her husband and son.Her son,Yuichiro, is the same age as Annie and they love each other.They go to the same kindergarten and will now go to the same primary school.PTA will be a blast!

Today has been a good day,a really good day.I will be going to sleep with a a MASSIVE smile on my face.

Cor blimey.

2006-07-29T14:46:00.000+09:00

Annie's language skills are really picking up now.She seems to understand most of what is said to her in English and Japanese and mixes both languages with ease.I speak only English with her and if she says something in Japanese,will repeat it back in English.Kenichi uses what English he can with her and the rest is,of course,Japanese.Most of her words are English although she has come out with both,for example saying "apple....ringo".It is fascinating to listen to her.

And my favourite "Annie words" are those English words begining with "h".She doesn't pronounce the "h" sound .So,here we are in the middle of the Japanese countryside,and our baby is telling is that she is " 'ot ",looking at the " 'ouses " and pointing out " 'orses " in her picture books. It's like living with our own little cockney.How freaky is that,I ask you.

Cool.......

2006-07-26T22:47:00.000+09:00

I love it.My baby is a total Beach Bum.With an attitude.Go girl,Go.

Does this make me an Official Tokita??

2006-07-26T22:29:00.000+09:00

Let me explain.Kenichi's family has had some bad luck with fingers and hands.My FIL,Yuji,lost 2 fingers on his left hand a couple of years ago in a horrible way(they got caught in a machine and had to be amputated) and soon after that he tripped over,got a piece of bamboo stuck in the thumb of his right hand.Despite a hospital trip,a few bits of the bamboo reminded in his thumb,got infected and then the whole hand blew up.He had bits of the gangrened(spelling??!) thumb removed and at one point we heard that his entire hand was in jeopardy.Nasty incident.And he was in hospital for ages.

Then,my BIL,Shinji,got his hand caught in a fish packing machine.That is all I shall say about the matter .He left that job and his hand recovered but still has the scars.

Kenichi managed to slash his hand open(no stiches needed which still stuns me) when he was cutting a rope here at home.

And hey,now I am a fully fledged member.Woo Hoo!Last night,I was slicing up spring onions in earnest and ...well......don't want to go into details but let us just say that SHIT,I lost a bit of my left digit finger plus nail and will be "deformed" for life in the finger department.It was horrible.The blood flow stopped sometime during the night and I am ,at last,24 hours later,out of pain.Isn't that great??!!

But my god,I am so in awe of those Yakuza boys who chop off their little fingers for the gang.And actually think I know what type of knife they must use....................

Spell Check,or however you spell it

2006-07-25T20:57:00.000+09:00

The bloody thing is still not working.I get an error sign every time I use it.Maybe my spelling is so bad that it refuses to do its job.Just my luck.Now I feel linguistically naked.Enjoy.

The house key

2006-07-25T20:45:00.000+09:00

So,I lost my house key yesterday afternoon sometime.And I forgot that I had lost it until I was just about to drive Annie to day-care this morning and asked Kenichi not to lock the front door so that I could get back in when I got back from work.Got home just after 3pm and decided to have a half-hearted look around in my car.And,of course,found the thing on the floor under a seat with a load of 100 yen coins(lucky!) and petrol receipts.And that was that.

But then I had a little revelation.Can you imagine being so blase about losing your FRONT DOOR KEY back in the UK??My god,we would have changed the locks the very same day,if not hour.Ho hum.One thing I do love about living in the middle of nowhere in Japan is that hey,it really doesn't matter about locks and things!We never lock our cars and in fact Kenichi often leaves his keys in the ignition.And on most days,although the front door is locked,most of the windows are open.I don't know how long this will last but I love it!And don't even start me on my purse and the places it has been found......

A new start

2006-07-24T22:49:00.000+09:00

Now,that feels better.The old Blog was just too damn dark and I didn't update for so long that I didn't quite know where to begin.So,I decided that the best thing would be to start over.

I was also getting a little tired of only posting about The Baby as my life was sounding totally Annie-centered.Apologies to my parents for ending the old Blog but it will always be there.

And now the begining of a new chapter.My fingers and toes are firmly crossed that spellcheck will like this Blog better(or else I am paddling up shit creek) and that my dear family and relatives excuse the bad language that will be appearing here from now onwards ;-)