A French Lunch

This week one of the French mothers from school hosted a "ladies lunch" to raise money for our targeted charity to help the children of the Philippines. We enjoyed creamy zucchini soup, tender Beef Bourguignon, chocolate mousse, and a flaky pastry. To raise money, the host provides the food, the participants pay a minimum fee, and the funds raised are put towards reaching our charitable goal. The "ladies lunch" concept has turned out to be a lovely way to raise money, as participants enjoy the social aspect and of course, the food.

Sans Stabilizers

Well protected and ready to go. For the first time, Roo tried riding his bike without the stabilizing wheels. He's mastered his scooter but has had little interest in his bike. However, recently his buddy learned to ride without training wheels. With a little encouragement from Daddy, Roo's thinking it might be time to learn, too.

After a go on the bicycle, we all enjoyed a turn with the remote control dirt bike.

Once again at this park I was taunted by the lowest hanging yuzu fruit (still above Ryan's reach) that stubbornly resists departing from it's branch.

The incentive to give the bicycle a try was a trip to Roo's favorite place for his favorite treat, an ookii size vanilla bean donut at Donut Plant.
After a look at the toy poodles in the local pet store, we headed home.

The Geisha Sayuki

At yesterday's CWAJ luncheon, the guest speaker was the First Western Geisha in Japan, Sayuki. An Australian who fell in love with the culture and language in her teens, it was her graduate work in social anthropology that brought her to the ancient art of the Geisha. Many Westerners misunderstand the role of these woman and mistakenly assume their duties include things less savory. Not so. They are artists rigorously trained in dance, music, and social etiquette. Historically they've played an important role in bringing conversation to sometimes uncomfortable tense situations. As the sake flows and Geisha entertain, business men and officials relax, communicate, and progress is achieved. Today, it's not just men that enjoy the art of the Geisha, as woman are welcome, too. My question, why the white makeup? Apparently in a candlelit tea house a brighter face becomes more radiant, adding to the beauty.

As an interesting story for foreigners, Sayuki has been in the news often. In fact, soon she will appear on Oprah. Here is a short clip:

Book Review: The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows. I loved this book! The characters are so charming, it makes me want to get on a plane and visit the Channel Islands for a bit of nostalgia. The personalities are vivid and the writing real, but not ordinary. In fact, remarkable. In addition to a lovely story, it provides a bit of history since the impact of the German occupation during WWII in the lives of Islanders is weaved in throughout.

Parties

Last night's birthday party, Star Wars. Today's birthday party, bowling. January is a busy birthday month (three this week). Last night Roo was a guest at a Star Wars party and was thrilled to dress as a Storm Trooper. The party was complete with more troopers, Jedi, and of course a Princess Leah (the little sister). For today's party, most of Roo's class was present to enjoy bowling on a real alley, with real balls, and electronic scoring. The children's bowling facility at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel offers one advantage for the kids, the gutters are gated so as to avoid the dreaded gutter ball. Roo had a fantastic day and is keen to go bowling again!

Trash or Rubbish?

Yesterday on our walk home from school, Roo shared that they played charades at school. Since a theme of study is people who help us, the charade was of these persons. He showed me his charade and I guessed that he was putting trash in a garbage truck. He corrected me, "it's a BIN truck and I'm a rubbish removal person."

Vegetable Box

This weeks vegetable box: When I first arrived in Japan, my visits to the food store were always educational as there seemed to be many unfamiliar foods. Now that I have a better feel for local ingredients, I've joined what's known in the USA as a CSA (community supported agriculture). Every week I will have free range eggs and a box of organic vegetables grown at Kulimoto farm delivered to my door. When this first box arrived, I pureed a soup of potatoes (two varieties), leek, celery, and chard, spiced with red pepper and garlic. As in Minneapolis, I'm hoping a consistent delivery of vegetables will increase our phytonutrient consumption and expand my cooking repertoire.

Fukubukuro

Like home, the sales are on and in addition to discounting items, it is common for stores to sell “treasure bags” or "happy bags" (aka “grab bags) known as fukubukuro. A set price is the cost of the bag and it contents far exceed the cost. The bag is sealed to keep the contents a mystery. Since I still find it hit and miss whether woman's clothing will fit me properly, I decided to give the fukubukuro another chance (I bought one my first New Year in Japan) at a children's boutique in our neighborhood that recently opened. I was pleasantly surprised and Roo now has more trousers, which he needed.

Kadomatsu

I enjoy this time of year (the first week in January) when beautiful kadomatsu grace the gates of homes and businesses. A construction of bamboo and pine, the pair is believed to house the deity that brings bounty for the coming year. The three shoots of bamboo represent heaven, humanity, and earth, with heaven the most prominent. Bamboo represents prosperity, and pine longevity, two attributes most desire for their family.

Factory Kids

Yesterday I spoke with my Aunt Bonnie and learned that my cousin has produced a song with her band, Factory Kids. Here's the video from their MySpace site.

Wonderful job Christina! You look great!

Final Days in Perth

We’re back in Japan. We welcomed the New Year from 40,000 feet above Malaysia, flying through the night. We filled our last few Australian summer days in and around Perth.

At The Maze, we first tackled the timber maze. We made it to the end, the tree house. The gunny sac ride through the tunnel slide didn't attract Roo, so we moved on.

After two pine mazes and watching kangaroos & koalas, I was ready for a break. Ryan and Roo moved on to rounds of frisbee golf and mini golf. We visited Cottesloe beach where Roo enjoyed floating in the "big waves", buoyancy provided by his life vest. We drove to Swan Valley, only to be disappointed by the lack of open eating options. The area was packed with tourists and the establishments that were open weren't prepared for the volume of hungry wine tasters. Some were ending their trading hours early because they had "run out of food". We stopped at Whiteman Park, a spacious outdoor play space for families. Despite the go carts not running because it wasn't a weekend, we managed a successful trip to the park's old fashioned candy store called "The Lolly Shop". So much of want I thought wasn't made anymore IS still being made and this shop has it. I passed the temptation to buy the stick you dip in flavored sugars and instead opted for some peanut brittle. Ryan choose an assortment and Roo Jelly Beans in a truck/bank combo. He didn't like the Jelly Beans, but the truck provided entertainment for a surprising amount of time. Ryan and Roo made it to Kings Park. Overlooking the city central area of Perth, it offered plenty of green for some exercise.
Before going to the airport to catch our late afternoon flight, we stopped at the Fremantle Prison for a tour. Built by prisoners, this 19th century facility remained operational until 1991. One of the factors contributing to it's closure was the lack of "facilities" available in the cells. Seriously, the prisoners used, rather two shared, a bucket. Our guide James conducted an interesting tour with bits of the serious and not so serious intertwined. Shortly after walking through the gates to enter the prison, Roo whispered "You know what I'm thinking Mommy? I'm thinking this doesn't look anything like my jail in my Playmobil police station".

We had a lovely family vacation. The reoccurring theme of interest for this travel was open green space, and we discovered Western Australia has plenty of it to offer. Not to mention fabulous fish and chips, yummy fruit mince pies, and bizarre bush foods.