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.