Budding Stylist....

Do I look remorseful enough?

I thought I was helping Mum out, as she said it was about time I got my fringe cut this morning...

This hairdressing lark is not as easy as it looks....

自分で切っちゃったの。。。

Imagine the Unimaginable

Maybe it's in part premenstrual hysterics, but I actually cried when I read this story about a brother and sister finding each other after 66 years this morning.

"Imagine" had just shuffled its way up to the "now playing" spot on iTunes, and I'd just told Mairi to listen to the words and remember them. (Met by "OK Mummy. Now I can I listen to the Morning Musume one again").

I spent most of my University life dissecting this particular horrible period of history in one way or another, but it still, and perhaps even more personally now, given my bi-cultural and international family circumstances, FLOORS me to think what human beings are capable of doing to each other. And all in the name of some abstract ideology. Just about anything is justifiable to people if they are desperate enough.

And then you see the strength of the human spirit. These survivors went on, and lived, in spite of it all.

And despite all the talk on Remembrance Day each year, it is STILL happening somewhere in the world, as we speak, on any given day.

And in the end, all you've got is family.

And the power of the words.

Cliches one and all, but none the less true for all that.

Image Change

Just thought I'd uncharacteristcally open myself up to some ridicule.
New glasses and a spur of the moment haircut. The hot sticky summer winds of change are blowing.
The chances of my hair actually looking like this when I see any of you is pretty slim, so here you are: what the hairdresser thought it was supposed to look like.
And I can just hear you Mum: "Oh no Jax... No they big Joe Ninety jobs again!"

More Scottish Visitors

After S-chan left, I-kun and his family came over to visit too. His Daddy is from Scotland too, but they live here!
We both got serious about our Wii sports. This is us boxing. Dead serious!
Last night seemed to be a good idea, so we thought we'd stay with a tried and tested activity:

More summery fireworks!

Midsummer Dreams

In Summer when I am working, Weechan goes to a local play school, for the wild and wonderful. It's great for me, as the fact that every day is a picnic, where they run wild and have great fun, even going to the Family Pool every day it is sunny in July, helps to assuage my guilt that she is not enjoying a lengthy summer holiday like her friends.

I particularly love the place on special holidays. Yesterday was Tanabata, the star festival, and again this year she brought home these homemade decorations, complete with bamboo tree to hang them on.

Children write their hopes and dreams on papers and hang them from the tree. Previous years have asked for celestial help in becoming a princess or superhero animated character, if you check back July blog entries you can confirm it. This year?
Apparently the pinnacle of Weechan's existence would be to become a car repairman (do you get repairwomen? Soon!)

We can all but dream!

Princesses do still figure in my everyday life! I'm making Cinderella from Hama Beads!

And tonight another summer right of passage!
First kakigori of the year!

Snow in the living room to cool us down!

What's your favourite flavour?

Welcome Y!

Enter Y-kun, new addition to the Hiroshima community as of almost 3 months ago!
He didn't look too happy to be awake, and forcefully cuddled by his Mummy's friends, but he put up with it admirably.

Congratulations N-chan, and welcome to the Mummy-club. Looks like you're already more relaxed than I was at that stage! (Wouldn't be hard, I hear some of you cry- and I take umbridge at that!!)

Visitors from Bonnie Scotland

On Friday we had guests, all the way from Scotland. Uncle M and S-chan, AKA "Baby" S, who really isn't a baby any more, came to stay over. First we made pizzas together.
Then we did our first fireworks of the year!
S-chan started out a bit wary,

But with a good example to learn from....

She soon became an expert.

Next day, Mummy made cinnamon rolls.

Tada!

And we and the Daddies got to be creative with the leftover dough.

Our names in bread! What callligraphic works of art!

Chinese characters or spiders??

Nice to see you S-chan. See you in Scotland next time!

After the Rains....

It's the rainy season here in Hiroshima, and it has been quite a rainy rainy season so far. Last Sunday was our pub lunch day, and we have been known to go to a nearby park afterwards for some little people to let off some steam. I don't see much future in this over the next few months though, as it already too much like a sauna for me to stay outside for longer than 15 minutes. Anyway, the deluge in the morning hadn't given us much hope for a park session, but the heavens had obviously nothing more to give, and it did start to clear up at home time, so we ventured out into town.
Despite the clear skies, the park was still under water, but it seems we weren't the only ones to emerge from the great indoors.
First we found this happy band.
What can I say? Nice winklepickers!

No-one was fooling this cat. When you find a dry spot in June, you don't relinquish it!

But then we have reminders of what the rain is good for.
Happy Hibiscus growing wild!

Send me good wishes so I can live out the next couple of months without melting into a big greasy spot!

Happy Birthday Paul!

Another one bites the dust... As I approach my own milestone later this year, last weekend I ticked off another friend from the list of friends who get there first. I was in the mood for a bit of Blue Peter-esque fun when I made him a birthday cake, so as he is into triathlons and ironman contests, this was what I came up with. Click on the photo for the boring details on Tasty Bites if you fancy trying a similar masterpiece yourself. It was for the most part edible....

Wordle

Thought I'd jump on the wordle bandwagon... SO here is your On the Pond wordle...
Click on the image to see it in its full glory!

Time is of the Essence- Japanese Style

A rare rant about work. Most of you know I am fast becoming a disciple of my workplace. I have yet to find much to find fault with, but I had a rare jaw-dropping moment this morning.

To give you a bit of pedantic background. There is a road between the two plots of land upon which my school stands. This road is closed to traffic between 7am and 9am each morning. I am not sure if this is the city's idea, or the school's. The part time staff are required to use the car park between the high school and the junior high school buildings. The only entrance to this car park is off the road that it closed. The road is closed by 2 bollards, which are removed by the school's security guard just before 9am.

If you arrive at school before 9am, you have to park in the main car park, and then move before lunchtime. The main car park gate is closed at 8:50am. I try to time it so that I arrive at 9 o'clock, thus avoiding the 10 minute meaningless lockdown. Needless to say in the morning rush hour this is not a precise science. Sometimes I arrive a few minutes after 9, some days, like today, a couple of minutes early. Today, as I was closing the school gates behind me at 8:58am, one of the older members of staff from the high school emerged and started bellowing in his best English to my turned back:

"IT IS BEFORE 9 O'CLOCK NOW!"

At first I didn't register that anyone was addressing me at all, what with the lack of even a "Good morning" or a "Sensei" which is customary between members of staff working at the same establishment. So I eventually turned round on the 2nd:

"It is before 9 o'clock now!"

"Pardon?"

"It is before 9 o'clock now! Parking is prohibited!!"

" Yes, I arrived - (dramatic look at my watch)- 2 minutes- (pause) early......(in ultra polite Japanese, with a Sensei thrown in for good measure)"

" In that case you have to wait somewhere outside"

" It's 8:58, Would you like me to go out again"

" No, I suppose it's ok if you stay"

"Thank you."

I could list the ways that this spoiled my morning, but I don't think I have to, do I?