Top Gun?

A family outing today to the US air base at nearby Iwakuni, with Aunty JJ, F and N, to meet self- proclaimed "Jackie of all trades" Jackie Allen and her husband, Mark. I thought Hiroshima's own JJ was a whirlwind till I met Jackie: as a combination they could be truly scary!!! And I mean that in the best way. Two women with a passion for proactively trying to make things better for everyone wherever they are, I take my hat off to them for actually getting up and trying to put into action what the rest of us just sit about and talk about.
JJ and P's GetHiroshima is already linked here, but check out Jackie Allen's site here to find out what she is up to. My sister accuses me of trying to be the next Martha Stewart. Wow!

Where do they find the time with 4 kids of their own to deal with too?

Mark was a star today looking after the kids while the women gabbed! Thank you Mark. They had a ball at the park.

After we got home, my "drama queen" needed yet another change of clothes after the designing of out new garden pond with partner in crime F.

A great lunch, good conversation, and as a bonus, we were able to buy a REAL Christmas tree!
It didn't take long for me strip our trusty fake one of it's adornments, and dress up this one!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Weechan Becomes a Contributor for Tasty Bites

Mairi offcially made her first contribution to Tasty Bites today. I was talking about our upcoming Christmas party and saying we should make something that looks Christmassy, and she pipes up from the back seat of the car: "Mummy we should make snowmen onigiri!". And thought, what a splendid idea. So we went home and here's what we came up with. It's the first sign that she is actually related to me too! (Well apart from her stunning good looks of course...) There's a budding Martha Stewart or Delia in all of us, you know. Just a matter of how deep down you have to dig!
Of course my usual pre-party stress will no doubt mean that they will not make an appearance at the actual party, but it was a great idea....

Weechanが今日初めて料理のブログのTasty Bitesに参加した。今度うちでクリスマスパーティをすることにしたから、お迎えに言った時に、どういう料理をしたらいいか、と話していた。なにかクリスマスの雰囲気を表したらいいね、と言ったら、後ろのチャイルドシートからWeechan:「雪だるまのおにぎりを作ったら面白いね」。確かに！と思って、家に帰ったら、これが二人の努力で出来上がったものです。やっぱり親子だね、と思った。
もちろんパーティ直前のストレスの結果：普通のおにぎりになってしまうだろう（もしくは友達に作ってもらうーToshisama - haha!)けど、発想はよかったよね！

Unlucky Start to Advent

Saturday was the first day of advent. Here is the undecorated velvet advent tree Mummy was up all night making for me on Friday night. I'll get to find a decoration for it in my red bags every day till Christmas . I'll show you it again when it's decorated!

やっと１２月１日になった！クリスマスの始まりだ！これはMummyが作ってくれたアドベントカレンダーのツリーです。クリスマスまで毎日この木の飾り物を赤い袋から出して、飾って行くよ。全部飾ったら、もう一度見せてあげるね。

It was the school Skating Night on Saturday, but I got a sore tummy and barfed dramatically all over the floor at the edge of the ice rink 5 mins after we got there, and we had to go home after 5 mins. I was a poor soul all night. Apparently a tummy bug is going around. Take care everyone.
土曜日は学校のスケートイベントだった。でも着いてすぐの時、お腹が痛くなって、リンクの横の床で吐いてしまって。だから５分もいなかったのに、帰ってしまった。嘔吐下痢が流行っておるみたい。皆体に気をつけてね。

でもお父さんとソファでゆっくりするのもいいね。

But it's nice to have some cuddle time with Daddy on the sofa too.

And I got to help Mummy decorate the Christmas tree, so I'm sure we'll all be cheered up soon!

クリスマスツリーを飾ることも出来たから、きっとすぐいい気分になるね。

Kurashiki 倉敷

I had a great plan to go to Kurashiki on Monday with a friend, to get some Christmas presents for home. We drove an hour and half there, paid the 30 quid expressway fees, and discovered that Kurashiki is shut on Mondays! So none of the 3 shops I was planning to go to were open.
Great!
Still a pretty place to visit though! Oh well... best laid plans.....

Thanks Given 感謝祭

It was Thanksgiving at the M house last Saturday night. It was our first real Thanksgiving dinner, so we were looking forward to it. Hollywood exposure makes it feel like a familiar vaguely Christmassy celebration, what with the turkey and all the trimmings, but I thought I better ask the real Americans there what Thanksgiving meant to them. The answer I liked the best was "It's like Christmas, a family day, but without the stress of the present buying, and the pressure to have a Christmassy great time".
土曜日にM家の感謝祭祝いにお邪魔しました。イギリス人／日本人家族の初めての感謝祭でしたから楽しみにしていました。映画でよく見るけど、アメリカ人にとって、感謝祭ってどういうことか、と聞いたら、一番気に入った答えはこうでした：「クリスマスみたいだけど、皆にプレゼントをあげるプレッシャーがない、家族とゆっくり過ごす楽しい一日」日本のお正月みたいかな。
And so it was. Very relaxing sitting around with good friends, new and old, and good food and drink in abundance. I also like the idea of an occasion to take a moment to think about what you have to be thankful for - even if you don't say it out loud . Although Christmas really is about the giving for me, there is also a excess amount of getting going on, which clouds the issue a little. It's also natural for the kids to focus on what they're getting, instead of just appreciating a good family time. Far be it from me to praise anything from the US (haha!), but in this day and age, where our kids want for nothing, in fact quite the opposite, I think I might instate a Thanksgiving custom in our house too.
実際にそうでした。友達とゆっくり沢山食べて、沢山飲んで、沢山おしゃべりして、いい一時でした。この日に、自分はどれだけ恵まれているかを振り替えてみるのもいいことだと思う。私にとって、クリスマスは人に気持ちを込めたプレゼントをあげたり、今までお世話になったことをちょっとでも返すのがポイントだけど、ついでにいっぱいもらってしまうこともある。とくに子供はもちろんもらう方に集中してしまう。今頃子供たちは何も不足していない生活しているから、たまにはものじゃなくて、大事な人との関係を祝うのも悪くないと思う。

The only one who didn't have much to be thankful for was of course the turkey !


感謝することがなかったものは七面鳥だけ！


How to make an American man happy! Compliments to the chef!

アメリカの男はこれで幸せ！

There was plenty drinking done, with "kids wine" for the kids and non-alkies too!

「子供ワイン」もあって皆の飲み物もいっぱいあった。

This of course lead to some silly behaviour.

皆で盛り上がった。

The kids' faces say it all.「大人は飲んだら、おかしくなるね」

But ice-cream makes everything OK, doesn't it?

でもアイスがあれば、すべてOK!

Turkey and pumpkin pie all gone, thanks to the M family for having us!
M家、ごちそうさまでした！

The Making of the Caramel Shortie

Mairi helps in the traditional manner.

茉利のいつもの手伝い方。いつものキャラメルのお菓子を作っていた）

親子のいつもの寛ぎ方。(茉利のグラスは何も入っていないよ！）


Then mother and child relax in the traditional manner. (M's glass was empty!)

The One Where Jax Becomes a Dissident

日本語版を後で加えますけど、英語が分かる方、是非したのリンクをクリックしてみてください。Petition.
This is a subject I've been wanting to rant about for a couple of weeks, but right now I don't have the time. Japan has recently put into effect a law, supposedly to combat terrorism, which means that all foreigners, irrespective of visa status, must be photographed and fingerprinted, every time we enter the country. I still don't have the time to do it justice, but in the meantime, today's "Blog of Note" seems to have given a good rant in my place.
If you even care about my human rights, have a look at this: Vegetable Japan. Sign the petition too if you care enough. Maybe it will make no difference, but it is always the apathy that lets the people like the authors of these laws win. You can sign anonymously and it's free. there is a request for a donation to the website, but you can skip it.
I will probably add my own rant at some point, and my opinions may differ from that blog author's (I haven't had time to read all of it in detail), but would be very interested to hear what people think about it, and grateful if people who are not necessarily foreign residents in Japan would add their support and comments to the petition. I think Japanese people who are not directly affected, are the ones who need to stand up and be counted, as it's YOUR country which is the lesser for this blatantly discriminatory law.
I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen of this country. I advocate no law breaking. I do not see how my race, or nationality makes me more likely to be a terrorist, than say Shoko Asahara, who was, I believe, Japanese, born and bred. My daughter will now have to watch her mother being fingerprinted like a criminal every time we come back from visiting her relatives and friends in Scotland. What effect - even if only subliminal- will that have on the way she sees them and me?
America does it too? Well if two wrongs making a right is an adult argument, knock yourself out....

I just hope that my registering a negative comment about this law, will not be used against me or my family or friends at a later date, if Japan continues to slide down this slippery slope of institutionalized xenophobia like other infamous regimes have in the past.

Deep and Meaningful....?

Borrowed from an online Linguistics 1 course whose author was not obvious. I would have accredited him.

Been reflecting recently, which is not always a good thing; about how we get impressions of people and make value judgements about them, based on messages visual, vocal or subliminal, that they never meant to send. We all do it, and it can't be helped, we can only interpret things through our own experiential filters, if you like. Sad though, that so many of these mixed messages and miscommunications lead to concrete troubles and real anguish and pain everyday. When I see my friends misunderstanding each other, I always feel saddened, and, more often than not to my own disadvantage, find myself trying to interpret between them to make it all better. Of course this generally ends in making the situation worse, but I seem to be pre-programmed to try. Comes from a basic naive wish that we could just all get along with and tolerate each other, which would of course then lead to world peace! Simple as that! Has no-one realised???
Which then of course leads you to start wondering what impression others have of you.....But if I start going down that path, my fragile psyche might never recover, so I'll just assume everyone knows and loves me for the great specimen of humanity that I know I am (!?!).

Anyway, Blogger (who host this blog) have come up with a "Blogs of Note" widget you can put on your iGoogle personalized homepage, and it gives you their selection for the blog of the day. I personally have no time for surfing the internet, but as a serial blogger myself, I am interested in what's out there. So, much in the same way that a CD shop freaks out the music lover in me with its infinite choices, making me the queen of the "Greatest Hits" compilations; I am happy to be spoonfed one blog a day. There really are some weird and wonderful people out there, doing strange and creative stuff. Yesterday's blog Attitude of Gratitude is by a recovering alcoholic artist. I like his art. He waxes lyrical quite a bit, but I saw a couple of quotes which speak to my present state of mind there, so I'll share them with you:

If you were walking back from a well, carrying a bucket of water & someone jostled you, there could be spilled from the bucket only that which it contained. As you walk along the way of life, people are constantly bumping into you. If your heart is full of ill nature, bad temper, and ugly disposition, only those things will be spilled from it. On the other hand, if it is full of love, you will spill a smile or pleasant remark. You can spill from your bucket only that which it contains. ~Author Unknown


Always know that what other people think of you is their own concern, not yours. Do what you know is right, and fully accept that others will think what they will think. Certainly it is valuable to make a good impression. Keep in mind, though, that the best way to make a good impression is not to worry endlessly about what others think. The way to make the best impression is to be authentic. Allow the goodness that is within you to shine through your genuine courtesy, kindness, respect and consideration. By caring so much about receiving validation from others, you prevent yourself from getting it. Instead, share your real value with those around you and that value will be clear for all to see. Don't waste your time and effort keeping up appearances. Put your attention and energy into real solid substance, and your appearance will take care of itself. The more you strive to make a good impression, the less successful you'll be at doing so. Just relax and be yourself, and you'll be truly and authentically impressive. ~Ralph Marston

This is kind of how I feel. It's a bonus if it comes across that way. It really is all about communication, folks.

I'll give the last word to Robert Burns:

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us
An foolish notion:
What airs in dress an gait wad lea'es us,
An ev'n devotion!

From Burns' “To a Louse”

Winter is Upon Us 冬が着た

My trusty Prius told me it was 8 degrees on the bypass this morning. The news said 4. Anyway it was bloody freezing! I'll need to start wearing socks!
プリウスちゃんが今朝この情報を伝えてくれた。寒かったよ！靴下を今日からはこうかな。

Festivals and Lights

We went to the Ebisuko festival in town with Uncle E and I-kun on Sunday night.
日曜日にUncle EとIくんとえびすこう祭りに行ってきた。


By chance we met E-chan there and we all watched the taiko together.
偶然Eちゃんに出会って、皆で和太鼓の演奏をみた。


We got a chance to try as well!
私たちも叩いてみるチャンスがあった。


Then we went on to the shrine. Everyone buys these "komazarae" and has them blessed so they can prosper in the coming year. Mummy said we better get one to make sure we ca pay my school fees next year!

皆この「こまざらえ」を買って、神社に持って行って、来年金運がいいように祈ります。来年の私の学費も払えるように、私たちも買って、お参りしたよ！

Then we headed off to look at the illuminations in Hondori before going home very late!


そしてイリューミネーションを見て、かなり遅く帰りました。


楽しかった！


I had a busy but great day!