1) It was presented to me initially as a 'pasta and wine' event, which conjured images of daintily sipping Italian wines inside some kind of structure, with tables, although I should know by now that most public or community facilities in Japan are No Shoes, which means that my lovely shoes would have ended up decorating the genkan while I shuffled around inelegantly in a pair of honky slippers.
The 'okay you can stay in a bungalow afterwards' was kind of an afterthought. In Japan, 'bungalow' often means a log cabin with a bathroom, a kitchenette with fridge, kettle and stove tops, a TV, and air conditioning. Not real camping. What we got was a wooden tent. It had electric lights...and nothing else.
2) I actually brought another pair of shoes, and they are still there, under the seat of the small car we left with Baachan, while we all piled into her larger car to get there.
Like Mother Like Daughter. The sad thing is, Lena did it too. The kids often make inappropriate shoe choices. Getting out the door is normally somewhat chaotic, and I often miss what shoes they chose to put on. Lena chose the sweet little shoes we bought her for her Entrance Ceremony. They didn't have a heel, but they had a tight strap, and she ended up with a very sore ankle.
Just in case there's anyone left who thinks I might be sane, I brought 13 bags for an overnighter.
1) My carry-on bag, with mine and Erica's pyjamas and changes of clothes.
2) Amy's carry-on, with her pyjamas, activities and a change of clothes - nothing warm, and no spare knickers. They pack by themselves, hence their own bags, and their own mistakes!
3) Lena's, ditto.
4) Erica's nappy bag
5) Towel/onsen bag
6) 'Outside' tote bag - contains ground sheets, mini stools, hats, fans, sunglasses and sunscreen. It lives like this in the spare room waiting for events, so it went in as is.
7) 'Inside' tote bag, with any miscellaneous junk we 'need', like my novel, the Rawleighs, toys for Erica, towels, tissues, Erica's juice, etc. Usually lives in a semi-chaotic state in the car.
8) Food bag - weetbix for breakfast, sugar, cookies, sweets, bananas, paper plates etc
9) Cold food bag - milk, tea, wine, yogurt
10) Medicine bag. I've taken to keeping all the medical things, the insurance certificates, Mother-Child health book, and medical dictionary in a small tote with wet tissues, a few small toys, a Reader's Digest, and a spare nappy, ready to rush off to the hospital at a moment's notice. So in it went, with pain/fever meds, First Aid kit (used to dress Lena's ankle, see above) and antibiotics and eye drops for Amy's sore eye.
11) Camera bag, with video camera and all relevant extension cords, plus still camera
12) Ipod bag, with all the cords and things for that and...
13) My handbag! Essential of course, though I didn't touch it all weekend!
Despite the rain and the autumn leaves underfoot, I didn't fall over, break a heel or even burst a blister (unlike poor Lena). So my faux snake skin, 9cm strappy heels may only have cost $13 at the shoe warehouse, but they rock!
Here's me and Kanji with our bub eating dinner in the hall - the No Shoes hall. My shoes redundantly sat outside decorating the step.
And Erica eating spaghetti.
The girls had a great time with the swings and tree houses. I'm sure we'll really enjoy it next year, shod appropriately, and prepared for the lack of facilities!
No comments:
Post a Comment