Annual 'First Day of Spring Break' blog post

Only it's not the first day of Spring break. We've had several of those so far, including last Thursday, Lena's birthday, when the kids came home before lunch, and the weekend, of course, which just 'felt' different because we all knew it nearly a holiday, and then Monday, when they went to school for five minutes or so to do god knows what, and finally yesterday, which was technically the first day.

I spent that day trying to catch up to myself (work and housework); we also went to the hospital and then spent the evening at a friend's kid's birthday party. It was a bit of a sad occasion actually, as it was also partly a farewell party for the Dad and step-mum, who are leaving Japan.

This morning, we all slept in until 9am, then I said to everyone that we had to tidy the living room before we could do anything else. Lena said, and I kid you not: "Hey, we should do this every day!". Wow. Well! Only ten years of hard slog and constant nagging, and finally, the kid gets it. So I replied, "YES, every morning, and every evening too before we go to bed!" Please!!!!

Actually I had my first Mummy-tantrum on Tuesday morning, when I put the fear of god into them swearing they would NOT leave these rooms in a tremendous mess every day these holiday, or I would jut throw everything out that they dared to put down anywhere but in its rightful place (into the back yard, not into the actual trash, so it's retrievable but still a bit dangerous). At least they are old enough to now to understand that it really is more pleasant to be in a tidy room, and getting to understand how much their behaviour with their everyday items contributes to the mess, or not mess.

First picnic today too. After the room was tidied, I sat down with them at the table, and said "Good morning" in a tone that they said made me sound like a teacher! So I decided today's lesson was going to be shopping for a picnic, and I made them a list and off they went to Youme Town, bringing back bread and cheese and lettuce and tomatoes (while Erica ran away to the neighbor's house and I did some work on the computer).

Amy spent the morning practicing the school song on the piano and the afternoon looking up online intelligence tests and signing up for a brain training program. Where did I get that child? Lena spent the morning playing with her fake horse on the ipad and the afternoon playing with a friend. Once the friend left, she also took the intelligence test and beat Amy! Not a result any of us were expecting, but good for Lena! Erica fiddled about in the adventure-playground-that-would-be-a-garden-if-I-had-a-green-thumb in the morning, then played Stray Souls on the ipad in the afternoon once Lena had abandoned it for her friend. I fiddled with convention photos all day.

And Amy and Lena cooked dinner! The rice was already made, they added salad (I cooked the broccoli) then they toasted ham steaks in the oven to eat with pineapple. They are now watching Disney while I type, I hope I didn't leave it too long to chase them into the bath and a movie has started!

Shopping Day with Lena

Just got back from a shopping day in Oita for Lena's 10th birthday. It was sufficiently different from the trip with Lena - they are different children after all!

We went straight to Park Place, and started off with lunch. We went to Capriccosa, my favorite Italian restaurant and ate a margarita pizza and spaghetti carbonara. We know now to order prudently at that place - too many times we've ordered too much! Nice to see they have introduced a 'regular' size now.

Then we went straight back to the car to change out of my shoes. Sky high wedge boots were a bit ambitious for shopping! I need to wear those only to places where I can guarantee I'll sit down. I also got an ominously sore knee (do I really have to say goodbye to heels forever? Hope not!). I picked up a mall map and walked with it in front of my face to pretend that I was mincing gingerly along because I was trying to find out where to go, and not because I was wearing stupid shoes.

So, with sensible shoes on, we hit the shops again. Lena found what she wanted almost immediately in Jusco. I insisted we check out the specialty stores there as well, because we have a Jusco in Nakatsu! Amy had got her beautiful dress and cardigan at the Gap last year, so I really wanted to get Lena a beautiful dress there too. But no, we breezed through the stores, with nothing catching her eye and doubled back to Jusco and got a pair of shorts (she loves shorts and specifically wanted some) and a pretty top.

On the way we went into the Indian import store Malalaika and she immediately set eyes on some blue sparkly earrings. Again, nothing she saw subsequently matched them. She's a pure instinct shopper.

We also checked out the hobby/fun/junk store. She also had in mind ONE specific thing here, that she had seen at our local Jusco's hobby/fun/junk store, a little battery operated fluffy moving snake thing. We could not find it, so she suggested we visit Nakatsu's Jusco on the way home! We could have just gone there to start with, although that just wouldn't have been as special.

Just before we left, we ate parfait:

The snakey tail-like thingy was not there either, so we came home. She's planning on enjoying the rest of her night with a bowl of popcorn and a movie (Blu). I've promised them pizza later and K is out now buying me wine. Should be a relaxing night for all the family!

Grandma Food

This all starts with a Cracked.com article, here:

Scroll down to the first drawing, and this quote: "Those jars are there to indicate her ability to take care of herself. She opened all those jars without the help of a man because she is self-sufficient."

Read more: The 6 Most Baffling Classic Rock Songs About Women | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-6-most-baffling-classic-rock-songs-about-women_p2/#ixzz1p0IQDgnP

Well really it started in the kitchen yesterday as I wrestled the tapenade jar. No, actually, it started months ago when I was wrestling the pasta jar, failed, and passed it to my handy, biceps-equipped husband to open for me. Only someone must have left out the 'feel shame if can't open jar' gene from my husband, because he handed it right back, saying "I can't!" So I did. So when the tapenade jar wrestlemania began in the kitchen yesterday, I knew not to bother my snoozing hubby. I did it myself. Because I am self-sufficient.

Anyway, the lovely tapenade (from olive-growing Takamatsu in Shikoku, where I went last weekend) went onto a wee cracker sandwich I was preparing as a snack. Usually I have butter and cheese for a cracker snack attack, but I was out of cheese. My second choice is butter and Marmite, lots of it so it squeezes out of the cracker holes in black and yellow worms. But I was out of butter. So I was doing a little taste test - which was better: plain Marmite, tapenade or guava jam.

I got the guava Jam from Raul, who got it from his wife Ana's grandmother in Mexico. I love food from someone's grandma somewhere. I loved MY grandmothers' food - my paternal grandmother decorated wedding cakes and made tiny flowers out of sugar. My maternal grandmother made fantastic vegetable soup, the most amazing meat stews, and simply perfect stewed apple. I used to love staying at her place just so I could have her perfect stewed apples on my weetbix in the morning. My mother remembers her maternal grandmother's borscht and homemade spaghetti. I remember her (Big Nana, we called her) pocket-full of aniseed lollies.

I wonder what my kids will remember of my mother's cooking. I hope it's the beetroot. I wrapped up a jar in multiple layers of packaging tape, plastic wrap and tea towels and brought it back to Japan with me. Mum's coming in May, and she's bringing her recipe with her. Apparently we can cheat a little and use tinned beetroot, and just add her special flavorings. Then maybe I can send a jar back to Mexico to Ana's grandmother to puzzle over.

(PS the guava jam won the contest)

Zest for Life, Aichi, 2007

The most significant different with this convention is the fact that I was pregnant, which made for quite a different weekend.

I had only just found out, so it was too early for it to be widely known, but one woman guessed - she said I just 'looked' pregnant! Since this was Solveig of the magic camera, I think I believe her!

The strongest memory is of the onsen, which I managed to visit FIVE times, due mostly to my being pregnant! The onsen was on a high floor of the facility, with lovely views. I went in on Thursday night after dinner, Friday night, Saturday morning and night and Sunday morning! This onsen was the first time I learned that some people, inexplicably to me, showered AFTER the onsen, to 'wash it off'. ??

The Board meeting was held in the hotel - woohoo! Which meant we early arrivals had an extra night in the same hotel. I stayed with Victoria, who soon guessed my delicate condition due to my not drinking! Not hard to pick when I am up the duff.

Kiwi Louise was my roommate for the next two nights, and I met Juliet for the first time. Great roommate! She was concerned about waking me after partying, but I sleep through anything, and don't snore - I'm the perfect roommate!

Dinner on Friday night was a mixer - we had assigned seats to encourage people out of their cliques, and it was a great idea, I wish more conventions would do that. I ended up sitting beside Ms. B, who had been posting on femail for several weeks before the convention about how she was going to bring her Pride and Prejudice board game. I re-read the book especially just to play, so it was nice to sit down next to her. We played the game later on in the hospitality room. She died a year later, of a sudden heart attack, making my time with her all the more poignant.

There was a quiz after the dinner - Victoria and Alison were on my team, and I can't remember who else! Irish Maryann was quiz master.

Saturday night's dinner's theme was Pretty in Pink, which was designed to fit in with the whole convention's theme and goal of charity for breast cancer. It was, hmm, interesting, to see a room full of grown women dressed in pink! I had a pink, black and white skirt with a net underskirt (another hand-me-down from sister-in-law) which I wore with a pink cotton twin set.

I was in the cabaret! Typically, for anything involving me, it was a disaster. Well, okay the act itself - a quiz show all about New Zealand, which I did with Louise - was great, but the sound system was no good, and for reasons I cannot fathom, the tables were gathered at the far end of the room near the buffet, leaving what felt like an acre of space between the stage and our audience. Throw in thick Kiwi accents and obscure subject matter, and many people had no idea what was going on! Fortunately the people on the stage who entered the quiz did, and we awarded prizes with a Kiwi theme, including a Buzzy Bee toy, to Marie and Vivien.

The panel discussion on Sunday was Zest for Life, and I recall Kyushu's Barbara talking, with her usual irrepressible energy, and also XX, who broke down a bit admitting her marriage was a failure. (She's doing really well now by the way). I don't remember singing, so maybe I managed to escape early enough.

Another unforgettable thing was my bloody suitcase! It was stupidly heavy, but I had thought I could pull it on its little incorporated wheels, however it was on its last legs, or rather last half of one rickety wheel. By the time I left though, just about everyone knew I had a bun in the oven, so I had a lot of help hauling it into a taxi, and from there onto a suburban train and all the way through Nagoya station! One of my helpers still occasionally reminds me not to bring that bloody suitcase!

Uminonakamichi Convention, Fukuoka 2006

Which brings me to 2006, which I still think of as my favorite convention so far.

Victoria, who was Kyushu Rep at the time, called me one day and asked if I would be willing to help organize a convetion in Kyushu next year. This was just before I went to Narita, so I had attended a grand total of ZERO conventions thus far - so of course I said yes! At Narita I kept asking people there what they liked about conventions and writing notes in my diary!

We were four to a room, and my roommates included Susan, and I think Christine and Denise. Correct me on that if I am wrong! Four to a room was a mammoth squeeze, but it was of no consequence - I was hardly there! I still remember the champagne toast we had in that room as the weekend began. Cheers "Southern Comforts" and the Kyushu district, I had a wonderful time hosting that convention!

I drove - it's still the only convention I drove to. Since Victoria and I both endured the marathon cross-town train journey the year before only to arrive late, we pushed for finding a meeting room in the hotel. I still feel guilty for forgetting Michelle's Starbucks cup in there after she so kindly brought us all coffee! I had no experience with Starbucks at the time and just thought they gave out nice mugs every time...

I was in charge of several things at that convention, including the tour on Saturday afternoon, a wine tasting event on Saturday evening and the 'Miss Uminonakamichi' pageant on Friday night. Since I hate beauty contests I wanted it to be much more about personality and luck than about looks or presentation. Dinner was out on the lawn overlooking the bay. The rain stopped just in time. Each table was provided with a bowl of M&Ms, and each person had to choose one. Then they opened the quiz sheet, and had to answer the question that corresponded to the color they had chosen. The table then chose the best story-teller to be their table's contestant in the finals. The finalists told their story to everyone over a mic, with the winner chosen by applause volume, if I remember rightly. The winner was Solveig Boergen, the photographer, which I thought was just fabulous because she spent the whole weekend diligently making other women feel, and look, utterly beautiful with her fabulous glamour shots (She was still establishing her business then, and did glamour shots of women as well as baby photos. She gave us a great deal, and took some superb photos of me!). I believe she won all the chocolate, and a sash and tiara, and got to draw the Early Bird and other prizes on Saturday night.

The tour was a disaster. I think it would be fair to say it was the most pathetic tour ever offered at an AFWJ convention. We drove ourselves in two vans, and drove over the actual umi-no-naka-michi (literally a road running between two islands with the sea on both sides) to Shikanoshima, famous for a memorial to the memory of the lost souls of the original Kamikaze, the wind storm that destroyed the invading Mongolian fleet in the 12th century. I had previously visited the site, and there was a great lookout, a very sombre and ancient memorial and gravestones and a really cool stone map of the world, which I thought I could get everyone to stand on, on their own nation, for a great photo.

However, I had not had the opportunity to revisit the area since my first visit six years before, and found when we arrived at the site that access was closed off! After last year I am no longer surprised at how long it can take to get things back in shape after an earthquake, especially rarely visited obscure historical sites, but at the time it had never occurred to me that there would be damage from the earthquake the previous year, and that the area might still not be repaired. I was very disappointed. We ended up visiting a shrine, and having a wee splash at the beach by the umi-no-naka road. The guests did not complain, and said it was a lovely day trip anyway. I suppose they don't know what they missed.

My next job was the wine tasting, and I was seriously RUNNING back into the hotel after the tour to get it together - I had just enough time to shower and change into my 'wine tasting' dress and rush around gathering toothbrushing glasses from the guest rooms (more on that later). By a stroke of luck, that year I was working with a guy who was teaching English just for the cash, whose 'real life' consisted of being a sommelier (and a cyclist). Well, fantastic! I got him to put it on, and all I had to do was make sure he got the money to buy the wine. He was fabulous, he led us through the language used for wine-tasting - 'cucumber notes' and odd things like that. Thank you Adam!! The wine tasting happened on the pool, which was covered for the off season (it was June, but Japanese only swim in July and August). It was held with no help from the hotel staff, as we wanted to avoid corkage fees, which explains the tooth-brushing glasses! I could not acquire the appropriate amount of glasses, and I did not want to use plastic so somehow I happened upon the idea of using the room glasses! Someone remind me if you know whose idea it was!

I just remembered what I did Saturday morning - Charmaine and I crossed the bay in a ferry to go to a flea market!

After the wine tasting the race was on again, this time to get ready for the cabaret dinner. Uminonakamichi's theme was Southern Comforts - we brought people to the southern-most island of Japan, and referenced both the South Pacific and the American South. So the cabaret theme was Mardi Gras, and we asked people to wear a mask. We also held a mask-making workshop and left a few 100yen shop masks and mask-making paraphernalia in the hospitality room, just to make sure everyone would have a mask and no-one would feel too pressured to come up with something. I changed from my wine-tasting-friendly white, red and black shift dress to a black cocktail dress I inherited from my sister-in-law (I wore another black cocktail dress I inherited off her to the convention the year before).

Three things stand out for me from that cabaret:

1) I won the photo contest, with that photo of naked Amy jumping for joy at the beach. Actually it wasn't a surprise, because the voting was conducted by delivering two red stickers to each convention goer, which they were to use to stick onto the photo they liked the best, with the photos displayed in a clear file folder. I had had a wee sliver of time before or after lunch (which was provided that year, as we decided to add a buffet lunch since there was just nowhere for guests to go) to visit the hospitality room and saw then that my photo was miles ahead. It was cool to win something though. I think I won booze.

2) The convention committee performance: Charmaine had worked SO HARD on preparing special songs for us, from the musical South Pacific ("Some convention evening... you will meet a stranger, across a crowded room...), BUT the sound system didn't work, and we ended up singing a capella, which was okay, but we lost the rhythm, and sang a bit too slow, and it sounded a big choral. Shirin did her best washing 'Japan' out of her hair, but I still feel we didn't do as well as we would have if we'd had music!!! I had practiced so much singing those songs!

3) The male dance troupe. MEN turning up at an AFWJ convention cabaret is pretty rare! Young, sexy dancing men? Unprecedented! It was the tap-dancing students of Kyushu member Barbara, who I'd seen dancing for the first time the previous year. Boy did they get the crowd going! I think it was THE best disco we've ever had!

We went to karaoke after that, I think... or was that Friday night? They had a wee karaoke box in the hotel, which was totally cool and kept all the karaoke fans happy.

The hospitality room that year was a guest room, but with no guests in it. Crafts and books and brochures were spread out over the beds, along with the mask-making equipment and photo contest folder. I think we also sold crafts on behalf of members that year. People gathered in the lounge part of the suite room, or on the floor, or perched on the edges of the two beds. After dinner on Saturday, I plugged in my portable DVD player and threw on some Abba and Boney M. As the crowd began to thin out, I put on Nature's Best, a compilation of NZ music, while me and Louise danced and sang the night away. We were so late up we decided we'd best not crash and bang our way back to our rooms and went to sleep in the hospitality room beds!!

Good thing I did because I staggered back to my room the next day for a recovery nap, to find my bed was BROKEN. I sat on it and just like Goldilocks, it toppled over. A little birdie told me it had happened when X-san sat on the it day before. I'm sure I don't remember it happening! I was hardly in the room!

After recovering a bit from that stupendous hangover, I headed across the lawn to an outbuilding where the panel discussion was being held. Beverly and Tamah were talking about legal steps to take to protect your life in Japan. And I was treated to my first hand-holding and song-singing session. I'm not too fond of this bit, it feels a bit embarrassing to me somehow; I love all my AFWJ buddies, but I don't necessarily want to go round hugging everyone (unless it's Friday night, I'm tiddly on champers and happy to see everyone after a year) and especially since there are TWO songs, and a long history about the spat that resulted in their being two songs, sheesh! These days I slip away before any hands get held...

Narita "Gateways" 2005

My first convention was in Narita in 2005. I was a convention newbie, but somehow that information had been left off my name-tag (newbies usually have some kind of identifying mark so people know to be nice and welcoming to them!) so I was on my own a bit!

The Board meeting on Friday was held in the middle of Tokyo. For those of you unfamiliar with Tokyo geography, Narita is about an hour's train ride from Tokyo! We ended up arriving late for the dinner, and had missed the ice-breaker activity. At the time I wasn't the least bit bothered, as it was my first time, so I didn't know what I was missing, but now that I know how much nicer and pleasant it is when the meeting is either in the hotel or at least very near, I always have my fingers crossed that they do us a favor of finding us a room there!

The Friday dinner that year was al fresco, it was a lovely outdoor area of the hotel. I think I sat at a table with Louise George Kittaka. I knew the board members, and quite a lot of people's names from the yahoo group femail, so I kind of felt like I knew people. I also spent a lot of time that year with Victoria Yoshimura, who I knew from Kyushu, and by extension with the Slimforce group. I also spend pre-dinner drinks with them on Saturday at a bar in the hotel, when I was just wandering around and happened to bump into them.

My roommate situation that year was a disaster, but again I was all starry-eyed newbie-ish and didn't really notice. I was in a room of three, pot luck. Upon arrival I realized 'three' meant two normal beds - and one camp stretcher. Luckily for me I arrived second and scored a bed. I drank quite a bit that night and staggered back to my room, using the bathroom to change. One roommate was watching TV from her bed while the other roommate was trying to sleep on her cot. I went to bed and roommate No.1 proceeded to chatter away to me. Like I said I was a bit tipsy and a newbie, thought well this is just what it's like, so I chatted back a bit, between laying my head down to strongly hint that I was ready to sleep now. Roommate No.3 said nothing, but I caught her at reception the next day - booking another room. She would rather pay than spend another night with us! I didn't feel too bad, as I was not the one watching TV or initiating the conversation (I was ready to go to sleep) but was still rather surprised! On the second night again Roomie was watching TV when I got back, but I had had even more to drink that night, so it didn't keep me up at all! I did ask her why she was watching TV, she said something about having kids at home, and not much time, and she liked it, which is fine, but I think she should have noticed that the other two people in the room were trying to sleep! Roomie 2 apologized to me for leaving, and tried to make it clear that it was 'just her, I have trouble sleeping' and I still wonder if she thinks it was as much me as the other person, although I had every intention of heading straight to sleep!

I had spent my night in the hospitality room, with smoke breaks in the lobby, and a few drinks there too once the hospitality room had closed for the night at about 1am. I had caught a group in the elevator who were heading out to karaoke earlier, but I felt like I might be missing something of the actual AFWJ convention if I left, so I stayed. I enjoyed chatting to random people in the hospitality room. I remember sitting at a table with three Germans who I thought were so kind to continue to speak in English for my sake! It was a seminar room, with long tables around the edges of the room holding mountains of goodies to eat and drink, books and magazines to give away and brochures and maps of the local area and places to eat and drink. We sat around tables in the centre.

On Saturday morning I attended a flamenco dancing workshop, then went on a tour to Narita temple, walking all through the old town. I thought I should get out and see some of the area I was staying in! Lunch that day was a box of rather ordinary sandwiches at the hotel. I remember meeting Candace for the first time out by the pool while we waited, but I ate lunch with Vicky M. I'll eat anything so I was happy with the sandwiches, but you could sense the polite disappointment, and the frustration of the convention committee, who did their best, and provided lunch because the hotel was in an out of the way place, with no restaurants nearby.

The Saturday night cabaret theme was National Costume (the convention theme was Gateways, with the idea that being close to Narita made it easier for travelers to get to). I wore all black, of course, with a bone carving. All the other kiwis there wore all black too! We all looked rather elegant, although one had added stuffed sheep to her shoulders.

I still remember that cabaret as one of the best. There were several dance performances, and I love watching dance. There was flamenco, hula, tap and Indonesian dance. I also was treated to my very first Bonnie comedy, Aunty Mary that year. That woman is SO funny!!!! I videoed it all, and have NO idea where that tape is now!!

I only caught some of the panel discussion, and I don't recall the topic. I had to catch a plane back, so had to leave early, though I remember popping by to see part of it but missed the famous singing. More about that next time...

I also missed the optional lunch, which was held in a restaurant popular with some of the locals, but a little out of the way for attendees who needed to head back to stations and airports. One person told me she spent three hours on trains that day!

Conventions

Every year I get as far as the above title, sometimes I even get as far as creating separate posts for the separate days, but I never get around to posting!!!

I'm busy, I'm tired, and also, I think, I feel like I have to catch up on the rest before I can update the first. There's history, you see, and I can't talk about the latest one now without referring to all that history! So I am going to catch up!

I've been to six conventions, in 2005 (Narita), 2006 (Uminonakamichi, Fukuoka), 2007 (Nagoya), 2008 (Kagoshima), 2011 (Odaiba, Tokyo) and 2012 (Takamatsu, Shikoku). They were all fantastic, all fun and all follow a set pattern, while being quite unique in the details.

Some things they all have in common:

A raucous Friday night dinner party with excited friends happy to be seeing each other again; casual, often al fresco or buffet dining and often a quiz or games session thrown in,

Workshops on Saturday, including art, crafts, dancing, exercise, and local tours,

A formal Saturday dinner and cabaret, often a sit-down multi-course meal, and a cabaret show featuring acts from club members, usually including music, comedy and dancing. The dress code is often themed to match the official convention theme,

A hospitality room - a space set up for attendees to just hang out and chat with each other, usually filled to the brim with donated food and drinks, and second-hand goods for giveaways,

And a panel discussion on a set theme on Sunday morning, often a theme that fits in with the convention theme.

Several other features are more hit and miss:

Roommates: do you scramble to find one ahead of time or throw yourself into the pot for a random placement? Will it be 2, 3 or 4 person rooms? Roommate disaster stories abound, but success stories are much more common.

Hospitality room: will it be a public space in the hotel, or a private room? Will it be a guest room occupied by a convention committee member? Will it be all day and all night, or have restricted hours? What other spaces does the hotel provide (karaoke, bars, smoking rooms?).

Lunch: will it be provided or are we on our own?

Sunday lunch: often presented as an optional extra, but not part of the official fee - will it be offered at all, and if so, where and how much?

Board Meeting: will the convention committee find a room at the hotel for the Board, or are they on their own? This has been quite important to me, as I have been on the Board for seven years now, and always attend the meeting at conventions!

Spring, Shopping, and Irrepressible Four-Year-Olds

Spring! Open doors, heaters off, windows down in the car, no jackets needed outside, but by far the strongest indicator is the fact that I a) cleared the table of 2-3 items b) put the kettle on c) gathered up some items to take to the laundry and d) helped Erica with her sleeve, IN BETWEEN getting my bra on and actually get my top on, without dying of cold.

She's off again today, final day of illness I hope, but I don't mind having my little side kick around, she does funny stuff like twirling round and round on the spot singing a song, just to see what would happen if she turned round and round on the spot singing a song. We went shopping.

So we went shopping. Shopping in Japan with a kid is such a treat. Japanese people haven't forgotten how to be nice to kids, or more importantly, how to ENJOY them.

First stop, Post Office. When we finished, Erica turned around, hands in the air, saying "Where's my present?" I turned around to look back at the busy staff and told her they were too busy. She was happy with that and off we trotted, but it just show how used she is to getting a present from the staff, usually a couple of balloons.

Next stop, the bank, where she took off to the area between the main entrance and the ATMs, where I was, to practice some floor-tile challenges of the sort only a four-year old can dream up. She came back with three balloons and the ATM helper staff lady beaming from ear to ear giving her a cheerful goodbye.

Then we dropped by the chemist, a huge shop with three gaggling young lady staff, one customer (me) and Erica. Guess who became the most interesting thing happening? She was rewarded for existing by being given a present - a little plastic pink elephant-shaped money box, which she proceeded to HUG, which of course delighted the gaggle of girls and sufficiently rewarded them for the generosity.

Finally we went for a bit of clothes shopping, which is a bit of challenge for poor Mummy in Japan, due to the fact that the XXL clothes that fit her are made for 5-foot tall soccer-ball bodies, NOT tall, broad-shouldered busty booty-toting bodies. The shop I went to, the cheap one, has kids clothes too, and a very convenient mini-arcade in the back corner, behind the kid shelves, back where the noise and running will bother no-one but Mummy shoppers anyway. I wasted ¥300 on rides and games for her, while go back to check the shelves. I ended up with new pants, sweater and sweatshirt, she ended up having a fantastic fun morning with a new friend she made back there.

Grudges

I had my first go at holding a grudge. I can't say I recommend it. I woke up in my usual morning cheer, but with a nagging feeling that I should be mad. Like I have to nurse my anger and cherish it carefully to justify stomping around last night and refusing to make eye contact with a husband who really didn't do anything wrong and would have been ready for a loving apology-and-make-up session a few hours after the (minor) incident.

We hardly fight at all, and it's never big, and always over soon. My little annoyances are over quickly with a short burst of nagging, after which I bounce back pretty quickly. His, he deals with by bottling it up and pretending he's not really mad, which fools no-one, or well okay, it fools Erica, and Lena would probably allow herself to be fooled, but Amy and I are sensitive to it. Sometimes it annoys me that we have to deal with it long after the fact, but I usually totally ignore it (not him) because I don't think his silliness should intrude on my normal good cheer or upset the kids. But he then gets over it a few hours later with the help of a nice meal, a few beers and a lovely chat with the family. We used to fight bigger when we were first married, but even then it wasn't very often.

But I was SO tired from this flu and the follow-on, and had just got home from the hospital with Erica again, and I just could not be bothered pretending to be all cheerful and pretending he wasn't really fuming over there in his corner, and tired of the fact that he 'needs' the time (and the beer) to get over it, and since I was already not very keen on eating, and would have to put in an effort just to enjoy it anyway, I just could not sit down and eat. I went back to the computer and ate after he had finished. By that time he had put on a Twilight movie 'for the kids' which annoyed me more, but again I just did not want to go there, so I ignored it, but finished up dinner and saved a poor frightened Erica from her spot near the sofa where she was diligently NOT watching the screen and took her bed.

Which leaves me this morning feeling like I somehow have to defend my decision to hold the grudge by exaggerating how awful he was or how upset I was. Dumb idea. I just can't be bothered. Hope he just forgets it all!

Edited to add: he came home, and all was conveniently forgotten. Nice.

Fevers and then more fevers

I had the oddest night Friday night. My fever broke, and I knew that that was what was happening, but I still found everything strange! I remember thinking, hey, I took those pills (with codeine in them) at 8pm, they can't still be doing this to me, they don't usually do this to me anyway, they only have a spit of codeine in them, not enough to get wasted like this!

Then I'd fall asleep again. Hot and cold. Chilly and wrapping up in the blankets while simultaneously being so covered in sweat that my pants were literally sticking to my legs like I had just got out of a swimming pool. Sorry, TMI, but if it helps, it was that sickly sweet sickness sweat, not the smelly underarm BO type! I'd touch my legs and think, that's so weird, then nod off again.

I woke up to a much lowered fever of course, and everything was hunky dory until just after lunch, when Erica suddenly came down with a new fever. One minute, she was singing to herself, doing a puzzle at her new desk (just a fold-out picnic table) then suddenly she told me she was cold. She nestled into my arms, and I could feel how hot she was. 38.5, that quick! She was asleep in no time, leaving me utterly convinced she had pneumonia because she had coughed so much before bed the night before, and that therefore I was going to be spending the next two weeks in hospital and would have to miss the convention.

Luckily her lungs sounded fine when I took her to the hospital after she woke up, and I just got a prescription for antibiotics. Her fever was down to normal again by evening making me wonder if I hadn't imagined it all. But that was after I'd dosed her up with a bit of everything, antibiotics and fever meds, plus her normal anti-allergy and anti-asthma meds, but not the cough medicine because I felt with all the rest in her, that was enough!

Meanwhile Lena runs a low fever nightly, it seems. She's been like this since she got a cold - every night, about 37.5. Either she's always been like this, and I didn't notice (it would explain why she's the only one of my kids who goes over 40 when she's sick) or her immune system is still running on overtime staving off all the colds and flu. Or she has some dreadful disease, so I am totally NOT going to google 'long-running low fever' I am just going to hope it goes away... and tell the doc about it on Tuesday at her usual monthly asthma check.

Blah

Can't believe how long it's been since I posted so I'm just filling the space! We have flu. My turn now, Lena seems okay, Amy's fever did not go higher than 37 so we didn't take her to the doctor because she HATES the up-the-nose flu test more than she hates being sick! I got Erica tested though, and she's on Tamiflu so I can only assume that's what Amy had, which means we sadly had a flu party last weekend...

So my turn, and I finally have an actual fever to show for it, an essential element to be taken seriously as a sick person in Japan. And by an incredible stroke of luck I have the next four days off work. Lucky me. I have an essay to check and the online Journal to upload, wine to order and reports to load into my ipad, but that's about it, I think. I'm SO not going to go check my to-do list, lol!

If I feel better tomorrow I might load some photos of the party

The Tuesday masquerading as Thursday

I had my Thursday classes today, because they have some event on Thursday. I totally got the run-around though - turned up in my classroom to a bunch of kids who had no idea English was on this morning. I showed them the schedule, but theirs was different. So I went to check at the office anyway. After making a few phone calls, the manager confirmed that it is indeed English time, and I went up again just in time to catch another teacher heading to the room. No, it's English now, I said, and again schedules were consulted. My bad - wrong class. YES I had English, but with the Denshi group. I had walked in on the Kikai A group. I had recognized the students of course, as I teach them on Fridays, but had failed to twig that they were Friday's group not Thursday's. Of course, they didn't tell me, they were as confused by my confident statement that 'Thursday is on Tuesday this week'.

Which left me wondering where the heck Denshi had got to. The other teacher helped out a little bit, as in he stood by and hummed and hahhed and sucked his teeth a bit for moral support. I settled on the noisiest room with lights on - voila! I found my Denshi. And walked in on ANOTHER class who had no idea English was today. Several had their textbooks on them, some more had them in their lockers (tsk tsk, that means they never take them home to study!) and I only had to photocopy an extra 8 copies in the end.

Then at the end of the class, I sat at my desk, calmly waiting for them to pack their bags and leave... only they didn't. Finally one student, whose head is screwed on a bit tighter than the others, told me they had their next class in this room... so off I went again upstairs and downstairs searching for Kenchiku.

View of all three floors of the lecture block, with many classroom doors, taken from where the other teacher and I 'conferred'

Another round of phone calls, another mid-corridor conference while eyeing up classroom doors and a room was settled on, and voila! again, the students turned up. With textbooks too!

The manager actually apologized at the end of the class!

All in all, I think I like having Thursday on Tuesday. The afternoon was less rushed without the kindy transfer, although of course if Tuesday was really Thursday, I suppose I would do it that day anyway... well, only four more OIT classes until spring break, and a chance for me to get this house decluttered!

Fun Fun Friday

Lena said we must for sure play a board game tonight, as it's Fun Fun Friday, but so far she's too swamped in Disney shows and seems to have forgotten. It's 7:32pm and they are just eating their instant curry dinners. I seem to sway on Friday between giving them take aways or instant food, or going all out and cooking something really fantastic.

But it's always family night on Friday night, sometimes we watch a movie, or play games, or just eat a long leisurely dinner at the table. Now that the kids are older, they really LOVE that, and love to sit and talk with us. Unlike most other nights of the week, on Friday we are all home. Except tonight, Kanji went to the kodomo-kai meeting (meeting of parents of kids who live close and walk to school together). I sent him off with a kiss and a sincere thank you - it's normally the Mum who does stuff like this.

Tonight's plan is to make peppermint chocolates and a "Pin the carrot on the snowman" game for a party tomorrow. Amy has been set with the job of designing the snowman. I am right now trying to persuade her to just let Erica draw whatever she wants, and we'll use what works and discard what doesn't. If I can tear Lena away from the TV for long enough, I'll set her to work on the carrots and twigs. And I will search for a peppermint bark recipe that suits what I have already bought (ten blocks of Ghana) and crushed (twenty or so mini-candy canes, crushed to powder, I rock!!)

And that's our Friday. Other projects on the Go include a colour Journal, music blog post for AFWJ, and trying to get all my iphone photos onto a USB stick so I can finally take them off the phone without fearing I will lose them all, after which I will finally be able to see if the phone sound works, after which I will finally be able to take the phone to the shop and get them to fix it.

Birthday party tomorrow, and fondue party on Sunday! Happy Weekend everybody!

Bad Day, Bad Week

Things that are annoying me:

A certain person in a certain club who is being mean... and all the hand-wringing that results.

Stupid doctor laughing at me - same one who told me off a few years ago. The guy has no respect.

Not being able to find the Rawleighs.

Having done exactly 1, ONE, kitchen task on my Official Kitchen Spring Cleaning Week.

Mess. Particularly the way how once it starts, everyone thinks they now have carte blanche to just throw EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE!

Okay, No. 4, probably the one you want to LEAST hear about, ha ha ha!

On Tuesday, I ended up standing in a cold classroom. Watching Amy's and Lena's observation lessons - Lena's class were doing 'how to make friends/not make enemies', Amy's class were doing a survey. They were both diversity/anti-discrimination/anti-bullying type things.

Wednesday morning I took all the kids to the doctor for their monthly asthma check, which I had forgotten about on Tuesday because of the observation lesson! I had time too, I just forgot - suddenly it was not a normal Tuesday, so my brain died. Lena had some more checks for her sore tummy. She had an x-ray and an ultrasound. I kidded her about her 'baby' - "Oh my God, it looks like a goat!!" (it did too). But I was pretty thrilled to get same MORNING x-ray and ultrasound for a total cost of $30. Moments like this I LOVE Japanese health care! Erica was also checked for her cough - all fine. And Amy asked, and was allowed, to drop one med - the allergy med. Not that she ever has it anyway.

Wednesday night we were BACK as Lena had a major asthma attack. Well, the doctor said it was mild, but he's not her mother. It was HER worst, anyway. Actually I stayed very calm and helped her to not panic - she nearly lost it a few times, stood up to have a panic attack and I managed to calm her down and get her breathing more evenly. It seemed to take FOREVER to get seen, but was probably only 20 minutes. She had a nebulizer treatment and we were sent home with patches, which got her through the night and she's right as rain tonight. Maybe it was just a panic attack brought on by this systemic abdominal pain she seems to have. Poor thing.

AND back again today for the flu shots. YES I KNOW we are late in the season for them, sorry, we just didn't have time/money before. Don't laugh at me meany doctor. Don't tell me it's too late in the season then ask me if I want to continue. Only Amy and Erica got them, as Lena still has a fever. My student gave them to them, I'll have to hassle him about it in class next week (he was not the meany doctor, the meany doctor was the same one who harrassed me several years ago for taking Amy off her meds, which I did after the NZ doctor told me I could).

So much for the week of cleaning. Wanna know what I did? Cleared the shelf above the recipe books of detritus. That's all folks. Well, I still haven't done the colour Journal or Stanley (more about him later) so I have flagged it for this week. Journal and Stanley tomorrow, plus write a gazillion emails re. problem No. 1. Go to work then come home and do more work at home. Skating on Saturday then a movie night with pizza and ice cream (and wine!). Lie on my bum all day Sunday and DO NOTHING. Maybe clean next week...

PS, still haven't found the #&'%&# Rawleighs

Music

I spent 24 hours two weeks ago searching for songs on YouTube and posting them on facebook, in the Journal, in a Windows document to be turned into a blog post for AFWJ. And I'm not sick of it yet! Wish I could do this every month. I think I should be editing a music magazine.

Anyway, as part of the general search I remembered about the list of songs we were asked to provide as BGM for our wedding in Japan. I worked hard on that list, it was my favorite songs, carefully chosen to suit the part of the ceremony they were to accompany. I chose well I think, as I still love these songs 12 years later.

I'm still annoyed that they turned down my music during the candle-lighting ceremony and replaced it with Celine Dion (the titanic song), who I hated. How dare they!

Here is the list of songs I chose:

Cranberries, 'Linger' for the first "Grand Entrance" into the guest-filled ballroom after the private family-only Shinto ceremony (in another room in the hotel)

I fell in love with this song when I was living in Sydney, over-staying my welcome on my sister's sofa-bed. I heard it on Triple J and remember lying there just listening to it, listening to all the layers of sound so beautifully combined. It's a lovely song and I still adore it.

When I exited the ballroom wearing the wedding kimono, I played this song:

Portishead, 'Glory Box' (click on the link, they won't let me embed it)

This is the first time I have ever seen the video! In the 90's, I listened to the radio, and that's all - thank you Radio Massey and Triple J, but because of you I am only now catching up with my 90's music images!

When I entered the room again wearing the white wedding dress, I played Blanky Jet City, 'Sweet Sweet Days'

Kanji introduced me to Blankey, but older stuff, from the albums Bang and Red Guitar and the Truth. This song came out when we were dating, and I fell in love with it, and even more so with its B-side (if you can call it that on a mini-cd!) - more about that B-side later)

For when I left the room in my wedding dress to go get on the (ahem) "cocktail" dress, I played Smashing Pumpkins, 'Tonight, Tonight'

This video is another new one for me: I bought this CD and listened to it the car all the time during my second year in Japan, but never once saw this video. Interesting parallel: this video commemorates Georges Melies' "A Trip to the Moon", which just happens to be the first movie in the movie book I got Kanji for Christmas last year. (And the lady smashing the champers in the beginning looks just like Susan Boyle, don't you think?)

We did this candle-lighting ceremony, and I played this: Cranberries, 'Dreams'

plus (they asked me to provide extra songs as the candle lighting would go on for quite a while):

Chara, 'Yasashii Kimochi'

I think if you watch the above songs, you'll get this! Take some Dolores O'Riordan, add in some Portishead and splash over a bit of Smashing Pumpkins visuals, and you get Chara

Blanky Jet City: シェーリー

I haven't found it on You Tube yet, but don't give up on me! It's a B-side, anyway, but I loved it.

Frente, 'Bizarre Love Triangle'

(Another new video for me! She spends as much time with her eyes closed as Ken Hirai does!)

Pixies, 'Cecilia'

No video, just listen... I learned from YouTube it's a cover of a 1964 Surftones song. Makes sense, it sounds like a 60's surfer song!

Not so Random Thoughts

Let me take a moment to consider how damn busy I always am on Thursday.

...

Okay, now that's over, I know you don't want to hear, yet again, about how damn busy I am on Thursday. Instead, here is list of not-so-random thoughts that floated through my head starting from the Supermarket check-out and following me all the way home in my little Green Machine.

It's 1pm, do I have time?

Stupid shoes (egg-on-floor-disaster-scenario-imaginings)

Forgot the test! (getting into car)

Forgot the money! (driving out of supermarket)

My budget and the exchange rate (big road)

Room configuration, or 'Amy's loft project' (turning into Youme Town road)

Flights to Japan (festival road)

Concrete walls - are they Japanese or NZ? (out back of Youme Town)

My kids are still on the radio! Cute! (turning over the bridge)

Erica's amazing start to finish conversation (coming up the drive)

Details later if this day loans me any more time

....

Well, after canceling one lesson due to Lena's fever AND her need to finish all her winter homework finally, here we are.

I was wondering if I had enough time when I saw the clock at the supermarket at 1pm, leaving me only one hour to eat lunch and finish checking an essay, and I had also thought I might have time to hang some laundry right then. That was not to be...

Then I slipped a bit on the supermarket linoleum and wobbled a bit but did not fall. I had raw eggs in my bag, cue the egg-on-floor-disaster-scenario-imaginings - MAN would that be SO embarrassing!

Thinking Stupid Shoes reminded me of work that morning, when instead of my usual high-heel clip-clop across the foyer, up the stairs and down the corridor, I CLUCHUNK CLUCHUNKed all the way. My winter shoes, with a big thick heel, had lost the rubber sole of the heel, and the resultant clank seemed to echo through the hollow core of the heel - into the ears of every single human in the building. (I tip-toed on a side-trip to the loo on the way to my class because I was so mortified!) Suffice it to say that not only will those be getting re-heeled asap, I will also stuff those heels with cotton wool before I go to the cobbler.

Thinking about work as I headed for the car reminded me of a major oversight I had discovered at work that morning - I actually forgot to test my class. I tested the other three classes! I concluded that it was because it was the last class before the Christmas special lesson and winter break, and they are also my best class, so I would have been doing extra activities. Well, no worries, they are my best class so they wrote it there and then, and all handed it in before class ended!

Thinking about stuff I've forgotten, as I drove out of the supermarket car park, I realized I'd forgotten the cash to send to NZ. Isn't the exchange rate treating us well these days? I'm paying off that card bit by bit...

Thinking about my budget, as I drove down the big road past Wonderland pachinko parlour, got me thinking about the massive house transformation again, which has already been downgraded, with Amy's loft to be put in in time for her entry into Junior High School in 2013, when Erica will begin kindy and she can then take over Amy's desk downstairs. For now, Erica can have the low computer table, when I give the Mac back to AFWJ. Part of the house organization involved housing Mum when she comes in April, so part of the plan is working that out.

Thinking of Mum of course had me thinking, as I rounded the corner and headed toward Youme Town, of the flights, which are yet to be finalized, and my indecision because I don't know if should wait until a month before to see if some cheaper seats become available then, or just go with the $1600 Malaysian Airlines seats now.

By this time I had weaved my way through the back streets to the back of Youme Town, past some very old houses. Two had painted concrete brick walls, with some of the bricks with decorative holes in them. Were they familiar to me because we have walls like that in New Zealand, or were they familiar to me because I've seen them so many times in Japan? A 'you've been in Japan too long' moment.

By that time I was swinging past the cemetery and over the bridge, and Amy and Lena came on the radio, giggling away. They do part of the announcement for the Aroma Cafe lunch-time show, over some jazzy music, you can hear them laughing and giggling, saying Aroma Cafe! Hngh, hngh, hngh, hngh, hngh. (a chuckle. Amy has an adorable chuckle, Lena's is more a tinkling laugh). It always makes me smile when I hear it - and I remember how annoyed I was with them at the studio because they would not settle down and stop giggling! And then that was the only bit he used...

The smile followed me up my drive, where I remembered lunchtime, how I was there to pick up Erica's kindy bag. She now sits behind me in the car, so I could see her over the seat back as I reversed. Hello, how are you? I said, I'm fine, Nice to meet you, she said. We giggled a bit at the formality of the greeting, then she started asking herself the questions I usually ask her when I pick her up from Aiko to take her to Keio. 'What did you do at kindy today?' then started answering it, talking about it being too cold to go outside and eating lunch. I asked what she ate for lunch, and was impressed when she translated it all for me into English, without prompting, though she must have been eating it 'in Japanese' if you know what I mean. It was rice, and soup with tomato, and something with beans.

Which brings me to my front door, and the end of my internal monologue.

Happy New Year!!

I am sure I will at some point post some photos and stuff about what we actually did...

but for now, it's Friday the 6th, WAY past New Year, if the mess-just-like-oosoji-didn't-happen and lifestyle-sans-resolutions is anything to go by.

1st and 2nd were spent with Jiichan and Baachan of course, but we didn't stay the night for once. We usually do, and I think that contributed to a less 'New-Yeary' feeling for us all. Baachan was not cooking either, except for oozoni, which is great, but different. We went out to dinner on the 1st with Toyoko and Yumi (after seeing and talking to Yuma for approximately five minutes. Shame, as I would love to ask him more about his work in anime, for Amy's sake), then out with Mie, Masamitsu, Soichiro and Mami on the 2nd. I think Amy has more in common with Yumi and Yuma, who are actually Kanji's cousins (though only in their early 20's as their mother is Jiichan's half-sister from his father's second marriage) than Soichiro and Mami. Soichiro was the same, said not a word the whole time, but that's just so normal for us now we don't even notice! Mami was laughing away at us chatting in English, so I think her English has leaped ahead quite a bit at Uni, even though she was too shy to say anything!

Then we spent two days in Beppu with Julia, Rory and Indigo. After a pizza and nut roast dinner, we drank lots of wine and got the kids to bed rather too late! The next day, we had planned to go skating at Kijima, but it started to snow, and I was the one to cancel, much to the kids' disappointment, but I still can't get those images from last year out of my head! Me, the kids, that car, and snow? No WAY!

So we instead spent a lovely and very Japanese day in Beppu: karaoke, sushi and onsen. It snowed while we were in the onsen, only the second time I've managed that in Japan, I LOVE snow in the onsen!

Then it was back to work, bleuch, I like my work but I was just not ready for it, especially Thursday. My students were great and I'm afraid I gave them a rather dull welcome-back lesson due to tiredness and pressure headaches. Today was much better, it was me waking them up!

Bringing me up to now, and my two 'jobs' tonight, to do as much laundry as I can (already done, as I just ran out of powder) and delete enough photos from iphoto to save the photos onto my USB stick. The first step of what is going to be a rather long process of divorcing myself (very sadly) from this lovely big shiny imac in advance of sending it on to the next AFWJ Journal editor. Tammy, you are one lucky lady!

The other thing on my mind is a major household overhaul. At first, I put myself on a strict schedule to get properly spring-cleaned by the time Mum comes. Then, as I worked on that schedule, and worked in our 'plus-Grandma' sleeping arrangements, and the 'Amy-is-a-teen-who-wants-a-room' factor in as well, plus my general annoyance that we have just too much STUFF...

I realized I just have to start fresh. I've been good up to now at making do with what we have, and doing needs-based solutions, you know, Kanji leaves his keys HERE so I place a basket there to catch the keys. Or have a pile of t-shirts, buy a t-shirt-size drawer plastic dresser to put them in. More books? Get another bookcase.

But what I have in mind this time, is to think of the house structure first, think about the best way to maximize the storage in each element, then fit what we have into that - or chuck it.

LOADS of ideas....

Day Whatever

I have a record four blog posts on the go at the moment, in different windows! This is the Big Clean-up-up-date one. I have no idea what day it is, somewhere at the end of the week. I think if I was in Samoa today I wouldn't even notice that they skipped a day.

I slept late today, wasn't up until 10am so again it's more a half-day's effort, which just reminds me of how much more I could do if I had the whole day! The genkan got finished today, and the Christmas stuff back in the shed. Then I started on the living room. The kids and Kanji took off to make mochi with family friends, and the kids will be going to Pushkar with them for a meal after its finished, and I will meet them there when I'm done here. Sounds like a grand plan, aye, but I actually wasn't too happy with it at first when K came home without them and told me I would have to pick the kids up later, it shattered my sense of timing. But all's well that ends well, as having them out of the house is probably a better idea (though they did help with window cleaning yesterday, the little darlings!), and not having to cook a meal is definitely a better idea!

Now it's on to the bathroom, and after I've tidied it, I will head off to Pushkar to pick up the kids, who will be permitted to watch one movie, whilst not moving a fingertip on the sofa - no toys, no books, no homework even allowed, NOTHING is going to mess that room up tonight!!! Then off to bed with them, leaving me the rest of the night to clean the bath (whilst cleaning self) and finally getting around to writing my New Year cards. And those three other blog posts!

Day Two

...and I'm already internally renegotiating the terms of this effort...

The problem - everywhere I go in the house, there is another job that needs doing - school notices, all the families jackets, the pot cupboard, laundry backlog, CD case, the WHOLE spare room - again, the shed, etc, etc, etc.... plus I forget I have to do loads of laundry, dishes and cooking as well as (the children don't stop eating just for the big New Year clean-up!), which takes up quite a bit of the day! No, it's just not all going to be done by the 31st!

The best I can hope for is clean and tidy, I can achieve that at least! So this morning, I tidied the living room, did some shopping, cleaned the windows upstairs, and just had lunch (it's now 3pm!!). Next up is finishing some work that came in, and hanging some laundry on hangers to be put out tomorrow, and then get on to tidying up the Christmas decorations. Right at this point in time the carpet in this room is miraculously clear of stuff, so there's even a space for me to use! The girls have taken over the kotatsu with homework.

I did NOT get around to sorting my clothes last night! By the time I did the underwear, socks and wardrobe, I was so sleepy! So tonight, I do the clothes drawers after the kids go to bed.

I'm forming a loose plan in my head to do PROPER spring cleaning in March, after using February for decluttering. January is busy with a 3-4 out-of-town visits to friends and the Journal of course. I may even do some re-arranging, get Amy a desk & bed set, put Lena on the top bunk and Erica on the bottom, get their chests of drawers in there, throw out half the toys, and maybe even make myself a home office, since I can do most of my casual internet use on the ipad. Hmmm.....

Day One...

Well, I got some cleaning started today! Pretty boring to chronicle cleaning, so I could tell you about Amy's efficiency and how TALL she is, or Lena's constant stream of jokes and funny stories, or Erica, who spent the day pretending to be a superhero wearing a blanket for a cape.

But I'm just trying to make myself keep up with it by sticking to the schedule. Considering I was going to give myself the day off today, and didn't start until 1pm, we got quite a bit done! We - me and Amy and Lena, who I made tidy their drawers. I did Erica's, including the hand-me-down boxes, and am NOW going to do mine, I MUST have the clothes sorted by tonight. Tomorrow morning I will tidy the living room, get rid of Christmas and then go back upstairs to monitor the girls' clearing out the toy boxes while I dust and do the windows.

I also pulled apart the bird and made a turkey quiche, and a potato and cheese soup. We'll have those tomorrow because Kanji brought home sashimi, pork skewers and potato salad. And I'll cook up the bones for stock for soup and pie, to be eaten tomorrow and the next day. Should be thoroughly sick of turkey by the weekend!