Where Globe-Trotting meets Beach-Combing
“Ooo, nice planner,” said Nicole back in September. Together we went shopping to find her a date book. She ended up liking mine best, so anytime we make plans we pull out identical black, hardbound calendars and a round of compliments ensues. The first time this happened we decided to get the most out of…
At least we hope the plum blossom photos from the Atami Baien Ume Festival will hopefully outlive our less pleasant memories of the day, eh? Chris and I celebrated his first weekend off in many weeks by taking a bus down the Izu Peninsula to harvest…and sample…some Japanese oranges that later featured in a delicious…
I like bean-throwing day because it was my first introduction to a holiday I’d never even heard of when I moved to Japan. February 3 is the last day before spring according to the lunar calendar or something, so the Japanese symbolically purge their homes of bad luck. What fun! One person (usually the dad)…
This weekend we had dinner with some of Chris’ coworkers to celebrate the completion of the squadron’s NATOPS evaluation. That’s what Chris has been helping with the last couple of months, and he’s now taken on the job of NATOPS officer and instructor. Congratulations, Chris! I am impressed by skills Chris has that I completely…
Tea Ceremony changes from season to season. This month, we switched from Thin Tea in a Winter Style to the more formal Thick Tea in a Winter Style. Thick tea uses twice the powdered matcha tea and half the water, for an extra-strong grassy taste. Drinking a cup of thin matcha tea has 10 times…
I think it was my friend Mary who said of Japan, “How can a country do Italian food so wrong, yet get French pastries so right?” That is the eternal question. Living over a (Japanese) French patisserie, she gets to ponder that a lot. Now, I have not always been a fan of macaroons, but…
Remember that Ramona book where she’s reading her mom’s childhood diary and can’t believe her mom wrote, “Nothing happened” on certain days? Ramona can’t imagine a day where nothing happens. I think I underlined that in my red and white Ramona diary. Anyway, that being said, not much has happened around here since we returned…
