June Cleaver, Donna Reed and Fanny Craddock?!?!?!

No?...maybe not...but with those aprons we sure could give those "TV Moms" a run for their money!! (And aren't we pretty?!?!) Of course, we would have to do some major work on our wardrobes, but...we could do it!!!
A few weeks ago, Jan (in the middle) celebrated her 20th year in Japan....so Karen and I, being the good friends that we are, helped her out as much as we could!!! As we were all in the kitchen doing various odd jobs to get food ready, Jan thought that what was missing were the aprons....and she proceeded to bring out some that her mother had given her when she was home this summer. They are all handmade and all have embroidery or smocking....quite "retro", if you ask me!!

**Jan put it perfectly in her comment...."a little bit vintage....a little bit rock n'roll"!! Smashing!!

I'm sure that most of us, if we went into our moms' or grandmothers' storage boxes, we could all find similiar items...actually, I probably have a couple of Grandmas that have some in their drawers in their kitchens!!! Jan let us keep the ones we were using....and as shocking as it may seem to my friends and family who know me so well----I have actually used mine a time or two.
My mother-in-law will be so pleased to see me wearing one since the idea that I never had an apron always is a topic that induces many a head to shake (with the "tsktsk"ing that comes with it!!)

So...Jan....thanks for the great gifts...it's always nice to receive "treasures" from friends!!

(By the way....Karen will also celebrate 20 years in Japan this year and last year was my 15th....is "Congratulations" the right thing to say?!?!?!?! )
By the way #2...Fannie Craddock was a British TV character that was right up there with June and Donna!!!

Another view of Mom's patio...

Mom sent me more pictures of the 2nd snow storm that hit Southern Colorado and pretty much put things to a standstill for quite a few days.

This was the pile of snow that was just outside her patio door!! Am wondering who finally dug her out, 'cause I'm pretty sure her shovel was in the garage...behind the house!! I told her that men in prison had dug themselves out and escaped using much less than what she had on hand in the house!!! If things got really bad and her "cabin fever" was getting to her, there were ways to get out!!!

Am so glad to know that she didn't have to resort to using a spatula or serving spoon to get to the "outside world"....or at least I don't think she did.....*smile*

Wine...awesome pizza...good friends...just a really nice time.

One of the last nights Lila was here, we went to Zenzero...an incredible pizza place owned by our good friends Luc and Miwako. We have been eating Luc's pizza for many years now and it still is the best in Nagasaki...if not the whole country of Japan! *smile*
In the picture, from left to right is: Kiyo...her daughter Aoi came to the States with me a few years ago...we have been friends for over 10 years; Jan...another American...we were trying to figure out how long we have been friends and we think maybe about 14 years...back when we were both single and had very few things to worry about and we were both just a wee bit thinner!!; Lila; Miwako....she may be Japanese, but she is more American in her mannerisms and personality than she is Japanese, I think!!...She runs a pretty successful English school that is on the 3 rd floor of the restaurant...she and Luc actually met in Los Angeles and she was there for 14 years!!; and then me!
It was a nice evening....we need to do that more often...you know, just take an evening, go out with friends and unwind....*sigh*....and then to find the time......
Good night everyone...
I hope you are having a good weekend!!

Don't we look tuff??

"Aunt Lila" gives the boys great tatoos and one of the sets this year was "Bugs"...and some are really disgusting!!! They both thought they looked quite cool with them on their legs!!

I think that Koji was trying for a certain "look", but not really sure what that look might have been!! Lila called him "the champion of facial expressions"!!! What a goof!!!

The shirts, by the way, were presents from Uncle Guy and Aunt Patty...just adding to that "coolness"!!!

I am "Supergirl"...well, 65% anyway...

Okay...so Now I am "borrowing" links from others...this time from "The Green Lantern" (aka Lauren!). I took the "Which Superhero Are You?" quiz and found out that I am 65% Supergirl, 35% Wonder Woman (D-uh!) and surprisingly enough, I am also 60% Superman!!
(Go figure!!)
Click on the link and find out which 'super hero' qualities you have...

I am "lean, muscular and feminine--honest and defender of the innocent".....and that is in my free time!! *smile*
Now I must close and get my "Supergirl" beauty sleep!!
Good nite.....

The annual Christmas pageant at the daycare...

Koji, as Issei did before him, attends a Protestant daycare and every year they put on The Christmas Pageant. Only the older kids get to perform and what you do each year is decided by your age group. Koji's group was either sheep or stars (you can see them in the middle row of this picture). I told Granddad Frank a few years ago, that it was a good thing I knew the story because the Japanese was a little difficult!! The kids do such a great job....in any language, it is a wonderful story to tell!!

*by the way...Koji is the fourth "star" from the right!


It's kind of hard to see clearly (if you click on the picture, a bigger version should come up)...but Koji is the fifth star from the left...they didn't sing too much, but they sure looked cute...










Waiting for Santa Claus...
and he was worth the wait...this year "Santa" was pretty authentic...one of the Americans from Mitsubishi agreed to do it and he didn't need the fake beard!! From the way they were talking, some of the kids were reeeeaaalllly wondering if he was "real" or not!!!







....not sure what he was doing...I'm thinking that everyone else forgot the actions to the song!!
Either that or, Koji really does "dance to the rhythm of a different drummer"!

Just one of the interesting presents of 2006...

So....Lila said that she was shopping around for presents when she came upon this package of matches...She said that some presents just reached out and grabbed her and shouted "Debbie really needs this!"


I'm not sure exactly where I'm going to put this...but it will be somewhere I can see it whenever I just really need to smile!! (I'm giggling as I type this.....!)

Just some pictures from the holiday...

The day after Christmas, I had a "get-together" of some students here at the house. The first picture is Koji with Sho (behind, peaking over) and Aiko (absolutely darling 15-month old little girl that Koji just loves and carried around all over the house). Sho and Aiko are kids of 2 of my students.
I'm not really sure how many people were actually here, but there were quite a few (I'm sure we were kind of loud, what with that many women and everyone talking!!) and we had tons of great food to eat. It was a great day!!






This is Lila with 2 of my students/friends :-D...on the left is Kazuko, she was actually my neighbor before we moved to Menoto...and on the right is Itsuko, she helped me with a new phrase to teach some of my students as she had to "eat and run".

Lila and Debbie...together again!! (at least for a bit)

Two nights before Lila was to leave, we went out for dinner at one of our favorite places to eat (for those of you who have been here and/or who have lived here, we went to Hamakatsu...or as my Mom calls it "the place we get to grind our own sesame seeds"!!)
The 10 days she was here honestly flew by!! Even now, when I think about it, it really doesn't seem as if she was here but for a few days. We had such a great time and she really packed alot of sightseeing, and visiting and meeting with old friends and students in the time she was here. It was sad to see her go, but, as we will meet again this summer, saying "good-bye" was more
like "jaaaa ne"....or "see you later"!!

*A special note to Lila....thanks for coming so far...after all that you have been through this past year, just "seeing" you, having you here, was the best Christmas present I could ask for.

And remember...if and when we ever move to Hawaii, you can come to visit!!
(Kiyoshi said one time that only those people who come to Japan to visit us will be able to stay with us in Hawaii....so that means that Mom and Lila and Eduardo are welcome...everyone else will have to find a hotel!! *smile*)