Some Feasting on a Saturday

For the past few weeks, the weekly "Friday Feast" was not up....and now it's back. But it's Saturday (so sue me!)....and I completely changed took some liberties with a couple of the questions...I just did a little mixing of the questions from another week!!

Appetizer
Name one thing that is unique about you.
Maybe my ability to remember people's faces. I can't remember names for crap, but a face...I never forget!! I run into old students all the time and I know I know them, I just can't tell you from where I know them, when I knew them or their name! I'm also really good at covering that I have no idea who the hell they are!!! :-D

Soup
What kind of lotion or cream do you use to keep your hands from getting too dry?
Pretty much anywhere you are in my house, there is some kind of lotion or cream within your dry, scaly reach!! Right now, on my desk is a container of Victoria's Secret Amber Romance Body Butter and one of Zum Rub from Indigo Wild (the tea-citrus scent....absolutely awesome stuff!!)

Salad
What do your salt and pepper shakers look like?
Our salt shaker is just a glass one with a red lid and the pepper is a "pepper mix" with garlic and other stuff so we just use the container it came in. But..but...but...my favorite set of shakers, which I don't use, are sitting on the shelf in my window...they are ceramic, pink flamingos!!! Love 'em!!

Main Course
Who do you talk to most often on the phone?
Oh...puh-lease....My mom!!! Even though its international calling, I can sometimes talk to my mom 2 or 3 times a week!!!

Dessert
What level of responsibility do you have in your job?
Honey, I have ALL the responsibility in my job!! I work basically as a "free lance"
English Language Consultant . I answer to no one but ME!! :-D

Where I come from...

Today's post is in response to our fearless leader's Gina's request in our challenge to post something to our blogs everyday in the month of February. In previous posts those of us involved in this endeavor, have posted about whatever tickled our fancies, so to speak. But...this week...Gina gave us an "assignment":



"This week I want to do something a little different. I would like to encourage you to share more about where you are from... where you are living now or, if that really doesn't excite you, then perhaps something about where you grew up. We are a diverse group from all over the world and I think this will be a fascinating assignment."

And so....I give you a bit of my hometown along with some pictures to help the story along. Come on...let's take a look.....

My hometown is a very small town on the prairies of Colorado. I'm not sure exactly how many people live there, (my friend Susan, the County Treasurer could help with that!!) but...if I were to take a guess, then... maybe no more than 2,000...maybe.

It's kind of funny, not in a "hahaha" kind of way, but more in a "hmmmm" way of thinking that, when I was 18, many of the things about my hometown that I didn't like and wanted to "escape" are now the things that draw me back home as often as I can get there.

Take any road out of the town in any direction....and this is what you will see.

It is flat. There are few trees. Very few cars are on the road with you, but when you meet someone, that driver will give you a wave...doesn't matter that you if know them or not ...that's just what you do.

This is looking up Main Street. There are no traffic lights. There is really only one main road of shopping....and this is it. When I was in high school, every Friday and Saturday night was spent "dragging Main". Oh, the miles I put on my VW...or my friends cars!! We would spend the whole night just going up....and then...down...up...and down....honking at people as we met them...sometimes stopping at the Napa parking lot or the grocery store parking lot to get out and talk to friends, sometimes just parking our cars and then getting in with others to go riding around.

Every August, there is the county Fair and Rodeo. On the Saturday of this event, there is always a parade. It used to be down Main Street, but since there is so much traffic going through, they decided to move it a couple of streets over. We are a patriotic town...and always leading the parade, on horses, will be the Colorado State flag and the US Flag.

As my Mom's house is on the street of the parade, her front yard is a gathering place for family and friends.(She's the one in the yellow t-shirt, by the way.) We set up saw horses so people can't park in front (that would make it so we can't see!!) and bring out the lawn chairs. There is always cold tea and if you're lucky...a cold beer!! (As it does get incredibly hot and is oh so very dry here, a cold beer is just what you need on a day like this!!!)

Again with that blue sky.....and flatness. I used to dream of being in the mountains or just somewhere that had buildings or something on the horizon!! Now....I dream about sitting on my Grandad's old swing on the farm, just listening to the wind (always wind a 'blowin'!) and sometimes catching the singing of a bird or two...the wind blowing through the grass or, even better...blowing through the wheat is a sound this is just pretty close of Heaven.

Whenever I go "home", I know I will spend the majority of time, not only with the many, many family members I have...but also...the friends. Some of my best friends, ever, are here. Seeing them again is always so refreshing. They help me remember who "Debbie" really is!!

I also know that every 5 years, those of us who graduated together will meet for a reunion (as do all classes from my high school....I think that the Class of '45 might have been the oldest group the year we had ours!!) It is tradition for the class members who are there to jump on the back of a truck or whatever and join the parade. The last reunion, someone got the crazy idea to have water guns....I think they were "outlawed" by the parade "police" after that!!! (I'm in the sun visor, waving my hand and water gun!!)

Being "home" means having "patio time"....my Mom's patio is perfect for this. Whether it's a small group or a large one, you can count on it always being fun. Whenever I think about the times with family and friends, out on that patio, protected from the the outside world, so to speak, by the fence and trees...I think of laughter...and talking....and more laughter. These are the times that are most special to me. Sometimes, in the morning, my Mom and I will sit out here in our pajamas, drinking coffee and just talking. These are the moments I treasure the most.

My hometown is a place where a father and his 4 sons can build a fort in the backyard...together. It may take a while, but that doesn't matter...it takes time to do something right. Here is a place where, sure, people are busy, but...family is important...building that fort will be something they remember forever. In my hometown, relationships between family and friends are strong...bonds are made that are very rarely broken.

My hometown is also a place where little boys (and girls!) can run around Grandma's yard without a shirt, or even pants, for that matter....where being barefoot is a given.

It's a place for memories....

It's a good place.

The birthday cake....that actually wasn't a cake...

Okay...so as far as cakes go...this was NOT one of my best. But....in my defense: I had very little time to do anything, let alone come home and make and decorate a cake. Being the "quick on my feet" kind of Mom that I consider myself to be....I remembered something that I had read somewhere and tried to duplicate that.

I give you......the "Mr. Donut Birthday Tower"!!!


In the book, they used many, many more Krispy Kreme doughnuts (oh, my...just pause here for a moment and think about those delicious...sinfully rich...deep-fried pieces of heaven, shall we??.................................) whoa! Where was I? Oh yeah...so "those" doughnuts....Anyway....the idea is to build a tower of doughnuts and then drizzle chocolate sauce over the whole thing.
As there are only 4 of us in the family, I couldn't see buying 2 dozen doughnuts...okay, I could see myself buying that many doughnuts, I just couldn't actually do it!

If I ever do this again...and I probably will as all the boys thought it was a good idea...I will buy more than 8 doughnuts. Though it was fine, the tower wasn't really a tower. It was more like a "creative doughnut pile"!!

And....I used some canned icing (that has a nozzle and you squirt) that I got from an American friend and even though that stuff is really convenient...next time I will just use some of my own. When I put the canned icing on things, I don't really have the control that I would have with the homemade stuff.

Aaaannnnndddd.....I would add some whipped cream!! Koji thought ice cream, but the "birthday boy" and Dad both said whipped cream would be the best!!

Next time, I'll do that. But...last night's cake was still pretty gosh darn good!!! On Sunday, I will make the "official" cake...the one that Issei requested...I've done some planning and I have to admit that I'm feeling pretty good about it. We'll see on Sunday how it all turns out!!!

**Oh...and by the way....a couple of you have asked about how to pronounce Issei's name....it is /ee-say/. His full name is Issei Alexander!! It's kind of a mouthful, but...it works!! :-D

Happy Birthday, My Bigger One!!

Today, is Issei's 10th birthday.
When he was born, Mommy was 35, Daddy was 41 and they had absolutely no idea as to how their lives were going to change. Oh...we knew things would be different, but...yeah...we were pretty much clueless!!!

I could get very deep and say that I felt as if I had waited my whole life for him. That, when he came into our lives, I...we...were complete. Those first weeks were so crazy...I was (am!!) a capable and smart human being and yet, this little creature turned me into an insecure, WTF-am-I-doing-??-kind of person. And then....at along about 3 weeks, Issei decided to have colic and our lives were no longer our own. But...we survived...it wasn't easy.

I used to wonder how the hell some women could hurt their children...especially babies and had no compassion for those mothers. And then....I saw, with my own eyes and heart, how that could happen. If you have a baby that cries...constantly...only stopping to nurse or sleep...for days...weeks on end...the thoughts are there....sometimes just slightly...But...the difference between those women who hurt their babies and me was that I could see what was happening. My mom, at one point in an international phone call, told me to put. the. phone. down...go out side for a minute and just breathe. I have never felt so scared in my life. The very thought I had that if I could just make him stop crying for a minute it would all be okay, scared me to death.

I look back on those times and thank God for my family in America and the friends I have here and there. Without those people, I'm not sure how I would have managed. So 10 years may be a bit long to wait to say "thank you", but....you know how I feel and how much you all mean to me.

So...now...back to better times...This morning, I was going through some old pictures to find one, or two, or three, to download (10 years ago, we just had a regular old camera!). I see these and just smile....he really was a pretty baby!!

This picture was taken on the day we went to the temple for his blessing. My mom was here and it was a beautiful day. Amazingly enough, on this day, he didn't cry...well...not so much anyway. When the priest started chanting and banging on his little drum, that kind of shook him up (and Grandma Linda!) a little, but the day passed very nicely!!!

This was Issei in the hospital, the day after he was born!! It's amazing how, between this picture and the one before, he lost all his really nice "baby hair"!!!
He was such a peanut!!!

And this is how Issei and Mommy spent 80% of the time for the first 3 weeks of his life!!! Sometimes we were on the sofa....sometimes on the futon...sometimes in the rocking chair. I think we were both surprised at how tired we made each other!!!

And now...Issei and Mommy 2008!! (We got over that being so tired!!...well...he did, anyway!!! I just handle it better now!!)

We will have 2 celebrations this year. Tonight was just us....with taco salad and a very "interesting" (as Daddy called it!!) cake. I will post pictures tomorrow....Issei is inviting some friends over on Sunday to have cake and play. The cake is a surprise...they think they are just coming to play!! (We tend to do things differently here at the Kuroiwa House!!) He has given me his request for a cake....and since my motto is "I'll try to make anything once...twice if it works out good!", I will do my best!! This won't be my biggest challenge, but it will be in the "top 5 most interesting cakes" list!!!

Happy Birthday, Issei. We love you!!!

(you knucklehead, you!!)

"The Adventures of the Cactus Brothers"

Tonight while I was slaving in the kitchen to get dinner on the table, the boys were spread out on said-table, both working very hard themselves drawing some very elaborate pictures....Bob Seger crooning in the background. It was very nice. (And yes, I will admit...I am stuck in the 'late-70's' when it comes to music some days!!)

Anyway...the 5-year-old's drawings were just....kind of...well...I'm not sure what they were. When I asked, he said they were kaiju ("monsters"). Okay.

4th grader was bent over a piece of paper...very diligently drawing something on his paper.

Me: Whatcha drawing? Monsters?
Him: .....*sigh*.......no.
Me: I ask again....whatcha drawing?
Him: There is a contest in this book (pointing to the latest edition of a manga or cartoon book.) They're having a contest to find new characters.
Me: So.....what have you got there?
Him: "The Cactus Brothers". There are three of them. Their names are Dash Needle, Hell Needle (yeah..that's what it translates to!!) and Flying Needle.

Me: So....what's with the Needle name?
Him:.....(rolling eyes and thinking "duh, Mom", yes, I read minds, too!!).....They are cactus...cactus have....needles.

He then proceeded to tell me that they each have different powers and abilities, even though they came from the same "mother cactus". Dash can run really, really fast. Hell is just really mean and nasty (but I'm sure with a very nice heart!). And Flying...does just that...he flies.

So, after dinner, he drew yet another picture of the Cactus Brothers on a postcard along with a short story about them to send to the magazine tomorrow. The deadline is sometime next week....so after we mail the postcard tomorrow....we wait.

Issei really wants to be an artist....or specifically, he wants to illustrate for magazines or work on computer games...at least that's what he said tonight!! His imagination is incredible, so I have no doubt that whatever he does, he will do a great job!

I did ask him about the mother of the Cactus Brothers. Wasn't he going to draw her? And when he did draw her, he should make her really, really pretty with long and soft, yet really strong needles...and she should be really, really nice.

Again with the eye rolling!!

:-D

There's something...about to happen....don't worry, you have time to prepare

In my 'almost' 17 years (*gasp*) here in Japan, I have become accustomed to "doing without" when it comes to certain items that most Americans pretty much take for granted. Or I have learned to make a "fake" product....my Ranch dressing has taken me a few years to perfect, but I have come pretty damn close to the real thing. I have also re-learned how to bake...all my cakes and other goodies are all....homemade. Betty Crocker does not come in a box here and when she does, you have to special order her and she's not cheap!! (Unless you have a connection to a military base, and even then, those connections are not forever!!)

Though I can't buy my favorite Reece's Peanut Butter Cups (I know!! Crazy, huh?!?!) I can get a Snickers or M&Ms. I can also get Pringles, Doritos, and various salsas and Mexican spices. What I can't get...again, I can try to imitate.

Except for one thing........Girl Scout Cookies!!
I'm not sure what they put in their cookies, but they cannot be copied. Oh...I can come up with a mean peanut butter cookie, but....it's just not the same!

It is the middle of February. The mad selling season is soon upon us. It's time to get ready for those demented little cookie fiends precious little scouts to come knocking on your door, pleading for you to buy those 35 boxes she needs to win a prize!!!

Yes, I know it's early. But, in the spirit of friendship, I would just like to let Mom, Lila, Susan, Cheryl, Dena, Trenda* someone know how much I really do miss those once-a-year cookies. (And as Cheryl proved a couple years ago...they do freeze quite nicely...even up to 5 months!!)


And just in case, so as to avoid any confusion, and if someone wanted to purchase a box or two...any of the following would not be purchased in vain.

**What happened to the names? "Samoas"...."Do-Si-Dos"??? Those names sound a bit more yummy, don't you think?!?!

(Oh My Goodness!!! I just realized the possiblity of something.....LAUREN!!! Is Aida a Scout?!?!?! :-D)

So...dear friends....no pressure...I'm just following "The Secret" ideas...you know...I want something...so I put it "out there".....let see what happens.

I hope I'm happy with how things turn out!!!

**Images borrowed from Indexed and The Girl Scouts of America.

Sunday...Sunday...naaa na na na na na....

Today started out to be such an incredibly relaxing day....and then I got out of my futon!!! (Granted, I did get to sleep until about 9:30, which was great!!!). After I stumbled into the kitchen to get the coffee started, the boys started in on "Can we play our DS?" and "Can we go out now?" and, my personal favorite "Wow! You slept a long time....can we have some breakfast?"
Oooookaaaaaayyyy....so that's how today is going to be, huh?
(I can see this as being a 2 or 3-pot of coffee kind of day already.)








(I have this sitting in my kitchen and some Japanese friends came over the other day and when they read it...I could see them really thinking about it....three......two.....one.....hahahahah..
and...they got it!!! I know that humor in another language is probably the most difficult to understand, but "mother humor" is sometimes universal!!!!



Probably one of the highlights of the day came when the doorbell rang as I was on my way out to hang out my third load of laundry....when I opened the door, there stood...maybe...10 little boys of varying ages and heights, asking for Issei and Koji to go and play.
In that group, is one of my favorite of Issei's friends....except, he is a bit of an Eddie Haskell. (Remember on Leave it to Beaver, Wally's friend that was such a suck up!!)
Anyway....Tsubasa (Issei's Eddie) was in the group and as I was making my way through the obstacle course of little bodies to get outside, here is the conversation he and I had:

**And please, keep in mind that this was all in Japanese, so I'm translating the best I can.**

Tsubasa: Good afternoon, Mrs. Kuroiwa. How are you?

Me: I'm fine, Tsubasa. How are you? It's cold today...I'm glad to see you wearing a coat.

Tsubasa: I'm feeling good and yes, my mother told me to wear the coat today...I'm a little warm, but......

Me: You are a good boy.

Tsubasa. Yes, I am. Are you doing laundry?

Me: (Really fighting the urge to say "Duh" as I have a basket of clothes in my hand.) Yes, I am.

Tsubasa: It's a really good day for laundry...I don't think it will rain. By the way.....I have a watch today.

Me: (??) Good for you.....

Tsubasa: Yes, so please tell me what time you want Issei back and I'll tell him when it's time. You got angry last time when he came back late.

Me: Why thank you, Tsubasa. That's very nice of you.

Tsubasa: Yes, it is.

Yes...another thing that is universal....the one friend that sucks up to Mom...gotta love it!!!

After the boys and their entourage left to parts unknown around the neighborhood, I decided that I would try to make some curtains for our bathroom. Our broken dryer is no longer with us, which leaves us with a window that you can now see very well and we needed something...just looks too bare.
So...I got out the sewing machine (yes, I have one!! AND I know how to use it!!! Ican hear people I went to high school with just snickering!!!) and proceeded to make something....not good enough to actually be called curtains, so let's just say "window coverings".

They aren't the best I could possibly do, but since I used what I had and just sort of threw them together, they will do until I can get to the fabric store and get some good material.

The picture is kind of fuzzy, but...you can get the drift!!!

And that, my friends is a new (to us) but actually not so new washing machine. We got it from some friends who are leaving Japan soon and really needed to get rid of theirs.
It is bigger than our older one...this one will wash 10 kilos...yeah, yeah, yeah....I know....it's small...but for here, it's actually one of the bigger ones!!!
Plus....it's really...really....quiet.....and it has some things on it, I'm still not sure what it does.

It's kind of an adventure whenever I throw something in there to wash!!! :-D



So.....now that I slept so long last night....I'm probably not going to sleep anytime soon...but, I should probably get some work done for tomorrow!!!

I hope you all had a great weekend. My Sunday is over here...but you all have a good one!!!