Happy Halloween

The Culture Event

Saturday afternoon we attended what we were told was “The Japanese Culture Event”.  We weren’t sure what it was, and to tell the truth we still aren’t.  This is the program cover and a page from it.

 

I was interested in the hula dancing and am surprised it is so popular here.  Who knew?

 There were also singers and musicians on the big stage.

 The ikebana and horticulture exhibits were very interesting.

 

As I’ve said before, there are always new things to see and do here.

What am I stitching today?

I picked out this cross stitch dragonfly kit to work on for awhile.  I don’t remember when I started it or why I didn’t complete it.  There may be a counting mistake.  We’ll see.

The Luncheon Report

All went well yesterday and I had a good time. I wanted things to be as nice as they could be, with my limited space and dishes and all.  Ted was a big help with getting things ready.

With the folding fish chairs, I had seven seats, although it was a bit tight on floor space.  I arranged things so that even with the plate in the lap, there was a place for the cup to sit.

We have two pairs of guest slippers, plus the decorated hotel disposable slippers.  Ted brought a pair home from his office, just in case an extra person came. I was using Ted’s little side table between two chairs, so I put the sashiko table runner in the entryway with the little pins.

I had planned to make deviled eggs, but the eggs didn’t peel nicely, so they became egg salad. I made egg salad, chicken salad, pasta salad, potato salad, waldorf salad, and bought bread, and had coffee and hot jasmine tea to drink.  I made little cards with the name of the salads in English and hiragana.

Two cars parked at the university and Ted met the people who rode in them and walked them to our apartment.  (He was probably glad to be spending the afternoon out.)

They all brought food too! Maybe they didn’t understand I was making food?  We had plenty to eat, that’s for sure.

The five women from last week came, plus the daughter of one of them.  She has traveled to the US and her English is very good.  All of the women in this group are well traveled and they told me about some of the places they’ve been: China, Tibet, Singapore, what was then called Burma, Thailand, Tanzania, Austria, Morocco, to name a few places.  They looked at my needlework and all told me they couldn’t do it because of a condition which translated to “farsightedness due to advanced age”.

 

They brought me these flowers and plants as gifts. 

I had everything cleaned up by the time Ted returned and he was glad there was still some leftover food. It was a good day.

Morning of the Lunch

Just a quick post this morning.  I still have a lot to do. This is what I’ll be serving: pasta salad, potato salad, chicken salad, waldorf salad, deviled eggs, and bread from the Scandanavian bakery. I boiled the eggs last night and have the pasta cooking now.  When it is done, I’ll cook the potatoes.  I have two burners on my stove, but only one big pot for cooking things like pasta, potatoes or eggs. I haven’t heard from my “contact’ in the group, so I don’t know who is parking at the university or if I should go meet them at noon or before.

The chickadee’s lunch is a lot simpler. No dishes to wash.

 

Stitching on a Friday Afternoon

I met with Alicia and Miwako after class again yesterday afternoon and we finished our beaded ornaments. Ted again let us use his office.

Alicia

 

Miwako

 

Mine

At home, I finished this sashiko panel and I am thinking about making it into a little tote bag.  Margaret commented when I posted the in progress photo a few days ago about the red thread I used.  I thought a little bit of color would be nice.

 

Progress on tomorrow’s lunch preparations
This morning I am off to the grocery store to buy some things for my American salad luncheon tomorrow. I won’t know exactly what I will be able to serve until I return from the store.  I have an idea of what I want to serve, but it will depend on what I can buy.  I’ll tell you tomorrow. Parking may be an issue.  Ted will vacate our parking slot and there is one unassigned in our lot, so two cars can park here. The ladies are coming in three cars, so someone will have to park at the university and walk over.  I have enough chairs for everyone to sit, but our table is a two person table, so the food will go on the table and plates will have to go on their laps. A Japanese meal usually means a lot of little plates and bowls, but since this will be an American salad lunch, we will use the big plates. One big plate will be easier to handle.  Whatever happens, I’ll just tell them this is the American way.