Friday Finish - Crazy Quilt Ornament

 

Water update - I do have toilet flushing water and may have drinkable water coming out of the tap later today (fingers crossed that I can wash my hair today). Thank you to those who suggested going to an onsen.  I love the onsen and there are two just a short train ride away from where I live.  I chose not to go because I had heard that they were very crowded (many people were without water in my area) and I am still very mindful of the covid infection numbers in Shizuoka. Better to be healthy with dirty hair than take the chance of getting infected, in my opinion. It's been a long week.

Still No Water

I keep checking the city's website to see if there is any new information on when running water will be restored.  I know the Self Defense Forces and others are working around the clock, but there is a lot of damage that needs to be repaired as well as sand, dirt, wood, etc. that needs to be removed. 

This is the English translation of the progress, as well as photos from the website.

・We are manually removing sediment, driftwood, etc. that are blocking the water intake.
・We have an entry road so that vehicles can reach the water intake.
・The water intake is recovering steadily.

Because heavy machinery is not allowed, driftwood etc. are removed by human-powered work.
The driftwood around the water intake is being removed, but the screen to remove foreign matter in the water intake is clogged with earth and sand, so it needs to be removed by hand.

Driftwood and earth and sand flow into the Jogenji water outlet installed on the Okitsu River to draw water into the Yatsu water purification plant, and water cannot be obtained from the river.
The water level is high and it is impossible to work with heavy machinery.
We are removing it as much as possible, but it takes time because we are working manually.

This explains why it takes so long to repair. I'm thankful for the workers who are repairing the damage.  I'm thankful for my friends who have checked on me and brought me water.  I'm thankful for the people who take care of the water distribution in my town. I'm very thankful to be in Japan.  

The one thing I plan to do the next time a big storm is coming my way is to wash my hair before the storm gets here.  Who knew I wouldn't be able to wash my hair for so long?

Work In Progress Wednesday

My new project is coming along. I love this!

This snowman is almost finished.  I just have a little more backstitching to do on it. This is four out of ten snowmen and I think they are all very cute.

I worked on the afghan more. I'm not crazy about the partial stitches and so many color changes, but it is coming along.

Still waiting for running water...

Little Toolie Tuesday - Not Your Grandmother's Sewing Kit Accessories

 This little toolie set (needlebook, thimble holder, and scissor case) was designed and taught by Marianna Surface Markham at an EGA National Seminar.  The set is stitched on 32 count linen with #12 perle cotton in three colors. 

Here is the teacher with her teaching models in two colorways.

Water outage update - nothing new.  Still no water.  I have wonderful friends who have checked on me and brought me water. I won't take running water for granted after this!

Water Problems

Friday night there was a big storm, with lots of rain and thunder and lightning. A typhoon that was originally headed straight to my area, changed course and stayed at sea, then dissolved.  The big thunder storm was probably part of that typhoon storm.  Saturday morning, the sky was blue and I did some normal things around the apartment. My water worked as it always did. Everything was good. 

Early afternoon, I tried to turn on the tap, but no water came out. How strange was that?, I thought. There were no cars in the apartment lot, so my neighbors were not at home to check with. (I live in a small apartment building with only six apartments.)  I waited and checked the tap from time to time - no water. I looked out my back window and saw someone run from the apartment across the park to the porta potty in the park. Aha! The water must be out over there too. I later learned it was out everywhere in my town! This is why we all keep lots of two liter bottles of water.  This is the emergency that water is for.

Sunday morning, I gathered all the water containers I had, and walked about 15 minutes to a nearby elementary school to get water the city was providing. The line was long and I had to wait about an hour, but everyone was calm and orderly with all of their containers.  There was only one older man without a mask. He didn't even have any water containers, so I don't know what he was doing.  Maybe just checking things out. 

Water is heavy, but I had it in the backpack, plus a bucket, so I made it home again. Later, my kind friends also brought me 2 liter bottles of water and a big container of water for the toilet flushing.

I don't know when this problem will be resolved, but as you can imagine, I've had enough of it already.  This is the English translation of the information on the City's Japanese website last night.  

- About the water outage response tomorrow (26th) -
Regarding the water outage, we are continuing to work on the restoration work, but at the moment we are not at the prospect of restoring the facility and eliminating the water cut off.
Tomorrow, we will conduct emergency water supply by water supply trucks, etc. at 27 places, the same facility as today, but please note that the opening time may be delayed due to the preparation situation.

~《In the middle of investigation and restoration》About the water outage~
Currently, the water outage is in a situation where there is no prospect of restoration because there is a poor water intake due to driftwood etc. that flowed into the Jogenji water intake.
We will continue to do emergency water supply by water supply vehicles and removal work near the water intake, but we apologize for the inconvenience.

At the water supply base of elementary schools, we are receiving the cooperation of the following prefecture and other local governments.
Thank you very much for your support.
[Hamamatsu City, Kosai City, Oinoue Waterworks Corporation, Ogaki City, Makinohara City, Kakegawa City, Kariya City, Kikugawa City, Okazaki City, Nagoya City,
Numazu City, Kani City, Kawasaki City, Gifu City]

I have always taken water for granted. Have you ever been in a situation with no water?  

This was my view of Mt. Fuji yesterday.

Suto Miroku, the Eleven Year Old Grand Slam Golfer

 

I'm not a golfer, but I hear about golf from many of my students who are. Because of my golfer students, I read this story when I saw it on Nippon.com. It sounded a bit like Tiger Woods, I think.  

Suto Miroku began playing golf when she was one and a half years old, and practiced with the goal of winnng "the four big titles" of the junior golf world. (I didn't even know there was such a thing.) She won the 2017 and 2018 World Junior Champoinships, the 2019 Malaysia World Championship, and the 2021 Kids World Championship. In June she won the US Kids Golf European Championship.  She turned 11 years old in August. 

Her family's educational philosophy is different than most Japanese families. She attends a public elementary school in her hometwon of Ota, Gunma for half of the week and spends the rest of the week golfing near her family's second home in Hitachiomiya, Ibaraki at her training base, the Golf 5 Country Sunny Field Golf Course. Her father, Ken'ichi, a former University of Tokyo professor and Buddihist scholar, says she practices six to ten hours each day while in Ibaraki and he provides her schooling there. Her father, who has no competitive golf experience, has read over 1,000 golf manuals in order to teach Miroku. In addition, the family employs other coaches. Yokomine Yoshiro, father and former coach of 23 time Japan women's champion Yokomine Sakura became Miroku's coach, beginning in August 2022. 

In January 2022, the rules for amateur status changed, lifting sponsorship restrictions. Miroku already has twelve sponsorship deals with a major golfing goods retailer, Nitori furniture dealer, a confectionery maker, abacus school Ishido, a car dealer, Surf Beverage, a home constructor, a tire dealership, Rakuten, a securities business, and a welfare association. In addition, she has a 20-year agreement paying her one million yen a year to wear socks made by legwear manufacturer Captain Yu. 

I don't know what I think about this.  She obviously has talent and seems to want to do this.  On the other hand it seems like a difficult schedule for a child of only 11 years old. I wonder if she has friends, or goes to sleep overs and amusement parks. I'm not criticizing, just wondering.

US Presidential Visits to Japan

After reading in the news about all the heads of states and dignataries who attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, I wondered about how many US presidents had visited Japan and for what reasons.  It was easy to find out on the internet.  I did not know what it meant to be a state guest, but that was also easy to find on the internet - I found this information on the Imperial Household Agency website.

"State Guests (Kokuhin) are foreign Heads of State or equivalent who are officially invited and received by the Japanese Government with the utmost courtesy. The foreign Heads of State who will be invited and received by the Imperial Family are determined by a Cabinet Meeting. The reception of State Visits by the Imperial Family includes a welcoming ceremony attended by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, State Call with Their Majesties, State Banquet at the Imperial Palace and farewell calls by Their Majesties. Their Majesties, together with the rest of the Imperial Family, wholeheartedly receive these State Guests."

(On a side note, the one thing I heard about most often from my students about the Queen's funeral was that the Emperor and Empress of Japan were not wearing masks while attending!)  

Gerald Ford (1974 - 77) was the first serving US president to visit Japan.

November 18 - 22, 1974 State guest, met with Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei. 

Jimmy Carter (1977 - 81) 

June 24 - 29, 1979 State guest, attended the Group of Seven Summit in Tokyo, met with Prime Minister Ohira Masayoshi, held a town meeting in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture.  

July 9-10, 1980 Attended Prime Minister Ohira's funeral.

Ronald Reagan (1981 -1989) 

November 9-12, 1983 State guest, met with Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro and visits his Hinode-Sanso mountain retreat. 

May 2-7, 1986 Attended the G7 Summit in Tokyo, met with Prime Minister Nakasone. 

George H. W. Bush (1989 - 93) 

February 23 - 25, 1989 Attended Emperor Showa's Funeral. 

January 7 - 10 1992 State guest, met with Prime Minister Miyazawa Kiichi and fainted and vomited at a banquet. (For some reason, there are many photos on the internet of this banquet incident, but I chose not to include them.)

Bill Clinton (1993 - 2001)

 July 6 - 10, 1993 Attended the G7 Summit in Tokyo, met with Prime Minister Miyazawa.  

April 16 - 18, 1996 State guest, met with Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro. 

November 19-20, 1998 Met with Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo.  

June 8, 2000 Attended Prime Minister Obuchi's funeral. 

July 21 - 23, 2000 Attended the G8 Summit in Kyushu and Okinawa, met with Prime Minister Mori Yoshiro.

George W. Bush (2001 - 09)

February 17 - 19, 2002 Met with Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro. 

October 17 - 18, 2003 Met with Prime Minister Koizumi. 

November 15 - 16,  2005 Met with Prime Minister Koizumi. 

July 6-9, 2008 Attended the G8 Summit in Toyako, Hokkaido, met with Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo.

Barack Obama (2009 - 17) 

November 13 -14 Met with Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio.

 November 12 - 14, 2010 Attended APEC meeting in Yokohama, met with Prime Minister Kan Naoto. 

April 23 - 25, 2014 State Guest, met with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

 May 25 - 27, 2016 Attended the G7 Summit in Shima, Mie Prefecture, met with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and visits Hiroshima. 

Donald Trump (2017 -21) 

November 5 - 7, 2017 Met with Prime Minister Abe, played golf.

May 25 - 28, 2019 State guest, met with Prime Minister Abe, played golf. 

Joseph Biden (2021 - ...) 

May 22 - 24, 2022 Met with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, met with leaders from the Quad (Japan, United States, India, Australia).

Autumn Equinox Day - 秋分の日, Shūbun no Hi

Today is the national holiday Autumn Equinox Day. (Yes, this is the second holiday in Japan this week.) It became a national holiday in 1947 and marks the autumnal equinox.

Photo from the internet

Keep It Down

 

I've noticed more and more English on these train manner posters.

Work In Progress Wednesday

One more fob start.

Welcome Home afghan progress

I finished stitching two more Santas, so I have three of ten stitched now. 

I had a hard time deciding which of my new kits to start, but I chose the "Virgin Queen's Stitching Pocket".

The kit contents are gorgeous, with silk threads and 32 count linen and silk dupion for the lining.  It even came with the proper kind of needles. First, I had to baste the outline shape of the pieces, then I made a start on the actual embroidery. The stitches are very small.

Little Toolie Tuesday - Scissor Fobs

How many scissor fobs does one stitcher need? At least one for each pair of scissors, and a few back ups won't hurt, in my opinion. And, they always make good gifts.

In the Burgundy Scissor Fob - from Barbary Row by designer Sherelyn Whiteman.

Part of the Summer Sampler set designed by Denise Harrington Pratt.

Elegant Emery

Reversible acorn, stitched on perforated paper.

Bead Loop Fobs

The Beehive is one of my favorite fobs. This is a pattern from Sheepish Designs in Huntersville, NC.  

I made another as a gift.

I gave this Brazilian embroidery and bead edge fob as a gift.

This initial and bead fob was also a gift.

I made this fob as a gift for my physical therapist who worked with me when I broke my wrist.

I made this set with the bag, needle book, pin cushion, and scissor fob as a gift.

This pattern was for a miniature cushion, but it made a nice fob.

This is a Kogin set - needlebook and scissor fob that I gave as a gift.

Ribbon and beads are used for both the fobs and the cases of thes two sets.

This set was an EGA group correspondence course.

This was my very first beady eyelet fob and it is kept on my airplane scissors.

These are some of the many beady eyelet fobs that I've made as gifts. I like how each one is different from every other one.