December Calendar

Today is the start of my birthday month!

 

November Calendar

 

 

I’ve done a little more with the flat Christmas tree.  I stitched the yo-yo’s down with red buttons.

I’ve also made 12 presents and have them pinned in place. I can hardly wait to show you what is inside them.  Can you guess?

 



 

October Calendar and Kobe University Study on Honesty

Kobe University Professor Kazuo Nishimura conducted a survey of 15,949 men and women over the age of 19 this year to discover if they remember being told certain moral lessons, such as “do not tell a lie”” by their parents. It did not matter if they did as they were taught, just that they remember being taught these things.  The survey also asked about their annual incomes.

The findings of the survey indicate that those who clearly remember being told not to lie earned an average of 4.49 million yen a year (about $45,000 in USD), while those who do not remember, earn about 3.99 million yen (about $40,000 USD).  Other moralisms such as “obey the rules”, “be kind to others”, and “study hard” had similar results but to a lesser extent (earning from 150,000 to 290,000 more per year).
 

Other survey results include that those remembering being told “say thank you” or “listen to your parents” didn’t earn any more than the average; and those remembering being told to “say hello to people you meet” are making about 130,000 yen less! Interesting study, no? What do you remember your parents telling you?

September Calendar - Summer's Not Over Yet

August Calendar

Stitching Circles

This is a good time to do an update on my stitching circles (groups).  The Japanese teachers are continuing to work on their perforated paper with beads and cross stitches necklaces at their own pace. These pictures were taken last week when two of them had finished the pouch part of the necklace and were beginning the necklace part.

 

The University wives are taking a break from their beaded necklaces for a couple of weeks while my neighbor’s son is on a summer break from kindergarten and is joining us. This week they finished felt snowman ornaments with no counting involved.  (They will add the photos to the snowman bellies at a later time.)

 

I’ve made many of these little snowmen and have given some away as gifts.  Here are two that are on our tree every year.

 

Alicia and I stitch together on Friday afternoons and lately she has been working on a crazy quilt penny purse.  Last week she finished the embellishing and used this cotton cloud fabric for the lining. After making red twisted cording, she is ready to stitch it up and finish it with two snaps.

 

I’ve been teaching in Sapporo the last few days and have only put a few stitches in the kingfisher at night, and made a few hexagons between classes during the day.  Look for those soon.