Monday Morning Star Count

I moved my chair to make enough floor space, then taped the quilt backing to the floor. After layering the backing, the batting, and year three of the temperature quilts, I started pinning. The batting is Warm & Natural cotton batting.

When I finish pinning, I will start the hand quilting. This will be much less intensely quilted than the hexagon bedspread I recently finished.

Yesterday morning I felt my room moving a little and thought it might be an earthquake.  I checked the JMA website, and there was a small earthquake where I live.

Ito Anjin Festival - Taiko

The Anjin Festival celebrates the launching of the first western-style Japanese ships in 1604. Anjin Miura (English name - William Adams) was an English navigation officer, who drifted ashore in Japan in 1600.  He made great efforts to promote international trade, including building Japan's first western-style sailing ship on the orders of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Anjin was known as the Blue-Eyed Samurai. 

One of the festival events was the Taiko competition in Nagisa Park. Taiko is the Japanese drumming that has been part of the Japanese culture for centuries. Taiko drumming isn't for sissies. It's a very energetic, aerobic, work out. The event was scheduled to last three hours.  

Just before 8:00 pm, phone alarms (earthquake warning) started going off.  Two days before this event there was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in southern Japan, within the Nankai Trough. This trough includes the area where I live. As a result, the Japanese government issued a mega-quake advisory, the day before the taiko event.

The earthquake warning that evening was for an earthquake in Kanagawa Prefecture, next to Shizuoka Prefecture. We didn't feel the earthquake at the event, but it spooked everyone and the taiko was canceled at that time, so we took the train home. 

Life in Japan is never dull.

A Small Earthquake

Yesterday afternoon, my student and I felt the room shaking.  He was ready to jump under the table, but the shaking soon stopped. I hadn't felt a quake here in quite a while, but recently there have been rather large quakes in Ishikawa Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Hokkaido, and other places in Japan. What happened yesterday was small, but we must always be vigilant.  The next one might be the big one.

How Ready Are You?

After the earthquake a week and a half ago, many people are talking about how ready they are if a big disaster hits. Of course there has been a survey already. The survey was conducted by Weathernews and included 9,495 people. The survey revealed that 10% had prepared about a day's worth of food for a disaster, 42% had three days worth, 25% had supplies for a week, while 23% had made no preparations at all.  The average number of days of provisions was 3.09 days.

As would be expected, people living in the area hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake eleven years ago are among those with the greatest awareness for emergency preparations. My prefecture is in the "3.25 days or more" category.

Another question asked was whether respondents knew about evacuation sites and routes to get to them in the event of a disaster. While 93% knew where to go near where they lived, only 72% knew the location closest to where they work.

I could probably be better prepared, but I do have bottled water and a good bit of canned beans and canned fish. I don't know how many days that amounts to and I don't have much variety of food.  I do know where to go both from my home and my work.  My workplace is very safety conscious and regularly has fire and earthquake drills. 

How prepared are you?  

Night Time Quake

 

You never know when the next earthquake will happen. It is just over eleven years from the big earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. 

This screen shot is of the one that occurred close to midnight Wednesday night.  The shaking woke me up but there was no damage where I am. I live in the dark blue (3) area. I read that at least four people died and many more were injured. A bullet train with about 100 passengers derailed and there were no injuries. Japan Today reported 2.2 million households had power knocked out. 

I think this earthquake is a reminder to do the things you want to do while you still can. The next one could be worse.

Friday Finish - Beaded Glass Ornament

Last evening was very strange.  After getting home from work, I heard rain hitting the window and when I looked out, saw it was raining cats and dogs.  A while later as I was stitching, I felt shaking for what seemed like a long time.  I looked it up on the JMA website and saw it was a pretty good earthquake.  Only a 2 where I live, but much stronger in the Tokyo area.

On to my stitching finish - one beaded ornament.

Side and top view.

Work In Progress Wednesday

The Miniature Carpet - This has been my main project this week and I have been working on it as much as I can.

I added leaves, stems, and one daisy to the Floral Bouquet.

The Mola Fish is almost finished.

Yesterday I felt a very small earthquake and checked the jma website. The jma confirmed it was very small and the epicenter was very close.

The Cutest Tiny Garden Ever!

Do you agree?  I pass by this little garden every day and I can't help stopping to look every time.

 

Moss heads are my favorites.

Yesterday's earthquake in Japan

I live in the light blue area.

Friday Finish - Crazy Heart Bag and More Earthquake News

I made this cross stitch heart into a drawstring bag, with tulip ends on the drawstrings and some cat fabric for the lining.

Wednesday early morning we had another earthquake. It was small, but it still woke me up.  The thing that makes this one newsworthy is that the epicenter (the red x on the map) is Miho, which is in walking distance of where I live! The previous two earthquakes we felt here had epicenters in the ocean off the north eastern coast of Japan. What next?

Another Earthquake

There was another earthquake last night a little after 6 pm Japan time. It was a 3 (dark blue) where I live, but stronger north of me, closer to the epicenter. I felt shaking but nothing fell to the floor or anything like that. It was similar to the one we felt here last month. Even though the ones we've had here have been small, it is still a bit uncomfortable because we know it could be bigger any time.

Saturday Night Quake and Monday Morning Star Count - Week 41

A little after 11 pm Saturday, there was an earthquake in Japan. I live in the dark blue area, roughly where the arrow is pointing. I only felt a little shaking for about a minute. I read in the news that over 50 people in Japan were injured and there were widespread power outages in some areas, but no tsunami.  News photos showed damaged buildings. I read that many people had flashbacks to the big earthquake and tsunami ten years ago. Once again, I consider myself lucky.

On to ... Year four of the temperature quilt 

Week 41

January 31 - February 6 

50, 52, 61, 50, 57, 52, 60

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Four temperature/color (Fahrenheit) scheme remains the same: 

100 + Brown 

90-99 Red  

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow  

60-69 Green  

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

10-19 Black  

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.