Hike to the Top of Mt. Tenno

One of the days we were in Kyoto, we decided to take the train to Oyamazaki to learn a little about the area and get outside.

Luckily, we know the kanji for Oyama and could guess at the zaki part.

We weren’t really sure where we were going, but the weather was nice and we were ready for the day’s adventure.

 

After seeing these signs we were on the look out for monkeys and boars, but unfortunately didn’t see any.

 

The first part of our hike took us through a giant bamboo forest.  

 

 

We didn’t see any animals, but we came across this – in the middle of the forest!

As we continued our hike upward (in some places it was very steep) we saw several shrines and temples along the way to the top of Mt. Tenno.

 

This area was the site of the Battle of Yamazaki, where Hashiba Hideyoshi defeated Akechi Mitsuhide in 1582. We saw some painted murals depicting scenes from this battle.

 

There were also observation areas where we could see far into the distance.

 

When we got to the top of Mt. Tenno, there was a map showing where we were, but it was not a very exciting place to be the top of the mountain and all.

 

We took another path down, seeing other shrines and temples.  It was just as steep going down as going up.

 

I highly recommend this day hike if you are in the area. It was most enjoyable (even though there were no monkeys to be seen)!

 

 

Work in Progress Wednesday - Vacation Stitching

We returned to Hokkaido and a mountain of snow Monday night. Ted took these photos with his phone from our kitchen window.  Our car is that white lump on the far right, as everyone else had cleared off their cars after the last snowfall.

 

We had a fantastic time, spending the 21^st through the 25^th in Kyoto, then the 25^th through the 5^th in Okinawa.  I’ll organize photos and write about the trip in the days ahead, but in the meantime, here’s what I stitched while I was gone.

I’m almost finished with the huck weaving towel.  All that is left is to weave in the ends of the threads and unravel a bit for fringe on each end. I should have a finished dish towel to show before long.

 

I was able to complete quite a bit of the background on this stitch and zip. Stitch and zip kits are great for traveling because they are small and you don’t need a pattern.

 

I didn’t put a single stitch in the kogin bag.  I do hope to make some progress to show in the weeks ahead.

Take A Stitch Tuesday - #126 Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole & #127 Beaded Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole

This grid system is great! (Thanks for the idea, Queenie Patch.)

I’ve done the Alternating Up and Down Buttonhole in #5 perle (red), #8 perle (blue),  #8 Kreinik braid (gold), and two strands of cotton floss (yellow). It was difficult at first until I figured out that the first of the two stitches goes toward the center and the second goes away!

 

Using the same threads, I added some beads for the beaded version of the stitch.

If you’d like to learn and practice new stitches, check out SharonB’s TAST at Pintangle.

Be It Ever So Humble

We expect to return home today, weather permitting.  We never know about the snow in January in Hokkaido, so we are just hoping we get home without incident.

I’ll be writing about our trip in the days ahead, so please check back. While it’s nice to get away, I’m sure I’ll be glad to be home again – back into my routines of teaching and stitching.

Next Monday, I'll have progress on my big blue quilt.  I do want to finish it in 2015!

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.

 

 

Maternity Leave Party

In Japan, it’s common for a new mother to take a year off (if she comes back to work at all) when she has a baby.  Ted’s co-worker is taking time off to have her first baby, so before we left on our trip, we had a little get-together at Bombay Blue restaurant to wish her well.

Pillsbury Doughboy

(I love word play, but see/hear very little of it here in Japan.  Thanks for this, Rose!)

Join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from being repeatedly poked in the belly. He was 75.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin.
Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Born and bread in Minnesota, Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he lived to be a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven.
He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

What To Do On A Snowy Day

 

New Year Aspirations

A new year, a clean slate. 

I haven’t been so good the last two years about completing the projects I chose at the beginning of the year, but that doesn’t stop me from trying again.

I want to finish the blue hexagon quilt this year (tune in on Mondays to see my progress).  I also want to finish a few of my stitching projects that are nearly finished, but that I’ve become stuck on.  There are too many to name, but I know what they are!

I want to get back into running and complete a marathon distance.  I’m a slow runner and Japanese marathons have cut off times that might be faster than I can achieve, so I don’t know if I can finish an actual marathon race, but I would like to finish a distance of 26.2 miles this year, even if it’s my own personal race. I did really well walking last year, especially after August and I want to improve on that.

Happy New Year!