Denmark Cross Stitch Bookmark Finish

I received this little bookmark kit when I attended the Denmark Cross Stitch Show.  It worked up quickly and was a perfect little gift.

35 is the New 40

Frequently, I see job advertisements in Japan specifying only people under 40 can apply.  Recently I’ve seen two job listings that require the applicants be 35 or under! 

We, Kamifurano Board of Education, are recruiting an Assistant English Teacher as follows:  …
Applicants must:
have a valid residence card or alien card (with Instructor's Visa)
possess at least a Bachelor's degree or equivalent educational training
speak English as his/her first language
…
be 35 years old or younger

 

Hokusei Gakuen University Junior College, Department of English
Title of position: Lecturer (専任講師), fulltime
Qualifications:
…
Under 35 years of age (regardless of experience) and the willingness to continue employment for a long period of time with a focus on professional development (The age limit is set relative to regulations found in “雇 用対策法施行規則第1条の3第1項第3号イ”).

 

Star Wars and Bare Bear Beer Festival

We had a big long day Saturday in Sapporo. We walked 20 minutes to catch the bus to Sapporo, then took the subway to the end of the line, then rode a city bus another 15 minutes to the Sapporo Art Park, where the Sapporo Art Museum is located. 

Currently the museum is hosting the Star Wars Visions Exhibit. I’m not a big SW fan. I’ve seen two of the movies – in 1977 and in 2005.  Ted knows more about it all than me.  It was an interesting exhibit, with costumes and props, movie clips, paintings, and all things Star Wars.  I think I’d like to see the movies now.  Maybe we’ll rent the DVDs.  Photos weren’t allowed in the exhibit but we could take a few in the lobby area.

 

After the Art Museum, we got back on the subway and headed to the Hokkaido International School for the Bare Bear Beer Festival, which is a fundraiser for the school’s scholarships. In the park on the way to the school, Ted couldn’t resist riding the motorcycle again.  Mind you, this is before he had any beer.  I wouldn’t let him get on it after the festival.

 

We saw someone we met at the barbeque party and met a few new people.  It was a nice crowd of people. The festival had 43 kinds of beer and some food. We tried two kinds of beer and ate paella, vegetables, oysters, and later popcorn.

 

There was also musical entertainment.  The three bands we saw played some “old” music from our high school and college days, so that was fun.  We even danced!

 

It was a long day, but we had a good time.  I think we’ll probably go back to this festival next year.

Work In Progress Wednesday - Hawaii

Since last week, I’ve finished Hawaii and worked on Arizona and more on the borders.

Take a Stitch Tuesday - 115 Whipped Long Tail Chain and 1 Fly Stitch

I tried the Whipped Long Tail Chain with #5 perle cotton. I think with practice this would look much better.

 

Sharon B at Pintangle has just begin the TAST challenge anew.  If you are interested in learning new stitches, now is the perfect time to start.   I saw that Lin at St. Victor Quilts stitched her fly stitch example on a crazy quilt block.  I've been wanting to work on a crazy quilt project for a while now, and thought this is perfect!  I hadn't put away the fabric I pulled for the Mystery Quilt, so I used the purples to make this pieced block.

I did a simple fly stitch, then added a few beads to about half of the fly stitches.  I may add something else to the rest of them later.

Check out the previously posted stitches on the Pintangle TAST page here.

Monday Morning Star Count - Beginning to Embellish

So far I’ve outlined the house using a long and short blanket stitch; outlined the walkway up to the house with some stray grass; outlined the tree trunk with a stem stitch and stitched a few leaves with individual chain stitches. All of these are done with two strands of cotton floss.

 

More to come next week! Linking up with Jessica at Life Under Quilts.

The Garden Update

This is the fourth summer that we have rented a garden space in our town’s family garden spot.  The summer and the growing season are very short where we live.  We are already eating lettuce and onions.  The tomatoes, kabocha, green peppers, and cucumbers are growing, but not as fast as the weeds.  After a few days of rain, the weeds get out of hand.  We also have corn and potatoes and two kinds of beans.

When Ted is away on field trips, I walk out to the garden by myself. I can exchange greetings and comments about the weather with some of the other gardeners. There is one elderly man, Ono san, who talks to me like I am his good friend. Maybe he doesn’t realize I don’t understand most of what he is saying.  He talks and talks, sometime he chops my weeds or moves my kabocha vines. I try to respond with Hai and So desu to show I am listening, even if I’m not understanding it all.

Baby Raccoons and Déjà Vu

Ted saw these cute little baby raccoons and took some pictures.  I wish I could have seen them too!  Luckily for me, he is a great photographer.

Déjà vu

I wrote about the little scissor boy I saw the other morning here.  He came back again! Again, with no adult anywhere to be seen! I tried to watch where he went so I could figure out where he lives, but he ran around the building (with scissors in hand) and I don’t know where he went. It remains a mystery.