Work In Progress Wednesday - More on the Bear and the Sampler and Something New

I worked on the flapper bear a little more.

This is my progress on the new sampler project.

I started this small Lizzie Kate cross stitch and was able to stitch it all in two days.  I still need to add a tiny charm, then finish finish it.

600,000 Japanese Drivers Return Licenses in 2019

To prevent driving accidents involving senior drivers, Japan encourages the voluntary return of drivers' licenses.  In 1998,  the government introduced a system to return licenses.  Last year, 601,022 people in Japan returned their licenses, which was the highest number in any year.  Of those, 350,428 or 58% were people 75 or older. Currently about 30% of all license holders are 65 years or older.

In April 2019, an 87 year old retired high-ranking government official killed a mother and her three year old child when he suddenly accelerated while driving near Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo.  This brought a lot of media attention to the issues involving elderly drivers, which may have been the reason behind so many people returning their licenses last year.  

Since 1997, Japan has had a law requiring drivers age 75 and older to display the Koreisha mark 高齢者マーク (elderly car mark) to indicate  aged person at the wheel.  A person age 70 and over should display the symbol if their age could affect their driving. This is the current required mark:

Are accidents involving elderly drivers a problem where you live? Is there an age limit for driving in your country? Do you think there should be? 

(I do not have a drivers license in Japan.)

Monday Morning Star Count - Week 6

Year Four of the temperature quilt  

Week 6 

May 31 - June 6

73, 66, 79, 82, 81, 82, 81

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.

Sumo Wrestlers Save Woman From Drowning

Sakaigawa Stable, Tokyo

Wednesday morning about 5 am, a woman in her 30's fell from a bridge over the Kenaga River in Tokyo.  A man nearby heard the woman scream and called police.  Before the police arrived, the stable master of the Sakaigawa stable next to the river, who also heard her scream, ran out with 20 sumo wrestlers to save her. The wrestlers were able to pull her up over the river wall and carry her to the ambulance.  She was taken to the hospital with no serious injuries. How amazing is that?  If you are going to fall in the river, it's good to do it near a sumo stable where giant men can pull you out.

Illiterate and Dangerous

I've been opening the window in my classroom for quite awhile.  The other day one of my students pointed out a sticker on the handle with four kanji, that I couldn't read.  He told me it says open only in an emergency!  Maybe coronavirus is an emergency that justifies opening the window to get some fresh air. Or maybe I'm dangerous because I can't read.

Friday Finish - June Ornament

This ornament is part of a free chart from The Snowflower Diaries. I have stitched it over one, with one strand of the called for DMC floss on 28 count linen.  The backing is kimono fabric.

Rhyme Times

Recently A.Word.A.Day had a week of words that had some kind of repetition in the word.  I thought it was interesting, so I'm sharing.  

Artsy-fartsy, noun: pretentiously artistic or sophisticated.  

Flim-flam, noun: nonsense or deception; verb: to deceive or to swindle.

Hobnob, verb: to associate socially, especially with people of higher status. 

Lardy-dardy, adjective: pretentious, affected, dandyish. 

Razzle-dazzle, noun: noisy excitement, showy display or extravagant actions, especially when executed in an effort to distract or confuse. 

Can you think of any others?

Work in Progress Wednesday - Small Cross Stitch

A little more on the cross stitch kit.

I started a new sampler project. I received the fabric, chart and thread from friends as a gift. The fabric is 36 count and a beautiful color called Arctic and the thread is DMC 312.  The chart is Sneek by Long Dog Samplers. There are 12 pages to the chart, so this will be a long term project.

I also started working on another cross stitch ornament. I stitched this chart last year as a gift.

2019 Birth and Death Statistics in Japan

Japanese baby picture from the internet

Last year was the record low for new babies in Japan. In 2019, the number of babies born in Japan was 865,234 down 53,166 from 2018. The number of newborns has been declining since the peak of about 2.7 million in 1949. One government official reported that factors behind decreasing number of children in Japan include economic instability among young people and difficulties balancing work and child-rearing. Another statistic - the average age of first time mothers in Japan is 30.7 years. 

The number of deaths in Japan in 2019 was 1,381,098, the highest number since the end of World War II. The top three causes of death in Japan are cancer (27.3% of all deaths), heart disease (15.0%) and ailments associated with old age (8.8%).  Suicide accounted for 1.4% of total deaths last year, which is lower than the previous year. The only prefecture with more births than deaths last year was Okinawa. 

I don't know how these figures compare with other countries. What is the situation in your country?

Monday Morning Star Count - Week 5

Year Four of the temperature quilt  

Week 5 

May 24 - 30 

77, 77, 73, 77, 77, 77, 79

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.

American Hair Pins

The weather is warming up here.When it's hot, I like to pin my hair up off my neck. The bobby pins I had were stretched out and not in good shape, so I needed to buy some. There were a few different kinds hanging in the store, but these caught my eye.

American Pin? They were only 100 yen, so I bought them. (Just so you know, the others were not labeled Japanese Pin). 

The packaging is very Japanese.  The pins are wrapped in plastic, then put a little plastic box for keeping, then in the plastic display packaging.  

The pins are a little smaller than I'm used to, so it takes more pins to keep my hair in a bun, but they are good.  And, for 100 yen, I can't complain.

The People's Choice SAL - Dragonflies

Jo at Serendipidous Stitching is hosting a Stitch A Long the first Saturday of the month, with the topics chosen by her readers.  This month's topic is Dragonflies. I have stitched a few of these.

Friday Finish - Eyelet/Rhodes Bag

I am so pleased with this! I made it up as I went along - both the stitching design and the bag itself. It was a bit fussy with the round bottom, but it came together well.  I did the handle and the drawstring  line with the sewing machine, but the rest had to be done carefully by hand. It stands up by itself because the eyelet stitches and rhodes stitches are very dense. The lining fabric and handle are yukata fabric.

I've tried to photograph it from all angles.

I think this is one of the best things I've done in awhile.

Togetherness

This is outside a shop I frequently pass. I don't know if this is a family or what.

Work In Progress Wednesday - Something New and a Few Beads

I started working on a little cross-stitch kit that I've had quite awhile.

The house cross stitch is finished with the addition of a few beads.  Now it's ready to finish finish into an ornament.

I added some beads to the white eyelets and think this is enough. Next is the bag construction.

New Words for a New Time in the World

I've noticed quite a few new words or new use of words or words getting a lot more use than usual lately, having to do with the current situation in the world. Have you noticed it also? (If you know of or are using other words and phrases, please leave a comment.) I don't know if these definitions will make it to the standard dictionary, but they seem to be pretty common now. Are these words allowed in the game of Scrabble?

Blursday - not knowing what day it is because of quarrantines or lock downs

Covideo party - online parties, using skype or other video applications

Covidiot - someone ignoring public health advice 

Flattening the Curve - slowing the spread of the disease so that the health care system doesn't become overwhelmed. 

Furlough - my students did not know this word, but use the phrase "no pay vacation" 

Infits - clothing worn at home, during work at home or stay at home orders, as opposed to outfits 

Infodemic - information epidemic, often used to talk about misinformation

PPE - Personal Protective Equipment

Quarantini - slang term for an alcohol beverage while staying at home (quarrantine martini)

Shelter-in-place - staying home until it is safe to come out again

Social Distancing - keeping a six foot or two meter distance between people to prevent the transmission of the virus through airborne channels (I previously heard this phrase to mean more of a mental distancing, but now it is used for physical distancing)

Stay-cation - stay at home vacation

Virtual Happy Hour  - the online cocktail hour 

WFH - Working From Home

Zoom (used as a verb) - using the Zoom video application for online meetings or get-togethers

The words I'm seeing and hearing and reading are in English. Do you know of words in other languages? Afterall, the coronavirus is worldwide.  

Another interesting thing about the new corona virus words is that the internet and social media are making them more accessible to more people. In previous health/disease outbreaks people were not as connected.  Do you think this will cause these words to be more lasting in the English language?

Monday Morning Star Count - Year Two Borders and Week 4

I added borders to Year Two.  The photo is not so good because I have it hanging unevenly from my laundry pole.  When I get around to quilting it, I'll try to take a better one with it spread flat on the floor.

Year Four of the temperature quilt  

Week 4 

May 17 - 23 

82, 66, 66, 57, 54, 66, 73

(blue not grey)

First four weeks of Year 4

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.