Birthday Sweets and Treats

My favorite cake is carrot cake with cream cheese icing, which is something I’ve not seen here, not even at Costco.  Not to worry, though, I have been enjoying many birthday sweets and treats.

Jamie san in my Japanese class made this delicious plate of banana bread for our class.  You can’t see the plate, but under the banana bread it says “Happy Birthday”.  If you are wondering how she made this without a regular American oven, check this out.  She made it in the rice cooker!

 

The bilingual Japanese teachers at the children’s English school gave me a box of sweets for my birthday. 

My little neighbor and his mom made these cookies together.  In the bag are hearts, bunnies, a boat, and round cookies.

Takako made this one for our stitching group.

And in case you are wondering, yes, I have been sharing these treats with my husband.

Three Black and Gold Ornaments

I made these three ornaments as gifts.  You may recognize the cloud filling stitch (TAST #78).  I stitched on 28 count black fabric with gold accentuate, adding gold beads in the middle of each cloud.  The back of the ornament is black damask fabric.  I made cording with four strands of black perle cotton #8 and one strand of DMC gold.

TAST 94 Reversed Buttonhole Bar

This week’s stitch is the reversed buttonhole bar.  I used perle cotton #8 (pale blue and hot pink) and kreinik #4 (gold and red) for my samples.

 

You can see other examples and/or join in at Sharon B’s Pintangle blog.

Kogin and Temari

I’ve recently been reading about Kogin, a traditional Japanese needlework technique, at Queenie's Needlework blog.  This post includes a number of links to other sources. Included in that post is a link to Carolyn Foley's blog which has many patterns and much information.  I’ve seen a few kits for tissue holders, pillows, and small bags at the fabric store here, but I thought they were expensive so I didn’t buy any.  On my second trip to the wonderful Mariya store in Sapporo, I noticed a book about kogin. I asked the store clerk if they sold the fabric and thread.  She showed me fabric, thread, and several other books on the technique.  I ended up buying a different book than the one I originally found, some navy blue fabric and three skeins of kogin thread, all for less than the cost of a small kit.  She said the technique could also be worked on linen with floss.  The book is in Japanese, but has beautiful photos and illustrations, as well as a number of different traditional patterns. So far all I’ve done is look at the book, but I do plan to start a project soon.

Temari is also a traditional Japanese needlework technique.  About eight years ago Ted and I took an introductory pre-beginner temari class at the NCSU Japan Center with teacher Barbara Suess.  This is the ball I made.  Unfortunately, Ted’s did not make it to Japan.
 

My friend Katherine taught a temari class at a guild meeting, but so far I haven’t finished that one. 
 

Recently there was an article on RocketNews24 about a 92 year old woman who learned temari in her 60’s.  Check out the article and photos here.  Her work is incredible!

Monday Morning Star Count 237

Ten more flowers this week for a total of 237. I’m getting closer to a full size bed quilt top all the time! 

Too Many Foreign Loan Words?

There are many “foreign loan words” in Japanese. They are like the original word, but pronounced with Japanese syllables and written in katakana. When I hear a Japanese person say these words, I often don’t recognize them because they sound, well, they sound Japanese.  When I see the word and can read it to myself, I hear American English in my head and can figure it out.

I was standing at a busy intersection, waiting in the cold for the signal to change, allowing me to cross the street. It was taking a long time and I was looking around.  I saw this across the street.
 

I don’t know what the first and last kanji symbols are, but the three things in the middle are katakana and they spell out bo ta n (button!)  I look at my side of the street and sure enough there is the same sign and the signal changing button! (I think this says wait please.)

 

I saw signal changing buttons often in the US, but don’t see them much here, so I don’t think to look for them. Usually the light just changes. Lucky I saw the sign or I could have been waiting all day!

I can see how some things need to be in katakana, like this tea package that says a ru gu re i  (Earl Gray) because Earl Gray isn’t Japanese.

 This postcard came in the mail from Kanariya, the fabric and craft store.  On the left in English it says Last Bargain.  If you look at the top, near the little bird, in katakana, it says ka na ri ya (the name of the store) followed by ra su to ba gu n  (last bargain).  It seems like there are probably some Japanese words that mean the same thing without borrowing words from English.

A while back I read a story about an elderly man in Gifu prefecture who was suing the national television broadcasting company because they were using too many foreign loan words. He couldn’t understand what was being said and it causes him emotional distress. I can see his point.

 

Tuesday Stitch Group

Progress continues on the little hardanger project.  This was the last meeting this year for one of our members, because she had a baby two days later!  She wasn’t a part of our group when we made the little felt snowmen ornaments last summer, but she fashioned her own with photos in the face instead of the belly.  The one in the middle is the baby’s first ornament - photo to be added.

 

Luckily, she was able to finish her hardanger project. Can you see the little tulle bag of lavender inside? The rest of us continue working on our projects. Stay tuned for photos of our finishes soon.

English Class at the Indian Restaurant

This week for a change of pace, my university English class met at Bombay Blue for lunch.  The owner and his staff all speak English and the restaurant is located about half a block from the university – perfect for our lunch meeting.  I was a little nervous the morning of our class.  Even though at the previous class we had gone over the menu and practiced ordering in English and reviewed topics to talk about, I wasn’t sure it would work.  What if no one had anything to say or worse, everyone spoke in Japanese?  I’m happy to say that didn’t happen.  I’m really very pleased with how they were able to order their meals and how they talked to each other in English. They talked about the weather and skiing.  They asked each other questions about favorite foods and movies and musicians.  Many of them turned 20 years old this year, so the “Coming of Age” holiday in January was discussed, along with how old they each are.  They were even able to make jokes.  Yes, I was quite relieved and pleased with the lunch.  Ted came to lunch with us and took these photos.

 

 

All who came to lunch get an A for the day.

End of the Year Lunch with the Conversation Ladies

We’ve been getting quite a bit of snow where I live, which isn’t unusual for this time of year.  I think we live in the snowiest place in all of Hokkaido.  The surprising thing is that just a short distance away, in Sapporo, there is no snow!

Wearing my boots, I met my English conversation ladies in Sapporo, where I didn’t need boots, for a nice end of the year lunch.  They took me to a wonderful sushi restaurant that I never would have found on my own.  It’s on the third floor of a building on a side street.  There is a sign, but it is in kanji.  It’s a small place where you sit at a counter with the sushi makers right in front of you.

 

 

 

 

The meal started with a custard with a few vegetables in it and a clear soup with mussels, followed by sushi made right there and placed on a long leaf, and ending with green tea ice cream.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we went to a coffee shop and had coffee that was both beautiful and delicious.

 

 

They practice their English conversation skills and I learn about many different things!

Two Years of Blogging

Two years and 740 posts!  It’s hard to believe I’ve been in Japan two years already.  Time really does fly when you are having fun.

Winter is here and with it, comes the snow.