New Start - Lizzie Kate freebie: Be My Valentine (Chart found here).
Another new start - a small boro project.
I pulled out Mary Queen of Scots after a very long time, determined to tackle the beads and finish her. Just as with Queen Elizabeth I, I was/am stuck with doing the jewelry. Again, I am not happy with the way the beads sit and will have to keep trying.
I still have one small section of cross stitch on the afghan to do, but I have already started making the fringe.
Japan is made up of four main islands - Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, along with many smaller islands. Since the last island survey in 1987, Japan was thought to be made up of 6,852 islands. That survey was done by the Coast Guard with paper maps. A land mass with a circumference of at least 100 meters is considered an island for this survey.
An MP from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party called for a recount, telling parliament in 2021 that "an accurate understanding of the number of islands... was in the national interest." Using digital mapping technology, geographers from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan will soon announce that Japan's island count is actually 14,125! Although the country's island count more than doubles, the size of Japan's territory or territorial waters is not changing. The northern prefecture of Hokkaido has 1,472 islands, while Nagasaki prefecture in the southwest has 1,479.
Walking distance (for me) from Shuri Castle is the 18th century secondary residence of Ryukyu royalty. (There is also a local bus that serves this area and a parking lot for those who drive). In addition to being a home, it was also used to entertain guests and host foreign dignitaries. The 42,000 square meter property contains a large pond with islands, stone bridges, a wooden palace, an observatory, a guard house, a banana plantation, a fresh water spring, and many types of flowers and trees.
Shikinaen was destroyed in 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa. In 1975 and extensive twenty year restoration began. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in December 2000.
The Udun Palace is a 15 room wooden house used for entertaining foreign guests of the Ryukyu King. The Okinawan red tiled roof was a design feature used by only the most affluent.
After taking off shoes, visitors are able to go inside the house.
This is a beautiful place to visit and imagine the past.
