USS George Washington Battle Group

This picture was taken earlier this week.

Shopping at Off House & Buying a Randoseru

Off House is a second hand store in Zushi. They're all over the place, but I went to this one last week and scored some good deals. I got Sydney a Japanese backpack and she adores it.

The "randoseru" backpack is a cultural icon in Japan, most schoolkids wear one and most adults consider it a symbol of "school days." It's too big for her, but she puts it on and walks around the house wearing it while pushing her stroller (Dawn, she still loves it!) They retail for anywhere between $200 and $400 USD, so when I saw this for ¥1700 (about $17) I bought it.

I got the girls a Hello Kitty toaster too. We don't have a toaster, so this will actually be used versus as counter clutter. It's brand new actually, never used, so I'm excited. After shopping at Off House I ran to 7-11 for some onigiri and iced tea. I found more than I bargained for including a piece of bread with something white on it and corn on top! Didn't try it, wasn't brave enough. Also found Honey Roast Chicken Pringles, Strawberry Tea from Lipton and Camembert and Pepper Ritz, and Cheddar and Gorgonzola Cheese Ritz.

I forget what the round things on a stick are called, but they were chewy and sweet. And the rice with the egg in the middle, that was very good. Rice with soy sauce maybe? Not sure.

Yabusame at Zushi Beach

More pictures from this entry can be seen in my Shutterfly album.

We had a busy weekend! Saturday was Shichigosan and Sunday was Yabusame in Zushi! Here's another great website explaining Yabusame in English. The art of Yabusame has been in existence since the 12th century, and the Japan Equestrian Archery Association's mission is "To maintain and promote the Japanese traditional horseback martial arts which have been maintained by Takedaryu, of which discipline originally established in the 12th century, Kamakura era."

Before the archery started there was a samurai parade near Zushi City Hall. A friend of mine was dressed in costume so we watched her and took some pictures then walked down to the beach. It started raining while we were walking through Zushi Ginza, but we had umbrellas and were fine. Once we got to the sand it was a different story. The wind and rain picked up. We stood under and underpass to stay dry for about an hour and the kids had so much fun running and playing. I had my friend's son with me too, so the girls had a playmate. While we were under there an American man came in with his Japanese wife. She explained a lot of things that would be happening and even was nice enough to let us stick with them. She knew a good place to stand, so sure enough we followed! They were both so nice and as it turns out he's retired Navy.

The pictures speak for themselves and the video below will too. But basically the horse runs at full speed and the rider shoots at three targets. The kids sitting down next to the target (we were at the first of three) replace them for each rider and when they come back up the beach they also give the riders the arrows.

After they were just about done I walked around the tents to see what everyone was standing in line for. It was pieces of wood branded with something on it, I'm assuming from the Yabusame. I took some pictures and one of the men invited me inside the tent. I got some more pictures and as I was walking away they gave me a piece. I offered to pay for it, but one man said, "Daijoubu desu" which means "it's okay," or "it's fine." How nice was that?!

It was a raining morning and early afternoon, but we got on the train, met some friends down on the sand and had a really good time! The first video is obvious, and the second is a small group of us trying to figure out how to get a bottle of ramune, or soda, open.

Shichi-go-san, a.k.a. 7-5-3 Festival

Pictures from this entry can be seen in my Shutterfly album. Click here to see them all.

We went to the Tsurugaoka-hachimangu Shrine in Kamakura for Shichigosan. Shichigsan literally means "Seven Five Three." Girls of age three and seven and boys of age five are celebrated on Shichigosan, and it is prayed for their good health and growth. Shichigosan takes place on November 15 and is not a national holiday. On November 15 or the closest weekend, the young people visit a Shinto shrine dressed up in their kimono.

Even though Keanna and Sydney aren't ages 3 and 5 we went anyway as observers instead of participants. Everywhere we went, people were snapping pictures of the kids and saying "Kawaii," which means "cute."

On the train ride there I sat next to a woman who spoke a little English. I asked her if it was all right that we were going and she said it was fine. She was very sweet, kind and helpful. I asked her about the special candy given to kids and she warned me that it's very, very sticky. A woman sitting on the other end of us gave us a bag of candy. She complimented the girls and Julie's son too, and handed Julie a bag of caramel candy. And speaking of candy, the kids being celebrated are given candy called Chitose-ame. The bags have cranes and turtles on them because they symbolize long and healthy life.

We got there and walked around a little bit, got pineapple on a stick, took pictures of the kids and watched other people take pictures of our kids. As we were eating our pineapple four photographers came and started taking pictures of the kids, and Keanna even stopped and put her arm around Sydney. While that was happening a wedding party started walking by, so I said to Julie, "Wedding, wedding, wedding!" She took off running to take pictures of them while I watched and heard "Kawaii" from onlookers. We headed up towards the shrine and participated in a couple of things going on. For ¥5000 (about $50) per child you could go into a prayer room. We opted not to do that, but did get pictures of people going in and coming out. And while they're in there, other people gather behind them and throw coins as offerings, clap twice, then bow their heads and say a prayer. Keanna and Sydney wanted to throw a couple, and thought clapping their hands afterward was fun.

After that we headed over to the fortunes. For ¥100 you shake a box, pull a stick out, and the number on the stick corresponds with fortunes. I got Keanna one too and she thought it was neat. After reading the fortune we saw people tying them up so we did the same. Our fortunes were on pink paper since they're in English while everyone else's was white. I loved watching people read their fortunes and tried to get pictures of their genuine reactions. Some of the girls were giggling and I just enjoyed people watching.

We ended up seeing four different wedding couples that day and had so much fun! The pictures don't do our day justice. The weather was beautiful, all the kids looked adorable and there was so much detail put into their kimono and especially the hair of the little girls!

Preview of What's Coming

I have a couple of things to catch up on in the next couple of days, but in the mean time, here's an idea of what you'll see. Shichigosan in Kamakura and Yabusame at Zushi Beach. And pay no attention to the juice spilled on my sweatshirt...yes, I actually spilled it on myself, can't blame Keanna or Sydney!

Baby on Board, Please Pass It

Shopping is a lot of fun, especially when things like this can be found! And who wouldn't a Hello Kitty popcorn machine? This one wasn't for sale, but I bet one is for sale somewhere in Japan. I think my favorite was the Naive Lady toilet paper...and no, I didn't buy any. The fine print reads, "Try our 'Naive Lady', toilet tissue soft and of good quality. Choosing recycled paper is the first step to keep the earth full of greens for your own children."

A Little Something from Bob

Haven't posted too much about Bob lately...he had a port call a couple of weeks ago and was able to do some SCUBA diving and spent some time with our friends Terri and Bill. He's doing well and is enjoying his job, but is anxious to get back home too. At least with the surface fleet we can talk on the phone and email pictures back and forth. Earlier this week I got these from him. Not exactly sure why he was flying, but they're neat pictures nonetheless.

Why oh Why...

...does this stuff happen while husbands are in the middle of the ocean? Monday morning Sydney turned on the TV only to find the image jumping, freezing and white, green and purple lines stretching horizontally and diagonally across the screen. I tried a different mode with the DVD player and then the Wii and the lines remained, so much to my dismay I realized it was the TV and not the cable having the problem.

Thankfully Bob's on a surface ship right now and not in a big metal tube under the water. On surface ships emails are usually sent and received within five minutes and attachments like pictures can be included. Not the case with submarines! Depending on what they're doing and where they are, emails can take weeks to be received, then once replied to it takes another week, or even a month, to get the response back. So basically having a one-way conversation with yourself. And no attachments can be sent with submarine email, no no! Bob would have to rely on my description of the problem, and wouldn't even find out about it until weeks after!

I tried turning it off and turning it back on, letting it sit untouched for 24 hours, checking all the connections, etc. You name it, I tried it. Then this morning I unplugged it for a couple of hours and when I plugged it back in and turned it on this is what I saw. Gee, swell. So no more diagonal or horizontal stripes, now just green vertical ones with some white in there.

After sending another email to Bob with this picture, I loaded the dishwasher and when I came back into the living room the stripes were gone. Keanna and Sydney were jumping and screaming saying "It's fixed, mom you fixed it." Yup, sure, sure I fixed it, whatever you say! Okay, I'll take the credit for it...after all, my husband has been home three weeks since we arrived here and I've dealt with a bunch of crap without his assistance...in a foreign country that doesn't speak English and drives on the other side of the road, so yup, I'm going to take credit for fixing the TV.

I emailed Bob and told him I fixed it by (and I quote): I read a lot last night and suspected failure of the 13v zener D812, this reduces pin 5 of IC801 below threshold voltage. And then this morning when I turned on the tv before stroller workout class and got the vertical lines that confirmed it. So I adjusted the R339 (1.2ohms 1w), C331, C336 (1uF, 50v) and C333 (100uF, 35v). That in turn led me to the 5v supply to the text panel. Gave that a quick turn to the right -remember, righty tighty, lefty loosy- put it back to together and it worked.

I copy and pasted jargon off of some help line website. I knew he wouldn't go for it, but it was good for a laugh...at least on my end. But it's fixed, at least for now, and that's what counts. Julie suggested I tell him I fixed it by creating a splitter with a bubble gum wrapper and hair elastic, you know, MacGyver style. I thought a nice touch would be to add a bobby-pin.

I have no idea what's wrong with it, what was wrong with it or why it did what it was doing. But I don't care and am happy to hear the kids say, "Yeah mom it's all better, go mom, mom you fixed it!" Aaaaah, music to my ears!

Today is Veterans Day

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier, who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.

- Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC

Armistice Day Becomes Veterans Day
World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany, however, had ended seven months earlier with the armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.

Oshiruko Kit Kats

Oshiruko is a traditional Japanese dessert. It is a red bean (azuki bean) soup with rice cake, served in a bowl. This is the 28th flavor I've collected since the end of May!

And since this is my 100th post, I'm celebrating by being a complete dork and posting a picture of all my Kit Kats as of November 10th. I took this picture earlier this afternoon. Bob, ever wonder if this is where your COLA is going?!












Katie's Kit Kat Collection - I have what's in pink (AS OF NOVEMBER 24)

-Kit Kat Dark Chocolate — UK, Canada, China permanent edition, Japan, US miniatures and limited edition
-Kit Kat Bitter — Japan limited edition — bitter dark chocolate coating with 62% cocoa content
-Kit Kat White Chocolate — UK, US, China permanent edition, Australia, Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat White with Hokkaido Milk — Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat Chestnut - Japan
-Kit Kat White Bretagne — Japan limited edition — white chocolate coating w/Bretagne milk and cocoa butter
-Kit Kat Apple — Japan
-Kit Kat Banana — Japan & Canada limited edition
-Kit Kat Sakura (Cherry Blossom) — Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat Double Berry — Japan limited edition — combo cherry and strawberry flavored crème filling
-Kit Kat Muskat of Alexandria (White Grape) — Japan limited edition-Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake— Japan, Malaysia limited edition
-Kit Kat Yubari Melon — Japan — melon flavored crème in the wafer
-Kit Kat Citrus — Japan-Kit Kat Hokkaido Yubari Melon — Japan — like above but w/ creamy melon flavor coating, not milk chocolate
-Kit Kat Brown Sugar — Japan
-Kit Kat Tea — Japan
-Kit Kat Passion Fruit — Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat Pineapple — Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat Strawberry — Japan, Canada and UK limited edition-Kit Kat Ichigo (Strawberry) Milk — Japan limited edition — strawberry milk coating & creme filling in wafers
-Kit Kat Tsubu Strawberry — Japan limited edition — strawberry coating with freeze dried strawberry pieces
-Kit Kat Soy Sauce — Tokyo limited edition
-Kit Kat Azuki Bean, Green Tea, and Cream MULTI-FLAVOR (Kakigori) — Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat Café Latte with Hokkaido Milk — Japan
-Kit Kat Olympic Gold — Japan
-Kit Kat Chocolatier Noir (Dark) — Japan & Korea limited edition — dark petits with almond creme filling, dusted w/ dark cocoa powder
-Kit Kat Gold — Japan — petits with fudge like covering and dusted cocoa powder on outside
-Kit Kat Matcha (Green tea) — Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat — Korea-Kit Kat Kir — Japan limited edition — dark petits with kir crème filling
-Kit Kat White with Maple Syrup — Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat Blueberry Cheesecake — Japan
-Kit Kat Strawberry Cheesecake — Japan
-Kit Kat Chocolatier Wine — Japan limited edition — petits with red wine colored white chocolate, wine flavored creme filling
-Kit Kat Cookies Plus — Japan
-Kit Kat Cacao 72% — Japan — dark chocolate petits with 72% cocoa content
-Kit Kat Pumpkin — Japan limited edition
-Kit Kat Iced Tea — Japan
-Kit Kat Cherry — Japan-Kit Kat Caramel and Salt — Japan
-Kit Kat Kinako (soybean flour) — Japan-Kit Kat Caramel Macchiato McFlurry — Japan
-Kit Kat Caramel Purin (Pudding or Flan) — Japan
-Kit Kat Kiwifruit — Japan
-Kit Kat Cantaloupe — Japan
-Kit Kat Mango — Japan
-Kit Kat Watermelon and Salt — Japan
-Kit Kat Triple Berry — Japan
-Kit Kat Azuki (Red Bean) — Japan
-Kit Kat Oshiruko — Japan