Grinder Shaped Bento Boxes, R2-D2 Soy Sauce Holders & Robster Curry

I'm from Connecticut and we call them grinders! I also heard them referred to as hoagies or subs. We went shopping with Julie in Yokohama and came across the neatest store! I'm not sure if it was an import store or not; they had products from the United States, but lots from Japan as well. Needless to say there were a quite few things that stood out! Lots of pictures below.

Lazy Store: Genuine American Goodies - wow, is this what they really think of us?! I spotted this café; my mom's name is Nina.

The grinder and burger bento box. I bought the space shuttle one.

Enjoying my "robster" curry, and that's Landmark Tower in Yokohama covered by clouds.

The girls love Indian food. I hadn't had it until we moved here!

They hallowed out Texas French Toast and made it into an ice cream sundae. They call it "Honey syrup toast with ice cream." I'll be going back there when Bob comes home. We walked by someone eating it, and there's no way one person could eat it alone. The Japanese wear masks all the time, we found some funny ones, though I've never seen these being worn on the train!

They stick a camera in your ear and clean it out while you watch on a monitor. I didn't want to be too rude and take a picture of the inside of the place...but there were TVs in front of the chairs. These are key chains, the top is like opening a package, and the bottom is just like popping bubble wrap.

If you have a friend who happens to be a fan of "Star Wars," you can get them a handy R2-D2 soy sauce holder or pepper shaker. These were adorable even though I'm not a fan of dressing up your pet. They're little yukatas for dogs.

Celebrating America's Birthday in Yokosuka, Japan

Happy Birthday to my sister, Sara, and Happy Birthday to the United States of America!

“Every good citizen makes his country's honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense and is conscious that he gains protection while he gives it.” -Andrew Jackson

On July 4, 1776 the American Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence, in which the American colonies proclaimed their separation from Britain. And fifty years to the day after the approval of the Declaration of Independence, which they both had a hand in drafting, former presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died in 1826.

Tonight we went to the carnival/fair MWR put on for the families on base. It was open to the public as well, so there were a lot of Japanese families there. Little girls were wearing their yukatas, and I even saw a woman wearing one. The majority of Japanese were dressed in red, white and blue, had patriotic hats on, and most even had the temporary tattoos on. It's a great way to improve the relationship with our host country.

We had temporary tattoos put on our faces and I even joined the fun and got one. We walked around for a little while, then grabbed a snack [at the all-American fast food joint], McDonalds, and headed over to watch the fireworks. After all, how can a red-blooded American celebrate Independence Day without seeing fireworks?! They started right on time, of course since it was put on by the military, and since we weren't at the field yet, we met up with some friends, sat on the steps of the post office and watched from there....perfect view with minimal crowds!

Bob, wherever you are, I hope you had a good holiday!

Teru Teru Bozu - Welcome to Japan's Rainy Season!

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring....

Early summer is the rainy season in most parts of Japan...mid June to mid-late July. Tsuyu is what the Japanese call the rainy season, it means plum rain (plums ripen at around the same time), and even though it's been rainy all last week and will be this coming week, I don't think it's as bad as it was last year.

Japanese children make Teru Teru Bozu (てるてる坊主) dolls, and that literally translates to "shiny-shiny Buddhist priest." They're pretty common around this time of year, hanging from porches, laundry clips and balconies. We made and hung ours in front of the sliding glass door. Supposedly if you hang them up it's supposed to stop the rain, and if you hang them upside down then it does the opposite! According to Wikipedia, "This amulet is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather and to stop or prevent a rainy day."

We made ours and got them hung up. They're simple to make, and while we used cloth napkins, people also use tissues. They're the same concept as ghosts that we Americans make at Halloween time....make the Teru Teru Bozu exactly the same way.

It's easy to make one! You'll need two pieces of tissue paper (or a cloth napkin, etc) and a piece of string. Crumple one tissue into a ball and put the ball in the middle of the other sheet. Tighten the flat tissue around the ball, tie it up at the base, and that's it! Hang your teru-teru bozu outside a window a few days before the day you want the sun to shine. Ours are up because we don't want rain for fireworks on the 4th! The base has stuff going on all day and fireworks at night.

There is also a Warabe uta (Japanese nursery rhyme) that goes along with teru teru bozu:

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
Like the sky in a dream sometime
If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
If you make my wish come true
We'll drink lots of sweet rice wine

Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
But if it's cloudy and you are crying (i.e. it's raining)
Then I shall snip your head off


I think the last line is a tad bit creepy!

Hydrangeas Galore

About five or six minutes from our house, on Route 24, there's a little stretch of hydrangeas on the side of the road. When I saw these blooming last year I was so excited to see how they'd look, what color they were and how big they'd get. I took the girls around this time last year, click here to see those pictures, and went again Wednesday on our way home from the base.

The flowers are already on their way out, I wish the weather was nicer last week...didn't want to go in the rain with them. So even though the flowers aren't as nice as they were last year, I still got some pictures, the girls were able to talk about how much bigger the flowers are compared to their heads, and Keanna decided she wants to plant these flowers in our front yard.

I'll put a few of this year's pictures on the left and last year's on the right.

Win Some Japanese Kit Kats, Egg Molds & Other Goodies

Want some free stuff? I have too many Kit Kats, cans of Pringles, Japanese egg molds and other goodies that are taking up too much space in one of my cabinets and two drawers!

On May 15th Pass the Chopsticks turned one year old, and to celebrate I'm holding a contest.

In April I posted about a contest to help me clear out the cabinet above the microwave. It was called the Contest Idea Contest, and the winner's (Kelsey from Canada) idea was to write a Haiku about Kit Kats. A Haiku is a Japanese style poem and I explain it below.

Submit your Haiku (by leaving a comment in this post) within the next 15 days.

Contest begins as soon as this is posted and closes two weeks from today - that'll be July 10th at 10 am JST, July 9th at 9 pm EST.

Winner will be announced the evening of July 11th (JST), so those you in the U.S. will see it the morning of the 11th. Be sure to check back for updates and the winning Haiku!

The definition for Haiku for this contest is as follows:
An original poem of 17 syllables in 3 lines written in the format of
-line 1 in 5 syllables,
-line 2 in 7 syllables, and
-line 3 in 5 syllables

-Keep it clean/family friendly language
-Entrants can be world wide
-No limit on entries

*As an added bonus, I'm going to have a drawing on July 11th. The names in the pot will be my followers. Right now there are 95, so become a follower and you'll automatically be entered! You'll see the Followers gadget in the side bar on the right side of the page and can add yourself there.

Pepsi Shiso - It's Green and it's Good!

Pepsi Japan has done it again! Last summer I found Blue Hawaii Pepsi, in the winter it was Pepsi White (yogurt flavor), and this morning Shiso Pepsi hit the shelves here in Japan. I'll include pictures of the other Pepsi flavors I've found. You'll notice in the picture the Green Tea Coca Cola is on the second shelf. I liked that a lot, but I think Pepsi Shiso is better...maybe because it's just so different.

Shiso is an herb, usually used with sushi or in bento boxes. Some people I've talked to said it's a bitter herb, and others said it's a little like basil. I wasn't sure what to expect, so when I took my first sip before driving off! The girls and I were done with exercise class, got it in the car and hoped our first stop would have it!

I describe the taste in the video below, but it was a little sweet, kind of like basil, cilantro and oregano in one. It also tasted like fireballs, the candy from years ago that I remember loving. The Pepsi Shiso didn't have a cinnamon taste, but when I had the second sip, the fireball candy came to mind.

If you subscribe to my blog via email you'll need to click here to watch the video.

More about Pepsi White here, and Blue Hawaii Pepsi here.

Garlic Bread with a Japanese Twist...Maple Syrup

My friend Lisa took Sydney and I to an Italian restaurant in Yokosuka at the end of April. It's on the top floor (9th?) of More's City Mall which is down Blue Street and walking distance from the base. We walked around a little bit working up an appetite, and of course saw some funny Engrish shirts. It was shortly before Mother's Day, so we saw some Mother's Day soap that read, "Thanks Mam!"

Once we got to the restaurant I opened the menu and saw garlic bread. Okay, no biggy, it's an Italian restaurant so seeing it on the menu is a given. Well there's a twist. This garlic bread comes with maple syrup. No kidding, maple syrup. This is why Lisa took us here! I'm game for trying just about anything - especially here. We live in Japan, LIVE here. Most people don't get the opportunity to visit here, nevermind call it home for a couple of years, so why not try it, right?! So we ordered it, how could we not?

It was great and I'll be ordering it again next time I'm there. I'll also be making it at home and putting some syrup in a ramekin. Bob, hope you have an open mind!

This restaurant reminded me of "Cheers." Every time someone walked in the staff would yell "Irrashaimase!" That means welcome. But it was just like "Cheers" when Norm would walk in and be greeted with "Noooooorm!" I took a short video talking about the garlic bread and while watching you can't miss the "Irrashaimase!"

If you subscribe to my blog via email you'll need to click here to watch the video, and if you're reading this on my blog's website, it's below the four pictures.

Sports Drink Kit Kats

The newest flavor came out yesterday, Sports Drink. I haven't tried it yet, but will since it's white chocolate. When I saw this my first thought was that it was something like Gatorade mixed with chocolate.

Almost makes me want to run a marathon and hydrate with these instead of water...almost...run a marathon that is!

More Fun with Japanese Egg Molds

And what shape is it this time? Today I found a Hello Kitty egg mold (thanks Jessie!) and literally squeeled with excitement! I posted about using Japanese egg molds last month; if you want to see it, along with pictures, click here.

Hard boil the egg the way you normally would. I put it on the stove and when the water starts to boil I pull them off the heat and let them sit for 11 minutes. After that I put it in a bowl of cold water to help the peeling process.

The egg has to go into the egg mold while warm, and then into cold water once in the mold. So I peeled the egg, put it in warm water, into the mold, into a bowl of ice water, and about 20 minutes later I pulled it out and hoped for the best. She came out all right; next time I'll use a smaller egg. But so many details...she's even got whiskers!

Bob, To the World You Are a Father, To Us You Are the World

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! And to those of you with dads or husbands deployed this Father's Day, I'm thinking of you! Bob's out to sea yet again on Father's Day...this is the fourth year in a row. We wanted to try to make it special for him though, so we each colored a sign, and the girls were so excited to be in a picture just for him. You know, anyone an be a father, but it takes a really special guy to be a daddy. Every night Keanna and Sydney ask to kiss Daddy's picture, and over the last few weeks Keanna and Sydney have each started sleeping with a picture of him. It's so sweet to see when I check on them before I go to bed.

A driving force behind the establishment of the integration of Father's Day was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd, born in Creston, Washington. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, as a single parent reared his six children in Spokane, Washington. She was inspired by Anna Jarvis's efforts to establish Mother's Day. Although she initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death, she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make arrangements, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June. The first June Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, WA, at the Spokane YMCA.

Unofficial support from such figures as William Jennings Bryan was immediate and widespread. President Woodrow Wilson was personally feted by his family in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge recommended it as a national holiday in 1924. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. The holiday was not officially recognized until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Everything Dad By Joanna Fuchs

A little girl needs her daddy / To love her with manly charm, / To soothe her when she’s hurt, / And keep her safe from harm.

A girl needs her dad / To show her a man who’s good, o help her make right choices, / As only a father could.

A woman needs her father / Just to be aware, / He’ll always be there for her / To sustain her and to care.

You’ve been all these things, Dad. / I hope that you can see / How much I treasure you; / You mean everything to me.

To Jack, Bob's father, and the best father-in-law a girl could ask for, hope you have a happy Father's Day tomorrow!

And last, but most certainly not least, I want to wish my father, Ron, a happy Father's Day!!!

Last year the girls and I took the same picture, so here's a side-by-side comparison. I'm kneeling this year, just like last year, and it's amazing to see how much they've grown and changed! Apparently they're not the only ones that have changed. My glasses have along with my hair getting longer; the table behind us is now on the other side of the room, we have window different treatments and I got the tonsu which now holds our collection of kokeshi dolls, some pictures and an obi as a runner.