Tadake Falls

Today is our 7-year anniversary!  We always try to do something special for our anniversary.  Year One we went to a wonderful B&B in Maryland, Year Three we got a cottage in Wisconsin, Year Five we rented a Harley and went to Des Moines for the weekend.  This year, we did a river trek to beautiful Tadake "Taa" Falls about an hour and a half north of here.

The day was absolutely gorgeous - about 85 degrees with considerably less humidity than we've had for about 5 months, which in itself was amazing!  Clear blue skies and clear blue water.  We started our adventure trying to find the river's entrance, and once we did so, we set out for a walk in the river.  It hasn't rained at all this week (a major accomplishment here in Oki!!) so the river was pretty low and very manageable.  We made our way through the rocks in the shallow water and in the deeper water, we took to the river's edge.  You can see a series of ropes in the picture below, put in place by someone more adventurous and kind than us, to help you get to the edge and walk the upwards path.

The canopy cover from the trees was beautiful with the sun shining down through it.  There were awesome vines that you could actually swing from... we felt like Tarzan & Jane! 

After about 30 minutes of walking we rounded the corner and ..."ta"-da!  We were treated to a most amazing site:

Taa Falls is a waterfall about 50 feet in height.  It puts out some serious power with that water!  It was so beautiful and serene to just sit and watch.  So very quiet compared to the noise of every day life!

After we took in the falls we got curious about where the water came from... what do they say? Curiosity killed the cat??? :)  We saw what looked like a foot trail leading upwards toward the falls.  Then we spied some ropes that had been put in place and thought, what the heck?  So we climbed upward...and onward...and upward...the trail narrowed from 3 feet to about 6 inches with no more ropes and heavy greenery, and for a minute I definitely thought we were lost when I could no longer hear the falls.  But we kept going...down...then up - STRAIGHT up! And we were rewarded with the river that leads to the top of the falls!  There was not a soul to be found, and it was absolutely gorgeous. 

What a wonderful day with my wonderful husband.  What an adventure these first 7 years have been!!

Only In Japan

I think I am going to start a new category on the blog called "Only in Japan."  This category will refer to things that I couldn't fathom prior to moving here but have had the... ahem... "opportunity" to experience while on this lovely Island we call home.

After all, home is where the Marine Corps sends you, right?

Riiiight..... :)

So topping the list of things I never thought I'd experience:  Middle of the Night phone calls that are not wrong  numbers, drunk dials, or friends who forgot about the time change.  These phone calls occur at all hours of the night beginning at about midnight (10 a.m. Iowa time) and ending at about 9 a.m. (7 p.m. Iowa time).  They are made on purpose to annoy the crap out of me entice me to vote for a certain candidate in the upcoming November election.

Normal people receive these phone calls during the day and it annoys them.  Me? I receive them in the middle of the night because of the time change, and I want to beat the caller over the head.  The irony is not lost on me that just when the baby girl started sleeping through the night, the phone calls started happening. =)  But due to law regulations there is no way to get my phone number off "the list."  Although that will not stop me from contacting the powers that be and requesting it anyway.

The kicker is that when I tell them it is 3 a.m., instead of apologizing and hanging up, they continue to ask me questions like, "how is that possible?  You have a U.S. phone number; you can't live in Japan."  Then I have to explain basic technology to them and then I am wide awake for at least two more hours.

Anyway. I think I have finally figured out a way around this by setting my phone to allow only incoming calls that are "Contacts," but this means that some people out there may not be able to get ahold of us if we don't have you listed as one in our phone.  Not that anyone ever calls us. (HINT, HINT) But that's not the point.  The point is, I never would have thought this might be a potential problem a year ago.  Only in Japan!! :)

Sausage Wonton Cups

The holiday season is right around the corner... try this yummy recipe if you are looking for a winning appetizer.  They are fun and so good!  I am hosting a going-away party this weekend and this will be included on the menu for sure! This recipe is courtesy of my friend Heather.

Sausage Wonton Cups


1 package wonton wrappers (3x3 squares)
1 -16 oz. tube of regular Jimmy Dean Sausage
1 – 4. 25 oz. can of crushed olives
1 – 8 oz. can of drained chopped water chestnuts…I chop them to “minced”
1 – 8 oz. bag of shredded “Mexican Cheese”
1 -16 oz. bottle of Ranch dressing…like ¼-1/2 of the bottle

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place each wonton wrapper into a cupcake tin so it forms a cup shape. Bake for approximately 6 minutes, or until barely brown on edges (prepare at least 36). In skillet, brown and crumble sausage. In a large bowl, combine cooked sausage, olives, water chestnuts, cheese and half of the bottle of Ranch (I use less), but make sure it sticks together and isn’t too dry. Spoon mixture into wonton cups and back in the oven for about 8-10 minutes until warmed and melted. Serve hot and enjoy!

Tip: I make all of the wonton “cups” first and then put them all on a cookie sheet and fill with the mixture, that way I can bake and have all 36 coming out HOT at once. Also, the mixture can be pre-made in advance and kept in a Ziploc bag.

Enjoy!

Japanese Tea Ceremony

Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to attend a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony.  Most of you are probably laughing because if you know me, you know I absolutely detest tea.  Sun tea, iced tea, hot tea, sweet tea, chai tea...it doesn't matter. I seriously dislike tea.  But - I am a sucker for cultural experiences and I have been wanting to do this tour since I arrived on island (almost a year ago...!!!).  So I jumped at the first chance I got with my friend Jennifer.

The tea ceremony was held at this woman's home in her tatami room. She has visited 27 different countries to teach others about tea ceremonies and travels to Taiwan almost every month to perform them as well.  Tea ceremonies are typically performed by the Japanese at the change of every season, always for the New Year, and also when there is an important event to celebrate. They usually have a guest of honor with the other guests there as just observers, helping to celebrate.  They have strong roots in Buddhism, but this woman is a Christian and so incorporates Christianity into her ceremonies.  You'll notice her collar...she is actually a pastor, along with her husband, who doubles as a well-known doctor here.

First, we walked through the "zen" garden...lots of bamboo and beautiful plants. Then we washed our hands and mouth in the water to cleanse and purify ourselves.  Japanese tea ceremonies are all about purity, harmony, peace, etc.  Purity is the most important aspect, meaning both in mind and body. As our "sensei" (teacher) said, your heart must be pure as well.

Next, we took off our shoes (Japanese never wear shoes inside, and especially not when eating/drinking - this goes for a majority of the restaurants here on the island as well) and then crawled through this "doorway" (a.k.a. very small hole...no way is it full sized!) into the tatami room.  After greetings, she chose the "guest of honor" and explained the scroll, which changes each time. Ours had the Kanji (Japanese writing) symbols for purity, harmony, etc.

Then our sensei prepared the tea, which involved grinding up tea leaves and adding them to the water, stirring, whisking, some other stuff... as previously mentioned, I don't know much about tea... then they began serving us.  Her daughter was our server and wore the traditional Japanese Kimono with an Obi around the middle.

First we were served a small treat and then the first round of tea. 

Everything is very ritualistic. If I am remembering correctly, this is how it went:  She hands you the mug, bows to you (Japanese bow all the time for everything to show respect). You return the bow, take the tea with your right hand and rest it on your left hand, turn to your neighbor and say (in Japanese) "before you", rotate the cup clockwise twice to turn the 'face' of the cup away from you, inhale the tea 3 1/2 times, rotate the cup the opposite way, wipe it off four times with this cleansing cloth thing, and hand it to your neighbor. 

Then they served us more sweets, and a second type of tea.  Now I will tell you that this is NOT any normal type of tea that we drink in the States.  We drink "British" tea and this is Japanese tea.  Didn't know there was a difference, did you?  Me either. The first tea was dark green and the consistency of a very, very thick soup.  I have no idea how to explain the taste...to me it was like spinach, maybe?  I will admit I faked the last 2 1/2 sips... I just about gagged on the first sip.  The second tea was better and lighter, but still much thicker than regular tea.  We each got our own cup of tea that time, and each was very beautiful and had a special meaning that our sensei shared with us.  My cup had "water" symbols painted on the outside, "wind" on the outside, and Kanji lettering that meant "please come again."  Other cups were gifts to her by important people (one an American General) and others were from Korea or other countries.

The whole thing was such a great experience.  I am always amazed at the way the Japanese let us into their lives and culture given the history of why we are on this island in the first place. They are such kind people!

Time for School!

Wyatt's first day at preschool was today!  He will be going just in the mornings again to All Souls and this year he will be in the Doodle Bugs classroom.  He remembers the teachers and was so excited to get to see his friends from last year too!  I apologize for the poor quality of the picture...it's still so humid here that your camera fogs over when you come outside!  This is even AFTER I wiped the lens off!!

My favorite thing about this picture is that Wyatt's pants are on backwards.  He was so proud of himself for brushing his teeth and getting dressed all by himself that I didn't have the heart to make him turn his pants around... so yes, I sent my kid to his first day of preschool with his pants on backwards!! :)  I also like how his bag is practically bigger than he is... we have a smaller one that Grandma sent but the school makes us carry a big folder back & forth this year and it doesn't fit in the smaller backpack, so we had to buy a new one.  Wyatt said, "But this one's gonna be too heavy and I"ll fall over!"

One of the spouses in our unit used to be a nanny, and she just started doing child care here, so I took advantage of the morning to have her babysit Olivia and decided to do something fun for myself to celebrate making it through the summer!  So I decided to go to school as well... I took a Sumi-e class, which is a Japanese brush art form of paitning where you paint using as few strokes as possible to make a picture.

Our "sensei" (teacher) is in the picture there in the middle with his little hat on and is known/travels throughout the world teaching.  It was actually pretty hard but super fun as well!  We got to do a few practice pictures and then had to do a "final" on a real canvas-type board.  Here is my finished product with my friends Yvonne and Ana.

Looks like the real thing, right?!?

Customer Service? So Nice to Meet You!

What's this I have been experiencing? A thing called Customer Service, you say?  Never heard of it 'til now!

Okay, that's not entirely true, but we have been on a roll lately with experiencing some amazing customer service.  There are some companies out there that have gone above and beyond lately!

Most of you know that I am in love with my Saeco espresso machine (again, the husband spoils me...)  Anyway, the steam wand has been leaking a lot. I first contacted the U.S.-based Saeco and went around-and-around with them about mailing it to the States (umm...I don't think so...) to be repaired. Finally I contacted the Japanese Saeco division and wrote them an email in ENGLISH hoping they could translate it - and wouldn't you know I got a prompt, courteous response 36 hours later - and here's the kicker - the person who wrote me back had the last name Saeco!  How crazy is that? 

He gave me the repair center info on-island, but I couldn't figure out driving directions, and the staff couldn't understand my broken Japanese (understandably so, I am horrible). But magically 60 minutes later I got a phone call from someone in Tokyo who spoke perfect English offering to try to get me a map!

To top it off, the company actually sent someone to our base to pick up the coffee machine so I wouldn't have to drive there.  In addition, I then got a follow-up email from the American-store counterpart with information about what was wrong with the machine and offering to serve as a liaison for me since I don't speak Japanese.  Amazing!

I also have to give a shout out to The GreenWay Store, who went out of their way to go to ship my order from USPS instead of their usual UPS (we can't get UPS here) and upgraded the shipping to Priority for free and has offered to send me a new one when the previous item never showed up at my house over 3 weeks later.  Also amazing.

Also, another shout out to our bank, who thankfully froze our credit card this week after noticing that odd transactions were being conducted on our account from all over the world.  Someone has stolen our credit card info (this is different than when someone hacked into my PayPal account awhile back) and tried to charge 100 different transactions all over the world, from France to West Virginia...luckily USAA noticed it after the first four and froze the account!  AND - they offer 24 hour emergency services for this, which was wonderful so that we didn't have to stay up all night waiting to talk to them because of the time change. Amen!

And today, we went to my absolute favorite Japanese Curry place to get take-out for lunch, CoCo Curry... the woman was so happy to serve me I thought she might bust her lips open smiling at me!  She thanked me a bazillion times, repeated my order to me to make sure she had it correct, and offered me a hand towel and ice water while I was waiting. Beautiful! Oh, and the best?  The sign under their cash register that read: "$1.00 = 80 Yen. We are very sorry."  Hahahaha...I am sorry too!  The American dollar is in the toilet, but leave it to the Japanese to apologize for it :)

Bye, Bye Baby

Some very good friends of ours (Jen & Kyle) are expecting a baby in early March, and we are SUPER excited for them!  This is their first, and their little bean will arrive just a year after our own Miss Olivia made her appearance.  So as Livy has started to outgrow her "baby" things, I have been passing them along to our friends in hopes that they can have another life.  Kind of like in Toy Story where the toys just want to be played with again :)

I happily parted with the first round of things... baby swing, boppy pillow, pregnancy/nursing books, baby play mats, baby sling, etc.  I couldn't wait to get that stuff out of my house and was so happy to have someone take it!

Now round two is upon us...another swing, a bumbo, the exersaucer... but this time I am feeling downright SAD about it!  Psychologically speaking, I am sure it is because these are things that the kids both used and spent quite a bit of time in, and were using at a time when they started "doing" things and reacting to the world as little people instead of screaming infants.

It couldn't possibly also have anything to do with the fact that this likely means we are done with the baby stage of our lives.  Right?  Right?? I mean, I seriously dislike the baby stage.  Sleepless nights. Constant nursing. Quite a bit of crying. I should be rejoicing that this stage is coming to a close!

Except I'm not.

They just grow up too fast.

And now I'm practically in tears. Stupid hormones!