Merry Christmas and Rock Bands

A couple days ago I googled my name. I like to do that once and while because I always find strange things. This week I found a website about a band called Tools of The Trade. It turns out that this is a band I was part of in Cedar Falls, IA with my best guy friends when I first moved there. They actually included my name in the section that mentions former band members, even though the band didn`t even have a name when I was part of it. I can`t believe it has been almost nine years since then. I wonder where those guys are now...

The other strange band I was in was called Chariot. The site is under construction at the moment but you can get the gist of our aesthetic... much different than Angel Fire. Glitter is so much more my style! Will Glitter Chariot do a tour of Japan??? We can only pray for it.

So far this has been a strange Christmas. On my way to work/school I gave the bus driver a candy cane. He is the driver who never talks to me and always looks miserable, so I think it was meant to be that he was my driver today. I really mean MY driver, not THE driver because, like usual, I was the only one on the bus. I think I shocked him out of his funk a little. Maybe he will talk to me next time. Of course All I could say is, "nice weather, isn`t it?" and, "Thank you very much." Another bus driver once told me how to say "mistress" in Japanese; in reference to what, I can only guess because the rest of the sentence was way out of my comprehension... and judging from the word I DID understand, it is probably better left that way.

I am the only festive person at Nichu-- like usual. I decorated my desk and gave candy canes to everyone. I don`t think Christmas will really start until after work when Mikel meets me up her to pick up our car!! Yay. It is a Mitsubishi Minica. It is so cute and tiny that my Board of Education, who we got the car through, is afraid that Mikel is too tall for it. No worries though because Tony has the same car and we ride in it all the time.

Rock bands and tiny cars... good times.

Time to try and spread more Christmasiness!

Mini and Compact

On our Christmas shopping adventure in Iida last weekend, we found this store, which is actually called Megane, the word for eyeglasses...strategic photography. Me means eye in Japanese.

This is a lovely shot of some fall colors by a Shinto Shrine. There were some old men tending the landscaping who thought we were pretty funny. The white shapes hanginging from the ropes are folded pieces of paper. Shintoism recognizes the impermanence in life. Even the shape of the actual shrine-- not in the photo-- mimics that of old nomadic tents. Mikel and I are both interested in what we perceive as the theatre of Shinto practice.

This is not an optical illusion. Mikel really was way too tall for this little door. Traditional Japanese architecture was not created so it was so convenient that one could almost ignore it-- how often do you notice the top of a door you are walking through in the USA? Or the ceiling?-- Here, architecture seems to be functional and intended for direct contact with the human body. I am so much more aware of how my body moves through space here. Mikel MUST be more mindful here or he would hit his head many times a day. He even has to duck to enter our bathroom!

Here is part of my new collection of mini food and household items. The detail is divine. They could never be sold in the USA because of lawsuits. I can`t believe I would have never known about these miniature collections had I not come here! EEK! I used to make little homes for my trolls that would have been strongly enhanced had I had these treasures. My future kids are lucky ducks!

Craft Land explosion! After a weekend of crafting and laundry, here`s our main room. This room serves as a kitchen, studio for both of us, laundry line, and now bedroom-- the rest of the apartment is too cold to sleep in!! There`s my cute hubby planning his next attack in the studio. He recently made a full-size, very realistic fox and three spooky crows which also share this room with us.

The whole room isn`t a wreck. Here is a shot from the opposite direction. Cute kitchen, eh?
ok, I`m off to write a store about a bubble-blowing elephant for my students--a regular day in Japanese Craft Land!