Minnesota is Heaven, But Virginia is Home

Happy Thanksgiving, a day late, two from Japan.  We had our Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and it was quite brilliant.  There was absolutely no complaining from the kids--who could complain about lunch that included jellybeans and sundaes?  It wasn't exactly the most well balanced of meals, but it was dang easy to cook, serve and clean up after.  I miss having leftover turkey for sandwiches, but in a way, it's nice not to have a bunch of leftovers that I keep picking at...better for the waistline. I hope all of you had lovely, lovely Thanksgivings. Big sigh.  What have we been up to?  I have to consult my calendar, because by the end of the week, I can't remember what we were doing six days ago.  Sheesh. Monday:  pedicures with Marlane.  Lovely and I also had a paraffin wax dip for my hands.  Ladies, if you haven't tried this, please make haste to a salon or spa and ask for this service.  You dip your hands into a big crockpot ful...

This is MY Friday, mine, mine, MINE.  I have nothing scheduled for today.  No meetings.  No volunteer time.  No get-togethers, nothing.  OK, there IS flag football this evening, but the day is mine.  And I am guarding it like the damn crown jewels.  People have been trying to lure me out for meetings and drinks. I guess this is my own fault for saying "yes" to so many things...and it's partly my husband's fault for being so super-cool so that everyone finally notices us as the glamorous Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt type couple that we are.  I feel like I've had at least three weeks of solid crazy.  Department store shopping with the Japanese ladies.  Meetings for the new sponsor organization that has finally flapped it's little wings and taken off.  Volunteering to sit at said organization's table at the Navy Lodge and greet jetlagged, confused couples coming off the shuttle from Narita or wandering down into the lobby, bleary. ...

 Super tired after a day of shopping in Yokohama and my first FRG board meeting...1,285 pictures of our trip to Fuji will have to do.  Ladies and gentlemen:  Fuji. Where else would we have lunch?   The shrine...so tired, can't look it up...there's a sign further down. Astonishingly well-behaved children at the shrine.  Impossible to shoot a bad picture here, truly... Stone lanterns lining the path.   This tree is over 1,000 years old.  I'm pretty sure Josiah, Annika and William could care less.  It took all my powers of persuasion to get them to sit together on a tree that some samurai probably rested on. One of my new favorite Japan pictures.  Got it framed in perfect symmetry. All the red leaves from the Japanese maples. This is a stage or pavilion in the center of the courtyard. You MUST double-click this one. Do it.  Do it n...

Welcome to a late edition of the Yokosuka Gazette. It's early Sunday morning here in Japan...looks like another rainy day.  Sigh.  Tomorrow is Veteran's Day and the kids had Thursday AND Friday off, so we're going on day four of "family togetherness and fun time". This week was as busy as last week.  I had COMPASS training on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  I'm still not exactly sure what it is that COMPASS does, but they do serve a good breakfast and lunch and I won the prize for answering the most questions on Tuesday.  I learned some things and got to know a dozen new faces (two of whom turned out to be spouses of CDW sailors).  We learned about Navy traditions, finances, deployments, relationships, benefits and appreciating the local culture.  It was useful-ish, if only to say that I've done it and now can pass my Grade A Navy Wife Skillz on to the younger generation.  Talk about some confused young ladies...holy Moses.  I came into...

You are all on tenterhooks waiting to hear Noko's story, so here you go: It was a dark and stormy night... Uh, no.  The first part of this story was me convincing Hans that maybe we should think about getting a cat.  Let's just face it, dogs don't work for us.  We have tried it twice and we were extremely blessed to get good new homes for both of those animals.  Elsa's new "parents" just sent us another e-mail with pictures of Elsa dressed up for Halloween and describing all the good work she's doing through Doctors Without Borders.  My thinking on the cat situation was that cats require a little less from human beings, you know?  I mean, dogs are great, they have their benefits, for sure.  I'm not knocking dogs.  I just thought maybe a cat would be a little less...work? There, I admitted it, I am lazy.  I have a husband, three kids, school, multiple volunteer things going on and I'm about to be crowned COW.  I have an ugly gover...

Last night, I ate in an Argentine restaurant owned by two native Argentinians who also happened to be Japanese. Backtracking...we went out for supper with CDW's current CO and his wife.  This was my first time meeting the CO and it was Hans' first time meeting his wife.  I've had lunch with Soraya, attended a bunch of meetings with her and of course, I see her in the fish bowl every third day.  She is from Argentina.  CO somehow went to Argentina's war college and met her there and the rest is history. They have been in Japan for almost three years and found this teeny-tiny, hole in the wall Argentine restaurant (all you Spanish speakers please forgive me if I'm not using Argentine and Argentinian correctly).  Hans likes his empanadas, so that's where we ended up last night. It's a little weird, having this lovely, older Japanese couple come at you speaking Spanish.  Soraya was in seventh heaven to speak the dialect and she and Hans were soon chatting...