Blue Angels

I made this scrapbook page for the we kit u not monthly challenge. I used the Dixie Pieces December and June kits.

Proud Grandma!!

So...here's my new favorite photo of my grandson Connor. Yep, Proud Grandma!!

Obon and Eisa

I promised in late August photos and descriptions of Obon and the Eisa Festival on Okinawa. Life has taken over a bit and I got distracted. Here's the photos and hopefully I'll get a description of the Obon celebration soon!!! It's my favorite festival and tradition on Okinawa.

Hahri (Dragonboat) Races

We have been to the Dragonboat races in the capital city of Naha before, but I kept reading about the celebrations in the smaller fishing villages, the ones not so advertised and commercialized and had been wanting to go to one of those. The Naha ones are fun, and the military branches each have teams that compete, but I wanted to see a more traditional celebration. Then I saw this article in a newspaper called "Japan Update" It talked about this village called Tomigusuku and how they were trying to recreate a Hahri festival in the life of a King who ruled over 600 years ago. The King, King Wanouso got his title and crown from the Chinese emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He loved wearing costumes and playing with Hahri boats. Tomigusuku City had costumes made in China and sent over that were the same sort of costumes that were worn in Wanouso's day. The festival began with a traditional launching ceremony which was really cool, I just wish I understood Japanese better so I could have followed along more. I am working on my Japanese though!! The Hahri boats were so different than the ones used in Naha, and were more traditional. They were smaller, and much more elaborately decorated heads and tails. Tomigusuku is on the southern end of the Island of Okinawa, and most of the military bases are in Central Okinawa so we only actually saw one other American at the festival. The kids there weren't as used to seeing Americans as those in Central Okinawa and kept coming up to us and saying "Hello" to practice their English. Some used other phrases such as "How are you" and "What is your name." Then they would get embarrased and run off. We were welcomed by the Okinawan Men and Women as well, and as we hadn't brought umbrella's and it was raining off and on, several of them shared their umbrella's with us. We were soaked to the bone when we finally left, but had a great day!! I picked out a few pictures to share with you.

Baby Scrappy Pages!

Yeah!! Baby Scrappy pages are soooo fun!!! Especially when you are the Grandma and have time to do them and not spending all of your time feeding, burping, and being up in the night. Here are a couple recent ones. The first one was made with the awesome Dixie Pieces May Dixie Designs kit, with the exception of the flowers and buttons. You should check them out, the link is on the side of this page.



I had a few requests from people to explain how I did the paper for this one. So I updated to add these instructions. I started with some Bazzill Bling cardstock and stamped it with Inque Boutique's #50355 Dotted Flowers and Flourishes using just a regular Stampin up Stamp pad. Then I used Making Memories Specialty Glaze-Glitter. I painted it over the whole page with a sponge brush so that it smears the ink a little giving it the sort of water color look.

Kodomo no hi

May 5th is children"s day, or Kodomo no hi, in Japan. It was originally known as boy's day, and is a day to honor Sons. Families with boys display colorful carp streamers outside their homes. These are called Koinobori. The carp symbolizes courage and strength, qualities that parents wish their boys to have. Warrior dolls are also displayed in the home. Children's day is a day when parents pray for their children to grow up healthy.

Visit to Ie Island Lily Festival

Sunday John and I took a ferry ride to Ie Island to the Lily Festival. It was about a 30 minute ferry ride. After departing the ferry, we looked aroud the shops a little, then headed off walking towards Mt. Gusuku, where we climbed to the top. There were stairs most of the way.........but LOTS of them!!

After we got finished at Mt. Gusuku, we headed off in the direction we assumed was the Lily Festival. We walked along some main roads, and some dirt roads through farmland. We had to backtrack a bit, but finally made it to the festival site where we looked at the Lilies, the beautiful ocean, and ate some Okinawan "festival food." The food was a bit different than the standard festival fare on mainland Okinawa, always an interesting and tasty experience. We picked a few things that looked good. One dish in particular looked really good-----John started eating it and told me I had to try it before he told me what i was. NOPE-------I didn't fall for that!! I thought it looked like beef chunks with veggies in a brown sauce. Well, that's not exactly what it was! It was Tripe(Yes,stomach) .......ewwwwwwwwww........he said it was really pretty good but I couldn't take a bite!! We listened to some local entertainment and music for a while, walked among the lilies, and then caught the bus back to the port for our return ferry to Okinawa. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for such an outing.

Pics are as follows: 1. Ie Island view from the ferry, Mt. Gusuku
2. Steps up the mountain
3. John and I at the top of Mt. Gusuku
4. Tree on the trail up the mountain
5. Gwen at the Lily Fields.

Check out my Slide Show!

New Scrappy Pages

I have been trying to scrap a few pics of Stephi and I's trip to Tokyo. It seems the only ones I have completed have pics of Stephanie in them. She has always hated to have her picture taken and refuses to pose for pics. She was leaving to go to Florida the week after we got home, so I wanted some nice pics of her before she left. It's amazing what a teenage girl will do when she wants a $60+ pair of shoes!! Made her a deal after a few days in Tokyo that if she posed for pics (with smiles) the rest of the trip, I would buy her the pair of shoes! Of course, she went back to the shop in Tokyo where the shoes were and they didn't have a pair big enough to fit her big American feet----but she came home with a $60 skirt she said I bought her instead!!! Anyway, I am loving having pics of Steph to scrapbook!! So here are a couple. These were both made with supplies from the Dixie Pieces Dixie Design kits. The link for Dixie Pieces is on my blog. They have amazing kits, you should check them out.

Finally, some Tokyo pics--Asakusa

Yes, finally getting some time to post some pics and write about my Tokyo trip! These pics are from a small town called Asakusa. It was a very charming little town, complete with a beautiful temple, and some bazaar style shopping. DD and I took a rickshaw ride here. It was soooo much fun. This is one of the areas I enjoyed most from our trip.

Yep, I'm a Grandma!!

Connor Grayson Rich was born on 29th March 2008 to James Rich, and my dd Angela Anderson. He weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Here are a few photos. I included one of my daughters and the baby. The one holding the baby is not the Mother.

Japanese fun facts of the day

Did you know that some of the garbage trucks in Japan play music like Ice Cream Trucks? That you can buy soup in vending machines in a soda can? That bathrooms have buttons on the toilet or on the wall and when you push it, it makes flushy noises to cover up the other noises you may be making so noone can hear you?

Finished Quilt

So, here's the finished Quilt. All done and shipped to DD for the new baby. I'm pleased with the way it turned out!!

My baby girl is leaving me!

They picked up dd #2's belongings to ship to Florida this morning. She will be leaving on Saturday nmorning to go and live with her sister for a bit in Florida and work for a while before going to college. I will miss her terribly and am sad at the thought of her leaving----but it's definately time for her to go. She has had some health issues in her life that someone so young shouldn't have to deal with, but she has come through everything and is dealing with what she cannot change. She turned 19 last month so is getting a bit of a late start with college etc., but stayed in Okinawa to try and get health issues worked out. Now it's time for her to spread her wings and fly. She is very quiet and shy and doesn't like to talk to new people so I'm a little worried about her, but I am sure she will grow and learn to overcome that too. It will be weird only having one child at home, and he will only be here for another year and a half or so.

Here is the latest scrapbook page I did with pics of Stephanie.

Kimono wearing class

Today my friend Lisa and I went to a Kimono wearing class where we learned about the types of Kimonos and the process of fitting and wearing a Kimono. It was really interesting and fun to wear the Kimonos------but very hot with all the stuff they put underneath, and the Obi belt that is wrapped tightly around your waist. To wear a Kimono you are supposed to be straight----no curves so underneath is put all sorts of belts and stuff to make your body straight. Even towels are used to make sure that your body is straight up and down and to take away your curves. Anyway, here are some pics. The one with the hat is a traditional Okinawan Kimono, the other is called a Yukata and is a summer Kimono.

Quilt

Here's the pics of my baby quilt top. I am sending it to Mom to quilt---I will make her take pics when it is all done! One pic has the green jungly leafy fabric that will be the back of the quilt. See ya when I get back from Tokyo!

Tokyo

OOOOPPssss----haven't written for a while. Life has been busy. Making a baby quilt for my daughter and future grandson. Trying to get it done because I have to mail it to my Mother who is going to quilt it and then mail it to Angela--all before the baby comes around the 21st of April. And I will be gone next week so I have to get it in the mail by Friday. It is turning out really cute (if I have to say so myself). I'll post pics when I get done before I mail it to Mom.

Yes, going to be gone next week. My other Daughter Stephanie, my friend Lisa and I are going to have ladies week out and go to Tokyo. I live in Japan, but on a small island and have never been to mainland Japan. It will be an adventure, and I am very excited!!! I have the camera all ready with extra batteries and memory cards so I can take LOTS of pictures!!!

Okinawa's Churaumi Aquarium

Okinawa is home to one of the largest Aquariums in the world. It was the largest when it was built, but I think is now the second largest, but still holds the record for the largest viewing window. I will include a photo with people standing in front of the window so you can get the perspective and realize how truly large it is. It is one of our favorite places to visit, and has been the favorite of most of those who have visited us.

The aquarium is located in Okinawa's Expo park, a very large park that also includes a large children's playground, 2 dolphin pools where you can attend free dolphin shows several times a day, an old okinawan village with examples of okinawan architecture, the water steps, the tropical dream center where you can see tropical flowers and plants, and also a beautiful beach. Also lots of beautiful tropical scenery where you can just relax and take in the sites, or have a picnic.

Anyway.........here are some photos from the aquarium

Higashi People's Forest

This post contains a photo of one of my scrapbook pages. Scrapbooking is my hobby, my passion. It is what keeps me happy, relaxed and sane.

The second photo in the "Rain" post is of a place called "Higashi People's Forest." It is a hillside in Higashi Village that is planted with over 50,000 Azalea bushes. Every year in March when the Azaleas are in bloom, a festival is held on this spot with traditional dancers, music, and drum performances. These photos were taken last year, March 2007, at that festival. It was raining the whole time we were there so the photos are not all clear, but it is a beautiful place!

Rain

It's been rainy and depressing here for weeks. I have to keep telling myself that the green jungle life that I love in Okinawa is a result of this rain. It is sooooo green and beautiful here! Wherever there is not a building, there is jungle. Thought I'd post a few pics of the green that is Okinawa.

Valentines Day in Japan

Valentines Day in Japan is a lot the same as in the US. Stores full of chocolates and assorted goodies for giving. The big difference, ladies, is that Men aren't the ones buying the chocolates. Valentines Day is a day when Women buy chocolates for the men. It has evolved not only to include your sweetheart, but co-workers and family as well. Japanese people love giving gifts. Ladies, there is an upside to this though...................On March 14th, the tables are turned. Any man who received chocolates from someone on Valentines Day is expected to return the gesture........only bigger and better!! So buy up on Valentines Day, and reap your rewards a month later!!!

Stuff

Ok, I'm finally getting around to posting something. I am a military wife living in Okinawa, Japan. We have been here for about a year and a half, and have another 2 and a half to go. I love living in Okinawa, and love sharing the culture and my experiences with others. So you will see a lot of that here on my blog. This is our second time living in Okinawa, the first time being Dec. 1990-Dec. 1993. My youngest child, Alex, was born here. He is 16 now.

Okinawa is an island, the largest in the chain of Islands known as the Ryukyu Islands. It is 67 miles long, and anywhere from 2-12 miles long. It is bordered on one side by the pacific ocean, and the East China Sea on the other. Although Okinawa is a part of Japan, their customs and traditions are influenced by a lot of the Asian countries. It is a very colorful and beautiful culture. The Okinawan people are a very friendly and happy people. They are also a very proud people. The crime rate here is very, very low, and unfortunately most of the crimes committed here are carried out by American Servicemen which doesn't reflect well on America. Although the island is very small, there is a LOT to do here. The children's parks here are amazing, and during the summer months you can find a festival of some sort somewhere on the island every weekend. These usually include traditional dancing, drumming, and singing. I love learning about the traditional celebrations and will be sharing some of them here as they occur.

I guess that's all for now, will post more later!!