Where is my Brother?

a whole month since i have blogged….. i am still here, knitting , sewing and in fact trying to cut down and remove the tree in front of the house… branch by branch….

the swine flu is cancelling club activities and school, but we 5 all remain strong and healthy….and with the cooling weather of fall , the decrease in mosquitos and the  unbelievably blue autumn skies, it just feels good to be… to just….be…..

the 6th graders each picked a sport (soccer, basketball, track or a japanese ball throwing game)… Kayla chose soccer and they practiced everyday after school for about 2 months and then had a tournament day with 6 other schools… the girls team got first place!!!  i spent the day with about 5 other mothers, snacking and cheering… it was great fun and the girls had fun, too… I took tons and tons of pictures, but i think only Kayla knows how to download from the new camera, so i have to wait for her to do that… i am technologically challenged and still  having trouble with our new t.v. remote control…eventually i will learn to do it myself, i mean… i am intelligent and edumacated and illiterate in two languages!!!!

I leave you with this, the camping trip in september….and some photos we should donate to Nissan to use in a brochure…

3 kids and a Nissan...

a Nissan and a camping bungalow...

take a little hop over to my friend Debbie’s blog and read about her son(born just one month after Kayla…) and his soccer day… AND she has pictures…http://kuroiwafamily.blogspot.com/2009/10/and-in-spite-of-having-to-play-soccer.html…..Debbie lives in Nagasaki and she and I have shared many beers, tears and cheers over the years….

recent camping trip

Yay.

clouds...

neighbor boy and his grandma's homemade pie

Aug.. 13, 14 and 15 is O-BON in Japan. It is a festival for the dead, with family reuniouns and visits to graves and BON dancing around taiko drums and traditional music…

Local Nagasaki people stay out of the ocean (and even pools) because the gates to and from hell are open (for the visiting spirits) in the water…so even though today will be hot and sunny and EVERYONE is on vacation…the beaches won’t be very crowded…

me and 2 kids, 2 parents...vancouver airport.

spent three weeks hanging out with family and now we are back safely in Nagasaki.

Seems that while we were gone, we missed typhoons and earthquakes that didn’t have any affect on Nagasaki or our flight from Vancouver B.C.to Narita airport (Tokyo…)

We are back, suffering from the humidity and lingering jet-lag… but otherwise enjoying getting back to our lives and hanging out with “the man” who has the whole week off.

i have  been experimenting with french seams lately….so  i have ended up with some squares of colorful cloth that really..and truly.. are absolutely useless….. If you are a fan of furoshiki then they could be used for wrapping up and carrying things… I have a whole drawer full of furoshiki that I barely use….. or…the size is perfect for a table cloth for a card table….. I think it looks quite nice on a table….

french seam single layer table cover....

that’s a vase from my pottery making days…..can you see the beautiful blue glaze on the inside???

reverse side and view of seams....

the back is so neat and purdy that it doesn’t even need a backing…..

I am not sure what this is useful for…. but it sure was fun to make….

I am planning on either hemming the edges, or sewing on some binding/bias tape…

one more angle, one more view...

the one above is mostly blues

and this one is mostly reds…

I am not yet sure what color to bind them with….subtle or bright…or indigo!!!

red table cover with japanese vase...

the vase was chosen by my mother-in law

to give as a present to each guest at our wedding

at Japanese weddings, the guests leave the party with food and presents.