well, i have been knitting… and stitching , but spent yesterday in the yard cutting large tree branches small enough to fit into garbage bags…. 4 garbage bags and 2 big bundles…. I came in when one of the roofers (working on the house  next door ) dropped something (HEAVY) and I realized that  it could have killed me!!  so I went inside….but one of the guys said “SORRRRY” (in english).. so I guess english in the schools is working.

A–nyhoo……  I made a poncho from a YARN HARLOT pattern.  and a Bonnet/scarf thingy from KNIT 2 TOGETHER by Tracey Ullman (yeah, she’s funny!!!) and Mel Clark… and I am working on a goddess and quilt to give to a friend who i am meeting for the very first time today… the quilt/goddess is not done to give to her, but her visit inspired me to get going on it…..

(you can click on the images to make them bigger)

How have you been?  My how the time flies…. your kids are growing and getting older… they are so cute!!!  Thanks for sharing all your beautiful photos…. It’s so nice to be able to see some of the Norway which is the land of my roots….

It’s getting colder here, finally.  The summers are so long and hot that winter clothes are packed away deep in the closets and not brought out until the cold days of November. I am thinking of you today because it is cold enough now to wear THE SWEATER.  The sweater that was handknit with love, with Norwegian hands and sent on to me to treasure.

I was able to get rid of 5 or 6 sweaters i had been holding on to over the years because i will never wear them again now that I have THE SWEATER.  I love it so much, I want to wear it every day. I just wanted to tell you again how much I appreciate that you chose me to wear it.  Thank you.

Take care of yourself and your beautiful family.  Stay well.  Be happy.

Jan

THE SWEATER

photo from last year

sweater from ravenhillhttp://ravenhill.typepad.com/

the peace park is quite an amazing place and i have several stories to share… at this time though, I think that i will show a few more pictures of  my day with Kai……

the epicenter and memorial for victims

origami peace cranes... in strings of 1000

even more peace cranes...

Kayla's halloween party...

soccer girls win first place!!!!

statue at the Nagasaki Peace Park...

which one needs braces?????

yay!! my fine young daughter downloaded a ton of photos for you all to enjoy!!!!!!   She took a gazillion of her halloween party  and i took a few at her soccer match…. the pottery pumpkin was made by our neighbor… when we do trick-or-treating, the houses participating light clay pumpkins in front of their houses…..

finally some comments about Nagasaki Peace Park….. I have been there several times…. the first time was 23 years ago during cherry blossom season. The park was crowded with locals and tourists and the cherry blossoms were beautiful.  The original peace museum was in an old building and the hot day that i visited, all the windows were open wide and views of the mountains and park were a nice break from the doom and gloom of the exhibits.  Several years ago a modern fancy smancy new museum was built of concrete and high tech design.  There are no windows and it feels quite cool and cave like… the content of the exhibition , of course, remains the same, but I like the old building better.   Kai and I had a chance to visit the peace park together while Kayla took an english test at a nearby high school.  We walked around the statues that have been donated from other countries and sat awhile by the “peace crane” fountain.  At 8 years old, he doesn’t quite get the concept of bombs and destruction and war… but later in the evening as we cuddled in bed, he asked  why America would drop a bomb on Nagasaki…and he also asked if Japan had done bad things to America… we had a nice discussion, and I tried to keep it simple . I  don’t want him to have any bad feelings about either country.. with duel citizenship, I want him to be proud of his heritage….and not ashamed of the actions of either side of his family…It’s a very powerful place to visit and also a beautiful place to just hang out and people watch…

Tomorrow (sunday) is an official school day, doing stuff with the rice crop and also the school is celebrating it’s 20 year anniversary.  I’ll be there all day helping.  There will be photo updates later!!!

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.