Greetings from Japan

Last Thursday I arrived in Japan.. The flight was 12 hours and 20 minutes. I sat next to a delightful Chinese couple who now live in Rochester and I learned they attend the same church as my brother. Years ago their parents escaped from mainland China to Taiwan. They were on their way there to visit family. They made the time on the plane go quickly.

After getting off the plane and going through Immigration and baggage claim, I made it to Customs and then hurried to find the train station in the lower level of the airport. I had my destination written on a slip of paper and showed it to the ticket agent. After paying, I hurried to the track and when the Express arrived, I boarded – in car 12. After stowing my luggage, I found a seat and sat down. One of the first announcements was that cars 1 - 6 would be traveling to my destination; cars 7 - 12 would be separating at a certain point. So, while the train was moving, I made my way through all of the cars until I got to car 6. Again, I sat down, only to learn that seats were assigned and I was to be in car 4, seat 3C. Again, I moved my luggage and self to the correct spot. Mind you, my ticket was written in nearly all Japanese.

The Express Train

I had now been awake about 23 hours, and I'm still not to Yokosuka. The ticket I have takes me as far as Ofona, so at that point, I exit the train. Now to find my next train. After trucking my luggage (43 pounds) up a tall flight of stairs, I found the ticket agent. I showed her my note. Unfortunately, the woman spoke NO English. She wrote an "8" on my slip of paper and pointed to the stairs. Now I have to trudge down the stairs with my luggage. I spotted a couple of school girls and asked them if the train on track 8 was going to go to Yokosuka. They smiled and spoke Japanese back to me, nodding affirmatively with their heads. When the train came, I got on with them. I looked up to the map above the doors and asked them once again if I was on the correct train. A woman intervened and used the word "transfer." "Do I need to get on another train?" She was confused and again said, "Transfer." At that moment, another woman came up next to me and in a kindly way, spoke some English. She had me get off the train at the next stop and helped me walk to the car behind us that had just been detached from the car I had been in. She told a conductor where I was going and thankfully, a passenger in that car indicated he was going to Yokosuka and helped me get my baggage off the train when we had reached the destination.

Hans drove up to the station just as I was coming out of the building. What a relief to see him! I had now been awake 25 hours and was glad to be off the train.

The next day, Friday, Rachel and I took the train to Yokohama to shop at a beautiful department store, Sogo. I just loved looking around at everything. Here are some of the things we saw:

Candies

 

Fish (click to enlarge any photo)

Cakes

Orchids in the floral department

Baked goods

Manikins with interesting fashions

Kimono (these were not cheap!)

Saturday we went to see all three kids play basketball in a gymnasium on the base. For some reason, I didn't get any photos of Annika and William in their uniforms.

Josiah in his basketball uniform

Seeing the kids play basketball was a lot of fun! Following the games we all had lunch at the McDonald's on the base. Later in the afternoon Hans gave me a tour of his newly renovated ship.  I blogged about this in a separate entry.

Sunday, Annika's 9th Birthday

Early Sunday morning we took 3 trains to Tokyo to celebrate Annika's 9th birthday at KidZania. This is a large space within a mall wherein the children can go to different establishments to get a job, work, and make some money. The (play) money can be used to buy things in the KidZania store. Annika chose to work in an ice cream shop. Once her reserved time came up, a hairnet, cap and apron were put on her and she and three other little girls were shown what to do. Afterwards she got to eat her ice cream cone. She also performed in a magic show and worked at a veterinary clinic. Josiah worked at a gas station, worked at a newspaper (wrote copy), and drove the fire truck, plus put out a fire. William worked at the gas station, performed in the magic show, helped drive the fire truck and put a fire, and marched in the parade. We were there a good part of the day and "camped out" in a lunch area where we saw a lot of action. I met a nice Japanese woman who wanted to use her English. I learned her husband (who was also very friendly) is a general practitioner in his own clinic. They were very nice people.

Annika ready to make an ice cream cone

Ice cream coming out of the machine into her cone

The finished cone (she got to eat it)

William, waiting for his designated time in the magic show

Veterinarian Annika

Annika and 2 other little girls helped treat this dog

Both Josiah and William got to drive the fire truck and put out the fire

After our time was up at KidZania, we boarded the trains to Yokohama to a Hard Rock Café to celebrate Annika's birthday. After our dinner, the wait staff brought Annika a large, hot fudge sundae complete with a lit sparkler and they sang "Happy Birthday" to her, followed by handing her a blue guitar for pictures.

Annika with her birthday cake at home

Tuesday we shopped in the Livin' store in Yokosuka plus the NEX on the base. I have enjoyed walking Annika and William to and from the school bus each day (about 3 blocks).

Annika in her Friday school uniform

William in his uniform and playing his toy horn for show and tell

At the bus stop

In the bus, ready to depart

Today, after they departed, I took the base bus around the area to see all there is to see.

Hans' ship as seen from the moving bus

This year Rachel is homeschooling Josiah and it is going very well. It was very interesting for me to sit at the table while she gave him his lessons. This keeps her very busy.

On my last full day in Japan, Rachel drove me out to the private school where Annika and William attend.

Annika in her classroom

William in his classroom

A shrine a few hundred feet from the school

New Floor

What a very nice feeling to walk into our office yesterday morning to see the new flooring in our reception room. What do you think?

Before

After

I really like this floor. It looks like walnut. The baseboards are beveled and are very attractive. The book shelves were damaged a little bit in the move so are being repaired before returning them to the far end of the room.

Our new refrigerator and dishwasher arrived today. The refrigerator is very nice! It's the same style and make as Heidi's. The dishwasher, also a wonderful brand, came without any buttons to turn it on. Apparently Samsung produced 3,000 of these and we got one of them. A representative is supposed to arrive tomorrow morning to install the missing parts. So, things are progressing in our office.

What's left? The reception desk and immediate space around it. My boss has been given the assignment to design it. Yesterday he quizzed me on what I think it needs. I'm curious to see what he designs.

Redecorating the Reception Room

Yesterday they moved all of the furniture out of our reception room and the flooring man began to put the new flooring down. Originally our "decorating team" in my office had chosen a gray/white laminate flooring and after it was installed there were multiple complaints: "It looks like a laundry room floor," "It looks like a garage floor," "Is there flooring? I thought it was bare cement!" So permission was given to spend more $$$ and have a hardwood walnut laminate put down over the gray. I have no idea if the furniture will have been put back when I walk in on Monday, but it should look totally different. It could be interesting!

Much of the furniture had been moved out already.

Current reception area (not attractive!)

Dave, Andy and Dave standing by to help move the shelving unit once Steve and Jim have it disconnected from the wall.

Most of the reception room furniture was moved to the dining room.

Ready for new flooring (packages of flooring under the staircase)

Reception desk at 11 am while I was still at the helm. Later in the day, the desk was moved to the dining room.

50th Wedding Anniversary

Last November one of my friends, Priscilla, whom I have known nearly all my life, phoned to ask for my mailing address because she wanted to invite me to John's and her 50th wedding anniversary celebration. It was to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, on a Saturday in December—the very weekend of our Christmas concerts at church—so I knew immediately I wouldn't be able to attend. After talking to her, I knew exactly what my gift to them was going to be.

Fifty years ago in December I had been Priscilla's maid of honor in their wedding. It was a beautiful wedding in our home church. The bridesmaids wore long, red velvet dresses with red satin bands around the waist. We carried white rabbit fur muffs. The flowers decorating the church were red poinsettias. I liked my dress so much that after the wedding I kept it wrapped in tissue paper inside my cedar chest. I decided to send the dress to Priscilla and John for my gift, and inside my card I indicated she could let her granddaughters play with it, or she could cut it up into quilt pieces. I wrapped it up and sent my gift to their son to present to them at the party.

Yesterday I got this thank you note:

Donna,
Your surprise was ABSOLUTELY so cool! John couldn't believe it. He said, "Wow! She's kept this all these years." 
Yours is the last "Thank You" note and the most easy to write. The dress was in remarkable shape. You have been so kind and thoughtful. Thank you! 
Love, Priscilla and John

I would have loved to have seen their faces when they opened the gift!

Before sending it, I brought it to my office and had Elisa, one of the thin, young girls, try it on so I could take a photo of it. I must tell you that I was a lot thinner in those days.  Elisa couldn't even zip up the back. Here is her photo:

14th Anniversary

Today starts my 15th year working at Bethany House Publishers. What an amazing ride it continues to be! While no job is perfect, I would honestly say there have been only a couple of days that I wanted to pack up my things and not return, but the details of those days have gotten really blurry in my mind.

Each day I rub shoulders with top notch editors, designers, secretaries (I still prefer that term to administrative assistants), and marketing people. I correspond with great authors and now and then get to spend some time with them. I'm part of the team that decides what the covers on the finished books will look like, and I work just one mile from my home. That is a big plus.

I'm thankful to God for leading me to this job. I know He had a hand in it. Here's to another great year!

I'm a Beetle Fan

I guess I have always loved the VW Beetles. Steve and I had a new one in 1966, 1968, and 1972. After that, we switched to driving the VW Rabbit and the VW Vanagon. There was a space of time during which I drove American cars: Ford Escort and a couple of Saturns.

Then Volkswagen introduced the New Beetle in 1998. I loved the looks of them, so went for a test drive at one of the dealerships in Minneapolis. I had to wait in line to drive one! And the test drive was limited to driving on Highway 100 from the dealership to the first exit and back again. I was smitten! Right there in the shop that day, I paid my deposit of $50 and placed my order for one with any of these options: automatic or stick; leather or cloth; with or without sunroof; color: white, dark blue, or red. In other words, if a car came in with any of these particulars, I would buy it. And so I was on "the list."

That was back in May of 1998. Every Friday I would call the dealership to ask where I was on the list. I called and called, and my sales person patiently looked at the list and told me my status.

Late August of 1998 I got a call from the sales guy. "We have a red, automatic, with cloth, no sun roof that just came in. Will this work for you?" Yes! He went on to say my name hadn't really come to the top of the list, but the dealership manager instructed him to notify me when the next car arrived that fit any of my qualifications to move me to the top so that I wouldn't be calling any more. And the next week I drove to the dealership and turned in my Saturn for this gorgeous red car which I drove for 12 years and 112,000 miles.

Fast forward to 2010. I had learned VW was going to discontinue this shape Beetle and in 2012 was coming out with a more sleek model. I had seen some prototype photos of the new design and didn't care for it, so bought the last edition of the New Beetle. I really like it.

I sold my red car to a co-worker and get to see it in the parking lot nearly every day. A few times they are even parked side by side.

That brings to me 2015. On New Year's Day I discovered the headlight on the driver's side was burned out. So the next day I took it to the dealership to have it replaced. I asked that both of the headlights be replaced so I wouldn't have to be dealing with this anytime soon. While waiting for the work to be done, the service writer came into the waiting room carrying the big housing unit of the light from the passenger side. She showed my a ring around one of the parts that had cracked and informed me the technician put a tie wrap around it to hold it in place and I shouldn't have any trouble. Not so. It has since been burned out twice - each time requiring me to leave the car at the dealership and have a loaner.

Both loaners have been 2015 Passats. The first one I believe was a bare-bones model, but the one they brought me yesterday has all the bells and whistles. After work I got inside and attempted to put the key in the ignition, only to find their was no ignition. I tried and tried to put the key into an embossed spot on the steering column, but to no avail. Then I spotted the button - one like my friends Nancy and Sharon have in their cars. I pushed the button. Nothing happened. Then I recalled having driven Sharon's car a couple of times that I had to have my foot on the break prior to pushing the button. Voila! I drove home - one mile - and then had the quandary of how to turn the car off! I checked to see if I had the phone number to the dealership with me, but didn't have it. So I decided to push the button again. This worked. I'm now thinking it would be nice if they had to keep my car for the weekend so I could drive this fancy model a bit longer. We'll see . . .

Pot Roast

I don't fix complete meals much anymore, but since I had the weekend free, I decided to make a pot roast. This is a blade chuck pot roast, with carrots and potatoes. It's in the oven now and should be ready to eat in about an hour and a half. I'm really looking forward to eating this!

Browning the meat 

Ready for the oven!

January . . . the longest, coldest month of the year

Christmas and New Year's is over and now we have to try to get through the longest, coldest month of the year. It's a struggle.

I have lived many, many Januaries, and they haven't affected me as much as this one seems to be doing. Yes, it's only the 7th day, but it feels more like the 20th. It has to be the bitter cold that is doing it.

I look outside and see the bare trees moving in the wind. It's -6 degrees right now with a wind chill factor of  -28. School has been canceled in most of the Minneapolis area. Our office, now with new landlords—who are very nice, by the way—informed us their insurance will not allow any space heaters in the building. So we got rid of them. Consequently, I have been sitting at my desk for over the past three hours wearing my long, down-filled coat and a blanket over my lap. I have a thermometer at my feet and it reads 65 degrees. I just had an idea: I should get an electric blanket! I think I'll look into it.

I'm thinking ahead to next year. Perhaps I'll plan a different strategy for January. I'm going to give it some serious thought. I hope you're warm where you are.

Ringing out the old . . .

This will be my last post of  2014. I've been reflecting on this past year and have to say the most meaningful event for me was the birth of Corinne, my 8th grandchild. I got to see her when she was just 10 days old. She was so tiny—very similar to the birth size of Heidi. Memories of my youngest filled my heart as I held this new little angel.

When my kids were born, I was so busy creating a home, trying to be a good role model for the young mothers at our church, and attending many church functions. Because of Steve's position in the church, that's what I thought I was supposed to do. Many times it left me frazzled, and not doing the best job at being a good mom.

As I visited Heidi shortly after Corinne was born, I relished holding this sweet little girl, knowing she will most likely be my last grandchild.

On another note, we had some sadness this past year when my Uncle Allan passed away. He was my last uncle, and I loved him very much. Our family gathered in June at the cemetery in Lake Crystal for his burial. It was good to be with my Aunt Ginny and my cousins for this sacred time.

During the summer my sister was in a car accident that gave her broken bones and laid her up for several weeks. Thankfully, she has healed pretty well and has gotten a new car. During her recovery, my brother bought a new, single-level home for them and arranged for the move. They are settled now and really like their new place.

Then in September our family gathered again for the wedding of our cousin Lorna to Nick. It was a joy to be with our aunt and cousins.

My job continues to be fulfilling. Just this last fall, a new company bought our building and that brought on much remodeling. The construction is nearly completed now and I am in a new office! I think I'll stay awhile longer.

I'm looking forward to what 2015 has in store. Happy New Year!

My camera died

About a week ago, my camera from 2006 died. I tried and tried to turn it on, but to no avail. This camera had been really good for me. I bought it the day before my first flight to Japan – a trip to see my son and his family and brand new baby, Annika. It was a digital Canon with 5 pixels—not great, but good enough. I suppose I have taken thousands of photos on it.

What to do? I want to continue writing on this blog and adding photos is a big part of that. I do have a camera on my iphone, but I don't really like the results I get with it. Perhaps I could work on getting better, but instead  I decided to check out the options with a new digital camera. Voila! I was able to get a new one with more pixels at a third of the cost of my old one. So I ordered it and got it Friday.

Here is my first photo taken on my new camera. There's a story that goes along with it. We were on an Alaskan cruise in 2008. There were 19 of us that went. My sister, daughter and I were shopping in a store in Skagway when I spotted these adorable Alaskan nativity sets. I commented "I would give my eye teeth for one of these sets." Heidi overheard me and stepped back to another aisle in the store and phoned her husband who was in another store. She told him "I just found Mom's Christmas present! It's in 'such and such' store. In about 15 minutes, will you come to this store to buy it?" That was in August. Christmas came that year and I opened my package to find this. I was thrilled!

Alaska nativity set

Choir Christmas Concert 2014

Two weekends ago we had our Christmas concerts at my church. At the Saturday night concert, my daughter-in-law Rachel's parents and two aunts and two uncles attended. I was fortunate to have dinner with them before the performance.

Our guest this year were the Stoneback Sisters (identical triplets) and their father, and a newly formed group of three tenors. The husband of one of our choir members is an excellent photographer and each year he takes hundreds of photos before and during the concerts. I'm sharing a few of them here.



My friends Joanne, Nancy, Lysa, and  Mischelle getting ready to enter the sanctuary.

Our formal Christmas at Wooddale 2014 photo

"O Come, All Ye Faithful"

Full choir

Guests: The Stoneback Brass - identical triplets and their father

 

The Sounds of Praise kids' choir

Guests: the three tenors. They were awesome!

Blackout

After having a beautiful dinner at my friend Laurey's , I drove home in pouring rain. A mile from my house, the sky light up brightly. I thought it was lightning, but it must have been a transformer exploding as my entire neighborhood was pitch black! I couldn't put my car in the garage—first time I have left it out. Getting to the entryway, I fumbled to find the lock on our outside door. Once inside the lobby, I had to feel my way to my doorway - making sure I didn't bang my head on the stairway. My next concern, after groping for the keyhole to my place, was to keep Nels from tearing out into the dark hallway. How would I ever find him? THANKFULLY, he stayed in—I felt him once I had my door closed. Next step: feel my way to my bedroom where I knew I had a flashlight. Once I located it and turned it on, I felt a bit better.

 

After getting my coat off, I got a candle and some matches and had a little votive burning in my bathroom. Talk about weird! I quickly got ready for bed and read my devotions with the aid of the flashlight. I prayed that God would keep Nels from knocking the votive onto the floor during the night.

At 10:14 pm, my bedside lamp turned on and woke me. The power had returned! I heard the furnace kick in and I got up to blow out the candle. I'm grateful the power was off only an hour and a half. I'm thankful I could get up this morning to a warm house, electricity to see to get ready, and to cook my oatmeal.

Our Company Christmas Party

From what I hear, many companies no longer give Christmas parties to their employees. Thankfully, ours still goes overboard in providing a very nice evening for us. Last night we met at a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, the Rock Bottom Brewery. We had a choice of entrees, and I chose the maple bourbon steak which was accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and a variety of vegetables. Oh, my! It was delicious! And then the dessert—perfect crème brûlée—the best I have ever eaten. I was seated at a table with some of my dear friends. Here are some photos:

L to R: Sharon and Julie

Dave and Nancy

My guest Nancy and yours truly

After the dinner, we walked across the street to the beautiful Pantages Theater where we watched the play All Is Calm. This fabulous work is performed by Cantus, a chorus of 12 men with incredible voices. It is the reenactment of the WWI soldiers from England, Scotland and Ireland who are within feet of the German soldiers in December 1914. The dialogue is based on historical facts and the songs are period pieces This drama includes the famous truce. It was just wonderful!

Office Open House

I have been working at my current job just under 14 years. In that time, my office space has been a cubicle. It worked out fine most of the time, but there were days when I wished I could have closed my door so I could concentrate on my report or other assignment.

With the big remodeling done in our office, an interior office with a door and a window was assigned to me. I could hardly believe it, but when the painter finished patching and painting the walls, I began to move my things in.

Today I invited my colleagues to an Open House in celebration of my new space. I had been thinking about doing this for the past few weeks. How fun it was when 3 o'clock arrived and people started congregating around my door.

And now it's official, I have a new office home. 

Annual Knitting Club Swedish Smorgasbord

Our church knitting club held our annual Swedish smorgasbord today and it was so much fun. Barb opened up her beautiful home and she and Pat had it wonderfully decorated.

Bella, Barb, and Mallory

Pat is lighting the candles.

One of three beautiful tables

Open-faced sandwiches

My favorite part: the cookies!

Throughout the year the members knit prayer shawls which are donated to those who are ill. At our monthly meetings we pray for those for whom we may be knitting, praying that God will bring comfort and healing to the recipient. At our party this year, we prayed a blessing on these shawls that are yet to be given away.  It's always fun to see the finished shawls in various colors and patterns.

Our sweet gathering. I love these ladies.

I have moved

Yesterday morning my new office walls were painted and it is so fresh and clean. 

In the afternoon I began moving in. It was a big job, so I continued the process this afternoon and pretty much got settled. I have some papers to sort through and a couple of boxes to unpack, but on Monday I am looking forward to going in and sitting in my chair and seeing just how I like it.

I brought in one of my nativity scenes. This one was made by a Christian man from Zambia. I love their bright patterned clothes and the way everyone is raising their hands to the heavens. Double click on a photo to enlarge it.