Sunday, December 11, 2016

What have I gotten myself into now!

Progress is being made on the runner for the Women's Conference speaker. All is quilted except the words in the navy border. Then add the binding. I have one month left and that should be enough time to complete the task.

My friend, Amy Katoh of the "Blue and White" shop, was looking for blue and white coasters so I made a few from some yukata fabric in my stash and dropped them off a week or two ago.

When I passed the shop on my way to the train station Monday, there was a lashed bamboo "tree" in the shop window and the shop assistant was fastening lots of coasters as decorations on the tree. I will have to remember to take my camera tomorrow and get a picture.


The shop window along the street has a constant change of blue and white displays. New owners of the building are trying to get the shop to move but it is an icon of the area and finding a new spot in the area will not be easy.

And ... now the plot thickens. Today at church, I was interviewed by a lady from NHK who was looking for "old timers" to interview in a TV program to be shown on December 24th. Though ours is the church of the revolving door, there are a few who have been in Tokyo for even longer than I.

The lady was interested in my quilting. Indeed, there are plenty of quilted banners hanging around the church and I think only one has my name on the back. Even church members probably do not know where they come from or even that they are hand made.

Anyway, after an interview, it was decided the lady will come to my house on Tuesday ... to look the place over??? and they will film the interview on Thursday. Oh Boy! How am I going to get everything picked up and tidy by Tuesday morning? I haven't even had time to read the newspapers for the last three days! I will have to find a place to put things where I will be able to locate them in the future without stirring the pot and making things worse.

She mentioned pictures from long ago ... oh I have more albums than anyone could imagine ... and quilts ... well, I wonder how many I should dig out. Maybe if I pile them on the sofa they will hide all the other stuff. Then there is the dog hair! No way to hide that! I guess I had better un-plug the laptop and get busy.

The teacher I work with at school asked me when winter begins. With the first snow? well, we had an early snow a few weeks ago and it had been 54 years since snow came that early. Yet, the leaves on the ginkgo trees had not yet turned color ... or even the maples in my garden.
Well, a week ago, Wednesday, there was one ginkgo turned a golden color along Roppongi-dori where I walk on my way to school. This past Monday all the trees were dressed in gold, and this Thursday three were completely bare and three others with only a few scattered leaves. After  very gusty weekend, I expect the whole row will be bare and winter will have begun. After hearing of big snow in Ohio and Oregon and northern Japan, I am rather glad to see our brand of "winter".


Though this snow made the news ....

I am happy to have blue skies ... even with the blustery wind.

And if snow is to make the news ... this variety is preferred.

12 comments:

  1. They are beautiful coasters and with a looped string they can double as tree decorations.
    What excitement! Julie the TV star! Please share the details and we who live in Japan can tune in and watch.
    Talking of NHK, I just received my postcard for the Partnership quilt project. My block is in quilt #1!!! Have you got your postcard yet?

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  2. WooooHoooo ! Our JULIE interviewed on TV ! I told you you're a star, moreover : a quilter star ! Look at those lovely coasters you made :))
    Yes winter is at our doors, although not any snow in sight, yet... but soon the magic will come again, and we'll wake up under a white cover...

    Wishing you a wonderful Season, a joyful Christmas and a Happy New Year, dear Julie !

    XOXOXOXOXO
    Nadine

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  3. Oh, Julie - how exciting!! A TV interview!! Who cares what the house looks like - YOU are the star - not the house. Don't fret - just ENJOY the whole thing. Maybe they could film a YouTube version that you could post on your blog - that would be fun to watch - for those of us who do not live in Japan. Merry Christmas!! - ;))

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  4. It would be wonderful to get a glimpse of you on TV and the coasters are lovely too.

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  5. Have fun with the interview. Yes, lots of snow on this side of the pond. A record deep snow for the first snow last weekend, and more snow this weekend. I'm already tired of it. Temps in the single digits by mid-week.

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  6. Those coasters are beautiful and a fun idea for ornaments.
    The interview sounds fun, though I can imagine how nerve wracking it can be with getting ready, but I am sure you will do fine and having quilts and photos to share, will be fun for you too.

    Debbie

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  7. I hope the interview goes well. How very exciting!!Stay warm.

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  8. NHK? Christmas Eve? Keep us posted about how the interview goes and what quilts you show and most important, what time the program will on! Gotta see it!

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  9. HI Julie, the coasters are beautiful, and interview sounds so exciting. Please let us know how it goes. We'd love to get a link to this interview if it is posted online. Does your driveway or sidewalk to your home get plowed or shoveled? Snow is beautiful, but it makes walking difficult. Take care, keep warm, with blessings from Marina and Daryl

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    1. There will be a DVD made of the program, I am told. Yes, in Tokyo snow tends to be wet and slippery. Not many streets get ploughed, and on my little street, the only shovelling that gets done is what I might do. It is a "back ally" for most of the houses and the rest of the householders are never around in daylight or too old.

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  10. Mom I got the rest of your coaster story here. Sweet idea. Pretty picture of the snow too. Spent hours wrapping presents for Irene, and a few for the cousins how did you do it for six kids? You and papa must have been up all night!

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  11. Wow - tv - that should be interesting. Lovely coasters too. We've had snow - it has stopped at about 4 inches but it is cold and crunchy now - hopefully it will melt but more is forecast for the coming weekend. Looking forward to the rest of this story.

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