Great expectations

When I was a kid, not a whole lot was expected of me. In those days there was no such thing as learning problems. To my parents, I was lazy and not trying. To my teachers, comparing me with my talented and gifted siblings, I was just plain stupid, left-handed to boot and too stubborn to change. How many times I was told, "You'll never amount to a hill of beans"! or, "I've forgotten more than you will ever know" ! If I ever did anything to feel proud about, I was told, "Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back"!

Luckily, I grew up. I went to a school where no one knew my brothers and sisters. I didn't have to live up or down to any one's expectations.

Living in Japan, I was just a strange foreigner and expected to be odd, and my in-laws loved me the way I am. My husband accepted me as an odd duck long ago and has given up trying to set expectations for me.

Now, however, I am setting my own expectations and hoping to live up to them. Once I accept a task, I have to plan and prepare to do the best job I can. Panic sets in. Then, bloggers to the rescue!

An idea here, a suggestion there, and the plan falls in place. Now the banner is basted and ready to go. The piano keys are marked and cut. Quilting supplies are being assembled ... I see I need to hunt up the perle cotton...
Hopefully, if I have forgotten something, I will have tonight and tomorrow morning to get my act together. I don't know how the class will go Saturday afternoon, but I have great expectations.

"The greatest danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting out aim too low, and achieving our mark".
Michelangelo

The plot thickens

Thanks to the help of my blogging friends, a plan is falling into place. This past week I have been sewing the three inch blocks together. On Thursday and Friday I marked letters on white fabric and basted them on to the blocks. By Sunday night I was able to snatch enough time to finish appliqueing the letters in place and add a one inch border.

Linda, of "Eat Sleep Quilt" has suggested piano keys for the signature blocks. I have toyed with a few other ideas but I think she is right and that would be easy enough for beginners to do and give plenty of spaces for people to sign.
My plan is to cut the pieces to be used on the border and mark them with pencil.

Next I need to find something in my stash large enough to use as a backing.
I really do not want to make any purchases for this banner. I have found a few pieces large enough but not really suitable...One a big dark blue batik with elephants from East Asia and of questionable colorfastness.

My plan is to assemble the banner with backing large enough to take in the borders, add a thin batting and baste the sandwich. That way, the borders can be added as they are finished and the members of the class can also practice quilting and sashiko. Depending on the size of the group, we can add the borders to sides or just top and bottom. I can finish the remaining borders and binding later. There will be enough done to hang the work in progress.

I am really a plan-ahead kind of person and, until I can see the end in sight,
I become rather anxious. Today is cloudy and dark so the picture, taken on my sliding door, is not as bright as the hanging actually looks.

As to Pack meeting activities, I ended up with two games and, although the turnout was small, those that participated had a blast.

I have had several packs of construction paper on my shelf for many years. It was badly faded and aged to the point that it really had no use as art. Still, I hesitated to throw it out. Then a PLAN fell into place. I divided the group of boys into two teams and assigned each group one adult. Since I had three colors of paper, I made a group of mothers and siblings.

Each group got 30 sheets of paper. The object was to see which group could build the highest tower. No glue or tape, just by folding.
These guys got right to work. Interestingly, the youngest Tiger Cub
came up with an accordion fold which worked so well that the other teams, taking note, followed after their plan didn't work as well.


Here is the last layer going on to the winning tower. Good thing to have a tall dad. The boys celebrated so vigorously they almost knocked it down.

The dark blue group had to re-build several times but came in with a respectable seven layers,

And, the mothers, using a triangular fold did a respectable finish too.

This was really a lot of fun for all and kept everyone engaged. I think we might have a few future engineers in the group.

We really didn't need the second game but tried it out anyway. It involved rolling golf balls to see who could get closest to a target ball. The floor, it turned out, was not level and this would have worked better on a carpeted floor. We may try again later.

I always say running a Pack meeting is something like hanging, it feels so good when it is over. There is a challenge of keeping the boys engaged for an hour. The activity has to be interesting enough to hold the older boys yet safe enough and not too difficult for the younger ones. In my group, language ability can also be an issue. I love the way this group listens to the rules so attentively and eagerly attacks the
challenge. These youth are our future. I really think they are off to a good start.

When is a flower a weed and when is it knot?

I had an interesting break from my sewing today. In the early afternoon the doorbell rang and when I went to answer, there stood the owner of the local flower shop with a piece of paper in her hand.

On the paper, written in phonetic Japanese was the word "porikonamu".

The week before Christmas I had taken a little flower to the shop to see if anyone could identify it. I know I had seen it sold in one of the local shops. I took it to two shops in the neighbourhood but both said that it was a weed and their shop had never sold it.

At our former home, a neighbor along our street had this flower bordering their drive and I had been given a cutting for my own yard. When we moved back to our own house, I brought some cuttings and planted them along the edge of the wall. Our "street" had been no more than a dirt path for many years. Our "garden" is really a set-back until the time all the homes are rebuilt and the city can get enough of each property to make a real road large enough for a car to fit. The path is lightly paved but with no drains so becomes a shallow pond each time it rains. The flowers not only soften the wall but soak up the water after a rain.


Although they are considered by some to be a weed, they are low growing and very easy to control. They don't mind the hot summers and die back after a few nights of frost.

Guessing at the name from the Japanese, I was able to find the flower with a few clicks of the computer. (I had looked in all my flower books and nature study books with no luck).

Polygonum capitata, or Pink-head knotweed!

The flower shop lady told me she saw it being sold at another shop in the area and remembered that I had asked her.

She had written the name down and brought it to my door.

My husband was most surprised and asked how she knew where I lived.

How funny. Our house has been known as the Gaijin house (the foreigner house)
all the years it has stood here, including those years when it was occupied by my Mother-in-law. Each time I walk out, I have to leave extra time as I am usually stopped along the way. "I saw you going out in your Scout uniform yesterday. Where were you going"? Yes, I did have a Pack meeting. "I haven't seen you for ten days", Yep, I was at Scout camp. From the early '60s I was very careful to be a good American because there were lots of people watching and judging and I felt responsible for any impression I might leave. Oh yes, they not only know where I live but all my kids names and ages and all the grand kids info too. (and I suspect they share info with each other)

Plans for the Conference banner are coming along. Saturday my granddaughter spent the day and helped me go through the 3-inch tin to find bits to put together.

I decided to sew them together as the seam allowance varied quite a bit on the sample blocks.

I spent all of Monday on the copy quilt, thinking the blocks would be needed on Tuesday. As it turned out, they won't be needed until next week but at least they are out of the way and I could begin work on piecing.

After two days this part is together. I plan off-white letters appliqued in the blocks and a one-inch off-white inner border. Then I need to come up with a plan for the outer border that the class can sew together. I am thinking of solid color fabrics that can be signed by those attending the conference. I have no idea of how many people will attend the class or how much might get done but I hope to have something that can be hung the last day and finished up for next year. I might sandwich the quilt and leave space to add the borders. That way we could try a bit of quilting and sashiko in the water area. I will have two days to think over a plan while I am getting ready for the Bible Quilt class and my Pack meeting. I have no idea what to do for an hour with a group of active 6-10 year olds this month but I doubt quilting is an option.

Any ideas for a simple effective border would be welcome ... as well as ideas for boys to have fun. Oh boy, how do I get myself into these things!?#

With a little help from my friends....

I am sorry I have not responded to comments lately but that does not mean that I am not reading them. To the contrary, I have received some good suggestions and have been figuring out how to make use of them.

Marlene suggested the 23rd Psalm. Yes, "restore" is certainly one of the theme words and the others are also implied.

Sara suggested watery blocks. I am not too sure about new hand-sewers doing curved piecing but I do have lots of blues and greens in my stash. There are straight pieced blocks that look like curves or even paper piecing might work.

Cindy suggested embroidery and writing in the blocks. I like that idea too.

Lis suggested some flowing sashiko. I like that idea too. After all, this is Japan and there are sashiko patterns for water.

I found this book of Colorwash Quilts on my book shelf and that gave me an idea of using some of the cut blocks in my tin. I have lots of two inch but that would be a lot of work because two inches is rather small. Making a grid of three inch blocks 10 x 19 would give a 30 x 57 inch banner and a border would make it respectable size to hang.

I doubt we could put this all together in an hour but if I applique the letters before-hand, it might be possible to assemble the flimsy. I have no idea how many participants there will be and there are many interesting workshops to chose from.



I am also thinking it might be fun to collect signatures for use in the border. I have been attending this conference for many years and most, if not all, of the original attendees have retired and left Japan. It would be so nice to have some memory of those friends that remain. (and it might be possible to collect some messages from past participants).

Karen has encouraged me with the reminder that God keeps his promises always. Certainly He has sent me caring friends, ready to share their ideas.


Two weeks from today I will be on my way and hopefully prepared for a good weekend of rest and refreshment. Any further ideas will be welcome too.


And now, a picture of the national bird of Japan. The Crane!

Yesterday I took my car in for a pre-inspection ... supposed to save money at the real inspection. The Toyota place is in my old neighbourhood so Nikko and I took a walk to the park and back, enjoying the brisk cold day.

It is amazing how quickly the area has changed in three years time. The parking lot that faces the main street had a high fence all around it and signs posted announcing a "mansion" being built on the site. It will be over 28 meters tall ... 8 storeys or so?... and block out all the sun to the south on the street where we were living. I can't figure out how the building codes work in Tokyo. Our own house was subjected to all kinds of rules regarding height and floor space but it is OK to put a huge apartment building right up against a row of single homes. I guess we are lucky to have moved. Although the building to the south of us is blocking most of our sun, it could be much worse.
My "word" for the new year is "priorities". I guess I'd better get off the computer and back to work!

A new year in Japan, with new challenges or opportunities

Last post I showed the wimpy little "Kadomatsu" decorating our gate. If you walk down the narrow street you will see a pair of these on nearly every front gate. (some of the gates on our street are back gates because the homes extend between two streets) Sunday we met at church to serve a traditional New Years meal to the homeless. There were many volunteers to help with the serving and I spent my hours at the sink on wash-up duty. I went to the worship service with the cleanest hands in the congregation , I am sure.

Our church is along a grand shopping street, as I have mentioned, but many shops will be closed for the first three days of the new year. Many items of the traditional meal are things that can be assembled before the year end and are packed into nesting boxes, stacked in a cool place, and brought out to serve family and friends that come to call. Today there are 24hour stores and many stores do stay opened but back in the early 60's, the colorful pickled stuff was what you ate and part of the preparations for the holiday.

The above picture is one of the pair of fancy kadomatsu outside the Oriental Bazaar. This is very traditional and well suited to the store which has a design resembling a temple.The pine is believed to serve as the dwelling place (yorishiro) for the god who brings good luck at the beginning of the year and the bamboo, growing straight, represents consistency and integrity.


Another shop along the street had a pair of decorations that were arranged in an original manner.

This shop had a very traditional kadomatsu of a smaller size but inside you can glimpse "O-sona-e Mochi" This is a very fancy version of what people display in their entry-ways at New Years. It has two stacked mochi (pounded rice) with all kinds of decorations, seaweed or "kobu" representing "yorokobu" (to be joyful) and a big crab wishing you to live a long life until your back is bent like that crab, two green leaves with white backsides showing that no matter what color you show, your mind is pure. Pine leaves are tied straight across to show constancy. I guess after paying for those fancy decorations, you might need a bit of luck in the new year. I came back home in time to rescue Nikko from a scary earthquake, I guess it was lucky it was not a worse one.

I have enjoyed a bit of relaxing quilting. After a large selection of blocks, I treat myself to a few flowers on the border.

All the while I am thinking of some projects and challenges looming on the fringes of the month.

First, there is homework for the auction quilt. We have been given the nod by the sensei to copy her quilt. I wish I could say I am relieved but for some reason I am still not too happy. I know the group needs my help. I love this group of young women and working with them but I just wish the project was anything else.

Next challenge is a new class ... facing the unknown. In 1998, the Women's Conference, a group of Christian women, many of which used to be missionaries, had the theme,"Bloom Where You are Planted". One of the workshops I attended was patchwork evangelism, taught by Sandy Shigeno, who went on to put together a nice booklet on Bible Quilts. Since that class I have made a few bible quilts and hangings. Now I have been asked by two friends to teach a class for women of their church. I think the plan will be to make a bible quilt for a fund-raiser. I have passed on the information about supplies and we will all meet for the first time in just a few weeks. I have taught the quilt-as-you-go style many times using Japanese designs for foreigners wanting to make a quilt of Japanese fabrics and design. This will be a first time to teach Japanese women to make Bible inspired work.

Another spin-off of the 1988 class (Thank You Sandy) is that the Women's Conference has asked me to teach a patchwork workshop this year.
The theme is, "Relive, Revive, Restore". The speaker will be a survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima.

Perhaps there is someone out there who can help me come up with a plan. I do not know how many people might meet for a one-hour class. I will need to make all the plans and take what I need with me to the retreat. I am thinking that rather than have each person try to make something, to do some kind of a cooperative banner that could be hung at future conferences. I have lots of 2 and 3inch blocks that could be assembled into some kind of mosaic design. If I were to have each person make something, what could it be in just an hour of hand-work? I am open to any suggestions that are out there. I just don't want to do something that will be a waste of fabric and time.

So ... that is what January has in store... The comfort of making progress on the batik quilt, overcoming the obstacle of the auction quilt, teaching a new class to new women, and coming up with an idea that will be more fun than challenge by January 20th. I haven't even looked at my calendar beyond that weekend!

New Years Traditions

Japan is a land of traditions. The language is full of double meanings and rather than making puns into jokes, they are embraced in the ways holidays are expressed. Of all the holidays, New Years seems to get the largest dose of tradition.

These are shown in the door decoration. Over the past 50 years, the decorations have become more commercially made, sold all assembled and wrapped in plastic, ready to hang . I would guess that most of the younger generation would not know how or what (or even why) these decorations are made.

Each little item in the arrangement has a meaning and the decoration itself seems to have a lot of Shinto or Buddhist background.

I find it interesting that my husband, a third generation Christian, is particular about putting out the decorations by the "right" day, or for that matter, taking them down on the "right" day.


Often I think of how poorly Christianity has been accepted by the Japanese and wonder if some of that reason might be that they feel they must throw out all the traditions, many of which have Buddhist or Shinto roots.

My little granddaughter celebrated her "Shichi-go-san" by donning a kimono and being blessed at a temple. Where does religion leave off and tradition take over?

The Meiji Shrine at the end of the decorated boulevard, in my last post, will be crammed with people on midnight December 31st, waiting to rush in at the stroke of 12 and toss a few yen onto the conveyor belt, cap their hands and write their wishes to be left behind or buy a fortune paper (which will be left tied to a tree branch if it isn't positive). The atmosphere will be one of frenzy but hardly with a feeling of much more than tradition fulfilled.

As for me, it is nice to spend some quiet days, curled up under a warm quilt while I work on quilting the small blocks.
Once I have those done, I will figure out how to do the large ones.
I am quilting the border flowers with colored thread to match the flower centers. I am happy to be using my Aurifil thread which I received from Mme Samm.
No Scouts this week. No Choir practice this week. Leftovers in the fridge and lots of happy quilting. Seems like a good way to end the year.

Waiting for the dust to settle and the quilting to begin

December 22nd

While the rest of the world prepared for the holidays, My Cub Scouts took advantage of the school break to visit the ANA repair facility at Haneda airport. We may have a few future engineers in the group or perhaps a pilot or two.

The hardest part was, "Don't run", "Don't touch",
and "Keep in line".

December 23, the Emperor's birthday, we celebrate with the Japanese Scout Association by pounding mochi.

The Japanese Scouts prepared an introduction in English.

After the official opening ceremony, the SAJ Beaver Cubs showed the BSA Cubs how the rice is made into mochi, giving the names of all the things used.

Our Boys were allowed to pound the rice as much as they liked. The leader on the right turns the rice between pounds so it will come out in a smooth even paste-like lump.


The first boy to pound is already seen on the left eating the mochi smothered in bean jam.

Even this old leader got to take a few whacks. There is a variety of sizes and weights of mallets but this one was very heavy.

Some of the cubs, after trying the light ones, came back and asked to pound again with the heaviest ones. Perhaps I should have asked too try the kid version.

With the evening , came daughter #3 and her able-bodied assistant, ready to put up "the tree".

All the stuff for assorted holidays lives in a tiny cupboard under the eaves next to my sleeping mat. This cupboard has two doors that lift out because they are made to fit a strangely shaped opening. The mat is rolled up and the needed items are extracted. The most difficult part is getting those doors back in place at the end. (shortest time is probably 20 minutes so we had better get everything we need out and the boxes back in before we mess with putting that door back in place)

The assistant followed me around the tree while we put on the lights. Then each little trinket came out, was admired or commented on and hung.



One more box and we will be done.

There! Done!

Nikko is checking to make sure nothing has fallen to the floor.










December 24th.

Our church is located on Omotesando, in Harajuku. This road leads to the entrance to the Meiji Shrine and is one of the fanciest shopping areas in Tokyo.

(Our building has Louis Vuitton on one side and Armani on the other)

The Zelkova trees line both sides of the streets and during the holidays are lit each evening, bringing out hoards of shoppers and sight-seers.

It was just getting dark as I arrived for choir and the streets between the station and church were crammed with young couples and families. Everyone was trying to get pictures with the lights in the background.

After singing two services, the trees were still bright against the darkened sky.

Though I had hoped to hurry home by train, the ticket machine ate the last of my money. I wasted time at the ticket office trying to get it back, but, in the end, I had to walk to the connecting train (about 45 minutes away).




By the time I could stumble up to bed, it was well into December 25th and not a great deal had been accomplished.

A worship service involving the choir right in the middle of Christmas day (plus an hour travel each way) meant a lot of rush, rush, rush. Getting a turkey into the oven in a timely fashion was impossible. Trying to jockey pies and potatoes and other stuff around the turkey was a challenge. Counter space is a piece of plywood over the sink. (Washing up done in installments)

Someone may have taken photos of food and family. I never got near a camera the whole day. Before going to bed, the remains of the turkey had to be dealt with and dishes washed and put away. It was well after midnight when I could turn in.... and today, as every Monday, we had to get up at 3:30 am for onigiri delivery to the homeless.

Now the turkey bones are simmering on the stove and we will begin to enjoy the best part, Peace and quiet and leftovers.... and maybe just a wee bit of quilting.

Nikko picks a winner! (or three)

Ok! It is time for my assistant Nikko to pick the Blog Hop Party winners. Here is a dog that will work for cheese. I have never felt so snoopervised in my life! She comes to attention when I opened the fridge. Out comes the cheese. First we take the slices and cut them into little squares. Then we get a marking pen and begin to write numbers on the bits. (If you ever want to try this method, forget it. Markers do not write on cheese after the first three or four).





Plan "B", pull out some little sticky dots and write the numbers on those. (After cheese, paper is another favourite diet item). Stick those stickers in the middle of each bit. "Good dog, Nikko, you are paying such good attention"!





Next, arrange the pieces on a bamboo tray and spin the tray. With 96 pieces, they are pretty close together. Nikko may get three in one bite. That would be fine because I could take those out of her mouth and look at the numbers. But, if she only takes two... then three on the next bite...I will be in trouble because I only have three prizes.





But, never fear, Nikko has a brilliant idea. "What if I eat them all but three? I will choose the winners by elimination". Only a very greedy dog would come up with this idea but she is getting a bit eager to begin. OK, Nikko, "Itadakimasu"!





Hey, what's this, Nikko races to the back side to begin, putting herself between me and the tray.

How daintily she selects those yummy bits!

Working her way and turning the tray... "You are almost there ..."

"Stop", "Wait"!


"I need to write down those numbers before you go any further".

Here they are!

#1

#51

#71

"Nikko, what's with the ones" Now I go back to the computer and start counting. There must be a way to put numbers on these comments. Every time I count I get messed up! Well, #1 is easy. That is Cherry Red Quilter http://cherryredquilter.blogspot.comand she would like the dragon. Next is #51. Count again, then one more time. That is Hilachashttp://muchashalachas.blogspot.com. She would like the Matoi. So far, so good! #71 is the last number. That is Quiltaholichttp://hapamomquilts.blogspot.com. She would like the cat panel. "Wow, Nikko, I couldn't have done such a good job myself"! This is such hard work! I need all the help I can get.

As soon as I have some addresses, Nikko and I will jog off to the Post Office and send the panels on their way. Many thanks to all my blogging buddies. I wish you all the best for the holidays and New Year.

The Postman cometh

When we were designing our house, it was my idea to set the post box in the entry-way wall rather than the usual location of in the gatepost. How nice it is to be able to get the morning mail without going outside, especially on a cold or rainy day.





This morning, however, my husband went out to find the little stone lantern pushed over, the stone lamp part smashed and the top two stones lying in the flowerpots. The largest of the pots was also broken into many pieces and spider lily leaves were crushed and broken, their roots all exposed.

Well, out came the glue drawer and now everything is mended and back together. We are wondering who did this and why. Certainly it was not the paper delivery person. In the morning when the dog was taken out it was fine. Certainly it was not the mail man. He just came after it was all cleaned up. Who else shoves fliers by the hundreds into our post? Maybe I need to look at what fliers have come so far today. People are paid a small fee to go around the streets stuffing fliers in people's boxes. They are never something you are interested in and I keep a recycle bin under the apartment mail boxes for the convenience of the renters.


Only one flier in the post. Domino's Pizza! Could the deliverer of that flier have been the person? Or is there someone in the neighbourhood with an attitude? I have found the pot with the Christmas cactus kicked over several times last week and someone removed the top rock from the lantern and tossed it into the flower bed but smashing things is going a bit too far. Just in case, I moved a few of the pots to another location to make it easier to reach the post.

Then.... The bell rang! It was the postman with things too big to fit in the slot!

Can I talk about "winnings"?

How can this be? I never win, well, not up until this year. Once the newspaper had a contest to win a book and since I really wanted that book, I wrote my response in rhyme. I got the book! Earlier this year I got some lovely fabric from Quilt Inspiration http://quiltinspiration.blogspot.com.

Maybe my luck was beginning to change...

Here you see it! a big red package from Madame Samm http://www.sewwequilt.com , a big box from Jan-Maree Ball http://cherryredquilter.blogspot.com, and an envelope from Marjorie Rich http://appliqueaddict.blogspot.com.

And what was inside? Oh, the wonderful set of Aurifil threads that I have been reading about and wanting to try. But, then she threw in so many other wonderful items! Needles and a rotary cutter and even fabric that I have never seen before. Oh My! Thank you, thank you!

And what was in the box?

Two, count them, 2, beautifully wrapped Christmas presents! And two chocolate Koala bears. Since those are not wrapped, can I eat one?

I guess I will be forced to put up my tree and tuck those presents underneath. The red package is soft and lumpy and the blue one is smooth and firm. Hmmm. Do I really have to wait until Christmas?

Last but not least, that flat-looking envelope contained all of this beautiful batik!

I shall have to hurry and finish quilting the batik quilt so that I can begin another. Won't these pieces look yummy? I have an idea just waiting to get out.

Oh THANK YOU my quilting blogger friends for making me feel like such a winner! You have more than made my day and love you all!

Tokyo lights and handwork

Clear skies and a full moon, plus a lunar eclipse thrown in for good measure!

I was interested to read two posts by my blogging friends. The first was by Linda on Eat,Sleep,Quilt, who shared pictures of a beautiful light show she had visited.
She commented on how difficult it is to take pictures of lights at night.

I could second that! When I went to my Pack meeting at the Tokyo American Club, the moon was just rising behind the Tokyo tower. I hurried up to the top floor to see if I could get a picture of the tower and moon without a thousand electrical wires in between. No wires, and the view was great but the lighting on the tower even without a flash is a bit overdone. Then, as I was leaving after the Pack meeting, the lighting had changed so without going back to the roof, I took another shot.



The Tokyo Tower has been a great landmark for many years. Soon it will be replaced in size, if not importance, by a much taller tower called "Sky Tree".

Both have observation decks where you can get a good 360 degree view of Tokyo and it's surroundings, including Mt. Fuji on a clear day.


On the night of a full moon, we were also blessed with a total eclipse. If you would like to peek at that, you will have to check out Taniwa, the second blog that caught my attention. She and her camera stayed up later than I was able. (Sunday morning comes early, for one thing, and the night was way to cold to be out looking at the moon ... or the earth's shadow). She also commented on taking photographs at night.

With a continuous run of Scouting events in the city, I have added to the growing pile of + and x blocks.

They now total 113, still not enough but getting closer to quilt size.

Here they are piled out on the "ironing board" which lives on top of the dog kennel. I wonder where I would put it if I didn't have a dog kennel.

The train is only crowded in the mornings so I can usually sit on the trip into town. If I sit I can do some piecing. If I stand, I have a book to read.

The trains have "Silver seats" at one end of each car. Those are intended for the elderly, the handicapped, or pregnant women. In truth, they go to those who can shove into the train and grab a seat the fastest. Then, once you are sitting, you a.) sleep b.) read a comic book c.) put on make-up or d,)text on your keitai (cell phone). The cell phone is supposed to be turned off in the area of silver seats and there are signs on every side wall, window, and hand-grip with a picture of a cell phone and a red line across it and the word "OFF", which must not be one of the words taught in English classes. Of course, any of the above activities prevent you from seeing those old people or the guy on crutches or that very pregnant woman clinging to the swaying strap.

Last week I was sitting across from a young father and son about 9 or 10. The boy asked his father if it was really OK to sit in the "Silver seats" because he had been taught at school that those seats were not to be used by kids. The father muttered something like "don't let it bother you" and shut his eyes so he didn't have to look at who might be standing.

Evening trains are all crammed just like rush hour in the mornings. I did find out that there is more chance to get a seat if I go to the front of the train. Thus, I had a very productive week. Now I will have to mark and cut more pieces for next weeks trips. I had set a goal of 140 blocks but I am beginning to think 182 might make a bigger quilt with maybe a five inch border to hold it all together. Marking and cutting all those pieces is not much fun but I enjoy having something to make the train ride and meetings go faster.

I think you can check out those two blogs by going to the side bar. I will try to add a link but I've gotta run out for dog food before the shop closes. Today is "wan wan" (11) day and I get extra points. (Japanese dogs say wan wan instead of bow wow) There are also extra points on "nya nya" day (22) as Japanese cats say nya nya.

Now you know more than you ever wanted to know ... I have been told I am a vast storehouse of useless information!