A slower start

Last night we had 2 more guests stay as part of the "bike and hike" tours that Joe runs in this area. This time he brought a really nice Canadian woman who came to Japan for a conference relating to linguistics. I'm sure she was fascinated by the strange version of English we tend to speak at our house! After a slow start this morning (thank goodness!) they were off up "my" mountain and then continued on on their bikes to their next stop for tonight.
It has been great to have people stay over the last few days, but I am also looking forward to having a few nights off too....

Early start

It is 5:45am and last night's guests have already had breakfast and are about to make their way to the train station. Apart from the early start they were really great guests - exactly the kind of people that we would like to stay with us. They were a mother and her daughter who are thinking of moving to the countryside with their family. Unlike the last man who came they are making the decision as a family and from the minute they arrived really wanted to be part of our family. They came early in the afternoon and were wonderful with the children. I really enjoyed making dinner with them and Ciel's piano playing has hopefully motivated my daughter to keep going with her piano lessons!
After a few disasters of pavlova making recently (I've decided that the humidity in summer makes it pretty much impossible to make a decent one) I was so excited by the amazingly high pavlova that I produced yesterday....... until I lifted it off the tray and discovered it was like a cave! Pretty impressive though - I bet I couldn't reproduce that one even if I tried.

Yesterday morning a lovely lady came for a "cooking classroom" (I know I told myself I wouldn't accept groups less than four, but...) so we had a really nice time making apricot fudge slice, pumpkin muffins, foccacia and basil pesto. Money wise the calculations don't work, but it meant I didn't need to make anything afternoon tea for the guests last night and could also use the muffins for breakfast this morning.

Tonight more guests are due so at least having today's guests leave early means I have plenty of time to get the cottage ready!

Fun at the festival

Yesterday we spent the whole day at the local "hometown festival" where the Green Tourism group had a booth. I finally got around to making some more jam and managed to sell about 60 small jars. Maybe it was the smiling face behind the counter that helped! I used up all the bits and pieces in the freezer and ended up with 6 different types:

1. Strawberry - boring, but always a best seller!
2. Plum
3. Marrow and ginger - often bought simply because they can't even imagine what it tastes like!
4. Pumpkin and apricot - thanks to Trev and Gill (and Mum) I have a great supply of dried apricots to make as many jars of this as I can sell.
5. Loquat and apricot
6. Rhubarb and banana - my personal favorite and the first to sell out... not that there were many jars to begin with! Thanks Grandma for the recipe (and Dad for typing it out...)
   

Beside our booth there was a young man drawing people's pictures so the children had theirs done. It filled in 10 minutes and they are very happy with the results - maybe because they make them look a little more "angelic" than they actually are.....
Tomorrow I start a real test into how organised I can be. In the morning there is a lady coming to do a cooking classroom then in the afternoon 2 guests arrive followed by 2 different guests the following night. Fortunately my husband has the day off tomorrow so he can do the school dropping off and picking up!

Preparing for winter

As the weather cools down it is time to start getting the bees ready for the winter. They have definitely been less active lately and over the weekend my husband started to wrap them up (literally....) to prevent them catching a cold! It gave us a chance to have a look inside and see if they have actually made a reasonable hive inside the boxes or not. From the original 6 boxes we had we only have 4 left (the others ran away....) and they all seem to have made a reasonable home for themselves. The real test will be if they have made a big enough supply of honey to tide them over the winter.

Over the weekend I also helped to instruct 18 children and their parents in the art of making pizza in the pizza oven (no, still not our own....). I am slowly getting it down to a good art - but with so many pizzas to make the person putting them in and out of the oven deserves a medal.... those ovens really do get hot!

7-5-3

November 15th is officially the day in Japan where girls who are aged 3 and 7 and boys who are aged 5 dress in kimono and go to a shrine to pray for health and long life. We jumped the gun a little and went today - along with quite a few others! According to one homepage I read 7-5-3 began in medieval times when the samurai and aristocratic families did the following: Boys and girls aged three stopped getting their hair shaven and were allowed to grow their hair.
-Boys aged five put on hakama for the first time in public.
-Girls aged seven began using obi sash to tie their kimono, instead of cords.
As time went by the "commoners" also started to take part in the rituals and today almost all Japanese children "celebrate" this day.
Things have changed a little over time and the standard thing to do these days is to get dressed in a kimono (easier said than done - especially for girls!) and then get your hair done and makeup done before going to a photo studio to get photos taken. Boys wear a "hakama" over the top of their kimono, which is like a big long skirt.
After the photos we went to the shrine to take part in a special ceremony to pray for the children's good health and long life. Unfortunately there was a wedding ceremony just at the time we went and the wait was going to be too long so we just prayed and went home! The only thing the children were disappointed about was the fact that they missed out on getting some more of the long "chitoseame" - which is basically a long stick of sugar... which translates into "thousand year candy". It comes in a lovely long bag which has pictures of cranes and turtles on it - of course symbolising long life again. At least after today we should have ensured that our children will still be around and well long enough to look after us in our old age!

More bikers

My crazy friend Joe brought another guest to stay on Tuesday as part of his biking and hiking tour. She seems to be surviving better than most - his tours really are pretty "adventurous"　in that often they consist of biking for long distances, climbing big mountains then biking some more to that night's accommodation. Not for the faint hearted, but definitely a way to see the countryside of Japan (I can think of better ways....).

Since I have come to Japan I have learned a lot about New Zealand. Strange but true! I guess we just take for granted what we have in our own country and don't often think too much about the way we do things until we see a different way or are asked a question relating to our country. This month I have to do some teaching at a school where they want me to teach them all about New Zealand... today it was a quiz and in the process of making it I discovered a whole lot about New Zealand frogs... yes I have a bit of a fascination with frogs considering we have so many living all around us here! Anyway, it turns out that unlike here the frog population is somewhat under threat. It also turns out that there are 4 species of native frogs in New Zealand, one of which (Archey's frog) is pretty special because it doesn't go through a tadpole stage at all - it's eggs hatch straight out into frogs.... With the estimated population of these frogs down to less than 1,000 and the fact that they are highly camouflaged you are less than likely to come across one sitting around on your clothesline. I guess if you want that you will need to come and see us here!
Just a little bit of pointless information for you to fill in time before the big event this Saturday.... 7-5-3! Stay tuned for more information!

Daurian redstart

I've had a few days of lazing around on the sofa trying to get rid of a sore throat and an extremely sore arm - according to the doctor I somehow managed to inflame all the ligaments in my forearm while I was digging peanuts.... I think I am on the mend now and managed to get into the garden to start clearing it up for the big onion planting (on mother-in-law's "request"). I had quite a big harvest day with sweet potatoes, chillis, basil and beans among some of the goodies. Of course I forgot to take photos so that will have to wait till tomorrow.

One thing I finally did get a photo of (from a distance...) is a little bird that has been following me around for the last few days. The close up picture is from a different homepage... I have managed to identify it as a male Daurian redstart (ジョウビタキ) - also known as an old world fly catcher. Whatever it is I could sit and watch it for hours. It reminds me a bit of a waxeye in New Zealand as it just plays around and lets me come quite close - unless of course I am holding a camera. This is why I tried to make my birds table.... to attract some nice birds. Unfortunately the only birds that ever came to the bird table were crows mixed in with a few preying mantis! I guess I need to work out what it likes to eat and see if I can find it a friend.

When Beth was here she commented that there was so much Halloween stuff around. She was right - the shops seem to be overrun with Halloween things and cake shops and flower shops seem to take it to the extreme. The only problem with this is that no one has any idea at all about what people usually do on Halloween .... another great case of commercialisation! Despite this we showed the kids a little bit of what Halloween is about with a small dress-up party (despite spending a long time making a pirates costume for my son he refused to wear it.... ) at a friends house. The children went trick or treating in different rooms of the house rather than going to different houses. They seemed more than happy with this - I guess chocolate is chocolate wherever you get it!

New appreciation for wax

We had a last minute guest last night from Yokohama. He is another of the city dwellers who thinks he might like to live in the countryside and so is going around a few places trying to find the best place to live. The only problem he has is that he hasn't told his wife that he is even thinking about moving to the countryside and she doesn't know that he is currently travelling around researching places! This also seems to be a growing trend - the husband wants to move, but the wife is more than happy being close to the shops etc.
Because of this guest (who LOVED to talk) I couldn't get as much done today as I had hoped to, but I did finally try something that I had been wanting to try for a long time - make some beeswax. One of our hives had been evacuated by the bees and they left behind them some honey comb that had no honey in it. I figured it was a waste to just throw it away so thought I'd melt it down and make some bees wax... easier said than done! I followed all the instructions in my book and melted it down in a big pot of hot water. The main problem was that there was actually only a very small amount of wax in the honeycomb... most of it was rubbish. So after a few times filtering it, remelting it, filtering it etc. I finally got my bees wax.... about 100mls in total! Of course there is still plenty on all the pots and utensils I used to do it, but that seems like an impossible task to remove. I think I have worked out a good system for next time though... here's hoping no more bees disappear in the near future so I don't have to test it out. My dreams of making candles, soap, handcreams etc. are still a long way off!

More farewells

Many people ask if I feel homesick or find it difficult living away from my family in New Zealand. I always answer "no - if anything I feel closer". This may seem strange, but since I came here I feel like I have had more contact with, and more opportunities to spend longer periods of time with different people from my family than I would have had if I was living in New Zealand. This year we have been particularly lucky with many different visitors and having Beth and Terry here was no different. It really was great to get to know them better and to be able to show them just a little bit of the area around here.

They left today for a week on the beach in Thailand (after 10 days here with my children they need it!), but before they went we managed to fit in a day at "monkey mountain" and Terry also went for a soak in the mountain hotspring while the rest of us went shopping at the 100 yen shop! I'd show you a photo of Terry relaxing in the outdoor onsen, but.... as Terry commented - I think my husband may have used the zoom a little much!

On our way home from Fukuoka we detoured past "Scarecrow Village", which was a neat little area where someone had very cleverly made a whole lot of scarecrows doing everyday things. Kids playing, people watching TV, people fishing, hunting, taking a bath etc. etc. A little bit of fun in the rice fields that are now looking very bare!
There are no guests due for a little while so anyone who feels like a break from the big city is welcome to come anytime! Thanks Beth and Terry for some more great memories.

Samurai warrior

Today we headed back to the samurai town of Kitsuki and I learnt even more facts about the detailed lives of the samurai. Today it was a lesson in swords. Did you know that when a sword is placed to "rest" in its holder the blade should be facing up and the handle should be pointing to the left side... this is to show that you do not intend to kill anyone with it (unless of course you are left handed...). Terry got to have a bit of a swing with a sword and Mr. Nishi found a great umbrella for a beautiful "2-shot".
Next it was time for the traditional tea experience, where as usual the atmosphere and the enthusiasm of the owner were more appreciated than the actual tea itself! The owner of this shop never fails to amaze me. When we walked in today it was obvious looking in the back room that someone close had died very recently. It turned out to be her father-in-law who had been the 9th generation owner of the shop and who had died only about a week before. Despite this the shop remained open and the owner managed to make us feel more than welcome while also dealing with visitors who had come to pay their respects. When I asked if she had thought of closing the shop for a few days she said it would never cross her mind - she would never want to dissapoint someone who might try to come to the shop and discover it was closed. Of course she didn't have to be there for all the time herself, but her dedication to the business is just incredible. One place I never get sick of going to!

Good sports

Today Beth and Terry gained full marks for being good sports. I had to do some teaching at a primary school and so they came along for the morning (they weren't really given too much of a choice to be honest!). After coping with the lovely slippers (not too much fun for climbing up and down stairs) they managed to introduce themselves 16 times - once to each student with the standard "Hello, my name is .... Nice to meet you" set phrase and play a few games relating to fruit before heading to the classroom for lunch. Now not everyone who comes to visit gets to experience school lunch.... I'm not sure if they were "lucky" or not! There is nothing more relaxing than trying to eat slippery noodles with slippery chopsticks in a class of little midgets - one of whom just couldn't come to grips with the fact that Terry couldn't actually speak any Japanese. He told him his whole life story in Japanese while slurping as loudly as he could!
After lunch there were more fun and games when they got to play tag with the entire school (about 26 students in total), but where they had no idea of the rules and then play hide and seek with the entire school where everyone could hide anywhere they liked in the entire school. Unfortunately they were first found so they also had to be the seekers in the second round!

Hives and different hives....

Today started out with finding another swarm of bees that had decided to take off and land on my hanging basket - again. I had been thinking of taking the basket away lately, but it seems to be a popular spot for the bee swarms so I think it will have to stay there until it rots away! They are currently in a bag in the garage and hopefully we will get around to getting them into their new hive tomorrow....
A few days ago I also discovered a new kind of "hives" - the itchy kind! I have never experienced anything so annoying in my life! For anyone (like myself) who doesn't know anything about them they are basically extremely itchy patches of skin that come up in different places on your body at different times of the day and drive you completely insane! The doctor informed me (and was backed up by internet research) that they come up as part of an allergic reaction to something I have eaten or touched… haven’t worked out what yet! The first day it got me quite worried because I went to bed as usual, but woke up in the middle of the night completely covered in them – only to discover they had disappeared in the morning so I couldn’t show them to anyone. Same thing the next night, but then they started coming up in the daytime too so at least I could get some sympathy and input into what they could possibly be. I’m hoping they will clear up in a few days, but the chronic ones can continue for up to 6 weeks…..I won't thrill you with a photo of them - not good viewing before meals!

Apart from hives today was focused on mountains. We headed back up the ski lift to Rakanji temple and yet again had a really nice time wandering around with only a couple of other people. I think Beth and Terry found it very relaxing after the crowds at Kyoto!
We got home quite early so Beth and Terry decided to head up the mountain behind our house. Unfortunately they didn't even get to the start of the track as they were greeted by a big dog that didn't want to move over for them on the road.... they spent the afternoon relaxing in the cottage instead!

Learning new things every time

Today we had a nice leisurely wander around Usa Shrine. I always find it a really peaceful place in great surroundings - huge trees among the many steps.... Every time I go I find out more details about the shrine itself as well as the Shinto religion which the shrine is based on. Today I learnt more about the rope and white pieces of paper that are always hung at the entrance to a building within a shrine or to the shrine itself. While my father was here he asked what the meaning of these things were, but the best explanation we could get was that they were decorative and marked the entrance to a sacred place.

Today the priest I was talking to offered another explanation (he did say that no one really knows the exact origin). His explanation was that the Shinto religion originated from the rice farmers and rituals relating to praying for a good harvest and celebrations to give thanks for a good harvest. The white paper represents clouds and the shape is like lightning bolts - both relating to rain which is a vital aspect of rice farming. This makes a lot more sense to me than that they are solely decorative.

After the shrine and a cup of coffee we pottered around among the 512(?) little buddhas that are just around the corner. Beth searched for the one that looked just like her, but despite finding Dad as well as some others that looked like they were very pleased with themselves she couldn't quite decide which one looked the most like her. Tomorrow we head up the hill to even more little buddhas - as I think I've commented before... you can never see enough little buddhas!