Saturday, February 24, 2007
Cherry Blossoms in Yogi Park
At noon, Art returns from his morning karate class. I’ve been working on waxes all morning, the day is clear and sunny and. Art suggests that we ride our bicycles to Yogi Park to see the cherry blossoms. Early in February, the Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Yogi Park but unfortunately we were in the midst of getting settled and missed the festival.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Walking in the Rain
The weather here certainly differs from one day to the next. It is almost a relief waking to gray skies and drizzle. John is sick and and needs time to recuperate and I need some time to create new jewelry designs. Art has been going to Karate on Tuesday and Thursday nights, but this morning he goes to a 9:30 A.M. class at a different dojo.
If you have an blog about Okinawa let us know and we’ll put a link to it here. Marty’s blog of 3 months on Okinawa can be read in the Discussion Forum section under Okinawa Blog. Meredith N writes about life on Okinawa in the Okimamas and Papas blog at http://okimama.wordpress.com/. Christine B’s "Goya Girl" … Read more
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Mangroves, Mongoose and Black Face Spoonbills
We discover a mangrove wet land in the heart of urban Naha today! Rain was predicted for today but when we awake the skies are blue so we hop on our bicycles and head in the direction of the Manko wetlands. We ride south towards the airport, along Hwy 58, until we come to the Kokuba River and turn inland.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Starbuck Sunday, Shinto Shrines & Tsushima Maru
Most mornings I brew coffee in our apartment, but this morning Art suggests that we walk to the Shintoshin Starbucks for a Sunday coffee. It’s easier than usual to wake John with the promise of a sugary high octane drink and we walk the 15 minutes to the Shintoshin district. John grabs a breakfast sandwich at McDonalds along the way and I pop into the supermarket to pick up a bento box of sushi rolls.
Saturday, February 16, 2007
Tsuboya Shisa
John and his beetle Frack watch a bizarre Japanese T.V. program. The premise of this program seems to be that the T.V. crew barges into a “victims” bedroom and puts a stag beetle on the sleeping victims’ nose. The beetle pinches on hard and the T.V. crew uses a stopwatch to time the victim to determine how long he can withstand the torturous pinch.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Yakitori Dinner
We have dinner plans with Rena tonight. Rena lived with us for a year in Santa Cruz, some 6 or 7 years ago and I am very much looking forward to seeing her! Back home, I would have most certainly cooked dinner at home but we want to take her out for a meal and ask her to choose a restaurant. She drives us to a district where there are dozens of yakitori restaurants dotting the side streets.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
A Work Day
I wake slowly and I can tell the worst of my cold is behind me. I finish yesterday’s blog and work on Marty Magic business from half way around the world. My daughter, Alisha is doing the hands on work, but I am connected to the day to day questions and there is a lot to do today.
By 11:00 A.M. I am at work carving new dragon waxes to wrap around the gemstones that I recently purchased at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Rainy Day Valentine
We wake up to grey skies and rain. The weather matches our under the weather state of health and demands little of us. Art is now sick, but a day behind in the symptoms. He grimaces when I tell him he that he will feel worse tomorrow. I doubt if John will escape this bug but remains healthy so far. We spend a quiet morning in our apartment writing, doing homework and sending e-mail.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Settling into a Routine
We sleep until almost 9:00 A.M. My muscles hurt from yesterday’s ride and my sore throat is turning into a cold. We spend a quiet morning in our apartment. I make coffee and send e-mail. Art goes out for a ride returning with sashimi and sushi. There is a fish market just a few minutes from us. Following Art’s directions, John and I walk the 10 minutes to the fish market.