Relaxing

With Dad on a Sunday morning....

Origami

Recently I went with a couple of Mum friends to a big Origami store. I LOVE origami anyway but this place was great - so many types of handmade Japanese Washi paper, books and origami papers. There was a demonstration and the man doing the origami did not even look at his hands while he was making flowers, fish, frogs, you name it. I picked up a couple of books to buy - the lady said I could have them signed as the guy doing the origami had written them - WOW!

Whilst there we signed up to come back the next week to learn how to make these paper ball things - they look cool like they might go on your Christmas tree but still no idea what they are called. Well, we arrived, we expected it all to be in Japanese - but the average age of the 30 or so women there had to be about 70 and they all had "kit" with them. We had to go buy all the stuff we needed, spot the clueless foreigners in the corner.

It was VERY Japanese - painfully detailed description of each step, follwed by a question from everyone in the class it seemed (all in Japanese). Three hours later the ball was complete - a lot of effort but worth it - it has pride of place on the top of the cupboard in the dining room!

Still to come - making Washi Paper Boxes and the Art of Kirigami!

Sorry...

I just realised how long it is since I posted - SORRY. I recommend turning down the sound as I sound like a crazed animal in this video

.

Baking

The bread here is mainly that white, long life, processed stuff. It is cut into 4, 6, 8 or 10 slices. It sucks. We decided I need to bake bread. This is tough when all the writing on the food packaging is in Japanese. But I tried. Looks delicious doesn't it? Tasted like c**p.

Origami

Recently I went with a couple of Mum friends to a big Origami store. I LOVE origami anyway but this place was great - so many types of handmade Japanese Washi paper, books and origami papers. There was a demonstration and the man doing the origami did not even look at his hands while he was making flowers, fish, frogs, you name it. I picked up a couple of books to buy - the lady said I could have them signed as the guy doing the origami had written them - WOW!

Whilst there we signed up to come back the next week to learn how to make these paper ball things - they look cool like they might go on your Christmas tree but still no idea what they are called. Well, we arrived, we expected it all to be in Japanese - but the average age of the 30 or so women there had to be about 70 and they all had "kit" with them. We had to go buy all the stuff we needed, spot the clueless foreigners in the corner.

It was VERY Japanese - painfully detailed description of each step, follwed by a question from everyone in the class it seemed (all in Japanese). Three hours later the ball was complete - a lot of effort but worth it - it has pride of place on the top of the cupboard in the dining room!

Still to come - making Washi Paper Boxes and the Art of Kirigami!

You know it is going to rain...

- If anyone is carrying an umbrella - don't brave it - it WILL rain

- They do the above to your shopping bag - you may make your purchase at 9am and it might not rain until 5pm, but it will rain

- The weather forecast says so. They must just have better technology than those Met Office peeps.

Lipgloss for Babies - Odd but Real

Family in Town

We have just had a fabulous couple of weeks with Tim and Mum in town. Mum left yesterday - she is probably about 24 hours into her 27 hour journey right now, yikes.

We have:

- Walked a lot to shrines and beautiful parks, took a river cruise, had picnics and tea at a traditional Japanese tea house

- Ate sushi, sashimi, octopus, glutinous stuff, lotus root, shed loads of tofu, Vampire Chicken, Japanese DIY barbecue (Mum ate everything with CHOPSTICKS apart from the exploding fish egg sushi - fair enough really)

- Got Isla to stand by herself at a picnic whilst people chopped logs nearby

- Gave Isla a new hairstyle, and gave her some new foods to try

- Got free stuff from a Sayonara sale, and had to carry it all home on the train - fun

- Had lunch with Charlie while Isla climbed trees and ate grass

- Had a lovely brunch, visit to a farmers market, a park and a baseball game where CHARLIE CAUGHT A FOUL BALL - all in one day (possibly the best day of his life)

- Visited Hakone, a volcanic area about an hour and half from Tokyo, with views of Mount Fuji. We went for two days, the first day we took some trains, a cable car, a ropeway, a boat and a bus. We stayed in a lovely hotel in a suite with a tatami room and an onsen. The onsen is a natural hot spring that comes to the hotel. You go in there with a facecloth to hide your modesty and relax - it is bliss, indoor and outdoor pools and it smells lovely. We also visited an open air sculpture museum, which was great and had a "wood of nets" - this was for 12 years and under but Tim and I think it should be required lunchtime activity for all adults

- A mad dash to get Mum to her train (four hours before she was due at the airport - but VERY STRESSFUL)

- Brunch with Tim and Isla at Lotus, my favourite restaurant, very East End. Tim bought awesome shoes twice. Plans are being made to teach me adjectives other than awesome.

If this sounds hectic - it is because it was.

Uncle Tim - irresponsible