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ARANOYAS: July 2011
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Sunday, July 24, 2011. I Think She Might Be Related to Howdy Doody. The director of our ill-fated Steel Magnolias production-that-never-was left a Peko-chan doll in my doorstep just before she moved to San Diego. She found it at a local thrift shop, part of a chain called Book Off. I think I need to spend more time browsing local thrift shops. Saturday, July 23, 2011. Mata-ne to Weather Explorer. Oday Weather Explorer left Japan for her husband's new duty station in Tennessee. The past three weeks have b...
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ARANOYAS: Flat Stanley Goes Shopping on a Rainy Day
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Tuesday, May 1, 2012. Flat Stanley Goes Shopping on a Rainy Day. Was hoping Ryan's friends would take me to Tokyo Disneyland today or Disney Sea but they said both of those amusement parks would be much too crowded with Japanese families during Golden Week. Besides, it looks like it might rain today. This would be a good day to shop for souvenirs. The weatherman says to expect 20 degree temperatures today. Brrr! Maybe I should have brought my winter coat to Japan. Wait! Stanley has 1,666 yen. In order go...
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ARANOYAS: December 2011
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011. A Snippy Dragon, a Semi-Braided Wreath, and a Melancholy Mother. We finished our kimekomi. Dragons yesterday. Fearless offered her house and I offered to help with the food. She was making her yummy curry soup and thought a Pampered Chef braid in the shape of a wreath or candy cane would make a nice entree. "Consider it done! Said I, failing to mention that I had never before attempted to braid refrigerated dinner rolls. Peevish earns an A for effort and a D for execution.
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ARANOYAS: April 2012
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Monday, April 30, 2012. Flat Stanley in Tokyo: Trains and Baseball. Ow we are in Tokyo. Tokyo is the capital of Japan just like Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States. More than 36 million people live in Tokyo. Do you know how many people live in Washington, D.C? The answer is 4 million. To see the difference, let's pretend one of you is all the people who live in Washington, D.C. Now let's pretend that nine of you are all the people who live in Tokyo. That's a big difference! No one talks ...
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ARANOYAS: Flat Stanley Celebrates Constitution Day
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Thursday, May 3, 2012. Flat Stanley Celebrates Constitution Day. Oday is Constitution Day, or Kenpo Kinenbi (KEN-PO KEE-NEN-BEE). This is the second national holiday that falls during Golden Week. Showa Day, on April 29, was the first. A constitution is a written promise of how a country will be governed. Japan's constitution was adopted in 1947. It describes the jobs of the Emperor, the Prime Minister, and the leaders who are elected to represent the Japanese people in the National Diet (DEE-ET). I did ...
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ARANOYAS: March 2011
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Thursday, March 31, 2011. Oth my appetite and my reading addiction disappeared in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake but after bidding a temporary farewell to many good friends I've made up for lost time by crawling into bed every night with an assortment of snacks and one or two books. Few of the books were noteworthy - I blame that on my general mood and not the authors' shortcomings - but the snacks were a different matter entirely. The Meiji Corporation had us racing from one convenience store...
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ARANOYAS: Flat Stanley Bids a Teary Farewell to His Japanese Friends
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Monday, May 7, 2012. Flat Stanley Bids a Teary Farewell to His Japanese Friends. His is the saddest day in the history of the world." That's what I told Ryan's friends when I woke up this morning. "I am not ready to leave Japan yet! I still haven't been to Tokyo Disneyland or Disney Sea! You didn't take me to see the sumo wrestlers stomp around a ring in their underpants! We didn't climb Mount Fuji! My long lost cousins! I had not seen any of them since they came back from Japan three or four years ago.
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ARANOYAS: Flat Stanley Celebrates Children's Day
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Saturday, May 5, 2012. Flat Stanley Celebrates Children's Day. Oday is Kodomo no hi (KO-DO-MO NO HEE), or Children's Day, all over Japan. This is the fourth and last national holiday that falls during Golden Week. It has been called Children's Day for the last 60 years but before that it was Boys' Day (Tengo no Sekku) and that's how most Japanese still celebrate this holiday. Samurai is the Japanese word for warrior. Samurai were important in Japan for more than one thousand years, until about 1860&#...
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ARANOYAS: January 2012
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012. Just When You Think You've Seen Everything, You See Something Else. Koi at Ofuna Botanical Garden. Have never had to remove my shoes when passing through security at Tokyo's Narita Airport and, until today, had never seen anyone else remove their shoes either. Ah, the civility! When I was his age, I hadn't flown enough to have opinions about airlines. I also didn't have $400 in my pocket. More like $4 on a flush day. Monday, January 2, 2012. The Year of the Dragon, Day Two.
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ARANOYAS: Flat Stanley Visits Gardens on Greenery Day
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Friday, May 4, 2012. Flat Stanley Visits Gardens on Greenery Day. Idori no hi (MEE-DOH-REE NO HEE), or Greenery Day, is dedicated to nature and the environment. It is the third national holiday during Golden Week. This was a good day for visiting parks and gardens. This stone bridge is what I liked best at Korakuen garden. The name of this bridge is Engetsu-kyo because a full moon is formed by the bridge and its reflection on the water. Can you see the shape of the full moon in this picture? Of all the t...
