March update #2

Last week we took the Welch family, visiting from Kansas, up to Kyoto for some first-hand culture intro.  We rarely go anywhere in Japan, so this was a real treat.  First stop was the Kodai Yuzen-en where we hand-made our own souvenirs.

Here we are, waiting to begin. It went rather quickly once we got started.  The artisans hand us each a brush with paint.  We fill in the holes on a stencil of the design.  Layer by layer we add color until the final one.

The foreground is a stencil awaiting color.  Mr. Welch is adding color to his stencil.

Sara and Emily are waiting for the final white color to be added by the artisan. They made inserts for a mug-cup.

I did this tiger on the back of a happi-coat (kimono style jacket) for Mr. Welch. 

Here's the finished product with black accent lines added--really good, huh?

Pastor Welch with his tiger coat. 

An artisan painting a design on kimono fabric which is 12 meters long by 18 inches wide set up on those rollers. 

We then visited Nijo Castle which was recently renovated.  This is the main gate--gorgeous colors and designs.

I think this is a plum in bloom.

Carp or koi fish in the moat.

The ever-present Engrish signs.  Self explanatory.

Not sure why we needed to, but there you have it.

The first sakura in bloom--a sure sign of spring in Japan.

February/March update

My, where has the time gone?  Weather-wise, it's been colder than usual, but Spring is coming.  Here's a couple of typical pictures last week.

Snow falling at 10:17 a.m. 3/21/14 

Sunshine at 10:18:18 a.m. 3/21/14   go figure---

Our Field Conference was the week of March 10 bringing the missionaries in Japan, both military and national, together that week. It coincided with the Japanese Bible Conference.   We renewed acquaintances and made some new friends.

Jeff Welch from Kansas preaching as Ron White interprets.

These two little ones were doing a duet on the piano. Looked like they knew what they were doing.

Here's Tim waiting with plate in hand for the signal to get some food. 

Karen and Timmy came with their parents to our church on 10/16 for a special meeting.  We normally don't have children for Sunday school, so we got out the toy box for them to play in.  You should have heard Karen's squeals of delight--it was so funny--they could be heard in the church room!

L to R - Mr. Wakimasu, Mr. Curley and Mr. Harris joined us.

Storm number Two in 2/2014

The snowman made on Jan 8 as it was on January 13th. 

The gray bird eating from the holly bush. 

 

About 30 sparrows perched on the wires.

Another 5 inches fell on February14th.  Two storms in a week is extremely rare around here.  News Flash--for Feb 19 and 20 there is prediction of more snow...what is the world coming to?

February quilts

This was in another post already.  Basic blue and white with red accent.  About 45 inches square.

The backing for the above quilt is just a bunch of leftovers from previous projects.

This is also about 45 inches square.  It's a strip-pieced fence rail of various prints. The back is plain tan.

 

 

The last one is also strip-pieced and has 9 blocks of about 12 inches square.  This pattern makes beautiful diamonds if it were a twin or queen size. If you have the same color in the longest diagonal, it really stands out.

The label.  The backing is polyester kimono fabric off a roll.

Cold still here in Kobe

The snow, which now it more ice than snow, is still on the ground this Wednesday, Feb. 12 (Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln).  The bird feeder is a big hit, but they seem to splash more seed on the snow beneath than in their little bellies.

The crows are walking around trying to find something, so we toss out some old bread for their enjoyment. 

Then there have been other birds in the backyard, but they don't seem to come to the feeder; perhaps they are a bit big for it.

I've figured out this bird to be a Brown-eared Bulbul.  There's a small brown patch behind the ears on this basically grey medium-sized bird.

These are now ice buckets, about three layers thick. 

The cute sparrows come around several times daily for our entertainment. 

Blizzard!! of sorts...

We woke up to snow coming down here in North Kobe, Sat. February 8.  Winters here in this part of Japan are generally mild with more rain than snow.  When it does snow, we get a dusting that is usually gone by noon.

Today, however, was just the second or third time in 23 years here that we have over 5 inches of snow, and as of 11:00 a.m. it is still coming down.

 The birds have not visited the feeder as regularly as yesterday when there was no snow.

 It's a good thing we have stocked up on kerosene for the heaters and have food in the fridge.  I imagine most of the area is shut-down because of this rare example of too much carbon emissions.  As we all know from third-grade science, without carbon dioxide, life would not exist.

The forecast is for snow most of the day, so we shall see what happens on Sunday morning.  Last time it snowed  like this in January, some people could not make it to church.

About 3:00 pm we went out and shoveled the driveway.  About 5 inches were measured. In the process, it was snowman time so Henry and I made the big one complete with arms, hat and scarf, and I did the seven little ones.   (you can see the rock eyes and the bush arms)  We need another adult in there. 

They found it!

A flock of Tree Sparrows or つづめ　have discovered the bird feeder. Sometimes 8-12 of them are hopping in and out of it, scattering seed on the deck and below.  They are fun to watch.

Photo taken from the upstairs window.

And then the crow daily perches on the passenger mirror and pecks at the window.  Can't figure this one out. 

Birds in my back yard and other stuff

My most recent quilt top.

The orange pot was a freebie won by entering a contest when we bought another heater.  It heats water very well!

A Redstart that winters here and leaves in April.

There are three brown sparrows near the round stone.  A flock frequents the yard several times daily.

Henry made this bird feeder but so far no birds have used it. 

The ever-present crows always are looking for food.

新雪 aka shinsetsu or new snow

January 19, 2014

This morning we woke to a whopping 1 cm of snow around the house.  It was pretty but, as is the normal case here in Kobe, it melted before noon as the sun was coming out.

These all were taken about 7:30 a.m.

The most recent full moon (last week) taken facing the Eastern sky.  I think Venus is the tiny dot to the upper left.

Miss Murakami  came to church with her mom again today.  She is dressed in traditional kimono for Coming-of-Age day which actually was last week.  This holiday celebrates those turning 20 and officially becoming adults.

Here she is with her mom.  They've come several times and the mom, after the morning service,  invited Jesus into her heart!