Sakura

 Sakura trees were in full bloom on April 5 where these photos were taken in
Kamiyamaguchi  上山口　near the Arima river. 

 Many families were having picnics under the trees; it was very beautiful.

On Saturday the 6th, high winds were whipping through the area so many of the petals were being blown away; heavy rains contributed to the short life of the cherry blossoms.

Spring has come to Hata cho

A daffodil patch nearby

 Forsythia bushes

 Sakura tree in bloom near us--wish we had one in our yard.

The sign here is right under an overpass about 1/4 mile from our home.  The thing is, gun ownership here in Japan is practically non-existent.   It is posted in someone's veggie garden--who would want to hunt there?!?

A baptism 2013

Mrs. Matsuda got baptized today, March 24.  She is 89 years on this earth, but is a new child in Christ!  Praise the Lord for His goodness.

The little bird friend

This is another picture of the bird that was perched on our front rail a few days ago.  It is a Daurian Redstart and apparently winters here from October to early April, so we may not see this little guy too much longer.   Its head is actually white, but the lighting here makes it look more black.  It is similar to a Mugiwaki Flycatcher, but because of the white head instead of a white streak, it is a Redstart.  I'm learning about birds here....

 We were given a box of these h u g e  sea scallops.  One was enough for anyone. I pan seared them with olive oil and garlic--yummy.  The shells are now lining one of the flower beds.  :-)

Himeji Castle revisit

In July of 2011 we visited Himeji Castle, a World Heritage Site, with some friends.  The castle is under renovation until 2015.  The Roof tiles and walls are being replaced where needed, but also being put on with new bonding material.  They use the same methods as when the castle was first built about 400 years ago.

You can't go inside the castle itself.  An elevator observation building has been constructed so visitors can see the progress of the renovation on the topmost roof.  Here is a shot from 2011:

All the roof tiles have been removed and the underlying wood structure has been reinforced/replaced with new wood.

Here is what we saw on March 7 this year  of this same roof:

Gorgeous, isn't it?  You could not see this from standing on the ground.  Two clay fish ornaments were made for the roof.  There's a video showing how they were formed and molded and then placed on the roof ends.  Here is a photo of one of the big fish:

Simply amazing. 

This is a tile with a Cross on it and an explanation of what it is:

Countless hours and money have been spent in this project which will not be completed until sometime in 2014, then all the scaffolding will be taken down and it will reopen to the public sometime in 2015--a five-year project.  It will be well-worth the wait. 

This and That

 It has been a while since I updated, so here goes.  This quilt I made for a doctor friend of one of our church members.  She gave me the material which was six half-meter pieces.   This is what I came up with and I used all the material she gave me.  Makes a nice lap quilt. 

 We made an apple pie since apples are fairly cheap this time of year--lovely smiley face.

These twin brothers visit our church with mom and dad sometimes.  Here they are sitting  near the church.  I asked them "How old are you?" and the one on the right has two fingers (his correct age) and brother has four fingers (not)--but must be 2 kids times 2 years equals four, right?

I don't know if you can see this bird or not as it was sunny on that side of the house.   This bird flies around here frequently and this day it was perched on our handicap ramp railing out front.  It has an orange breast and black head with a white streak.  It tweets just once and flits its tail every time it moves and hops from branch to branch.  It seems rather friendly.   Spring is coming soon!

Some current projects

One of my projects this spring.  It is just a one block pattern in about 35 different blues.  The white is a white-on-white prints you can't really see, but it does add to the texture.

I made this iPad cover for a friend.  The outer fabric is birds in a field and the inner fabric is ladybugs.  It's held on with inch-wide black elastic on the corners and the black one here holds it shut.

February update 2013

Here in Kobe there have been more snow days than usual.  However, typically, just a dusting which is melted within an hour of the sun coming out.

Sometime between breakfast and lunch on the 13th hundreds of baby mantis emerged from their cocoons.  I had found two last fall and put them in a small jar in the kitchen window, thinking they would hatch in April like the butterfly did last year or the year before.  It must have been warm enough inside with our heater going 24/7  so they came out two months early.   It is difficult to see, but you can get the idea, I hope.

Aren't they so cute!  They look just like their mom.  :-)   Since we could not keep them inside we placed them under one of the bushes and covered them with cut leaves/branches.  I suspect most will die in the cold and for lack of sufficient bugs to eat.  Next fall we shall not collect these little sacs and keep them inside.

Sara had her first babysitting job for friends of ours in Akashi.  They went out for a couple of hours without their two little ones--a new experience--remember those days?  Little Karen is so adorable and looks just like big brother.  She is generally a happy kid.

 That is the update until mid-February.  More news to come.  Thanks for reading.

Victory in Jesus!

Mrs. Matsuda is about 88.  Last year she asked Jesus to save her after many long years of witnessing by her daughter and us.  She would usually have negative things to say about Christianity whenever around Christians.  About five or six  years ago, Joe went over to her house and pulled weeds out of her garden.  She fell in love with him.  Every time we would come by and say "Hi," she would always, always tell us what a good kid Joe was. 

In January 2012 she came to church for the first time in her life.  Then while we were on short furlough in April/May, she accepted Christ.  Sometime in the past four months she indicated she wanted to be baptized, so she has started classes with Henry.  Progress is slow as she does not understand as easily as someone much younger.

In December her daughter told us that she called the Buddhist priests and told them to stop coming by.  She also said she was going to dispose of her butsudan (altar in the home to her dead husband). 

Anyway, last week after Henry's lesson, he asked her if he could take out her kamidama, which he had never noticed before.  She hemmed and hawed and gave excuse, so he did not.  However, on February 7 Henry went over again for a lesson and came home after dark about 6:15 p.m.  Sara and I heard the car drive up, then doors opening and closing, but no Henry coming in the door.  When he finally did come in, he said he had all of Mrs. Matsuda's kamidama and butsudan stuff and was going to burn it.  

After dinner he and I went outside and I sorted through the two bags of stuff while Henry busted up the butsudan with a sledge hammer.  He piled up the burnable items, then he set fire to it and burned it!   

This is a major step in the life of a Japanese believer.  Victory in Jesus! My Savior forever.  He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood.  He loved me ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him.  He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.

Whimsical stuff

This carrot was given to us by our neighbor.   It is a wonder how a single-rooted veggie gets twisted like this.  All it needs is a head.  It will probably end up in a soup soon.

And then there were these huge heart-shaped strawberries.  How do they grow like that? 

Sara has been doing science experiments.  Here is one involving a battery an water.

 

Now here are photos of the bushes after Henry cut them.  

They are surely nice and neat, but somewhat lacking in the middle. Hopefully they will all grow back come spring/summer.

The Happy Couple

Joe and Christin taken in January at Washington Harbor on the Potomac River.  Wedding is June 29, colors are royal blue and white and I think they will have six attendants each.  An outdoor wedding next to the church is planned depending on the weather, reception to follow.   More details as they develop. Stay tuned.

First Snow 2013

January 14, 2013, officially Coming of Age Day here in Japan.  I woke up to the sound of rain about 6:00 a.m.  Along about 8:00 a.m. it started snowing.  It does not snow in Kobe that much.  This was coming down fast, big fluffy flakes, but wet.  In an hour or so there was a centimeter on the ground.  The bushes started sagging under the weight.  By noon the snow turned back into rain and we had slush all over the place.  Temperature was about 34F.  It was nice while it lasted.

 Henry started to trim the end bushes last week.  There's about 15 to go. 
 These are on the other end of that line of bushes.  Sara said it looks like hair after someone wakes up in the morning.   Below is the future vege garden.

Then there was this bird perched on top of the shed, chirping away and looking at me through the window. 

Blue berries

 I have no idea what these blue berries are called, or the plant they came from, but it is such a vibrant blue. The plant is grass-like and very close to the ground, so they are hard to see unless you may be looking for them.  

Wedding Bells

Son Joseph wrote an email with attached photos and this note:

BTW, thought you might want to know. 

He has asked his long-time girlfriend to marry him and she said yes!  Not that that is a surprise as we did see it coming.  They were not planning to get married until Christin finished nursing school, but for whatever reason, it seemed the right time, so they picked out the rings (3-ring wedding set) and he popped the question.  The date is probably June 29th, Saturday, but we are not sure exactly yet.  They met on the 27th in 2005 and have kept up a long-distance relationship since.  We are rather excited about this, as you can imagine.    

Locks of Love 2013

 For the New Year, Sara said she wanted to cut her long locks and donate it to the Locks of Love organization.  It was past waist-length and I cut off about 18 inches.  She still has at least that much left.  Sara said she did not like the split ends, thus prompting the decision.  It had grown for four years, when last she donated to Locks of Love. 

When I asked her why she wanted to cut her hair, she said, "So I can flip it!" as she did so with her hand.  Three-foot hair is hard to flip.   Here is the link to the website.  I've donated at least three times when my hair was darker; this is Sara's second or third time. 
It's a good way to start the New Year.
http://www.locksoflove.org/

Fiscal Responsibility

I try to keep politics out of my blog; however, in the instance of the "fiscal cliff" I came across this from a comment section at Townhall.com relating to the President's last press conference on negotiations.

magnetar's post is excellent and worth re-posting:

fiscal cliff- this is not my work but it is brilliant in its simplicity
US TAX revenue - 2,170,000,000,000
Federal budget - 3,820,000,000,000
new annual debt -1,650,000,000,000
national debt - 16,000,000,000,000
pres Obama budget cuts - 38,500,000,000
let's now subtract 8 zeros and pretend it is a regular household budget
annual income $21,700
money the family spent $38,200
New debt on credit card $16,500
outstanding credit card debt -$160,000
total budget cuts so far $38.50
Can you liberals comprehend what is happening here, can you understand why the conservatives are crying Obama is a traitor and a marxist? Is this a road to prosperity or a road to destruction?

My thoughts:
This is so simple to understand.   If your outflow is bigger than your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall.  What is hard to understand here?  Since Congress has not passed a budget in nearly four years, how do they expect to negotiate anything?  Regular people don't live like this, they can't live like this.  People used to go to debtor's prison.  Where can we send the government?  One has to tighten the belt and cut the spending to get things under control.  It is not a revenue problem, it is a spending problem.  Republicans are going to get blamed for everything that happens, so they should just do what is right.  We shall see if leadership has the guts to do it.  Meanwhile, pray for the USA, still the best land on the planet.

Merry Christmas

God is still good and God is still in control.  Merry Christmas.

December 16,2012

Christmas at the Bread of Life Baptist Church, Kobe, Japan

Last quilts for 2012

Eight inch half-square triangles on the back of this one.  One way to use up material. 

The front is half-square triangles in greens with accent white and yellow.  The border is has Bible book names tan on tan.

T

This colorful baby quilt is about a meter square for a young newborn.  The backing is a world map and summer kimono fabric.

This did not turn out like it was supposed to, if only I was paying attention when I pieced it.  Rather than take the blocks apart and do it right, I did this arrangement.  These quilts will be given as Christmas gifts to new church members. Below is the backing and quilt label.