This past Monday was a national holiday in Japan. Sunday (11/23) was Labor Day and since it fell on a Sunday, the majority of the country was off on Monday. Since it was a holiday and it was pretty close to Thanksgiving, we took the opportunity to celebrate. The Japanese do not celebrate Thanksgiving for those of you who are wondering.
We got together with the other American families that we have become friends with while we have been over here and we ATE!! Overall, there were 16 people in our house (8 adults and 8 kids). It was full, but we had a great time. It was at our house because we are the only ones with a stove big enough to cook anything other than a burrito. We did manage to get a HUGE bird at Costco (can't find turkeys anywhere else). We got a 21 pounder for just over $50. This was Deana's first attempt at cooking a turkey and like many of you would imagine, she did a beautiful job. It was fully cooked, juicy, and flavorful. Good job baby!! Here are a few photos:
Deana and the "before" photo:
And just 4 short hours later:
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Posted by The Brewers at Tuesday, November 25, 2008 4 comments
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Video tour of the house...Finally
Overlooking Yokohama Bay:
Avery and Daddy playing on a play ground that we stumbled on while we we out today.
Avery and I continued to get TONS of looks and comments about her trailer. We had the rear cover removed so Avery could get some air and she found out she could stick her head out the top and wave at people passing by, which just made more people stop and comment.
Deana had to have a photo of this contraption. I don't even know what to call it.
Posted by The Brewers at Sunday, November 23, 2008 5 comments
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Whew! What A Day
Everyone was intrigued by our trailer for Avery. They don't have these in Japan. I rode my bike behind Curtis which was a bad idea. Everyone we passed were so busy staring at the trailer that they didn't pay attention to the fact that I was coming to. But it was fun to watch their reactions. They seemed to really like it.
Posted by The Brewers at Saturday, November 22, 2008 3 comments
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Our girl is a star!
Posted by The Brewers at Tuesday, November 18, 2008 3 comments
Monday, November 17, 2008
It's Here! It's Here!
Posted by The Brewers at Monday, November 17, 2008 4 comments
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Here Comes Santa Claus....
They had several food booths serving all different kinds of things from hotdogs to okonomiyaki and hot chocolate to beer and wine. Yes, beer and wine...what better way to get people to spend money than to get them all sauced up first.
The craft bazaar wasn't what I expected either. I expected all handmade crafts and goods with maybe a few store bought things. Most everything was store bought stuff. Everything from Gucci neck ties to pearl jewelry (the real thing).
They had some games for the kids as well. Avery played a raffel game and won a prize from the highest level. She actually won a doll house thing from Toys R Us with all the accessories. She was so excited and so were we! You would have thought we won the lottery or something! We really did have a decent time. At least we got to see "Santa".
This is the balloon flower daddy bought her at the craft bazaar....isn't she the cutest thing ever!
Posted by The Brewers at Sunday, November 16, 2008 6 comments
Monday, November 10, 2008
Avery's New Friend
So this morning, Avery and I were walking to her school when she spots with her keen eyes the biggest snail I have ever seen in the wild. It was inching its way up the rock wall that is below her school courtyard. When I picked her up today, what was the first thing she looked for....yep...the snail. Of course with the lightening fast pace of a snail it was still there. It was actually taking a nap. Avery asked me to pick it off the wall so she could bring it home and put it in the back yard. Being the compliant mother that I am....well....it is currently in our back yard. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.
Posted by The Brewers at Monday, November 10, 2008 6 comments
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Take Me To Tokyo!
So can you guess where we went to today? You guessed it...Tokyo. We first made a visit to our good friends the Imperial Family at the Imperial Palace. they must have forgotten we were coming and went out of town since the gates were locked and we couldn't get in. Hummm isn't that strange!?!
So then we decided to go do some shopping in Ginza, which has the most expensive real estate in the world. That's right, in the world. Here, Curtis took me to Tiffany's and bought me a 5 carat diamond, then off the Giorgio Armani for a suit for him and dress for me, and finally to Gucci for a new purse and accessories. Sounds good huh?!?....Only if it were true!!!! But we had fun anyway!
Ohhh... and you can't forget the famous Shinkansen Train, aka "Bullet Train"!!!
Posted by The Brewers at Sunday, November 09, 2008 6 comments
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Potato Anyone?
Guess who gets to cook those now???? You guessed it....me! Recipes anyone???
Posted by The Brewers at Wednesday, November 05, 2008 4 comments
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Kamakura and the "Big Buddha"
As you can tell from our front page, we went to see the "big Buddha" today. I'll confess that that particular photo was not taken by me, but it is a scanned postcard that we bought. All the other photos that appear on this site are actually taken by myself or Deana.
The Origins of Kamakura’s Hasedera Temple, according to legend, in 721 AD the pious monk Tokudo Shonin discovered a large camphor tree in the mountain forests near the village of Hase in the Nara region. He realized the trunk of the tree was so large that it provided enough material for carving two statues of the eleven-headed Kannon. The statue he commissioned to be carved from the lower part of the truck was enshrined in Hasedera Temple near Nara; the statue from the upper half (actually the larger of the two) was thrown into the sea with a prayer that it would reappear to save the people. Fifteen years later in 736 on the night of June 18, it washed ashore at Nagai Beach on the Miura Peninsula not far from Kamakura, sending out rays of light as it did. The statue was then brought to Kamakura and a temple was constructed to honor it. Since time immemorial, Hasedera Temple has been known as the 4th station among the 33 holy places in the Kanto area.
The magnificent statue of Hase Kannon is housed here for all to see and worship. It is 30.1 feet tall and has 11 heads in addition to it's main one: 3 in front, 3 to the left, 3 to the right, one at the top (facing forward), and one at the back. Each face has a different expression, signifying that the deity listens to the wishes of all types of people. Hase Kannon is unique in that it holds a staff made of tin in its right hand and a vase of lotus flowers in it's left. Gold leaf was applied to to the statue in 1342. Although Kannon is usually described in English as "the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy", strictly speaking it is neither masculine or feminine. Kannon is Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (a Bodhisattva is a future Buddha, destined for enlightenment, who has vowed to save all sentient beings) and represents compassion, mercy, and love.
Shoro Belfry
Kyozo Sutra Archive
Here is the view from the temple area:
---END HASEDERA TEMPLE---
Posted by The Brewers at Sunday, November 02, 2008 4 comments