Did we get out????

February 28 2011: OMH!!! (which hopefully means: oh my heck!) we actually got out of the house. Not a great distance, just 'round the corner and down the coastal road about 5 minutes. I have recalled seeing a sign for some sort of beach for many a journey now and always tuck it away to the back of my mind "for another day". Well, that day arrived. Saturday the 26th started out as a bit snowy (a wet snow that didn't last) and by afternoon I needed to get out of the house.
Found the turnoff, after a having to do a double back. Shane and Andi were actually taking bets as to whether I really knew if this place existed. (I know it did, just because they've never noticed the sign for it doesn't mean anything). Anyway, found the turn off. Found the beach. Found that nobody had brought along an appropriate jacket for walking the beach in the dead of winter. Perhaps I should've warned them that heavier jackets might be in order.....not that my windbreaker did much good. Plus it does look a bit desolate in the winter. For example, the watch tower below, not sure if it is a life station, or some sort of other warning system watch tower. It was too cold to walk that far down the walk way. (all of 50 yards, but when the cold wind is blowing off the ocean, it might as well be at least 100 yards)

Above: Andi in full "japanese camera picture taking mode", me, I'm just concentrating on looking thin and young. (I'm still waiting....how long should I hold the pose?)

Below: A view through the trees at some "dry docked" fishing vessels and the beach marker.

Above: Rules of the beach. Oh, this might take some figuring out. I'm assuming that since "x"'s are on the simmers, it must be no swimming....or is it no lap swimming. It is an open beach...not protected by a seawall, so I'm assuming no swimming. Obviously we'll find out this summer, when we return in warmer weather.
Above: Decorative lamp posts. I like it when lamp posts have a theme. Makes them more quaint. (statements like that remind me that I must be growing older....where did this woman come from?)

Below: Map of "where are we". I don't know. If you enlarge the picture, I believe we are up towards the top right where the people are throwing in the fishing nets. I do know we are definitely north of the road split. (I know this as that's where we turned around for our double back)
So, it was a short outing. But thank heavens we got out! Life continues onward! (I wish it would slow down just a tad) Now, if the weather can keep up its warming trend then perhaps I can venture out to the Japanese bike shop and purchase my new bicycle. And of course this means I'll have to use it. Oy vey! How much exercise can I possibly get...pedal, pedal, pedal...stop, take picture, pant, pant, pedal, pedal, pedal...etc.

(and drat it all, my spell check for blogger doesn't seem to be working....let's hope I caught most of the mistakes!)

Out and about in Norway?

February 21 2011- Another blah week falls behind us, and looks like another approaches. The weather has been gray and bleak. No snow, so the nasty gray stuff is hanging around. Did get some rain to wash some of the yuckiness away. We've all been fighting colds this week, so have spent most of the weekend lounging about.

And with a synopsis like that, surely it means a lack of photos for this weeks blog.

But have no fear.....We will go on another vacation this week! Once again living vicariously through others lives on!

A little background, in August, my mother, sister and niece took a trip to Norway to visit cousins. My mother's side of the family come from good Norwegian stock. (well, I'm sure we could dissect that sentence as to which side of my mother's side and all that, but we shan't go there....another project to put in my mind....a blog of nothing but genealogy, that'll keep me busy).

Anyway, their trip was in August, hence the greenness of the country!

Above: The Red Mill in Tau. Tau is a small village and a good part owned by the Tau Family. This is an old flour mill.

Below: Home of the Tau's (the cousin) in the village of Tau. Also once the home of my great great grandparents. (it is nice that some things have stayed in the family)

Above: Downtown Stavanger. (note the name of the store "Japan Photo")

Below: Stavanger Domkirke. A very old cathedral. Building of it started around 1100 and finished around 1125. It is very ornate inside. It's not the "family church" but it is where my cousin and his wife were married.

Above: Oh look! A Norwegian version of a flying rat!

Below: A small town along a fjord. My tour guide for the photos was unable to remember the name of the town.

Above: Jorpeland, about 7 miles from Tau.

Below: "A tourist trap" says the cousin. Near a recreated village called Landau.

My mother and the traveling troupe took a car ferry. I am wondering at how safe it is to have to evacuate the ferry. I guess you just have to hope that you can get out of the way of the next incoming human....(above)

Below: Lighthouse taken from the car ferry in the North Sea en route to Skudeneshaven. (boy, spell check is just having a fit with me today)

Above: Lysefjord. Taken from the car ferry.

Below: A home along Lysefjord. The only place where some lives year round...thinks the tour guide (the tour guide being my mother)

Above: Katie in the large chair at Hjelmeland. (though really, this branch of Norwegians, with their stout legs, look like this sitting in any chair)

Below: Katie, Tova and Cousin Ole-Per at the Harsfjord memorial near Stavanger.

Above: This memorial commemorates the Battle of Hafrsjord in 872 after which Harald Fairhair united the 3 districts of Norway. The crowns represent the 3 districts.
Above taken in August 2010, below taken in probably the 1950's (I may have to correct that). The big building is Tou Mille (Tau Mill), where great grandfather Ole Torgersen worked in his early teens. The pictures were taken from Torger's Mountain. Torger Torgersen (Tau) owned this mountain, hence the name. It is still in the family.
And so a brief explanation of the name, Torgersen/Tau: Ole Torgersen Tau...son of Torger from the town of Tau. Upon coming to America my great grandfather dropped the "Tau" as it was hard to pronounce and "not needed". When his son Torger (my grandfather's brother) returned to Norway, he reclaimed the surname of Tau. (confused yet?? you should try doing the genealogy for this....thank goodness Cousin Tom already did!)

So that concludes today's vacation. Don't know where we are going next week. One can only hope that we actually get out of the house next week. If only the sidewalks were free of ice, it would be fine walking weather as the sun has been out, the sky blue and flying rats abound.

February 14 2011

February 14 2011: Ahhh, holidays in Japan. There is always a new twist to them. This last week as we were wandering about at the mall, we came to little independent store with fresh fruits, veggies and other unidentified stuffs. Locally grown stuff at this time of year are raised in greenhouses. The apple was just to cute to pass up, and cheap enough for an early treat. The apple is really rather big...6inches from stem to stem. and 13inches in circumference. That'll be a meal unto itself! And oh yeah, they are good!
There hasn't been a lot of snow lately. Last weekend (the 5th) I had promised Andi I would help build a snowman. But alas, not enough snow to even make a snow angel. Thankfully (?) her cousin had sent "snow in a can" Just add water. It sounds rather gross, but it's the stuff that's inside diapers (unused of course), add the water and it absorbs and becomes this "snow" like consistency. We couldn't build a snowman as pictured on the can, so did our own version.

But oh, thank goodness, there's been snow falling off and on this past week.
Out we went on Saturday (the 12th) to work on our snowman. Couldn't do it the traditional way of rolling, as the snow wasn't the right consistency. And, there's only a couple of inches on the ground. But with good ol' determination, a shovel and a sled, we were able to haul enough snow to the build site. It was made a little easier when I realized that there was a huge pile of fresh snow that had just slid off the roof. (thank goodness for metal roofs!)
Andi insisted on taking a picture of me with our creation. He is still standing today, though minus his eyes, nose and mouth. Guess he melted a bit this morning. (we used rocks, so we know the big black flying rats didn't feast on him!)

Not that busy of a week (again). On the upside we have our truck (SUV) back! It was totaled by the insurance. So we get the insured amount, the mechanic did a cheap (sort of) repair, and we buy the truck back from the insurance company for the price of 5000Y (about $60). And we can re-insure it again....go figure. The repairs aren't pretty, but it's enough to keep Shane off the streets and Andi in her after school activities. I don't have pictures of the the new doors yet, but I'm sure there will be at some point.

A long day

The van that hit Shane.....(keep going for the rest of the story....)

February 6 2011: Well, it hasn't been just a long week, but the 2nd was also a long day! Shane went off to work, and called me 10 minutes later to announce his accident.....excuse me "Motor Vehicle Collision". It's no longer "accident" as that implies something to do with intent, or lack thereof....(as it was explained to Shane) Personally, I thought an accident was just that, lack of intent, didn't meant to do it. Anyway, it was an icy, icy morning. Shane wasn't going very fast, about 20KPH, if that, decelerated for turning traffic, and went skidding off. He did try for a clear spot to get off the road, just to end up being broadsided. It was a Japanese driver. So, had to wait around for Misawa City police and for the base to send out security forces with a translator. In the end it'll be Shane's fault...never mind that there was ice and snow everywhere and that the other driver was probably going much faster (he was headed downhill) he's the American and there are some locals who feel "if the Americans weren't here, this never would've happened".
Fortunately, we do have insurance. Not sure how much Yen the other vehicle will cost to fix, but that's what the insurance is for. On the down side, our truck has been pronounced totaled. Which in Japan, just means the insurance company won't fix it. We get our money. And we can pay the mechanic to fix it anyway (which he has kindly offered to do....a couple of mismatched doors, and possibly some of those doors won't open, but it'll run)

And yes, Shane is ok (a slight stiff neck) and the driver of the other vehicle appeared fine and declined going to the hospital.

And that's the short, short version of the week. Thinking of it all makes me tired, so we'll leave it at that.

So it was a long week.

Last year at this time we took a little detour on the blog and went to Panama. Well guess what! I've been watching the news, it's been a long cold winter everywhere and I think we all need a little time to day dream....so some more pictures have been provided. And a link!

www.chrismoreland.com/Panama_Newsletter.html

ahhh.....sunshine! fresh breezes! What? I have to open my eyes and return to reality? Drat!