Leaving Home

March 11 2012 - Many emotions today. At the forefront is the anniversary of the Great Quake and Tsunami of March 11 2011. At 2:46 local time, I took a break from cleaning activities to go stand on the porch and listen to the sirens go off. The integrity of the Japanese will stick with me for the rest of my life. Such an example they have set as far as pulling themselves up. Granted, the whole nuclear power plant could have been handled much better. But given the extreme conditions, I think the authorities did what they could and hopefully had the best of intentions at heart with how they handled thing. Hind sight is always 20/20.

And to add to the heavy heart is the forthcoming week when moving trucks will actually start arriving at our house. The time has come, we must move on. This will be another big move, not just because we are returning to the states, Shane will be leaving the Navy!

It's something we knew would probably happen. In this economy, it wasn't really what we wanted at this time. The universe and powers that be have been kind, and he has a job already lined up and waiting for him. Oddly enough he will probably be back in Misawa, but as a repairman of sorts. We won't be with him on those trips. He'll still be a traveling man, and Andi and I will remain home-based.....kind of like the military life.

Andi's last day of school was this past Friday. Way up there is her class and teacher. They've been together for two years now. Last year she was in a 3/4 split, this year the teacher did a 4/5 split. They have a great bond.

Since it was our almost last weekend, there was one more drive to take. This was a drive with a purpose. For 3 years I have passed a house that I just love. Every time we go by "I've got to remember to get a picture of that house". When we first arrived it was still under construction. But even then, I could tell this is the house I'd like some day....with some Victorian flair thrown in somehow.

As always with a drive about, there are other distraction, like the sign for the restaurant. No money with us so we didn't go try it out.

The way home (as by this point the goal had been accomplished of getting a picture of the dream home) it was "oh, stop, I forgot about that house" "oh, look at the colors of those houses" (of course the gray skies don't really help, some day I shall photoshop the skies to blue and whiten up the snow) Shane couldn't help but wonder how the drive turned from "just one picture of one house" to "what? another house? how many are there?"
There will always be other houses around the corner. I hope they are also good homes.

As we get ready to leave Japan, it was with heavy hearts for all of us. For me, this is home. As a child moving around (Pop was in the National Park Service and we moved every 3-5 years) folks would ask where "home" was. Well, there was the home to go to every day after work, school, play. Where Mom, Pop and my sisters lived as well. That's always one form of home. But the "home" of where are you from....I never could answer that til now. This is someplace where I feel like I could remain for the rest of my life. I may never be back....but it will always hold that one spot.

Now don't get me wrong, I'll make another home in Maryland...that save haven where everyone wants to return to at the end of the day. But it won't be the quiet haven of isolated Northern Japan.

Ah, which brings me to....where are you going? Why to Maryland! Lexington Park to be exact. Well, that's as exact as we can get at the moment. No house/apartment to rent at the moment. Though we do have a place to look at when we arrive. And, Shane has a job. So life is looking good.

I was going to do a bit on Maryland....facts and trivia. Andi has done a bit of research on it. (milk is the state drink, for example) But time has crept up on me. Like I said, the moving trucks are coming!

So, now at this late hour (11pm local time) I need to sign off and get some beauty sleep before the marathon week begins.

As a result, "SAM in Japan" will fall silent for several weeks. Perhaps I'll be able to load some pictures in a couple of weeks of our journey Eastward, be patient. I haven't decided what to do with this blog once we get settled....after all SAM will no longer be in Japan.

I can't say "Sayonara" as that is to final....I hope I am back...instead "Odaijini" (O-day-gee-nee) take care of yourself!

March 5 2012

March 5 2012: Let me just say this has been a long winter! I don't think the snow started falling until late December, but when its come, its been with a vengeance. But first, we start with a "happy" box. On Valentines day (yes a month ago) there was road construction, which led to children having to be dropped off at an alternate sight. It just happened to be in front of the Cake House. The name describes it perfectly! Cakes and confections of all types. I was only too happy to go in and purchase a box of exquisite chocolates to make up for loitering in front of their business waiting for the bus. Of course getting a box of chocolates is truly a "Forest Gump Experience"....you never know "what you're going to get". They were delicious. I say that as I didn't get the one with the Cherry or the coconut! And yes, that is what the box says: "Hare a break time in Shiroi-mori. You'll feel happy, and take a easy mind". (And to further clutter your day with trivia "Shiroi-mori" means white tree, or white pine tree (SHE-ROY-MORE-EE)
Moving on.....did I mention it's been snowing with a vengeance? This time it was Shane's turn to shovel the driveway. I gawked and took pictures. Wasn't as deep as the last one, but still pretty wet. The front loader did come through later in the day and cleared the roads and driveway. I'm still not sure why we persist in shoveling our driveway when the loader will do it. I think we just like to feel productive. Anyway, the operator took great delight in creating some large piles for Andi. Well, not really sure it was just for Andi, or the fact that he is running out of room for piles and our yard is the dumping ground. I'd like to think it's because we're special.

Andi atop one of her piles. They make great sled runs. As a child though, I can remember the older kids spending a great deal of time to make the runs just so. Smoothing them out...pouring water on them at sundown so it would freeze into a slick track. I tried to get Andi to do that with at least one pile. But she's young...."noooooo I like the bumps!" I did go down one time. My kidneys aren't to fond of the bumps!

Below: A view from the top of the tallest snow pile.

As our time here grows short.....and no we still don't have orders.....just lots of anticipation and sleepless nights, we had promised Andi a last slumber party. She invited 7 of her girlfriends to come and join the festivities.....all 7 came. A giggling gaggle of 8 girls descended on my living room. Wait....Is that a young man on the left corner? How did a boy get in here??? No worries, the young lad is the neighbor boy. We had him for a couple of hours as well. He had a delightful time being well cared for by the girls. I did take him into the the computer room a few times to sit with Shane, so they could momentarily decompress from the bedlam.
Dinner was casual....fruits and veggie snacks and raviolis. With a ice cream sunday bar for desert.

The girls. Andi is in the center standing with the purple coat/pink hat.
As mentioned before, I have been feeding the birds this winter. Along with the many tree sparrows, I now have 2 doves, the occasional hawk (probably hunting the doves) and a murder of crows. There is one crow in particular who calls out at about the same time every morning. For about a week I've noticed that he perches in the same spot every day....seeming to try to blend in with the sparrows!
When I go out to do the little birds feeding, he sits on the pole. After feeding the little ones, I go in and scrounge around for snacks for the crows....frost bitten bacon, yucky chicken tenders, stale bread....I stand on the porch and throw that out into the snow. He'll fly down now to the snow pile and wait for me to go back in. He's become such a feature with the morning ritual that I named him.....meet "Micro". Get it??? My Crow.....micro....hahahahaha

The feedings have also attracted a loner. He's been a bit skittish. After about two weeks of getting him used to movement in the house, I was finally able to get his picture taken. Then Andi poured through her big book of birds of the world, and Shane did some googling. This is a "Hiyodori" (HE-YO-DOOR-EE) or if you want to go with the American name...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown-eared_Bulbul

And once again, we wait.....wait for the mysterious paper that will send us on a new adventure.