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Yesterday our neighbor, Jen, invited us to join her at a local couple's farm for brick oven pizza. The older couple, "Zama Man" and Yoko san, were so sweet and welcoming.  I wasn't sure what to expect when Jen called this place a farm. I knew it wouldn't be the same as a traditional farm in the US, so I was surprised at how much land they had (considering they live in a residential neighborhood).  The front of the house had a beautiful garden, the house itself with really big (but we didn't get to go in), and then behind the house there was a long shed filled with farming equipment, another building that also had a bathroom (I didn't go in, but I'm wondering what the toilet situation is now), a small outdoor kitchen right behind the house, a traditional Shinto shrine, and a traditional Buddhist shrine (not sure if shrine is the correct term here). Zama Man built a brick oven behind the house and a fire pit, so we stayed outside for the few hours we ...

Ahh! The grand sumo tournament was AMAZING! I didn't expect it could actually be all that exciting and I'm not a sports person AT ALL. My neighbor brought over a book all about the history and rules and culture of sumo when I told her we got tickets.  I stayed up way past my bedtime a couple of nights trying to get the book read before we went.  I assumed that sumo was similar to wrestling so the competitors would be matched based on their weight-wrong! Basically at around age 15, a boy has to find a 'stable' where he gets a 'stablemaster' to vouch for him. To enter their first tournament, they have to weigh at least 75 kilos (roughly 150lbs), be at least 173cm tall, be between 15 and 23 years old, and have their stablemaster with them. They have to go through a rigorous physical as well.  From what I understand they don't have any experience at this point.  If they win their first match, then they get 'promoted' and go to go 'sumo school,...

Snow was in the forecast, but I was skeptical...but it did snow! I'm so excited! Initially it didn't stick so I figured it would just be nice to watch while the cub napped, so I was pleasantly surprised when a couple hours later it started to accumulate.  I couldn't feed the cub his lunch fast enough, because I wanted to get outside and play! We built a snowman, made snow angels, and the cub mostly wanted to lay belly down in the snow and flail his arms back and forth.  Hey, whatever makes you happy. He didn't last as long as I would've liked outside; big chunky flakes kept hitting his face and sticking in his eyelashes and he wasn't a fan of that part. He did take a taste or two though.  Tomorrow is supposed to be back in the mid-40's so I won't expect it to stick around.  It really is beautiful and I'm so happy we got to have at least one snow day here!

We've had a few down weeks lately, so I haven't had much to write about. This past week we took a class through Bonj's job and were able to learn some Japanese and history and geography of Japan.  It was great!  The cub went to daycare and did way better than I expected, phew! He did wake up shortly after I put him to bed one night, covered in puke, then covered me in it, so we sat in the bathtub together after we ran out of pajamas. Poor guy! Fortunately it was a quick stomach bug and he was back to normal the next day! But boy, I can't handle puke.  Bonj thought I was going to start when I was in the tub with our cub... High praises to Bonj for cleaning up the crib and starting the laundry while I tried to comfort the cub. Anyway, the class was wonderful! We learned how to say "Excuse me, can I have whatever ," and "I like to whatever ," and he/she wants, he/she likes, etc.  So "Excuse me, can I have ramen" is "sumimasen, watashi...