Fish

Last weekend, in another attempt to escape the heat, Tetsu and I went out to a river to listen to the gurgling water and sample some river fish. River fish is not my favorite but it does seem like that is what we should eat while we are watching a river.

Japanese love ayu (translated as a "sweetfish" in my Japanese-English dictionary) and the small visitor's area where we ended up had a fishing trap built along the river that ayu will swim into. Actually I don't object to the taste of ayu but rather the way it is served. Gulp. Fresh ayu are speared and "sewn" onto a skewer and then salted and stuck around a low burning fire. And then served... Just like that. This way of eating river fish is traditional throughout Japan, but for us foreigners it takes some getting used to. To eat ayu you just pick up the skewer and bite. I keep my mind on other things while the crispy fish face brushes my cheek.

"Oh yes, Tetsu. The ayu is delicious. No please go ahead. One ayu is enough for me."

Now THIS is the type of fish I like! The same day, Tetsu and I stopped for taiyaki which is a sweet pancake with different things inside. In this case I enjoyed the sweet bean paste and green tea whipped cream. Yum!!! And these cute bite sized pieces had bean paste or custard cream or chocolate inside them. A surprise in every bite!


Now would you prefer the ayu or the taiyaki? Take your pick!

Nikko scenery

Yesterday I went with a couple of friends to a nearby "hiking" course. The area is called Kirifuri Kogen, which means Misty Plains, and it lived up to its name!

I think in the winter this used to be a small ski course because there was a series of ski lifts taking us up the mountain. The old lift is being torn down soon and so the month of August was designated for its last run. Such fun! The temperature was a welcome escape from the city's heat, the air smelled of green and rain. A few small flowers, rolling clouds, the sounds of birds. A real taste treat for the senses.


I loved the lift. It felt like a child's ride in an amusement park. 4 lifts in all so we got quite a ride!


The fog just ROLLED in, sometimes turning the morning dark and always giving our skin a dousing.


Supposedly one is supposed to be able to see Mt. Fuji in the distance but today all we could see was the fog.

Watching newer shapes of clouds form and drift off into the sky made me feel like we were on another planet.

Major frizz time for me.


In almost any hiking area in Japan the paths will cut through the low bamboo.




Flowers and more flowers... I don't know what.









Everyone needs a breather.

We got scooted off the mountain by the lift workers because a thunder storm was coming in. That was a little exciting to be hanging onto the lift arm while the lightning flashed!

A great way to cool off on a hot summer day!

Introducing a blog

Yesterday I spent ALL day cutting fabric! Yes, I've started another project and I certainly didn't realize how much cutting was involved. (Which means there is going to be a lot of sewing involved too, right? That's what makes it patchwork, Tanya.) I am starting on the Tessellating cats project from the pattern Mona sent me and I hope to use some of the brights that don't often find their ways into my quilts. Don't hold your breath.

And I also made August's BOM from A Tisket A Tasket. Got that done just under the line didn't I?

A couple of days ago I got a comment from Anna who turns out to live in the city next to me. Anna and her husband are quite the photographers and I spent quite a long time going through their photo blog. Tochigi Daily Photo. Do go take a look! I can't believe that most of her pictures are taken right around where I normally drive by on my ways elsewhere! Makes me look at my own city with completely different eyes. Hey, I live in a very interesting place! If you want to see real Japan (not my cats and quilts) scroll down and look around at the archives. The Candle Illumination and the festival pictures are so beautiful!

It's still hot around here!

Kitty show

More kitty pictures.

While Vel sits outside and enjoys the garden bench, the rest of our kitties are finding the cat house to be a great place to hang out. Mi especially is spending a lot of time out there and the other kitties want to know what's so interesting.

"You're right! That IS interesting. Let me look! Let me look!"








Including me. I went out to see what has all the kitties so enthralled. A tree right off the cat house. Hmmm. And looking more closely... A pigeon! Two pigeons! They don't really look like they have made a nest in there but they've taken up residence in the branches for the past week. They do not seem to be the least disturbed that 4 or 5 cats are watching them at close range and Vel is looking up at them from the bench. I guess they know that none of these cats can get them.


One pigeon stays silently in the branches but the other flits back and forth and teases the cats by alighting on the cat house slats... The cats can't get him there either. What with the cats all meowing which sends Choco to barking, you'd think there is enough noise to send the pigeons away. They have the whole forest behind us to choose from! I feel a little flattered that they chose our tree!

And the cats are very happy.

Changing of the cats

When I got back to Japan, Tetsu had about had it with the cats. Oh the messes they made to show their disapproval of the summer arrangements. No mom, and the house was hot. Tetsu did a good job of playing "changing of the cats" (similar to "changing of the guards") but a lot of frustrations got vented during the month..

In review. Velvet lives upstairs in the sewing room since Toi bullies and attacks. If Vel doesn't feel safe he reacts by urinating and defecating on the spot. Poor kitty. Patora has also joined Toi's bullying gang and joins in the taunting so Vel has two adversaries. Toi and Patora have also started attacking Cleo so Cleo joined Vel in the sewing room this summer. (Those two get along.)
(And yes, all animals in my house have been neutered and spayed... I still have aggressive behavior.)

Toi and Patora are also the biggest eaters so if they try to share a meal with any of the other cats (who are slower) then the other cats get cheated out of their food. Toi weights about 13 lbs now... Toi and Patora get fed in the laundry room which Toi doesn't mind but Patora hates. Patora regularly opens up laundry powder boxes and spreads laundry powder around the floor. One of the two cats have learned how to open the dryer (where I store cat food) and the cat food is no longer safe in there... Toi and Patora ate a large portion of the VERY EXPENSIVE cat food that Vel and Cleo have to eat.

Mi and Chip can go in and out as they please. They get along with everybody. Oh and because all these cats have learned how to open doors (sliding and lever door handles) we have rigged a nail and cord arrangement on the laundry room and sewing room. When one or two cats go into this room then one or two cats come out of that one. Yep, "changing of the cats" in the Watanabe home.

Back to the messes. Remember at the beginning of July when Tetsu re-carpeted my sewing room? Tetsu came home one day to find that Vel and Cleo had eaten the carpet! Those are heavy rubberized carpet tiles but that didn't sway two frustrated felines. The carpet in front of the door is now in shreds...

Right now Vel in enjoying sitting in the yard on a leash. NOBODY can bother him there. And many of the other cats are very happy in Tetsu's cool (as in temperature) cat house. I bought up a supply of Feliway (cat pheromones) and I'm hoping that will kick in and calm a few cat nerves. 6 indoor cats are too many. (But I love them all.)

Landscape quilt

I spent some time in my sewing room yesterday. Straightened up a bit, dusted the sewing machine and cleaned out its inner workings. Then I sat down and sewed!!!!

A few years ago I came into possession of Karen Eckmeier's book Happy Villages. I don't know HOW many times I've pulled out that book and made villages with her designs and I've used it a lot with children and adults. I've been wanting to try Ms. Eckmeier's landscape quilts and I ordered this from Amazon while I was in the States.

Yesterday I pulled out some leftover fabric (I'm not cutting into my batiks yet. Can't experiment with those!) and tried the first project in the book. I really followed page by page so none of this is very original.

Chose fabrics and cut into manageable sizes.











Using a roller cutter cut gentle curves. Iron one side down.








Decide on a layout and pin.












Top stitch in place.












The picture.









Add borders. Add freehand quilting.







Bind. My first landscape quilt. I'm ready to start on the second project!

Dinnertime

Tetsu pronounced last night's rice to be delicious and a big improvement from what our old rice cooker made. In all honesty I cannot tell the difference but he knows rice better than I do.

This was last night's dinner.

White, unadulterated rice.

Pumpkin simmered in soy sauce and sugar.

Fermented soy beans called natto (Tetsu elected to have the cold tofu).

Potato salad.

Eggplant and deep fried tofu strip miso soup.

And grilled fish.

That grilled fish is something from a horror movie. It is split down the back and opened and then slightly dried pressed flat. Yep, eyes and teeth and everything split right down the middle and looking up at you like a monster from the deep. I didn't take a picture of the skin side up in case the two eyes scared you away for good! Delicious but it takes some getting used to. It no longer bothers me anymore...

The left over rice in the rice cooker got made into rice balls some with salt on them to be later zapped in the microwave for lunch or a snack. Another favorite is rice balls with sour-salty plums that make your mouth pucker.

Care to join me for dinner?