Trees

are BIG in California!!

Sea Lions

on Pier 39 at the famous Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Apparently these creatures started hopping up on the docks in 1989. I guess no one ever made them move.

Aren't they cute?

Californication!

Lost my shoes during this jump over looking the Bay Area of San Francisco and Oakland.


Making it to California meant that my world trip was coming to an end. We visited San Francisco, Oakland, and Walnut Creek. Did lots of jumping there because we were having the "San Fran Jump Off" competition with my Australian friend Debs.

PS. We WON!!!

More California pics to follow!

Oktoberfest!!

Jumping with German beer. Yippee!

My most avid blog readers

are Eto San, Mayumi, and Yoshi!

Thanks!! Here is their good-bye jump for me!!

I taught them English conversation every Saturday morning for about a year. I really enjoyed teaching them and hated to say good-bye, but now I really enjoy my work-free Saturdays.

Miss you all!!!

Little Fish, Little Pond - Fish Therapy!!

I found another 1000 yen treat that involved animals this weekend. Only this time, there were no fluffy kitty cats to pet and play with, instead there were lots of tiny fish to eat my flesh!! Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. They actually nibbled and sucked on my feet removing dead skin.

Sounds gross, huh? It wasn't. It was fun!! It was a bit scary at first, but just ended up tickling in the end.

They're called doctor fish or "garra rufa" and apparently they were originally used in Turkish baths. It is said that they have to ability cure many skin diseases.

Can you tell we're faking it? I was a thespian in college and attained many great acting skills so maybe you can't.

37 ! !

This is what it looks like.

I'm heading out for my birthday dinner with Shojiro and forcing him to take my picture on the train. He hates doing that. I love it!

THE refrigerator!!

Ta daaa...... Here it is!!! My new super-duper fancy fridge!! It makes me so happy. Now that I own such a large, shiny, family-size home appliance, I finally feel grown-up. Well, just a little. I still like jumping and that doesn't seem very grown-up like, now does it? Yay!!

And just because Carolyn Algie asked what it looked like inside and what all those drawers were for, you get to take a little peek inside. This is for YOU Carolyn.



The top is the regular fridge part. There are big
shelves in the door so it really holds a lot.









The two drawers under that are the ice drawer on the left (there's an automatic ice maker!!) and the deeeeeep freeze on the right. Apparently I can put hot stuff in there and freeze it really fast. Haven't tried it yet.





Next comes the vegetable drawer. It's deeeeeep!











The freezer is on the bottom. Can you see my ice trays that are shaped like fish? I also have stars. Cute, huh? Frozen fish ice cubes anyone?

Cool Cruiser in Koenji

This is the kind of bikes people ride in MY neighborhood. Whatcha think? I'm dying to see the owner ride it.

Argh.....

I ran into a pirate at the Koenji Awa Odori.

Of course, I got my pic with him.

Cat Cafe

You can pay by the hour to play with a bunch of cats, and I did!!! I paid 1000 yen (roughly $10) to hang out in a room full of cats for an hour. Along with buddying up with fluffy felines and taking their pictures, I also got one "free" drink.





Here's a "Neko Nabe." I guess it English it would be called a "Cat Pot" or maybe a "Pot of Cat".

Image Change

How do you like my new glasses?

Summer Vacation Lunch

I am officially on summer vacation now so I finally have time to cook and clean. Here's the lunch I whipped up today. I made up a chicken recipe that turned out pretty well. It was very garlicy, gingery, and cuminy with a some of Jay's homegrown carrots thrown in for color. I had tofu on the side, as you can see. But the best part of the whole meal was that I ate it on my NEW kitchen table!! Yay! Doesn't it look gorgeous?

Rainbow in Nakano

Isn't this gorgeous? I guess the rainy season is good for something.

Apple Mansion

Here's my new apartment from the outside. I'm on the top floor. There's a nice view and a good breeze. It is slowly starting to come together.

Blackberries

I've been checking out my new neighborhood and was very surprised to find blackberries. I love blackberries!! My whole family used to go blackberry picking every summer. The reward of our efforts always ended up in a hot cobbler and sometimes jam. Mmmmm...... These blackberries are really close to my house, and I've snagged a few already, but don't think I should take any more. They sure are tempting though.

Yamagata reunion

Here's me and my Yamagata ladies!! We met up in Takasaki this weekend. Esther came down from Yamagata, I came from Tokyo, and Sinead came all the way from Canada. We all met and lived in Yamagata city in 1999. Wow, that was 10 years ago!! Saying "time flies" is such a cliche, but it is soooo true.

My new view

Here are a few shots of the sunset from MY new kitchen window. Isn't it gorgeous? The photo quality is not too great, but I hope to see a lot more of these in my future.

I LOVE ORANGE!!!!

I moved to the Koenji area of Tokyo. Actually my apartment is right between Koenji and Nakano. I'm within walking distance of both stations. The area is cute with lots of restaurants, bars, thrift stores, and tiny shops selling lots of unusual things that you never knew you needed until you see them. It's time to go exploring in my new neighborhood!!

Finally..........

I moved into a new apartment. Yay!!! I'm so excited, but I've got lots of unpacking and organizing to do now.
Here's the kitchen. My very own kitchen!!!

This picture is looking into the living room from the kitchen.

Apparently......

Japanese kids like to suck on flowers. I tried it, and I liked it too. So sweet.

Don't worry about a thing......

My friend Tomo sang in the "Bob Marley - One Love Music Festival" in Yoyogi Park yesterday,

and she was amazing!!!! I wish I could sing.

The 30 yen shop

Everything in this bin is 30 yen or roughly 30 cents each!! It changes every day, and I've gotten some nice stuff before. I check it every day. Jay got a rockin T-shirt here the other day. I shall post pics of my best 30 yen finds soon.

Land of contradictions

The beauty of cherry blossoms mixed with the unsightliness of power lines somehow seem to morph into a new kind of unique beauty, but........

the effect seems to lose its power when the blossoms are gone. Hmmm.......

Another day.....

another drunk guy praying he makes it home.

Red shoes

make me HAPPY!!

First day of school.......

and doesn't everyone look pretty?

Looks like this cute family is on their way to the opening ceremony for the first day of school. Isn't mom's kimono gorgeous?

Jumping for joy. . . .

'cause spring is here!!

Spring has come and I feel like jumping! Well, I usually feel like jumping. Just thought it would be a good excuse.

Looking good Mr. Jameika.

I love the green of the weeping willow and the pink of the cherry blossoms - all combined with a nice shadow!! Great jump, if I do say so myself!

Cherry Blossoms in Ueno Park

Yay!! The sakura finally arrived, and they are beautiful.

But only for a short time..... They are gone before you know it.

Cute kids in Goa, India

This little one was our neighbor. He was so sweet.This one had three thumbs!! He had one on his right hand and two on his left!! Apparently it's a sign of good luck in India. There's a famous Bollywood actor with a lucky third thumb. Who knew?