Chopsticks of Doom

Two and a half years ago, when we moved from our apartment to the house we are in now, Dustin bought me a young Japanese maple tree. We planted it in front of our house and I have been a bit doting and over protective ever since.

Our brave/crazy friend Danielle who biked home with our maple as well as two other
bushes in her bike baskets.

In the late spring and early summer of this year, I noticed a dozen or so small, green limpet like things munching away on my maple leaves.  I pulled them off and disposed of them before they could do much damage. I didn't find them on any other plants in my garden though. 

About a week and a half ago, since the weather has cooled down a bit, I noticed they were back on my maple and this time I didn't really bother about pulling them off right away. Partially it was laziness and partially it was not really caring if the leaves get chewed up a bit since the tree will be shedding its leaves soon anyway. During that time they grew much larger and more caterpillar like. 

I finally decided to do something about them when Dustin brushed past the tree and instantly had a bad skin reaction. He said it was an itchy, painful burning sensation like fiberglass rubbed into your skin. The spot where he had touched the caterpillar stayed red and puffy for a few hours. 

The tree was pretty infested with these wee beasties and quite a few were at Rosie's hight, so I decided they needed to go. 

They always hang out on the underside of the leaves. Unfortunately for them, their
neon green colour doesn't blend in too well and they are easy to spot.

When William got home from kindergarten today, we decided to tag team this problem. I wielded the chopsticks of doom while William put them down for a dirt nap.

Always happy to oblige

In the wake of their destruction

Before you think I am a completely cruel and heartless killer, I did do a little research on this species before I obliterated them from my garden. The species is Parasa lepida, or the Nettle Caterpillar, and they are a nuisance invasive species in Japan. I may have felt a small twinge of guilt wiping out a native species, but the ecologist in me feels absolutely no remorse about assisting in removing a poisonous, exotic pest.

I am curious if they will show up again next spring but if they do, William and I will be ready for them!

Just Around the Corner

William this morning before the dining room
warmed up. It was nippy 3˚, hence the tuque and blanket

Winter is fairly cold here in Fukuyama. Not snowy, -30, 70 km/hr wind kind of cold like in Manitoba, but since our house is drafty and barely insulated you feel the cold all the time. We use a space heater to warm the room we are currently occupying and the rest of the house remains at a brisk 5 - 10˚ C, especially on the floor where the children spend most of their day. This method of heating may be more eco-friendly than the central heating that we are used to back home but it is by no means less expensive. In the winter months here we spend more than twice as much heating one room at a time compared with our whole house in Canada. This is partially due to how expensive electricity is here compared to the hydro electric power that we use in Manitoba but also because there is virtually no insulation in older Japanese houses. The floor has a large open space below it with only wooden flooring separating our freezing toes from the outside. The windows are single pane and there are gaps in some areas where they don't quite fit properly. On windy days you can feel drafts coming in from everywhere, and the walls are thin and barely insulated.

For me, the worst part of winter here is not feeling constantly chilly, but feeling confined to small areas of your house. The children roam, open doors, and inevitably want to play in the room that is not currently being heated. Half of my day is spent saying "shut that door behind you! You're letting cold air!". By the time spring rolls around we all have an intense case of cabin fever from being cooped up in one small room most of the time. I am pretty sure that I will never get used this aspect of winter in Japan.

There are a few things that make winter lovely as well. It rarely snows where we are and usually hovers around 1˚ C or so. This means that we can actually spend time outside every day in the winter, go for bike rides, and enjoy the neighbourhood parks without fear of exposure and frost bite. You can grow hardy vegetables even in the winter and there are plants that even bloom in January. Coming from a place that is dead and sterile for at least 1/3 of the year I still haven't gotten over how amazing this is!

Last year around Christmas I noticed a shrub which I had never encountered before, the wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox),  or ロウバイin Japanese. It quickly has become my favourite flowering shrub and I really looked forward to its blooming this winter. In our area of Japan at least, it blooms throughout January and February and has the most amazing jasmine like smell. The blossoms begin as little yellow balls and open into yellow multi-petaled pendent flowers that last for quite a few weeks. Some trees are so densely covered in them that it looks like there is buttered popcorn popping off of their branches. You can't help but notice their wonderful scent whenever you pass by one and if you are anything like me, you will stop and inhale deeply for a few seconds before moving on.

Sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans), or キンモクセイ, is another strongly scented flowering shrub that grows here. Its orange flowers usually open in the autumn but unlike the wintersweet, I find its scent cloying, too sweet, mostly abhorrent. I am willing to admit that I am the odd one out on this because most people I have talked to love the smell of sweet osmanthus. Unfortunately, the osmathus all bloomed in Fukuyama right at the peak of my morning sickness this fall and I could barely stand leaving the house for fear of running into its smell. It seemed like everyone in the city had one growing in their garden. Sometimes I could see the orange flowers while I was still out of scent range so I knew to hold my breath but usually they were hidden behind a wall and I couldn't help but get at least one horrible whiff of them. I hope that I don't forever have an association with extreme queasiness and their smell. 

The bane of my morning sickness

These tiny double daffodils are beautiful and
super fragrant. Love them!

Even with the relative mildness of winter weather here, this winter has seemed extremely long to me. I am sure it has something to do with my crappy pregnancy circulation, but I also have a hunch that this winter has been slightly colder than the last. This theory is completely based on which dates I took pictures of flowers I saw beginning to bloom (yay for photos that are accurately dated!). Last winter I took photos of daffodils blooming in early January, but this year I have only noticed them starting to bloom in the past few days. This week I also spied a plum tree down the street whose buds are beginning to open. Winter can't last forever! 

Christmas 2012

The turning of the year is always a really busy time for our family. I know this is true for almost everyone, but with Christmas, Dustin's birthday on December 30th, New Year's, and Theo's birthday on January 2nd, I really feel the pressure.

Despite the extra effort, Dustin and I really love Christmas and try our best to make it a magical holiday for our children as well. It is still a bit strange being in a country where you have to work on Christmas, it is more of a date night than a family holiday, and the normal traditions include eating fried chicken and cake. Dustin took Christmas Day off from work so that he could spend it with us and the next day everyone at his school asked if he had been sick. They had all completely forgotten that Christmas was on the 25th!

Last year we borrowed a little tree from our neighbours who were out of the country. This year we finally decided to get a tree of our own and ordered one online. Yes, it is artificial, but it is 1.8 meters tall and not the little miniature trees that are usually for sale here. I just love the cozy atmosphere that comes from setting up a glowing Christmas tree. After about a day or two of having his hands slapped, William finally caught on that the goal was not to tear the decorations and lights off every time he saw it.

Theo dictated a letter to Santa and then wrote both his and his brother's name on the bottom so he could leave it next to Santa's snack of cookies and milk. I am not sure why William looks so depressed in this photo. Maybe he is having last minute worries about whether his behaviour this past year got him into Santa's good books.

To prevent the children from pestering us about presents or tearing into them before Christmas morning, we always hide them away until they go to sleep on Christmas Eve. Here is our tree after the presents have been pulled from their hidey holes and placed under the tree for discovery the next morning.

Theo had a lot of fun impersonating Santa and William added a new word to his vocabulary: "Ho, Ho, Ho!".

Christmas morning was full of smiles, noise, and energy

which quickly turned to quiet, absorbed playtime with new toys

We invited our friends who have become the children's Japanese grandma and grandpa (obaasan and ojiisan) to enjoy the day with us. This was their first time to experience a typical western style celebration of Christmas. 

After a fun morning of presents, apple cider, and playing we had a wonderful Christmas dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, veggies, and pumpkin pie. It was a very relaxed and wonderful day. 

Spring Frolics

I have been told that we are experiencing a colder than usual spring this year which has caused the sakura, or cherry blossoms, to open a bit later than expected. This past weekend we were able to enjoy celebrating our first Easter and hanami, or flower viewing, in Japan.

We started our Easter festivities off on Saturday by dying about 4 dozen eggs at our friend's house. I had brought an egg dying kit from Canada last summer and was really grateful for my foresight. The food coloring here is really strange and weak. As far as I know, it is only derived from natural, plant based sources, which is better for your health than the chemical food colouring available back home, but doesn't really work when you want vibrant colours or are trying to colour egg shells. I also find that each colour has a strange taste and comes in a powder form that is really hard to work with. I have made a mental note to bring back liquid and gel food colouring from Canada when we go back for a visit. Sure it's all chemicals, but if you're going to do something, you might as well do it right.

On Easter morning, Theo and William woke up to find that the Easter bunny even comes to Japan. They found a little basket of goodies that he left them on the balcony.

After church we had an Easter egg hunt in a neighbourhood park using all the eggs we made the day before. This was the first time most of these children had ever hunted for eggs and I think it was a big hit.

Later that day, we went to the castle to see the sakura which had opened a few days before.

Even though Theo's spring break has ended, he is only in kindergarten half days (his full days are only about 4 1/2 hours long and half days are about 2 and a bit hours) until the 19th of April. This means he returns for lunch ever day, leaving us free to enjoy our bentos and the sakura at the neighbourhood park.

Kinkan

I have discovered that Japan is all about its seasonal fruits. A few months ago, persimmons and figs were hanging ripe on countless dozens of trees in our neighbourhood and could be found for great prices at every grocery store. Now, it is difficult to find them but the time of the citrus fruit is at hand. Yuzu, a sour citrus fruit that is a bit like a cross between a mandarin orange and a lemon, are everywhere and all sorts of drinks and sweets flavoured with yuzu can be found. We are being given mikan, or as Canadians love to call them, Christmas oranges, by the the bagful from friends with trees. Last week, Dustin's Japanese teacher gave us a bag of kinkan, or kumquats, from the tree on their yard. I had never tried one before and always assumed that they taste similar to loquats, which grow everywhere in the area of Mexico where my dad lives. I was terribly wrong, since really nothing about them, other than their size and the "quat" in the name, is similar to a loquat. The rind is sweet and tastes just like eating an orange peel but slightly less intense. The inside is lemony sour. You eat the fruit rind and all, and together the taste is almost like popping a spoonful of deliciously tart and intensely flavourful marmalade into your mouth. I have become fascinated with the flavour of these little beauties and managed to eat the whole bag were given in just a few days. It is a good thing that they are in season now and can be found just about everywhere. I better enjoy them while they are still around though, since I will have to wait a whole year once they are no longer in season.

Celebrations

Normally Dustin would not get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off of work, but this year both fell on a weekend so we were able to really relax and enjoy ourselves. We were also lucky enough to be able to borrow our neighbours Christmas tree, since they would be visiting family in the U.S. during Christmas. We decided against setting it up in advance, since we knew that William is old enough now to be facinated with it and try to grab every he can get his grubby fingers on, but not old enough to understand the word "no".  Instead, we decided to ask Santa Claus to bring a decorated tree when he came to drop off presents.

On Christmas Eve, we decided to try out our new nabe pot. Nabe is a Japanese dish where you heat broth and cook vegetables, meat, and seafood in it at the table. It was a warming and delicious meal which both boys managed to sleep though which was a bonus for Dustin and me. After, Theo woke up and had some leftovers, we helped him write a long letter to Santa, thanking him for the presents and telling him where to put the tree, and put out a plate of milk and cookies. After the kids were in bed, the real fun began. The tree was set up, stockings stuffed, and presents pulled from our many hiding spots.

The next morning, Theo was wide eyed and impressed with Santa's magical skills and we had a fun filled time opening gifts and chatting with family on Skype. It is amazing how quiet and well behaved kids can be when they have a few new toys to occupy them. This was the most laid back and relaxed Christmas that I have had in many years. There weren't multiple, large family gatherings to run back and forth to and only enough presents to make our kids happy and grateful, not unappreciative, greedy monsters.

Yesterday, we also celebrated Dustin's 32nd birthday. He didn't have to work, since the New Year's holidays started on December 29th. Here's hoping that the next year brings him lots of laughs, growth, peace, and happiness.

As an ode to Dustin over the years, here are a few rarely seen photos of him, most showing his amazing and very varied facial hair styles. Thank goodness that he feels socially obligated to remain clean shaven now!

There are a few things in life that Dustin truly appreciates: Mac products,

history,

building and paddling kayaks,

eating good sushi and experimenting with ridiculous facial hair, 

brewing and drinking quality beer,

ensuring Canada's safety while wearing gloves called "The Friskmaster 2000", 

a challenging bike ride or hike,

and most of all, his family.

We love you Dustin!