betwin

Chikage and Riku

2010-02-22T23:13:00.001-08:00

Chikage and Riku
Originally uploaded by btwin

Went to visit grandkids, son and daughter-in-law in Tokyo. I was there from the middle of January to the middle of February, with my twin, Emily, arriving for the last three weeks. What a great trip. Chikage, now three, talks up a storm in English and Japanese. Riku, nine months, started crawling and holding and eating crackers during the stay. Besides showing Emily, my Tokyo, visiting Fabric Town, the Bead and Doll areas we went to Sugamo, Yokohama and Sapporo. Our birthday present from my son and his family was the trip to Sapporo's Winter Festival. Needless to say we had a wonderful time. I miss the family, food and Tokyo!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-01T21:58:00.001-08:00

Bill Thanks 2009
Originally uploaded by btwin

Pat and Bill hosted Thanksgiving this year. Luckily traffic was light and the trip was easy. Emy and Dolph drove with me. A fun time was had. Bill was operated on one week before Thanksgiving (his back) and he looks great. He's up and about and well onto the road of full recovery and no pain. Food was outstanding and conversation great. A fantastic day shared with family.

C and L

2009-12-01T21:54:00.001-08:00

C and L
Originally uploaded by btwin

Lee and Charity stopped by to pick up car seat and other assorted items that Hiroko and Ren left for them. These masks were part of the goodies. Great seeing them.

Grandchildren!

2009-11-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

What a great week! Son, daughter-in-law and grand children were here this past week. Chikage was sick at the beginning of the week, but soon got better. She dressed up as Kiki for Halloween (thanks to Baba making her costume, including satchel), Riku was skeleton during the day and Batman when they went trick and treating.

Chikage ate too much candy, threw up during the night and managed to get on the plane this morning.

It was a fun time, but not long enough. The children were good, we did a lot of shopping and I miss all of them.

chris and keiran visit

2009-07-10T11:35:00.001-07:00

chris and keiran 002
Originally uploaded by btwin

It was nice to have son, Chris and grandson Keiran here for a short visit. We (they) cleaned out the attic, donated lots of stuff, threw away more and had a great time. Food was fantastic, thanks to Chris' cooking. Too bad it was for only a few days.

Class Samples

2009-07-10T11:32:00.001-07:00

Big Print1
Originally uploaded by btwin

I've been busy making class samples. I teach at the City Quilter, New York, NY. This one is using big prints. They are all Japanese, but any big print works great. The other photos in Flikr is a bag that I will be teaching. It's fun to make the samples. Keeps me busy!

London

2009-05-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

After one week in Beverley, we took the train down to London. Our hotel was the Millenium Gloucester in Knightsbridge. It was around the corner from the tube. We purchased a one week Oyster Pass for the tube and busses. Most days we started our sightseeing from this tube station. We visited the Tower of London (including the exchanging of the keys when the tower is locked up for the evening), Churchill's Bunker, Imperial War Museum, Albert & Victoria Museum, Westminster Abbey, River Cruise on the River Thames to Greenwich, St. Paul's Church, Leicester Square, Victoria Station, Covent Garden, Buckingham Palace and went to see Billy Elliot. One day was for shopping where we went to Fortnum and Mason, Harrod's, Marks & Spencer (where I bought a rain jacket) and walked Oxford, Bond and Regent Streets. We had lunch in Harrod's.

Dolph was the navigator and he did an excellent job of navigating the tube. A few times we sat on the top deck of a bus to get to our destinatin.

Our meals included Indian, at an old London restaurant called Rules, pub lunches and Fish and Chips with Malt Vinegar on the Chips.

I called Dom's daughter Livvy and we met at the hotel for tea. It was great seeing her.

It was a great week, and we all would have loved more time in London and in Beverley.

Port Sunlight

2009-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Peter drove Emy, Dolph and me to Liverpool (2 hours from Beverley) to meet Dominick McCannon. I met Dom when I was living in Port Sunlight in the late 1960's. He and his wonderful wife, Judith (she died late last year) became good friends. We met in Liverpool, across the Mersey River from Port Sunlight, walked around the city and saw "The Cave", the nightclub where the Beatles had their start. Dominick and his partner were the architects who remodeled the night club. After Liverpool, we drove across the Mersey to Port Sunlight.

The village is a National Treasure and cannot be changed. Therefore, driving into the village was going into a time warp. Everything looked the same, including the yellow door at 47 Queen Mary's Drive. Spent the time in the village at the Lady Lever Art Gallery. This was my favorite place to visit when I lived in Port Sunlight in the late 1960's. It is now run by the Tate Museum and was as fabulous as I remembered. We walked around the village and then drove to Chester, via Clatterbridge, where my oldest son, Christopher was born and where I taught 7 year olds at the Clatterbridge School.

We walked the wall around Chester and through the day.

A great day ended with all of us having dinner at Ikea on the way home. It was sad to say goodbye to Dom, but hopefully he will visit here!

Unveiling of WWII RAF War Memorial

2009-05-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

May 16, 2009 was the unveiling of the WWII RAF War Memorial that Peter Naylor designed. It is dedicated to the men of unit 158 who flew out of Lissett Field on bombers to Germany. Ironically 851 were killed during the war. The Archbishop of York (in purple robe), did the dedication, reading an English translation of the Jewish Prayer for the Dead. The entire day was very emotional. The memorial is fantastic!

Saturday evening we all went to a 1940's dinner dance, with live music.

Peter's design and execution of the memorial is truly fantastic. If you ever get to the East Yorkshire of England, drive to Lissett Field a admire this memorial.

North Bar Without

2009-05-30T21:07:00.001-07:00

25 North Bar Without
Originally uploaded by btwin

Visited Philippa and Peter Naylor in Beverley, England. Left on the 12th of May and after one week in East Yorkshire, Emily, Dolph and I went to London.
The week up north was great. Here is the entry to the Naylor's house. We visited lots of churches and memorials in the area. Had lunch at a pub, walked the moors near the water and explored the area.
Check out the photos of Beverley, England

Newest Grandchild

2009-05-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I added an entry to the blog.
Been very busy with teaching quilting, playing bridge, running around with friends and trying to clean up my town house. Photos of student's quilts will go on blog soon.
BUT here's the latest addition to my son's family.
Chikage is now a big sister.
More details as I learn them.

One hour turns to three

2009-03-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

So, I decide to spend a day and evening in New York City. No problem, I leave my house at 2:20 to catch a 2:40 train to Manhattan. A glorious day, I decide to walk the half mile to the spur line, and just as I get to the tracks, the gates come down. I try to cross to the station, but my luck, a policeman is standing there and stops me from crossing the tracks and getting on the train. (My watch was set at the wrong time!). So, I go to the gas station across the street and ask them to call a cab for me. Fifteen minutes later, no cab, so I decide to walk to the main station (2 miles from where I am). A perfect day for walking and I do it. I get to the station, a train is on the track and I hop on, not sure if it is a local or express. No matter, I just want to get to New York City. And I do.
I take a bus downtown to my sister's place. Walk the few blocks to her apartment and meet one of her neighbors. Go inside, wait for the elevator, where another neighbor gets off. Then the elevator stops at another floor, but no one gets on or off. Finally get of the elevator and laugh hysterically.
I visit my sister fairly often and maybe 1% of the time I see someone in the lobby or on the elevator. I thought the trip would never end.
It turned out to be a delightful weekend, with Emily coming home with me and our going to a Baby Shower together.
Next time I make sure my watch has the correct time!

Home

2009-02-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

Left at 11:00 am from Narita Airport to fly home to JFK and arrived on the same day (Friday, February 27th) but at 9:30 am. So, I arrived in the USA before I left Japan. Figure that one out. Trip was uneventful, as it should be.
There was no traffic, so I got home before noon. Unpacked the suitcases, threw some laundry in the washing machine and went shopping for food. Mail was delivered and I started to sort through the mail by putting the "junk" mail in the recycling bin. Now I have to sort through the rest.
Called Emily and Linda, made dinner and crashed at 7:30 pm only to get up at 3 and back to sleep by 5 and up again at 7.
Today, Saturday, reading the newspaper and not doing much. Emy and Jenn are coming this evening for dinner (Italian). Nice to be home, but missing my family. Love to them all.

Chikage, Maia and Amy

2009-02-23T23:41:00.001-08:00

Chikage, Maia and Amy
Originally uploaded by btwin

Ren's friend Todd came over Saturday night with his two girls, giving his wife an evening to herself! Hiroko went to a school reunion. I made meatballs and spaghetti. The girls had a great time playing. It certainly tired Chikage, she went to bed without hesitation.

Making Japanese Sweets

2009-02-23T23:38:00.001-08:00

Originally uploaded by btwin

Ren and I went to a friend's mother's house to learn how to make Japanese sweets. We shaped the bean paste and outer layers and made all sorts of blossoms. We then had a "light" lunch of salmon salad, soup, advocado salad, sandwiches and other assorted goodies. Ate a sweet for dessert, followed by traditional green tea. A great time had by all.
We met with Chie at the train station, where she and I went off to Yokohama to visit Chinatown. Walked for quite a while, had tea in a tea parlor, walked some more, had our palms read, walked some more, had dinner and then came home.
A wonderful day!

French fries and ketchup!

2009-02-23T23:33:00.001-08:00

French fries and ketchup!
Originally uploaded by btwin

Took a walk with Hiroko and Chikage and ended up in a little french restaurant. Chikage asked for French Fries for lunch. Here she is absorbed in dipping each fry in ketchup. She ate about half of the bowl.

Japan Tokyo Museum of Modern Art

2009-02-18T04:45:00.001-08:00

Japan Tokyo Museum of Modern Art
Originally uploaded by btwin

Spent Tuesday at the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art and the Tokyo Museum of Arts and Crafts a few blocks away. Two wonderful museums. At the Arts & Crafts Museum the main exhibit was kimonos and textile. I spent a lot of time there, but unfortunately was not able to take any photos. A fun day!

Ceramic Dolphin I enameled

2009-02-18T04:42:00.003-08:00

Ceramic Dolphin I enameled
Originally uploaded by btwin

Mine and Ren's

2009-02-18T04:42:00.001-08:00

Mine and Ren's
Originally uploaded by btwin

Me in Yukata

2009-02-18T04:41:00.001-08:00

Me in Yukata
Originally uploaded by btwin

At the onsen, just after the Hot Springs Bath. Wow, it was great. Entire family (Ren, Hiroko, Chikage, Hiroko's folks-Masami and Kazuko, and I took the bullet train and spent two days at Chie's family onsen. Shabu-Shabu for dinner, plus lots more, breakfast of at least 10 dishes and a fun Sunday in the town visiting craft places. Ren, Masami, Chie and I dyed bandanas and Chie and I made enamel over copper dolphins. I gave my dolphin to Chigage. She chose the necklace to put it on and wore it proudly home. A great weekend. Thank you Ren and Hiroko!

Heart made in school

2009-02-18T04:37:00.001-08:00

Heart made in school
Originally uploaded by btwin

This is the card Chikage brought home from school. The other side says "I love you". She put the hearts on her eyes!

Thanks Uncle Chris!

2009-02-18T04:35:00.001-08:00

Thanks Uncle Chris!
Originally uploaded by btwin

Uncle Chris sent Chikage a box filled with goodies. All were wrapped and her name, Chikage, or Ton or Tonchan written on the gifts. Chikage immediately went through everything and put aside the packages with Chikage written on them. We told her the other gifts were hers as well. As soon as she opened this outfit, she immediately handed it to me and asked to help her put it on. It was big, so I told her that when she awoke in the morning, the outfit would be shortened and the waist made smaller so she could wear it on the trip to the onsen the next day. She loved everything that Uncle Chris sent. Thanks!

Tokyo Tower

2009-02-10T23:38:00.001-08:00

Tokyo Tower
Originally uploaded by btwin

View from Sky Walk, Mori Tower Art Museum.

Baba and Chikage

2009-02-09T17:47:00.001-08:00

Baba and Chikage
Originally uploaded by btwin

Chikage was in a photographing mood. She posed with her parents and me. This is a good one, so I just had to post it.

Ueno Park Zoo Tokyo

2009-02-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

A fun day at the zoo. The weather was sunny, but cool. Since it was a Sunday a lot of other families had the same idea. Chikage loved looking at the animals. After lunch we took a monorail (Chikage's favorite part of the day) to the other side of the zoo, where the Children's Zoo is located. We arrived just as they were feeding some of the animals. The goats and sheep were let out and we could take grass to feed them Chikage fed the goat. The animals grabbed the grass as soon as they saw it. She loved doing this. After trying to find the giraffe (he/she went into hiding) we walked a little and took the monorail back to the other side of the park to go home. Chikage fell asleep in the stroller on the train ride home, so we went to Roppongi Hills where we could take a stroll home and let Chikage sleep for a while. Of course this meant a stop at Starbucks for a Chai Latte with soy milk. My new favorite drink. Got home and rested until dinner time. Hiroko, as usual, made a wonderful meal. A wonderful day that went with Saturday's shopping with Hiroko and Chikage at Ningyocho. Inari, croquettes, sushi, omelets and potato looking cakes purchased for dinner on Saturday night. Met up with Ren and we walked to Ginza, got Chikage a balloon and went home for a feast! A fabulous weekend!