Fujisan: Journey Through the Clouds.

The second day in Japan was all official stuff…well, mostly.  In the morning we attended an official ceremony celebrating the first ten years of Minami Alps.  Basically we sat there and did not understand a thing and then stood up when they mentioned our cities.

After the ceremony (and watching people snooze and sit in very, er, casual manners) we had a box lunch with the other Sister City guests.  It was pretty tasty, except for a few things which I put down after a sample.

After lunch we headed off to the Ando House Museum.  This house is over 300 years old and was the house of a samurai warrior turned wealthy farmer.  (He lost a fight..)  Chiaki, my hostess came along as our interpreter.  It was really interesting and I had lots of opportunities to try out my new camera.

We stopped for coffee (or tea) at this house which was set up like a little cafe.  There was beautiful wooden furniture inside, and dolls which the lady made herself.  She served us coffee and cake, which was absolutely delicious.

That evening we had the official reception where we exchanged gifts and partied down with the Mayor and other official peoples.  (Photos to come, they are on a disk and my laptop does not have a disk drive.

The next day, I felt like Bilbo...I went up the mountain.  There were clouds and it was amazing to watch how fast the weather rolled in.

The first view of the mountain.

Map at the Welcome Center.

At the 5th Step.  As high as you can drive.

Looks like Heaven.

The last day my hostess Chiaki took me into Tokyo and we went to the National Museum.

Chiaki and Isao's house.

Tokyo

I'm Going to Japan, I think I'm going to Japan, I Really Think So!

So, for the last couple years I've been involved with our Sister Cities Association.  This year I happen to be president, and we got an invitation for representatives from Marshalltown to come and participate in a 10th Anniversary celebration, so I got to Minami Alps.  (Warning, there are lots of photos ahead!)

Setting out, I had several delays and was relieved not to miss any flights.  There were storms in Denver and then in Tokyo there was a Typhoon.  :(  Most of the days were cloudy, but pleasant.

On the first day, we went to a winery Budo No Oka and sampled the local wines.  You may not think of Japan when it comes to wine, but Yamanashi district is well known for wine.

We were given these souvenir cups and told we could sample all the wine we wanted.

They grow grapes hanging on structures.

Most of the wine was too dry for my taste, but there were lots of unique flavors.  I did buy a couple bottles of wine and some yogurt covered raisins.  Yum!

Next we had lunch at a hotel--it was buffet style and the room was really fancy.  This was my first opportunity to try much Japanese food and I really enjoyed.  Most of it anyway.

Then we drove up into the mountains to Shosenkyo Gorge and had a nice little hike down the river.  (I took TONS of photos, but I will only subject you to a few.)

As we were headed back to Minami Alps, we went through Kofu City which is the capital of the Prefecture.  We stopped at a Takeda Shrine and looked around.

The ancient deity Hello Kitty...

A very full, but interesting first day!

Catching up...

Ok, so it's been awhile since I posted.  Here's some quick catching up.

This summer my grandma discovered we had Flynn relatives in Iowa, so right before the semester mom and I took grandma over to a reunion where she met a bunch of relatives.  That was pretty neat.

So, I was recovering from surgery and the semester was getting nearer.  My boss started acting kind of strange, and I was wondering what was up.  Finally, I asked.  I had an inkling that if some things didn't change, he wouldn't be there much longer, and he pretty much confirmed that.  Wednesday when I got to work (3rd day of the semester), it was became quickly apparent that he was not only leaving, but that Wednesday was it...he would not be back Thursday.  You can imagine that I had some trouble digesting that.

September third, just four days later, I started grad school to get my MLIS.  Let's say simply that this semester has been a struggle.  I spend every waking moment going to work or doing homework.

Sigh!

But, we are half over, so if I can just make it through this semester...

On the plus side, I also hit the 50 lbs lost mark!!!

Ask a Slave.

Ok, so I came across this website tonight, and it is just too funny not to share!  One of George Washington's (actually Martha's) slaves answers questions from tourists.



Link to the original web site.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair!

         "Our State Fair is a great state fair
           Don't miss it don't even be late
           (our state fair is great)
           It's dollars to doughnuts at our state fair
           It's the best state fair in the state."

Any of you Rodgers & Hammerstein fans are probably acquainted with the musical/movie State Fair.  How many of you knew that it was written about the Iowa State Fair??  Yup!  A fair is a fair, right?  Wrong!

The Iowa State Fair is the best state fair not only in the state, but in the land!  There is tons of entertainment, tons of great food, tons of culture.  And everything you ever wanted is available on a stick!  The Iowa Pork Producers are there with their fantabulous pork chops, there is the world's biggest bull, ginormous pumpkins, a cow chip throwing contest, and of course, the pièce de résistance, the butter cow!*

I have been to the State Fair probably 26 of the last 32 years.  I'm always a little sad if I miss it.  For me, it holds lots of memories of people and places, and bits of my childhood.  It's a part of me, and I think that a lot of Iowans might say the same.  It's something deeply ingrained in the heart, something that fills your heart with pride of being born and bred in the heartland--a place which is still a little bit in the past, when times were simpler, family was important, and kids were allowed to just be kids.  It's a place where people come together for sweet corn and fried catfish, or in times of disaster to help a neighbor in need, even if that neighbor is two towns over.

Yes, there is something about Iowa...I may not always live here, but it will always be my home, and to me, the State Fair is a culmination of all that is Iowa.  I can understand what brought people to the plains--what great beauty there must have been in the rolling, green hills, crisp streams, powerful rivers, and then the amber waves of grain.  What a sight!

Iowa, people may make fun of you, may think your offspring are dull, but you are my mother, my home, and my heart will always remain here, especially in August, during the time of the Fair.

Because I had only been off crutches for two days, I did the fair scooter style this year!

*Some really stupid animal rights people poured red paint on the butter cow this year--I don't think they gained any supporters.  And the Fair had the last word with Butter Cow Security T-Shirts!

Pork Chop on a Stick...'nuff said.

Post Surgemication: Two Weeks

Surgery was two weeks ago today.  Today I took all the tape and bandages off of my incision, and took my first good look at it.  It was bigger than I thought because of the way he stitched it together, it looks like three incisions.

Tonight, I also put on a shoe and walked around on it a little.  It felt very strange.  I can tell that things work very differently in my ankle now and that it is going to take some getting used to.  It also feels like there is empty space in my ankle.

To top off the evening, I drove my car to the drugstore!

Wow!  What a difference a week makes!

Post Surgemication: I can haz shower???

YAY!!!

Today I had my stitches out!  What a glorious day!!!


I didn't even feel the first two, the second two kinda hurt, but the last one wasn't bad.  The nice young man cleaned up the incision and put tape over it, just to reinforce it a little for a few days.  Then they took me down for a few x-rays.

Dr. Lee came in and looked at it, said get rid of the crutches, wear the boot for a few more days, and ease into wearing a shoe as I feel comfortable.  This is all very awesome, especially the part about no crutches, but the best part is that I can shower again!  No more needing help to wash my hair, no more not being to make my own food and carry it, no more not being able to open doors!!!  It's like a dream come true!









Here you can see that the incision is about the length of a finger.

You can see a slight bit of bruising on the opposite side of my heel.

Gonna have to slow it down a little though...this boot is a little challenging if you try to go very fast...