Recipe

This is the recipe for the Russian Teacakes/Mexican Wedding cookies/American Snowballs/English Ladyfingers that I made in Japan...and yes, those are all real names that I have found for the same cookie...

2 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

½ cup each: Tapioca starch, Potato starch, cornstarch

1 cup each: Almond flour, Rice flour, and Sorghum flour

3 tsp Xanthan Gum

½ tsp salt

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Heat oven to 400. Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, egg & vanilla. Work in flour, salt & nuts until the dough holds together. Cover & chill for 30 minutes or so. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set, but not brown. I only needed to keep them in for 10 minutes. I use an oven thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature in my oven. Let cookies cool slightly – 5-10 minutes. While still warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar. Set on cooling rack to complete cooling. Roll again in sugar once they are cool.

This makes 6 dozen cookies, minus the two I ate raw. :)

If you really want to do it the way I did you will mix the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla with a beater, and then use a wooden spoon the rest of the time... There's just something I love about making cookies with a wooden spoon!

Today...Day 47

Well, here I am at the end of another day... The past two days have been extremely busy. Sundays are always busy, and I believe the most stressful day of the week for all of us. It is stressful to me because it is really the only time I am fully in Japanese culture. Also, last night after church Abi and I went to Chiba for a sayonara party for several of the short term interns... It's really sad that most of the people I've gotten to know are leaving within three weeks. :( We met in the team leader's home for a 'taco rice' dinner, and good bye. I learned that they built their own house using materials sent from America. It was really nice. For a while, I forgot I was half way around the world. I felt like I was at Granny's house on Thanksgiving... That was really the 'homiest' I've felt since I've been here. I went to bed immediately after we got back at 11:00. Abi explained this morning why Sundays are so stressful for me even though I don't do anything besides what I normally do... When I am with Japanese speaking people, my mind is trying to pick out and pick up the Japanese words whether I realize it or not. So I end up running my brain overtime without even knowing it! That's what makes me tired.

This morning I slept until seven. I wouldn't have gotten up then if I had not been awakened by a morning piano lesson. :) I decided either this morning or yesterday morning that I don't like sleeping on a futon...It's too hard to get up on mornings that I'm really tired. I actually have to lie there until I have the energy to make myself move. In my bed at home, I can just sort of roll off and be in a half standing position. :D After we got the boys off to school, I decided to make what we call snowballs while the Japanese language teacher was here. They actually turned out really well, AND they were gluten free! This afternoon after I cooked them I was able to lie down for about an hour. I was SO tired I could hardly stand up. At 3:30 thirteen people came over as the last stop of a tour of Tokyo. We served them tea and cookies and fruit. As they left at 4:3o, Eastin and I left too. We went to the apartment building next door for a lesson with Hinako-Chan. At about 6:00 we got back and I helped finish up dinner. The boys are in bed now, and the kitchen has been cleaned. Either I am still tired, or I'm tired again! I'll probably go to bed before long.

Well, may the Lord bless and keep you all!

Love,
Hannah

Unexpected Fun!

Well, so much for not anything interesting to write about.... Tonight, I had some rather unexpected fun! Satoshi and Yukiho came this afternoon... They are Rev. Fukuda-San's youngest two children - 16 and 14 years old. We had been trying to arrange for us to do something this afternoon earlier this week, but nothing was ever confirmed. We had forgotten about the possibility of them visiting when they rang the bell. I have really come to appreciate Abi's ability to think on her feet. From the time they rang the bell downstairs to the time they came in, she had decided that the three of us would make pizza. We made the crust, and then went to the super market to buy toppings. Abi's idea was for them to make a Japanese style pizza, and for me to make an American/Italian style pizza. I must say that both pizzas were absolutely delicious! I couldn't tell you what all I put on my pizza, because when I make pizza I just decorate it with whatever I have on hand that might be good on a pizza. :) Thankfully, I was paying attention while they were making theirs, so I can tell you how to make a version of Japanese style pizza.

After the crust is pre-baked, spread about a half tsp. olive oil over it. Then add sliced teriyaki chicken. Lightly saute and add sliced eggplant, fresh mushrooms, and half an onion. Then squirt mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise) over the top and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake until you think it's done. :) Be prepared to eat it with a fork... We had to. The three of us ate a whole pizza, and Satoshi wanted to take the rest home for their family. I also made 'American style sweet tea' to go with it. I served them their first glass cold, and then didn't give them any more ice. I started thinking, in the States, it is considered rude to serve hot sweet tea... But they seemed to like it better warm, so I let them drink it warm. We drank nearly half a gallon!

I learned that they have both visited New York, Virginia, and Texas. They remembered the beautiful mountains in Virginia, and the noise of New York... :) They said they want some day to visit Mississippi, so I showed them some of my pictures of the Mississippi River. I also showed them pictures of my family and some extended family, pets, and 4-H shows. They loved all the family pictures; they said our Boston Terrier was cute and the cows were big; and they found me in all the livestock show pictures they saw. In return, I got to see pictures of their school, and family. I really enjoyed it all.

One more thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post today was about my green tea donut. Abi and I stopped at a Mr. Donut one day and bought donuts for Roger and myself. I got a green tea icing filled donut. When I bit into it, what looked like basil pesto fell out, and I was sure there was something else in there.... There was... They were beans! Yep, there were beans in my green tea donut... It was really, really weird! I don't think I'll be getting another one of those. I did learn that in Japan, beans are usually considered a delicacy, and most of the time they are candied. That explains why they were in my donut...

Well, it is late here now and tomorrow is Sunday, so I should go to bed.

My love to you all,

Hannah

Long Time...

Hello all! I hope you are all doing well... As for me, I've been sick. Thursday I came down with a fever and bad headache. I felt better yesterday, except for having absolutely no energy... Today I have most of my energy back... The only thing bothering me is the expected sore throat that can last for up to a week. Hopefully that will go away soon.

Well, it has been a long time since the last time I posted anything, and I'm sorry for that... It just seems that nothing that interesting has happened since the movie night, except for the joy and amazement of everyday life! So I will highlight some of the everyday things that have happened recently, in order of my memory, not in order of happening... I visited my first gasoline station on Wednesday... The first thing that struck me was that there were no pumps... To save space, the pumps hang from the ceiling and can be pulled down. The second thing I noticed was that there is no self service here. When you drive up, someone tells you where to park, asks how much you want put in, fills you up, and gives you a window wash. When they're done, they usher you out, as if you had been in a mechanic garage. As we were sitting waiting for them to fill us up, I happened to notice the price sign. It said something like 243 yen (roughly equivalent to $2.45). Well, then I was told that gas is sold by the liter, not the gallon! That's one reason most people take the trains... :)

The next thing that has happened that comes to mind is Coen learning to walk. He has known how to walk for about a month now. But just yesterday he decided that he could walk. The funny thing is that he's pulled himself around holding on to stuff and going sideways so long, that now he walks like a crab. :D He looked so funny last night when he just randomly decided to walk in circles around the living room for about 20 minutes!

I also wanted to share with you yet another Japanese sunset... You are going to get really tired of sunsets, but they all look so different. The picture of this one REALLY doesn't do it justice. I also had to include this picture of Coen. He is sitting in his bouncy thing. When I took this picture, he had been looking at me for a long time, and then he would start laughing hysterically, and bounce for a few minutes... Then he would watch me again, and then he would laugh and bounce....

Another cute thing I've learned is that Eastin's favorite food is "ban-an-pean-butter", translated banana and peanut butter. :)

I don't think I told you about the chocolate chip cookies I made last Sunday with the boys. They were a success, AND gluten free! I let Aidan help me mix them, and then I let each of them make a pan full, and see them once they were done. I have found that the secret ingredient for cookies is potato starch. Unfortunately, until last week, the only potato starch we had was contaminated. All of the cookies were eaten that day!

Well, today is my day off, so since there is a possibility I'm still contagious, I decided not to have friends over like I had planned to do. Now my plan is to finish the last 6 chapters of The Hobbit, and probably start the Fellowship of the Ring.

Thank you all for your prayers, and thoughts!

My love to you all,

Hannah

Saturday

Hello everyone...

I hope you all had a good Saturday, and are looking forward to your Sunday. I had a good day yesterday. Last night I traveled one train stop to Geert and Eline's apartment. Several girls and ladies from church gathered in a mini-theater in their building to watch a movie. We watched Enchanted. I was a little worried at first, because I forgot to ask what language we were going to watch the movie in.... We watched it in English, with Japanese subtitles. I can tell you the names of the people I remember from this picture...

Second to left is Yukiho, and beside her is Iako. In the middle of the sofa is Eline (wearing pig-tails in true Dutch fashion), and then Hannah... Keiko is the one taking the picture. I really enjoyed the movie... That's the kind of movie I really like...light and happy...

Yesterday morning I slept until 8:00. It felt really nice to sleep that late.... :) Then, after a shower and a wonderful breakfast of delicious granola, I started reading. I am simply enthralled in The Hobbit. At around 11:00, I was able to talk to my family. They also got to meet Eastin. :) Eastin told me earlier today that he wanted to see my Mommy and Daddy and sisters again, and could we please talk to them? (Sorry Colin, he didn't say anything about wanting to talk to you...) After that, I read again until about 3:30, when I went to the subway station to meet Keiko, Yukiho, and Iako....

Well, I should probably go for now... We have to leave for church soon.

Hannah

Happy Father's Day

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to wish every father a Happy Father's Day! (Especially my Daddy, and my Grandfathers.)

I found out yesterday that today is Father's Day here in Japan, and remembered that it is the same day in the States. I know it is not Sunday there yet.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

love,

Hannah

Dinner Anyone?

Well, Good morning everyone! Anyone up for some food?

These pictures - excluding the one of Coen - were our dinner. First off, we have delicious jumbo shrimp, which we de-shelled before cooking. The bottom picture is my personal favorite: squid. I can't decide which looks more appetizing...the large de-headed squid, or the tiny whole ones... They did not look quite like this when we ate them. We made tempura for dinner. I say 'we' because it really took both Abi and me to do it. She also made miso soup with seaweed to go with it. We battered and fried bell peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, okra, and kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), along with what is pictured. I think my favorites were the eggplant and bell pepper. The shrimp tasted ok, but the squid was too rubbery. It didn't have a bad taste, but it was just hard to eat. The smaller squid do taste better to me.

It's really funny, but last year, I never would have eaten squid or shrimp... Now I eat it, and it even tastes good most of the time.

The picture of Coen was taken tonight too. He is in his bouncy thing, which he loves! I thought it was too cute to miss. :) He really is asleep in the picture.

Today went well. The morning was mostly uneventful, except for trying to get Eastin to eat tofu. He had apparently formed some notion that it would not taste good (which it does).

Around 10:00 I started working on a new bread recipe, and it turned out well. I made it in a muffin pan like rolls. They actually taste and look like wheat bread. I was proud of myself. :)

After that, Abi and I went to the grocery store to buy ingredients for the tempura. Honestly, I am going to take my camera there one day. It is really incredible!

On the way back from there, it started raining. It was raining hard by 3:00 when I left here with Eastin headed towards Hinako-Chan's house. We did English school in her apartment today. I really enjoyed it, and it gave me some insight into her character. She is a little mommy. By the time we left she was making vegetable soup with play kitchen food. She had set Eastin to work making a cake, and found it hilarious that he obviously had no idea what he was doing. She was also instructing me as I was making rice pudding. :) We came back (in the rain) at 5:00. Eastin was still insisting that he didn't have fun, but when we got home he informed me that we have to go to her house next week. And then we started dinner......

Last night for dinner I made stuffed chicken breasts. I never know what I put in them by the time they're done, but I think these were some of the best I've ever made. I stuffed them and grilled them for about 7 minutes. I think the best parts were the basil pesto, red pepper and cubed Gouda. :)

After supper Abi gave me a donut bag from 'Mr. Donut' and said, "The green one's yours. I got some for you and Roger. I definitely want you to have the green one." To tell the truth, I paused for a full 5 seconds before I continued opening it! I carefully opened the bag and peeked in. Sure enough, there was a green donut! Don't think easter-egg green; think cooked green beans green, with easter-egg green icing! When I bit into it, I found English pea green on the inside. It was a green tea donut. I know I'd never tried one, and I don't think I'd ever heard of a green tea donut. To tell the truth, it was pretty good. Donuts here aren't nearly as sweet as the ones in the States. Still, it was really good with a tall glass of milk.

Well, I have been reading The Hobbit lately. I have never read the trilogy before, and Roger owns all of them, so I decided there was no better time to start. One night I read about a third of The Hobbit, and I am about half way through it now. I really enjoy it. I didn't think I would, but I do.

Well, this is already very long... So I probably should end it now....

My love to you all!

Hannah

Gluten Free Peach Cobbler

This is the peach cobbler recipe that I made last night. I made it up. It is absolutely wonderful, and best when served warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top.

1 large can and one small can of sliced peaches in light syrup

about 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups white rice flour

3/4 cup tapioca starch

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 - 1 1/4 cup white sugar

About 1 cup butter or margarine

Pour peaches and juice in a brownie pan (about 9" x 9"). Cut them into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle cinnamon over peaches and set aside. In a medium bowl mix other ingredients except for butter. Spread this mixture over the peaches. Melt the butter and pour over top. Bake at 350 for about 50 min. or until light brown.

I didn't measure the exact amount of what I put in. If you want a thinner crust, put it in a 9" x 13" pan. This cobbler is a crowd pleaser wherever it's taken. The gluten free version is sure to be too, as it tastes practically the same.

Day 36

Hello everyone. I hope this finds you all well and ready for a good night's sleep. :)

This morning has started out well for most of us. (Pray for Abi. She's not feeling well today.) Roger and I made breakfast and fixed lunches for the boys. After we got them off to school, I tried to put Coen down for a nap. He did not want to nap. He just wanted to cling to me. I held him for about an hour and sung him to sleep finally. Unfortunately when I put him down he woke up and started crying. So finally I just put him down and stood outside the door where he couldn't see me. He cried for about 5 minutes. After that he went to sleep. By then it was about 9:45. After he stopped crying I had time for a shower and some coffee. When I came back into the living room, I was immediately struck by the view. I see it every day, but today it seems different....somehow clearer and more brilliant.... I've never had to wear glasses before, but it seems like I've been looking at the world through dirty glasses for the past week. I wish I could describe it... I don't know what the rest of the day will look like for me... I mean, I don't know what I'll be doing.

Well, now that I've told all about today, I'll tell you about yesterday. :)

I really don't remember yesterday morning right now. I know that we got the boys off to school and Coen down for a nap before the Japanese language instructor came. I was able to talk to my family while she was here. I really enjoyed that time! After she left I went to fix myself some lunch. Not long after I sat down to eat, Abi, Eastin, and 6 other people came in. I did not know that Eastin's friends and their mothers were coming over for lunch. So we all had lunch together and let the boys play for a while.

I enjoyed talking to the mothers. Two of them spoke English. They were asking me what I am interested in, and what I plan to major in etc, and beef cattle came up...(imagine that)... When they found out that my grandfather raises beef cattle, they all assumed that I am an expert on the taste of beef... Unlike some people, I can tell you more about the beef on the hoof, than on the plate... But that's not what they were interested in. So I tried to find some way to explain the difference in the taste of American and Japanese beef. :) It was really funny...

After lunch, I did some school work with Eastin. I think that what frustrates Eastin the most is his lack of confidence. He can read the words... I know it. But he thinks he can't. Unfortunately, he is not the type that enjoys constant challenge.

After we did a little school, Eastin and I made a peach cobbler. I basically used Poppa's recipe, but since it had to be gluten free, I used tapioca and rice flour instead of baking mix. I thought it turned out pretty well considering that I was guessing on amounts of ingredients. It's funny, but when I do that, whatever I'm cooking turns out better than when I follow the recipe. I've never understood that...

Anyway, after that was done, I took my little charge to the park to blow bubbles. We did that, and then went to walk through the shrine nearby. That's where the two pictures at the top came from. The first one is of a pretty plant I found as I was leaving the shrine. The second one is of the shrine itself . Seeing the shrine was eye opening. As technologically advanced as this country is, and as modern as they are, they still worship at these shrines. There are several in our area. It is very saddening.

After we left there, we came back to the house for dinner. Kieko came last night to help with the music for Sunday. I really like her, and hope to get to know her better.

Well, that is probably enough for now... I should get my things ready for tomorrow when I have an English lesson with Eastin and Hinako-Chan.

My love to you all!

Hannah

Answer

Question: When movies made in Hollywood play in Japan, does the audience hear the English and read Japanese subtitles? Love you! Zoe

Zoe (and all),

If you remember, Iron Man 2 came out in the States some time in mid May. It didn't come out here until last Friday. Movies usually come out 4 weeks to 6 months later here than in the USA. It's not unusual. They always wait until all the new Japanese movies have come out , so that the other movies don't ruin theirs. When English movies are played here, they have usually been over-dubbed so that you watch them in Japanese.

Love,

Hannah

Yesterday

o ha yo! (Good morning!)

I feel like it's been a long time since I've written, even if it really hasn't been... A lot has happened! First of all, Coen is feeling much better. He is his usual cheerful self now! It's great to see him back!!!

On Saturday I had a day off. I went with Abi and the boys to the park right beside Disney. It is really huge! After we had a picnic in the shade, we went back towards the front of the park and came upon a performer. He was a juggler who also did the balancing on a board on top of a rolling tube. I thought that the best part of his performance was his running commentary. I could not understand most of it, but Abi was translating what she could understand. It was obvious that everyone else enjoyed it too. After that was over, we walked to the huge water fountain. We let the boys take off their shoes and shirts and play in it for some time. I did notice that no one was in the fountain when we got there and let our children play in it. By the time we left, it was a huge attraction for children and adults. Abi said that was very Japanese... Lots of people probably wanted to, but were afraid...until they saw someone else doing it. After the park, I had the choice to go to Chiba to stay the night with Bob and his wife, or come back here and take a nap. (Guess which one I chose.) They are kind of like the 'parents' of the Chiba team. I would have gone to Chiba, but they have a new group that got there on Saturday, and the school talent show was that night as well. I decided that it would be better to go some other weekend. I came here and took a long nap, and then went for about an hour walk before dinner. After I got back from my walk, I went with Abi to the grocery store. When we got home, Alex, Abi and I watched Fellowship of the Ring.

On Sunday there was a church picnic. I did not go. I stayed home while everyone else went to the picnic and to church. While they were gone, I experienced my first earthquake. First I heard a loud crash. It sounded more like the balcony fell off. Then there was a low grumble for about 2 minutes. After that there was nothing but the heavy sway of the building for about 10 minutes.

About 6:30 that afternoon, people started arriving for the concert we had here last night. We had mostly college students perform. We had several singers, a few pianists, and two saxophonists. It was really good. I find it interesting that in this one weekend I have been Abi's sister, Alex's sister, and the boys' sister at different times. I am still trying to figure out why everyone thinks I'm related to someone... People didn't leave until almost 10:00 PM. After that, we four older people stayed up and talked. I went to bed at 12:00. I left everyone else still talking...

I slept really well, and woke up at 6:30. (Even though I need 8 1/2 hours of sleep.) I made breakfast while Abi made lunch boxes. At 7:20 A.M. Alex left here to go to the airport. His flight left for Dallas at around 11:00. It will be a lot different around the house without him here. Around 8:30 I went back to bed to take a nap. I got in my last two hours of sleep then, but I was still tired. In fact, I have been tired all day for some reason... I guess the cooler weather and drizzly rain doesn't help, either. At about noon Roger and I went to get my alien registration card. We took Eastin with us since he had a day off of school. It was so simple.... I had to have two recent pictures of myself, and my passport, and Roger had to explain why I am here. When we go pick it up sometime in early July, I will have something that looks like an American drivers license with Japanese writing all over it. :) So, obviously, to have my pictures, we had to have them made. We went to a photo booth and had 6 of them made in about 2 minutes. When they printed, Roger took them and said, "You look about 5 or 6 years younger in the picture." So..... Anyway... Now it is 7:00 here. I have cooked supper, and Roger and I have eaten. Now we just have to feed everyone else... I hope to go to bed by about 9:30 tonight... :)

One Month

Well everyone, I have been in Japan now for exactly one month! I can't believe it. The time seems to have flown by, but so much has happened.

Things have been going well here for the past couple of days. Except that Coen is not feeling well and requires more attention than usual, everyone seems to be doing well.

A lot has happened since I last wrote, so I'll just tell about it in order of happening....

Thursday started like any other day... only slowly.... After we got the boys off to school and put Coen down for a nap, everything was very quiet until about 10:00. After lunch Alex and Roger left to go to a local college. They returned very upset. They said they could feel the darkness on campus. Anyway, when they returned, I was in the middle of making supper, while Abi was trying to get a little boy who didn't want to do school, to read to her. I made coleslaw, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken pieces. I made the coleslaw using Poppa's recipe, which is without a doubt the best I've ever eaten! The only problem was that I didn't have enough mayonnaise to make the sauce, so I had to use yogurt. But I thought it tasted almost the same. I thought the funny thing was that I had to chop, by hand, everything. Using a large knife, I chopped the cabbage and carrots. I made my own pickle relish using baby pickles, too. I thought the whole meal was pretty good. Later that night, we all decided to watch a movie. While Abi put boys to bed, Roger cleaned the kitchen, and Alex practiced, I had some time to think... By the end of my thinking spell, I was surprised when I realized that I had literally not set foot out of the house since Sunday. For me to stay completely indoors for almost an entire week is just not normal. I decided to go for a walk. By the time I left it was 8:45 PM. I practically ran for the next 20 min. After that, it was very nice to take a stroll by the river for the next 25 min. If you've ever been out by yourself at 8:45, you know the feeling, but it was not like that. I was not afraid. I knew that I would be safe. By the time I got back I had cooled off.... Some people I know need to watch a movie when they get stressed.... I need time to be out-doors and talk to myself. That sounds funny, but it really helps me settle down.

Yesterday was busy as well. After 10:00, Roger, Abi, and Alex left to go back to the college. When they got back around 1:45, they said they'd had a much better time than the day before. Then at 3:30, 13 people came over. They had been on a tour of Tokyo, and this was their last stop. We had tea time with them. We served cookies and teas. Unfortunately, Hinako-Chan arrived at the same time they did. She is very shy and didn't want to stay. She and her grandmother left, and came back with her mother about 30 min. later. We had a fun English lesson! I am still amazed by the difference between her and Eastin. Then, after the other people left, Roger and Abi went to see Iron Man 2. It came out here yesterday. Alex offered to take care of the boys so that I could have a night off. He did most everything... including an ice-cream run to the 7-11. :) We watched the first DVD of Fellowship of the Ring. Then I went to bed. It was around 10:00, I think... I feel good this morning! My intention had been to sleep late, but I woke up at 6:30 anyway... My body needs exactly 8 1/2 hours of sleep. No matter what time I go to bed, I will automatically wake up almost exactly 8 1/2 hours later....

Well, I should probably go for now...

My love to you all!

Hannah

Fun Day

Good morning America!

I hope you had a wonderful night's sleep, and have a fresh look on the day in front of you! We are all well here.... Um, most of us are. Coen is acting like it's the end of the world today... But other than that, we are all doing well. I don't know whether it's wheat in his system, or just that his first tooth is about to come through the skin.

I have had an interesting day. There was a Tokyo team staff meeting today that both Roger and Abi went to. Eastin didn't go to school today, so I had both he and Coen all day. Aidan got home about 3:30. Thankfully Alex was here all day from about 10:00 AM. Having him here made my day go a lot smoother. He went to the 7-11 to get lunch for us while I tried to feed screaming baby. Then he went to get us both a coke later in the afternoon. It was a comfort to know that I could wash dishes in the kitchen while the boys played in the living room without damaging themselves or anything else.

This morning I made muffins for breakfast. They were really good! Then I did school with Eastin for about 1.5-2 hours. He was the teacher today and I was the student... ;) We got lots of school done. I have found that if there's any way I can make a game out of it, we can get more done. After school, we did a craft. It was a little something I picked up at the preschool. I took three coffee filters, laid them out flat, and let him dye them with colored water. After they were dry I folded them up and attached them to the end of a straw. (We used pipe-cleaners in the States, but they don't have those here.) Anyway... It made an adorable flower. Then we made play-dough together. We made it his favorite color: yellow, or "hedd-o" as he says it. He played with that for some time. I am still trying to decide what to do on Friday with Hinako and Eastin..... She prefers to read, and he prefers to write.... I have also found that working with two 4 year olds is a lot different than working with twelve 4 year olds.

I feel like I need to explain the pictures I have included. The first one is tonight's sunset. It was incredible... The picture only captures a tiny particle of its beauty!!! The second picture requires a little more of an explanation. :) Eastin is much like one of my sisters. When the television is turned on, he is absolutely absorbed. :) This picture was taken right after I finished folding laundry on the other end of the couch. They were watching Cars and I was folding... I looked up, and Eastin had taken his mother's sweater and draped it over his head as seen. He was completely oblivious to my getting the camera and taking this picture. He is so funny! Tonight he said that he was thankful for his red power ranger in America, and his Mommy. :)

To completely change the subject... I just want you to know the difference a good set of ear-buds makes! While on the plane somewhere over Alaska I realized that mine were torn. My wonderful family sent me a new pair. I really love them! (My family and the ear-buds.) Besides the sound, my favorite thing about the ear-buds is that they're bright red. They match my laptop. :)

Oh. By the way... I am still interested in what is happening there too... Be sure to send me lots of emails to read! Send pictures too!

My love to you all!

Hannah

Day 27

I realized recently that the last time I wrote was after my really trying day.... Sorry to leave you all hanging there with no seeming resolution... I have had no more days like last Friday. :)

Yesterday I made more garbanzo bean, tapioca, and rice flour bread. I cooked it for a full hour and twenty minutes, and it was none over done. Alex and the boys liked the

way it tasted though... It's already almost gone. :)

I have posted some pictures of Coen's birthday party... The first one includes Eastin, Hinako-Chan and her mother, and Abi. You can also see the gluten-free cupcakes I made. In the second picture you can see Coen and his first cupcake. :) For the longest time he didn't know what to do with it... Finally he just stuck his whole face into the icing... He was on a sugar high for the next hour and a half! After he finished eating it, he sat in his chair happily singing for about 15 min. The third picture shows the sunflowers that Hinako's family brought... I love sunflowers. They make me happy. I just took this picture because I think they are pretty. The last picture is of Coen. He looks like the Gerber Baby in it. :) I thought it was cute.

Yesterday Eastin was telling me why he loves his family...

He loves "Daddy and Aidan because they are cool... They do pillow fights and build awesome space ships out of legos."

"And what about Mommy... Is she cool?"

"No, Mommy's not cool."

"Why do you love Mommy?"

"I love Mommy because she's just........cute. And that's all. No body else is cute like Mommy."

I thought that was the most adorable thing he has ever said... And he has said some adorable stuff... Like calling a book named Hiccups for Elephant, "Elephant for Hiccups".

Well, the concert on Saturday went really well. There were around 50 people there. Alex even made a third bow, because people would not stop clapping... which is not typical of Japanese. He performed the two pieces very well.

Last night I made baked potatoes for dinner, (using Golden Coral's recipe ;) ) and made marinated Chicken on a stick. I'll have to give you the recipe for that... It was truly delicious. I also washed and snapped string beans. It was nice to do that again... I have not snapped beans in so long... It brings back fun memories!

Well, I think that's the highlight of what has happened over the past three days...

My love to you all!

Hannah

Argh.....

Wow, what a day I had yesterday.............. I hardly know where to begin! Thinking back over it, it seems like yesterday was about a week long. I had more culinary catastrophes yesterday than I have had in months and months. Looking back, the whole day was kind of humorous, but didn't seem that way as I progressed through it.

The day started off wonderfully. I began by making pancakes for Roger, Alex, and myself. While I was mixing them, I was thinking about the first time I tried to make pancakes on my own... :) I had to smile. :) Then, after my two peanut butter pancakes with maple syrup, Roger and I left to set up a Japanese bank account.... About an hour later, I got back to the apartment with no bank account. Then, I remembered that we were celebrating Coen's first birthday that afternoon. I set about to make cornstarch cupcakes. I made up the first batch by hand, and put 6 of them in the oven. I cooked them, and as soon as I took them out of the oven, they all sank! So then I decided to put the next six in the oven, and cook them so long that they couldn't have the possibility of falling! I cooked them for 30-40 min. They did not fall!!! And surprisingly, they were not too hard to eat either. From that point on, I cooked them all for 30 minutes. Then I made a second batch, and they all turned out well. By the time I finished all of those, it was lunch time. Abi made lunch, and she, Alex, and I ate. (Roger was not back yet.) Directly after lunch, I remembered that I had a lesson with Hinako-Chan at 4:15, and had allowed Eastin to finish all of the papers that I had printed out earlier in the week. So I sat down for about 45 min. to make new work sheets for them. As soon as I finished that, I started on the icing for the now cooled cupcakes. I started by whipping cream, coco, and powdered sugar together, and making beautiful whipped cream icing. Then I added the last ingredient, and it all melted into what looks like chocolate cottage cheese. It was a disaster! So! After that, we decided to make regular chocolate icing, which meant beating together (by hand) butter and sugar, and chopping up bakers chocolate and melting it. I ended up chopping the chocolate in pieces using a very large knife. They looked more like they had been ground than chopped. I admit I was frustrated by this point, and needed something to grind. The chocolate presented itself at the perfect time. After starting the second batch of icing, and being distracted by hanging out a load of laundry, Hinako arrived. I left the icing and the laundry unfinished, took a few deep breaths, pulled myself together, and gave a cheerful English lesson. Directly after the English lesson we had Coen's party, with an 'ice-your-own cupcake' party. That was fun, and I took some adorable pictures of Coen and his first cupcake. :) Then Abi and I made dinner. She did everything but the salad. She gave me the job of washing and tearing the spinach, which perhaps, was a mistake. I was so tired and absent-minded by that point, that I ended up more like pureeing the spinach. Abi says that she walked into the kitchen, and I was tearing and re-tearing the spinach with the blankest stare on my face. She said something about it, and I looked down and realized what I was doing... Anyway... it didn't change the taste. :) So yesterday was very tiring for me.... It didn't help much that I was running around all night chasing a ferret in my dreams either...

This morning I feel much better!!! I woke up and had my cereal, and then the cold coffee that I got for free at the 7-11 two days ago... I don't think I've ever had such a concentrated dose of caffeine and sugar before. The taste was not exactly what I was expecting! After the first sip I don't know whether I almost fell over, or jumped into the air. I drank the whole thing. Now I feel really good! :D

Hopefully I will not have any more days like yesterday, but looking back on it, I have to laugh at myself. It makes a great story! If it had been a movie, I would have laughed all the way through. Especially the part where I was so determined to make the cupcakes not fall. They actually turned out well in the end. I successfully made something gluten-free! Today promises to be much calmer. This afternoon is the big concert for Alex. I will tell about that later, as this is already really long...

My love to you all!

Hannah

Hmmm.

You know, sometimes you just get weird cravings... People tell me this is weird, but every time I eat ice-cream, I crave a glass of milk.... Last week I had a strange craving to wear my leather work boots.... Today I had a random craving to read Systematic Theology.... This morning I tasted a cup of coffee to make sure it was still hot. It was still black, as I had not put anything in it yet. You know how in movies, when someone tastes something, the camera zooms in and goes to a scene from their childhood when they tasted something that reminded them of what they just ate? When I tasted the hot black coffee, something like that happened to me. It was wonderful! :) I "zoomed" to a scene from this January when I was in the cold for up to 12 hours at a time, with almost nowhere to get warm. When all around me was what I love. Where there were wonderful...and awful smells. When I was dressed in so many layers that I looked like a snowman. I had a combination of dirty water, dirt, hairspray, hay and grass seeds, and other stuff all over my clothes, and all there was to drink was strong black coffee. Yes, I was back in the show barns at the Dixie National Livestock Show. Something about the taste of strong black coffee will probably always remind me of those special days! Although they may not sound very fun to most people, they were one of the highlights of this year, and the one before it. :)

I can't really think of any more things that have happened to me like that since I've been here, but that was really a fun 45 seconds of my day. :)

Today we made Chai tea to drink cold. It was very good. I still miss my hot tea before breakfast, though.

Today Roger and Alex are getting back from Korea. By this time, their plane has probably landed here in Japan, but it will take them several more hours to arrive at the apartment. The past week for Roger, Abi, and Alex has been very tiring... I almost feel bad for having such a fun week. I got to take Eastin to the park, have fun in the kitchen, get mail, wash dishes, hang out clothes, rock the baby, etc. Everyone else has been working hard...

Back to more of my random thoughts.... Have you ever liked doing one part of a job and not others? For instance, I have never minded washing dishes, I've just never particularly liked putting them away. The same goes for folding clothes and putting them away. I don't mind sweeping, but vacuuming has never been a favorite of mine... It's really random, but I have noticed those things today as I have done them....

Can you tell it's 10:00 pm here? I should probably go....

My love to you all!

Hannah

Quick Pictures

Hello all... It is the middle of the afternoon here, so I really don't have much time to write, but I just wanted to share a few of my pictures with you. These were all taken today while I was in the process of baking some bread. (Which was a flop, but tastes really good.) The first picture is just a really cool looking boat that passes here about once a day, that I thought you might like to see. :) The second picture is my bedroom and futon. I realized that the Japanese bed is something that I was interested in before I came, so I thought maybe you'd like to see what a Japanese bed looks like. It's about 4.5'' thick all together, but very comfortable. The third picture is what you see when you look straight over the balcony outside my room. This is the view straight down from 28 stories high. For those of you who are wondering, hanging my camera (or myself) over the edge of the balcony was a one-time thing. I do not intend to do it again. Do not try this at home. The rail of the balcony is three feet of solid concrete, and 1 1/2 feet of glass. I couldn't fall over it.

Anyway, I need to go make meatloaf, so I must go for now....

My love and a good morning to you all,

Hannah

Three Firsts

Well, I hope that everything is going well in the States. Most everything here is going well. Besides the hang-ons of my cold which are a scratchy voice and random coughing fits in the middle of the night, I feel great. Today I got to go to the park with Eastin. We stayed there for about an hour, and then came home. He did not go to school today, as he has not been feeling well. He has had gluten in his system for the past week, and is trying to recover. He was doing much better today.
Well, The first "first" that I experienced today was going to the grocery store. In feel it was like a Walgreen's or some small place like that. But it was bigger than Walmart. The fish department was HUGE! There was more tofu than I've ever seen in my life. The seaweed section was also big. Then we saw the lettuce and other things that we think of when we say 'salad section'. It was about 3 feet of produce, and that was it. I still do not understand some of the...organization...of the store. Right beside facial tissues and toilet paper, there was pet food. Not just 'pet food,' but mostly cat food... I have not seen one cat in the three weeks I have been here. I see LOTS of dogs, but not one cat. Nevertheless, there was plenty of cat food at the store. :) Anyway, at the grocery store we bought two things to have for dinner that I have never tried before.
The second "first" of my day was trying something that, if you had asked me a month ago to try, I never would have tried. I had maguro, which is one cut of tuna...raw tuna... For those of you saying "ewwww", it was really good. The thing that surprised me the most, was that it did not taste 'fishy'! It tasted like any cooked piece of meat. I don't think I'll eat much more of it, just because the thought of eating raw fish is still nasty, but the fish itself was alright.
The third "first" of my day was much like the second one. I would definitely not have tried this in America... I had calamari. We took whole little squid, battered it, fried it, and ate it with salsa. As long as I didn't look at it and see one of the little eyeballs before I put it in my mouth, it was really good! I think that was what I ate the most of at dinner. :)
Who would have thought that three weeks in another country would change my diet this much? While I have been here, I have also come to greatly appreciate dried seaweed and tofu. I don't know if I have told you about all the different types of tofu here, but as this post is already long, I will have to do it later...

For now, I pray God's blessings on all of you!!!

Love,
Hannah

Day 20

Well, I have a little time now, so I guess I should tell you what I was doing in Honda. The Chiba team helps teach at a missionary school, and several of the members of the team are teachers there. A new teacher arrived about a week ago, and so they had a welcome party for her. They invited me, so I had to travel about an hour both directions by myself. I had a lot of fun. There was about an even ratio of Japanese to Americans. We played three games of bilingual mafia. It was really fun! I still find that no one believes me when I tell them my age. Everyone seems to think I'm older than I really am.... I can't figure out why.... Instead of trying to get back to Tokyo on the 11:00 train, I decided to stay the night in Honda and come home on Sunday morning.
Sunday was good. We had a good church service, and I met several people that go there, both American and Japanese. After church the singers for next week came here to practice. We all had dinner together.
Yesterday was a fun day too. It was really relaxed for me. I did school with Aidan and Eastin, and not a whole lot for the rest of the day, except getting ready for school for today. Hinako-Chan is coming this afternoon to do school with Eastin. I have lots for them to do this week.... If they don't finish it all they can do it on Friday.... For dinner last night I had something that I never would have thought I liked. I had rice with dried seaweed in it, with a medium done poached egg on top. It was really good.
Oh! Today is Coen's first birthday!!! Happy Birthday Coen! He is about to cut his first tooth! We are so excited. We will not celebrate his birthday until Friday when Roger is home. I just got finished putting a loaf of rice flour bread in the oven a few minutes ago. I am excited to taste it. The thing I like about gluten free bread is that there is no rise time. It goes straight from mixing bowl to oven!
Well, I had better go for now, and see what the baby is getting into. I hear him banging stuff around....


All my love,
Hannah