Math Magic

I remember seeing something like this in a Japanese math exercise book that our parents got for us when we were kids. I didn't totally understand it because the book was all in Japanese. It looked kind of interesting, but I wondered if it was really faster to do multiplication this way as compared to the traditional approach taught in school. Now here is a video that shows the entire method.

Ethan the Dancing Machine

Ethan can dance!

Even up on the Space Needle!

2007 Road Trip Stats and Photos

Our road to Seattle was a memorable one, but then again all of our road trips are memorable. Here are some stats about this road trip:

1. Included a scavanger hunt as part of our travels.
2. Took over 770 photos with our 2 digital cameras.
3. Stayed overnight in Red Bluff, Roseburg, and Portland on the way north.
4. Saw Mt. Lassen, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Hood, Mount St. Helens, and Mt. Rainier.
5. Took in views from the top (or near the top) of the Smith Tower, Columbia Center and Space Needle in Seattle.
6. Saw the 4th of July fireworks over Lake Union.
7. Saw the statue of Lenin and the Troll.
8. Stayed overnight in Albany and Medford on the return trip.
9. Traveled about 2120 miles over 10 days.

Here are some of our photos:

Seattle Trip 2007

Road Trip Stats and Photos

About 770 photos and 2120 miles later we were home.

Here's a link to some of the photos:

Seattle Trip 2007

Road Trip Stories - Volume 07a

Ethan's Mets blue and orange baseball cap and mit caught my attention. "We're going to an M's game so maybe we should bring these on the trip," I thought. So I grabbed these last two items on my way out the door as we departed on our road trip to see Ojiichan and Obaachan.

Arriving home nine days later, we checked the front steps for delivered packages. There weren't any, but Dorothy and I were hoping that there would be one.

We had called once while in Seattle to ask if a small boy's baseball cap had been turned in by one of the cleaning ladies. The front desk person who answered Dorothy's call was not too pleasant. Dorothy did not want to call again, but she relented to my prodding. She placed a second call to the Windmill Inn of Roseburg the next day and was greeted by someone who seemed to care that there was a heartbroken little boy who missed his hat. She noted our name and address and said that if the hat was found it would be mailed to us.

In Seattle, to make up for the lost cap, Obaachan bought a new M's cap for Ethan at the ballgame. He did not let this cap out of his sight.

We said our goodbyes and headed home on Friday exactly a week to the last day that we could remember Ethan with his Mets cap. Driving through Cottage Grove about an hour or so north of Roseburg, we stopped to check the Dairy Queen. This was the only other place between the Windmill Inn and Portland where we could've left the cap, but we didn't have any photos from the Dairy Queen to verify if Ethan was wearing the cap. He definitely was not wearing the cap during our short visit at the fire station in Cottage Grove because we had photos from the visit. It was the same staff at the Dairy Queen. They only had a red cap.

So we arrived home on Sunday night after two day of traveling. We reasoned that maybe someone would have a good heart and turn in the cap. After all, it had his name written on the inside and even his uniform number, #1. But it had been a week now. Who would turn in such a small seemingly meaningless item?

We get packages from time-to-time. Sometimes we have to sign for the package. Other times the delivery person just knocks on our door and leaves the package for us. This time the UPS man just knocked and by the time the door was answered, the only item remaining was a Otis Spunkmeyer box. This looked odd, but on closer inspection there was a Windmill Inn return address. Dorothy's immediate thought was, "It's the cap!" And so it was.

Ethan was away to his karate camp so he was not able to have this same immediate sense of recovery at the package's arrival. However, later in the day, Ethan was grateful that there was someone at the Windmill Inn in Roseburg who cared about his cap just as much as he did.

A Little Visitor

You never know what you'll find in your garden. Today, Dorothy came back into the house with a little friend on her shoulder - a young praying mantis. Check out these photos.

We're happy to report that the praying mantis was returned to the garden.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Hank Medress, who sang lead vocals with the Tokens in 1961 on their hit single "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," passed away this past Monday.

This is a catchy tune that is a favorite of our kids. See our earlier blog post on this from October 2006:

The Lion Sleeps Tonight video clip

Our kids especially like the part that goes "wimoweh" that is apparently from a traditional Zulu melody. The song was first sung by the Weavers in the 1950s.

The Midnight Sun Game

This game has seen major leaguers the likes of Barry Bonds, Tom Seaver, Dave Winfield, Bob Boone, and Rick Monday play in it. Current A's player Bobby Crosby has played in it. So has former A's player and current Yankee Jason Giambi.

This year marks the 102nd time for this game that starts at 10:30pm and usually finishes around 2am. The sun is to "set" at 12:47am, but the game will go on without lights as has been the tradition since the first year the game was played to settle a bar bet by a man from San Francisco. The game has grown to where it is now televised around the world by Internet.

Most people don't associate baseball with Alaska, but the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks are one of the most successful amateur teams around. They've won six National Baseball Congress (NBC) titles over the years, and they've been runner-up another six times. Their last title was in 2002. In the early 70s, the Goldpanners won back-to-back-to-back in 1972, 1973 and 1974. And they aren't the only Alaska Baseball League team with an NBC title. Other champion AK teams include the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Mat-Su Miners, and Kenai Peninsula Oilers.

The Midnight Sun Game has been tabbed as the #8 ultimate baseball experience by ESPN, on this list with baseball experiences like visiting spring training (#3 on the list), visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (#2 on the list), and an evening at Fenway Park (#11 on the list).

The current manager of the Panners, Tim Gloyd, sums up the long daylight that is summer in Fairbanks best in a recent article on Yahoo! Sports. "Your mind doesn't comprehend it at first," Gloyd said. "You may be sitting at Denny's, just talking, and next thing you know it's 3:30.

Having been born and raised in Alaska, the long summer daylight experience is not new for me. I remember playing our version of stickball in our yard well past 11pm on some summer nights. These games would usually start in the middle of the day and continue through dinner with people leaving for dinner and returning to join in the game. We would keep score and I remember scores that ran into the 100s for just one game.

On a trip to Alaska with Dorothy several years ago, we had the same experience mentioned by Tim Gloyd above. It never got pitch black dark, just a very dark blue hue. We were just sitting around talking getting caught up with friends after arriving in Alaska. Before we knew it, it was 3 or 4 in the morning.

The Last Day of School!

Here's what Naomi has to say about her last day of 2nd grade:

The last day of school was very busy.Miss Andrews put lots of old crafts and writings in bags for us.We got to watch a video.We went into the office and gave her a book with writings that my class wrote.Then we went into Miss Catalini's room.In Miss Catalini's room we got to watch cartoons and eat pan cakes.When we got back to the class room,Miss Andrews gave flowers to the parents that helped.We played two different games Zip-Zap and The Boss.At The end of school I couldn't carry all the stuff I needed to take home.My mom had to help.When I went out I knew she would come to my swim meet.I had fun that day!

I Love Me!

Every child thinks he/she is at the center of the universe. This video is from the summer of 2006 on our trip home from Seattle. We were near the end of our drive home and Ryan decided to express how he really felt.

I Love Me!
Uploaded by CEmoto

Riddles, jokes, and giggles - Part 2

Here's another installment of giggles, this time brought to you by Naomi and Ethan.

Q1: What do you call a stolen yam?

Q2: How do you fix a broken pizza?

Q3: What do you call a joke book about eggs?

Q4: Why didn't the hotdog star in a movie?

Q5: What do you do when you run out of ranch dressing?

Q6: Where do sheep go to cut their hair?

Q7: How do you ask a horse what his/her name is?

Q8: What does a lion say when he's mad?

Q9: What does a riddle say when it hits its funny bone?

Q10: Why didn't the dino cross the road?

Naomi actually was the one who typed in the last 4 riddles. Her first blogging!

(scroll below for answers)








A1: A hot potato.

A2: With tomato paste.

A3: A yolk book.

A4: The roles weren't good enough.

A5: You buy more ranches to make the dressing (Ethan's own creation).

A6: At the baaaa-ber shop.

A7: You say,"What's your naaaa-me?"

A8: "I'm roaring mad!"

A9: "I feel funny."

A10: It was the chicken's night out.

Magic Trick

I wonder how he does this?

Grandma's Song

Here's a song to all grandmas out there.

Grandma's Song
Uploaded by CEmoto

Brake Lights to Clogged Speakers

Ethan is convinced that he will grow up to be an inventor. He has the right characteristics. He's always asking how things work. I asked him to help me change a burnt out brake light bulb. He learned how the brakes light up with just a tiny little bulb. I let him be the one to verify which light was out. I let him step on the brakes while I made sure the light was working once again.

Later the same day...

Our new computer came with a wide screen monitor that has speakers built into the monitor. The monitor was part of a package with the computer. In theory this sounds good, but the speakers in the monitor are quite underpowered and tinny sounding. So I connected the speakers from our old computer to the new computer. Upon hearing the new sound, Ethan asked, "are these speakers (pointing to the now disconnected speakers on the new monitor) clogged?"

Ryan's ABC Song

Here's an original rendition of the ABC song.

Ryan singing the ABC song
Uploaded by CEmoto

Happy Mother's Day!

This is a Mother's Day greeting to our obaachan. However, I think it portrays a universal message of love and enthusiasm that can only be expressed by children.

Mother's Day
Uploaded by CEmoto

Memories of NBA Basketball on the Radio

I remember listening to the NBA basketball championships the two years back-to-back where the Washington Bullets played my Seattle Supersonics. I listened to the games on shortwave radio with my dad in our home in the Aleutians. In the 1977-78 series, the Sonics lost to the equally surprising Bullets in a close but strange series where each won on the other's court, and had the Sonics being forced to only one game at home to start the series due to scheduling conflicts. Later in the series, the Sonics played a game in the Kingdome because their home arena was being used for a convention. Even though they had over twice the number of fans on-hand, playing in the enormous Kingdome did not offer the same home court advantage and they went on to lose the pivotal game four match-up. I remember complaining about how unfair it was that the series had a strange 1(s)-2(w)-2(s)-1(w)-1(s) format and the Kingdome move, which probably had an impact on the series outcome not benefitting Seattle. Even though the Sonics were going to be home for game 7, I for some reason did not feel good about the Sonics' chances. It was during this play-off run that Dick Motta made popular at least in sporting circles the phase "the opera isn't over until the fat lady sings." I remember being heartbroken after the Sonics' game 7 loss.

The following year both teams I think were favored to win their conferences or at least contend for the title unlike the year before when both were surprise teams. I think the Sonics had some close calls in their conference series (especially against the Suns with Paul Westphal and Alvan Adams), but they made it to the finals to find the Bullets waiting for them once again. This time the Sonics dominated the series and won in 5 games. To this day, this championship is the only one that the city of Seattle has had in one of the three major professional sports. There's even a web page devoted to the 1978-79 Sonics.

I remember pretending to be Downtown Freddie Brown in make believe games with my brother and other friends in our porch where we used a 5-gallon bucket as the basket. We would play games of horse and even play 3-on-3 games in this 8-foot by 8-foot area porch with bodies crashing into walls and cabinets. Other players that I remember from these Sonics teams include JJ (Johnny Johnson, whose son is now a guard for Stanford), Jack Sikma, Lonnie Shelton, Marvin "The Human Eraser" Webster who was actually traded for Lonnie, Gus Williams, DJ (Dennis Johnson), Paul Silas, Wally Walker and their coach Lenny Wilkens. I even remember the players from the Bullets: Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Bobby Dandridge, Kevin Grevey, Mitch Kupchak and Greg Ballard come to mind. I don't think that I would've remembered this if it weren't for our listening on the radio. Compare this to this day and age, where usually by the next year most people cannot even name the two teams that were in the previous years' finals.

So as a tribute to those long lost days of sports on the radio I found the following video clip. Enjoy.

Video Killed the radio star
Uploaded by lojeanz

Shampoo! Shampoo!

Sometimes what kids hear is more enjoyable than what is reality. During a slideshow of our trip to San Diego, a picture of the world famous orca from Sea World flashed on to the screen. "Shampoo!" yelled Ryan.

Of course, we're talking about Shamu. There are points in the Sea World show where the audience is encouraged to chant, "Shamu! Shamu!" to get the big orca to make a big splash. I think it would be immensely more entertaining to hear and see a stadium full of people chanting, "Shampoo! Shampoo!"

Goooaaaallllll!!!!!!!!!

FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi scored a goal reminiscent of Maradona's famous goal for Argentina against England in the 1986 World Cup. Messi's goal was in a Spanish Cup semi-final match on April 18, 2007 against Getafe.

The video below shows a side-by-side comparison of the two goals.

Comparativa gol de Messi y Maradona
Uploaded by cariacolov

World Thinking Day

Naomi's Girl Scouts troop along with others in the area celebrated World Thinking Day earlier this year. Each troop was able to select a country to share information about with the other troops. Naomi's troop selected Thailand.

The purpose of World Thinking Day is to celebrate girl scouts all over the world. Every February 22nd, the girl scouts from around the world think of each other and give thanks and appreciation to their sister scouts. At World Thinking Day, each girl scout in Naomi's troop received her World Trefoil Pin to show that she is part of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (aka WAGGGS). The pin is a golden trefoil on a blue background representing the sun shining over all the children of the world.

Swim Season is Here Once Again

Here's a picture of Ethan with one of his instructors taken last week.

The Cats of Mirikitani

My sister told me about this documentary called "The Cats of Mirikitani" that is being screened in the Mission District of San Francisco April 27 through May 3 at the Roxie New College Film Center.

Jimmy Mirikitani was born in Sacramento in 1920. His family returned to Hiroshima (where several perished in the atomic bomb), but he returned to the U.S. at 18. When WWII started he was interned at Tule Lake. Through the course of events, he landed homeless on the streets of NYC.

My father John was born in Snoqualmie Falls, Washington outside Seattle in 1929. His older brother's American name was Jimmy. My father with his family returned to Okayama before WWII. He returned to the U.S. on his own after WWII. Eventually he was drafted by the U.S. Army and served some of his time in the military in Japan. Through the course of events, he landed in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska where he would spend most of his adult life. Now retired, he lives outside Seattle.

One of my carpool partners recently said, "fate is whatever happens to you; you can't control it."

I suppose this is one explanation.

Play Ball!

Baseball season is here! Ethan's playing in the Peanuts Division of the Continental Little League of Concord and Walnut Creek. His team is the Mets.

Stats Redux - March 18, 2007

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, updated January 2006, June 2006 and October 2006.

Price of Gas: $3.13 per gallon (has fallen a few pennies over the past week, but still near an all-time high; election season must be over; saying that it's due to changing of blends)
Price of Milk: $2.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($0.30 price drop since June 2006, but no change since October 2006)
Bridge Toll: $4 as of January 1, 2007 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (first month remained at $3 for FasTrak users; FasTrak now available at retail outlets like Safeway and Costco)
Today's High Temperature: 72 degrees F (overnight low of 48)
Dow Jones Average: 12,110.41 (up 162.71 since October update of these stats); and over 1200 since first 2006 trading day
Shopping Days to Christmas: 281 days including Christmas Eve (there are web sites that have this stat, believe it or not)
Dinner Tonight: Carnitas burrito for me, enchilada plate for Dorothy, 2 older kids had rice and bean burritos and the little one had a cheese quesadilla
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 2-person carpool MWF and a 3-person carpool TuTh)
Cost of Area Homes: the median price rose just 0.3% from $618,000 to $620,000 in February 2007; but the number of homes sold slipped by 7.9% to 6,305 for the 9-county Bay Area (the lowest volume for any February in 11 years)
Movie Ticket: $9.50 ($6.25 matinee); still NetFlix customer too, but cut back to one movie at a time recently (just haven't had time to watch the movies that we had)
Time with My Kids: testing the world of Tee-ball with my oldest son; trying to just keep up with our 2-year old who is testing boundaries; and helping my daughter with her math homework

Conversations with Kids - Part VIII

Naomi: Why should we exercise?

Ethan: Because it's good for our health?

Naomi: Yeah, but also because it's good for every body. Get it? Every body!

Cell Phones

If you're in the market for a new cell phone, here's a site that you should check out before shopping.

A Day with the Kids

With Dorothy out with the flu, I was charged with watching the kids.

Up and At'em - wake up the two older ones for school and go take a shower...out of shower and washed, but kids are still on bed (Ethan) or in bed (Naomi)...play "throw the clothes" with kids to motivate them to get dressed...Ethan out to eat a quick breakfast of cereal, milk and breakfast bar...Naomi joins the breakfast roundtable
quick wash up and brush up...get vitamins on the way out the door...Ryan wakes to catch us leaving; I take him crying to Mom...arrive by foot at school; we talk about the phrase "friend or foe"...hug goodbye with kids; Naomi and Ethan hug each other too...back home again

Ryan's Tumbling Class - class of about a dozen kids...Ryan's in the parent participation class...actually that's a good name for the class since I think I participated more in the warm ups than did Ryan (his idea of stretching is to bounce around like a pinball)...teacher says, "why is it that the kids perform better when the dads are around?"...I ask him if he wants his snack (a granola bar); his answer is "no"

Shopping for Printer Cartridges - we make a Staples stop...Ryan asks, "why are we here?" about every 2 minutes...we buy our cartridges and leave...when in the car, Ryan asks for the granola bar and asks, "why are we leaving?"...anyway, I learned that Ryan's favorite word is "why?"

Pick Up Ethan at School - we take the stroller to pick up Ethan before lunch...before we head out Ryan manages to grab a rice cracker snack to take with him...I tell him that he has to share with Ethan...we arrive at the school and Ryan asks, "where's Ethan?"...I tell him that we're a little early...actally we're the only ones in the courtyard area wich surprises me; I thought there would be a few parents milling about, but not a soul and it's only 10 minutes early...we go and sit on the bench by the giant pine tree...Ryan surprises me with this zinger, "Dada, why is there poo-poo in the tree?"...I had no idea what he meant until I look up... the tree has large dark brown, cylindrical pine cones in clusters...oh, what must go through the mind of a nearly 3-year old...Ethan comes out with his class, gives his teacher a leg hug and runs to us... we walk home with Ryan holding onto his rice crackers (he does share them with Ethan when we get home)

Make Lunch for the Kids - play with the kids...check work email and phone messages at work and make some phone calls...make lunch from leftovers...continue to play with kids and keep each other occupied

Pick Up Naomi at School - Take Ryan to school hoping that he falls asleep...success, he nods off in the stroller just as we're arriving at the school...Naomi turns the corner walking with Katrina just like the last time I picked her up (they must be best friends)...this time she spots me and seems to say something like, "there's my dad over there" as she shoots me a sideways glance...Naomi is very chatty talking about the gross boys...we arrive home and Ethan and mom are playing Labyrinth

Take Naomi to Choir Practice - Ethan and I take Naomi to choir practice...we get there right on time, but again I realize that "on time" is actually early...Ethan and I wait in the car for the 75 minutes...I do some work and read about 25 pages of "Totto-chan" by Testuko Kuroyanagi...Ethan works on homework that is due on Friday (he gets to where he is about two-thirds complete)

Shop and Pick Up Dinner on the Way Home - we get take-out at a Chinese restaurant that we've never visited before...we also shop for milk and ham as requested by Dorothy and on impluse buy jello, salami and a couple other items...stand in the 15 or less items behind someone who has well over 30 items (I think they were counting the 10 yogurts as one item)...finally we're home for dinner, washing up, baths and bed time to get ready for a new day

Washing Up Can Be Fun!

And you thought that washing up was trudgery!

Bicycling in Japan - Part III

Continuing this series on bicycling in Japan, here's what Cousin Keiko had to add:

There are differences in bicycle parking between a place like Okayama and a larger city like Tokyo. [My thoughts: Let's put this in perspective though. In Japan, Okayama is viewed as a smaller metropolitan area even though the Okayama prefecture area has a population of around two million. The San Jose, California area has a population of about 1.7 million.]

An ordinary bicycle like the kind that you see at train stations generally costs less than 10,000 yen. Below is a picture of such a bike.


When I (Keiko) lived in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo, I paid to park my bicycle at the nearest subway station because parking my bicycle near the station on the street was impossible. The bicycle parking charge was 100 yen per day or 3000 yen per month. Below are pictures of typical bicycle parking areas near stations near my present home town of Kurashiki in Okayama prefecture. The picture in the upper left hand corner includes a sign that basically warns people not to ride their bicycles across the opening to the stairwell to the bicycle parking area.


Office buildings in Japan do not have bicycle parking because there is really no need. People usually bike from their home to a train station near their home. At the other end it's usually a walk trip to the office. In a smaller city like Kurashiki, commuting by car may be more common. My husband commutes to his office by car. When I go to Okayama station, I use my bicycle to get from my house to Kurashiki station and take the train to Okayama station.

Apartments and hospitals in the Okayama area do have bicycle parking as shown below. The first line of photos shows parking at an apartment complex, while the second line shows parking at a hospital.

Bicycling in Japan - Part II

Continuing this series on bicycling in Japan, here's what Cousin Hisayo had to add on the subject:

Public facilities for bicycling in Japan are poor, especially when it comes to bike lanes. Under present traffic laws, bicyclists have to pass on the left side (left side driving in Japan) within the traffic lane. Passing is allowed only when the paved travel way is 2 or more meters in width.

An ordinary bicycle in Japan costs about 10,000 yen (about $80 at 125 yen per $). Many of these lower cost bikes are imports from China. At most, these bikes have 3 gears. It makes sense to use lower cost ordinary bikes for ordinary every day use, especially with the threat of theft or vandalism present. Recently, battery powered bikes to provide assistance on slopes have gained popularity particularly for the middle-aged, older and women crowd.

Parking at stations may or may not be free. Bike parking when in a building ranges from 1500 to 3000 yen per month. At roof covering-only bike stands, parking is sometimes free. However, many people will not use such dedicated parking areas but instead will try to find an open place closer to the station. For many bedroom communities, this is a common problem because often the bike parking area is constructed after the area has been developed. Then the only places available for such bike parking are further away from the station. If the designated location is say more than 100 meters from the station entrance, people are more likely to park illegally closer to the station than to use the designated parking area. The most common place with large designated bike parking areas is a station. Other areas could be large shopping malls or supermarkets.

In some cities, bike rental systems at a reasonable cost have sprung up. The cost for such bike rentals is comparable to the cost for parking bikes.

There really is no need for providing bicycle parking at urban work sites. Most commutes are not conducive for biking to work. The most common commute modes are trains, buses and private auto. [I don't think bikes are allowed in stations and on trains and buses either.] Commuting by motorcycle (50-mL engine variety) may be more common than commuting by bicycle.

Bike parking at the work site may be more common for a suburban office or factory where many workers live nearby.

What is the Cost of a Bicycle in Japan?

A colleague recently asked me if I could find out from my relatives in Japan what a typical bicycle that one would use for commuting in Japan costs. Interesting question.

I went to school in Japan for one year; and actually my bike was my main form of transportation between home and school, between home and store, to the train station, etc. But I never really thought too much about the cost of biking.

The bike was passed onto me from a student who was finishing up his stay in Japan. It was a rather plain lime green bike with a beige colored seat. It had a flat rack on the back where I could bungee my school bag or whatever I needed to transport. It was an everyday bike that I used every day. When I left Japan, I passed the bike onto another foreign student to keep the chain going.

Based on on-line information uncovered by my sister, a good commute bike in Japan probably can be had for about $100. However, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many of the commute bikes parked at train stations are hand-me-downs or bikes bought on the cheap. It is an everyday almost disposable commodity.

Christmas 2006!

Bay Area Activity Destinations for Kids

The Bay Area has much to offer for kids (and for parents who are still kids at heart) interested in learning about the world in which we live.

Lindsay Wildlife Museum - [1931 1st Avenue, Walnut Creek, CA] Connect with wildlife and learn about the animals found in our backyards and open spaces. At Lindsay Wildlife Museum you can have close encounters with many live, non-releasable wild animals such as an eagle, hawk, fox, snake or mountain lion. An on-site wildlife hospital treats more than 6,000 native California animals every year. The museum also features changing art and natural history exhibits, classes for children and adults, and a discovery room with hands-on activities for children.

Our kids like the scavenger hunt where they have to search for animals in the museum ranging from mice to whales (okay, there's not a real whale).

Bay Area Discovery Museum - [557 McReynolds Road Sausalito, CA; in the Fort Baker area at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge] The nationally recognized Bay Area Discovery Museum is a one-of-a-kind indoor/outdoor children's museum that offers a full range of programs for children, parents, school groups and educators. Located on 7 and 1/2 acres in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Fort Baker in Sausalito, CA, the Museum's unique programs feature hands-on art, science and environmental exhibitions, performances, special events and ongoing educational curricula... all with a focus on fun!

A favorite for our kids is the outdoor play area complete with a small fishing boat and a replica of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose - [ 180 Woz Way, San Jose, CA; has its own VTA light rail station for easy transit access] The striking 52,000 square foot purple building, designed by Mexico City-based architect Ricardo Legorreta, signals the purpose of Children's Discovery Museum to serve the needs of children, families and schools as a center for learning and discovery.

A favorite activity for our kids is the waterworks exhibit.

Oakland Zoo - Nestled in the rolling hills of 525-acre Knowland Park, the Zoo is located at 9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland off Highway 580, and is home to more than 440 native and exotic animals. The Oakland Zoo is a non-profit organization, managed by the East Bay Zoological Society. Founded in 1922 by Henry Snow, the Zoo has been located in its current Knowland Park location since 1936.

Located just outside the zoo is a small area with amusement park rides for kids - have to admit that this is a favorite for our kids.

Habitot Children's Museum - [ 2065 Kittredge Street, Berkeley, CA; in downtown Berkeley] Habitot Children's Museum was founded by parents and educators in 1992 to meet the unique needs and interests of infants, toddlers and preschoolers in a safe and appropriate community setting. Habitot opened its first facility in downtown Berkeley in 1998, after six years of community outreach and fundraising.

Lawrence Hall of Science - [Lawrence Hall of Science #5200, Berkeley, CA] Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) is a singular resource center for preschool through high school science and mathematics education, and a public science center with exciting hands-on experiences for learners of all ages.

One of our favorite features is the view of the Bay Area from its location above the UC-Berkeley campus.

Chabot Space & Science Center - [10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland, CA] Chabot Space & Science Center (CSSC) is an innovative teaching and learning center focusing on astronomy and the space sciences and the interrelationships of all sciences. Its observatory, planetarium, exhibits, and natural park setting are a place where a diverse population of students, teachers, and the public can imagine, understand, and learn to shape their future through science.

A favorite for our kids is the museum of mirrors up on the second floor of the museum.

Tilden Regional Park - [Berkeley, CA] Tilden Park has several activities for children. These include: the Herschell Spillman merry-go-round, the Steam Train, the Golden Gate Live Steamers, the Pony Ride, the Little Farm and the Tilden Nature Area and Environmental Education Center.

Children's Fairyland - [Oakland, CA; adjecant to Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland] Created in 1950, Children’s Fairyland is a historic 10 acre outdoor park and educational facility in which children’s literature is "brought to life" through fairy tale exhibits, animals, and talking storybooks that children activate by turning a "Magic Key".

Their web site says "Adults are not admitted without children. Children are not admitted without adults."

Pixieland - [Concord, CA] See our previous post regarding Pixieland.

In a future post, we'll write about places we've visited outside the Bay Area.

Conversations with Kids - Part VII

Saturday - January 20, 2007

We are all crowded onto our couch in the family room.

Dad: Ryan, where's mom?

Ryan: She's at the beach.

Dad: So what are you doing at the beach?

Ryan: We're swimming.

Dad: What do you like to eat at the beach?

Ryan: French.

Dad: Do you mean french fries?

Ryan: French fries.

Dad: What do you like to drink at the beach?

Ryan: Apple juice.

Happy New You!

It was January 2nd...Ryan and I had just returned from walking Naomi and Ethan to school when our neighbor greeted us with a "Happy New Year!" I called out "Happy New Year!" in return. And my little shadow chirped out "Happy New You!" Now Ryan's been chirping out "Happy New You!" to everyone he encounters. Just this morning he chirped "Happy New You, Mommy!" It crossed my mind to try to correct his pronunciation, however, he may be right on course with the use of "you" in place of "year." After all...isn't that why we make new year's resolutions? We make resolutions that we hope will make us a better person...a "new you." So, everyone, good luck with those resolutions this year and Happy New You!
~~~ Dorothy ~~~

A Hero

We're in the midst of the college bowl season. It's gotten so cliche to say that there are too many bowl games, but it's true.

But there's something that I cannot really stand at all. It's when the announcers talk about the courage of a player or team who is just playing football. "That was such a courageous effort." What are these people talking about? Do they realize what words are coming our of their mouths.

Contrast this with what happened yesterday in NYC. A man performed an act that really was courageous. One 50-year old Wesley Autrey jumped onto the subway tracks to save a total stranger who had fallen into the way of an on-coming train. Wesley tried to get the man back onto the platform, but wasn't able to do so. So he did the only thing that he could. He pushed the man into the space between the tracks and laid on top of him to try to make sure that the both of them would stay below the train's under carriage. The train passed over the two of them. They emerged with only a few minor injuries. Quite amazing. And you thought this was only possible in movies.

I'm fairly certain that I would not have been able to do the same if I saw someone fall in the way of an on-coming. Autrey is quoted as saying, "I think I did the right thing. And it ain't about being a hero, it's just being able to be here and help the next person."

Conversations with Kids - Part VI

After dinner at my parents' we're just sitting around when...

Dorothy: Ryan, stay away from the outlet. That's not a toy. You might get zapped.

Ryan had been sitting in the dining room chair that Ethan sat in for dinner. He was leaning back in the chair reaching for the speaker cord plugged into an outlet.

Yuki: I remember when I was in Sand Point I got zapped a couple of times. One of the times was when I was washing dishes. Our house had a light in the kitchen that had a metal on/off switch that I reached to turn with my hand still in the water.

Casey: What happened?

Yuki: I just swatted the light away as hard as I could. That's all I could do. I think that maybe only you were home or maybe it was dad.

Ethan: Did it hurt?

Yuki: No, there wasn't enough juice.

Ethan: What if there was a whole cup full?

Coated Pretzel Sticks

From Dorothy's kitchen...

Coated Pretzel Sticks! I helped lead a moms group in making these this holiday season and made some batches to give away as well. Several people have asked how to make them. These are oh so yummy and easy to make!

What you'll need...
chopped nuts (I've used a mixture of peanuts, cashews, almonds, pecans and walnuts)
toffee bits (Heath brand is sold in the baker's aisle)
approximately 12 oz. or 2 cups of milk chocolate or white chocolate chips
approximately 1 Tablespoon shortening
bag of pretzel rod sticks

What to do...
In a pie pan or plate mix chopped nuts and toffee bits and set aside.
Place chocolate chips in a microwavable cup or bowl. Heat in microwave on high for 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate has melted. Then add shortening to melted chocolate and blend well.
Dip pretzel rod in chocolate and/or use a spoon to coat the pretzel rod in chocolate. Then roll coated rod in nut and toffee mixture to coat.
Set aside on wax paper till set (approximately 1/2 hour).

How much does it make...
Quite a bit!

How many calories are in one chocolate dipped pretzel...
Who knows...just enjoy every last calorie!

Twists on this...
Try using mini chocolate chips or cake/cookie sprinkles.
Or try using food coloring to tint white chocolate or colored chocolate melting wafers.

2006 Holiday Season

This was the year that our little Ryan discovered that he can entertain. Others learned that he likes to dance and sing. "You and your sister, you know were a little shyer. Tatsu was not so," said my mother. She could have been talking about our two oldest in comparison to Ryan.

Our three kids got in plenty of quality play time with their cousin Lianne, the precocious four-year old daughter of my sister. It was quite the foursome with plenty of make-believe, laughter, and making up. Childhood fun that is especially memorable for grandparents.

Although there were several outings for food, as Dorothy put it, "the best part of the vacation was your mom's cooking." This for Dorothy was so not only for the sushi and other sumptuous Japanese food made for us, but for the fact that she did not have to cook!

Of the food outings, perhaps the highlight may have been Hiroshi's Restaurant (reviews) located at 2501 Eastlake Avenue in Seattle. We found our way there one night because my sister's husband (the best bass player in Seattle) had a gig there. Listening to overpowering jazz in a slightly small Japanese restaurant located in a quiet strip mall would lead one to believe that the owner must be a jazz fan. The music was good, but the food may have been an even more pleasant surprise.

Another interesting find was the indoor snowfall at Pacific Place in downtown Seattle. It was similar to what we experienced at Disneyland at the end of their nightly fireworks show but better because it was in an indoor confined location. Okay, it was somewhat corny and not real snow, but it is some place that we will probably take our kids next year. This year we only stumbled across it when we were out sans kids to enjoy a dinner out and do some last minute shopping.

This was also just the second time in all of our trips to Seattle where we experienced snow. Although this years' version was more like half-melted icy snow the morning after a light dusting of snow. We managed to make what amounted to a four-inch tall snowman. Whoo-hoo! We did this for Ryan since this was his first experience with snow.

Happy New Year and best wishes to you for 2007!

The Eby

We have a new addition to our blog: Photo du Jour. When the mood fits us we'll post a timely photo.

The Eby is the trophy that has passed from hand-to-hand to the champion of our fantasy football league (BAFFLE, The Bay Area Fantasy Football League for Engineers). The trophy is named after the first commissioner of the league, Eric Eby.

We just concluded our 16th season. The league has 12 teams with 8 teams making the playoffs. The four nonplayoff teams play in the Toilet Bowl for the right to the first pick in the next draft. There are three original team owners who have yet to own The Eby, with yours truly being one of the three. Maybe next year.

Conversations with Kids - Part V

Ryan: We're going shopping!

Ojiichan: Have fun, go buy lots!

Ryan goes to Obaachan...

Obaachan: Go ask Ojiichan for money so we can buy a lot.

Ryan: Ojiichan, I need a penny.

Obaachan: We can't buy anything with a penny!

The Play

It's been 24 years since the most amazing play in college football.

What's a Kid not to Like?

Pictures above are referenced below by number, with picture #1 the one in the upper left hand corner and picture #9 the one in the lower left hand corner.

Disneyland does not seem as large now as it once did. However, it's obvious that the makers of the theme park (picture #6 at the front entrance to Disneyland) have found a way to stay one step ahead of those of us that feel this way. Just make the place larger! They've added Mickey's Toontown since my last visit (okay, so it's been awhile since my last visit). There's also this "little" attraction called Disney's California Adventure Park right next door. Dividing the two is the "free" area known as Downtown Disney (picture #5) where the Disney resort hotels and associated restaurants like the Rainforest Cafe are located.

Perhaps, the park seemed smaller because we spent most of our time in Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown (picture #1 is with Mickey in his House) and "a bug's land" across the way due to the age of our kids. The star attraction in our estimation was "it's a small world" to the tune of three helpings for us over the course of three days. The ride was trimmed to match the holiday season. Picture #7 above shows the "it's a small world" marquee. Every 15 minutes the marquee comes to life as toy characters march out of the marquee to announce the time. At night, a light show that changes the coloring of the marquee comes to life to announce the time. This was a convenient way to mark time during our wait for the holiday parade.

The centerpiece of Fantasyland is Sleeping Beauty's Castle (picture #4). We were fortunate to get a curbseat right in front of the castle for the nightly firework show. The last night we were able to view the firework show from the Main Street train station looking over the top of what seemed to be a 50-foot plus Disneyland Christmas tree (picture #2).

Not everything worked like a storybook. The Monsters Inc. attraction (picture #9 of us in the model taxis used to ferry us through Monstropolis) was running glitchy the day we were in California Adventure Park. Upon arrival we found that the attraction was closed until further notice. Our second time in line ended with us about ready to be loaded into our car when the attraction malfunctioned again. When we finally made it through the ride, the ride itself was slightly anticlimatic.

One pleasant surprise was the Sun Wheel (picture #3) in the Adventure Park. Ethan was a little nervous during the first revolution, but was down with the ferris wheel by the second revolution and thought that it was "really cool" when we got a bonus revolution when the operators forgot to stop to let us out. After that, whenever I referred to it as the "ferris wheel," he would correct me and say, "No dad, it's the Sun Wheel."

The Adventure Park also has its own parade with Pixar characters dancing to the beat of dance music such as "Y-M-C-A." Definitely did not have the draw of the Disneyland parade, but it did offer an opportunity for the audience to dance with cast members near the end.

Conversations with Kids - Part IV

Kids are quite honest in their comments, but this does not mean that they do not put some forethought into their comments. Here's a recent exchange from our household.

Mom: Ryan, are you a naughty monkey?
Ryan: I'm not a monkey.

Sports Trivia - 1

Name the only two NBA players to have tallied the following: 12,500 points, 8,000 assists, 5,500 rebounds, and 1,500 steals.

Halloween 2006

Our street is a fairly quiet no outlet street off the local roadway. Most of the trick-or-treaters stay on this local roadway or on one of the other longer connecting streets. This explains why we usually get only about 35 trick-or-treaters every year.

This year was a banner year, with 40 kids making it to our house. Here's a rundown on the multiple costumes that we saw: 5 witches, 5 with nondescript costumes, 3 vampires, 3 wearing school jerseys, 2 cheerleaders, 2 cowboys, and 2 hillbillies. We were also visited by one each of the following: Buzz Lightyear, Bat Girl, Snow White, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, motocrosser, preppie, bunny rabbit, gypsy, astronaut, dalmatian, dragon, zombie, football player, wearing "The Scream" mask, monster of some sort, princess and someone wearing an asian outfit. Some of the outfits were obviously homemade.

Our own kids were a butterfly, a policeman and Thomas the Tank Engine. The days leading up to Halloween did not bode well for Ryan getting into a costume. We had a few options for him, but he did not express interest in wearing any costume. In the end, when he figured out that wearing a costume meant that strangers would put candy into a bag that he possessed, wearing a costume was not a problem.

Conversations with Kids - Part III

Dad: Do you know who in our family is Chinese?

Ethan: I don't know. Is it mom?

Dad: That's right. Now what am I?

Naomi: Japanese?

Dad: That's right again. (with kids smiling for answering correctly)

Dad: Now what does this make you?

Ethan: English?

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Here's a fun video clip that is a favorite of our kids.

Stats Redux - October 12, 2006

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005, updated in January 2006 and in June 2006.

Price of Gas: $2.41 per gallon (and falling; it must be election season)
Price of Milk: $2.99 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's ($0.30 price drop since June 2006)
Bridge Toll: still $3 on all Bay Area bridges except Golden Gate Bridge (very satisfied FasTrak user now)
Today's High Temperature: 81 degrees F (overhight low of 52)
Dow Jones Average: 11,947.70 (up 95.57 today); and about 1100 since first 2006 trading day (wow!)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 72 days including Christmas Eve (definitely recommend doing Secret Santa to minimize shopping)
Dinner Tonight: Pork Chops w/Tomato & Barley and Green Beans (spinach still recalled due to e-coli)
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool; travel time +10 minutes due to new pick-up in Dublin)
Cost of Area Homes: still over $600,000, but properties are moving more slowly than ever (home on our street moved to "pending" status, but now back on market again)
Movie Ticket: $9.50 ($6.25 matinee), thumbs up to to Jet Li's Fearless (still NetFlix customer too)
Time with My Kids: Practicing forward rolls and skin-the-cats with my son; playing Trouble with all 3 (okay, Ryan really cannot make it through a game yet)

Returning to School

It was the first day of school for Naomi and Ethan. Dorothy (and Ryan) took the two to their first day of school. Being a mom and kids event seems to be the norm for many. This was Ethan's first day at the big kids' school (as opposed to the little kids' school - preschool). He was quite familiar with the routine having spent the past two years helping mom to walk Naomi to first kindergarten and then to first grade. There still were moments of uncertainty for him though - not wanting to be left alone because Dorothy had to walk Naomi to her room. "Ethan, you'll be okay in the playground." The kindergartners have their own cordoned off playground separate from the rest of the elementary grade kids.

Dorothy remembers having her mom take her to school. She remembers the apprehension that comes with being thrust into a new situation not knowing anyone. She remembers her mom telling her to sit next to some boy who was known to her family.

My memories of first school days in a small town in Alaska are quite different. The first day of school was just that. There was no apprehension about not knowing anyone, maybe just a little about what desk you would have or who would be your teacher. There were no parents - just all of us kids.

Summer Birthdays

It's known that having a birthday on or near a major holiday is a major downer (especially if you're still at the age where you're losing teeth and know that they will be replaced naturally). What is sometimes overlooked is that there is an entire season that mixes like oil and water with birthdays. Of course, we're talking about summer.

Naomi was a summer baby. Interestingly, her birthday is the same day as her cousin's. Also, Carson who was the ring bearer in our wedding increments his age on the same day. Her aunt's friend who was on duty as a nurse at the hospital about the time when Naomi was born also has the same birthday. There are at least two more people that we know who have July 29 as their birthday.

We've learned that July 29 is a good birthday for swim team purposes because the age cut-off is June 15. This means that Naomi will be swimming in the 7 and 8 year old division when she is almost 8 and almost 9. So a common response to hearing Naomi's birthday is, "oh, that's a great swim birthday!"

However, we get the impression that her league meet might be an annual occurence near the end of July. This year the meet was on her birthday and the day after. So instead of gorging herself on cake and ice cream, Naomi spent her birthday trying to stay cool, eating fruit and drinking water while waiting to swim for her team the Ygnacio Wood Seahorses. Perhaps going out to celebrate their 3rd place finish and her individual achievements after the meet was enough to offset any disappointment for not having a party on her birthday.

So this year her party with friends is scheduled for the second week of August. Based on the responses so far, we're beginning to think that perhaps a birthday party in July is not too bad after all. For next year, we're considering a swim party in June.

Stats Redux - June 20, 2006

Here's an update on stats first posted in November 2005 and then updated in January 2006.

Price of Gas: $3.02 per gallon (after reaching highs over $3.40 per gallon)
Price of Milk: still $3.29 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's (price drop even with higher gas prices)
Bridge Toll: still $3 on nearly all Bay Area bridges (still need to sign up for FasTrak)
Today's High Temperature: 92 degrees F (hot and dry)
Dow Jones Average: 10,974.84 (up 32.73); but only +127 since first 2006 trading day
Shopping Days to Christmas: 187 days including Christmas Eve
Dinner Tonight: Baked Salmon, Broccoli and Rice
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: still over $600,000, but properties are moving more slowly than ever
Movie Ticket: assume that it's still around $9, although it's been some time since we've watched anything but NetFlix rentals
Vacation with My Kids: roadtrip to Seattle!

Answers to Onomatopoetic Words

Here are the answers:

1. bari bari - the sound of tearing paper
2. boro boro - being worn out and old [something old is said to be "boro"]
3. deko boko - to be bumpy [usually in reference to a surface]
4. doki doki - excited fast beating heart [not to be confused with "toki doki" which means "from time to time"]
5. fuwa fuwa - fluffy [doesn't it sort of have a "fluffy" sound?]
6. gari gari - the sound of scraping
7. giri giri -just in the nick of time
8. gucha gucha - being very soft and wet (flooded carpeting) [imagine what footsteps would sound like on a flooded carpet]
9. guru guru - round and round in circles
10. hoka hoka - warm, heated (a warm bento) [there's a bento shop near my aunt's in Japan that's called Hoka Hoka Bento]
11. iro iro - this and that
12. kara kara - the state of being very dry
13. niko niko - smiling
14. peko peko - to be hungry
15. pera pera - fluent in a language
16. pika pika - blinking lights [just say this the next time you see a blinking light]
17. pon pon - to have a full stomach [next time after a heavy meal, rub your stomach and say "pon pon"]
18. ten ten - to be dotted
19. wai wai - a state of noisy exuberance (noisy kids)
20. wan wan - the sound that a dog makes [a doggie is sometimes referred to as wanwan-chan]

"Broken" Trees

Carrying on a conversation with a two-year old is an interesting experience that brings a whole new meaning to the word "perspective." Here's a conversation with our two-year from this evening at bed time.

Me: Ryan, what's this? (pointing to a series of deciduous trees illustrating the seasons of the year)

Ryan: Broken.

Me: Do you remember the seasons that we talked about the other night?

Ryan: Broken, DaDa. (pointing to the picture of a tree in winter, bare without leaves)

Me: Oh, I get it. The tree is broken. There aren't any leaves. (laughter on my part)

Ryan: Broken. (smiling)

Ygnacio Woods Swim Team

We have dived into the world of organized sports due to Naomi's love of swimming. She'll be swimming this summer with the swim team at our local swim club. There was a preseason period of three weeks ending with a test to see if they could swim the width of the pool. All who could do this were eligible to be on the team.

The following week they launched right into practicing each of the four main strokes: freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke. Before the start of the season there were time trials. We had missed the new parent informational meeting, so we had no idea what to expect. In hindsight, it's just like the competitive meets except with no visiting team. So here we were at the time trial beginning at 5:15pm on a Wednesday evening, with only one towel for Naomi, and no jackets for any of the kids, and no snacks or drinks to refresh the hungry masses. Talk about not being prepared.

As the time trials progressed, it became obvious that this was going to be a long evening. There was talk that it would take until 9pm to get bench mark times for each child for each event. So we had to make a run home to gather more dry towels, jackets for everyone and munchies to fill in for dinner. Newbies.

At Naomi's first meet, trying to read the event listing to determine her events was an event in itself. At her first meet, she swam the medley relay (butterfly), individual freestyle, individual butterfly, individual backstroke, and the freestyle relay. That was alot of swimming for a little girl. We were there at 7:45am for warm-ups and didn't leave till about 12:30. At least we were prepared in terms of munchies this time. She brought home three ribbons...one was even for a 2nd place finish in the 25 yd freestyle.

Can you pick out Naomi in the photo below?

Wisdom Teeth

Just out of curiosity, do you still have your wisdom teeth? An informal survey of other adults at our dentist's office this weekend found that one person had three of four. Four others had none. My dentist asks me each time I see him if I'm ready to have my wisdom teeth removed. Maybe next time.

Conversations with Kids - Part II

We attended a retirement party for Dorothy's aunt. The following is a discussion on retirement with our daughter.

Naomi: What is retirement?

Me: It is like taking a long vacation from working.

Naomi: What do you do when you retire?

Me: Well, you can use the time to just enjoy life. Take vacations.

Naomi: You mean like when we go to Seattle to visit Ojiichan and Obaachan?

Me: Yes, that's right.

Naomi: So how old do you have to be to retire?

Me: Most people are in their 50s or 60s.

Naomi: So if you don't make it to your 60s, does it mean that there's no retirement?

Onomatopoetic Words

Onomatopoetic words are that are used to represent sounds. Remember those old Batman shows where every time Batman or Robin punched the Joker words like BAM! or POW! would splash onto the television screen? These are examples of onomatopoetic words. The English language has its share of such words, the most common being sounds that animals make.

The Japanese have taken such words to the extreme though. They've even grouped these words into four categories: gitaigo (a word that represents an action), giseigo (a word that represents a sound made by animal, person or thing), gijoogo (a word that represents a human emotion or psychological state) and giongo (a word a word that represents a sound of nature). These words are used frequently in the ever-present comic books in Japan.

The following are some examples of onomatopoetic words in the Japanese language:

1. bari bari
2. boro boro
3. deko boko
4. doki doki
5. fuwa fuwa
6. gari gari
7. giri giri
8. gucha gucha
9. guru guru
10. hoka hoka
11. iro iro
12. kara kara
13. niko niko
14. peko peko
15. pera pera
16. pika pika
17. pon pon
18. ten ten
19. wai wai
20. wan wan

Match the above words with the meanings below:

a. the sound that a dog makes
b. blinking lights
c. the state of being very dry
d. being very soft and wet (flooded carpeting)
e. excited fast beating heart
f. a state of noisy exhuberance (noisy kids)
g. fluent in a language
h. this and that
i. just in the nick of time
j. to be bumpy
k. to be dotted
l. to be hungry
m. warm, heated (a warm bento)
n. the sound of scraping
o. being worn out and old
p. to have a full stomach
q. smiling
r. round and round in circles
s. fluffy
t. the sound of tearing paper

Check back for the answers in a future posting.

Conversations with Kids - Part I

Here's a conversation with Ethan, our 5-year old son, and Naomi, our 6-year old daughter, this evening at the dinner table:

Me: Wow, those lemon grass chicken sticks are sort of spicy.

Naomi: What are you talking about?

Me: Those things in front of you. Right there. Those things that look like taquitos.

Naomi: Yeah, you're sweating.

Me: You want to try one. Ethan has one. Maybe you're like mom and can handle spicy foods.

Naomi: Yeah, I'm a little bit like you and a little bit like mom. So maybe I can eat spicy foods like mom. (Proceeds to put one of the chicken sticks on her plate.)

Me: In other ways you're more like me.

Naomi: Like how we don't get cavities. (Unlike mom who gets cavities easily)

Me: That's right.

Ethan: But Dad, how come I get cavities easily even though I sweat like you?

The Toire

After having arrived at my cousin's place in Osaka after a long bus ride and a taxi ride, it was natural for my son Ethan to want to use the bathroom. We were escorted to the bathroom.

"Ethan, do you want me to stay?" I asked.

"No, that's okay," was the reply. So I closed the door and left.

After about 10 minutes, we began to wonder if Ethan was okay. Perhaps he was having difficulties with the toilet. It was a Western style toilet so I never thought to give him pointers on the use of the toilet. I decided to go check on him.

Knock. Knock. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Yes, Dad. I'm done," was the reply. He didn't sound troubled, but I didn't hear any movement either so I decided to take a peek. Opening the door slightly I could see that he was still on the toilet, his feet not quite touching the floor swinging back and forth like the tail of a happy pup.

"Are you finished? Or are you just roosting?" I inquired.

He started to push himself off the toilet, hands on the seat like a gymnast dismounting from a pommel horse. "But Dad it's so warm."

I had no idea what he was talking about. The bathroom was your typical Japanese bathroom. A small room with a toilet with a tank that had a wash basin built on top. The room did feel a couple of degrees warmer than the rest of the house - maybe because it was small and cozy.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Dad, the toilet's warm," was the reply.

I felt the toilet seat. It was warm. The toilet seat had a seat warmer! Ethan had a big smile on his face, "See, Dad."

Meet the Toto Washlet. [Note: the brand name Toto is synonymous with toilets in Japan much as Otis is to elevators here in the U.S.]

The last time we were in Japan nine years ago perhaps one of my relative's home had such a toilet. This time around nearly all of the homes had a Washlet, likely the most sophisticated toilet ever made. The list of features available with these toilets is almost endless: adjustable water jet nozzles, massage options, blow dryers, heater, air conditioning, air freshener, auto lid, pressure sensitive seats, self cleaning nozzles, and germ resistant surfaces. See this link for more information on toilets in Japan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_toilet

As you can see, using the the "toiretto" or "toire" (from the word "toilet) in Japan can be quite a comforting experience.

The Keitai Denwa

One of the biggest changes that Dorothy and I noticed in Japan since our last visit nine years ago is the proliferation of cell phones, or as they're called in Japan "keitai denwas." But then again this change should not be that surprising - even here at home cell phones and their use have changed considerably. We only got cell phones seven years ago before the birth of our first child so that I would be reachable any where, any time.

My first memory of cell phones were objects that we called "car phones." There were a few people in my office where I worked 15 years ago who had them. They were usually grey, brick-shaped phones that were powered through the cigarette lighter in cars or could be operated on their own. Somewhere in the past 10 years the term "cell phone" has become the generic term for these phones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mobile_phones

In Japan, these phones are called "keitai denwas" or more simply "keitais." The word keitai means portable with the kanji characters for keitai coming from KEI meaning "carry" and TAI meaning "belt." http://www.cjvlang.com/Writing/writsys/signs/keitai.html

This literal translation of keitai would be a better description of cell phones here in the U.S. than in Japan. It's much more common to see cell phones carried on the belt here than in Japan. Most of my male relatives in Japan seemed to carry their phones in a pocket. Other observations include:

1. Not as many variations on the shape of the phone (many seemed to look like my Mom's Cingular Erickson phone).

2. High quality digital cameras and the storing of photos on their phones seemed to be more common.

3. Many of the phones were decorated with tags like we have on key chains.

4. Much more text messaging, perhaps even more text messaging than phone calls. I think text messaging is less expensive than making a call and perhaps much of what can be communicated can be done so through short messages. Another reason for the popularity is its outgrowth from the popularity of pagers in Japan from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cell_phone_culture#Teenagers_and_keitai

5. Cell phone usage in cars is not allowed. There are also signs in may establishments that request phones to be placed on "manner mode." Trains have signs requesting phones to be turned off near senior priority seats because of the risk of cell phone radio waves interfering with pacemakers and other medical devices. Why isn't this more of an issue here in the U.S.?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_cell_phone_culture#Negative_aspects

Our Family Visit to Japan

Starting with the photo in the upper left corner and going from left to right row-by-row:

1. We stayed with relatives for the entire trip and slept five across in a tatami floor room. Ryan usually found his way in between Mom and Dad, and managed to wake us up with his nai-nai request at least once most nights.

2&3. It was the peak of the cherry blossom season in Osaka. We attended the opening of the Japanese Mint Bureau grounds on April 12 for cherry blossom (sakura) viewing. The sakura are located on the grounds along the banks of the Okawa River. http://www.pref.osaka.jp/koho/brand/no6/sl/24sakura.html

4. Only managed to get a few photos of us in a shinkansen (bullet train). A picture of a still shinkansen from outside wouldn't have done it justice anyway. We have videos that'll give you a better feel for these trains that reach top speeds of about 185 mph. The 90-mile trip from Osaka to Okayama took about 45 minutes including three stops on the nozomi (super express) train. http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/shinkansen_history.htm

5. A view of Okayama Castle from the Korakuen. Okayama-jo aka U-jo, Crow Castle, because it is one of two castles in Japan that is painted black. The Korakuen is one of Japan's official "Great Gardens" - there are three such gardens. http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/okayama.htm

6&14. A view of the Yojima Bridge, the 4th of six bridges spanning 5.8 miles between Honshu (Kurashiki city) and Shikoku (Sakaide city) that make up the Great Seto Bridges. On Yojima, there is a Fisherman's Wharf area that is sort of a mini version of "Fisherman's Wharf" areas like those in Seattle or San Francisco. The bridges were constructed in 10 years at a cost of about $7.7 billion (assuming $1 = 130 Yen). http://web-japan.org/atlas/architecture/arc22.html

7. Beaver's Bakery is Tetsuya's (my cousin) bakery located in Kurashiki. In our humble opinion, it is the best bakery in Japan!

8. Muscat Stadium (capacity of about 30,000) is located in Kurashiki. Although Kurashiki (where Casey's relatives live) is not home to a professional Japanese baseball team, a small number of pro games are played there each year. We attended the game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Yakult Swallows on April 18. We rooted for the underdog Swallows to no avail as the Giants prevailed 1-0. The highlight was the release of thousands of noise making balloons at the end of the 7th inning stretch.

9, 10&13. Another highlight for our kids was the Kaiyukan (aquarium) in Osaka. It's an interesting aquarium with a 9-meter tall central tank display that houses a whale shark (9 years ago there were 2 such sharks in the tank). It's touted as one of the largest aquariums in the world. There are some 30,000 specimens of plants and animals representing 580 species in the aquarium, including dolphins, both sea and river otters, penguins and a sun fish. Headphones with narrations in English are available. http://www.kaiyukan.com/eng/profile/index.htm

11. Wish we could have gotten more pictures of the amazing train stations. Even in the smaller urban areas such as Okayama (population of about 1.9 million in the prefecture) the train station is home to several lines and plenty of shopping both above ground and below ground. The picture is of Casey and Ryan at the Hankyu train platforms at the main Umeda station in Osaka. Including the Hankyu line there are 5 private train lines, the JR line, a subway system with 7 lines and a monorail system in Osaka. There were something like 8 slots for Hankyu trains that were coming and going every couple of minutes. The slots were designed so that doors can open on one side to let passengers exit and open on the opposite side to take on passengers. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html & http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/accessmap.html

12. A highlight of shopping in Japan is the appealing cakes and pastries on display. The cake in the picture was Ryan's birthday cake. He celebrated his 2nd birthday during the trip.

15. Kurashiki is known for its Bikan-chiku area where several rice storehouses remain from the 18th and 19th centuries that were used to store rice harvested from the area around Kurashiki. The storehouses are located along the tree lined canal in the photo. http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/eng/accessmap.html

16. The last photo is of us in front of the Okayama train station at the statue of Momotaro, Peach Boy. Momtaro is the main character in a well-known (at least to Japanese) Japanese fable about a boy found inside a giant peach in Okayama. Of course, the area is well known for its peaches with the peak peach season being in late summer. http://www.pref.okayama.jp/kikaku/kokusai/momo/e/momotarou/momotarou.html

Riddles, jokes and giggles

While we were in Japan recently, a highlight of one evening was exchanging jokes and riddles with Tetsuya who was familiar with American riddles having spent some time in the U.S. Here are some of the riddles that we exchanged and a few other gems.

Q: What is black, white and blue?
A: A zebra holding its breath.

Q: Why was 10 scared of 7?
A: Because 7 8 9.

Q: What kind of room has no windows and no doors?
A: A mushroom.

Q: Why would you put a saddle backwards on a horse?
A: To see where you have been.

Q: What do you get when you mix a grizzly bear with a kangaroo?
A: A coat with fur pockets.

Q: What do little girl grizzlies wear in their hair?
A: Bearettes.

Q: What do dinosaurs have that no other animals have?
A: Baby dinosaurs.

Q: What has no fingers but many rings?
A: A tree.

Happy Juice!

Ryan has developed his own vocabulary, not unlike most almost 2 year olds. Here are some examples:

1. Blanket: bing-bing (if you say it fast enough it sort of sounds like blanket)
2. Fish: fi-fi (any fish is fi-fi because the name of our goldfish is Fifi)
3. Water: wahwah
4. Train: choo-choo
5. Toe lint: lin-lin (he likes to pick out the lint that accumulates from a day's worth of socks wear)
6. His Milk (or Formula): nai-nai (Chinese kids' word for milk)
7. Apple Juice: happy juice!

And there are many more!

Blinders On - Gas Cap Not

A man is leaving a Chevron station in Kent, Washington with his gas cap on the trunk of his late model Japanese car. He's in a rush like the rest of us, having endured the gas attendant tell us, "it should be up in a couple of minutes" to "we're not sure when the pumps will be up again."

After taking note of the man's gas cap where it should not be, we tried to get his attention to no avail. It was hard to tell if he didn't see our waving from our minivan in the lane beside or if he just chose to ignore us. Nevertheless, when the signal turned green we were both off into the night, we to the left and he to the right.

But as we drove off, we could see the gas cap fly off the back of his car. We drove off talking that we should go back and rescue the cap in the hope that the man would return in search of his cap. So we u-turned and returned to where we parted ways.

As we turned down the street to park, who should walk by, but the man missing his gas cap. Apparently, he did not take note of our waving, but somehow did hear or see his black gas cap get yanked off into the night.

We parked and I started out to the intersection, but I did not get more than 20 feet when I heard the most awful plastic crushing sound. The man was cursing. He clearly was not happy. From what I saw it looked like he was just beaten to the cap by a very large SUV. I thought about talking to the man, but given his demeanor at the moment, I thought better of it and walked back to my family.

The intersection is now known to us as the "scene of the crime."

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to all of you who were away for the holidays. Hello again to those of you who didn't travel, but may have noticed little activity on our little blog over the past couple months. Now we can all exhale.

We had our usual stack of Christmas, New Year's and holiday cards from family and friends to read through. This is probably my favorite part of this time of year. To be able to see pictures of friends' children and read about the past year. One of my high school teachers who I have kept in touch with is always good for a few witty phrases and comments from the past year. Here are a few that she passed on this year:

On the subject of weather - weather to give a person the weary dismals; the breeze had some little cold teeth in it; the heavy sky sagged with drizzle.

A native addressing a totem pole - "Don't be so proud. I know you from a plum tree."

On vocabulary - "sociopath" The trouble with words like that is that if you can pronounce them you think you know what they mean.

On faces - His face was fat and smooth, full of water and cities; a fellow with a face he'd gotten a lot of mileage out of.

On voices - If Tom talked any slower, he'd talk backward; a stained glass voice.

On principles - By definition, a prejudice is a principle that the owner does not intend to examine.

Father Earth? - the mountains where the earth pulled off its shirt and displayed its naked massive limestone shoulders, bulging lava pectorals, powerful granite biceps.

On time - Some things take longer to be a long time ago; just when is history anyway?

On religion - Atheism is a nonprophet organization.

On people - certain things among the shadows of a person's life do not have to be remembered -- they remember themselves; the chances we take getting born so accidentally; if you don't get smarter, getting older is more trouble than it's worth.

In case you haven't guessed, Mrs. C. is a retired English teacher.

Stats Redux - January 3, 2006

Here is an update on our stats from November:

Price of Gas: $1.95 per gallon and holding steady (can't believe that the price of gas is higher in Seattle and Portland)
Price of Milk: still $3.79 for hormone free milk at Trader Joe's
Bridge Toll: still $3 on nearly all Bay Area bridges, although they will go going up to pay for overruns on bridge replacements/repairs
Today's High Temperature: 57 degrees F (with rain)
Dow Jones Average: 10,847.41 (up 129.91 on the 1st trading day of the new year)
Shopping Days to Christmas: only the department stores know this one now
Dinner Tonight: Salmon Pie (also now known as Ethan's Super Salmon Pie in the Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church Cookbook, but originally Mom's recipe)
Average Commute Time: still over an hour (in a 3-person carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: still over $600,000 but unchanged
Movie Ticket: assume that it's still around $9, although it's been some time since we've watched anything but NetFlix rentals
Vacation with My Kids: an Adventure

By the way, Happy New Year!

Stats for Today - November 17, 2005

Here are some stats for our household and locale:

Price of Gas: $2.37 per gallon and falling for the moment after reaching a high of about $3.07
Price of Milk: $3.79 per gallon and holding
Bridge Toll: $3 (except on the Golden Gate where it is already $5)
Today's High Temperature: 73 degrees F
Dow Jones Average: closed at 10,766.33 (up 46.11)
Shopping Days to Christmas: 37
Thanksgiving Dinner Item: Ham
Average Commute Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes (in a 3-person carpool)
Cost of Area Homes: $600,000 plus
Movie Ticket: $8.75 and higher
Time with my Kids: Priceless

How do these numbers compare with yours?

New War Anthem?

Just saw a commercial today on television with the lead singer of Green Day saying something like, "anything successful is built on a series of mistakes." Could it be that we've stumbled on what could be used as the basis for a new series of talking points regarding the War in Iraq?

On-line Travel Writing

Just wanted to share an on-line travel magazine that covers all facets of travel. The site also will take submissions with the enticement that their site has a broad reach (they aren't able to pay).

One current listing on their site that caught my eye was a review of Karin Muller's "Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa." I think I'll have to check it out.

http://www.worldhum.com/

About the Name of Our Blog

The name of our blog comes from a Japanese children's song about a turtle. Here's the first verse:

Moshi moshi Kame yo,
Kame-san yo.
Sekai no uchi de,
Omae hodo,
Ayumi no noroi,
Mono wa nai.
Doshite Sonnani,
Noroinoka?

Hello Turtle,
Mr. Turtle.
In all the world,
there is none,
who walks as slow.
Why are you so slow?

Back Yard Wonders

You just never know what you'll find in your own backyard. We found a praying mantis one weekend recently when we were pruning one of our trees. It was about three inches in length and was a yellowish-brown color, not the usual green color that we are accustomed to seeing. After we finished with the tree, we put the praying mantis back on the tree and watched it climb out of sight. Here's a photo of the mantis looking back at us seemingly saying, "so long."

Hey, Chuck!

The City of Santa Rosa completed a summer-long tribute to its favorite son, Charles "Sparky" Schultz. In celebration of the 55th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip, the designing of 55 unique statues of Charlie Brown was commissioned. One last viewing of all of the statues was possible with the assembling of all 55 statues in a field near the Schultz Museum. We couldn't resist taking our kids to this unique event. Here we are with the original Chuck.