Cherry Blossom Adventures

January 4 2009, Bromeliads plant, Olympus E520

I would love to have Bromeliads in a garden in Japan- I do not think they are found much there. Interesting fact- Bromeliads are part of the pineapple family and they are native mainly to tropical parts of America.

I took this in my mum`s garden- she has some semi-tropical plants in her little back garden mixed in with her herbs and the like.

Plus some good news- the weather for Saturday is said to be mainly fine but a little cloudy! YAY!

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February 8 2009, Pink flower by the beach near home, Olympus E-520

No comments today really. I just like how this flower, while it looks beautiful, is also imperfect.

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March 31 2009, At home in Brisbane, Olympus E520

This is one of my favourite Macro Monday posts so far. That is Shun holding a green tree frog that he found downstairs under the house on one of dad`s toolboxes a couple of weeks ago- it was late at night and he went out for a smoke and then I hear this “?????????????”  meaning “Laura, come quick” and he was under the house trying to protect the frog from Abbey.

He had never seen a green tree frog outside of a zoo before but he knew what it was. I laughed as he ran around trying to catch it while Abbey was also trying to pounce. Luckily he caught it and we released it over the fence into the vacant block. I was surprised to see a green tree frog as we live so close to the ocean and they are not fans of salt water.

Green tree frogs are native to Australia and the one in the picture above is quite small compared to average (10cm) so I think it may have been a baby. They eat mainly spiders and insects and are extremely docile. I wouldn`t say they are rare but they are definitely not so prevelant in Brisbane…

Isn`t it cute?

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March 18 2008, BG shoe in pink (Brisbane), Olympus E-520

My very good friend Sarah, is due to have a baby in July and I have already done ALL of my shopping for her new baby girl including the adorable shoe you see in the picture above. I made a little hat as well and before she is born I might attempt some booties because a cardigan is definitely too far above my skills! Maybe by winter though!

It was so much fun shopping for Sarah`s little girl- made me more than a little clucky! I hope Shun and I can have kids sometime soon!!! I would go a bit crazy shopping for them I suppose. I have a huge box to send to Sara & Ryohei in Niigata already and I am only her BG`s crazy aunt Lulu!

ps: I am not going to number my macro monday posts in their titles anymore- but for those that care it is #18!

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March 18 2009, Pandora Bracelet, Olympus E-520

My birthday present from Shun. A pandora bracelet and a dog charm and a flower charm- the other two came from money my dad gave me for my birthday. I look forward to adding to it over the  upcoming years…

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March 10, 2009, Kokeshi doll @ home, Olympus u830

On Friday I had the day off work because my Shun & I were going to my second cousin Amelia`s school to talk to them about Japan. They are 10 years old and learning about Japan and some Japanese this term at school. When my cousin`s wife emailed me several weeks back to see if we could perhaps go to her class I jumped at the chance. It has been almost a year since I last stepped foot into a classroom and I miss it (surprisingly!).

After emailing back and forth with Amelia`s teacher we settled on Friday afternoon for a 45 minute session and the topic was “Hinamatsuri” or “Dolls festival” which happened on March 3rd. I am not sure what you know about hinamatsuri but I did not really know much about it before but I did a bit of research in preparation.

Some interesting tibbits I found out included

- On a girls first hinamatsuri it is called hatzu-zekku and it is common for the grandparents to buy their granddaughter the dolls.

- A doll set traditionally has 15 dolls!

- Sometimes paper dolls are made (often with attached boats!) breathed on, rubbed against their bodies and sent down the river taking with them bad luck and bad health and bringing good luck and health to the children!

- Meiji Jingu, a shrine in Tokyo, sells environmentally friendly paper dolls for people to use that are made out of fish food!

- There is a hinamatsuri song- which i now know!

- A doll set can cost up to about $10,000

I learnt a lot more that we shared with Amelia`s class. I forgot how funny 10 year olds can be and their crazy questions which included things like

- Can we all come to your wedding?

- What happens if moths eat the dolls clothes?

- Do the emperor and empress dolls change when they real emperor changes? (I don`t know the answer to this but I thought not)

- Do people try to steal the dolls?

- do the dolls really eat the snack that people leave for them?

And a lot more! After talking about hinamatsuri and having question time and showing some pictures and some dolls we taught them the song “ureshii hinamatsuri” and made origami paper dolls!!

This picture is of one of the dolls I took with me to the lesson. I don`t have any real hinamatusri dolls ( or hina ningyo) so I took two kokeshi dolls that I have to show the students.

We had a lot of fun! Shun was extremely nervous and did not say much but the girls adored him!

I am hoping my DSLR camera will be returned to me this week. I plan to ring them tomorrow!

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January 26 2009, On a walk near the water, Olympus E520

I spoke again with the camera place on Friday and they are still waiting for a part for my camera which won`t be here until March 20th!!!!!!!!!!! They have already had it for almost 3 weeks. I am so sad. I just want my camera back and in working order…

Another Monday is over- I have another 8 Mondays left of work and another 9 before the wedding. Time is flying by so fast. I have another 14 or so until we are back in japan.

Last night I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time- it is one of my dad`s favourite movies so I ordered it for him off the internet (can`t really get it in the local dvd shops) and we watched it all together. It is one weird movie. I can`t believe how young Susan Sarandan and Meat Loaf looked though……I like the music in it though. Time Warp is a classic…

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December 2, 2007, Showa Kinen Koen, Olympus 830

This photo is unfortunately a little bit fuzzy around the edges. I would love to be taking new macro shots but with my camera in the fix-it shop you will all have to wait a little longer.

You can see my palm print in this though! hehe

We don`t really have seasons in Brisbane where I am from and living at the moment. We have summer which lasts pretty much from October- March…so yes it is pretty much 28 degrees or higher for six months. We then have a bit of a cooler turn for April & May where it is walm still but a little chilly at night, then we have winter which is actually not as cold as you would hope- but the nights are fairly chilly I suppose and then basically we head back into summer. There is no changing leaves, there is certainly no snow and there are no beautiful flowers in bloom at a certain time of year (okay except jacaranda`s in November & frangipani`s in January- but trust me nobody gets out there blue picnic sheets and goes to do flower viewing under them)

This is probably something I miss most about Japan- the seasons. I can not wait to experience Autumn again later this year and while I will miss hanami & cherry blossom season this year I am already fantasising about next year!

I have to go back to Showa Kinen Koen, where the photo above was taken, and if anybody else is near Tokyo, in particular near West Tokyo then this is a fantastic park!!! I have only been twice, once was with my kindy class, and it has been fantastic both times. It is huge and like a little oasis in the middle (okay outskirts) of Tokyo. Plus on a clear day you can have the most awesome view of Fuji-san from near the poppy fields.

By the way we got our engagement photos back- I love them!!! I will try to post scanned copies later tonight or tomorrow!

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March 23 2008,  Near Tokyo Station, Olympus u830

This was taken on a trip to the imperial palace to see the cherry blossoms- we were a little early (in season I mean) but managed to see quite a few blossoms and on the way there we walked past this mini tulip festival with brilliant coloured tulips lined up.

It is hard to beleive that in less than four months I will be back in Japan. I wouldn`t say I am nervous about going back, in fact I am extremely excited. That said, my Japanese has been going down hill fast lately- Shun doesn`t understand me half the time (okay maybe not half of the time but 10 or 20 % of the time) and I am sure it is because apart from his Japanaese I am not hearing it anywhere anymore. It is different to the year I spent home when finishing uni because I had lots of Japanese friends and was still studying at uni and talking to Shun on the phone almost every night helped. He told me today that now he understand my English more than my Japanese most of the time….

I need to start watching Japanese TV again & studying again (EEK!) and ringing Japanese friends on the phone. I can not believe how bad it has gotten…I know if I played back to myself a tape of me speaking Japanese I would cringe in horror at how bad it has gotten. It is funny though, when I am speaking it, I don`t really notice my mistakes much until I see the confused look on Shun`s face.

I am really stoked that his English is improving (and that he understands my English!) but my Japanese is worrying me. I am trying to think of ways I could improve while I am still here (apart from speaking to Shun because obviously I do enough of that!)…so if anybody has any suggestions please let me know. I better try and get my act together before I head back otherwise I will be confusing all the natives!!!

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January 12 2009, at home, Olympus E-520

This is for Enny who requested an engagement ring shot ages ago after a Wedding Bee (A wedding blog!) e-ring photo extravaganza…

I felt a little bit silly taking a photo of my engagement ring. I took a couple but I liked this one, on top of the puzzle pieces the best!!! We still haven`t finished the puzzle which my Dad brought home several weeks back of the Sydney Harbor Bridge & Opera House…all that is left though is the blue water to do (we completed the blue sky!)

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