A couple of cool developments with the kids over the last couple of days.
1. The troll will actually talk to me on the phone and hold a conversation. I usually call Kumiko on Monday and Tuesday nights before heading home from work. Troll of course demands the phone and wants to tell me about her day. It's a lot of fun.
2. Munchkin laughs - She's been moving that way for a while now, but only the last week or so she has really laughed. It's charming, amusing and very cute. Especially since I love tickling her.
Anyways that's all for now.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Dad in the hospital
Came home from a long shopping trip to Tomakomai - busy, busy day to find a YIM note from mom about dad going to the hospital. Figured I'd make this an open post so mom can posts some updates for everyone. Right now I just know dad has abdominal pains and is for a abdominal CT and overnight observation.
Last time he hit the hospital it was for some African ear infection that almost killed him. Hope it isn't that bad this time... if I had to guess it was probably the lutefisk... but it's probably worse. Hope it's all going to be ok.
*crossing fingers*
And mom, feel free to pop updates in the comment section.
As for us. We're good. Troll is conked after waking up at 5am and having a long day out shopping. Munchkin is having a ball in her chair with her toys, and I'm watching 'The Wire'. We're all pretty good, if a bit wasted from the long day. AEON in Tomakomai was a good place to go shopping as the food choices were decent and the shopping not half bad price wise. Definitely an alternative to our usual Chitose trip on on the weekends. Also got us some good king-crab at a good price - makes me very happy.
Anyways that's all for today, troll decided to wake up and hang out with daddy so I gotta take care of her. Catch you later.
A couple of pictures of the little ones - and yes, the mittens and red sweater used to be Liv's.
Last time he hit the hospital it was for some African ear infection that almost killed him. Hope it isn't that bad this time... if I had to guess it was probably the lutefisk... but it's probably worse. Hope it's all going to be ok.
*crossing fingers*
And mom, feel free to pop updates in the comment section.
As for us. We're good. Troll is conked after waking up at 5am and having a long day out shopping. Munchkin is having a ball in her chair with her toys, and I'm watching 'The Wire'. We're all pretty good, if a bit wasted from the long day. AEON in Tomakomai was a good place to go shopping as the food choices were decent and the shopping not half bad price wise. Definitely an alternative to our usual Chitose trip on on the weekends. Also got us some good king-crab at a good price - makes me very happy.
Anyways that's all for today, troll decided to wake up and hang out with daddy so I gotta take care of her. Catch you later.
A couple of pictures of the little ones - and yes, the mittens and red sweater used to be Liv's.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Back in the saddle
Cheers Everyone,
I'm now back at work and should be back to posting somewhat regularly again... The last week and a bit got very lethargic as I somehow managed to injure my foot, and Munchkin was sick so I was stuck at home instead of skiing and having fun. Ah well.
Got a bunch of stuff I want to share, but I'll put it in the posts that follow this one. Before I get on with it, here is one quick picture.
I'm now back at work and should be back to posting somewhat regularly again... The last week and a bit got very lethargic as I somehow managed to injure my foot, and Munchkin was sick so I was stuck at home instead of skiing and having fun. Ah well.
Got a bunch of stuff I want to share, but I'll put it in the posts that follow this one. Before I get on with it, here is one quick picture.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Late Night in Hokkaido
Last Sunday before the nominal start of work here. I teach Monday and Tuesday and then I go skiing for the rest of the week, before my schedule turns completely normal on me next Monday.
Nothing much happened during the day. Just relaxing and taking it easy. This evening I played the good Samaritan and picked up a pair of ALTs at the airport and drove them home. They live and work in Iwamizawa which isn't all that far from here (30-40min drive - the airport is 30). They came in on the last flight from Tokyo at 1030, and I got home around 1am.
Driving around at night in the snow is fantastic though. It was a really wonderful night; alternating snow and clear skies. The snow over the last couple of days has been great, and Iwamizawa was amazing. A real 'winter wonderland' as James (that would be the Californian I picked up) pointed out. The drive back was equally beautiful, with the big snow flakes ending as soon as I got out of Iwamizawa and the skies being completely clear by the time I hit Yuni. I got one of the best views of Orion I've had since I was a little kid on the road near Yuni. I had to stop for a while and just enjoy the view.
A couple of things really were brought home to me when I was out driving. Winter in Hokkaido is something special. Oiwake isn't much for winter... the snow always seems to melt, but elsewhere it stays properly and it is really beautiful. Also, I find that I enjoy Hokkaido a lot and I'm very, very much looking forward to Wednesday and skiing :) I'll miss Hokkaido when we leave here, although I don't think I'll miss my working conditions :P
Anyways, time to get going - a couple of pictures from Iwamizawa first though. The first is of the intersection near the Mos Burger that is amazingly open until 1am (wow! - watery coffee though - and because of my diet I didn't actually feel remotely like eating anything). The second is just at a random intersection. I really just wanted you to see the snow... it makes me very happy - figured I could share a bit.
Take care and have a great week!
Nothing much happened during the day. Just relaxing and taking it easy. This evening I played the good Samaritan and picked up a pair of ALTs at the airport and drove them home. They live and work in Iwamizawa which isn't all that far from here (30-40min drive - the airport is 30). They came in on the last flight from Tokyo at 1030, and I got home around 1am.
Driving around at night in the snow is fantastic though. It was a really wonderful night; alternating snow and clear skies. The snow over the last couple of days has been great, and Iwamizawa was amazing. A real 'winter wonderland' as James (that would be the Californian I picked up) pointed out. The drive back was equally beautiful, with the big snow flakes ending as soon as I got out of Iwamizawa and the skies being completely clear by the time I hit Yuni. I got one of the best views of Orion I've had since I was a little kid on the road near Yuni. I had to stop for a while and just enjoy the view.
A couple of things really were brought home to me when I was out driving. Winter in Hokkaido is something special. Oiwake isn't much for winter... the snow always seems to melt, but elsewhere it stays properly and it is really beautiful. Also, I find that I enjoy Hokkaido a lot and I'm very, very much looking forward to Wednesday and skiing :) I'll miss Hokkaido when we leave here, although I don't think I'll miss my working conditions :P
Anyways, time to get going - a couple of pictures from Iwamizawa first though. The first is of the intersection near the Mos Burger that is amazingly open until 1am (wow! - watery coffee though - and because of my diet I didn't actually feel remotely like eating anything). The second is just at a random intersection. I really just wanted you to see the snow... it makes me very happy - figured I could share a bit.
Take care and have a great week!
Friday, January 4, 2008
A short note to the family
Cheers everyone, thought I should toss this out there.
Feel free to comment/chat in the comment sections or ask questions. Nothing like a bit of interaction.
Of course, also feel free to pass this url along to family if you think they'd be interested. I'm horrible at keeping my address list up to date.
Nothing else going on here. Nap-time for the trolls.
Feel free to comment/chat in the comment sections or ask questions. Nothing like a bit of interaction.
Of course, also feel free to pass this url along to family if you think they'd be interested. I'm horrible at keeping my address list up to date.
Nothing else going on here. Nap-time for the trolls.
Lazy Saturday
Not much going on in this part of the world. Well, other than the first of several Amazon deliveries. I got part of my present for myself today (yay!) - Shadowmarch by Tad Williams, Starship: Mutiny by Mike Resnick and The Shangri-la diet by Seth Roberts. I'm really looking forward to all of them, but probably most the diet book as it should be an interesting read.
Other than that it's just a quiet weekend. No daycare for the troll, so we're just taking it easy. I start work, sort of, on Monday. But I should be able to go skiing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week if nothing comes up.
I'll leave you all with another photo. Take care!
Other than that it's just a quiet weekend. No daycare for the troll, so we're just taking it easy. I start work, sort of, on Monday. But I should be able to go skiing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week if nothing comes up.
I'll leave you all with another photo. Take care!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Back home again
Not much of an absence, but it was relaxing time well spent. The service at Marukoma was excellent, the dinner was fantastic, and the onsen was good.
We all had a good time there and got to see a tanuki (sort of like a raccoon) hanging out at the front entrance of the hotel waiting for dinner leftovers. Very cute stuff. There was also a short, but quite nice violin and piano concert that we enjoyed after our family bath.
Other than that the trip home was mostly uneventful - only one car crash on the way. Yesterday we saw two deer, one injured deer (had been hit by a car), one car off the road in a snowbank (we only saw the rear end) and one tow-truck in the ditch with a tow-truck/hauler in the ditch behind it. Good times.
Lake Shikotsuko is a caldera lake, and it is beautiful, winter or summer. It's definitely worth a visit. A couple of pictures to close this off. Take care and enjoy your day!
Oh, and it snowed a lot the other day! Wee! Time for some skiing on Friday!
Ps. The last photo was just for dad (and no, I didn't have any - Ice cream just isn't appealing these days).
We all had a good time there and got to see a tanuki (sort of like a raccoon) hanging out at the front entrance of the hotel waiting for dinner leftovers. Very cute stuff. There was also a short, but quite nice violin and piano concert that we enjoyed after our family bath.
Other than that the trip home was mostly uneventful - only one car crash on the way. Yesterday we saw two deer, one injured deer (had been hit by a car), one car off the road in a snowbank (we only saw the rear end) and one tow-truck in the ditch with a tow-truck/hauler in the ditch behind it. Good times.
Lake Shikotsuko is a caldera lake, and it is beautiful, winter or summer. It's definitely worth a visit. A couple of pictures to close this off. Take care and enjoy your day!
Oh, and it snowed a lot the other day! Wee! Time for some skiing on Friday!
Ps. The last photo was just for dad (and no, I didn't have any - Ice cream just isn't appealing these days).
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Relaxation time
We're off to Marukoma onsen today, as I mentioned in the last post. We'll be back on the third at some point. Catch you all later. Looking forward to a lazy evening in the hotspring.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)