A visit to Abe Gokoro

The next meeting of our Aoi District Citizens Forum or Jumin Konwakai will be an event called AOI KU KUMIN KONWAKAI in ABE GOKORO on March 8th. There will be some exhibit and panel discussions. Abe Gokoro is a new facility of Shizuoka City. It's like a community center of residents from the rural and the city. I have never been to this place so I invited my family to visit the place. Shizuoka dialect↓ meaning..." CHOTTO YOTTE KUDASAI"! Inside Abe Gokoro... the exhibit area↓
Office area...Resting area"MATA YOTTE KUDASAI"...Main entranceLooking around Abe River

Birthday bash!

We gathered at home with family and friends last Sunday to celebrate tatay's birthday (Feb15th) and Teddy's birthday (Feb3rd).

We wanted to call on more friends but due to limited space... we just able to call on the some closest buddies!

Well... the party was a blast ... it turned out to be really good. We had food sharings and everything tasted good! Everyone looked like they had a great time and we hope that was a memorable birthday celebration for tatay and Ted!

↓Here's the birhday lunch foods... we had sweet ginataan halohalo too!

Thanks to all the donors!

The birthday celebrants blowing their cake! Kainan na!

Oishii katta yo!

Tanoshii yo! We're enjoying!

The celebrants having fun cutting their cakes!

Merienda time! Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us! You all made the event possible and great!

Happy 70th birthday Tatay!

It's Tatay's 70th birhday today! Thank's be to God that He blessed him to reach 70 in good health! Many happy returns please... he deserve it anyway!

Tatay while praying and wishing for his birthday!

I can't recall on how many years since I last celebrated tatay's birthday together. Well... here we are now celebrating his birthday with Teddy, Baabaa and hubs.

To Tatay... wishing you a super duper birthday! May God bless you with good health and happiness thru the rest of your life. We love you!

We are going to have a get-together party at home for Tatay and Teddy's birthday on Sunday... OTANOSHIMINI!

We will miss you...Lucky dear!

What a sad Sunday night... our family treasured dog, Lucky has passed away. She's gone not only because of her diabetis but maybe due to hemorrhage when she was terribly hurt in our veranda last Saturday night.
Our beloved Lucky joined our family when she was just a puppy and Sachan was in grade 4 that time. Actually, she was Sachan's dog and Sachan gave her name... "Lucky"... because when Lucky came to our family... Sachan felt she was lucky to have Lucky! Lucky thought that her father and mother is our papa! They're really very close and Lucky was always so extra sweet to him! I am just like an eldest sister to Lucky.
I actually don't like pets... but Lucky thought me how to love pets!
It has been only 4 days since she had been gone. Not having her around the house is dull and quiet. I miss her lovely face and waging tail and I miss her on everytime I eat... she was always standing beside me waiting for the food I will give or share with her. She was loving, loyal, smart, peaceful, behave and wonderful. My family had so many great years with her. During her younger years... she was a good frisby player and she loves water... shes good in swimming!
When she was diagnosed of diabetis about two years ago... she became so skinny but I admire her great effort to survive! I admit that maybe this is just right ... that she's not suffering anymore but it still really hurt! Maybe this will took time to get over but she will always be in our heart.

Our last family picture with Lucky taken last Xmas 2007↓We cremated Lucky and keep her at home... We're offering essence and her fav foods everyday. Bless you Lucky and hoping you are having a great time in heaven with Giigii and my nanay!
Thanks for the great 10 years! Thanks a lot for being a wonderful part of our family. We hope you watch over us for the rest of our life.
↑Sachan's goodbye kiss to Lucky on the day she went back to Niigata last January 8th! We can't imagine that this was their last meeting too!

Goodbye X-trail, Hello Serena!

I had a great 5 years driving my X-trail. I hate to say goodbye to him but I need to change my 4wd car to a family car ... the Serena!

X-trail kun... otsukaresama deshita! Serena chan... kore kara mo yoroshiku!

Welcome to Tatay and Teddy to Japan!

Last Saturday, Feb 9th was supposed to be an exciting day for us because my Tatay and brother Ted is coming here from Philippines... but this day also turned out to be a dreadful day! It was raining and snowing on our (papie, lola and I) way to Nagoya Centrair International Airport to pick up Ted and Tatay... and at the mid of our driving in Tomei... all the cars were adviced to get off due to snow. It took us more than 3 hours to get off Tomei Hi-way!
My X-trail doesn't have any navigator or map so we had a hard time asking gas stations and convenience stores staffs about the way to Centrair Airport! We took risky ways... the ice roads! Wooow... that was the scary driving I had experience... knowing my tires doesn't have any chains too! But thanks to my X-trail... we were safe!
Tatay and Ted arrival time was 6:30 p.m. but we reached the airport at around 12:30 midnight. I rushed in the arrival sections and I found Tatay and Ted waiting in the lobby together with other foreigners waiting to be fetch up!

Lola-- my mom in law at the airport with Ted and Tatay freezing from cold!

Tatay... signs for peace... "I'm back", he said!Ted as he discovered that snow was real!

We rushed back to Shizuoka worrying for Lucky who was left alone at home! We reached Shizuoka at around 5:30 a.m.! It was so terrible to see Lucky slipped in our veranda! It seems she has been there for many hours ... and she was hurt very badly. Imagine... we been unexpectedly away from home for almost 15 hours! Poor lucky... I feel so guilty for her... we are truly sorry for her. We immedietly warmed and gave her medical treatment. She really tried a great effort to survive outside the very cold weather... but we really pity her... she already looked dying... and I can't stand it... sigh!
What a terrible day! N'way... Tatay... Ted... welcome to Japan!

---to be continued---

Jazz Live in Life Time♪

Do you like jazz? I like jazz! I love the way it sounds and it is still one of the most soothing types of music for me to listen to.

Well... speaking of jazz, yesterday night... I had a date with Liza, Amie, Dang and uncle Jo. We watched jazz live performance at Garden Cafe Life Time featuring "Maritess with Jonathan Katz Trio". It was a fabulous jazz session. They did had a good team work. I love Maritess' latest original song too... "Life to Live". It's very peaceful! Ohhh...what a great night! ↑ With our friend Maritess (vocalist）and her Jazz musicians, Jonathan (piano), Daiki (base) and Kuroda san (drum)

ONI WA SOTO, FUKU WA UCHI!

Yesterday, February 3 was SETSUBUN NO HI which remarks the start of spring. It is traditionally celebrated by driving away bad luck and bring in good luck. Most of the traditional rituals revolve around beans, because they considered it as lucky. I already posted last year, February-- some of the explanations about this rituals.

Every year, Sachan perform the throwing of beans around the house. But since she's away... I replaced her and my hubby performed around his clinic while chanting (in a small voice!!!) ONI WA SOTO, FUKU WA UCHI or "out with the evil and in with good luck"!

↓Here's the pack of the beans I am talking about. The beans in yellow pack is thrown outside the house to drive away bad luck while the beans on the pink pack is thrown inside the house to bring in good luck! After that... as part of the tradition... the Japanese eat EHOU-MAKI. It's a big, long, uncut sushi roll. Basically, it contains seven ingredients because they said that seven is a lucky number. If you'll eat it, it should not be cut because it might cut-off your luck! Then, you should face in a lucky direction... the HIGASHI or east direction. Some says, the lucky directions is changing every year! I've heard that the lucky direction this year is south east! Finally, you should eat it in silence!

We, actually bought ehou-maki in Itoyokado. The one that contains seven ingredients was already sold out... so we just choose the eight ingredients... anyway, eight is a lucky number for me! I also discovered that they are not just selling ehou-maki in seven ingredients. I also found four, five ingredients! They're selling cut ehou-maki too!

According to my hubby... there are some regions that have different custom in eating ehou-maki. Sooo... I did my own way too... we just ate it in ordinary way... what count most to us was that the ehou-maki we bought tasted very good! No wonder it's expensive! GOCHISOU SAMA DESHITA!

Last day of class

It seemed like only yesterday that we had started our class and suddenly that last day had arrived. I taught basic English conversation to this SHIZUDAI's ladies, Serizawa san and Kobayashi san for about half a year. They'll be graduating this February from college and will start working on spring. Well... I did had a wonderful time teaching them. I am going to miss them! They are both bright, simple and charming.

↓Our souvenir photo right after our last class meeting came to an end. They're truly both promising! ↑Good luck girls and hope to see you both successful someday!

↓Thanks to the chocolates!

I am going to send you postcards and that's a promise!

Enjoy your trip to Thailand too!

Personal Computer Class starts

Some kababayan especially the new comers are suggesting to have a Personal Computer Class. Actually I've already experience organizing this activity with the Phil NAKAMA group on about three consecutive years. The last class we had was about 3 years ago if I am not mistaken. So... due to some of our group members demand, I decided to organize it again as an educational project of Philippine NAKAMA with Liza and I as incharge and Sato sensei with the Soho@ Shizuoka as our supporters. Well, thanks to the group leader, uncle Jo for the blessings to continue this project!

Fortunately, the class started this Wednesday, January 30th and will hopefully end up on April after their 10 times lessons.

Everyone in the class said that they enjoyed the first day of their class... that it's very interesting and they're looking forward to learning more about computer! This class is in Japanese! Dang, the leader of the class↓... She knows how to use computer but she also wants to gain knowledge in Japanese computer. MINASAN KORE KARA MO GANBATTE!