October
Last year in October is here.
October 2022
10/30/2023.
Once my son was "motorcycle-man", frog, tiger, ninja for Halloween. One time, he wanted to be something like a transformer car-robot. So he and his dad made it work creatively. The title was "FedEx Box man"?!
Okay, now, how about this? Do you get his idea? Do you see "the big f white logo with sky blue background"? Do you want to push a Like Button now? Happy Halloween!
10/29/2023.
I always look for the reason for dressing up. I think everyone should enjoy the feeling of that no matter how old they are. That's my theory. We went out for dinner for celebrating my birthday and our anniversary. It's a bit funny episode this time, I dug out my old old dress and put it on. You would be shocked about the fact: this dress is over 20 years old, from Japan. It looks still okay, doesn't it? It still fits 50 year-old me.
10/26/2023.
My longtime friend in Olsburg, KS who was my original mail carrier and is a bow hunter/ artist (her specialty is barn quilts) baker and gardener, she shared some photos with me. Her succulent is blooming! I've never seen this flower before. It surprised me very much. So I'd love to share it here.
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/orbea-variegata/
https://planetdesert.com/products/stapelia-orbea-variegata-cactus-cacti-succulent-real-live-plant
She mentioned "the fragrance is awful!". That makes me wonder "how awful?" "What kind of smell?". I just love the moments we share something with each other. Fun!
10/26/2023.
We have warmer temperature here than usual. I cannot complain at all. Leaves are falling down now. It's time to chopped up with a lawnmower. I don't think I could live without a lawnmower, seriously. After my husband gave me an electric lawnmower, I'm loving to use it more than gas-mower. Right after I cut leaves, it makes me feel so satisfied. But you know, next morning, I have to hustle again looking at "carpet of leaves" in my yard.
(photos below) Before. After.
Before. After. Next morning. Then 2days later. Ohhh, what fun with falling leaves.
Entry#173. 10/24/2023.
part2 of my childhood story about modern dance/ contemporary dance in Japan. It's continuing from Entry#171. 10/22 story.
My father’s company assigned him to Sapporo branch from Sizuoka, so we all moved to Sapporo when I was in 3rd grade. In fact, I was born in Sapporo, my parents had a house there. We moved into the original house that my parents wanted to. It all worked out well at that time in 1980s. So I left my first ballet studio (Fumiko Sekiyama modern ballet school in Yaizu). I didn’t remember how my mother found new ballet school for me. She found it somehow and I was able to continue dancing. It was Hisako Ozawa modern dance company. I was again lucky enough that I did join in the dance-performing trip to Russia(!). Unfortunately I stopped dancing after this trip. I was a typical teenager who wanted to be a middle school band more than dancing.
An interesting fact is that I was astonished right now noticing my dance teacher (Ms. Ozawa) was so famous in the contemporary dance world in Japan back then. I was bad that I didn’t know much and I didn’t show much appreciation and thankfulness in 1980s. But I’m feeling grateful right now for the experience through this teacher and ballet studio.
A little bit of memories in Russia in 1986. I don’t think I tried some conversion with people there. I memorized just a few including “Спасибо” (Pronounced: Spasibo) means thank you.
We visited one of the ballet company (it must be the Bolshoi ballet!!), observed their practice. Ms.Ozawa created the show that both the Russian dancers and we Japanese dancers performed together. It had a theme related with Ainu (native people in Hokkaido) and their culture. I danced as an Ainu child. If you search Ms.Ozawa in social media, you might find some pages. It says “Ozawa modern dance company also promoted a and-garde modern dance.” She was the key-person in the contemporary dance world indeed. Shared some old photos from the performance.
I didn’t learn any “classical ballet” at all, I didn’t learn about ballerina pointe shoes at all. It was always modern contemporary dance. Interesting? Sometimes I think back what if I wanted to be a ballerina badly eagerly…. Well, I enjoyed middle school life as a band member and high school life as a choir member after all.
I'm the girl (long hair down) far left in brown.
The right jumping girl is me. (Left photo) The yellow dress girl is me. (Right photo)
Entry#172. 10/24/2023.
I am 50! now. It was the happiest birthday and it was full of everything I love, indeed. Mowed. Baked cookies. Tried to fix tubeless tires. Biked to the trail head to meet up with my former boss (the wonderful hardworking school librarian!). Then during chatting-walk with her, I saw THS XC runners and coaches running. Yes, they are the ones who were qualified for the regionals. It was their long run day! It was a great coincidence for me to see their faces there. They made my day so brighter. They yelled at me "happy birthday", too. What a bonus. Wanted to share the photos of my favorite color roses. See how much they opened up in 5-6 days.
And here, right after my birthday-mowing.
Entry#171. 10/22/2023.
I have a long time friend-family in Japan, a family of 5 (3 kids). The oldest daughter is a ballerina! (in 10th grade in high school in Japan) This family always gives us more energy and power, showing their powerful lifestyle, in many ways. I admire them a lot. Recently they shared her experience attending “Youth Grand Prix Japan competition”. I felt how much she had worked for this, watching a livestream. I’m grateful for having her and her family as my friends. Looking forward to seeing where her future reaches in future. Awww power of youth indeed.
In honor of this wonderful young ballerina in Japan, here is my story about my childhood ballet experience. I was a member of two modern-dance studios when I was age 6 through 13 or 14. I’m afraid I don’t remember how it started. I need to ask my mother about it. I guessed it was an event like “Parents dance class with kindergartners!”That was the start. Then young-myself caught the head ballet-instructor/manager’s eye/attention somehow. She pulled me in her ballet studio which most of members started ballet at age 3 and have danced for a while. A serious ballet school. I was a newbie of late-start. I was just simply lucky.
It was Fumiko Sekiyama modern dance studio back then in 1979. Ms.Sekiyama took me with other dancers to Australia/Tasmania to perform and share cultural stuffs. I still have some wonderful memories in my heart from this dance performance trip.
There is a sweet story behind.
There is a sister-city relationship between Yaizu city and Hobart. It has always been active due to various activities and education exchanges between the two cities. The history of this close relationship dates back to the mid-1970, more than 40 years ago, when then Lord Mayor of Hobart, Alderman Doug Plaister, visited Yaizu, Shizuoka, to establish a sister city relationship. There he met Ms. Sekiyama, my ballet teacher, a modern dance teacher in Yaizu. As she participated in the exchange programs and frequently took her students to Hobart, the two grew closer. She married Mr. Plaister the Mayor and moved to Hobart in 1982. She later became a driving force behind the Yaizu-Hobart relationship, contributing significantly to student exchange programs for over 25 years. In 2016, she was awarded The Order of the Rising-Sun Silver-Rays by the then Emperor of Japan!
I left her studio since my family moved to Sapporo in 1981. I didn’t know about her award in 2016. My eyes were wide open when I discovered this news recently. I was really lucky and fortunate that I had a great experience through this great ballet teacher. Some old old photos here. You see I was with the Mayor! (at the local high school visit. and at the breakfast time.) The group photo is precious indeed.
I was so young that I didn't know this man was a so important and meaningful person.... I was with HIM!!!
Can you spot me? Right photo: (You know? We were apprentices of Monk.) I am 4th from the right side, 8th from the left. Left photo: yes, I am the right girl.
10/21/2023.
Seems 5 runners in XC teams go to the Regionals next Sat in Troy!!! Exciting! I'm thinking back about the races in Troy, I do remember the course in the past (it was somehow always wet/rain and cooooold). Still sending a tiny cheer to their ways.
10/21/2023.
I had some Turkey vultures in my backyard before. I haven't seen them before, so I was surprised their size, wingspans. I have many birds visiting my bird feeder as well. Yesterday was a bit different. Several big vultures surprised me in front yard. It was cool view indeed. They were huge! Can you spot them on my next door's roof and on the tree branches?
10/18/2023.
Sometimes, our son shares something he got interested with us. This time, he said he met the awesome author/entomologist in person! How cool is that. See the video.
Entry#170. 10/18/2023.
Wow, what a night, last night. We had a visitor from Buffalo, NY. My husband's professor-friend. I really enjoyed his visit and I had a wonderful chatting time with him as well. I'm not a scientist but he generously answered my "basic" questions about "mosquitoes" (one of his model-insects). I was so satisfied, you know?
Entry#169. 10/17/2023.
In honor of Talawanda marching band’s great season 2023, (congratulations to all band members on your great accomplishment) you know I am their “secret” fan. I thought back my great memories about past shows. Because I’m originally from Japan (moved into the State in 2001), I had no idea about high school marching band at that time. The very first time I watched it, it was the fall of year 2013. I was at the middle school (I worked at middle school library then.) There was an assembly at the gym, High school marching band visited to perform their 2013 show for middle schoolers. I witnessed their show for the first time in my life with my own eyes! The show’s title was “Trival Affect”. You cannot imagine how much I was astonished by them. I still remember them vividly right now how they were energetic, powerful and proud. I found the old article in THS tribune website. Here.
http://talawandatribune.org/2013/11/04/tribal-affect-talawanda-marching-band/
My son was in middle school in 2013, no idea of MB. Once he entered high school, I was excited (more than him) because he had a chance to be in the marching band as one of marching baritone players (he was a trombonist once). From then, I started to learn all about marching band. Funny, I felt like “I went back in time to the past”. You might roll your eyes, I’m pretty sure, I self-studied how to read “drill sheet/chart”. Do you know how to read it?? I was impressed and amazed that how they create the whole show. I admired them so much. So I still admire Marching band crews, even though I don’t know about players much now, the latest team. After Covid happened, Music band directors said it would take about 5 years to recover/re-establish music students’ levels. I was shocked. It was that much serious issue. I was glad that school was back to normal and Marching band was going forward also.
I learned about Marching band competition as well. Class AAA, Class AAAA, “Overall score“ system so on. (I’m not sure how much players/students know about score-system.) “Number 70” is a kind of yay-line for them, that’s my understanding. Well, but a number is just a number, their satisfaction is more important for sure, that’s also what I learned. It’s all good wonderful memories to myself forever and I’m grateful for Talawanda band program and I wish their continuing future program as well.
I found the show “Tribal Affect” on YouTube!! I want to share it with you. You’d love it.
Photos: Our son’s very first year of MB! (2016) A long ago.
Entry#168. 10/15/2023.
My husband discovered the cycling term “Gran Fondo” and taught me something about it. It is a cycling event which means I could participate with my husband. Sounds so nice to me. Yes? However there is something related with “Be careful what you wish for”, kind of. It is a long distance to cycle, yes, it is LONG. You need to be strong enough, tough enough and motivated enough.
According to this article,https://www.rbcgranfondo.com/whistler/the-ride/what-is-a-gran-fondo-cycling-marathon/
Gran Fondo means “Big Ride” in Italian. Usually about 100mile, 100km, 120km. That kind of Long.
It also says;
“Well, there really is something for everyone. Fast or slow, new to riding or seasoned pro, pushing your limits or wanting to take in the surroundings, there’s a perfect group and speed taking part for you to join.”
I love this webpage very much.https://www.granfondonationalseries.com/brand It says; Cyclists ride for a lot of reasons. And it goes on and on.
“We ride for fun of it, to feel the exhilaration of speed, the wind through our hair, and the sun on our backs”
“We ride this (gran fondo) because cycling is integral to so many parts of our lives, our passions, relationships, goals and values.”
Sometimes, it gets me to think “what makes my husband ride handcycle?” “What’s my reason for cycling?” It’s definitely FUN to me for cycling with my husband together.
This time on 9/30, we pedaled 30 mile (it was 32). Enjoyed whole time with nice views, airs, leaves, animals, riders, everything around us. I was simply grateful and happy. See photos below? In the morning, there was heavy fogs in town! Looked cool.
This one will happen in Cincinnati!!! How nice! We will definitely try this someday near future. https://www.granfondoguide.com/Events/Popup/8891
Entry#167. 10/14/2023.
After I became a wife of paraplegic professor, my thinking process has changed a bit. When I see an article/news about adaptive sports or Paralympic events, my brain goes “Does this sport fit my husband’s injury level?” “Can my husband’s core strength manage this movement?” like that. I wish he could try all adaptive sports and could manage any movements. However it’s limited because of his core strength and he needs to pick the right kinds of sports to enjoy. I can keep learning something new and something interesting, I can say it’s good to me. Plus I can learn about awesome strong people with disabilities in the world as well.
This one was a bit shocking to me though. “Wheelchair fencing!” This fencing is one of Paralympic events.
My eyes and mouth were wide open when I watched videos. It made me think though. My husband might not be able to do it. Most of wheelchair fencing athletes look like they can hold their upper body leaning from a wheelchair. That is impossible for my husband.
Entry#166. 10/13/2023.
I'm still a beginner cyclist who was given a used road bike by husband. I was not interested in any road bike at all before because it has very thin tires which made me feel scared and uncomfortable. I was just scared of balancing. I preferred to ride a bike with thick tires. I didn't care much about weight/heaviness. In these days, my husband and son have taught me many things about bicycles, many types of bicycles. I'm learning and feeling the difference of many stuffs of bicycles. Funny. Then I started to care about "cycling forms" recently. That's also funny. Well, learning is fun.
Entry#165. 10/11/2023.
It was a wonderful coincidence at the grocery store to bump into the wonderful elementary music teacher and my sweet neighbor (kind of). We hugged each other and chatted a bit. At the end I asked her about "her next show" at the high school. She is always THE companion (pianist) for high school choir shows. I always love to watch her there. Then she answered me "Oh, this Wednesday actually!" Yes, that's tonight! I was glad I asked. Then guess what I did in this morning? I delivered flowers to her doorway at her house. It's "Happy Show Day!" flower. And I put 12 roses in it because she will play pianos for 12 tunes tonight. 12 songs!!! I am grateful for knowing her as a great pianist in town.
Entry#164. 10/10/2023.
October is always fun (to myself) because it’s our anniversary month plus my birthday month. I don’t do dress up for Halloween but I have tons of fun memories of our son’s Halloween from his young age. It made me smile a lot.
Well, some plants made me smile as well.
1: Monkshood
Do you have them in your garden? One of my “gardener/biologist” friends shared some with me in this summer. I looked for the good space for them and planted them. I was expecting them to bloom next season. So I was just lazy to leave them be out there without much attention. The cold arrived here finally and frost advisory was on in these days. Most of plants had final stages. Then surprise! My Monkshood were blooming. I was a bit late to notice them so my photos showed not much fresh-blooming. But I just love them. And I LOVE the name “monkshood”, yes, they look like Monk’s Hood, don’t they?!
https://www.spnanyc.org/monkshood/
2: Tomatillo vs Ground Cherry
Are you familiar with Tomatillos? How about Ground Cherry? (I need to Google about Japanese/Chinese lantern fruits later. I am familiar with those. My mother knows them well. It seems very different from Tomatillos.)
My husband’s colleague shared some Tomatillos from his garden. I was very curious about them. So I ate it fresh! It was different and interesting. I want to talk about it with my mother, she’d be curious, too.
3: Christmas cactus updates. It blooms more and more each days. And some October decorations.
Entry#163. 10/08/2023.
If you are 4-foot-11, you might struggle to find the perfect size of bicycle. Oh plus if you have a typical Asian length of legs (I mean "way shorter legs"), it makes more difficult. Right now, I have a nice size of MB which is a kids-size and a size-S road bike which is slightly bigger/taller to me. So we have a tough challenge for finding the right size for myself in future.
Entry#162. 10/08/2023.
I wrote about the self-launch system of adaptive kayaking before. At that time, I also wrote "only if we have own kayak", we could try. Then we discovered something! This is VOA (The voice of America) park. We knew there was a special boat launch. But we didn't know they had "rental kayaks" there!! Wow.
I know this rental kayak might not be suitable for my husband's SCI body. But it is great to know that there is a kayak available there, still.
https://boardsafedocks.com/products/what-is-an-adaptive-kayak-boat-launch/
10/06/2023.
My Christmas cactus updates: They brighten my face everyday.
Our son (age 21) updates; He is in senior year in MU, biology major + Art minor. Recently I feel that he enjoys discussing with my husband about the classes he is taking. (You know, more than with me.) I enjoy watching them chatting together. He doesn't show off any photos of him at all. After many times of my request, sometimes he shares some with us. Like these below. Climbing is still his favorite. Love it.
Entry#161. 10/03/2023.
My parents live in Sapporo, Japan. They just celebrated their 51st anniversary in September. My father age 82. Mother 79. My mother and I usually text to communicate since we are far apart , sometimes talk on the phone and did zoom calls several times before. Funny thing is we prefer not to use FaceTime, even though it’s very convenient and easy to communicate with. My mother would talk more comfortably and relaxing using a landline, I think.
My mother is a member of women choir group. (I need to ask her how long she has been singing.) They practice one day a week. She goes to practice with her sister. It’s her regular together-time with her sister which is needed for her recently. I’m glad that she has her joyful time continuously. She doesn’t have any recordings or videos. Even she doesn’t have any group photos. Seems they don’t do recital anymore after the covid pandemic. It’s sad, I really want to listen to my mother’s singing. It’s ironic, may I say that, maybe? Before I got married, I didn’t have much time with my mother to share each other’s favorite things. (I sound like a bad-daughter.) I used to go to some musical shows with her. After I got married, moved to the State, had one son and have stayed in the State over 20 years since 2001, I feel “I want to have together-time with my mom and dad RIGHT NOW” very often. But, you know, we cannot. I feel bad for them sometimes, I cannot “stop by” at their house right away. Between Japan and the State, it’s not near.
I asked her titles of songs she is working on right now. Seems they do 8 songs. (some of them are autumn-theme songs. Nice!)
They are all Japanese without English subtitles but I want to share two tunes here, from YouTube searches. You might feel a bit of Japanese rhythm and tunes. (Photo: my parents and my niece.)
This song; The Sky in Sapporo, got my attention very much. I need to call my mother to chat about it because I used to sing this tune when I was young in a choir group. I played a piano-part and sang along as well. It's a nice old memory. And now my mother sings it! I wish I could sing it with her really.
Entry#160. 10/01/2023.
Have you heard "Gran Fondo" before? Well, it's now my favorite cycling term. I'll write about more later. My husband and I attended The Great Pumpkin Roll Gran Fondo in Brookville, IN.
https://greatpumpkinrollride.com/
We pedaled 30 mile!! Yes, 30! Now you got curious about details? Photos are start and finish. The most wonderful thing at this event to myself was "my very very first cycling official event in my life!" See?
10/01/2023.
My Christmas cactus #2 started blooming as well. Wow, Christmas cactus in October! Something different and I love it. How about your Christmas cactus??
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