Making things

I’m continuing to sew almost every day. Since my accident in February, I think it relaxes me and that is why I have been doing it so much. I think it has a cathartic effect on me and gets my mind off of things. Also, to make one sleeve, it takes about two or three hours with all the cutting and appliqué, but it’s not very difficult or complex, so I can get satisfaction out of accomplishing something. If I were to venture into something more complicated like clothing or bags maybe I wouldn’t keep up with my projects. And how many tote bags can you make/give someone anyway? I like the sleeves because they are functional but also unique. I hope I can start selling them soon.

Last night I made salmon in my toaster oven. I used a recipe that my mom and grandma use, so it reminded me of home. I couldn’t get big salmon steaks like they have in America, and almost all the filets had large bones in them, but oh well. That’s Japan for ya. I mixed Dijon mustard with mayonnaise to make the sauce, squeezed lemon on the filets and then placed lemon slices on top. Then I baked it in my toaster oven until it was tender. It didn’t taste as good as when my mom or grandma makes it but it was my first try, so I guess you could say it met my expectations. 

I also made a pumpkin “salad” by microwaving a hunk of Japanese Kabocha, or pumpkin squash, and then mashing it up with some mayonnaise and a little Dijon mustard. I then added some salt, pepper, and paprika. It would’ve tasted better with some raisins thrown in, but I didn’t have them on hand.

Another recipe I came up with is a frying pan faux quiche. It is super easy and healthy! I cooked up some cabbage, spinach, and bacon in a frying pan and then added three eggs that I beat with milk. I put a lid on the frying pan and cooked it on low until the “quiche” firmed up. You could call it an omelet, but the texture was really similar to quiche! I didn’t add a pie crust or anything, so it was healthier than real quiche. Also, I didn’t have any cheese, but the egg texture tasted rich like it had cheese in it! Success! The second time I made it I added “Shin Tamanegi,” which means “new onions.” They are sweet and compliment the spring cabbage very well. I made the mistake of covering the veggies before adding the eggs and the result was them sweating too much, but it still tasted good to me. I make this dish at night and then divide it into Tupperware for my lunches. One of the downsides to living alone is you have to eat the same thing every day until you run out.

Next I want to learn how to make felted wool soap bars and how to do needle felting! I just need to figure out what supplies I need and where to get them…..

Inspiration:

Felted wool soap bars

Wool for felting

Wool roving for felting--pretty colors

Love this artist (not many pics on her website though)

Light blue Totoro

Baby face Totoro

The Totoro collection

Just a typical night at my kotatsu

New characters

Ideas for future projects

Jiji collection

Jiji collection

Jiji collection

Jiji collection

Working on a Friday night

The Kitty collection

Pastel Kitties

Kitty trio: I like playing around with different color combinations for the stitching

I made a bunch of hot pink Hello Kitties

Ponyo (a Ghibli character)

 

Second Ponyo: smaller than the first but kind of reminds me of Chuckie from the Rugrats now...

Stuff made over the weekend

All in a day's work

Mei-chan and Totoro: both look surprised

New design: for the true Starbucks fan

Kokeshi applique: original design

It's so cute and three dimensional

Original Kokeshi design

Starbucks sewing date with Mariko: she made the cat (I cut out the silhouette) and I made the apple

I am inspired by 60's and 70's motifs right now

 

Totoro iPhone case

Kitty iPhone case

Baked salmon

Sun setting on my walk home from work

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3.11

It's hard to believe it's already been a year since the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami. Check out this video my boss was sent from the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan and these awesome pictures of the improvements made to the affected areas.

Guam Wedding (tons of pictures, be warned!)

Last weekend I went to Guam with the Yamamoto family. I met them three years ago on a plane ride home from Guam and we have been like family ever since. This trip was to attend a wedding ceremony for the oldest daughter, “one-chan,” and her husband, Kou-chan. Actually they already got officially married last June but they wanted to save up money to have a ceremony in Guam with their families. I was honored to be invited to this special occasion and we had a wonderful time.
 

We spent four nights and three days on Guam. It is about two hours away from the Philippines—I did not know that! So we were actually surrounded by the Philippine Sea. Pretty cool, eh? Before we left, I was worried because every day was supposed to rain (according to my iPhone weather app). Guam is a tropical island, and like Hawaii, it is humid all year round. I was worried we were going to spend the entire three days cooped up in our hotel rooms instead of out and enjoying the sun, but Guam did not disappoint. The first day was mild but overcast, and, being Japanese, we HAD to go shopping. We took a city shuttle to the outlet mall and K-mart. The “outlet” mall in Guam contains about a dozen stores—and we are talking Ross, Payless Shoe, and some no-name stores that sell Aloha shirts. Not too exciting, although I know how to shop now and was able to find some little treasures at Ross. We ate lunch at the food court. Dad wanted to eat Ramen—I have no idea why when you can get plenty of it in Japan and it is sure to not taste as good as the real thing. Whatever. We ate Taco Bell and Sbarro, two American classics. ;) We then went to K-mart, which we were all excited about because it meant we’d get to buy American snacks, deodorant, and push a giant shopping cart around. The K-mart there (like most K-marts) was pretty beat up and did not have much selection unfortunately. I felt like I had better luck last time I went to Guam, but oh well. I picked up some Gardettos and dried mangos. On the way home it rained hard but by the time we got to our hotel it was sunny again. I think it was also because our hotel was south of the mall area.

That night we went to the barbecue at the hotel, which had live entertainment. They had a bunch of traditional dancers and did a variety of numbers, including ones where they asked the audience to join in and then some where the guys twirl fire on sticks around…you know what I mean? It was really fun and they called One-chan on stage to help with this coconut drum song and then Takkun, the younger brother, to learn how to do the Polynesian-type dance. It was very entertaining and the food was actually pretty good, considering it was a buffet.

The next day was the wedding day! And it was a beautiful day—the sun was out, the water was clear and sparkly. I was very happy about that! We were picked up at our hotel and taken to a chapel nearby for the ceremony. We weren’t allowed to take pictures or videos during the ceremony, but that’s okay because I was able to enjoy it more that way. Before the bride came out, they played a slideshow with their old pictures and a message to their parents (slideshows are a big trend with Asian weddings). The slideshow was very touching and made me teary-eyed! When One-chan came out, she looked like a Disney princess! She was stunning—exactly how a bride should look on her wedding day. And Kou-chan looked like a prince in his light-colored tux. The ceremony was short and sweet, and then we went outside to take pictures before heading to the restaurant for the reception. The reception was wonderful—a perfect view of the light blue water, delicious food, and lots of laughter. We had a great time and headed back to the hotel around 4pm. Then we went to the DFS Duty Free Galleria for some quick shopping (although we didn’t end up buying anything) and then went back to the chapel for a private night concert. It was an interesting group who played Jazz music and even sang Happy Birthday to Takkun (it was actually his birthday that day!). After the concert we ate dinner at a seafood restaurant at the hotel. They were all really excited about the variety of seafood and the huge “American” portions. It is crazy how people who are so tiny can eat so much when given the opportunity! All in all, it was a perfect day.

The next day, we had to go to the airport at 2:30, so we spent the day out at the hotel beach and pool. The water was crystal-clear and we could see tropical fish swimming around our feed as we waded in the water. We finished up some last-minute packing and then headed home. I have tons of memories from the trip and Guam will always hold a special place in my heart because it is where I met the Yamamoto family.

P.S. I forgot to mention that One-chan gave me her bouquet! She said next is my turn! ;)