2009 has been a year of many transitions...so bittersweet.

We have been in Japan for five years, living and loving life in a wonderful country.  But the time came for Doug to end his short military career so we set our sights on moving to Georgia and starting our new life there.  So this last year, 2009, I called the Year of Lasts.  Our last Halloween on base (2 hours to go through eight bags of candy).  Our last Thanksgiving with the Norwoods, (I never had to make the turkey).  Our last meal at Wans (raw tuna bruschetta).  Our last trip to Kamakura and Tokyo.  Our last Leftover Night.  But as sad as I was marking those last days in Japan, I was very content and joyful too.  We had a good five years in Japan.  Heck!  We had a great five years in Japan.  We've met wonderful people, some whom we call our dear friends.  I look forward to seeing them again.  We've raised our son in Japan and although he doesn't know Japanese, he does have his own memories of living there.  He remembers the Shinkansen, Tea Ceremony, monkeys and shrimp tempura among many others.

But as I write this blog, I realize that I may be mistaken about one thing.  Maybe 2009 isn't about the Lasts.  It's also about the Firsts too!  I could say that the last six months of 2009 have been the first six months of our new lives in Georgia.  We moved into our home, made wonderful friends, found two kittens to bring into the family and Zelig started going to his new school. 

Yes, 2009 has been a year of transitions.  It has been bittersweet but oh so memorable too.  I can only hope that 2010 will be as remarkable!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family!

Too short for a full blog post...

I thought I'd use my blog as a journal today, writing down my thoughts and impressions on the day at hand.  These items aren't that interesting to elaborate on as single entries but they are interesting enough to me at least that I had to give them a few moments of thought.  Here are a few that have rambled through my brain today between the hours of 8am and now:

• Why aren't bagels in the frozen food section?  Very confused but then realized my mistake--I'm no longer on a military base where most "fresh" items come frozen from the States.
• Monroe, (known as 'Mun-ROE' to the locals), really is a small town.  People are connected to one another in the strangest way.  I recently met a women, my age, who has a Senior daughter at GWA.  No big deal.  But her daughter is the "sponsor" to my neighbor's little boy at school.  Again, no big deal but what are the odds?.  This women I met grew up with my neighbor across the street--well of course why not?  She recently is divorced to the man who installed the alarm system in my house, of which this man is good friends with the people that used to live in the house.  This louse of a husband had an alleged affair with the women who I thought would hire as my personal trainer, (may not now).  Only in a small town.
• By the way, we have around 12,000 people living in mun-ROE.
• I had forgotten how wonderful American antiques are.  For the past 5 years, I've been looking at Japanese antiques, appreciating their beauty and their function.  I have a small collection of bobbins used for spinning either silk or cotton.  These bobbins aren't small, but large enough to use as a candle holder for wide candle columns.  I've also collected dainty sake and tea cups for the phantom sushi and sake party I'll have, one of these days!  But my vocabulary and appreciation of American antiques have been awakened recently as I've visited some of the local antique malls, small and few, in mun-ROE.  The smell is the same; dust, sprinkled with a little bit of mildew and moth balls.  But there, spread out before me, were the blue and white Flow Ware, Carnival Glass and Bakelite jewelry that used to get me so excited.  I even saw a small porcelain teacup and saucer which I think is Kutani ware.  The description of the cup said the figures where Geisha.  I think that's just one of those standard words for Asian Female as I did not see anything in the design that was associated with Geisha.  I might go back and get that cup!  It's been on my mind lately and I should go back soon or it might be gone.
  
• I've been enjoying my backyard, only because I don't have to do anything to it and wonderful things grow.  Like mushrooms.  Okay, so I have nothing to do right now so I spend time, walking and surveying the land, (I only have one acre in the backyard so it's a quick walk).  Mushrooms are intriguing to me.  They're unique and so tenacious, like the weeds that have grown up in the back yard.  But unlike weeds, they don't look the same.  Some are globs, some are blobs.  Some puff and some just blow up, only to fall back on itself, spent.  Some are red, some are yellow, most are white and of course, there are those pesky LBM's, (Little Brown Mushrooms).  Some are smooth, while others are stubbly or even warty.  Some are tiny, and some are freakishly huge! Didn't go out yet but planning on it soon.
  
• Reading the new Dan Brown book, The Lost Symbol, and Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex.  Dan's book is predictable.  He's a formula writer, but still effective as his latest is entertaining.  I like following the clues, trying to figure out the mysteries and red herrings Dan throws out to his readers.  I figured out early on who the bad guy is, (very obvious, don't you think?) and because of my Art History background, I got the AD clue.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Read the book.  Middlesex is so much better on many levels.  I've been reading that book while in carpool, waiting for Zelig to get out of school.
• Only 37 more days until Doug and the dogs come HOME!!!
• Halloween is going to be a blast this year!!!!!
• I like speaking in exclamations and I usually do so after watching one of Zelig's favorite shows, Naruto.   The problem is, no one else really understands this so I can't really speak very loudly while in person, only while I'm writing.

That's it for now.  I'll post photos soon on the trip to Lookout Moutain, TN.  Zelig and I had a great time and, well, I'll tell you about it later.

Weekend trip #1

To break up the monotony of Doug's long absence, Zelig and I have gone on a few adventures together.  The first trip outside of Monroe was to Stone Mountain.  It's a state park located halfway between Monroe and Atlanta, an easy drive down 78.  The main feature of the park is a large chunk 'o granite.  I'll let you read the wiki explanation of the how's it but basically, what you see was at one time, millions of years ago, a large blob of molten rock or lava.  It collected, cooled, and what you see today is exposed from thousands of years of erosion.  What you see is only 1/10th of the actual rock.  There's 9 more miles of it below the soil.  Impressive! 

Bas-relief featuring three main players of the Confederate Army: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.  There is a rope way or cable car taking park guests up to the mountain and back down.  They pack 'em in so if you'd prefer, you can hike up or down the mountain as well.

 

A new attraction to the park: SkyHigh Hike.  Participants walk and balance along beams and ropes at a minimum of 10 feet off the ground.  There are three levels to the attraction.  Zelig and I did only the ground level and the second level.  We wore safety harnesses which tethered us to an above latch system.  It was pretty scary but Zelig wanted to do it.  I sweated a lot!  All you need to do is trust in this bit of wire cable to keep you upright.

 

From the top of the mountain.

We ate lunch at the park, bought some funnel cake, rode the Stone Mountain Railway, a very slow train ride around the chunk 'o granite and saw the new 4-D adventure movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth!  Whoopee!  It was a fun day with Zelig but Daddy was missed by us both. 

Next week...Lookout Mountain, TN!

Hellooooo...you still there?

I hope you all are still with me.  I've had a lot on my mind the last few months and haven't had the imagination or energy to pull a few sentences out of my whazoo.  Funny, I can't even pull money from my whazoo either.

I've made a few changes to my blog, now larger and easier to read with a little more interaction for my readers, (ahem...I mean you).  That means fun gadgets including a permanent slideshow which will be updated often with fun photos of family and friends, memories old and new.

So please stay in touch and I'll get you new postings on life in the Millerverse--now in Georgia!!

Whatever happened to those resolutions?!

Oh yes, THOSE resolutions! Well, I've pretty much chucked them all out the door after the first week of my bold statement. But you all knew I wasn't going to keep them, right? Well, now that's not exactly right. I am cleaning out my closets and drawers, just not every day. More like, every few days or week. I have a bad case of plantar fasciatis so I'm not walking as much, let alone with Nancy or anyone else. But as soon as it clears up...But then I'm not working out between my workouts with Ryan, but not for long. I really, really do want to get into better shape so while he's out of town, (Ryan is my personal trainer), I'm going to kick ass with my workouts so when Ryan comes back from his three weeks in the States, he won't even recognize me! Actually, I am cooking a lot more, even if it's just fixing several meals from the freezer but they're more substantial than the chicken tenders and Amy's mac and cheese. So I have failed on my endeavors but that's okay--no one took the challenge of guessing the end date of the resolutions, so there! So no Tim Tams or flavored Kit Kats for any of you! But if you would like me to send you Tim Tams or flavored Kit Kats, I could probably do that for you anyway:)

Do you Fugu? Whogu? Yougu! Megu? Yes, yougu! What do I do? Fugu!!

Doug recently ate fugu. He's alright. You would have heard by now if he wasn't. I'm glad he's fine as he is my husband but I was a bit worried too. With only a few rare incidences, fugu is "safe" to eat as long as you have the fish prepared by a licensed chef but still, there are those few rare cases...

Usually the poisoned diner will die from asphyxiation after 24 hours of enduring dizzyness, headache, nausea and then difficulty breathing leading to asphyxiation, all while being paralyzed and in most cases, fully conscious. Without proper medical treatment, the patient will die a terrible death. Japanese scientists are looking for an antidote treatment while others are creating a non-lethal fugu fish that is safe to eat without the necessary preparations.

I asked Doug how the fish tasted as I'm sure most of you might be curious too. Was there a distinctive taste unlike any other fish he had ever had? Was there a slight tingling or numbness on his lips or tongue as is sometimes the case when the most practiced of professional fugu chefs prepares fugu with just a trace of poison still in the flesh? Will he go back again? The answers are "No", "No" and "Probably not". It's all about the presentation, the mystique of this delicacy, the laughing in death's face. Doug is certainly not a thrill seeker but it was an opportunity he couldn't pass so why not?

There are several ways of preparing fugu but no matter how you slice it, (really), it doesn't taste that remarkable. There is the typical presentation of the fugu spread out on a printed plate, sliced so thin you can see through it. This is called fugu sashi or tessa. As I mentioned above, only the most seasoned of chefs can safely prepare the fish with a scant trace of poison to give that tingling sensation on the lips and tongue. Then you can eat it simmered as in fugu-chiri, which the fish is simmered in a broth along with vegetables. There are other ways to eat fugu--such as a fugu skin salad or even pickling the most poisonous parts of the fish for three year. I wouldn't be surprised if some ingeneous Japanese comes up with a fugu ice cream. Hey, why not?!

New Year Blues and bliss

Shogatsu, or Japanese New Year, is the most important holiday for the Japanese. January 1st is the beginning of the new year so for several days, even weeks prior to this date, many Japanese housewives will diligintly clean house, every nook and crany, as well as throwing out useless items. This is their chance to have a fresh start, a new beginning, an empty slate. This explains why the Hard-Off was more full than other times I've been there--they even had extra shelves to stock their hand bags!

It is also during this time that business, shops and schools close for several days over the Shogatsu, something we realized too late as we spent the nights of the 2nd and 3rd in Tokyo.

Several weekends later we attended the Ikebana International's Japanese New Year Celebration in Kamakura. We were fortunate to be able to enter the home of the head priest that attends the temple at Hase. There, taiko drummers performed energetic numbers as our children covered their ears. A traditional Japanese comedien livened up our afternoon by showing us how to pound mochi, sweet glutonous rice which is steamed, then pounded into a paste which is then used in traditional Japanese cuisine.

We understand how fortunate we are to be able to have these experiences and are saddened too that these will also be our last in Japan. This new year does represent a new slate for us Millers and we wish that you, our friends and family, will have a year filled with hope and happiness.

The Strawberry Crawl

One of our favorite local activities is strawberry picking, or itchigo gari. It's a unique experience for us American because 1) strawberry season is December through May and 2) it's a finger-staining, chin dribbling, all-you-can-eat fest, all done within 30 minutes!

The strawberries however are so sweet and they taste just like a strawberry should, not like the strawberries you get in the grocery stores that are mostly sour or tasteless. We are even given a squirt of sweetened condensed milk in our trays to use as a dipping sauce for our strawberries. I must admit that a little extra sugar doesn't hurt the flavor but the berries don't really need it, they are sweet enough all on their own.

We've gone several times, always aware of how many strawberries can actually be eaten in 30 minutes. We know we never make it past 15 minutes, our trays full of the green, leafy discards, but we try anyway.

Also, the attendents at the green houses are always on the lookout for those of us trying to sneek a few out of the building--no such luck! You have to eat all the strawberries on site, not ever bringing any out with you. Not too bad since you can purchase a small box at the main building. And they make a wicked good strawberry preserve too.

What are YOUR resolutions?

A resolution is "a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner." Typically we make hollow resolutions at the stroke of midnight on January 1st every year then deny them a few weeks later claiming that, well, no one ever keeps a resolution! So I'm going to make my resolution public and in a few weeks time, I'll let you know when I've stopped, okay? And we can turn this into a contest. The person/s who makes the closest correct guess on each resolution wins a special Japanese prize. Okay, here we go:

1. I resolve to cook for my family three times per week, (a real meal, not heating up frozen dinners or eating cheese and crackers).
2. I resolve to work out between my personal training sessions.
3. I resolve to walk with Nancy at least once a week.
4. I resolve to go on a trip outside of Japan once a month, (this is going to be hard to follow).
5. I resolve to go through the closets week by week to clear out all our junk for our move back to the States.
6. I resolve to go out on a date with Doug once a month.
7. I resolve to update this blog at least once per week.

Okay, that should give you all a chance to participate in this contest. Good luck to you all and most of all, good luck to me. BTW: What are YOUR resolutions for 2009:)

Gomenazai!

Dear friends and family,
It has been a while but you knew I was still here. I just had other things on my plate. I hope I can keep your attention so please stay tuned for updates--lots and lots of updates! And photos too! I know how you all like looking at our photos. All is forthcoming.

Meanwhile, I've put together a slide show or two to whet your appetites. Little tid bits from the past starting with our frozen journey to Sapporo for the Yuki Matsuri, or snow festival.

Our trip to the 5th station of Fuji-san