whirled peas project

Japanese, bathroom graffiti, wonder what it says? today I
had a lovely time with 50 women from all over the world. it was a meet and greet put on by the company that has helped us move to Japan. Women that have been here for many years, to those of us who have only been here weeks. it was really nice to meet some others that are in the same situation as we are, and those that have been here or live here permanently that can give us some tips. Sandrine and I sat at a table with some very nice Japanese women who would like to speak more English. one young woman went to school in Kansas and worked in Illinois. She gave me lots of suggestions where to go for fun with the kids, and will set me up with some trees and bushes for my deck.

I talked with many people about my "stink", one woman knew my apartment from when they were looking back in October and said it was one of their contenders till her husband said it stunk. not a good sign. many others had similar experiences and the cures ranged from running the water for half an hour at a time, to pouring bleach down the pipes, srubbing out the traps, and having it serviced repeatedly. none sound good to me. it's such a bad smell it makes me gag. i do not want to be cleaning out pipes! we need to nip this in the bud, and get it fixed or maybe find another place. we will see. i don't think they are going to agree to let us go that easy. but i can not imagine living with the stink for two or three years. we tried the running water thing, but that just seemed to make it worse. as i said, we'll see.

the kids were able to come with to the meet and greet, they had a small climbing toy with a slide and tunnels set up. they all had fun. Jaxon was the oldest, luckily he had Kelyan to play with though so they all did fine.

it was very nice to talk and relax with some other women. I look forward to next month. oh! and they gave away free nights stay at a local ski resort hotel. i was praying for them to call my name, but no. maybe next time! that alone will keep my coming back! the woman who set it up gave me info on the ski areas around Nagoya, Gifu is the closest about 2 1/2 hours away. Kirk will be thrilled. we plan to go next week. yeah!

the boys are having a ball with the Smart cycle, and it keeps them active, peddling and peddling. we got lots of new games for it and they love it. i'm going to have to find English books and magazines here, FB just isn't enough for me now. the kids play so well, and this is a small space so i have lots more time to relax. time for me? never! what shall i do with myself? i can't wait to find out! still walking a lot, love it! the boys don't walk very fast, so i look forward to Saturday when i can go out alone. the weight loss seems to have been a mirage. or putting my pants in the dryer did the trick. whatever it is, i need to keep moving. i enjoy it.

thanks to everyone who is "chatting" with me and keeping in touch! it really makes life better for me here! i miss you all! but staying in contact helps! Sionara!