Hiroshima

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

Some fun history.

Warning: Funny, informative with some language.

Punches

Turns out that I have been using my punches wrong for the last 15 years.   They are for dried seaweed, so that your food can smile at you.

Japanese Peaches

Japanese fruit is delicious!  Their peaches are white inside but so wonderful sweet.  Two was just the beginning today.

Miyajima

 

Miyajima is an island near Hiroshima, known for the floating o-torii gate in front of the Itsukushima Shrine.   Our guide told us that the whole island is so sacred that the shrine itself was built on piles, so that the building won't touch the island.   At low tide, you can walk out to the gate in front of the shrine.

The Japanese consider deer to be messengers to the gods.  The deer wander the island, amazing docile.  Until they see you holding food.  Then they come up and expect to share.  Even the squirrels in Washington D.C. were not this bold and insistent.

 I don't want to perpetuate stereotypes but I marveled as I watched the Japanese deer interacting or ignoring the tourists who at times were inches away.   Just the week before a girl was gored by a bison, when she stepped to close to take a photo in Yellowstone National Park.  It seems that even their animals are more polite than ours, or more tolerant of tourists. 

One final shot, as the tide came in.

New Hair Cut

Moving across the world is sometimes not a big enough change.  Time to make this personal.

 These two pictures are when the stylist did my hair and when I did it.  I love the color and the sass.  I'm ready for summer.

Peaceful Day in the Park

 I spent time at the Shinjuku National Garden.  It was serene and peaceful.

 The cherry blossoms have passed but the Japanese have many blooming trees.

Amazing to realize that there was this oasis in the middle of the city...

And even harder to take so many pictures without including my new 10,000 best friends who were also enjoying the perfect weather.

This is the same park, seen from above.  Right in the heart of Tokyo.

Japan is teaching me about perspective.  Where you start and end the story changes it from a comedy to a tragedy.  How you frame your picture, changes it from a peaceful garden to a busy city shot.   I am overwhelmed or adventurous... with only a tiny shift in perspective. 

 Spring has come and today was a blizzard of flower petals.  The wind blew, it gusted and the blossoms danced their way off the trees.  So many of life's joys are fleeting.  A moment of pleasure before the winds of time.

After trying and deleting a lot of pictures, I'll just show you the parking lot covered in petals.

South Korea and South Carolina are practically the same place

The more time that I spend in South Carolina the more I am amazed by the similarities with South Korea... and not just that they both start with South.

Similarities:
1. Barbecue: Korean restaurants barbecue the pork at your table to ensure that you get the fresh off the grill taste.  Carolinians spend hours marinating and smoking the ribs before they serve it.  
2. Family Ties: In both places, it all about where your people are from.  And how often you go back to visit.  And you had better respect your elders.
3. Fast Cars: What do Nascar and Seoul traffic have in common?  Fast cars going around in circles.
4. Street Signs: I find myself equally confused by the road signs in South Carolina as I was stumped by the signs in South Korea.  Both in the placement (or lack there off) and in the meaning. It seems that neither place speaks English as its first language.  And let's not mention the ridiculously low posted speed limit that no one follows.
5. War: Both locations fought a "War of Northern Aggression."  Just don't mention in South Carolina, that they were the ones that fired the first shots, started the war... and lost. And both places a littered with memorials to the soldiers of their civil war.
6. Christian Churches: There is a new one on every corner.  In South Korea they all have bright red neon crosses that light up the night.  Both locations enjoy the "mega church" experience.
7. Manners: You had better brush up on your manners because sometimes it seems that it is more important how you say something than what you say. 
8. Sports: The sports that they cheer for may be different (baseball vs. football) but the home crowd is always there with all their rituals and traditions to ensure a victory for the home team.  And heaven forbidden that you go to any stadium without a team jersey.
9. Weather: Hot humid summers? Check.  Melting if you step outside? Check.
10. Respect for Army: In South Korea the US Army provides the security that they need to live next to their crazy neighbor.  In Columbia, the US Army is one of the biggest employer and stabilizes the local economy.

Camera as Memory

I was looking through my photos from the last month, and they are all lame.  Let me explain  how wonderful that is.  My co-worker showed me how she just takes pictures of her receipts and then throws away the original.  I've started doing the same, and my purse has never been cleaner, my budget is reasonably up to date and all my pictures are lame.  I promise to take better pictures this month (but I will continue to use my phone as a personal scanner.)

Congaree National Park

Yesterday I went walking through the Congaree National Park.   I laughed at the Mosquito Meter at the Visitor Center, but I had to keep moving at a rapid clip to avoid being dinner for the hungry hoard.  Technically its a flood plain and not a swamp, but I was amazed at all the mud and standing water.    
I didn't take that many pictures, (see above about the mosquitoes)  but it was impressive.  Very shady, I was in direct sunlight rarely and the breeze was great.  The humidity... not so great.  The truly mind blowing thing was that most of the trail was on wooden walk ways, 8 feet above ground.  About every 4 years the walk ways are completely flood during the winter/early spring.  There is a lot of water here!

Slaw

I found this really delicious vinegar Slaw recipe at a local cafe.  If you serve it for your family... just make sure that you have enough breath mints for everyone. 

Zoe's Cafe: Feta Cole Slaw Recipe

My fifth roommate

 This is Ellie.   She's my roommate's dog and one of my chief complaints about my apartment.  Ellie is a champion shedder.  Her white hair covers the apartment within minutes of us vacuuming, sweeping and mopping.

And to add insult to injury this week she has been wildly flatulent.  Gas masks were required to be in the same room as her. 

Color & Homework

 Christa is taking a photography class this semester and needed more color for her final project.   She had three bags of colored chalk left over from the Festival of Colors.   Laura and I agreed to help her out. 

 My main job was to throw the chalk onto Laura.   But I'm a bad enough throw, that I got both Christa and myself.   Christa was not pleased.   Maybe I should have meant it, when I said sorry?

The pictures turned out great and it was fun to spend some time with my sisters as we colored outside the lines... in the middle of the street.   Everything that you learn not to do in Kindergarten.

Saying Goodbye

"Now, if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, of which has been spoken."

Alma 12:25

 

I went home last weekend for my uncle's funeral.  It was a time of tears, laughter and sharing stories.  And lets not even mention the food, I said goodbye to my diet too.  It was blessing to have the funeral so close to Easter, as the reminder of the Atonement and Resurrection was fresh in our minds.

My sister Christa gets the credit for both taking this picture and editing it.  I'm going to have to take lessons from her.

Southern Crafts

My roommate has been working for the last week on painting this cooler for her boyfriend.  It's a Southern tradition that the girls paint the coolers used by the fraternities during their mountain week.  Obviously beer just tastes better when it is presented with love.

Strawberry Jam

 It's spring time in the South and there are fresh strawberries in the stores.  So I made some freezer jam.

Spring is a flavor that should be enjoyed through out the year.

Holiday

Wishing you a warm Valentines, wherever you are!

Christmas Traditions

Growing up, Mom, order Texas grapefruit every December.  We would feast, every morning as we counted down to Christmas.  Grapefruit is a delicious advent.  I was thrilled and tickled pink to have my own box of Christmas magic this year.  It was an awesome surprise and helped me get into the Christmas spirit ever

When you don't have a chimney, bookcase is the next best place to hang your stockings.  I put up three, and Santa was generous enough to fill them all.

Christmas Gifts

The great thing about frequent moves is that you can recycle gift ideas for co-workers without guilt or shame.