My Boy Makes Me Proud

 Joshua decided to do Cross Country this year.  And for most of the month of August, he got himself out of bed at 5am to go run from 5:30-7:30 each morning.  Once school started, he laced up his go-fasters and was out there with the team every afternoon from 3:30-5:30pm.  He struggled with a minor overuse injury that took him out of the first two meets and kept him from running for two weeks, but he was back at is as soon as he was medically sound.  His coach says he is doing a great job. He says that Joshua brings it every time he shows up; that Josh puts out 100% every day in practice.  He may not be the fastest kid, but he is a hard worker and he gets it done.

They had their sole home meet on the day Dan and I were in Kyoto, so I am so glad someone else took pictures of my favorite boy!

They got to run thru the Lotus Fields right off base.

Dashing through the area just off base. 

Look at him go! Love the thumbs up.

 Running down the Sea Wall.

Go Josh Go! 

 That's my boy!

This is our team this year.  Small school (only 150 9th-12th graders, and another 100 7th and 8th graders in the school) so it is a small team.  But they are great!

How I make a Kimono Blanket

This is my no-batting, super-easy and fast blanket. It takes me about 2 hours (if I already have kimono fabric ready!), and the backing is about a yard by a yard.

I get old Kimonos and unpick them.  They unpick into lovely long strips of fabric.  It is wonderful!  I throw them in the washing machine and let them oak in hot water before I run the regular cycle.  Sometimes the old kimonos smell musty.  And, if it destroys the fabric, then it is one I didn't want to use anyway.  In all the kimonos I've done, I think there was only one fabric that was really not useable.  Some turn out to be a different kind of fabric than I was expecting, so some of those get put aside for other things.   I run them through the dryer as well.  No one wants a blanket that needs special care!

Once my kimono fabrics are all clean and ready, I pick out colors I think will match and trim the strips to appropriate lengths.  I like to rip them rather than cut with scissors because I stink at cutting straight lines, and I'm impatient.  So I get about 7 strips together and then choose my backing.  I think flannel is the best for this sort of quilt because it gives it a bit of weight and makes it snuggly.

Sometimes I can't decide.  Do I want the dark green for the back?

Or the more yellow green?

(I went with the darker green. )

I am a cheater.  I will own that.  I use this stuff because it is marvelous. 

But no one will ship it here.  I can get this kind at the Daiso.  It really smells bad though.

Anyway, let's get started.....

I lay my flannel on my ironing board and place my first fabric strip on top of it, with an inch of backing/border around the three sides.  It should be face UP.   (Sometimes it is tricky to tell which side if front and back with the kimonos.)

Then I use my magical adhesive spray to keep it in place. 

I take my second strip of fabric and place it face DOWN on top of the first strip.  

Then I pin it so the right edges are lined up.  Kimono fabric is a bit.... stretchy and slippery, so sometimes the pinning ends up being more of a suggestion.  Fortunately, it is a forgiving medium.

Then I sew down the right side.  (The left side stays unsewn till the end- hence the beauty of the adhesive spray.)

Back to the ironing board.  I unfold the freshly sewn strip.... 

And iron it open. 

Then I spray adhesive to hold it in place. 

I get my third strip of fabric and place it face down on top of the opened and sprayed-in-place second piece.  And pin it so the right sides are lined up.

Sew that line. 

And iron it open.   

Spray adhesive it to the flannel and continue till you use all your strips or run our of fabric.  You COULD be all scientific and measure it all out, but I like to live dangerously.  

Once all the strips are sewn to the flannel, I fold the backing edges over twice, and iron it.

I confess to being lazy, but I have learned that it is worth the time and effort to iron and pin the border! 

I pin the corners. 

Once all 4 sides are done, it is ready to sew. 

Stitch around the border. 

And here we are, all done! So pretty! 

And the back.  I could have used green thread, but I don't actually have any, and white matches everything, right?!

Haircut, Shabu-shabu-, and a pie

 I got my hair cut.  It was long.  And annoying me.  So I chopped it off and I love it.

My friend Hope took me to Shabu-shabu for lunch.  It was similar to the Yakiniku, except you cooked this in boiling broth, rather than grilling it.  I liked this better. I can cook the veggies no problem in boiling broth!  That bowl on the left is heated to boiling and you get to pick 2 kinds of broth.  The meat and veggies keep coming (well, you do have to ask!), and you can get noodles as well.  It was delicious.  And there were yummy sauces to eat it all with.  I would do it again!  Not for dinner though-  Lunch was a pricy $20 as it was!

My friend sent me a new pie recipe.  So I HAD to try it.  It called for a 9" pan, but I only had an 8" pie crust and the batter all fit inside, so I thought I was good.  Nope, it dripped quite a bit of butter and each time it did, flames would spurt up.  I also overcooked it because the stinking oven apparently only has a "broil" button for show and it turned off when I set it to broil.  Eventually it crooked the top, but I think it would be amazing with a little less time in the oven than I had it in for.  It was a nice custardy pie and I will be making it again!  You can make it too: http://thedomesticrebel.com/2015/09/01/sugar-cream-pie/

Dan got older

 Dan celebrated a birthday recently.  It was pretty low-key, mostly because I spent all our money on the Kyoto trip.

Marian was ready for some celebrating.

 Delaney just wanted cake.

Dan enjoyed the birthday love. 

And the loot. 

Oh, and this was the  jello poke cake.  It looks prettier once it is cut into, hence the lack of prior cake photos.  It was delicious!

Kyoto: Arashiyama and the Bamboo Forrest

 Our last stop was the Arashiyama area which was a long road with lots and lots of shops, and a few touristy things to see, including a bamboo forrest and a shrine or two.  We had several hours to roam at will, so we did.

Look Dad, I found your shrine!

See, all the little foxes! 

The rickshaws were well utilized and fun to see. 

Another pretty shrine. 

 Some impressive looking temple.

 Me, at the impressive looking temple.

 Torii to the Bamboo Forrest.

Me and my sweetie in the bamboo forrest. 

It was fun, and cooler in the shade.  Did I mention is was hot?  Very hot. Sweating like a pig hot. 

We enjoyed a snack here along the river and I enjoyed watching these kids tow in a giant log.

And then we got on a bus and drove home.  6 hours.  Actually, it was more because we got stuck in traffic and didn't get home till nearly 11pm.  But it was a fun day and a fun trip!