Please move your car, here's a gift.

Gift giving is BIG in Japan. Today, my landlord knocked on the door. She handed me a paper on which she'd asked her English teacher to help her properly compose a letter. "

Wrigley Family,

Would you do me a favor?
On June 3rd our gardener will plant a tree next to Casa Jardin (C). So, his big car will pass this parking lot.
Would you move your car in from of the door on that day?
I'm sorry to trouble you. (whited out exclamation point)
Thank you very much.

Iijima Family

Too cute. She also brought be a box of "Japanese sweets" from Machida. But as I've mentioned before, a gift isn't a gift unless it's properly wrapped. I referenced the scene from Love Actually.



Isn't that nice?!

Also, I finally put up some of the Ikea sticker's I bought a while back. They're in our entry way, since it's so bare in there.



Spiffy. We'll see if the stickers stay up during the pending rainy season's humidity. Speaking of rainy season, the rice paddies are out! We've gotten a lot of rain recently and now the fields are flooded to grow the rice. Exciting.

After today's killer Body Pump, wherein I did a shoulder-lift exercise with 5lbs on each arm and decided I should not use 5lb free weights ever again - we had a big Ikea trip planned. Obviously, I only went for curtains and clips. So obviously I came back with much more. This new entertainment console could not be passed up - even though I paid more than 120$ for it here... Imagine it in white, and laid out long-ways. The middle rack is perfect for cable box, dvd player, and an Xbox. The top and bottom shelves will have baskets to hide things in.

It balances out because I purchased this new guest bed for 40$. Yes, fourty. Amazing. It is a full-double, so Jenny and Sam beware. But the upcoming matress will more than make up for it's small size.

Our group was large, and I think we will all agree not to travel to Ikea with six other women anytime in the near future. Just a lot to keep track of, everyone with different needs, and Heather and I purchased a lot of furniture so it becomes more time consuming. We even had an Ikea-freshman with us. Lauren had never been to an Ikea - can you just imagine the overwhelming the came over her? Too much visual stimuli there.

Much thanks to Gizelle, who let me borrow her car to bring my new items home in. And to Kelly and Laura for their patience. And to Heather and Lauren for their help moving my items upstairs - we all know particle board is no feather. And last of all, many thanks to Dave, for in addition to funding this trip, is deployed and therefore had no say on the items or their prices. (But he finds me financially responsible.)

Casa Jardin, Room C: The New Abode,

Well Dave and I finally moved in to our "permanent" residence...at least for the next 7 months. After another trip or two to Ikea (pronounced E-kay-ah japan) and it will feel more complete. Oh and our House Hold Goods (HHG) shipment with all of our furniture will help too. Right now we are living on "stick furniture," furniture that is loaned to us from the military. It is like rejected dental office furniture.


Our drive to base takes anywhere between 12 and 30 minutes. Dave and I are learning the "Zama Zag," a complex route of twists and turns that bypasses most of the congested areas. Dave and I believe that driving in Japan is like driving through Arlington or Tyson's corner. It took me 2 hours to go 7 km yesterday! UGH.


The Downstairs:

Our entry way. We have tot ake off our shoes before we come into the house. The cabinets in this room are for your shoes! Dave and I had to purchase 'house shoes', basically slippers. Mine are pink booties, fuzzy on the inside. I enjoy them.




The Dining Room... not very exciting. YET!




Kitchen. It has the most ginormous sink i've ever seen!!! lacking in counter space... and the stove's "low" setting isn't very low... i foresee many burned meals....:-/ Also, notice how high the cabinets are!??! Most Japanese people are shorter than I am... I am pretty sure that they builders/installers had their measurements off by 6-12 inches... I have to get a stool to reach the top shelves!




The living room. Very large... i'm hoping it's smaller when we have our furniture in here. I have big Ikea plans for this room....




This is the living room before stick furniture. You couldn't see the windows in thr front in the other shot. I won't ever need to have lights on during the day because these windows let in so much light! Woot for natural light!

The Upstairs:


Bathroom. Negative counter space. Washer and "Dryer"... the Japanese only have washers.. the washers have an "air fluff" cycle. And then they put them outside to dry. The Dryer barely works. It would probably take me two hours to dry a single pair of jeans... blah. Hence air drying them makes more sense and a better use of resources and electricity.




Shower room!!! With severe water pressure to the point that if the shower head falls off the wall it will twist like a snake. It's like something from a movie. It happened to me yesterday.



Our bedroom. Behind the curtains is our balcony. It's beautious.


The Outdoors:



Our play area. For grilling, hanging out, and for Bryce (next door neighbor's 3 year old son) to play in.

Lots going on today!

1) Happy birthday, Diane! My big sister's birthday is today! I wish I could be there to celebrate with you and allllll of your boys. Enjoy a good bottle of wine for me!

2) I am going to the housing office in 10 minutes to find out when we can move in to Casa Jardin Room C! Maybe as soon as tomorrow! YESSSSSSSS!

3) Laura and I are taking a trip to Ikea today, also VERY exciting. Dave is believing that the size of our car will prevent us from buying much... He obviously hasn't been to Ikea often, because then he would know how well they pack things so that it's easy to fit into a small car!

4) We are petsitting/house-sitting for our friends, the Smiths, this weekend. They have a small rat-terrier-mix dog, Stella, who is very adorable. We are looking forward to: a dog, an oven, a bed, no house keepers waking us up....!

5) I made pancakes this morning and managed NOT to burn them! Small victories.

6) Dave and I got to talk to his parents this morning. We are SOOOOOO excited for them to visit!!!! :) :) :)

7) I took lots of photos of sukura (cherry blossoms) yesterday, as today or tomorrow will be the last days of the famous flowers. Unfortunately, due to the afore-posted technology hangups, the photos are on dave's computer, which cannot connect to the internet for an unknown reason.

All for now!