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An Early Christmas Gift

November 28, 2010 / vanalee / 2 Comments

My sister has been busy sewing and crafting again. She is so talented! I cannot think of anything that she cannot make or do. While I was in Utah last weekend she was busy finishing up my Christmas gift so I could bring it home with me. It is called a pinkeep. She went all over looking for a brass candle stick for the base and couldn’t find one until she went to the local charity shop. It is made from felted wool and she made the rabbit herself. The toile stork scissors are darling. I love it! It makes me want to turn my desk into a permanent sewing space.

Saturday Night

November 27, 2010 / vanalee / 0 Comments

Tonight we went to a small basement theater in Shinjuku to watch a musical program by a daughter of friends and her friends. Marika was obviously the most talented performer there. Almost all of the musical numbers were in Japanese. Afterwards Rick and I decided to walk around Shinjuku before returning home. We ended up at Times Square and went up to the 11th floor of Takeshimaya to see what the Yuzawaya there is like. Yuzawaya is a craft and sewing chain here in Japan. I have not recovered since they closed the 8 story store, that had everything, in Kichijoji. The store we went to is adequate, but it still does not compare. Â Â I bought two packages of wool to try felting a leaf and center for a flower I want to make from a sweater that I felted. At the entrance to Takeshimaya there was an icey sculpture of a human figure and a Christmas tree. Closer inspection revealed that they are made out of empty water bottles. They were quite fabulous…

Opera

November 26, 2010 / vanalee / 0 Comments

Opera Salon

Rick received two tickets to the Opera Salon. When we arrived tonight a woman greeted me in English. She introduced herself as the wife of the man Rick received the tickets from. We were served appetizers during the first set. All the singing was in Italian except for one or two in Japanese and one number was in English. During the first set I recognized only one number, Requiem, because it’s on one of my Josh Groban CDs. After the first set there was a break and we were served our main course. The number I recognized in the second set was Edelweiss, not really opera, though. What I loved about this song was how it sounded with Japanese accents. Did I mention that all three singers were Japanese? Part of the lyrics go like this, “Blossoms of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever…” Well, with Japanese accents it came out “bloom and glow, bloom and glow forever. It was a fun night! We need to get out more.

More fabulous autumn

November 25, 2010 / vanalee / 0 Comments

I am sure I have mentioned several times how much I love autumn. Actually, I love fall, winter and spring. I can love summer too as long as it is not in a hot and humid or desert climate. I loved summer in California. It’s still autumn in Tokyo and I love taking photos of the colors.

Tokyo Tower Autumn

Hibiya Park

Swimming

November 24, 2010 / vanalee / 0 Comments

Here are a couple photos I forgot to post. Saturday evening we went back to our hotel so the kids could swim.

Presley and McCall

Cold McCall

Chairs

November 23, 2010 / vanalee / 1 Comment

I hate to admit that I have had the same upholstery on my dining room chairs for 19 years. I have wanted to change it for awhile but every time I have looked for fabric I haven’t found what I was looking for. Just before we left for Utah Rick pointed out a hole in one of the seats. Now, it had to be done.

I was lucky, JoAnn’s was having a 50% off sale and this time I had to find something. It’s not something I’ll keep on them forever or maybe I will. It was my first attempt at recovering anything and so I’m not really happy with the way they turned out. I can live with them for awhile or at least until JoAnn’s has another sale while I am in the states and then has something I like. Here are the before and after shots:

Before

After

Before

After

Checkered

Leaving again…

November 22, 2010 / vanalee / 0 Comments

Today we are traveling back to Tokyo. We spent several hours here between flights.

Star Lounge

Sunday

November 21, 2010 / vanalee / 0 Comments

Today we went to church and then spent the rest of the day visiting at Susan’s house. We had Nicole’s famous tacos for dinner. Cody likes soft shell tacos and Presley likes hard shell. Nicole spreads the soft flour tortilla with guacamole and then puts the hard shell inside before adding all the other yummy fillings. There are taco Tuesdays every week in the Hutchins house.

Rick and McCall

Baptism Day

November 20, 2010 / vanalee / 0 Comments

Presley’s baptism was great. Nicole gave a wonderful talk about baptism. Presley’s cousins and friends sang I am a Child of God and I spoke about the Holy Ghost. Presley was a bit nervous and she is a little more shy than I realized. Nicole and I both caused her to cry with our talks. She looked beautiful in the dress Susan made her from her mother’s wedding dress. After the baptism we had lunch with family and friends.

Presley and Rick

Details

Presley and Friends

Cute Zak

What I also love about the cute picture of Zak is his handsome dad in the background.

Shopping

November 19, 2010 / vanalee / 2 Comments

Today I was up early and went to Walmart. I had a few things to pick up for a friend here in Tokyo. It never ceases to amaze me at how much 3 little bags of stuff can cost. After breakfast at the hotel Rick dropped me off at Susan’s house and he went to the temple. Susan, Nicole, McCall and I ran errands all morning. I finally bought fabric for my dining room chairs (future post). We all went to Iggie’s for dinner. Then after a visit at Susan’ we went back to the hotel so I could finish the quilt (comforter) I was making for my talk about the Holy Ghost. I can’t believe I forgot to take a photo of it when it was finished, but here is a photo of the fabric I used. Instead of quilting it, or tying it I sewed it together with flower and ladybug buttons.