Happy Valentine's Day

Occasionally our apartment is transformed into a lab prep area.  Since both of my labs are taught at high schools on two different bases, I am not able to get into the facilities until school is out and the students are gone.  Therefore, I have to put supplies together prior to leaving for the lab activity.  Most of one class has been condensed into six plastic bins with all but the perishable or disposable items ready to go.  Hopefully that will save time and frustration in the future.

What's the best way to spend a Saturday following a fairly normal week of commuting, teaching, and quilting?  A quiet Valentine's Day was planned for the weekend.  Of course, Ellen managed to find the kind of Valentine's surprise that Doug really appreciated, a Mexican restaurant.  So without anything else scheduled for the day (besides grading exams, writing quizzes, etc.) having a leisurely Mexican lunch sounded like a perfect way to spend Saturday.  (Sorry, no pictures of the food--it was devoured before pictures could be taken!)

After lunch, we decided to see what kind of afternoon drive we could find.  Rather than looking up a destination that sounded fun and interesting but then getting frustrated trying to follow directions to get there, we thought we would just drive and find something interesting and later look up where our adventures took us.  So we headed for the neighboring mountains.  After awhile we were out of the city traffic and found ourselves driving up a fairly narrow canyon with a small river.  It turned out to be the Tama River.  After about an hour of driving we arrived at a peaceful lake behind a large dam.  Lake Okutama is a major water reservoir for the Tokyo area and also a popular destination for those wanting to get closer to nature.

After enjoying the beautiful scenery we studied a map posted near the parking area and decided to try driving partially around the lake and taking a southern route over the mountains.  It proved to be a good decision.  Most of the snow from previous weeks was gone except in some patches on the northern slopes covered with trees.  We saw a few monkeys along the side of the road but Sara wasn't there to yell STOP (something she learned at Denali Park in Alaska), so we didn't get any pictures! After about an hour of hairpin curves and long tunnels, it was with mixed emotions that we found ourselves back in the city.  Mixed emotions because we were always wondering if we would meet an oncoming vehicle on a road that clearly wasn't designed for two passing cars along many of the hillside passages but enjoying the beauty of the peaceful mountains.  Here's a GoogleMap picture of our drive.

Calmer life on the Kanto Plain of Japan

The first week on the job has quickly settled into a much calmer life.  As a matter of fact, an extra hour before class at the naval port allowed some prep time  in the view of some of the ships.

After the second week, we used Saturday to drive down to the area near Mt. Fuji for some sightseeing on a sunny day following a snow Friday.  As a matter of fact, the Friday lab became "optional attendance" when many of the students started inquiring about the safety of getting to the evening lab.  He decided they could do most of the sensory experiments at home, which apparently gave some of the students the opportunity to do the science with their children.

The trip to Mt. Fuji was enjoyable with a drive around one of the five lakes in the area as well as a drive along the west side of the mountain on a fairly rural road lined with snow covered trees.

We have pretty much completed all of the logistic work involved with moving.  The last task was getting new license plates for our car, which involved three trips to the registration office and a trip to the "insurance" company which took the paperwork to the Land Transportation Office for the new plates (for a pricey fee!).

Ellen also had the opportunity to take a tour to the textile area near Tokyo, Nippori.  This obviously meant that she needed to add a number of fabric samples to her growing collection.  As a matter of fact, while Doug was attending a fall workshop this weekend, held at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo, she managed to make a return trip to the area via subway and train and found more beautiful fabric.

Some of this fabric is working its way into quilts such as this wall hanging.