Making it Up As I Go

First off, do you like the new look for the blog? I change it every year, and this design has been calling to me for a while, but I’m not sure if I’m convinced. What do you think?

B has had the last two weeks off of work, and the girls have had school off, so we’ve had a relaxing time. A lot of the days have been spent sleeping in and then hanging out around the house, but we also went out to a couple of places that either the girls and I have been, but B hasn’t, or that we’ve wanted to go to.

The first stop was the Natural History museum in Ueno. I’ve posted about this museum before; it remains my favorite place in Tokyo. I’d live there if I could get away with it.

 

I was so glad that B finally got to see the Animals of the World room. He agreed with me that there’s simply no way to capture the experience in pictures or on video. It’s just overwhelming and awe inspiring to see all of those animals, all in one place.

As I mentioned on Facebook, if I made a movie, these guys would totally be in it. And so would the the bone house below. Actually, this bone house will probably show up in a book at some point.

These next pictures are temari balls from a store display window. I want to play around with making them, they’re just so cool. Traditionally they were made by grandmothers for their grandkids as a New Year’s present, and were made of old kimono silk and used as a ball to play with. Each ball had a piece of paper in the very middle with a wish for the grandchild for the new year. Now they’re art objects with intricate patterns.

On the 23rd we went to Roppongi to see the Christmas illuminations. A field between office buildings was filled with lights that were choreographed to music. It was absolutely beautiful.

A couple days ago we went to the aquarium at Sunshine City in Ikebukuro. Sunshine City is a huge shopping mall with tons of stores, an aquarium, a planetarium, a theme park, and a bunch of other things. We just went to the aquarium, where I took approximately 100 pictures which have all vanished into thin air. Luckily I took some with my phone too.

I utterly fell in love with these rays. Look at their faces!

I am now obsessed. I’m always humbled by the incredible variety of life under the sea.

One of the exhibits was of a coral reef, and it was just so alive with vibrant color. The coral was seventeen different colors of neon, the fish were every color of the rainbow, it was breathtaking. And I realized that is going on in the ocean all the time. Every day, as we’re living our lives, there is a vastness of beauty and color and life that we can only begin to imagine, happening not that far away. I think that’s why I’m intrigued by Jules Verne and books set just at the turn of the 20th century- there’s so much possibility and such a sense of wonder and adventure. Anything could be discovered or stumbled across in the jungle or under the sea or under the Earth. Anyway, the aquarium was beautiful.

And the girls found Totoro.

And I found toys from Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away, which made me incredibly happy. Although I don’t know what it says that I only bought the yokai (monsters/creatures) from Spirited Away and not the main characters. I’d post a picture of the toys, but I’d have to take one, and I’m lazy. Maybe tomorrow.

That’s it for the pictures. I finished a baby quilt top today that I can’t post a picture of because the person it’s for might see it. But it turned out pretty well, especially seeing as it used half triangles and it’s the first time I’ve really attempted those.  I have carnitas cooking in the slow cooker for an okonomiyaki and Mexican food party tomorrow evening. I took down the Christmas tree today. Z was quite sad to see it go, and wished we could keep it up all year. She is her grandpa’s granddaughter.  I’m reading The October Country by Ray Bradbury because I couldn’t decide what to read and my finger hit it on the Haunted Kindle and opened it and I started reading and didn’t stop. I’m almost done reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder aloud to the girls. Next we’re reading Odd and the Frost Giants. I’m going to go get in my warm bed and read now.