Our First Anniversary

Sunday Drive to Charlottesville

Collina Farm at Clifton Inn, Charlottesville

I decided to try the auto-publish feature for the next few days because Matt and I are currently on our way to Charlottesville to celebrate our first anniversary at Clifton Inn. You might remember that the historic bed and breakfast and its adjoining farm were the scene of our engagement last year. We plan to relax and recharge after our week of house hunting and spend some quality “us time” before Matt heads back to Japan. There are a couple of great Virginia vineyards close by that we plan to visit and of course you can be sure I will wave to Monticello if we pass by. I’ll be back in a few days to share our adventures with you...

Fingers Crossed

Our last evening in Portsmouth has arrived and we feel positive that we have found a house to inhabit for the next four years. We love the neighborhood and the backyard is like a woodland retreat with lofty trees, shrubs and birds. We’ve made an offer and according to our broker, the fabulous Robin (who has bent over backwards to get the process moving along before we leave town), things are proceeding smoothly.

Yesterday morning, bright and early, we went to the property for the professional home inspection. The inspector proclaimed that the home was “built like a tank” while proffering tidbits of advice about home maintenance. As Matt followed him to some of the nether regions of the home’s interior, I sat it one of the sunroom chairs and imagined a morning in the home puttering around with my tea before heading outside to work on the flowerbeds.

It has been interesting to learn the real estate process and thankfully it has not been too nerve wrecking. Things seem to be happening at an easy to process pace without being drawn out to the point of tedium or anxiety. And we’ve had some distractions – dinner and catching up with friends and hunting for a mattress to go with our new bedroom suite when it arrives from Japan.

I have thoroughly enjoyed being back in the Portsmouth area, and reacquainting ourselves with some of the familiar places like the Daily Grind, Olde Towne Bakery and the Bier Garden. Each time we drive past the Elizabeth River on our way back to the hotel, I can’t help but exclaim “Beautiful!” as I look at the sun glistening on the water and the crisp white of sailboats dotted across its flat surface. I’m glad to be back!

House Hunting - 15 Houses, 3 Afternoons

Too Small - The first house we looked at was very close to the hospital and adorable both inside and out, but too tiny to fit the Langfords.

Too Far - This house had lots of room and a small pond at the edge of the backyard, but traffic would have been a constant battle.

Too Close - A sprawling ranch with an inground pool would have been perfect anywhere other than in front of a parking lot with rickety school buses.

Too Wrecked - Gorgeous from the outside, the interior was in bad condition from the quick departure of its owners. 

Too Busy - This home had a nice deck but was on a corner lot of a busy street.

Just Right - We put an offer on this house. For now, you only get a view of the street from the front porch......

On the Go: Charge It!

It's been three days since our return to American soil and Matt and I have been making our way to Portsmouth via visits with our families in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The journey has not been without its moments - the most luggage we've ever packed for plane travel, a cat loose on the plane, getting hit in the nose by a wayward soda can, a lost suitcase that was thankfully returned. However, all of the snafus were easily forgotten with each new smile and hug as we were reunited with our families. As we adjusted to the time change and jet lag, we spent a couple laid back days with the Langfords and then headed south to Bridgeport for dinner and brunch with my mom and Aunt Connie. We are currently at Dorsey's apartment in Charleston, and after breakfast we will head to Portsmouth where the full scale house hunt will commence.

One of my observations (which I must quickly dispatch in the interest of my brother and husband's need for IHOP stuffed french toast) is that along with living out of a suitcase and sleeping on a variety of surrendered beds, inflatable mattresses and pullout couches, there are certain dictates that guide our transient life. In the days leading up to our trip and certainly the days following, a pattern has emerged in our lives - the ability and need to recharge. Anyone who knows Matt will know he is a very gadget-savvy personage and thus, I have become gadget-savvy by proxy. On my pre-trip packing list, I counted no fewer than eleven pieces of electronic equipment and their respective chargers - laptops, iPods, digital cameras, Blackberry, portable GPS, eReader. Thus, the first thing we do at each stop on our journey is to locate all available electrical outlets and plug as many of these devices in as possible. The planning of these recharges has become a habitual conversation prior to our departure for and midway through our journey to our next location.

The irony I find in our obsession with recharging our gadgets is that not so many years ago, none of them existed. Instead of spending time plugging and unplugging, we would have been taking the time to read maps, listening to walkmans and packing cassettes or CDs and film, stopping to make calls and trying to fit as many books and magazines in our carry-on as possible. Our gadgets afford us some time and less weight, but I still feel like they own us a little bit with their need for constant monitoring and maintenance. After all, a map doesn't shut down on you when you are five hours into a long drive.

Sayonara Okinawa

Moving On Out

Our moving days have arrived after several days of sorting, organizing and prioritizing all of the worldly items we possess at Hana Mansion. If you aren’t familiar with military moves, also known as PCS, they occur in stages over the course of a number of days, not to mention the time spent attending mandatory briefings and completing scheduling paperwork. Today, movers will come and pack our express shipment, items like dishes and clothing that will arrive at our new location before the larger household goods shipment, which will be collected tomorrow.

To prepare, I’ve spent the past few days (with the help of Matt in the evenings) deciding what needs to go in each shipment, what will be packed in our suitcases for the U.S. and what needs to remain for Matt when he returns to finish up. We’ve hidden the items that don’t go with the movers in two of our closets because as we have learned from the past, they move rapidly and if you don’t pay attention they will pack everything in their path. In addition, the moving office, PSC (to throw out another confusing military acronym), gave us instructive signs in both English and Japanese to protect that which should not be wrapped and put in a box.

Moving is definitely not one of my favorite activities (I’ve done it about 10 times in the past decade), but the military movers do make it much easier. No carrying heavy boxes, no guiltily calling brothers and friends and offering bribes, no worrying about the logistics of how to get my giant purple couch through the doorway. Once the organizing is complete, I just have to sit back and sign paperwork as the professionals take half the time to do what would take me all day.

Out and ready to be wrapped and packed - Our new dishes that never had to experience the Cupboard of Doom.

Nakagusuku Castle

Okinawa is the home to the ruins of 300 castles that used to represent the various kingdoms of the Ryukyu Islands. On the tour, we visited Nakagusuku Castle, one of the largest and best-preserved castles on the island. The original castle was built in the 14th century and was extended when Gosamaru, the lord of Zakimi-jo, moved his residence to the castle in 1440. The castle served as a stronghold for Japanese forces in World War II and received much damage in the Battle of Okinawa.

Gate between the first and second enclosures of the castle. Moon viewing parties and other ceremonial events were held in this area of the structure.

Stairs leading to the northern enclosure of the castle.

View of Pacific Ocean from castle walls. Castle Hill was also the location of fighting during the Battle of Okinawa. The hill is approximately 150-160 meters above sea level.

Futenma Shrine

Tori at Futenma Shrine

After lunch in Mihama, the second stop on the “Castles, Homes and Gardens” tour was Futenma Shrine in Ginowan. Futenma is the most prominent Shinto shrine on Okinawa and its history is based on Okinawan legend. Many centuries ago, a beautiful and modest girl lived with her family in Naha, the capital of Okinawa. One day, her sister allowed a man to peek at her through a window, and frightened, she ran the distance from Naha to Ginowan and hid in a cave. When she was found, she has turned into a pure white deity, a reward for her modesty. Okinawans built the shrine above the cave to honor and venerate the beautiful deity who is said to live part of the year in a sacred part of the shrine and the other part in a smaller shrine in the cave.

At the shrine, we learned that after passing through the tori gate, worshippers ritually cleanse their hands and mouth at a small fountain of water before proceeding to the main building to pray or make an offering to the deity. To pray, the shrine visitor follows the custom of tossing a small coin into a large box and clapping two times before making their request. Shinto practitioners can visit the shrine to pray at any time, but the most popular times to make a shrine visit are New Years Day, before exams, or other important life events. We were able to watch a Shinto priest receive prayer requests, and also perform a ritual to clear the air of negative spirits. After, a priestess in training led us behind the main building and down some steps to the caves beneath the shrine.

View of the shrine from a Ginowan street. We were asked not to take pictures toward the shrine after we passed through the tori gate.

The caves beneath the shrine and home to the white deity. The caves also served as a hiding place for Okinawans in World War II. 

My Pearl Year

Time and tide wait for no man,

but time always stands still for a woman of thirty.

                                                                   -Robert Frost

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.

-Bradley Millar

Water Lilies

Southeast Botanical Gardens

When I woke on Thursday, I was pleased to find that the rain had taken a break at least for the morning because I was headed on the “Castles, Homes and Gardens” tour offered by one of the base tour offices. Our first stop was the Southeast Botanical Gardens located in the Chibana area of central Okinawa. The garden showcases the multitude of flora that thrive on the island, many of which are in bloom year-round.

I had been to the gardens once before, for the Christmas lights, but I was excited to get a daytime view of its offerings. First, we took a tram ride around the major parts of the park and a recorded English tour that pointed out various plants and flowers and gave information about their uses in everyday products (many of which were available in the gift store ;) ). The park was unlike many traditional Japanese gardens that I have seen, but it still offered plenty of areas to meditatively stroll or sit and contemplate the beauty of natural life.

My favorite area of the gardens was the Polynesian Lake which featured a bountiful display of water lilies and lotus (Nymphaeaceae and Nelumbo) and had walkways that let me feel like I was walking through a Monet painting. Where Monet’s Water Lilies are muted and dreamy, my experience was bold and vivid – a technicolor, floral dreamscape of greens, whites, yellows and pinks. It was also a thrilling opportunity to play with our new digital camera a little bit and work on composition and lens focus. I’ll be posting some of my favorites later this afternoon.

The gardens feature over 200 species of palm trees; however, palms are not indigenous to Okinawa and have been imported from other countries. 

The park featured many ponds and scenic bridges from which to view fish, ducks and the surrounding gardens. This bridge, surrounded by bougainvillea, was one of the prettiest in the park. 

Koi gather to compete for food tossed by garden visitors. When I first saw these fish at the Christmas light display, I found their frantic thrashing and opening mouths somewhat grotesque and did not linger long. Through the lens they were fascinating.

Baby Pineapples!! I thought they grew on trees.

When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely...

Just a random photo Matt took while trying out our new digital camera. 

The rainy season continues on Okinawa. The conditions are definitely not prime for outdoor adventures as the clouded sky produces a range of precipitation from an indolent drizzle to a forceful downpour. In the States, I welcome the occasional healthy outpouring from the summer skies because it usually cools the earth down a bit and leaves things feeling refreshed. Not so on our sub-tropical island. The humidity is only amplified by the rainfall, leaving me wilted like much of the surroundings.

Living here has definitely kept me on my toes in regards to adapting my skin and hair regimen to a different climate. For the first time in its typically curl-resistant history, my perpetually straight hair has required products above and beyond my normal shampoo and conditioner to relieve the mystifying fuzz that appears across the top layer in the humid Okinawa air (Liz, I finally share your grief :)). As the days grow hotter, more often than not I take a cue from the Japanese women who keep their hair long, but wear it up in a clip. My skincare routine has also been modified to neutralize the changes in my skin without overdrying. Sunscreen is a high priority, and I have again taken a prompt from Japanese women and included rice blotting paper and Shiseido Cleansing Oil (fighting oil with oil? – but it works!).

However cloudy the skies (and wooly my hair), I am determined not to let the weather damper my last few weeks here. Today I assessed the persistent drizzle, threw my hair up in a trusty claw clip, grabbed my umbrella and walked to Mihama for a venti chai at Starbucks. Afterward, I perused the sewing section at Jusco. I’ve recently been feeling crafty and although I don’t have a specific plan, I would like to take advantage of some of the Japanese fabrics that have caught my eye. The patterns are unique; especially the bingata, and I think it would be neat to create something from fabric I found here. I'm thinking about making an apron or festive runner and placemats for our table or maybe even emulating the Bible covers made by friend of one of the women at Women by Grace.

After lunch at the Jusco food court, I took a short walk to my appointment at Come Across Spa. You might remember that back in October my cupboard shelves gave way, shattering every dish and glass that Matt and I owned. Ironically, in the midst of Brittany arriving to save the day, I received a phone call that I had won a ¥5,000 (about $50) gift certificate to the spa. Over the weekend, I rediscovered the certificate in our desk and called to make an appointment for a massage. I had a hot stone treatment and it was a great way to unwind and treat my body to some pampering. The heat from the stones melted the tension in my muscles and the aroma of lemongrass in the massage oil gave an escape to my senses that recalled the more pleasant aspects of tropical life. As I walked to catch a taxi home, my whole body felt loose and springy and I realized as the rain paused for a moment, there was a bit of freshness in the air.