It snowed yesterday, for the first time since I got to Oregon. (inappropriate shoes)
My dad used a stray pine branch to brush off the windows of my car, because that's how we roll in the Northwest. 
Despite the fact that it snows pretty much every year in Oregon, people still freak out and drive like utter shit. I tried to go downtown but the highway was a parking lot and my car broke down after sitting at the onramp for twenty minutes. Ah, it's good to be back. 
The weather was craptastic yesterday, but I barely noticed because I was laid up with a cold, in bed all day.
I feel better today and the weather is beautiful. And my maple tree has finally bloomed.
I'm not sure when to say momiji and when to use kaede, when referring to maples. I know two people with those names. One is a girl and one is a dog.
Until I got home and read the package. Uh, shortening. Hmm. And fat spread?? What's this? This was a first for me. So I googled it.
Not satisfied with the sketchy information presented on wiki I called the company.
It's so fucking cold lately, I hate it. It's dry and my skin is angry. I live in a house, which of course doesn't have central heating, so my heating/electricity bills are astronomical yet it's always freezing in here. Wearing a sweater in the house in winter seems reasonable but a scarf, slippers, and a jacket does not. Dammit.
It's lucky that I have an altar at my house, or I might have had to take up smoking, just so I could buy these.
Can we get a close-up of that?
Yeah.
Somebody come help me eat all this.
Cream cheese frosting. HEAVEN.
Adding coconut? GENIUS.
I dreamed that I was teaching a music class, but I was getting irritated because all the kids were listening to Quiet Riot when I wanted them to focus on Queensrÿche. So, I said, "OY!" really loudly.
This morning on the train a chimpira-ish boy made eye contact as we were heading toward the stairs. I didn't think much of it, but right as we approached the ticket gate, he paused, hung back, and then went through right in front of me. He touched his wallet to the Pasmo sensor. It flashed red, and the gate slammed shut, but he squeezed through the slim space and booked it, leaving me stuck and seemingly redhanded.
I came home late on Monday night after going to a show, having missed the last train and had to take a cab the last bit home. I didn't realize it at the time, but my brother said I was talking to myself pretty loudly. I do this. It's kind of embarrassing if someone else hears without me knowing it. Yikes. Reel in the crazy a little, girl.
Hana & Alice. This movie was weird, with many sequences that jumped around and seemed unrelated, but eventually added up to form a whole that made sense. I read that this started out as a series of short films (30!) for Kit Kat, but was so popular they made it into a feature. That explains the strung-together construction. Still, I enjoyed it. The main plot point is that Hana convinces her crush that he has amnesia and is in love with her. But it's more about friendships and burbling adolescent emotions. Quirky and not very saccharine for a movie about teenage girls.
Went to Istanbul Turkish restaurant in Shinjuku 3-chome the other day.
Ate loads of hummus, dolmas, baba ghanoush, sesame pita, and baklava.
The interior was crowded with intricate tiles and ornate lamps and framed photos, and the waiter was hot.
Finished the whole thing off with thick strong Turkish coffee.
I really love not being bitten by mosquitoes, because, despite being blood type A and not O (I've been told that 'squitoes love O; yet another interesting blood-type related factoid), they just feast on me.
It's light and airy and they have a delicious vegetarian katsu set lunch with all the fixings.
Afterward, check out the sculptures at Nagisa Park, by the sea.
It's a great place for a nap in the grass, practicing yoga, or playing the flute, like an old auntie nearby was doing.
(this picture from their website)
It's near the beautiful suspension bridge (つり橋) and cliffs at Jogasaki.
Rental cottages and other similar DIY lodging like Happy Days can be found commercially, but are also available dirt cheap through most city governments. For example, Machida City (my city) owns several cabins in Nagano prefecture. Residents of the city get first dibs in renting them; neighboring cities get next call. They usually come with full kitchens and bedding and lovely natural surroundings; barbecuing tools are also often provided. This place, for example, charges 5,000 yen for a cabin that can hold up to five people. It's a really great way to go on a retreat to the boonies with a big group of friends; cook, drink, hike, hang out.
Being vegetarian in Japan is sometimes okay, especially when I'm home or in familiar territory where I can cook for myself and make my own decisions. 
But traveling can be reallllly hard. And hanging out with people who aren't used to my diet can be frustrating for all involved. So it's extremely nice and appreciated when people go out of their way to make sure I'm fed. My mood can go from fine to super sucky when I'm hungry for too long. Food problems take the fun out of everything. It's so great when it's a non-issue.
I was really happy to visit this beautiful mountaintop organic restaurant, Itsukushimiya. It was rustic and earnest and had a gorgeous organic kid running around, and cats, and a tree swing, and wood fired pizza with things like walnuts and mushrooms on top.
They have live music and do body work and talk about stuff like the local food movement. It's close to nothing, and I have no idea how they stay in business. They're only open from Friday to Sunday, and it's a 15 minute drive from Shimoda station, or probably a couple hour hike up the mountain. It was lovely and they served my pizza on some kind of huge leaf. I wrote it up at Happy Cow too. I hope some people go there. They're living the hippie dream.
