Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Mornin'
Hey guys. Just thought I'd check in after a long lapse in writing. It's about 7:45 a.m., a hazy and humid morning. Not a whole lot new going on here. Well, the sugar cane crop next to our house was just harvested. It had towered high over our fence a la Children of the Corn. Then, one day when I was puttering around inside, I heard all of these corn rustling sounds. I didn't think anything of it, but then when I finally stepped out later that afternoon all the cane was gone! And dozens of men were sitting on the ground in round pointed hats tying it up in bundles. It was quite shocking! Like cutting down a forest. Or shaving off a beard.
What else? I got new lamp that I'm quite proud of. The shade is red, green and white and bell-shaped. It's handmade out of Ryukan glass. It dangles off of a curved metal piece which looks like a thin tree branch. It's pretty.
Have a nice day y'all!
-Kelly
What else? I got new lamp that I'm quite proud of. The shade is red, green and white and bell-shaped. It's handmade out of Ryukan glass. It dangles off of a curved metal piece which looks like a thin tree branch. It's pretty.
Have a nice day y'all!
-Kelly
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Fishing Report
I went fishing this weekend and hooked up with this Beauty. It's called a Wahoo, for those not familiar with fishing. We caught a load of Yellowfin Tuna, Bonita, Mahi Mahi, Rainbow Runner, and Wahoo. Needless to say I was WORE OUT by the end of the day.
Joe
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Welcome Dunlen!!!
CONGRATULATIONS to our friends Beth Anne and Dave Francis. This past Friday they became a mommy and daddy to a beautiful little boy, Dunlen Michael Francis. We're so happy for you!
Big Kisses!
Kelly and Joe
Big Kisses!
Kelly and Joe
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Obon Festival
Yesterday, Kelly and I were fortunate enough to see a parade of "Eisa" dancers marching down our street to the rhythm of "taiko" drums. (Check them out in the video link below.) Actually, we were lured to them. We were sitting on the couch watching TV when we heard drum beats outside. We grabbed the camera and followed the sound. Low and behold, there was a group of dancers and musicians performing traditional Okinawan music and dance right in the middle of the Shell gas station across the street. The dancers and drummers were slowly working their way through the village, stopping intermittantly to drum and dance and send the spirits of the deceased back to where they came from. This marks the end of the Obon festival.
Here's a little information about Obon, courtesy of www.japanupdate.com :
Obon, a three-day holiday on Okinawa, is a time for locals to pay homage to their ancestors with visits to the family’s Buddhist altars and tombs. The first day of Obon, Unkeh, is a time for families to gather at the primary family residence to purify the home and its altar. Family members will place fruit, water, sake, tea and a pair of sugar cane stalks on the altar in preparation for the visiting sprits. In the evening, the family lights candles both at the altar and the gateway to the house to invite the spirits inside. Obon is a time of celebration, and Okinawa’s second unique custom, Eisa, is performed in streets everywhere. Eisa is a traditional dance to entertain the visiting spirits. Obon is also a time of gift-giving, and a time for sharing. Tuesday, the final day of Obon, is Uukui, a time when the family gathers and celebrates with a lavish dinner before preparing to send the ancestral spirits back to the other world. A variety of foods are offered and special paper money, Uchikabi, is burned as an offer to the spirits for use in the other world. Uchikabi is paper imprinted with a coin pattern.About midnight, family members will remove the offerings from the altar and move them to the family gate in front of the home. Incense will be lit, the uchikabi burned, and the families say goodbye to the ancestral spirits for another year. Okinawa tradition is that spirits will carry the uchikabi money with them, and use the sugar cane stalks as walking sticks.
Here's a little information about Obon, courtesy of www.japanupdate.com :
Obon, a three-day holiday on Okinawa, is a time for locals to pay homage to their ancestors with visits to the family’s Buddhist altars and tombs. The first day of Obon, Unkeh, is a time for families to gather at the primary family residence to purify the home and its altar. Family members will place fruit, water, sake, tea and a pair of sugar cane stalks on the altar in preparation for the visiting sprits. In the evening, the family lights candles both at the altar and the gateway to the house to invite the spirits inside. Obon is a time of celebration, and Okinawa’s second unique custom, Eisa, is performed in streets everywhere. Eisa is a traditional dance to entertain the visiting spirits. Obon is also a time of gift-giving, and a time for sharing. Tuesday, the final day of Obon, is Uukui, a time when the family gathers and celebrates with a lavish dinner before preparing to send the ancestral spirits back to the other world. A variety of foods are offered and special paper money, Uchikabi, is burned as an offer to the spirits for use in the other world. Uchikabi is paper imprinted with a coin pattern.About midnight, family members will remove the offerings from the altar and move them to the family gate in front of the home. Incense will be lit, the uchikabi burned, and the families say goodbye to the ancestral spirits for another year. Okinawa tradition is that spirits will carry the uchikabi money with them, and use the sugar cane stalks as walking sticks.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Geocaching
It's been a while since we've posted, I was in the U.S. for a week of training and Kelly has been lonely without me. So lonely in fact, that she couldn't bring herself to write on the blog. I figured I would add a few bits about this new activity we picked up called Geocaching. It's a fun hobby where you locate different points utilizing a GPS and trade items. You might even find a Geocoin, which you can place in different locations and can track online. Here's the website for more information:
www.geocaching.com
Here's a few photo's from our recent adventure:
www.geocaching.com
Here's a few photo's from our recent adventure:
Kelly, Kiyomi and Lee (Our new Diving and various adventures buddies) on our first Geocache find. It was at Okuma in the tropical woods surrounded by Cicada's and Spiders. We signed the log book and took nothing/left nothing.
Here we are at the Highest Point in Okinawa. After 4 hours of tromping through the jungle, going the wrong way, and circling the mountain we finally found the cache. Kelly wasn't in a very good mood, but luckily she was able to find the cache. It was an ammo can filled with tons of GOODIES. Kelly took a Shisha Lion Dog and I took a Hokkaido Bear Geo Coin (Which I dropped off in Maryland). We left some Russian Rubles and various magnetic paintings.
Me and Kelly at the Highest Point in Okinawa. Is it me or does Kelly always seem to be wearing that same outfit and headband on every adventure we go on. I swear she had that on during Costa Rica!?!
