Is it hot yet?

I'm back home again! And its so very good to be under the same roof as my husband again! (I like my husband. :-)

Its a bit chillier than it was and today our Intrepid cat thought we should light a fire - which my husband did do. But it seems to have taken her a few minutes to feel that it was really going.

OMF HEADQUARTERS

At the gate to the OMF Headquarters in Ichikawa

Let the rain kiss you...

When I caught the train to Ichikawa yesterday I wondered what I was doing. After a long, hard month (John away) and with so much to do... what do I care about council meetings and people far away? But I find I do care. And being here at the OMF Headquarters is like an oasis on a long journey... A time to talk with old traveling friends and drink long draughts of refreshment.

And tonight as we walked back from dinner the gentle rain reminded me of this poem:

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.

-Langston Hughes

I thank You God for this inexpressible beauty

Tonight as I sit waiting for the bath to fill I'm thinking of spring and this e e cummings poem:

I thank You God for most this amazing day:
for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(I who have died am alive again today,
And this is the sun's birthday;
this is the birthday of life and of love and wings:
and of the gay great happening illimitably earth)

How should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no of all nothing--
Human merely being doubt unimaginable You?

(Now the ears of my ears awake and
Now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

Spring on Mount Iwaki

I hadn't actually read any e e cummings in many years! But a few days ago Tammi (whom I've never met but follow with interest) put this poem on her blog Joyful Noise and it so perfectly described my feelings a few hours later as we drove over Mount Iwaki and marveled at "the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of a sky."

Thank God for Friends!

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

I must confess that yesterday I thought a lot about just how wonderful it is to have someone there to make a warm fire and hot meal when you're feeling sick!

Thank God for friends who care when family is far away.

She finally did it!

While we were still at Takayama my niece phoned me to tell me that she'd finally gotten her driver's license. Such happy news and a big answer to prayer!

She did it! Hurray, Bethany!

Celebrating with a Tea Party

Banana Boats from Tatsuya - the best bakery in the Tsugaru

Matsushima again... from up top

Matsushima! Ah, Matsushima!

On Saturday we decided to try out Wendy's favorite coffee shop in Matsushima overlooking the bay. (That cherry tree in the corner of the photo was about to blossom!)

Nothing like a a cup of coffee with friends!

Unlike that Matsushima outing I wrote about in January 2007, this one ended uneventfully and Siqin and headed home to Aomori.

Sunny Day in the Garden

I think it was raining when we left Aomori, but the weather during our brief sojourn at Takayama couldn't have been more splendid - all sunshine and blue, blue sky over the deep blue sea. I suppose we could have warmed ourselves in the sunshine on the Elliot veranda, but we soon found ourselves on the path to my friend's cabin. The view of the sea is somewhat more impressive from my friend's house.

Of course, I go for the company!

So I enjoyed the sunshine from Wendy's patio... Meanwhile Siqin was busy examining Wendy's rather extensive flower gardens.

It really is spring afterall!

Running Away

Back when things seemed so difficult I decided to "run away" - and for me that means Takayama Cabin 14. Of course, by the time I actually left Aomori the crisis was over and I didn't really need to get away but I decided to go anyway.

Its just an old cabin

With a rather unspectacular view of Matsushima...

But it has cool nooks...

And cozy corners...

And the most beautiful teapot

transported by my loving daughters all the way from Connecticut...

And best of all, there's tea with friends!