The best joke I've ever played

Since today is April Fool's Day, I thought I would share a joke.

It was Christmastime and I was Japan, preparing a package to send home. I decided to make little candy bags so that everyone could have a taste of Japan. I included Mellow Kisses, these great little chocolate candies, hard candy losanges in pretty wrappers, a sweet bean paste filled cake, and the matcha (thick green tea) tootsie roll things that I had really started to like.

In the same bag with those yummy treats, I included some of the grossest things I had found in Japan up to that point. There was a shrimp-flavored rice cracker, candied okra, and the best was the umeboshi. It's a pickled plum to eat with rice, but looks like it could be some kind of cherry candy when individually wrapped.

Drew made a hilarious photo essay documenting his expereince with the candy bag. You should really check it out.

My favorite hat

My good friend Kotomi made this hat for me before I left Japan. I love it. I wore it almost every cold day this year. I was thinking of putting it away today, but I think I may need it one more time before warm weather sets in for good.


Kotomi's father also made something for me.

He harvested wood from the forest near his home, then carved it into chopstick holders. My favorite part about them is that he wrote the kind of tree the wood came from on each holder.

I know that the one on the left front says sakura, which is the famous Japanese cherry blossom tree that is at the end of its bloom in Knoxville now. I can't remember what the others are, but maybe Kotomi will comment and tell us...

Green

This man is selling zunda mochi, sweet edamame (green soybean) paste and rice cakes, in a Japanese train station. Zunda mochi is one of the specialties of Sendai, Japan.



This was crocheted by my aunt Josephine for my granny. I love how green it is.

I took this picture as a part of the Eyes on LaFollette project when I was in a photojournalism class at the University of Tennessee.

Yellow

Those are the lights from Fuji Rock Festival 2007.

My school's play kitchen set is cute, but it's nothing compared to this.

Scroll down to see more from color week.

Refurbishing Bangle Bracelets

I just put Japanese breakfast food stickers on this pretty blue bracelet. The stickers are rice, pickles, miso soup, chopsticks, natto, and umeboshi.

I bought sets of these breakfast stickers, along with sets of sushi and dessert stickers in Japan at one of the Maruzen chain book stores. I would love to find more of them one day.

I found the blue bracelet with this eighties survivor bangle in a thrift store . I have plans for it that I'll be posting soon.

my Japanese bag

When I was in Japan I took Japanese classes at community centers. My favorite teacher made this bag for me. I love the design with an inside and outside pocket and the little flaps that cover the outside pocket.

I think I could figure it out, but has anyone seen a pattern to make a bag like this? If so, I'd love to know where.

Long-anticipated Article

I tried to get this story in a different newspaper this time last year, but it didn't work out.

Writing about something that you wrote about earlier is an interesting experience. You see how your perspective changes and your writing does too.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/oct/26/cultural-connections/

Fall Photo

These dogs have accessories for every season and holiday. They live outside a barber shop in the Otamayashita neighborhood of Sendai, Japan (or at least they did until this time last year).