Sunday Catch Up

It is cold and foggy today. Seems more like March than August. But that's good because I've been watching a strange documentary about Japanese host and hostess club called The Great Happiness Space. It follows an Osaka host club and it's lady patrons. Oddly enough, the hostess club is in the same district where I stayed back in May. It's called Minami, in case you speak Japanese well enough to find these places.

Here are some photos to refresh your memory:
This is Minami in the daytime, when everyone who actually lives there is hungover.




Also here are some photos from my latest trip in Vancouver. They're kind of boring because really I was just there to hang out and be silly. But still Vancouver is a beautiful city.




This one is taken from the outdoor cafe at the Vancouver Gallery. They had a great exhibit featuring artists from impressionism all the way to surrealism. My favorite was the huge hallway of Rodin sculptures. I always tear up at the Age of Bronze.




I'm a sucker for the color of leaves in the sunlight. I'm going to save this photo for the next time I want to dye my hair red.

And let me introduce you to a movie star of tomorrow, my pal Lucy:








and one last little thing.
I was lounging in the backyard of one of Gabrielle's neighbors when a tiny little pinecone landed on my knee.
I wanted to take it home with me, but really what the hell am I going to do with one teeny pinecone, so I took a photo of it instead.





So what did we learn on our trip to Vancouver?
#1: Beer and wine do not mix

GG

More Japan

In place of a personal post we have more photos of Japan...


This is the infamous grandma hat!


The GrenadineGirl family in Korakuen Park


Mr. G is to ice cream like I am to yarn.


You've never seen anyone happier to be in a tasty burger joint (ps: the drink has grenadine in it -Grenadinegirl, drinking grenadine)


The Grenadinegirl Family with my brother's mother in law at a Korean BBQ restaurant. YUM!


Mr. G in karaoke mode.


Shibuya baby


Indian food, in Japan. Yum. This was one of those meals that I had to buy little tickets in a vending machine and they bring the food to your table.



Hibiya Park. Nice fountain.

PS I also got a gorgeous prize pack from my favorite lace knitter Knitabulous. Photos tomorrow of that. Thank you thank you thank you thank you. I can't wait to put together a thank you pack for you!!!!!

Grenadine Girl

The Japanese Wedding

Man we have so many photos. I've got weeks of blog material here. And we haven't even gotten to Tokyo yet.

Anyhoo here are more photos from the wedding. It was a Western affair in a chapel at the St Valetine's Hotel in Sakuto. The chapel sits at the top of the hill, and they ring the chapel bells everytime someone gets married. I imagine that makes the town a bit festive. I can imagine Japanese families, hanging out in their courtyards, tending to their gardens and hearing the bell ring.

That's the cool thing about Japanese homes, outside of the urban areas, nearly every home has a garden, a very well-tended garden. It made me feel like a lazy Westerner. I certainly have the backyard to have my own garden, but can I be bothered to get my hands dirty?

No, it would take away from my knitting. Sigh.

And I know myself well enough that I am incapable of managing a garden. I'm too inconsistant. I'll forget to water the plants or I'll water them too much.

I'd rather cook the food. I'm willing to bet that my husband would be the better gardener.

Anyhoo onto the wedding photos, thank you for your patience on the random gardening rant.


The father and the bride. Sister in law was already tearing up. She looked so happy.


The father gives the bride away then the groom mets the bride and escorts her to the alter.


It was so cute.



They each take a glass of what I think is supposed to be wine. The whole ceremony was in Japanese so I'm unsure exactly what this is supposed to represent.


Here they were reading their vows in unison.


Here they each had a candle, which they used together to light one candle.


Here my brother is signing the vows.



Sister in law signing the vows.


Surprise! I'm in the wedding, I get to sign the vows as a witness. I was very honored.


Here is my "I don't know what I'm doing, I hope this is ok" bow


Then they show everyone that the vows have been signed.


Grandpa read a small speech.


Then the wedding ceremony was finished.


We threw origami cranes at the couple as they came down the aisle.


All the guests lined up outside to await the married couple. They gave us rose petals to toss.


That's my sister in law's mother, sister, and grandfather. The sister was my co-witness. She's very sweet.


The wedded couple appears at the door. To the left is the bell cord, which they rang to announce their wedding.


Those are my sister in law's auntie, uncle and super cute cousins. They can't wait to toss the rose petals.


There's nothing better or more beautiful at a wedding than the tossing of rose petals. It was the favorite part of my wedding too.


They stopped at midway down the stairs and we didn't know why, but then there was a pop!


And some balloons were released into the air.

They really know how to put on a good show! It was a wonderful, heartfelt ceremony and we had a wonderful time.

Next time: The reception. Can you say impromptu karaoke???

Why Yes I Did Go To Japan, I Have The Jet Lag To Show For It.

And all these crazy photos.
We were in Japan for a wedding and we're so thrilled to have a Japanese wing to our family. I can't imagine anyone more welcoming and eager to show us a good time. I can't wait for the in-laws to come to San Francisco and show them around. The visit to Japan to their hometown really cemented us as a family and I hope to see them again soon.

So on to the photos:

So here's me at the Shizutani School.


After visiting the school, we went back to the in-laws for a phenomenal Japanese feast. It was such an honor to get to have such a meal in a Japanese home. It made us feel so welcome!

The house had a tatami mat dining room. A shrine is also kept in the room. There was something like 20 people in there!


Here's a photo of the food, platters like this were up and down the table. I've never seen so much sushi! And the grandma made special rice balls, with beans that are only made for special occasions.


My favorite Japanese tradition is how people pour drinks. You are never supposed to pour your own beverage. You pour other people drinks and then they pour one for you. It's a very social tradition. People come and visit you from the other end of the table to pour you a drink. It is warm and festive.




My sister in law Erina to the right and her mother on the left and sister in the middle. Such a beautiful family!


These are my brothers with Erina's grandparents and great Auntie. So cute!!!


Me with my cousin Sharon, I think you can see the family resemblence!


That's my brother Victor on the right and Sharon's husband Brandon on the left. Victor would like you to know that Brandon smells.


Just in case you forgot we were there for a wedding, and here's a preview of the photos:





Here's our knitting content for the day: I made that lacy shruggy thing from the Lace Style book, with Goddess Carmen, 100% cotton. It was yummy to work with and was perfect for the wedding, though I didn't know that it was preferable to wear conservative black. I understand why. In American culture, you don't wear white to compete with the bride. You don't wear black because it's a bit funeral-y. But in Japan you don't wear color because the bride wears such a colorful kimono that you don't want to compete, not that my dress in any way could compete with such a beautiful kimono, but wearing more sublte tones makes the bride stand out even more. You know, FYI incase you ever attend a Japanese wedding.


more photos to come!

GG