My Hosts

     Let me introduce you to my hosts.


Lionel and Isabelle Williams

   My niece's in laws are truly the sweetest, most gentle people I have ever met.  There home is peaceful.  I feel privileged  to know them.  Lionel has a dry sense of humor and he and Laree keep each other in stitches.  Isabelle is kindness personified.

Rob and Laree Williams

          My eldest niece is married to Rob.  Like his parents, Rob is gentle, but slightly more outgoing than they are.  Laree, nicknamed Speedy as a child, is very different in personality than Rob.  They complement each other very well. 

      Life at Casa Williams is quiet and peaceful. The family sits together for meals, and they have real conversations.  The hymn Love at Home comes to mind when describing the Williams family.

There is beauty all around,

When there's love at home.
There is joy in every sound.
When there's love at home.
Peace and plenty here abide.
Smiling sweet on every side.
Time doth softly, sweetly glide,
When there's love at home.

The "Furry" Williams Members

Bear - Chihuahua who thinks he is a vacuum cleaner.  Will eat almost anything!

Elmo -my new best friend.  He comes when I call his name.

Tinkerbell - not social, and I am lucky I got this picture. She was hiding.

Tammy - calmer and larger of the sister dogs.

Buffy - smaller and noisier of the sister dogs. Bear's best friend.

St. Jacob

     Today, the Williams clan took me to the village of St Jacob, about 64 miles southwest of Durham. St Jacob was originally called Jacobstettel which means "town of many Jacobs".  The town was settled by
Mennonites from Pennsylvania after the American Revolution.  Horse-drawn carriages are a common sight.

     Our first stop was to the farmer's market, where we ate true apple fritters made from aplle slices dipped in batter, deep-fried and rolled in cinnamon-sugar. 

deep fryer

paring apples

     We also saw many Mennonites along with Muslims, and a variety of other people speaking a variety of languages.



Mennonite girl waiting for falafel.





     In the main part of the village was Hamel's Broom Shop, where homemade brooms are produced.


      I have a nephew named Jacob, and I thought he would get a kick out of this diner.  We did not have time to visit the Menonite Center.

     On the way home, we stopped to see the world's biggest lawn chair.  My niece, Laree, was able to climb onto it.  I tried, but my legs are too short for the large spaces to climb on.

      It was a fun day.

Waterfalls and Great Lakes

     Today we went sightseeing around the town of Durham, Ontario.

     My eldest niece, Laree, is married to Canadian Rob Williams.  They live in Durham with his parents Lionel and Isabelle Williams - two of the sweetest people I have ever met!

     Durham is a village of about 2500 people and is located about 100 miles north of Toronto in Ontario.  The area is mostly farms, and rural areas.  Rolling hills, forests and farms remind me of the Brabant area of The Netherlands.  It is a very peaceful place, and I can see why Laree loves it here.  It also helps that she has married into a wonderful family.

    This morning we went to visit waterfalls:  Hogg's Falls, Eugenia Falls, and McGowen Falls.

 Swan Pond near Hogg's Falls.

Hogg's Falls

Laree and Me

Eugenia Falls

World War I Memorial

Autum Hiking: Rob, Lionel, and Laree. 

McGowen Falls

     This area of Ontario has a population of Menonites.  A picture I didn't get, and wished I had, was a man plowing with four large Belgian horses side by side.  But I did get a picture of buggies, parked near the Menonite school.

     To the south of Toronto is Lake Ontario.  To the north of Durham is Lake Huron.  We drove to the town of South Hampton on the banks of Lake Huron.  It was a stormy, cold day and made for some dramatic photos.

At  Pioneer Park are Cannons.

White caps on high waves.

Laree's Vice

There is a local chain of restaurants, Tim Horton's Drive Thru, lovingly referred to by the locals as Timmy's.  Laree cannot get enough of this place.  After our visit to Lake Huron, we were in need of liquid warmth, and off we went to Timmy's for hot chocolate, coffee, and donuts.

Laree

Showing the love.

Laree finds gingerbread men, which Rob bought for us.

     While it was a stormy, rainy day, we lucked out as the rain let up whenever we got out of the car.  It was a great day, topped off with a homemade dinner of BBQ pork chops, made by Rob.

My Ripple Effect/Seinfeld Episode Day

I was on my way to Toronto.....and the first action that started the ripple effect happened.

I was checking my luggage at SLC international.  I had done this many times, and everything seemed normal.  The woman had not properly verified my passport and this action started a whole bunch of events for the worst travel day ever!

At the gate, I had to stop, and be reverified.  Because they (Delta crew) were in a hurry to get my on board, I was not allowed to put my passport back in my bag.  On the plane, I was hurrying to get my bag in the overhead   compartment.  I had my passport in my hand, and unknowingly, let it drop behind my bag.  This was my fault, and had it been a Seinfeld episode, there would have been a close-up shot of my passport dropping.  I did not realize me error until I got to JFK airport in NYC.

At the gate to Toronto, I realized my passport was missing.  I went to the Delta gate reps for help.  They dropped my Toronto flight, as I would not make it.  After combing the plane, the cleaning crew said they could not find my passport.  I was forced to cancel my plans, and head back to SLC.  I  could have gone into  Manhattan to passport control to get a temporary passport, but I didn't feel good about that, and the idea of going into Manhattan did not appeal to me at all.

While waiting at the gate to return to SLC,  Delta reps came running up to me with passport in hand.  A flight attendant had found it in the overhead compartment.  I went back, booked another flight to Toronto, got my bag rerouted - or so I thought.

Upon finally arriving in Toronto, I learned that my bag had been sent to SLC.  My entire day was shot.  I called my niece to let her know I was in Canada.  We discussed my problem and we decided that I should cancel my hotel, and she would come and get me.  I had enough clothing to get me through a day, and my meds, but not my c-pap breathing machine for when I sleep.

For the next two hours I wandered Pearson International, as the Toronto airport is called.  I bought a Toronto t-shirt on sale, as I needed an extra shirt.  I exchanged money, and I watched, with fascination, a family waiting for visiting grandparents.

The Saga of Little Stinker


A mother and her two girls, about 3 and 5 yrs, were waiting for grandma and grandpa to arrive.  The eldest girl was named Poppy.  As five year olds do, she was running around the arrivals hall with her little sister following her everywhere.  Poppy would call to her little sister, "Come on, Little Stinker!"  "Mom, Little Stinker won't come!" etc.  My first thought was Little Stinker, as younger sisters will do, would eventually get back at her sister.  My second thought is that parents need to be careful what pet names they give their children!  Mom realized this as the words "Little Stinker" echoed throughout the hall, and everyone turned to watch the three-year-old. She told Poppy to stop calling her little sister by that name, and Poppy innocently, and a bit confused, looked to her mom and said "But, you do!" I had to learn the real name of this child.   I had to wait until the grandparents arrived to learn that her name was/is Beatrice. 


Back to the Bag


Delta had started a search for my bag.  By the time my niece arrived, SLC had already received it, and sent it back to Toronto.  It would arrive 28 hours later to the house.

I have learned many lessons!

Reflections

My assignment at Sacred Heart did not take long.  I basically was signing off accreditation papers with a member of the Japanese Ministry of Education and Sacred Heart administration present.  Now the school is officially accredited with the United States.  The school has been accredited for years, they were in a renewal phase. I had my camera and forgot to take pictures.  The school has a website http://www.issh.ac.jp/ for those of you interested.  By mid-morning I was back to running errands.

The Ginza

 Ginza in Japanese means "silver place", and the area got this name because there used to be a mint here.  There is a street called Ginza, but the name refers to the area as a whole.   This area was the first part of Tokyo to have electricity, western-style buildings, and sidewalks. The reputation of the area is similar to Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue, top shopping with a snobbish aspect, like the Hermes store.  There is a huge Gap store, along with other US imports.  However, there are no American department stores here, like Macy's, Dillards or Nordstrom.  The Japanese can do very well for themselves in that area, and the first department stores in Japan were built, and still exist, in this area.



The main shopping street in the Ginza - looks like your average big city street.  But it is not.




Buddhist monk asking for alms.  I always wait to have a Japanese person approach first so I know what to do.  I waited and waited and not one person went up to him.  I felt bad for him.

 My goal was to get to the eight-story Itoya office supply store for the cool little plastic folders they have in different colors that I can't find stateside.  (I need to show these to Staples and see if they can make them, because I can't afford to come to Japan for office supplies!)

Harajuku

My next stop would be Omote-sando street in the Harajuku area.  This is where the Oriental Bazaar is, a place with the finest of souvenirs - even the Japanese shop there! My friend Suzzie, who does my nails, collects shot glasses - an interesting hobby for someone who doesn't drink!  I barter shot glasses from my travels for nail appointments.  We are both happy with this arrangement.  Despite all the drinking that goes on in Japan, I could not find shot glasses, but I did get her some sake cups, which are about the same size.  I also was looking for one nice piece of china for my sister to break for her art projects.  And, my mother has a mug collection.

Harajuku is also known for the teenagers who come down on the weekends and hang out wearing the most outlandish, Halloweenie, of Disney-esque outfits.  Since all Japanese students wear uniforms to school (the group), it seems that coming down to one area of town wearing wacky outfits shouldn't be a big deal.  Singer Gwen Steffani saw these kids and liked what she saw.  She now has a group of back-up singers known as the Harajuku Girls.

There is a darker side to all of this.  Even though the group mentality exists, teenagers will be teenagers, and cliques do form.  For many of the kids, coming to Harajuku is a way of finding a tribe to belong to.  They don't belong with any group at school, so they might as well find someone who is also on the outside looking in.

Not being a weekend, there were no kids to photograph, and some will pose for and with you!  Google Harajuku and you should get an idea.

Back to Hiro-o

This evening, I had planned on attending the Tokyo LDS temple, which I have been to numerous times before.  Surrounded by embassies, and with a beautiful park across the street, and Baskin & Robbins two blocks away, this is a nice neighborhood.

How much the LDS church paid for this peace of heaven, I have no clue - or when they did it.  The temple was built in the '70s.  I do know that ten years ago, the church paid a few MILLION  dollars for the small plot of land that would become home to the first LDS chapel in Yokohama.  Prior to this, we were commuting to Kawasaki, a city between Tokyo and Yokohama.

Across from the temple is a lovely park, with a name that is very long.  It starts with an A.  Surrounding the temple are various embassies, like Norway, Switzerland, and some building belonging to the People's Republic of China - it is right in back of the the temple.  I am not sure if it is the embassy, and with all the security cameras around this area, I wasn't about to take pictures of embassies.



This turtle and I had a staring contest!  I think he was waiting for me to drop some food.





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The Japanese take their green space seriously.

 The following are detail of the Tokyo LDS Temple.



Angel Moroni towering over the park.



Tokyo?  I can only make out the top word.





I have no idea what this says.  It is in the temple garden.