Ground Zero

A big part of Mike's job is planning for pandemic influenza. We saw this yesterday and he was talking in his sleep last night. Everyone in Asia wears masks when they have a cold, I read that it started during the SARS epidemic.

The Japanese Hang

Japan has many seasons, one being Cherry Blossom and it's making an appearance. Mature, affluent women will tell you they like plum blossoms more because cherry blossoms are too showy. The close up photo is of a plum blossom. Today Mike and I did the true Japanese thing and went to Ueno Park to view cherry blossoms. The traditional way to do this is to lay out a blue tarp under a cherry tree, eat and get drunk on sake. We were non conformists and went to the National Museum which is on the Ueno Park grounds. Durning Sakura (cherry blossom) season they light red paper lanterns in Ueno Park from 5 until 8 PM.
We got to witness another Japanese tradition in the park today. On Sundays people dress up like Elvis and dance in public parks. Afterwards we had our Easter Dinner, sushi. It is against the law for women to be sushi chefs here, they say our hands are too warm to handle the fish while making the nigiri.

Freindship Through Flowers

That's the Ikebana International motto. Yesterday I went to an II luncheon in Kamakura, our appetizer was little tiny fish with eyes eaten whole. We saw demonstrations from the various Ikebana schools. The day before yesterday (ototoi) I went to a luncheon where the speaker was the vice mayor of Yokosuka, she is a physician as well and graduated from Toyko University "The Harvard of Japan". What did she speak about??? Bread! I understand her not wanted to get into tricky political waters and it was her first speech in English. Well, it was a very diplomatic decision and she brought bread for us to take home so she was a success.

Try This

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Kathleen Marra!

1. Kathleen Marra can be very poisonous if injected intravenously.
2. Half a cup of Kathleen Marra contains only seventeen calories.
3. Carnivorous animals will not eat another animal that has been hit by Kathleen Marra.
4. The Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter is made entirely of Kathleen Marra!
5. Scientists have discovered that Kathleen Marra can smell the presence of autism in children.
6. Kathleen Marraocracy is government by Kathleen Marra.
7. Bees visit over three million flowers to make a single kilogram of Kathleen Marra.
8. Owls cannot move their eyes, because their eyeballs are shaped like Kathleen Marra.
9. In the Great Seal of the United States the eagle grasps 13 arrows and Kathleen Marra!
10. Kathleen Marra will often rub up against people to lay her scent and mark her territory.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Life is What Happens While You're Making Other Plans

Yoko Ono has established a museum for John Lennon in Saitama, just past Tokyo. It is really a very well done museum with various rooms depicting different aspects of John's life. Mike and I spent two hours there recently. Yoko says John was just a pop star but once he met her he became an artist.