October 5th

Sister Watabe and I went to an Indian restaurant for curry and non (bread). Here is the way that the bread is made.

It is thrown against the side of this pot until it is done - here is the finished product - delicious!

Again, not turned but you can see all the hats that are in for fall!

We went with Brother Yamashita again to the wholesale district. We got to go in to the kimono shop again (and I bought more things)!

This is the kimono that was in the window - beautiful embroidered cranes on it.

Halloween is coming - at least to the gaijin (foreigner) population around here. A couple of the Japanese sisters in the church say that this will be their first experience with "trunk or treating" for the Primary activity.

National Azabu is the store that caters to us gaijins. Here are the pumpkins (if you can afford one)!

Want to pay nearly $15 for a sack of candy?

Some masks and costumes -

This is the way some of the women got to the church today for our Relief Society day at the temple and then lunch afterwards!

From our walks ... you never know what will be around the next corner!

Oops! Warning!

Someone's pet turtle right out on the sidewalk in a tub of water.

A full service gas station - this was a grand opening and they were really trying to get the cars to come in by motioning and yelling.

Notice the nozzles that come down from above to fill up the tanks.

And this is so strange - the police car can have his red lights on but no one pulls over or stops!

Another store ready for Halloween.

Men at work - they are so diligent about not causing inconvenience that they fill everything in at night and then reopen the hole to work on it the next day!

And Paige - here is the way babies are carried here. I guess they used to be carried on the back but now these front pouches are what you see.

Can you tell I am thinking of our new grandson to be born next month?

And here are the Wee Wee Wigwams that I made for the little guy. (You can figure out what you do with them). They are also called Pee Pee Teepees!

I got carried away. A lady in the ward is having twin boys so I will give some to her. They were fun to make!

Dad got a very nice thank you note from a sister missionary this week. She wrote in her very best handwriting in English. He appreciated it - only a sister would do that. Can't expect a note from the elders, I guess!

Here is what it said - grammar and spelling are as she had it. And she had drawn a cute picture of a girl with an arrow that said "my face".

Dearest Elder Gibson,

Hello! How are you? I'm great. I'm working on Asahikawa (a city) with American companion. One of investigators is getting baptism on 15th this month. That is same as my baptismal day! That is one of the happiest events of my mission life! Thank you for your help and cheer me every time. I'm very very appreciate your kindness. I want to meet you someday. I hope you recive many blessings. Love, Sister ----

October 4th

It was our turn to give the Family Home Evening lesson to the senior missionaries. Dad first had me read the story of the Ants and the Grasshopper. He then had the missionaries rewrite the story from the Grasshopper's point of view. Then I read my poem that I had written on that subject and some of the missionaries read their stories. Then Dad talked about the various points of view of the ants and the grasshoppers in various other pieces of literature and in the scriptures. He told about working with a woman in the Church who felt like she was a Grasshopper among Ants in regards to the other women in the Relief Society. We had a great discussion about balance in life and how all kinds of people are needed for their various gifts. He did an excellent job and I think everyone enjoyed it. I gave each one one of these dishcloths that I have been knitting in my tv watching time. I told them they were made by Ants.

We ended up by eating Grasshopper pie!

The Grasshopper and the Ants
　
In a field one summer's day a grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. A group of ants walked by, grunting as they struggled to carry plump kernels of corn.
"Where are you going with those heavy things?" asked the grasshopper.
Without stopping, the first ant replied, "To our ant hill. This is the third kernel I've delivered today."
"Why not come and sing with me," teased the grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"
"We are helping to store food for the winter," said the ant, "and think you should do the same."
"Winter is far away and it is a glorious day to play," sang the grasshopper.
But the ants went on their way and continued their hard work.
The weather soon turned cold. All the food lying in the field was covered with a thick white blanket of snow that even the grasshopper could not dig through. Soon the grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.
He staggered to the ants' hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the summer. He begged them for something to eat.
"What!" cried the ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store any food," complained the grasshopper; "I was so busy playing music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The ants shook their heads in disgust, turned their backs on the grasshopper and went on with their work.
　
Don't forget -- there is a time for work and a time for play!

Fable by Aesop

The Grasshopper’s Point of View

Old Aesop told us fables with a moral in the tale,
He always left a message in the stories he’d regale.
In one, he made a hero of a little bitty ant,
But after hearing this retort, Old Aesop may recant!
Why should the little ant be praised for working all the day,
While the grasshopper’s the villain who doesn’t get his say.
Let’s listen to his reasoning, let’s hear the other side
It’s the grasshopper’s turn to maybe, really turn the tide.
The summer days are long and hot with food for one and all,
The rain comes down to fill the pond and make the grass grow tall.
I sing and dance and play my songs all day until the night,
The ant enjoys my music and whistles with the tune,
It makes the time seem shorter in the long hot days of June.
And in July, I hop and jump and entertain all day,
My antics seem to bring some joy to all who come my way.
In August, still I leap and dance and wile away the time,
The summer seems to never end and everything’s sublime.
Then comes September and I know my days are soon to end,
Though food is scarce and it is cold, the ant will be my friend!
I’ve filled his days with happiness and brought him lots of cheer,
I’m sure he’ll share his bounty now that wintertime is near.
I’m sure he’ll gladly pay me back for all the joy I’ve brought,
All summer long, I entertained and not a penny sought.
But when I ask for food and warmth, he shuts the door on me,
It seems my songs were worthless though they eased his drudgery.
The ant claims that I was lazy and didn’t plan and work,
And he says he won’t reward me when all I did was shirk.
So I guess an entertainer should ask for pay up front,
He should expect some sort of pay for every song and stunt.
But I’m glad my life was carefree and free from pain and strife,
The ant enjoyed my gifts but was selfish throughout his life.
In the end, it mattered not that the ant had planned ahead,
For when the snow and ice arrived, both of us turned up dead!

MORAL – Don’t be an ant OR a grasshopper!
Poem by Grandma

October 1st

Somebody loves us enough to give us a "Heart Attack"! This is what we found on our door yesterday. (I think it was the sister missionaries but it could have been some of the Young Women or Primary Activity Day girls).

This is Brother Yamashita, Momiko's dad. He was kind enough to meet us at a wholesale store specializing in kimonos, yukatas and all the accessories. He had found a great deal on end of summer yukatas. Daughters and daughter-in-laws are in luck!

Rulon paying for it all. This fellow with him was our personal shopping assistant and wow, was he diligent! He treated us like we were celebrities.

Too lazy to turn this one but you can see how carefully everything was wrapped. They just kneeled on the floor to wrap or to show various fabrics. Of course, we removed our shoes at the door so the floor was very clean.

Here is the window display. They had everything imaginable there including a kimono that the salesman told us cost more than a Lexus! (Of course, he told us that the price could be negotiated!)

And here we are going to the Fabric District to choose material to make some quilts. Sister Carruth, the RS President, took some of us sister missionaries there.

It was a rainy day but we had a wonderful time together.

Contrast - that is the norm here!

This is Kim from Korea who went with us oldsters. She is darling and ended up carrying our packages and patiently waiting for us as we shopped. I think she just wanted to get out and see another part of Tokyo since she recently moved here.

Sister Thompson and Sister Pinckney - temple missionaries - in heaven!

Sister Vannalee Carruth who led us to the fabric street.

We found a shop that sold used kimonos and the two temple sisters each bought one.

Kim was always the photographer! And here is Sister Sonntag who brought her "friendship" kimono quilt for us to see. 16 different people had made 16 blocks each and traded so that they could make a quilt. It was fantastic and we wanted to look at the fabrics they used.

The whole quilt. Don't know if we will do the friendship block thing but we got fabric to make some blocks for ourselves.

This was my lucky week! This is Karine Havard and Aimie who took me to another fabric shop! Karine was my visiting teacher until this month but she made the effor to take me on this outing anyway.

Here is where we went.

And the name of the shop so I won't forget.

Bishop Ohata and Gibsons - what a wonder man - he comes to dinner before the temple each Friday night.

And Risa (Lisa) - what a doll!

Here is the Bishop clowning around with "The Scream" mask that the Robertsons bequeathed to Rulon when they left.

And Risa "screaming"!

Another wonderful week. These are just some of the experiences we had. I will have to make another blog to describe those things!