Wednesdays

I always look forward to Wednesdays. This is the day that I meet my girlfriends for our weekly lunch & Starbucks date; followed by ikebana class and lots of chatting. Elodie has been pretty cooperative there too, probably because she gets to spend time with her boyfriend, Ethan. ;)

Ethan & Elodie at ikebana class

Kazumi Sensei correcting one of our arrangements

My arrangement this week: Shoka free-style

Preggo Partners & Nagoya Girls

Louise is due exactly 3 weeks before me. I'm just over 32 weeks in this picture, and she is 35 weeks. It's been so nice to compare stories and share concerns with a good friend. We are also going to the same doctor and delivering at the same clinic. We just moved into her building too, so it's great to have a close friend just upstairs. It's been wonderful to go through this pregnancy with a friend, and I'm sure it'll be just as helpful when the babies are here!

My Nagoya girl friends! We do weekly ikebana class, as well as lunch and numerous outings. Pictured from left to right: Sara from Kentucky, Louise from Scotland, and Anna from Seattle. Unfortunately Mio and Penny aren't in this photo, I'll have to take another one soon. I adore these girls and don't know how I would survive without them! :) This past week we've tried a Vietnamese restaurant, which had delicious fresh food; and an organic vegetarian buffet downtown, which also had quite a variety of fresh & healthy foods.

Ikebana this week: shoka free style. This type of arrangement uses 3 different flowers, all in a single file line.

April & May Ikebana

freestyle - the colors reminded me of Christmas :)

traditional shoka (stems are in a straight vertical line)

freestyle

another picture of freestyle - LOVED this piece!

Week off!

I don't have to work this week, and it's been great to have my life back! I didn't realize how much I've been missing out on with friends and social events. I decided to quit my job, so I am officially done working at the end of this month... and I can't wait! I'm counting down the days until I'm done - March 25th! :) Don't get me wrong, teaching in Japan has been an incredible experience. I've learned a lot, explored new areas, met new people, made some extra money, and really enjoyed the kiddos. But I'm ready to move on and get back into a regular routine at home. Our house has been a disaster, especially since Joe is in grad school now. He doesn't have much time to help out, so most of the responsibilities are falling on me right now. It doesn't help that since we live downtown I have to go to about 5 different grocery stores each week to get what we need... and with no car, it can be difficult and time consuming. It's overwhelming to try to work and keep up with everyday life in Japan. So I've made the decision, and I can't wait!

This week I was able to go back to the Meet & Greet, a gathering of foreign women at a local American restaurant once a month. It was nice to catch up with friends, see people I haven't seen in a long time, and meet new people. I'm looking forward to adding this back into my life next month.

I was also able to go back to Ikebana class! I didn't realize how much I miss this! I go with a group of girls that I've become really close with, and I miss having the opportunity to see them regularly. This is another activity that I'm looking forward to adding back into my life. This week I did freestyle, here is a pic of my final product.

This is what I recreated after bringing my flowers home. It actually looked much cuter in class because I had a different shape of vase. I love the pink gerber daisies.

My other big news is that I booked my flight home for the summer! I'll be arriving in Michigan on May 27th and leaving on July 15th. However, during that time I will also be traveling to Savannah with my family to visit Michael, going to Tucson to see the von Scheliha family, and then to Seattle for Eric & Fran's wedding. It will be a crazy and hectic summer, but I can't wait to finally see everyone!

Summer Ikebana

Here are some pictures of my recent ikebana pieces from summer. Now that I'm teaching part-time, I can no longer attend ikebana class. Even though I love it and it's become a hobby of mine, I will have to make the sacrifice and give it up for a little while in order to teach. So these will be the last pictures of ikebana for a while!

Ikebana: May & June

Here are a few pictures of my recent ikebana arrangements from May and June.

This piece may not look like much... but it's by far the most difficult arrangement I've had to do. Only two different materials were used, and the rule to this style is that all materials must be in a straight line (see picture below). I believe it's called Shoka style.

All materials must be in a straight line facing the front to create ONE single line.

Again, this style used only 2 materials... and it had to be in a single file line facing the front. Very difficult! Apparently these materials are only available during the summer, so my teacher made us try this style a few weeks in a row. It's not my favorite, but neat to learn.

This is the same style (Shoka style) with a single-file line - but uses only one material.

Shoka free-style.

Free-style!

Recent Ikebana

Here are a few pictures of my recent Ikebana pieces. They are all "freestyle." They key component of this style is: movement! You start by picking a main centerpiece, which is usually your favorite piece out of all the materials. Then you use the remaining materials to create "movement."

My sensei (teacher) taught me how to tape a wire on the back of the leaves to create movement. After attaching the wire, you can bend the leaves any direction or shape that you want. I choose to do wavy! The big dark pink flower is my "main," and the red and white flowers in front are "busy flowers."

For this piece, my sensei taught me how to insert a wire into the the long & skinny stems in order to bend them.... this creates "movement." The calla-lily is the "main," and the small flowers in front are the "busy flowers."

For this piece, my sensei taught me how to shape the leaves to create "movement." To do this, you just run the leaves through your fingers - gently bending it in the direction you want it to go several times (before doing this, they were completely straight).

Ikebana Weeks 2 & 3

I am loving my Ikebana class! I get to learn Japanese flower arranging, while meeting and socializing with other foreigner wives. Plus, I get to bring the arrangement home - so I have something pretty to put on our table each week! It's overall a great experience. :)

Week 2 - Moribana style

Week 3 - freestyle!

Ikebana

I had my first Ikebana class yesterday! Ikebana is the art of Japanese flower arranging. I learned that Japanese flower arranging is very different from European or Western flower arranging. Ikebana emphasizes the stems and leaves of plants to make up a shape or line. There are many different Ikebana styles, ranging from simple to very complex, but each style has specific rules for creating the form based on a triangle of three points. Another important difference of Ikebana is minimalism - Japanese flower arranging consists of a minimal number of blooms, interspersed among stems and leaves. Therefore, very few materials are used to create the arrangement. The shape, angles, and space between stems is important. I had a lot of fun and learned quite a bit! I am going to continue to take the class weekly with a friend. And the best part is that I get to take the flower arrangement home with me each week - so I will always have a pretty center piece for the table. :)

My first arrangement! It's the simplest style of Ikebana, called Moribana.

Mio's flower arrangement. She has been taking the class for a while and is now at the free-style stage. So she has the opportunity to create anything she wants.