March mini...

I finished this little mini from extra 1.5 inch logs from Kaela's baby girl log cabin quilt.  The borders are... log cabin variation.  This could be a doll quilt or hung on the nursery wall!

And that's the only photo I have!  I was FaceTiming with Kaela as I added a few more lines of stitching, and I packaged it up with the baby quilt, etc. while we were still talking.  The best kind of distraction!  Will link up with Wendy when she posts our minis on her blog The Constant Quilter.  Thanks Wendy for inspiring us all;).

The governor of Tokyo has asked everyone to stay indoors Saturday and Sunday.  Naturally this request sent people into panic buying mode.

We have plenty of food in the apartment.  Planning for a quiet weekend truly staying inside the apartment the whole time.  Ohhhhhh you can bet I miss my past houses with their yards and trees all around.

On the topic of stress relief, taking home baths in Japan is so nice.  The whole shower/bath room functions like one big shower, with a bathtub to the side. 

The tub fills automatically with the press of a button, either from near the bathtub, or, naturally, from the kitchen (!).

The bath fills on its own and then maintains the temperature for four hours.  When the water is ready, we hear a little announcement and classical tune.

You either shower next to the tub or sit on a low stool and use water from the spigot (and from the tub), to get completely clean.  There's a low shelf for soap, shampoo etc.

Typical items for bathing and rinsing before getting into the tub:

So, the bath water is just for soaking and considered clean enough for family members to share the same bath water, in turns.  I know that sounds weird, but here it's normal!

These bath salts are very popular.  The colors are kind of wild, ha ha.  I read that you are supposed to soak for 20 minutes.

Sometimes I add a scoop of epsom salts too:

Honestly this seems so trivial, in light of COVID-19 and all the stress around that. We are bracing for a longer social-isolation/shelter-in-place period, but nothing like that has been announced yet.

xo
Cynthia

Baby girl log cabin finished! and coping

Cherry blossoms are out, so David and I walked to "our" park,  Hinokicho-koen, Saturday in the sunshine, and Sunday in the shade.   Perfect place to photograph baby girl's quilt.

We stuck to the periphery of the park away from the crowds - the hanami parties (cherry blossom viewing parties - with picnics, tents, drinking, food, etc.).  Aren't we still supposed to be social distancing in Japan?  Mmm. 

I didn't care about the directionality of the doggies in this quilt;). 

Simplest possible quilting:

Sending it on to Kaela and Joe in Austin soon.  Can't wait to label it in July, when I can include baby girl's name and "with love from Gramma."  The PLAN and HOPE is that I will visit shortly after she's born in late June.

Sunday morning we had a good leisurely casual "get together" with all our kids on Facetime.  Kaela and Joe in Austin, Noelle and Keenan in NC, Tommy in UT in off campus housing.  Tommy reassured us by showing us ALL the contents of his fridge, cupboards, etc. and made us laugh, sort of, sort of nervously I guess. 

Love my kids so much and want them all to stay safe, smart, healthy!  Ditto our parents in CO, aunts and uncles in VA, UT, CO, OH, Ireland!  Siblings in NC, TN, UT.  Friends in MA, NH, and all over.  Everyone!  It's such an anxious time for everyone.  In the wee hours, my mind races and takes worry to extremes. 

How are you coping?  Are you social distancing?  On full lockdown?  Are you OK?

For me, having a routine and rhythm to the day is helpful, especially when activities were curtailed and David started working from home most days, a few weeks ago.  It was an adjustment.

1.  A consistent at-the-kitchen-table morning routine (to- do list, scripture, neck/back stretches,  breakfast, genealogy work).  A little reaching out - Facetime, texting, emails, calls, notes. 

What else helps me cope?

2.  Audible books, podcasts, Spotify (Happy Folk is a great playlist - I dare you to listen to Mumford & Sons' song Fool You've Landed, sitting down and sad!  You can't!) 

4.  A little fresh air outdoors. 

5.  Quilting... obviously, but not necessarily.  So distracted...

6.  Popcorn and TV with David in the evenings (yes lately that has included watching and processing some news)

7.  And finally, to end the day, nothing beats Japanese bath culture.  I will talk about that in another post!

Sincerely hope all of you are coping well in your circumstances... whether or not that includes quilting projects.  I don't think anyone should feel pressure to be super productive during this stressful time or meet imaginary expectations!

xo
Cynthia

p.s. if you need three minutes of random DELIGHTFULNESS right now, look up "Stella's best leaf jumps of all time" on Youtube and watch til the end.  You're welcome.  I'm not sure where Stella lives but I'm thinking it has to be Massachusetts! 

Progress on baby girl log cabin, and Coronavirus mood

I'm quilting baby girl's log cabin very very simply, with vertical lines, will add a few horizontal lines too.

So, here in Tokyo, the parks are still filled with families and kids, Shake Shack was about half full (instead of totally full) when I met David there for an early dinner yesterday, we are avoiding the trains and any large gatherings (many things are being canceled, and all schools have been closed), and David is working from home!   It's an adjustment!  Headphones and projects, for both of us.

So here's David's (glamorous) set up in Tommy's room when he's not in the living room with me (like if he has a conference call):

And here's mine (at the window, so slightly more glamorous, although this was at night):

  

A few other random pics from the week --

Hand sanitizer in restaurants, bakery, grocery store - really appreciated:

DELICIOUS offering at Shake Shack - cherry milkshake, yum:

Chopped up five candy bars (bittersweet, and milk) to make oatmeal cookie bars to share: 

Edited to add the recipe I used:   https://nantorecipes.blogspot.com/2018/05/chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies-king.html.

But THESE healthier versions are what I made all the time the last time we lived here:
https://nantorecipes.blogspot.com/2020/03/tokyo-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-bars.html

I keep that recipe blog just as a resource for my kids, and periodically I add to it.

Met a nice little fella named "Cha Cha" while waiting for the light to turn green.

Noticed that a few people have recently moved out of our apartment building (tell-tale sign is the lack of curtains).  Mmmmm.... coronavirus related?

I pay our monthly utility bills at the convenience store which is just steps from our building.  You bring your bills, and pay in cash.

Pretty empty:

They hand stamp your bill "paid":

This  Coronavirus notice was posted in our elevator.  We did our best with Google Translate.

Basically, it's saying stay home if you are sick.  If you have a fever for MORE than four days, get it checked out.  Wash hands thoroughly, etc.

The mood here is... avoid crowds, stay home if you are sick, actually stay home in general, mostly.  And, wash hands.  Unfortunately public places have cold water only in the sinks, and often no soap (!).  And coughing into a tissue (or even elbows) is something that hasn't quite caught on here.  So, ya, we are avoiding the trains for now.  If a train isn't crowded, you can manage to navigate on and off trains and through stations without touching anything.  But for now, we are being homebodies and just walking places.
Anyway, I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd see a sashiko-themed mask on IG!

xo
Cynthia

California baby quilt and quilter hysterics

David has an extended family "cousin" Christmas exchange, and this year, he drew his California cousin who just had a baby girl.

 I already had the blocks pieced and squared up using Sujata Shah's free form method from her excellent book Cultural Fusion Quilts.  So it was quick work to piece the top.

However....

I don't have pretty detail photos to show at this point - I have deleted them - because - in all my cleverness I appliqued the wrong name onto the front of the quilt - doh! Baby's name is Amina but I appliqued big sister's name Emony.   On the way to the post office with my son driving, I realized my mistake and quilter hysterics ensued!

There really wasn't a pretty way to remove these letters.....

So, time to create a patch in the form of a big hippie flower... this aqua print is from Japan and it is a scrap from the backing fabric.

All in all it's A-OK.  A sturdy utility quilt which is how I like baby quilts, something that can take hard use and lots of washings.  It is now wrapped and packed up a second time... sigh! and hopefully the line at the post office won't be too long tomorrow afternoon!