Flashback Friday

Gotta love baby pics from 5 years ago. 

I'll tell a story next week.  Right now I'm trying to deal with the huge lot of green tomatoes.

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Thank God Almighty!  The end of painting is in sight.  We can view the finish-line now.  As tomorrow begins a new month we are so happy to be getting it done right around when we hoped.  We have been hoping it wouldn't take too much more than a month and we are right on track.  This week will be our fifth week of painting.  And fingers crossed we should finish tonight... or tomorrow.  With our rainy weather we think this is a very good accomplishment.  

Our temps have been a regular roller coaster.  Last week we had chilly days with highs not even reaching 50° a couple of times.... Today it's supposed to be 80°.  In a couple of days the highs will be back in the 50's.  I'm wondering how long I have of this amazing garden.  We still have loads of ripening tomatoes.  

With the end in sight... and Dave having his weekends open to go hunting hopefully this antsy pup will get out there in the field and do what she's been waiting to do all year.  Run like the wind.  Tromp through tall grass.  Seek out those birds.  

At home her life has been sad.  She will not stop jumping our fence so now she can only be outside on a chain.  She isn't a fan.... be we aren't fans of her showing up on the front porch during dinner with a kind neighbor returning her.  Its out of hand.  

Hopefully I'll get to update you soon on the finishing of the paint.  

Having it completed will be HUGE for us!

Friday Flashback

This past week we happened to start talking about the remodeled housing in Misawa.   We knew it was going to be redone right after we moved out because they saved me a lot of cleaning when we moved out.  I was only required to clean the appliances.    

I asked Dave if he had seen the renovated kitchens in the 2 bedroom H style house we lived in for those four long years.  I remembered finding photos on facebook on a page that has photos of base housing on most bases .  It took me a few minutes to remember how to locate the facebook page, but then I showed Dave.  The change is drastic.  Everything I used to complain about has been changed.  Go figure!  But our experience wouldn't be the same if the kitchen has been wonderful.  I lived through streaky linty stainless counter-tops.... and hollow fake wood cabinets... and a washer and dryer in the kitchen (hence the lint).   I thought I would look back at the kitchen... since the kitchen is the heart of a home right?  

 This was the day we moved in.  The counters look clean eh?  I quickly learned they were terrible to keep streak free!  Did you notice how tall the upper cabinets were?  That's no optical illusion!  I could barely reach the bottom shelf.  

This pass thought counter got TONS of use!  You'll see sometime when I blog about the dining room.  Which was super small.  Anyhow. You can sort of see in this photo how HUGE the kitchen window was above the sink. 

 On the opposite side of te kitchen window was the washer and dryer.  I promptly had to take those doors down.  The dryer wouldn't open and the last drawer in the kitchen couldn't open either.  It was a good idea though because there was always dryer lint on the counters.   Now to the memories.....ahhh memories!

 This kitchen was well lived in.  You can see... I couldn't paint but the room was bright and cheery with lots of little homey touches.  Like those fake little plants on the window sill.... those fell in the dishwater one day though....

 Usually I like a clean neat countertop, but having my things on the counters made the room feel a lot less pink tile walls-ish.

And my little pig husband and wife kept me company while I did dishes.  I bought them from the Yen store and I loved them.  They've long been broken though. sad.

 Whether making Chicago style dogs on the fourth of July.

 Or baking Christmas cookies... it was always someplace that made me happy.  I really learned to cook in this kitchen.  In the past when I had worked outside of the home I did alot of convenience foods... or cheater meals.  

In this kitchen I learned my way around the kitchen.  

I learned how to cook and bake from scratch.  I learned how much I could add to our household's success by cooking well and planning meals.   I found out that I really enjoyed creating something delicious, and I discovered how great I felt when I knew I had impressed Dave and could obviously tell how much he appreciated a hearty delicious meal after a hard long day of work.  

 I learned how a cozy home felt.... watching out the window while I washed dishes.  Watching rains fall, or snow fly.  While I was warm inside.... with amazing smells filling the house.  

 It was just Dave and I, and we learned how to enjoy each others company.  Celebrating together the two of us became enough.  That was a tough thing since I grew up with big family gatherings for every holiday... women filled the kitchen busily preparing a meal.  I learned to appreciate this new feeling of just the two of us.  I learned to feel comfort with him by my side, instead of letting homesickness take over and ruin holidays and special days.

I'm not extra fat in this photo... I was 7 months pregnant.

 I learned that I am organized and efficient.  I put together a lot of holiday meals on my own.... and damn, if I told our guests dinner would be at 3, the table was set, food ready, and we were sitting down at 3!    But I also remember the first Christmas in Misawa when Sean and Sandy came to visit.  Having Sandy helping in the kitchen was so nice.  One of my favorite memories. 

 Getting ready for baby Nathan.  Dave and I worked together to put together two weeks worth of dinners!  We were so proud of ourselves.  

 Sanitizing baby bottles and nipples and pacifiers.  

 Giving Nate baths in the kitchen sink for the first four months. 

 These are my fondest memories.  Once Nathan was part of our family.  I just loved having this little guy underfoot.... or nearby while I worked

 This little chicken magnet kept him occupied many evenings while I prepared dinner.  

 In Misawa I really got comfortable making a holiday dinner.  That bird looks amazing eh?

Somewhere in the world of missing photos is a pic of me smiling big showing off my first cream pie... and many other memories I hope stay fresh.    What really happened there in that kitchen, was alot of learning and growing up and the wonderful memories we made as our family went from two to three members.  It was such a fun time for us.

Some Days

It's really great.  

Learning to adapt the curriculum to keep Nate from being bored is something I'm getting the hang of.  

Out Back

 After a long day of painting yesterday we decided today was meant to rest up and relax and the forecast agrees.  So this morning with no real hurry we walked around the house taking in our progress... running through our mental to do lists.  Then we came to the garden.  Since we have a timer set soaker hose out there now I don't have to go out every morning.   But this morning I could take my time.

This first real try garden has surpassed our expectations on a mega scale.  To see just how much  4 x 8 foot garden can produce just blows my mind!  And we have literally made huge mistakes that have limited the success.   Still. Look at this bursting garden!  And remember I have 14 cups of tomato sauce and 13 cups of salsa in the freezer!  I have shredded zucchinis frozen also.... and I have six jars of refrigerator pickles in the fridge.  Dave's sinuses have never been so clear.  Our jalapeno plants are a grand success and Dave has taken it upon himself to be sure no pepper goes to waste.  

 On this first day of fall we still have new things happening.  New cucumber blossoms....

 Some new lettuce...

And the tomato plants are still getting new flowers!

 My huge tomato plants.... the plants I started from seed in my kitchen window late March.  The plants I cried over because of the strong wind storms the week after I had planted them in the garden.  Here they are thriving still!

 Between the new blossoms and the many many green tomatoes still on the vines I believe I will get lots more.  Hopefully the weather holds out. 

Today I picked another colander of tomatoes, and harvested my basil.  I have chopped up the basil and frozen them in Tbls with olive oil or chicken broth in an ice cube tray.  This organic basil will season our soups and sauces all winter long! 

 The strawberry plants have obviously been happy. I cannot wait until next year to get some strawberries right in my own back yard!

Today we decided to pick our carrots.  We wanted to plant a crop of fall peas.... and I wanted to make some carrot soup and freeze it.  

 Bonnie likes hanging around with us when we are in the garden, but for the first time she was REALLY interested.  Once we pulled the carrots out she kept sticking her nose IN the holes left by the carrots.  She is a big fan of carrots, but I wasn't sure what she was sniffing for.  

 Gardening has really been a fun experience for our entire family!  And it isn't over!  We have put in some more lettuce and spinach hoping to have another month or so of fresh produce from out back.  Last year our neighbor was still getting spinach in December.  We will see!

For the rest of the day I'll be working on that soup..... Maybe making some more tomato sauce.  Watching football.  Enjoying these simple things for sure!

Flashback Friday

I have kept a blog for a long time.  Going on seven years... with a small break in there a few years ago.  I started on one blog that shut down, but luckily they made the move easy.... So I went to another blog site and it turned into a Filipino version of amazon(??)  at-least that's what the email said when they finally gave me the chance to export my posts to this here McMath Moments...  The only snag is that most of, if not all of the photos didn't travel well.  I have spent hours trying to remember which photos were in each of the old posts... but it takes FOREVER so I thought I would try highlighting great memories instead.  I know throwback Thursdays are popular but whatever.. I have more time on Fridays.

Given that our flashbacks can only go back to 2005 since that is when we first bought a digital camera lets start there!  

 The other day a truck drove down my street with moving crates.  I don't know the neighbors that were loading or unloading(I couldn't tell) but it definitely took me back!  To this sunny warm January day when a bunch of seriously used moving crates showed up to load our stuff into boxes.... to be put on a boat.... to be sent to Japan.  

 The last of our stuff went on a different truck to a storage unit in Michigan.  We were leaving the valley of the sun behind.... didn't even want to store our crap there.  

We lived out of bags for over a month! 

 I took this photo while we were waiting for our housing inspection.  Like turn in the keys you're done here.  We literally got in the car and drove away right after this photo was taken.  

 Then there was actually getting to Japan.  A month after we left Phoenix, we left our car and our dog in Michigan and boarded a plane to Seattle.  We stayed the night, and I can remember not eating that night because I was so terrified of my first overseas flight... and scared shitless of living in a foreign place for four years.   The next day we were at the airport bright and early for our flight... no doubt I took ten Imodium tablets..... then our flight was delayed.  For seven hours!  The plane chartered by the military was stuck in LA, we thought due to the rain and mudslides and terrible weather.  After hanging around ALL day I wasn't terrified to get on the plane anymore, I was just damn ready to get going.  

I remember the startling number of families boarding the big 747.  I remember that the kids looked way calmer than I felt.  I saw a young mom give her infant and toddler each tablets of something(I'm assuming to sleep(people don't do that anymore eh))  I remember Dave and I had an extra seat, so we curled up together and passed out from the exhaustion that is PCSing, and from all of those sleepless nights of worry that led up to this huge life event.  I remember thinking nothing had ever smelled as good as the dinner they served, since I probably hadn't choked down a real meal in weeks.  After sleeping for six or seven hours solid (which I've never done on a plane since) we woke up to eat and I just remember everyone was so tired it was completely silent on that plane full of young military brats.  How it was I still can't understand, maybe all of the kids had been drugged.  

Our scheduled stop in Yakota AB near Tokyo was exciting.  I got my first glimpse of Japan..... in the pitch black. boo  We all went through customs... which was a joke considering it was done by military for military... so we were all... you know.. "in".  Then while the Yokota people left, us Misawa people got ready to get back on-board to head north.  Then there was an announcement.  The mechanical problem that had held the plane up in LA was still an issue, so we would be staying the night in Yokota so they could try to repair the aircraft again.  This woke my ass up!  We had taken a big huge jet with mechanical problems over the ocean?!  I was alarmed, relieved, scared.    

In the daze that was jet lag/ middle of the night/ strange country... all I remember is helping a woman traveling with a baby while they handed out box lunches and bused us to lodging.  I remember the huge line that took forever. By the time we got our room and walked to the building were we were assigned I was exhausted again and I remember the odd fire extinguishers in the hallway being my first weird thing about Japan so far.  I slept hard.  

In the morning I woke up excited!  We were in Japan! I took this photo from our room of the little manicured shrubs.   It was my first view of Japan!  We had to wait much longer for our flight to Misawa that day and it was torture.  They kept telling us we might not be able to go because the flight-line might shut down in Misawa.  Finally we were given another boxed lunch and boarded the plane again.  It was an hour long flight and it felt like we spent half of that time circling..... a bumpy uncomfortable few trips circling around.  Which made the girl in front of me loose her boxed lunch upon landing.... Guess how quickly vomit travels at those speeds and at those angles....I moved my carry-on just in time....anywho.  We finally landed at our new base.  Someone came on-board and spoke for ten minutes about watching our step on the slippery stairs as the poor girl continued to heave.  I was seconds away from freaking out and plowing my way down the isle to escape.  

After finding our bags... which were all we had now that we had technically been homeless for over a month, our ride, terrible ambassadors from Dave's work, took us on a head spinning tour of the base and of the nearby offbase area.  I literally felt dizzy and confused.  It was night, it was snowy, and I was terrified.  

We checked into lodging and crashed.... jet lag again took us right out. Our room had a little living room and Dave crashed in a chair while I passed out sitting up on the sofa. Then our first earthquake woke me up.  No shit. I thought I was dreaming. I was talking to Dave who was still asleep, but mumbling responses.  I stood in the doorway. Felt a little queasy.  Then when it was over I went and fell asleep again.  The next day we heard it was actually a good size earthquake. Nearly a 6! 

It took us a week of living in lodging to get an onbase house.  Our stuff had already arrived, we were very lucky!  We walked to and from the lemon lot a few times looking for a car to buy... so we wouldn't have to hoof it in the snow!  After a week we had an ugly Toyota 4-runner and keys to a quadplex apartment.  Finally we were ready to move in.

 It didn't start blizzard snowing until they had all of our things out of the crates.  Considering we had packed our thing on a warm sunny day in the desert... and here we were moving into a snowy foreign country the change was huge!

  

This girl that was unpacking unknowing on March 5th, 2005 had no clue what was about to happen.  The culture shock, the homesickness, the anxiety, the delight, the unforgettable.  The beginning of those four years started with a lot of hatred.  Towards the situation.  Towards to location. Towards the guy that took her there.  But in the end, when it was over, this girl realized some of the most amazing things happened to her during that time.  Learning to cling to that guy when things were hard.  Learning to enjoy the quiet.  Living in peace.  Simple joys.   Grand adventures.   

Maybe that is why I feel compelled to start these flashbacks.  Because these memories are starting to fade.  These incredible things happened, yet they already feel so distant I have a hard time believing they were real.  I love that nowadays I regularly blog about the small stuff.... the day the hamster cage arrived, progress in the garden, an occasional spot free faucet photo.  This blog has locked those things in for me.... and ultimately for Nate.  Those everyday memories I wish I had earlier in Nate's life and in the beginning of our marriage.    

So thanks for humoring these silly memories... and the flashbacks I share in the future.  Or... just don't check in on Fridays. 

The Big Reveal

I am finally going to share photos of our house since the front has been painted.  

please also notice the overgrown mess in the front under the window....

This was the front of our home last July the week we moved in.  

This is after being painted. 

porch then. 

The porch

 I just love coming home now!  Next year I wont have the vegetable plants in the front yard.  I had bought replacement plants when I thought the tomatoes were going to die....then they lived and I had extra plants I couldn't bear to throw away. 

Honestly the difference is intense.  It doesn't look like the same place!  Our neighbors have had lots of nice comments and encouraging words.  Although some of their friends and family have heard about the change and wonder how they will find our street now without the Bahama blue house on the corner.... it was a navigational marker for many....'turn left at the bright blue house'  They will have to figure something else out... I love the neutral calming feeling of this new paint!

Three sides are now painted.  The back is next.  Then Dave will paint the trim on the east and west sides and the back.... We are hoping to be done by October... FINGERS CROSSED!