One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 8 – Man Flying Kite with Fishing Rod

YOKOHAMA DAY!

We decided to take a day off…well….after doing a little work in the morning….and went down to Yokohama!

I love to visit Yokohama because of the large open spaces and general relaxing atmosphere.  Before getting some lunch, we decided to walk through a park and enjoy the scenery, when we noticed something truly unusual….. a group of older men gathered around one person and looking up at the sky. Naturally, we had to investigate.  Looking up at the sky, we saw a kite, nothing unusual about that….. but when we looked at the person everyone was gathering around, we noticed they weren’t holding a normal kite handle but a fishing rod instead.  Seem that the men were bored of finishing and decided to attach a kite to one of the rods.

I wasn’t able to snap a picture, so here’s a terrible 10 second sketch instead:

While this is certainly NOT the strangest thing I’ve seen in Japan, it’s up there!

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 7 – Apple Ginger Drink

Keeping with the Ginger Drinks, like my Wilkinson’s from the other day, I found this fantastic ginger-apple drink from Afternoon Tea.  Apparently they boil apple juice with cloves, fresh ginger and a touch of lemongrass.

When it’s all done, they serve it with fresh slices of apple and ginger floating in the cup and a fresh ginger stick to stir it with.

How-to Project – Very Simple Handbag From Slacks

I had a pair of lovely slacks that sadly got some bleach stains at the top, so I decided to create things with them.

The first thing is a small messenger-style bag that I can use for casual and more dressy occasions.  The crease down the middle gives it a more structured look while the lace ribbon gives it a more feminine touch.

1 – Decided how long/deep you would like the bag and cut across one of the pant legs.  If the bottom has a cuff, cut that off as well and set it aside.

2 – Turn it inside out so the seams are showing and set it aside.

3 – Now you can prepare the handles.  For short handles, use the cuff by snipping through the loop once.  For longer handles, you can either use a long strip of fabric from the pants or any other fabric that you think will match.  fold it over lengthwise and sew along one side, making a tube.  Turn it inside out and set aside.

4 – With the main fabric, sew along the bottom as well as a diagonal on both sides. Turn it inside out.  Fold the top edge in and sew all around to give it a more finished look.  If the stitching is a little crooked, don’t worry!  That’s what the ribbon can hide.  * If you would like to add decorative lining, sew a tube from that fabric and attach it to the bag in this step, before sewing along the bottom.  Rememeber to keep the fabric pattern facing outward when sewing it to the bag, so when you turn it inside out, you can still see the pretty pattern.

5 – Now take the fabric for the handles and put one end inside the bag (at least 3cm) and sew it to the side. Repeat the step for the other side.

* Sew the ribbon to the top along the seam……. and you’re done.

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 6 – Wilkinson’s Ginger Ale

Wilkinson’s Ginger Ale = Yum.

This ginger ale has two type and my favorite is the full ginger flavored one like the photo below.  To purchase this brand in a cafe or bar, it’s at least ¥500 ($6.00 USD) for one small glass. I found it in a shop near home for ¥89 ($1.08 USD)!!!  yay!

Oh so delicious

Beautiful bottle design

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 5 – Furoshiki Handbag

A surprise in the mail!

I received a beautiful gift in the mail from a couple of friends as a late Christmas gift -we were all supposed to get together around Christmas time, but first my boyfriend got sick, followed by me (-_-;) After that, all of us got busy as usual, so we decided to at least mail eachother’s gifts.

Since my friends know me so well…… the sent me a beautiful furoshiki handbag with removable handles.

I absolutely LOVE IT!

Gorgeous furoshiki handbag with detachable handle

Lovely Red Handle

The other side of the handle is a pretty yellow

Handle

What’s Engirsh? How about Japanglish?

Surely, many of you have heard or seen Engrish first-hand. It’s basically the incorrect or confusing English found in many countries….but mostly in Asia and more specifically Japan….which is also where “Japanglish” comes from. I’m not trying to put the Japanese people down about this, but being an English teacher in Tokyo, it certainly makes me feel like I’m fighting a losing battle here.

Everywhere I go, there are prime examples of English gone wrong…. but no one seems to really mind, as long as there is some kind of English included, it’s “cool” *(>_< )*

I’ve shown examples of some Engrish that I came across in this previous post….. and here are some more!

Mostly Spelling Mistakes:

(>_<)

(>_<)

Sometimes I’m not sure why it was approved…

Drink this if you have Zero Style

Jesus Body?!?!?!?

(>_<)

It’s impossible to go a day in Tokyo without Japanglish!

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 4 – “Our” Little Birds

Today I have two little unexpected visitors. My current place is about 25 floors up, which has a lovely view of a river and the city, but it is a shame not being able to see animals….. but today, two cute little birds landed on the balcony railing. I managed to snap a couple of quick shots before they flew away. Seems like I’ve been in Tokyo too long since this was unbelievably exciting for me!

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 3 – CSI Vegas

What made me happy today?

I finally got a chance to sit back, relax and enjoy the newest CSI (Vegas). It’s still my favorite show….though I really wish William Petersen’s character would come back into the series -it certainly doesn’t have the same charm as it did.

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 2 – Leaf Craft *Gift*

I have fairly recently decided to get out and enjoy the stunning weather every afternoon as a quick break from work to refresh my mind and body. Sometimes my boyfriend is able to tear himself away from work and join me, so today, we decided to grab some bento and have a relaxing lunch at the park.

While trying to feed the little birds and avoid the greedy seagulls, a random older man quietly came up to me and handed me what I thought was a real grasshopper on a leaf (which is odd, but okay…), but it actually turned out to be a grasshopper he had made by hand.

I was so surprised and thankful that I wished I had something to give back. He was just happy to give it to me and explained that I should put it in water to keep it healthy, then just went back to the bench he was sitting at.

Before leaving, I decided to at least make a little something for him, so I grabbed a candy wrapper I had, made an origami crane and gave it to him with a caramel candy I had with me (photo is an example of what I made).

He was quite happy and shyly thanked us for the candy.
We exchanged bows and thanked the man for the beautiful gift and went on our way.

What a lovely random encounter! Can’t wait to see what else is in store!

One Good Thing A Day – Project Day 1 – Thank You Love!

My project is off to a great start! *^_^*

This morning I woke up to find this shiny new blog design waiting for me! My wonderful boyfriend decided to surprise me by getting this lovely theme with my favorite colour, transfered everything from the old site and organised it neatly so I can get back into the swing of things.

Great way to start the day and I have this man to thank:

Thank you Love!