Ukrainian Christmas

Happy Ukrainian Christmas!!  Okay, so I'm only 17 days late.  Ukrainian Christmas falls on January 7th.  It used to happen on December 25th, but when the switch was made to the Gregorian calendar, the orthodox religions in Ukraine continued to follow the Julian calendar, which put Christmas two weeks later for us.  Anyway, it's tradition to have a huge feast on Christmas eve (the 6th) with twelve dishes (because twelve apostles), none of which are supposed to contain meat (except for fish).  It's hard to make twelve true dishes, so we usually resort to counting pickles, juice and bread (there, 3 dishes done already).  One of my favorite dishes is actually a dessert.  It's a traditional torte, shown here being made.  A little time consuming, you can imagine.  Count the layers: 12. 

Check out the scrumptious filling.

Final result.  Doesn't last long.  Had to take a picture to prove it existed.

Katya made her own dish that night while she was downstairs alone.  Cold cereal (Life, Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Frosted Mini Wheats) and wheat bread.  Looks like a few Ritz crackers in there too.  Not the best treat for all you carb counters.

Most of it ended up on the floor.  Funny how things like this happen.

Katya was very helpful in the kitchen.  Here she's assisting with the varenyky (kind of like ravioli filled with potatoes and mushrooms).

Just a few of the dishes.  No the bananas didn't count.  Some of our friends came over.  They made the delicious salad (foreground) and the blueberry cobbler-like dish (by the penguin).  There were also deviled eggs, fruit on a stick, fruit not on a stick, garlic/cheese on french bread, beet and potato dish, Oliviet (Ukrainian potato salad with everything in it), varenyky, torte, pickles, juice (remember), and maybe something else.  We forgot the fish. 

Here's the varenyky.  Lyana put almonds in a couple of them.  Whoever found them gets good luck for the year.  I got one of them. 

Of course, this is what celebrations are about.  Ahhh, isn't that sweet.   Oh, forgot to mention, we all wore our Ukrainian outfits (as much as we had).  Alex didn't have any Ukrainian pants yet, so he chose to wear the pajamas my mom made for him.

The blue apron is actually from Paris.  My outfit is true Ukrainian (except the Crocs -- see previous post about those).  All shirts are hand-embroidered. 

Just had to throw this one in.  Mark says hi.

A journey through the human body

We went to the Children Hall the last day in Tokyo.  It's a government run facility (1 of 600 apparently) in the city, and it's purpose is to provide a safe environment for children to play.  Basically, the city is running short on outdoor space for parks so they moved playtime indoors. 

Each floor has something unique and fun for children of all ages.  On one floor, the main "attraction" was a play structure "based on the human body."  After exploring it, I decided that the builders were primarily inspired by the digestive system.  Take a look

Starting out, you can enter by ascending the stairs leading into the mouth.  This guy must not have flossed everyday like his dentist told him, because he didn't have any teeth.

Just inside the mouth past the uvula (the punching bag at the top), you can then make a rapid descent down the throat slide into . . .

 . . . the stomach.  But we all know the digestive process does not stop there.  Oh no, it's really only the beginning.  Soon it's time to exit the stomach and proceed into . . .

. . . the small and large intestines (theres's a tunnel in the "bowels" of the structure).  And after the intestines have had their fill, we proceed to . . .

. . . well, you get the idea.

Meiji Shrine 明治神宮

The Meiji Shrine (in the Shibuya district of Tokyo metropolis) was originally completed in 1920 to enshrine the deified souls of Emporer Meiji and his wife.  Destroyed by the air raids of WWII, the shrine was reconstructed in 1958. 

At the entrance of every Shinto shrine is a torii gate which signifies the entrance from the normal world to the spiritual world.  Most gates are much smaller than this one.  Going around the gate is frowned upon.  Only way to enter is between the columns.  This picture was supposed be taken 10 minutes prior, but the camera batteries died and I had to go to the nearest C-store to get more AAs.  I walked into the store, showed the dead batteries to the clerk signifying I needed new ones and I'm sure she said (in Japanese) "turn around mister, they're right behind you," and they were.

What appears to be a unique wall of art is really barrels of donated sake (rice wine).

The path to the main building was lined with ice sculptures (half-melted).  Right after I took this photo, the lion's paw (yes, the one that Alex is touching) fell off.

We happened upon a crowd of businessmen gathering to offer prayers for a successful year (Notice all the dark suits?  Probably not, but they're all squished in tight in front of that building).

It's tradition for visitors to write prayers on pieces of wood and then hang them on (or around) a tree.

Alex took this picture.  Pretty good for a 4 year-old.  You can't see the main building behind us, but I'm just proud of Alex's budding photographing skills.

The different colored hats identify which class each student is in.  Note the shorts.  Now look at the coats we were wearing.  It was not very warm that day.

Here's the neon green class.

Can't see 2 out of 5, but at least you get a good look at the courtyard and the main building annex behind us.

On the way home, we stopped and got ice cream cones from a vending machine.

Still more to come. 

Tokyo Tower 東京タワ

Tokyo Tower, inspired by the Eiffel Tower, was built in 1958 and at 323 meters, it is 13 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower.  We only went to the first observation deck (the first thick white stripe on the tower).  Next time we'll go to the very top deck.  Nevertheless, the view was incredible.  Buildings as far as the eye can see.

It was only fitting to capture a construction site in the background.  Alex can name almost any constuction machine from backhoe loaders to articulated dumptrucks.

That's a cemetary on the top left and a yellow tour bus on the right.  I'm only 150 or so meters high at this point. 

This is no-fear Mark taking a crawl of faith over the glass floor.

+

Katya and her green coat.  8 million people in the city and I bet I could spot her anywhere.

 Just to the right of center is Mt. Fuji way off in the background.  Trust me.

No Mickey Mouse or SpongeBob Squarepants at the Tokyo Tower.  Just Noppon the loveable, huggable, plush broadcast antenna.

Even more to come.

Tokyo 東京

We did it!!  We finally took the plunge and made the trip to Tokyo . . . with all three kids!!!! (forgive my overuse of intense punctuation, but for those of you who have made this trip, you'd probably add a few exclamation marks of your own).  There's really just too much to tell in one post, so y'all are gonna be blessed with several brief posts highlighting our trip.  This being the first of several.  I promise to make them all boring, dull otherwise harmful to your cranium.

As you can imagine, this whole trip, nay the whole IDEA of this trip was an adventure of sorts.  First of all, we had to decide on a mode of transportation.  As it turns out, there are several ways to get from Misawa to Tokyo. 

1) bus - 12 hours

2) car - 8-10 hours plus tolls plus gas

3) train - 3 hours

4) plane - 1 hour in air plus check-in, security checks and lost luggage

5) hitchhike - 4-6 weeks

We chose option 3 -- Shinkansen (bullet train).  Quick and easy, with plenty of room for stretching and walking around.  No seatbelts either.  You'd think at 200mph they'd consider optional belts.  Not here.

Just arrived at Tokyo station.  That's the Shinkansen in the background.  I like elevators.

We stayed at the New Sanno (Military hotel in the heart of Tokyo).  Very fancy, yet military priced.  Here's the kids' bed.  No, they didn't share the one bed, there were two twin beds.  Very high off the floor though.  Halfway through the first night Alex decided to sleep on the floor, although I don't think it was a conscious decision.  So we moved the mattress to the floor every night and then replaced it on the box-springs before the maids arrived the next morning.  (evil laugh -- heh, heh, heh)

We took over the restaurant at the hotel.   Every morning we ordered the breakfast buffet and usually there were only a couple other tables occupied so every 10 seconds (literally) one of the wait staff would walk by our table (do you need more water, are you done with that plate, why is your son lying on the floor, you know this is the fifth time I've picked up your fork).   Actually, you couldn't ask for better service.  We had a lot of fun talking with them.  None of them were American and most were not Japanese so it was interesting to hear their stories about what brought them to Tokyo.

Outside the New Sanno hotel. The kids loved this fountain because it lit up at night with different colors.  Alex was the photographer for this photo (see his thumb).

I should add here that the main reason we went to Tokyo was so Lyana and I could go to the LDS temple there.  It happened to be just up the street from the hotel (10-minute walk).  On the way up to the temple was this little (and I mean little, what you see in the picture was the whole of it) Shinto shrine, so I had Katya pose in front of it for a quick picture.

This is Alex and Katya at the front gate of the LDS temple.   

Alex and Katya, but mostly Alex, loved the trains.  Usually he would find the only available seat to jump onto (kicking the person next to him in the process) and kneel while staring out the window.  They also liked being in the front car so they could watch out the window through the conductor's cab as we traveled through the tunnels under Tokyo.  One odd observation I made while riding the trains was that most of the time we were the only ones making noise.  I couldn't believe how quiet everyone was on the train.  Never once did I hear a cell phone ring or a passenger (besides my own children) speak loudly.

Lyana fell in love with this little bakery near the hotel.  We'd walk by it every time we headed to the subway. 

Tokyo is actually a metropolis made up of a lot of cities and districts, one of which is actually Tokyo.  This picture is in the Roppongi district.  It was cold and rainy this night, but we didn't care.  That's Tokyo Tower in the background (future post on that one).  We were planning to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe until we saw the menu and the 2300 Yen burgers (that's like $25).  I'll never pay that much for a hamburger unless I get the whole cow.  So we walked a little further and found Wolfgang Puck.  Had the whole restaurant to ourselves.

When we left on Saturday, there was no snow on the ground.  Rare for Misawa.  When we returned on Wednesday, we had a hard time finding our van, even though it was the only vehicle in the parking lot.  Fortunately we parked at the church (across from the train station) and there was a snow shovel nearby.

30 minutes later . . .  Note there's still over a foot of snow on top of the car topper (I couldn't quite reach it).

More to come.

Birthday cakes over the years

Like I said, Robert deserves a separate post for his birthday creations.

I consider myself very lucky to have a husband who, among other things is very creative...and bakes fabulous birthday cakes:)

2007 Katya turns 4

2009 Alex's 4th birthday

2009 Mark's 1st birthday

What's your animal of the year?

Did you know that 2010 is the year of a Tiger? People who are turning 12, 24, 36, 48 and so on this year were born during Tiger year. My parents are both Tigers. Actually, this type of animal calendar is very popular in Ukraine. Everyone knows what animal he or she is. I am a dog, for example. Apparently, each animal year "gives" you certain character features. I believe a lot of the descriptions are true, at least for my year (you can find those online).
Below you can see a very helpful chart--click to enlarge.


Here is the story that Katya brought from her Japanese culture class about Junishi (The twelve horary signs).

Once upon a time, long ago, God in Heaven announced to all the animals that he would choose twelve from among them for a special task. That task would be for each animal, in turn, to protect human beings for one year. He told them that they should come to him on January 12 and that he would decide their order on a first come basis.
The animals waited eagerly for this day. However, it seems that the cat had for some time been very forgetful and did not remember the day himself. Tha cat ran into the rat along the way but the rat wanted to be first, "I'm too slow, I have to leave tonight or I'll never get there on time", she said. The the rat who was very cunning had a clever idea. He concealed himself on the cow's back among her things. They travelled all night until they reached God's palace. The cow was very happy thinking that she would be the first but, just then the rat jumped in front of her, and the cow ended up second.
The next day the cat came hurrying the palace but alas, even though the cat knew he had been deceived by the rat, he was left out of the group of twelve animals. It is because of this cats and rats, to this day, don't get along.

Ha! And now you know the truth:)

So I want to find out what your animal year is!