Adventures in....

SPONSORSHIP

This past week, Noa and I have taken on the role as sponsors to some friends who moved to the island recently. We had the fun part: looking at houses/apartments, checking out the "newest" vehicles on the car lots, shopping - you get the picture. Our dogs, however, also had to take on the role as playmates to their little girl Mia, who occasionally came over to play. I think they did a good job.

Mia shares the outdoor dog bed with the pups:

Mia wins over their affection by feeding them treats:

An interesting challenge came up this week as our friends moved into their new house. The house is a cute, 2-story Japanese home in a quiet neighborhood north of us. Upon moving to Okinawa, military families have access to loaner furniture from the government (think dorm room furniture in regards to aesthetics) and so, they signed up to get this delivered. Well, we found out that the movers would not bring the furniture to the 2nd floor, since the stairwell was too narrow*. So, the guys devised a plan in which the furniture would be hoisted up to the 2nd floor using rope and pulling it up over the balcony. It was a 4-person job so I couldn't get any photos - but here's one of Noa and Rob (with help from Mia) getting the rope ready to use to lift up 2 dressers and a box spring up over a balcony to the 2nd floor:
Although we gave the neighbors quite a show, we were successful!

SHOPPING

We took our friends to one of the local home improvement shops and I took some entertaining photos for the blog. Enjoy!

Noa found an interesting brand of work gloves. We purchased a different brand instead. I don't really see how pigs could really be excited and happy about these.

With these work pants, there is no fear of performing a gymnastic-style split on the job.
I found these ilustrations depicting some toilet features quite entertaining.
Noa tries to figure out how to bring back one of these advanced toilet seats to the US (by the way, the price tag reads 39,800 yen, which is around $375 for a toilet seat!!)

DIVING
We FINALLY made it into the water this year! Noa and I went diving with Jenn and Perry at one of Okinawa's premiere diving locations, Maeda Point. Although crowded, it was beautiful. I purchased a cheap disposable camera to see if I could get some good underwater shots, but it was no Nikon D50. So, please excuse the poor quality of these photos.

This is me, swimming though a channel in the coral. Overall, we saw a ton of fish, including flutemouths, long-beaked butterfish, clownfish, moorish idols, triggerfish, whitespotted blowfish**, and Perry and Noa even had an encounter with a moray eel! This was a momma clownfish (either a goldbelly or twoband anemonefish) with a baby (lower right of the anemone - hard to see) tucked in with this anemone, which was actually a ruby red color. We saw them at 100 feet!
The blogger herself!

*This reminded me of the couch-moving episode of Friends - "Pivot!"

**I didn't know most of these names at the time. I had to look them up. Not a complete list!

Mold Update

The owner, housing agency rep, and other maintence guys came out to look at the mold issue. They are going to try and replace all the moldy paper and see if that works. We also found out that the apartment below us has the same problem.

Always an adventure....

Mold!

A couple of weeks ago, Okinawa was hit with a serious typhoon. Since then, we've noticed the increased presence of mold growing on our walls. Mold is a common problem in Oki because of the high humidity, but dehumidifiers are usually the solution to the problem.

I'm hoping that we don't get in trouble for the mold, although I don't know what we would have done to prevent it. Our dehumidifiers are on 24/7. We'll be contacting our housing agency and hopefully we'll have some help in getting rid of it.

Update: We had the maintenance guy come and take a look at it. He says it looks like the walls may have to be replaced!!

Christmas in July

Every year, I participate in IGPost's* annual Christmas in July exchange. By signing up, each participant receives a name of another member and sends Christmas presents to them. This year I sent Japanese-print dog collars to the person I had.

We received a box from Vermont with all kinds of goodies. The dogs couldn't wait to dig into it.

Gunnar decided that both Bobo toys were for him.

Sadie staked her claim on this ball. Keeping it from Gunnar became the game of the day.

A photo of all the goodies - as you can see I wasn't very good at keeping the dogs away from the things for 2 seconds. Sadie is trying to steal one of Gunnar's Bobos.

Where Oh Where....?

Our place is in a state of shock right now. Between half-empty suitcases lying around, dog toys, laundry piled high, it's become a little chaotic.

Since we're arrived home, Noa and I have been busy introducing some friends to the island who just moved here from Jacksonville. We are their sponsors and we help them find housing, cars, cell phones, and generally just get acclimated to life here. Yesterday we looked at housing options and today we have more appointments for that. So, for now, those suitcases and laundry will be put on hold until we have time for that.

Oh, and I have some great photos to show of some recent happenings here, but I can't seem to located my camera cord to transfer my photos. Again, our place is in a state of chaos right now....

Home SWEAT Home

Yep - you read that right. We're back in hot and humid Okinawa. With the humidity it feels like 100 degrees out. Ugh! I had forgotten how drastic it is here, but I was quickly reminded as soon as I stepped off our plane. Our dehumidifiers are working hard to stave off mold.

We arrived home last night after a whirlwind trip to the US. First, I went to Fort Collins to see Mike and Jess. Then I headed to New England to see family and friends. Then Noa arrived and we traveled to New York for a wedding. Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Fort Collins, CO:

Sarge plants a wet one on Jess. I had lots of bonding time with Sarge and other local dogs. We found out that 2 more will be moving into the neighborhood shortly. Their yard will most likely become a doggy playdate locale in the near future.

Jess and I goof off in Target. I had just got my new camera and we were trying out the timer with these gigantic dog food bowls. Even these are too big for Sarge!

And what's vacation without eating out with 2 of my most favorite people?? The only thing missing was Noa.

New England:

There was a mass birthday party for me (June birthday) and Anya, Megan, and Anoli, who all have July birthdays. Best of all - it was ice cream cake!

I spent some time in Massachusetts with Cristyn and we went to visit our alma mater, Gordon College. We snuck into one of the newer dorm buildings and checked out the rooms. Here is our lovely self portrait. We joked that the campus is becoming a "real" college due to the growth of the campus - they are building a new science center, there are new dorms, parking lots and athletic fields.

There was a garden party at Noa's parent's house on our last night there. It was so great to hang out with friends and family in the midst of such a beautiful setting (Noa's mom is a very skilled gardener). Here are Aaron and Cristyn with us. Notice the cool necklace I'm wearing? It's a gift from Cristyn, who is a representative for lia sophia jewelry. I dropped a whole lot of dough after perusing the catalog. Oopsie.

Marc and Vanessa with their little one. We felt so lucky to see them since they have moved to Connecticut. Lucky for us, they were traveling to the New Hampshire area anyway for a family vacation.

The Bragdon family: (left to right) dad, Anoli, Noa, mom, and me

New York:

Noa demonstrates his water skiing skills. Although it was a beautiful day, that water was cold!

Here are the boys with the happy couple. Brian, on the left, went to Cornell with Garth and Noa, was a groomsman with Noa. Then, the beautiful bride, Carrie, with her new hubby, Garth and then, of course, Noa. This is one talented couple. Garth works for special forces in the Navy and Carrie is a vet!

And the other happy couple. We're back and the blogging continues....

Live from FoCo, CO

Here I am sitting in Mugs coffee shop on Jess' laptop with an unexpected blog! So, live from Fort Collins, CO - it's me!

My first few days have already been busy, but it's great to be with the Apostles again (however, we all miss Noa dearly). I thought I'd share some photos of some of the recent events so far.

Upon my arrival, I soon found myself in a hair salon chair getting my hair cut and roots touched up. Here I am with my updated hair and Jess afterwards. Can you tell I had traveled all day? I look so tired!

On Friday, Jess introduced me to the community pool (the weather here is very hot, but unlike Oki there is no humidity - I'm happy about that. While there, Jess and I got to sunbathe, read magazines, and even used the water slide during the adult swim time. Fun!

Tonight we're going out to eat with friends for margaritas. The next few days look like they'll be bringing shopping, manicures, massages, and more pool time.

It's so good to be back!

Happy 4th!

We celebrated the fourth of July in typical American style - burgers, beer, and fireworks. We had some friends over and got to watch the fireworks from our balcony.


The dogs weren't quite used to so many kids chasing them around the apartment, but they were troopers and behaved during the party (although Gunnar tried to sneak a hot dog out of the garbage at the end of the night!).


On a separate note, I leave for the US today and will most likely be on hiatus from the blog for a little while. I'm heading to Colorado first, then to New Hampshire, and then Noa will join me to travel to New York for a wedding. So, there will be much to blog about when I return.

Flower Power

I've decided to try again with keeping some plants alive. Instead of putting them in front of my house, I put them out back where there's a lot more sun. I picked out this hibiscus in honor of Jess, who had a beautiful red hibiscus tree behind her house in Jax. I'm hoping that mine will flourish like hers did. Although we all know about my lack of a green thumb...but so far so good.




Speaking of thumbs...check out my toes!! Teresa took me to the famous CoCok's - a nail salon here in Oki that is famous for its elaborate nail designs. Not only was the foot massage and the comfy chairs heavenly, but they were able to put a beautiful design on my little, bitty toenails (anyone who knows me well, knows that I like toenails kept short!). I might just have to grow them out longer now. Look how cute!

Weekend Happenings

It was a typical hot and humid weekend in Okinawa. I started out the weekend by hanging out on Araha Beach - my favorite beach (so far). The beach was nearly empty early in the weekend, so I had prime beach estate, although I'm sure the beach filled up as the weekend went on with the rising temperatures.

Saturday evening, I joined my travel-weary friends, Perry and Jenn, who had recently returned from the states, for the first annual Torri Beach Jazz Festival. Although I'm not much of a jazz fan, I thought it was a great event (although, it was really, really crowded). It was held right on the beach, which is beautiful and scenic. People just brought lawn chairs and blankets and enjoyed the music, the food from local vendors (lots of Orion and teriyaki chicken), and drank wine - there was a wine tasting, but the tickets were sold out by the time we arrived (next year, it's a must!). My favorite part was when they mixed the jazz music with some Okinawan drumming - a very cool mix!

Tonight I was out on my porch reading and was able to catch this shot right before the sun went down. Beautiful!!

Birthday Boy

Guess who turns 2 today??

Celebrations have included new treats, wrestling with sister, trying on new collars, having a hundred photos taken (well, maybe not 100....), and sleeping in the sun. Tonight's party includes barbequed chicken on the porch. Let the good times roll.

Happy birthday, little man.

A New Toy

After almost a year of living here, we finally got ourselves a grill. Actually it's more like Noa's new toy. He's loving it. We celebrated with grilled turkey burgers on Saturday night.

Northern Sights

If you take the freeway up to the northern part of the island, you will see these signs on the side of the road. Teresa calls these "Pumba Signs"*. Unfortunately, I have yet to see a real Pumba hanging out by the freeway.

*in reference to Pumba, the wild boar, in The Lion King

Stuck

My Summer Vacation
by Julie

After celebrating my birthday with my husband, I spent the next week stuck at home due to extremely painful sinus pressure. The doctor decided that antibiotics were needed...

I hate being sick.

At least I have company.

Birthday

It's official. I'm now 28. Megs made me a rice krispie cake, but by the time I was able to take a photo, I had already eaten a corner of it - oops!

Yesterday, Noa had the day off and he had planned a dive trip for us, but it was cancelled due to poor visibility (most likely, I'd have to raincheck the dive anyway because my sinuses are messed up right now). So, it looks like we'll take the dive this weekend instead - we'll be diving with WHALE SHARKS! I'm so excited. He even borrowed a friend's underwater digital camera because he knows how important it is for me to photo document everything ("it's all about the blog" are famous words in the Hammer household). So, stay tuned for details on that trip!

In spite of the poor weather yesterday, we decided to drive up north and see the butterfly garden and aquarium (one of my favorite places on the island).

Noa and I model the goofy red hats provided to attract butterflies:

Our self portrait:

At the aquarium:

I still think the garden eels are cute, even if they are eels:

I tried so hard to get a good photo of this sea turtle, but I missed my window of opportunity:
After that we went out to dinner with friends and had an impromptu game night at our place. Much fun was had.

Lastly, here is one of my favorite gifts from Noa - a "purse camera" (as I call it). Now I can have a camera with me at all times to capture more funny things in Japan.