Nagasaki

Just down from Peace Park is a sculpture garden. Various countries (20 plus) donated statues to Nagasaki to commemorate the bombing. I noticed quite a few of the statues featured women holding children.

This is the actual location where the bomb landed.

This is the Oura Catholic Cathedral which is the oldest Catholic church in Japan. The cathedral is dedicated to the 26 Catholics who were executed for being Catholic.

This fish pond with lanterns above it is the entrance to Glover Gardens. Despite it being the first day of winter there were a few flowers blooming; mostly pansies.

My grandgirls really enjoyed feeding the koi.

We stopped by the museum of performing arts. A holiday concert was going on. We also saw dragon parade costumes on display.

After a nice dinner at a cafe by the wharf, we drove to the Nagasaki Ropeway. This cable car took us to the top of Mount Inasa for a terrific view of the city all lit up at night. We got there around 7 p.m. Special lights in the city come on between 8 and 10 p.m. so we missed that but it was still a great view. The ride takes five minutes.

 

Peace Park

 Today we drove 90 minutes north to the town of Nagasaki. We stopped to visit Peace Park. The statue has the right arm extended upwards to where the bomb came from. The left arm is extended toward peace over the land. About 40 years ago I visited Hawaii. When we toured the Pearl Harbor Memorial I was surrounded by Japanese tourists. I felt awkward. Today I was visiting the epicenter of the atom bomb in Nagasaki and again I felt awkward.

 

 

River Walk

Yesterday evening the weather was warm so we took a stroll from the house down to the river. We saw a grey heron and at least a dozen Eurasian wigeons. We saw a couple Eurasian coots. We saw a small shorebird that was bigger than a sanderling but we couldn't quite figure out what it was.  We saw brown eared Bulbul and black kites. We saw a couple of little egrets (with yellow feet) and four Japanese cormorant.  All in all, it was a productive bird walk.

 

 

The Secret War Of Julia Child

 Diana R. Chambers is the author of The Secret War Of Julie Child. This is a historical accounting of Julia's life before she became a famous chef and before she married her husband. Julia, grown up wealthy in California, moved to Washington, D.C. as a file clerk. Later she worked as an espionage agent in India and China. She worked for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services). She got into some danger while abroad and reading those parts was quite thrilling. I really enjoyed this book about Julia Child.

 

 

 

 

Good Ideas

In Japan, if you are a new driver or a new driver in this country, you apply these blue/green and yellow heart shaped stickers to the front and back of your car. This way other drivers know you are inexperienced and will give you more lee-way. I think that is a great idea. I think it could reduce road rage.

Some toilets in Japan have a sink above them. The water that will flow into the toilet tank passes through the sink first. After you flush the toilet you lean over the toilet to wash your hands in cold water.  This calls for odd hand washing posture. The water is very cold. The sink is tiny and you have to keep your hands close together. Sometimes water splashes on the counter but I still think this is a good water conservation idea.

 

Hirado Castle

Today we took a 40 minute ride north to Hirado.

This is a temple outside of Hirado Castle. This area was the first in Japan to encounter Christian missionaries.

Another temple outside of the castle.

I liked this wall of umbrellas.

Here is the actual castle. We chose to stay outside but you can walk up the stairs to the balcony on the 3rd floor.

After exploring outside of the castle we continued up the hill.

This is the memorial to the first English person to come to Japan. His name was William Adams.

Another view of the castle.

 

Birds In Sasebo

This morning I walked the grand girls to the bus stop. We went for another walk through the rice fields. We saw black kites circling over head. I saw a dozen black kites. We saw four wagtails flying. It could have been a Japanese wagtail but this country has 4 species of wagtails so I am not sure. We saw several Great Egrets (all in white) and coots in a water filled ditch between the fields. We saw a dozen ring billed ducks and some mallards. Then we walked to a grocery store. Being at the grocery store and unable to read the ingredients was overwhelming. Now I have downloaded Google Translate onto my phone which will make things easier. Later we picked Granddaughter #2 up from school. We hung out at the school playground for an hour until Granddaughter #1 was released from her after school activity. Then we watched for another hour as the girls could blow off steam. Man, oh man, where do these kids get all their energy? I am exhausted just watching them running and chasing. Once we got home they started making gingerbread houses and I started to make dinner. Even when I used my Google translate I couldn't figure out how to turn on the stove. We had a great dinner and a fun time using scissors to make snowflakes. I look forward to what ever adventures tomorrow will bring.

Everything Worked Out

 

This is a picture of a booth designed for people who get sensory overload at the Fukayoka airport.

Yesterday I was bummed that I missed the connecting flight from Tokyo to Fukayoka. Today I was glad I missed that flight. Missing that flight was inevitable but since it was United Airlines flight I will get reimbursed for my hotel. Since I had only 60 minutes to gather my luggage, go through customs twice, and take a bus to Terminal 1 the task was impossible. Instead I got to rest for free at a luxurious hotel and take a nice hot shower. The next morning I headed to the airport at 5:30 for my 8:30 flight. I went to terminal 3. I was told to go to the fourth floor. From the fourth floor I was told to go to the first floor.  Then I was told to take the free shuttle to terminal 2. I was told to go to the third floor. From the 3rd floor I was to take the free shuttle to terminal 1. I couldn't find the shuttle location so a very nice police officer walked me there. From terminal 1 things got easier. I got a ticket and checked my bag. I found my gate immediately. I had an hour to relax before the 2 hour flight to Fukayoka.  I got on the plane and two hours later we landed. From there I took a free shuttle to the international terminal. I walked through the terminal and bought an egg sandwich at the 7-11. I found the door from which the bus from Fukayaka to Sasebo was located.  Also I learned that you do not pronounce Sasebo as "says boe" but as "sassy boe." That would have been good to know before I left. I had a very nice 90 minute bus ride to Sasebo. We passed through cities, steep hills, river valleys and rice fields. In one town I saw two helmeted men wearing high visibility jackets up in a tree shaking off all the yellow leaves. Why the hurry to get all the leaves off the tree? I don't know but as the bus traveled forwarded I saw that another dozen trees had been stripped of all their leaves. We arrived at the Sasebo bus terminal at which I found my daughter-in-law and two grand girls. Finally, I have arrived and everything worked out in the end.

Travel Is Stressful

On Saturday afternoon I left my place in Winona and drove to Minneapolis to stay at Offspring #2's house. On Sunday morning we left for the MSP airport at 6:30. I arrived in Chicago at 10:30. My flight to Tokyo was delayed for 45 minutes because some transferring fliers in Chicago were late. I arrived in Tokyo 20 minutes before my flight to Fukuoka was due to leave. I had to go through customs so I missed my flight. Since this was all United Airlines fault, I was told to get a hotel at the Villa hotel (a short indoor 5 minute walk away). United Airlines would reimburse me up to $200 for the hotel and $50 for a meal. I am so stuffed from all the food I had on the flight to Tokyo I couldn't eat another meal. Tomorrow my next flight leaves at 8:30 a.m. This hotel is very nice and it sure felt good to take off my compression socks and take a shower. Total for today of time spent in the air was 18 hours. I keep telling myself it's not the destination, it's the journey.

Fiddler Group

Yesterday a fiddler group performed a holiday concert at the Winona Public Library. In the group were 8 high school aged fiddlers and one man who looked to be about 80. One man played the bass, two students played the cello and the rest were violinists. They played holiday music from Ireland, Scotland, Britain, Israel and Germany. What a great concert!

 

Shotgun Lovesongs

 I was sucked into Shotgun Lovesongs like smoke up a chimney. Nickolas Butler is an excellent writer. I couldn't put it down and ended up reading until after midnight. This story takes place in a fictional town in Wisconsin called Little Wing. Little Wing is a farming town situated an hour south of Eau Claire. Four friends from school remain friends into adulthood. Each of the four plus Henry's wife, Beth, narrates a chapter. Each chapter has a single letter title. H for Henry, B for Beth, R for Robbie, K for Kip, and L for Leland. The first one to become famous is Robbie. Robbie is a terrific rodeo cowboy. Of course rodeos come with injuries and no rodeo cowboy lasts into old age. Leland becomes a famous rock star. Kip goes to Chicago and becomes a wealthy businessman. Henry and Beth farm a dairy operation, are happily married, and have two children. As they come back to Little Wing for weddings and birthday celebrations, their friendship changes and evolves. I sincerely enjoyed this book about male friendships in the Midwest.

 

 

Audition

 Katie Kitamura is the author of the fiction novel Audition. The story is about an actress and her husband. Part one of the novel seems to have nothing to do with Part two. I thought this literary fiction was pretentious and mystifying. I struggled to finish the book.

 

 

Fonseca

 Penelope Fitzgerald was a British writer, magazine editor, and teacher. In Fonseca, author Jessica Francis writes about a few months of Penelope's life that Penelope never wrote about. In 1952 Penelope had a six year old son named Valpry and a two year old daughter named Tina. She is also pregnant. She receives a letter from distant Irish relatives now living in Mexico. Their estate is called Fonseca. The letter hints at a legacy from an old silver mine. Penelope leaves her alcoholic husband and goes to Mexico with Valpry. She leaves two year old Tina with her mother in law. Once they cross the Atlantic on a ship and take a bus to Mexico, she comes into a very strange household. Whether there is any real legacy remains unclear. Penelope and Valpry are not the only ones interested in the legacy. After four months in Mexico Penelope and Valpry return to England, reunite with her husband and Tina, and resume their lives. Talk about awkward. I enjoyed this story about a pregnant woman handling a very awkward situation.

 

 

Gala

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Minnesota Master Naturalist program. The gala was held at the Silverwood Nature center in New Brighton. I served on the planning committee. After a half dozen zoom meetings we pulled it together. Everything went well. I arrived at 11 a.m. to help set up. I helped put black tablecloths on 26 round tables. Then I was assigned the making of the name tags. I put a couple hundred name tags together which took 90 minutes. Then I had to put the dinner underneath the name tags. The name tags were not in alphabetical order. The name tags were separated by table. The printed spread sheets were not in alphabetical order either. Finding whether someone wanted prime rib, salmon, or portabella was taking forever. I really wished for a spreadsheet with a search function. Finally one of the Extension staff brought me the spreadsheet and progress was made. Another woman came to help. After working on this for 4.5 hours the name tags were done. The event started at 5 p.m. Dinner was at 7. The program started at 8. At 9 our guest speaker went up to the podium. His name is Kevin Kling. He is a famous Minnesotan known for his books, his plays and his comedy. He gave a great speech. After that was the fashion show. When I arrived at the event I had no idea that I volunteered to be the speaker of the fashion show. I was told to speak with flair. Several of the outfits were fashioned from green polyester tablecloths that were given to each chapter in the beginning. This was prior to the loon being ruled inadmissable as a program logo. There are still some hard feelings about that. A dress was made from one and a pantsuit from another. I did my best to read the script with flair. There was more laughter from the fashion show than anything else this evening. When I was done and helping to clean up, Kevin Kling, that's right, the great Kevin Kling, gave me a compliment on my performance. Be still my heart!

 

Minnesota Master Naturalist 20th Anniversary Quilt.

 

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me

Bess Kalb is the author of the memoir Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (As Told To Me) Story. The story mostly revolves around Bess and her outspoken, opinionated Grandmother whom she dearly loved. Grandmother was there on the day Bess was born. From day one Grandmother was on her side. When, in elementary school, Bess dreaded lunch time because she had no friends to sit with, Grandma came to school and took her out to eat for lunch until she started making friends. Bess didn't always follow her Grandmother's advice. She saved all the voice mails her Grandmother left her and there were many voice mails. Grandmother left voice mails like suggesting Bess and her boyfriend Charlie get rid of their cat so when she got pregnant she wouldn't get toxoplasmosis. This was ten years before they had children.  Grandmother, also known as Bobbi, told Bess about her mother who migrated from Belarus. She had all her children on the kitchen table so the bed wouldn't get messed. I thought this was a comical and interesting story.

 

 

Close Your Eyes And Count To Ten

Lisa Unger is the author of Close Your Eyes And Count To Ten. This modern story is about an influencer named Maverick. He is into extreme sports and increasing the numbers of followers.  He organizes a contest where the participants hide at an old abandoned resort. The last person to be found wins one million dollars. One participant, Adele, needs to win to support her two children. During the contest a terrible storm arrives and part of the resort falls off the cliff into the sea. This was an exciting tale with plenty of danger and action. 

 

Before Dorothy

 Hazel Gaynor is the author of Before Dorothy. This fiction novel, set in the 1920's and 30's is the story of Auntie Em. Em and her husband moved to Kansas. Her sister stayed in Chicago, got married and had a child named Dorothy. When the sister and her husband drowned in a boating accident, Em traveled by train to Chicago to pick up Dorothy. Dorothy was 7 years old. She had nightmares about a black wind. Sometimes Dorothy walked in her sleep. Once in Kansas Dorothy came to love the prairie and the farm animals. Life for Dorothy really settled down once Em bought her a puppy. The puppy's bed was in a tomato box. The dog's body covered the middle two letters of tomato so the dog was named Toto. Honestly this is the best book I have read for some time. Even when I had important things to do I could hardly put it down.

 

 

Thirteen Reasons Why

 This afternoon my banned book book club discussed Thirteen Reasons Why written in 2007 by Jay Asher. In this story a 17 year old high school student named Hannah recorded a series of cassettes about thirteen people. After she died by suicide, the thirteen stories on cassettes were in a shoe box and sent to all thirteen people. Some people in our group think Hannah was a passive/aggressive whiny girl and I can see that. She chose to die by suicide and then makes sure all thirteen people feel guilty about it. The strongest evidence was her school counselor. Instead of her telling the story on tape, she records his voice as she explains what happens. The school counselor minimizes her concerns and doesn't do a single thing to help her. I was concerned that this book glorifies suicide. Several in the book club were teachers. Sometimes this book is taught in school. Certain scenes (bullying, rape) could be triggering for students in class especially as the details are discussed. I didn't enjoy reading this book. The format of the thirteen tapes was interesting. I also watched the film version on Netflix.  The book and the film stay very close to the same. The book was inspired by a family member of the author who died by suicide.

 

 

The Winners

 One of my favorite authors is Frederik Backman. He is the author of A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Told Me To Say I'm Sorry. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden. The Winners is the third in a series about hockey players in the town of Beartown and Hed. I enjoyed getting to know the same characters after a two year absence. This book seemed more violent than the first two in the series although there was violence in those too. My favorite characters were Peter, Maya, Alicia and Bobo. This is a wonderful story.

 

 

I See You Have Called In Dead

 John Kenney is the author of the comedic novel called I See You Have Called In Dead. I listened to the book via audio-book. I think if you are a fan of the old TV series "The Office" you would like this book. The main character is Bud Stanley. Bud's job is to write obituaries. Bud struggles in life. He seems to be afraid to live. His wife leaves him for a more interesting man. One night, after drinking too much scotch, he writes his own obituary and sends it in. His company wants to fire him but they can't because he is now classified as dead. With the help and encouragement of a good friend named Tom, Bud makes a change for the better. He attends the funerals of strangers so he can learn how to truly live.

 

 

Horse

 Geraldine Brooks is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Horse. The story is told in two time lines. Lexington is a horse who was born in 1850. This horse won nearly all the races in Kentucky. The horse was owned by a free black man but since blacks were not allowed to participate in horse racing, his employer was listed as the owner. Later the black man's son took over the care and training of the horse. Rather than  using brute force in training horses he took a gentle approach gradually building trust. The other end of the story takes place in 2019. A horse researcher comes to Washington, D.C. to investigate the bones of a horse kept in the attic at a Smithsonian Museum. As it turns out, this horse skeleton belonged to Lexington. This was a fascinating story about a horse and the people involved in it's story.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

The South

Tash Aw is the Malaysian author of The South.  Published in 2025 the story details a family of six moving from the city to their recently deceased grandfather's fruit farm. Most of the story is focused on the youngest and only boy of the family, Jay, who is 17. The farm is in southern Malaysia. Jay meets the son of the farm manager named Fong. The son's name is Chuan and he is 19. Together they form a friendship and a bond. The farm is in a poor state due to climate change and an economic depression. Jay's family has more wealth and more education. I really enjoyed this coming of age novel.

 

 

80% Sure

Today the temperature got up to 65 degrees so I put on a pair of shorts and walked around Lake Winona again. I saw a nest in a tree. I am on the side of the lake that is farthest from downtown and closest to Highway 61.

I am 80% sure this is a nest from a pair of Baltimore Orioles.

 

The Library Of Lost Dollhouses

Elise Hooper is the author of The Library Of Lost Dollhouses. Dollhouses, miniature replications of grand mansions, used to be a thing a hundred years ago. Having a dollhouse of your own house meant you were a person of means. In this story a woman finds two miniature dollhouses at the library she works at in New York City. The story is told in two time lines. The first time line is the woman who found the dollhouses in 2018. The second is the woman who made the dollhouses in 1912. This was a fascinating story based on some true facts.

 

  

A Letter In My Mailbox

 

A Rose Revealed

 Gayle Roper is the author of the book called A Rose Revealed. The story takes place in an Amish community. Rose in a nurse in this community. Rose is not Amish but she grew up in the community and knows many Amish customs. She is helping a lady with cancer. When the lady and her son get into the car to leave the car explodes killing them both. Of course Rose is upset so she pulls her car over in an Amish driveway to cry. Two of the sons in the family come out to check on her and console her. They invite her in for supper. One of the sons was injured in a motorcycle crash during his rumspringa. He lost both of his legs and now uses a wheelchair. Rose saw that motorcycle crash two years earlier and she held his head in her lap until the ambulance arrived. I enjoyed this nice story about the Amish.

 

 

Where The Rivers Merge

Mary Alice Monroe is the author of Where The Rivers Merge. This story has two timelines. The book starts out in 1988 when the 88 year old Eliza is trying to decide who should take over her estate after her death. She could give it to her son but he feels entitled to it so she might leave it to her granddaughter and niece. The expansive estate lies within three rivers in South Carolina. Eliza has enjoyed the nature here since she was a little girl. Eliza decides to leave the property to a nature conservancy so everyone can enjoy it. I really enjoyed this historical fiction book.

 

 

 

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain wrote The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. This is a great American novel. Twain writes about the racism of the American south. He writes about freedom and a moral code. Huck and Jim take off together to float south on the Mississippi river on a raft. They catch fish and sleep out under the stars. Despite the fact that Huck is 13 and Jim is in his 30's they become fast friends. Once they got separated but found each other again. They ran into a couple of con men who claimed one was a Duke and one was a King. Huck and Jim found it horribly difficult to shake these two men. They had other problems too but their friendship lasted forever.

 

 

 

Prairie Fire

Tonight the Winona Bird Club had a talk with a prairie fire expert. This is the same guy who gave the timber rattlesnake talk a few weeks back. The meeting was very informative. I was surprised to learn how many prairies around this area get burned.

 

The Things They Carried

The author Tim O'Brien was born in Austin, MN. At the age of ten the family moved to Worthington. After graduating from Macalester College he was drafted into the Army. He served in the Vietnam war. From his experiences in Vietnam he wrote the book The Things They Carried. After college and before Vietnam he drives up to Rainy Lake thinking he might skip the war and move to Canada. He meets an older man who is closing up his resort for the winter. Tim helps the man painting and fixing doors and chopping wood. One day the old man takes him fishing but they don't fish. The old man takes the boat to the Canadian side thinking Tim will escape. Tim decides he would embarrass his family if he went to Canada so he stays. He feels he is a coward for going to Vietnam. In the beginning of the book he describes his platoon mates by talking about what they carried. One guy has a photo of a girl named Martha. One Native American guy carries a Bible. Another guy carries the pantyhose of a girl. Some of his platoon were killed by bullets or mines. In the book he never describes their location. Although the war was over in the 1970's he didn't publish the book until 1990 which was probably a smart idea. I  wonder if high school kids even know about the Vietnam war anymore. We had a good discussion about this book today at the Winona Public Library. I feel this is a book that is difficult to read but it is the responsibility of all U.S. citizens to read it.

 

 

 

 

Scrappy Little Nobody

 I have never heard of the actress Anna Kendrick before I read her autobiography called Scrappy Little Nobody. In this book we learn her parents supported her dream to become a singer and an actress. They would drive her from Maine to New York for auditions. Her father moved with her to New York for a summer show. Anna said she was small for her age and a late bloomer. She tells some hilarious tales about herself growing up and becoming successful.