Mangiare Bene!

A few pics of some of the special dishes we have enjoyed this year.

This guy says they were "Oishii" (Delicious)!!!

"Fuki no Tou" Tempura (fresh picked Butterbur sprouts) with Yuzu (sour citrus fruit) powder mixed with sea salt:

Gnocchi e abbacchio (lamb chops) Chinkaba (venison soft salami) pizza

Some pics of some great dishes we have had over the last year!

Moonrise!

The moon was rising above our house the other night and gave a great photo opportunity, too bad I only had my portable camera, and no tripod!

Frosty Fields

After a week of dry sunny weather we awoke to fields of frost! Winter is finally getting ready to give us some snow, maybe in time for New Years Eve!

Some of our winged neighbors scratching for food:

This one looks like a baby pheasant but it was too far away to make sure:

The neighborhood 'chief'. This huge green pheasant "Kiji" is in the back yard almost every morning:

Time for Christmas☆

Our first Christmas decorations for new house has been done.
This is front entrance.
Rick placed screw eyes onto edge of the roof in advance while scaffolding was still set up, so it made us very easy to mount lights. It had done in 15 minutes!

It is simple and eco!

and this is our christmas tree. Again, it is simple and eco.

Pantry&Shoe room

We made a trip to IKEA and got some cool organizers to the pantry and shoe room. It took us time to assemble and mount them to the each room but we got huge result of space! (We should had taken a picture of "before") We got more shelves to add after this picture was taken.
This is one of our favorite room (maybe for Yuko only!), the room of shoes.It is Rick's side and......

Yuko's side.

and Tina's tiny space.

Does devoted husband keep some his spaces for his little wife???

SWEET!

Good Luck Signs...

A mix of cultures and a mix of good luck talismans....Kiji (Green Pheasant) outside the back door. This is the Japanese national bird!

The wood deck and the huskie!

View from the back deck facing Mount Fuji, and the lady bug from Boston...

Rick & Tina chillin' on the deck for a bento lunch...
"Hey, I like this barefoot outdoor life!!!"

Tina 'driving' the new Husky tractor (engine is off, or course!!!)

First Fire...Monster Bucks...

The first fire in the new wood stove!

This puts out a lot of heat! Surprising!

The "Kuma Shake" Bears with salmon...

The white ghost.....

Yuko's Dad Mamo-Chan (in the blue jacket in the photo) shot this monster when he took Rick hunting at Mount Fuji. This skull was buried for 2 years while the bugs ate the flesh. One night our nephew told us he had accidentally cut the tips off while cutting brush, and Rick was enraged! We went out there in the dark and dug up the skull and all the pieces. Rick cleaned it up and reassembled all the parts. The legend lives on!The first monster Rick got was this nice buck. It is reputed to be the biggest buck taken on Mount Fuji in the last 20+ years. It was taken during the first weekend of the first season could hunt, using the gun Rick inherited from Yuko's Dad. Mysterious forces were working that day and now this buck lives in our living room!

update...

The back yard and last view of Fuji for the summer!

First Snow, taken at 0500...

The second snow, taken at sunrise...

The interior staircase, from the top.

Back Deck foundation taking shape:

Catching up photos...

Tina's lights (3 sets in all)...Tina's night light...(2 of them) Master bed room ceiling fan (yes, this is the one with the crazy electronic controls)

Vent window from Master Bedroom to Living Room (for air circulation when the door is locked)

The sofa and coffee table...Yuko found a great deal at Atsugi!

catching up...the kitchen!

The kitchen is ready for cooking!Stainless finish cabinets with black back splashes. Cabinets are American height! Gas stove from Germany with Japanese hood. VERY kool features that shut off if thew pan is overheated or burning!

Sink (with awesome Kei Truck in background) and the dispenser on the far left is the automatic hot water dispenser. This is a US product that Jim helped us find and dispenses super hot water for baby formula, tea, or oatmeal. This eliminates the need for a stand-alone Japanese hot water pot! The dispenser on the right is filtered cold water (VERY tasty Mount Fuji water!).

The pot rack I bought in the states and had to disassemble to get through the mail, and reassemble, and actually hang myself (remember who the electrician is).

The kool Japanese style, very efficient, refrigerator...Top is refer with several sub compartments. next level down is ice on the left and semi freeze on right. next down is the veggie locker, and the bottom is the freezer. Nice design!

More catch up!

The stove is here! Vermont Castings with catalytic combustor! This monster was heavy!!! Ready for the first burn!!!

The finished unit bath (shower & tub combo)...ready for the first bath!!! The super-eco washer and dryer. It is front loading but tilted back to save event more water. It uses only 20% of the electricity of the old type of top loader. Also, it drys too, and has a clothes refresher system similar to dry cleaning but with steam and air only. Even with the dryer more engaged (can be pre-programmed) it still uses 65% less electricity and 80% less water!!!Save money!!!

The senmenjo (tooth brushing sink) has finally arrived...and is standard American height!!!