the "West Wing"

We 'added' a new wing for SK-3. Despite the temperature hovering at freezing, we had a tough time dragging her out of the 'new' house and into the real house so she could get warmed up by the wood stove.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall.....

By request of SK-2, the mirror is here! Conveniently located at the entrance to the walk-in closet.

our "Library"

With some of our gear moved to the storage loft, it was time to work on our home "library" in the master bedroom. Here is "before""During" (with Sk-3 inspecting the job site):

The shelves are in! Load them up with books!

Its time to get on amazon.com and buy more books...

A bed to sleep in!

SK-2 finally got her wish! We hauled this ultra-heavy queen size bed up to the master bedroom. It is one of those really high units with a bed surface of over 100cm. SK-3 has had some challenges climbing up, but she is already comfortable jumping down!

The Storage Loft

We took advantage or the very high ceiling in the walk-in closet off the master bedroom and created a hidden storage loft. To keep the same style throughout the house, we anchored additional support beams along the walls, and finished the project with tongue & groove pine. Final dimensions are 1.95cm x 2.32cm with a height ranging from 98cm to 171cm.
Since we saved every bit of excess building material from the intial house build, this project cost less than 8,000 Yen (about $80 USD), but since I am a slow carpenter, this project took almost 10 hours to complete. Now our holiday decorations and off-season gear has a storage place, freeing up valuable floor space for the next projects...

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!