Randomness

I got my car washed on Monday for the first time. YES YOU READ CORRECTLY! For the first time since we bought it in June! It rains. A LOT. And so Mother Nature kinda does it for you. And I keep a clean car (inside) so it wasn't THAT bad. But it was pretty bad, so I washed it. And as I did, I wondered why a. I hadn't done it sooner, and b. I hadn't brought Mia!

This is the car wash:
JUST a wash (this machine, no frills, no tire wash, no waxing, no interior) is $2. There are several washes in between, and a Premium Wash (which I sprang for cuz - ya know, it'd been 6 months and all) was $12. Plus a couple of dollars for a tip because that woman vacuumed up dirt that was probably in that car since its first year of existence, 1998.

A staff member guides you into the car wash, and the tire goes up against this little bump, and you are directed to fold in your side rear view mirrors, and put on the emergency brake. Then the blue 3/4 square brush, soap, and water machine proceeds to move back and forth slowly on the tracks as you sit inside. I realized that I would've been car sick had I not fixated on a point outside- you know when you're at a stop light and there's a big bus next to you that starts rolling forward but you think you're rolling backward and you stamp on your brake? Yeah - it's like that but all around you! Crazy. Mia would've DEFINITELY loved this experience of getting to stay in the car while the machine is going. She begged to stay in the car in San Diego at the wash (and WHAT ever happened to that anyway?? My dad used to take my brother and me to the car wash and we could sit in there while we rolled through and it was like a fun weekend thing to do! We LOVED it - they don't have that anymore I don't think.) - this is Mia's opportunity to be inside!

Anyway, after that you drive to the side, they wipe everything down, clean the tires, vacuum like crazy, and voila - sparkly clean Cube.

Here are Mia, Logan and Nikolas starting their houses at the gingerbread house making contest last Saturday evening. Nice surprise - we got to go chill for 2 hours while the kids played! I must do things like this more often. And of course, it involved lots of SUGAR, so the kids loved it and my kid was bouncing off the walls when we got home because she ate at least one hundred pieces of red stringy licorice.

The finished products:

We also attended a REALLY fun Hanukkah pot luck, where I met some fabulously friendly and fun MOTs (members of the tribe) here on Okinawa. It felt so comfortable and fun, and Mia played with friends the whole night as I kibbitzed with the yentas. And some really cute nice Jewish boys, I might add- I felt like I should set them up, but for sure not here! No pictures, it was shabbat and I didn't think the camera would be welcome.

I might have mentioned a while ago that they sake experience here is a bit different. Maybe some of you have eaten sushi at a restaurant that did this, but I experienced it again the other night and did some research to be able to show you this really interesting (and generous) ritual.


Tuesday night, Anne & I went to Sushi Zen down the street, and as we were perusing the menu, I ordered some cold sake (daiginjyo), which was served in the typical way. The server put down a cube-shaped wooden cup called a masu box, and placed a tall slender glass inside. She unsheathed a large green bottle (like picture a magnum of champagne) and started to pour, and when it got to the top of the cup, she kept going. The sake overflowed into the square cup until it too was filled. This is a gesture of generosity and hospitality.
So after you've drank what was in the glass, you drink what's in the masu box. Good night, Irene. We did eat some delicious sushi & sashimi too - I love this place. It's a 2-block walk away (hence the sake) and the owner lived in Queens, NYC for 25 years -he's awesome.

Flower roll (avocado/tuna/roe/deeeelish):
Hello, hamachi...

Nummy rolls.