T Stands for Visitors from Japan

Hi everyone. 

It is already time for T again.  I am still in shock that it is November, and also that I can count the weeks right up to the end of the year. This is mostly because at the school where I work every week has something going on. It is scary when you can do that so far out, but then again, it is not that far out.

And it sure looks like November now.
(And they say winter weather could be in the forecast too soon. It's just too early for that weather!)

And now for my T post.  Stop by Bleubeard and Elizabeth's  blog to see what the ladies of the T Gang have been up to.

Last week my school's sister school from Nichinan, Japan was visiting. This past Saturday night my school's principal hosted a dinner for them and anyone from school who had gone on the exchange to Japan. Those of you who've known me for while might remember my journey in 2018. This is the 10th  anniversary of these trips, and there were people at the party from various other trips. It was great to see a few Japanese teachers who we had met before and also getting to meet the new person they brought to the US with them. 

Now in Japan it is customary to bring gifts when you visit, and our Japanese guests brought some for us. Here's what I received, perfect for T.

 This is the locally made sweet potato vodka. I had tried it in Japan and was happy to receive this little sampler bottle. Now I can share a toast to Japan with my family sometime when a toast is called for. Or more likely, use it in a nice holiday drink.
And it is my T Day drink this week.

The wide neck bottle is so different from what we have here.

And I also received this little box of cookies.

And  the box itself is a work of art.
 These tiny nibble cookies are delicious (green tea flavored I believe).

And the biggest surprise of the night was when the party was breaking up,  one of the teachers from Japan came up to myself and one of my friends and suggested we come teach in Japan when we retire. He said they need real science teachers there.

Now that could be a lot to consider (if I had any inclination to go, which I can't say I do.)

I'm also joining  Art Every Day Month, and today I have an journal page for both that challenge and also for Art Journal Journey. Rike is our lovely hostess this month and her challenge is Fruits and Vegetables.

On my rough painted page I stamped some brown pairs and the pear quote several times. Then I painted the giant pear  and stamped the quote several times. Finally I added the little metal leaf that has been sitting on my work table for awhile now.

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, and I hope you have a great T Day.

Summer Bounty

One thing you've got to love about summer is its fruit and veggie bounty. Maybe if you live  someplace warm where your growing season is long, or longer than ours here in New England, you might not get as excited about fresh produce. But seeing I come from a place where our nice weather is limited to a few short months, and since I love gardening (it's those farming genes I get from my dad's ancestor's I guess), I like to take advantage of all the yummy things to eat that summer brings.

And right now it is strawberry season in my area. So yesterday was my favorite kind of day (low humidity, warm but not hot) and I went strawberry  picking at a local farm. 

 Seeing I arrived at the farm at about 8 AM, there was quite a few other folks picking already.

The picking was fantastic.

And boy do they taste good.  I got ambitious last night and did a bit of baking.

And that tasted good too. Hee-hee.

And I'm working away on my Japan Travel Journal. I'm about 90% done and ready to be finished with it. 

These 2 pages make up a spread. The top page's background is some type of shipping form. There was whole stack of them in the lobby of a hotel, so I snagged on. It has several layers, so I used some of them to make the background. Then I added a postcard, a bit of stamping, a postage stamp and a painted title. Oh yes, and one of those cute dog stickers.

And this bottom page is started with some black and white striped napkins and then one of the Geisha napkin images. You might remember I used one of these before. But if you don't, that's not an issue.

So I  added a few assorted bits of paper and then stamped some Japanese texts-but who knows what they actually say.

Since my beautiful Japanese lady has butterflies I am going to link up to Try It On Tuesday and their new challenge which is Things with Wings. And I am also linking up to Gill's challenge at Art Journal Journey which is Inspired By. These pages are inspired by my trip back in April to Japan. And no, I am not obsessed by Japan and am ready to move forward. That's why I am working away on my trip journal like a crazy woman.

OK, I have babbled on way too much. 

Thank you for visiting. I always appreciate you stopping by.

Destination Japan

Happy Thursday everyone.

 I didn't bring any art supplies with me to Japan as I knew there wouldn't be much art time. I did bring some pens and a little notebook, but other than jotting down some observations, I never did do any doodling.

At home I keep a  daily drawing journal which is actually a calendar with full pages for each day.  Nothing got filled in while I was gone so that left a lot of blank pages when I got home.  Rather than doing a lot of drawing, I made a couple of collage pages to fill them in, as leaving blank pages just bugged me.

Try It On Tuesday has a new theme which is Destinations. Perfect for my pages!

And because I have a bunny and some flowers on these pages, I am also linking up to Jo's challenge at Art Journal Journey  Her fun theme is Flora and Fauna. And finally, Moo Mania has a "new" theme which is more flowers, and both pages have flowers so they fit for that challenge too.

Hope everyone is having a great week. I will be back with more photos another day. I'm running a little late this morning now that I've gotten this far into the post. :)

Thanks for visiting.