Her name is Lola...she was a showdog

 

 This being Lola, l-o-l-a, Lola. She is no show dog, all rough and tumble this one is.

We thought adopting Max's sister would help tame the beast that is the Maxinator.

Funny thing this idea, turns out Lola is twice as crazy as Maximillion. She doesn't stop moving except to catch a cat nap and then it's back to crazy! She jumps and spins, leaps and sprints. Havanese breeders call this behavior "run like hell" for the way these dogs move, and it is true! Even Max can't keep up and he is Havanese too. I tried the Rare Frozen Green Bean, but she is immune to it's kryptonite powers. The only way to slow the Lola is the crystal powers of the frozen freezer water - the ICECUBE. But even the cube only last for moments before the whirlwind returns...

 

I am a little late in posting this since we adopted her in August and we are now in November; where did the year go? Hard to believe we are near to Thanksgiving and Christmas school breaks.

But back to Lola, Max, Daisy and Freds - 4 months in pictures:

 

July to August: 

 

               

August:

 

Lola and Max 4 mos

  

Max learned to bob for ice cubes

 

and smile for the camera

 

September to October: 

 

 

The mild summer weather was enjoyed by all





 October to November: includes the furloughcation (which consisted mostly of naps)

  

Since the zoo was closed, I had to stalk the ever elusive wild house cats



 
And up to present; a beautiful fall day

 



This leaf had no chance!

 

Japanese Language Class

So I finished my adult education class for "Beginning" Japanese language and realized I am going to have to go back to school for a real course, one with 2 to 3 days a week rather than 2 hours once a week.
I write "Beginning" in quotes because that was a joke. We went from "hi" "hello" to counting to 1 trillion...huh? Why do I need to know what 1 trillion is in Japanese? Maybe when I am super famished after walking a million miles through town one day I'll just stroll on into a Sushi joint and ask for 1 trillion unagi rolls or something like that - yea, sure that'll happen.
Yummy!!!!!!

I did learn proper sentence structure which will help me to decipher the subject of each sentence; of course I still have to learn elementary vocabulary.

Which is why I bought this:

But what I did not need to learn was "is that your sister's boyfriend's friend's red car over there by that postoffice?" I don't say these things in English!

To top this whole mess off, the required book is written in Hiragana. Why would a beginning class that assumes a student has no knowledge of the Japanese language require a book written in one of the Japanese alphabets, why?.....

This is as much Japanese language as I knew when I started:

even this confused me the first time I saw it...did it mean run to the bathroom or run out the door. Lucky for me, in the the airport both the bathroom and emergency exit were in the same place.

A fellow student told me the book is available in English, so I purchased that one also- not that it was much easier to follow. Of course this student was smart enough to drop after the thrid class and hopefully get some of her money returned.

I have a lot to learn and according to my teacher my lack of learning is because I take too many notes. Who knew that taking too many notes contributes to lack of learning.

Despite all this I am going to try again, I really want to go to the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, which we couldn't go to on our trip to Japan because the tour is conducted in Japanese!
I also will be better prepared to ask what the heck this squishy wriggling thingy is on my plate - although I think there is slight comfort in not knowing what the heck the thing is so as not to insult the chef and just eat it!

MAX!

I still have yet to update my Japan travel photos and am really wanting to post for everyone to see; I am looking forward to revisiting my travels. However I have a new struggle causing me to take time away from my blogging...MaxiMillion! Yes that is correct a puppy named Max. You ask, how could such a little creature take so much time and care that I can barely get my household chores completed?....

(This being MaxiMillion)

Introducing the new and improved Havanese, he climbs higher than any mountain goat, leaps tall objects in a single bound, chews the toes and fingers of mortal men and women, and yes folks, the new breed can out run the fastest of all cats. There is no limit to his super-Havanese abilities. He even has super hearing, one little creak in the floor and you're caught - the alarm howl sounds.

Bean Freeze

The only thing that can stop such ferocity, his kryptonite, is the Rare Frozen Green Bean. The powers of the Rare Frozen Green Bean bind the Maxinator and make him weak, but only for a limited time until he breaks (chews) free of the Bean's hold...

                                        



Beware!

Another Thank You - Camp Food

Once again I find myself needing to say "thanks" to all those who have posted reviews, this time for camp food.
The family and I stayed 2 nights in the Greenbrier State Park camp site in Boonsboro, Maryland and had a really nice time (even in the 30 degree weather, but that is a whole other story!)
Because of all the folks who have tested and sampled camp meals and posted results we were fortunate to use this expertise to our advantage. I wish I had taken pictures (too cold to get the camera out), but our meals were amazingly good.
We made foil pocket breakfasts, one with hash browns, scrambled eggs, turkey sausage and cheese and the other all that in a burrito. I think we had the best breakfasts of the families we were with. So good, premade and frozen the night before then thawed and heated on the coals, no clean-up. For the dinner to share, we made pasta salad, hard boiled eggs and premade pull-apart cheese and ham and cheese sandwiches, just heat and serve. Of course we had the obligatory smores for dessert. I am not a fan of these things, so gross. Just give me a heaping tablespoon (or serving spoon) of Marshmellow Fluff and I'm good.

*On a side note, why does anyone think giving kids flaming sticks of hot, sticky goo and melted chocolate a good idea?
I did, however, see an alternative to flaming sticks of goo in the form of an ice cream cone with all the stuff tucked inside and wrapped in foil and neatly placed on the grill for a few moments to melt the chocolate. The recipe I saw has bananas, which (when I have a chance to try) I will replace with bacon!

There were so many ideas and pictures of delicious food posted for us to choose from I went for the easiest and less fussy, but all the recipes available sounded great. Since I don't camp much, I do not have the fancy camping supplies like a dutch oven or those fancy sandwich maker things - a reuben would be really good in that thing I bet! Heck, we don't even have a proper cooler - had to borrow a neighbors.

Anyhow, this is really a big "THANK YOU" to everyone that continue to post all those great ideas for everything - people are reading, especially me!

Offline for a bit...

I have been wanting to post some photos of our trip to Japan, but as luck would have it I had to restore my computer to when it was created. Ah...the joys of technology. And, as if that wasn't enough, turns out my computer is SO old I'm having trouble loading the necessary drivers. Good times.

On a different note, I have also been enjoying such strange weather here in Northern Virginia; we are having a Spring of sorts. I thought we would go from cold to hot (as is typical) but not so much this year, so far...
So to the great outdoors I have been heading enjoying the "idea" of yard work and gardening.
Really here's what it's all about:

That's right soaking up the sun and fresh air. Ahh to be a cat.

I am looking forward to sharing my trip with everyone and lessons learned and such.
In fact I loved Japan so much I was given the challenge that if I learn to understand, read and possibly speak Japanese I can go back. Yeah!!!!! So I just started a Beginning 101 Japanese language class.
Here is my desk, not kidding about class. So weird to be in school again.

Learning a whole new set of characters sure is proving difficult, but I'll have it mastered soon enough. And back to Japan I go!

A little bit of Heaven

I meant to have all my latest vacation photos, commentaries and lessons learned up by now, but have gotten distracted by spring school activities, please forgive me.
One thing I must mention is how much I miss the food in Japan. I've tried to copy recipes, but I am the worst cook ever. My claim to fame, at least here in the household is nachos and Beefaroni - that is it. I can't even get those simple little white bread and ham sandwiches to taste the same as they did in Japan (and I ate plenty so I have an idea of how they taste.)

So when I went to my local Asian food mart I was happy to find a small food court with all my favorites. And although the food market is not a Japanese food market, the DC area is lacking BIG TIME!, I was still able to get katsudon served just like I got in Arashiyama. Oh man was it good too. I had the miso soup, salad with citrus dressing and pickled radish. I can't help but think of such good food every time I pass the exit on the highway to go to the store, but that would be so unfair of me to do such a thing to the family (hummmm.) Now if only someone can find me an okonomiyaki restaurant...

Here is a delicious example of one of the many ham sandwiches I enjoyed. The fishy rice triangle was for my better half. This exquisite meal was purchased in Odawara Station on our way to Kyoto from visitng Hakone.

Thank you

First things first...I want to say "thank you" to all those folks who post reviews on travel sites and to those that have created their own blogs about trips, things to do and food reviews. There is no better recommendation than personal opinion and experiences. All these references made planning for my Japan trip so easy. I was able to find "off the tourist path" things to do and get real opinions about restaurants and using the railways. My husband was able to choose the best seats on the long trip over and back by reading about the experiences travelers had on airlines. He changed our tickets multiple times because of these reviews so we were able to use our time more efficiently and stay longer. Please continue to post reviews, experiences and pictures, they are so helpful and some rather amusing and fun to read. The little things do matter. THANKS!!!!