Sunday, May 2, 2010

Watch our garden grow...

I've just realized that we haven't really shown much of where we spend 95% of our time...home. So here's a little peak:

We basically live in a cement box. Typhoon- and earthquake-proof cement box. Great to withstand natural disasters, not so great to create a "home-y feeling." But we've done our best to make our house a home. One of our priorities was making the most of our outside space/balcony. We don't have a spectacular view, and the expanse of the view is limited from the 3rd floor, but we love enjoying glass of wine or grilled steak outside.

View from the 3rd floor
Another view, slightly to the left. We sure love the construction materials yard right below us...those trucks start early!

So not a particularly riveting, sprawling view of Okinawa. But it's interesting to watch life happen out on the streets. If you can see in the background, the green round-roof building is an elementary school. We can hear the intercom (in Japanese of course), see them coming and going to school, and sometimes see (and hear) the kiddos playing outside for recess or P.E. 

With spring came an itch to spruce up the outdoors. We took a trip to the local hardware store - Makeman. To the Americans, it is referred to as Make-man, maw-kee-man, or the monkey store (the store "mascot" is a  monkey with a tool). It is pretty much a mix between a Home Depot and Walmart. It has tools, hardware, and home improvement tools, but also office supplies, pets and pet supplies, a "100 Yen section" (similar to a dollar store/dollar section), and garden center. We left the store with some flower boxes, seeds, seedlings, soil, etc. And here's a little of what we ended up with:

I couldn't resist these gorgeous hydrangeas. They are my favorite flower to decorate with (usually fake) so these pretty pink ones look great as our spring centerpiece. I'm not really sure how long they'll last, but I'm loving them while they do...

Our miniature herb garden...We got basil and mint seedlings and planted cilantro and parsely seeds(which you can see are sprouting a little bit!) We've already made a from-scratch margherita pizza with the basil, and hopefully we'll get some use out of the mint with some summery mojitos!

Shisa's "yard." We planted some grass seed in these small containers in hope that she would use them as a secondary "yard." 

I was super excited about this Topsy Turvy tomato plant, but it is trying its best to NOT grow upside down and is growing UP. It's not doing well...

View from the inside. Friday night we grilled some blue-cheese burgers, so we decided to light the tiki torches and enjoy the evening outside. 

A little big of the tiki torch glow and the Okinawa "skyline"

Makeman also has some garden flooring, so we may be adding that in the near future to add on to our little garden spot. Hopefully the herbs will supply us through the summer with some delicious fresh dinners! It's nothing fancy, but we sure are enjoying it!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Shisa Dog

 Have you heard? We got a dog! Like a month and a half ago. I decided while Zac was gone that it would be nice to have another warm body in the house. When I went to visit him in Singapore, we discussed it and he agreed that that'd be fine. So I scoured the local "craig's list," OkinawaYardSales. And one day little Shisa popped up (well, her name then was Tootie...do you blame me for changing it?).

It was a great fit. Yorkie for my allergies. Small for the apartment. Still a puppy (she was about 8 months when we got her). Well tempered. Doesn't bark. Very friendly.

The first couple of weeks were a little rough. I was attempting to house break the little thing by myself...Zac still wasn't home. Please note, the only other dog I've ever had was Kippie, our old miniature dachshund. I was less than 1 year old when my family got her. Needless to say, my house-breaking skills were non-existent. Zac came home a week or so later, which was another adjustment combining our "parenting styles."

When we were thinking of names (back in Singapore), we wanted something Japanese, but neither of us really know any Japanese. So we were limited to Sushi, Nigiri, Sashimi...Then we came up with Shisa, which are little dog/lions that sit in front of almost all entrances/buildings here on Okinawa. They are usually two: one with its mouth open to catch the evil spirits and one closed to keep the happy spirits in the building. They are a guardian dog of sorts. So now we have our own little Shisa dog. Guardian of our house to bring us good fortune.

But this little firecracker wouldn't do much against an evil spirit (or bad guy) other than jump on it. Her bite is way worse than her bark...because she doesn't bark. Hardly makes a peep. Sometimes she'll whimper a bit. And she growls like Chewbacca when playing tug of war with her monkey toy.

She's quite spunky and playful and loves to play and cuddle (she's curled up in the nook of my arm as I write). I don't know if it's a puppy thing or a little dog thing, but she's easily distracted. For example, when we're out for a "potty walk," if the wind blows too hard or a car drives by, she'll lose her "bathroom focus." She wouldn't hurt a fly, but does like to chase the pigeons. And she loves to give Zac a high five when he gets home from work.

I was going to wait until she got a haircut to post pics, but it looks like that will never happen. So here she is, shaggy and all!

She's a little poofy after a good bath and brushing.

Playing with her miniature tennis ball

Scratching and squirming on the carpet

Shisa and her favorite toy, the monkey. She loves playing tug of war with it and chewing off the ears.

We love having her around! She's the perfect addition to our little family!