Kanako

It's Friday, yet another blessed day to wake up in. I love to get up early and feel rested. Sometimes those two things do not go together. Today I have plans to visit a dear friend. I have not seen her in such a long time so I am excited to see her. When we get together we talk for hours. There have been many changes in both our lives since our last visit, so we have numerous things to get caught up on. Yesterday I bought all the ingredients to make biscotti, I wish I had the time to make it before I saw her, she would love that. Unfortunately my oven door is on the fritz and can't be fixed until this weekend. Something is wrong with one of the hinges and can only be opened about 5 inches. Somewhat of an inconvenience and absolutely an eye opener as to yet another item I take for granted. Kristin wanted chocolate chip cookies the other day and I had to say "sorry". This weekend should prove to be quite busy if I actually get the things done that I would like to. I need to concentrate more on my Summer projects if I am going to get them completed before school starts. I have gathered things for Kanako my Japanese "daughter" and I need to get those in the mail. She is having a baby and I only wish I could be there to experience this special time with her. Her baby is due any day now and it is customary to move back home for one or two months with parents to get help. Sho (her husband) will travel to see her and the baby on weekends. I am sending her American lullabies on CD, a Winnie-the-Pooh blanket, and a number of small things I have collected for her family. I began knitting her a baby blanket but the weather turned hot and I have been slow to work on it. Not to mention I could not find the pattern I wanted to do so I made do with simple work and didn't think it was very enjoyable to work on, but I will get it finished before Christmas. Kanako is a special girl to my family. She came to us when she was 15 years old as an exchange student. She only stayed with us for two weeks but we fell in love with her gentle and caring nature. She returned to us when she was 17 years old and lived with us for one year. She graduated from high school here and made many friends. There were times when she was a challenge to us but in some way she helped me to prepare for the teenage years of my own children. We were very sad to see her leave. She returned again two years ago and brought her mother to meet us. They only stayed for one week but we had the best time. The difference in language was never a barrier. Kanako's english is quite good and she would interpret when needed but overall expression and body language spoke for itself. We stayed up late every night drinking tea and comparing cultures. The time was priceless and we didn't like seeing them go back to Japan. We still stay in touch and often exchange packages through the mail. Kanako recently got married and sent us a video of the ceremony. It was such a beautiful wedding. I had the honor of making the welcome board for the entry way. Her colors were yellow and orange. I think I may have some pictures of it that I will post. It was a fun project. Now here she is having a baby at age 25. I really wish I could go there for a couple of weeks but it isn't the best timing right now. I have her package ready to mail so I need to take it to the post office. Well I had better get out and water the garden before the temperature rises. Yesterday I received two packages of assorted garden seeds from my GardenHere friends and I want to spend a little time looking them up as some of them are unfamiliar to me. I have many things to do today...if you have joined me during a portion of my quiet time then I hope your day is blessed with busy hands as well.