Welcome to ITO NEWS

Nothing too earth-shattering to report...

Sunday we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland! The roads to Yamanashi (for church) looked (according to the internet) like they were going to close anytime, so we decided to have church at the Klaus house. It was a good thing we left early to pick up Li-san, our dear Chinese friend, because we could hardly make it out of our parking spot. Akihiro started driving first and the wheels were really spinning. We had about 3 inches of snow at that time and it was tough for our non-snow tires! Finally we made it out after a bit of a push from me. Then we had to make the rather tight turn off of our "street". We were pretty well stuck and Akihiro thought we should give up on going, but I insisted that if he would just gun it a bit, we would be ok. As we are driving his brother's car, we were a bit nervous, but I agreed to give it a try myself while Akihiro scoped out the larger roads just down the street. Ah..just what we needed--an experienced Illinois snow driver! I got up some momentum and went fishtailing down our narrow street to pick up Akihiro. I was a bit proud of myself! We had a nice service and then ate rice balls around their table before returning home for a relaxing afternoon and evening at home. Akihiro is busy studying bookkeeping for an accounting test he will take this month.

Yesterday I went to visit one of my friends from Tokyo church. She taught me how to make Japanese hambagu--that's Japanese for hamburger! It is a lot like meatloaf--lots of onions mixed in with bread crumbs, egg, and garlic. They were yummy! She also tried to help me learn how to make a Japanese omlet--you put eggs, sugar and fish broth together and keep frying thin layers and rolling them all together. I know the fish broth sounds kinda funny, but these omlets were also very delicious! I hope me and my rectangular shaped fry pan can do the same at home!

Another food we have been eating lately is ojiya. I boil some seaweed broth and add cooked rice and onions and boil that until it is soupy--then add a beaten egg and stir. It is like a rice pudding, maybe. We put a bit of a citrus (yuzu) soy sauce on it and eat it for breakfast. This morning when we were eating it, Akihiro again commented on how much better this is than oatmeal. Why would anyone want to eat oatmeal, when there is rice? (I guess the answer is...perhaps only if they are Japanese!)

I'm also enjoying a treat from America that Akihiro does really like! I bought a bread machine and have been turning out some quite tasty morsels of honey wheat bread! We can't hardly find wheat bread anywhere here, so it is a real treat!

Well, our waiting is over! We had put a bid in on a bank-reposessed property near our home and were waiting til the court opened the bids today. We got it! The land has an old junky house (reportedly still full), a storage building, and an office building. Our plan is to clean out anything worth keeping and then knock it down and build a house for ourselves--perhaps there will be some room for a garden as well. The house is about a 10 minute walk downriver from our house, so it will mean about a 22 minute walk to the train station (a bit of a negative for us), a 1 minute walk to the river, a five minute walk to the park, a 10 miute walk to the grocery store, and a 15 minute walk to Klaus's! So, we need to start thinking about house plans and all that goes with that! It is kinda exciting, but yet seems like a big job too! We want to be wise stewards of the blessings God has given us. Will post some pictures later.

We are thankful to report that Dad's gamma knife procedure went well! He said it wasn't too pleasant having them screw a halo frame into his scull! We are hopeful and prayerful that in 2 months the MRI will show that all that is left of the tumors is a little cinder! They leave tomorrow for Phoenix for the elder conference and then are going to spend a few days with my aunt and uncle in Tucson! Dad is still feeling very good and mom is being adventurous and trying new recipes that follow his diet! Thanks so much for your prayers!

You can probably understand why we will tear it down when you see these pictures!

Office

Yesterday we drove to Chiba-ken (Tateyama, for those who know Japan) to visit a family practice clinic that is run by an acquaintance of Akihiro's. This doctor was trained in family practice in America, just like Akihiro. He returned to Japan about 5 years ago and eventually started his own family practice residency program and clinic. This type of set up is very rare in Japan. Most of the doctors are specialists. This doctor would like Akihiro to help him, so after some prayer and discussion, we decided to give it a try. It is about a 2-2.5 hour drive from our house in Hachioji. He will work two days in a row twice a month (4 days a month) and will stay overnight there two nights a month. He is excited to again be doing true family practice--seeing geriatrics, pediatrics, obstetrics, etc. The drive there was interesting as we drive under the Tokyo Bay about 10 km and then went above the bay on a bridge for several more km. It was a very clear day and we could see Mt. Fuji from the parking area/ rest stop in the middle of the bay. Akihiro will also be starting to teach nursing assistants one day a week for a few months. He likes the variability of his many different jobs and likes the flexibility that it allows.

He met with the architect today to start planning for our house. It is exciting, but also fairly overwhelming! We are keeping busy with the third revision of our book and Akihiro is studying hard for an accounting test he takes this weekend.