A Few October Crumbs

November 3 is a national holiday in Japan.  This holiday was originally called Meiji-setsu and commemorated the birthday of Emperor Meiji .  In 1948 the holiday was renamed Culture Day to commemorate the Constitution announced on November 3, 1946.  Today is when Japanese citizens celebrate peace and freedom and promote culture. 

Ridiculous as it might seem, I'm a bit embarrassed about the role representatives of my beloved nation surely played in renaming another country's national holiday.  So I intend to be on my best behaviour when my friends and I join several thousand other celebrants at the Chrysanthemum Festival at Sankei-en Garden in Yokohama today.  Gosh, there's another potential epitaph:  She had Good Intentions.

I'll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, I have a few more pictures (and impressions) from October to upload before chrysanthemums in every size, color, and form take possession of my camera.

My extreme canine phobia did not stop me from looking on in mild amusement, albeit from a safe distance, during the Dog Wars of October 2010. A childless and petless senior dual military couple (SDMC) blew the whistle on their neighbors for exceeding the maximum number of two (2) dogs allowed in base housing. The neighbors were providing temporary post-operative care for a "pound puppy" in addition to their own two dogs. The SDMC requested their neighbors be evicted from base housing. The commanding officer of the base ruled in favor of the dog.

In the two weeks since the ruling was issued, I have learned to look both ways before opening my front gate and sprinting the ten feet to my carport. Suddenly every Tom, Dick, and Harry is tangled up in three leashes rather than just one or two. (No, I was not as close to these dogs as it my judicious use of cropping might make it appear.)

A particularly ferocious specimen

The Ancient Mariner is flanked by Carol and Marlene in this picture. Marlene is from my hometown (Jackson, Michigan) and was in Japan to meet her six-week old grandson. Meeting her at Starbucks was what I imagine a blind date is like, except I knew she was from Jackson the minute I walked through the door. Mike and Carol found us there when they took a break from moving the last three boxes of Carol's bath products to my foyer. Carol moved back to the States the next day, leaving us her gas grill, firepit, the aforementioned bath products, enough alcohol to stock a small pub, and a power of attorney to sell her car. Thanks, Carol. Fair winds and following seas.

Two new flavors of my favorite ice cream bonbons arrived in convenience stores last month: dulce de leche and what I think might be strawberry cheesecake. So far I've only tasted the former. Yes, I'm worried about me too.

The Knit Wits among you will be interested to see that Betty is still following her mantra, "Another Month, Another Hair Color."  Black was a natural (!?) choice for October because Star Trek's Spock was her Halloween persona.