Jess and Mark's Excellent Adventure: So Many Excellent Adventures Part 3

Part 3: How Lucky We Are

Well if you haven’t heard by now, Mark and I are the proud new owners of a Springer Spaniel named Lucky. She was rescued from the Fukushima area after the earthquake and tsunami, so after a year of shelters and foster homes she has found her way permanently into our home and hearts. Ruby and Lucky are getting along great! Lucky is learning English and how to duck under Ruby’s tail. She is really sweet, lays around all day and begs just like Ruby. Lucky is slowly coming out of her shell, she has been through a lot but just the other morning she started a game of chase with Ruby right before breakfast.

She may even be a better beggar than Ruby!

They are so cute!

We had every intention of adopting a younger dog, one that would outlive Ruby. We were originally told Lucky was 3-5 years old… it turns out Lucky is 6-8 years old. So we have settled on her turning 7 on St. Patrick's Day.

Lucky with her birthday bone.

Also in this post I thought I would throw a few photos and mini stories that are worth posting.

So in January I was able to go to a Daruama doll festical. The Daruma doll, also known as a Dharma doll, is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll. These dolls, though typically red and depicting a bearded man (Dharma), vary greatly in color and design depending on region and artist. The dolls are purchased to make a wish/prayer on in the begininning of the year from a temple. As I understand it you color in one eye when you make your wish for the year and then the other eye when your wish comes true. Then at the end of the year, all the Daruma are brought back to the temple they were purchased from for a traditional burning ceremony. The dolls come in different sizes based on if it is for an individual, family or coorperation.

The Big Daruma!

The Burn Pile. All those wishes came true! YAY!

If you haven’t heard one of my dear friends, Sheena, has been in Japan for the past couple months. We have gone to Tokyo Disney and Kamakura together. I hope to spend some more time with her and her now visiting husband this weekend.

Main Street is covered in Tokyo Disney!

You can try on Cinderella's glass slipper.

and play with army men!

Oh and the snow snow snow! Who knew it snowed in Japan so much. Mark and I have been taking snowboarding trips whenever we can.

My cute little family!

She burrows!

We got over 5 inches in one night!

Now that it is slightly warming up we have the blooming of the Plum Blossom Trees, which is before the blooming of the Cherry Blossom Trees. I was invited by one of my students to take a hike with a local Japanese hiking group to a Plum Blossom Forest, but it was still too early and hardly anything was in bloom. Now, I have to tell you that this hiking group’s members were all 60 to 83 year old Japanese Ladies and one elderly man. They kicked my butt on this hike. I thought we were going on a nature walk….. no way. We hiked 5 miles up a mountain! They have hiked all of the world: Alaska, California, Africa…. They are hardcore. The group has also asked me to come back, so I am now a member of a hiking group. The only Gaijin member. I guess someone has to be the token blonde in this country. lol.