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Cooler temperatures this month brought the end of my work on
the adjacent house. It was really difficult to work at the
other house with Shai. Days were much cooler and not as
long. With over 90 percent of the work completed it seemed
like a better idea to finish everything during Spring of
next year. Now pretty much back in the house I turned my
attention to my Internet projects. I was trying to figure
out what to do with the English Global Group site. I decided
to turn it into an English language learning video and
activity site. At the end of the month there were already
over 600 videos and activities uploaded to the site. We went
to the farms on the last day of the month and played
football with Shai. We spent a quiet New Years Eve at home. |
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After running our English Global Group school for over a
year, we finally made a decision to close the school
beginning this month. A lot went into this decision
including, too few students, unfinished work on the adjacent
house, neglecting Internet projects and a bit of controversy
over some miscommunications with a good friend and
assistant. Actually we decided to at least think about
opening English Global Group again as a coffee shop and
English conversation school but not sure at this time. |
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This is now the second consecutive month of working on the
adjacent house almost every day from about 7:00 am until
about 5:00 pm. Doing this while watching two year old Shai
from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm and sometimes later, Monday thru
Friday. Totally exhausted at this point and hoping to find
the energy to finish all the work which need to be done. End
of the month was a crazy Halloween party which turned out to
be the last party until who knows when. |
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Work continued on the house as temperatures continued to be
warm but mild compared to the previous year. |
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After a few weeks of negotiations, we purchased the adjacent
property for an unbelievably low price. The house is one of
three houses built at the same time, including our house.
The adjacent house is almost exactly the same except our
house has a first floor bedroom and a second floor veranda.
The condition of the adjacent house was pretty awful when we
bought it. In some ways better and some ways worse than our
house. The fact I already spent a year repairing our house
made working on the adjacent house easier but still
difficult. |
 This
storm is on the way to either Korea or Japan. Probably will stay on
the west side of Japan and not affect us at all. |
 Today
the three of us went to a fireworks festival which is pretty
famous in Nara, Japan. We ate a lot of food, drank a lot of
beer, and met many cool people.
More pictures of the event |
 Another
monthly party....um this month. The theme this time was
Summer BBQ which got off to a rough beginning. It was
pouring rain for hours. Because of the rain, a train
accident, and a few friends working, the turnout was a bit
less than expected but still managed about 25 people
including those who went home before the customary group
picture.
More pictures of the party |
 Another
BBQ Party, this time with family to celebrate Shai turning 2
years old. We finished barbecuing minutes before a mega
thunderstorm. Thanks to the new patio cover we were able to
hang outside during the storm before coming in the house. Shai really liked the
thunder and lightning. Seems like he is on the road to
becoming a little science geek.
More pictures previous dinner parties |
 Today
was a special day. Shai turned 2 years old and it was the
first time for all of us to visit Kobe and a beach in Japan.
This place was really cool and reminded me of Ocean Beach
back in San Diego, California. The sand was pretty course
compared to California beaches but it was still nice. Really
nice to be able to drink on the beach.
 Shai
was really getting a lot of attention from all the young
pretty girls on the beach. He seemed very happy to make a
lot of new friends. He spent the entire day playing in the
ocean and on the sand.
More pictures of the beach |
 Woke
up at 4:00 am and was out of the house at 5:15 am in order
to get a good spot on the street to watch the parade of
yamaboko (floats) which begin at 9:00 am. Found a nice spot
on the shaded side of the street in front of a jazz themed
coffee shop. Watched the entire four hour event. We walked
around Kyoto for hours then went to Osaka for dinner and
shopping.
More pictures of the event |
 Hey
best way to get rid of all the food from a party....make
another. Invited family and a few friends to join us for a
feast of basically old food from the day before.
More pictures of the party |
 This
was now our second year for this party making it an annual
event. We had a good turnout and of course lit fireworks
which are still legal in Japan....you can purchase them at
the local Walmart, AKA Seiyu. Still plenty of Summer within
the next few months for more fun in the sun.
More pictures of the party |
