Saturday June 13

I finally have an internal alarm clock. So even though I went to bed late, I was still up at 6AM, as if it was a work day. Everyone was still sleeping so I spent the morning writing letters and feeding meal worms to the blue birds out front. They have a nest in one of the bird houses my aunt built. So every morning and night we feed them a couple hand fulls of worms.

I finally went on a run. I was waiting until I adjusted to the altitude a bit. I ran a mile in around 8 minutes and didn't get sick from the altitude.

After my run I made some ciabatta bread. One of aunt Mary and uncle Pete's nephew's was turning 3. So, we were making food to bring to the picnic. The picnic was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day and extremely windy. Uncle Pete flew one of his kite's which was neat to watch.

After the picnic one of their friends Yoko needed help with setting up her analog t.v. Yoko is such an interesting woman. She is a Japanese artist who seems to do every kind of art. She carves animals out of wood. These are the most gorgeous wood carvings I have ever seen. When you walk into her house, in her entry way, she has a rock garden lined with bamboo and a place for you to take off your shoes. In her living room there is a wooden plat form with bamboo matts underneath a low japanese table. Behind the table is a display of Japanese tea sets like you have never seen before. It is a very comfortable house and her hospitality is unbelievable. She will offer you every kind of food and tea. You also will not leave her house without a gift. Not only does she carve wood, but she sews, and is now making faberge eggs out of goose and ostrich eggs. They are very stunning and her handwork is immaculate. She gave Mary an egg that is lined with gold and is a music box for her birthday. I will have to take a picture sometime and put it up. I left with some oreo cookies and an invite to come over and learn how to make faberge eggs and anything else. Along with a homemade Japanese meal!

When we left Yoko's and it was storming and hailing. Here are some photos of the ice we got! It isn't summer here yet.