First day back

I slept well last night, whether it was from being back in my own bed or being so tired, I don't know. I slept crosswise, which was more comfortable. Maybe it's time to rotate the mattress. I woke about 8:45. It was nice to have my usual breakfast and nutritional supplements. I spent most of my time combing through my 140 e-mail messages. Still have a ways to go. I had pickled onions with the leftover beef. The onions are too strong by themselves. But now that the beef is gone, I shall have to cook something tomorrow. I also went to post late in the afternoon and took the bus to Chris' office to pick up the mail for the week. I drove our 'new' car home. Mrs. Yi had to show me which one it was. In the mail was a packet of charm squares. I was so happy to get them, only to find out that they are not cut right. That is very strange considering who sent them, so I wonder if she is ok. When it got dark, I plugged in the Christmas tree. I so enjoy the lights! And it allows me to see as I walk between the sewing room and the computer room without having the bright overhead lights on. I got out a quilt top that has been in the works for years. It involves hand-sewing a small double wedding ring onto borders. So it was the perfect thing to do as I listened to some audio links.
I was on Youtube looking at videos for making jeans into denim skirts - maybe for our next project. There is a lady who demonstrates how to make simple clothes by hand sewing. (www.thediscounttrendsetter.com) Her clothes are very simple to make, no patterns needed, but I can't imagine them looking anything other than homemade.

Now for the story you have all been waiting for - our trip to Tokyo
** Monday, January 18th **
After enjoying the tree lights one last time, I packed and went to bed. I was excited so I didn't sleep really well, and I awoke at 5, but thought the alarm said 6, so I hopped out of bed full of adrenaline. I showered and dressed in the clothes I had picked out the night before. I had time to eat breakfast and check e-mail before I shut down the computer and left (6:30). Happily, the car started right up. I got to the DHL on time and backed into a parking space just in case it needed jumping after our trip. Judy and her husband were standing outside when I walked up. I left my luggage with them while I went into the DHL for cash. I got U.S. dollars, but it wouldn't give me won. I already had yen. On the way out I met and man and wife going to Okinawa. They were vacationing here for the cold weather! Well, they got it. Outside all my friends were waiting.
We boarded the bus and sat up front. AFter almost an hour, the bus let us off at the airport. We walked quite a ways to find the "United Airlines" counter, only to find that our flight leaves at 12:15 so it wasn't open yet. We were 4 hours early! So we sat in Dunkin Donuts having drinks until the counter opened. At 8:45 we got in a long line. But soon we discovered the internet check-in line, which was MUCH shorter. Since Cathy had printed out boarding passes the night before, we got right through and went to security. I had to quickly gulp down the contents of my water bottle. Then we went through Immigrations - no problem. Being so early, we stopped at the Korean Culture Center and made little Korean furniture. See pic. Then we took the monorail to the new terminal and easily found our gate, and STILL had lots of waiting to do. A and C (Annette and Cathy) went looking for coffee, while J (Judy) and I stayed and talked. Our flight was a BIG plane which was only stopping in Japan ofr a layover before going on to L.A. We boarded early and sat waiting. I got out a piece of gum and my Sudoku book. I had no ear trouble on ascent, PTL. They served us 3 little sandwiches each for lunch. I ate the cheese from one and the ham from another. Not sure what the other filling was, so I let it go. I had some nuts in my bag in case I got hungry. The flight was about 2 hours. The worst part was filling out the customs and immigration forms. I filled in 'Occupation' with 'teacher', then decided that next time I was going to write 'President'. (And I did) We landed at 2:17 Not everyone got off so debarkation was not so bad. Annette seemed to know where to go so we followed her through Immigration and Customs, picking up our luggage in between. Then we bought train tickets from the Norita airport into Tokyo. IT looked just like a subway train and was heated, too. It was empty when we got on, but filled up qickly at subsequent stops. After more than an hour, we got off and transferred to the subway. After half an hour we reached Hiroo (hero). Coming out of the subway we were suprised to find that it was dark already. Following a map we dragged our luggage up one street and down another until we reached our hotel - New Sanno. Only people with military ID's can use it. IT was beautiful and elegant. As we checked in, we noticed a good-sized group of ladies who fit the 'quilter' profile. So we made their acquaintance and yes, they had just come back from the Tokyo Internation Quilt Festival at the Tokyo dome. They recommended seeing the vendor booths first and waiting 'till the crowd thinned out to see the quilts. Finishing our check-in, we went to our rooms to unpack. Then we went to a restaurant in the hotel for supper. J and I got the salad bar, while A and C got the buffet. We all agreed that the wild mushroom soup was outstanding. Whenever one of us left the table, the waiter came over and folded their napkin. He also kept our water glasses full, so we tipped him well. We planned to take a walk after supper, but were tired, so we just explored the hotel. We discovered gift shops, the pool, the internet room, ATM, NAvy exchange, post office, and other restaurants. Then we gathered in C and A's room to talk. At 9 we retreated to our room. We set the alarm for 7 so we could meet at 8:15 for breakfast. J read her book while I wrote for my blog.