Category: Family

Happy Birthday to me! (new car)

Right at the end of July, I took a trip to Phoenix to attend a T-Jet training course. During my visit to Arizona, I stopped by the Puhala residence (I used to work for Michael). I had some serious house envy as I toured their huge Scottsdale residence. I realized after I left that I didn’t take enough pictures so I only have the one from atop the highpoint of their backyard.

Graham and Catherine came to visit at the beginning of August and we enjoyed some fine dining and fine wine in San Francisco at Farallon. They very kindly picked me up a couple of bottles of the Rafanelli Zinfandel that Graham and I like during their tour of the winery (a tour that is not so easy to get!).

In other news we got a new car! The old Jeep was finally started to give me more worries than usual. The last time I had it in at the shop the guys showed me metal filings in the transmission fluid. Tick-tock.

We bought a 2006 Chrysler Pacifica Signature Series Touring AWD in Sunset Bronze. Quite a nice machine with toys like navigation and rear seat DVD. The key was the third row and the amount of cargo space when you fold the seats down as we do need to carry boxes from time to time. Basically it is a vehicle that is enough of a mini-van to be a family vehicle but also has some manly styling in terms of stance, chrome, engine and handling.


Our dinosaur on black T
Ty at Willow Glen Library

Pacifica Exterior
Ty in the Pacifica

July Update

We have been having a relaxing summer enjoying some outdoor activities and finally making regular use of our back patio. It certainly doesn’t qualify as a backyard but we can cook on the BBQ and lounge around drinking wine!


Strike a pose
Japanese summer festival

Yukata fashions
New flowers in the front “garden”

Blog lives…

Haven’t posted in quite a while. Here are a bunch of pictures of what’s been going on the past three months or so. From visits from folks from Toronto and Japan and hanging out with some Interwoven folks we’ve been crazy busy so far this 2006!


Ty loves blocks!
Ahhh.. Hard Time.

Really. They are wearing bath towels.
Taiko rocks.

Christmas in Tokyo

We enjoyed Christmas in Tokyo this year! We went to the National Azabu store to hunt down a small turkey that would fit into our small oven in our apartment. Is always funny to see some overly rich Japanese person taking their Ferrari to the supermarket on a terribly busy day. We actually ate the turkey for lunch at our party and then went out to dinner at Roppongi Hills in the eveneing. They have a wonderful illumination show. Today we are actually heading to the snow in Niigata where we will visit another onsen! Watch out Senami Grand Hotel Haginoya! The TNTTS crew is coming! (Tom and Tomoko, Ty and Saki)


Tokyo Turkey
The famous and typical “Christmas Cake”

Party at our apartment
Our apartment (look for Santa hat in window)

One year later…

A year ago I updated this blog with the tragic news about Naoko’s passing. A year has passed and Tomoko, Ty and I are so lucky that we can travel to Japan and were able to attend Naoko’s one year memorial with family and close friends. I don’t have any pictures of that event but I have to say that the formal nature of the memorial really helps with coping with the loss. Although people were dressed in the formal black funeral attire there people were able to focus on some happy and fond memories of Naoko at the luncheon after the ceremony. Emotions still overcome Naoko’s daughter Saki, from time to time, but it must be very hard for a two year old to comprehend let alone cope with what has happened. We have been fortunate to spend a lot of time with Saki this time and she really enjoys playing with Ty.

On that note take a look at some pictures we have taken over the past week or so. We took Tomoko’s mother and aunt to the Gyokusuikan Onsen that we had to cancel last year. Everyone really enjoyed the trip.


Ty posing as usual for the camera
Dinner laid out at the onsen

Banana Wani at Izu Atagawa
Ty & Saki on the train