Toilet and Zucchini

Well, in response to multiple requests, I have conceeded to posting a picture of our toilet. It seems that my description of the sink on top of the potty sparked some curiosity. So, here it is, in all it's glory. You can see the little sink on top of the tank. When flushed, the water comes out of the faucet and down a drain into the tank. You may also notice the green cover on the seat. It is removable, and made of terry cloth. Holt has his own potty seat there in the corner - it's bright yellow and impossible to miss. The infamous potty room shoes can be seen near the door. All Japanese houses have a separate room for thier toilet and thier bath, due to the belief that the toilet "room" is so dirty. That is why it is such a major faux pas to walk out of the toilet room still wearing the potty shoes (as we have nicknamed them).

My second picture for today is a pair of zucchini proudly displayed by Holt and Ridge. Nearly half the people in the village have a garden and these were gifts from the superintendent of the school district, Mr. Kano. His English is very limited, and I think he has the idea that I really, really, really like zucchini. Of course, we do enjoy a good zucchini, but these things are monsters! Feel free to post any recipe suggestions you may have. Mr. Kano's wife stopped by this morning to deliver our third zucchini. These two pictured here are only two of the three I have been given in the past two weeks. Our next door neighbors have generous as well, with thier homegrown crop. We have been given many vegetables since arriving - cucumber, tomato, and more zucchini. I'm feeling a little pressured to return the gifts, so I've been working hard to figure out how to bake in our microwave. We drove to Nayoro (about 45 km away) so we could buy cinammon and flour. With a little more practice, I think I will have it down. Baking cookies in this microwave/oven contraption is very time consuming though. Try to imagine baking a few dozen cookies in batches of 7 at a time. Don't worry - I only made a half recipe tonite. I'm not crazy!

On an ending note: Some "Ridge-isms" for a giggle or two.

"Mommy, will you catch on fire if you drink hot lava?"

"Fly-swopper" (instead of fly swatter)