Fondue and Oodles of Photos

This is a photograph of a picture Ridge drew this weekend. I liked it so much I thought I would share it. Watching his drawings become more and more sophisticated is fascinating. This is one of the first drawings that is an actual ‘scene’ of something, instead of just little bits and pieces of drawings thrown together.

Well, Saturday was fondue night. I had picked up a fonde pot in Asahikawa on our last trip and I’ve been dying to try it out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on any really good swiss cheese. Instead, I used several bags of what they call “fondue cheese”. This is a mild swiss cheese and a package of cornstarch. I was able to find some other ingredients for a traditional swiss cheese fondue, though, and there were no complaints. As you can see from the photos, Ridge was more than happy to dip things into the cheese using my fondue fork. In this shot, you can see Aaron, Mr. Mikake (he’s the assistant manager of the hotel and a very interesting guy), Nao (Mr. Usui), and Colin.

Ridge 'fonduing'
Ridge and Holt goofing off

The “Cheese Fest,” as Colin called it, was quite a treat, and we followed it with too much chocolate. Yummy!

Sunday we spent a little time at the Komu and I took some shots of the kids.

Here is Ridge, having a mellow time in the Puzzle Room playing with blocks. Blocks.jpg

One of the only ways I can get Holt to stand still for a picture these days it to holler at him to be still and show me his teeth. The only problem is that this is what I then end up with: Mr. Teeth

Here’s a couple of shots of Holt playing in and around the big climbing horse. I love this thing! Inside the horse , Outside the horse

March 3rd is “Hina Matsuri”, which means “Doll Festival”. It’s a way to celebrate the coming of Spring. I’ll post a better explanation later. These next three pictures are shots of a display at the entrance of the Komu. All the dolls are hand made.

Display
Close-up 1
Close-up 2