Missed Opportunity

One year ago today, we were getting on a plane to Japan. Not for a short trip, but to live there for a six month stint. What a time. We were a huge bundle of emotions all rolled into one. You could not have prepared me for the hard parts, how much we would love it, or just how much we would miss it when we got home again. 

I'm thinking on it now and a few things come up, not as regrets, but just reflections. I know it's unlikely we will ever have the chance to do this again, but these are certainly things we might have done differently. 

My first one would have been to enrol into a kimono classes. I am fairly good at wearing kimono, but it would be nice to have a bit more in the way of "official training" to give me a bit more confidence. I did think about it before we left, but we were so busy organising everything else that it really got put on the back burner. By the time I thought about it in Japan, we only had two and a half months left in Tokyo, and seven weeks of that I was doing the teacher language course in Saitama. The shortest class was three months and would have been a stretch. Alas, missed opportunity. I'll have to look for some online classes I can do instead. 

When we were in Nagoya, strategically at the same time as the World Cosplay Summit, we got to see the final parade of Cosplayers down the main shopping street. That was really cool. We do wish we had also been organised enough to actually attend some of the other cosplay events that happened that weekend, and been able to participate in the cosplay parade itself. Logistically, packing a cosplay costume with everything else we were lugging around at that point, did not make sense, but in a perfect world, it would have been great to do. 

We knew we wouldn't be using a car much in Japan, but the travel around Shikoku really needed one. Steve had organised to have his International Driver's Licence before we left, but I opted not to. At the time, I figured I'd rather not drive and Steve would be able to do it all anyway. However when we were there, Steve ended up having to do all the driving with a broken hand. Not fun, especially through the mountain roads! On top of that, Japan has a zero alcohol limit, so if we drove out for dinner and Steve wanted to get a beer, he couldn't. I felt really silly that I hadn't sorted my licence too. Lesson learnt, better for me to have the licence even to be a support driver than to leave it all up to Steve. 

Our last reflection was that it would have been good to go to some Japanese conversation classes to help us all with our Japanese speaking. Steve especially felt that he could take in the language easily enough, but producing it was another matter. Of course, in the grand scheme of things it's fine, but it's another "would have been nice" moments when we look back. 

The girls ask us quite frequently now, when we will be going back to Japan. I'm so glad it has made such a positive impact on their lives and that they want to return! Hopefully next year we can squeeze in a visit. 

Making Shorts: Arduous Journey Part 1

Shorts. 

If there is one gap in my wardrobe, this is it. It's hard to find a pair RTW (Ready to Wear) that is all you ever imagined. As far as sewing goes, I feel I can pretty comfortably make a dress without much thought, but stuff that fits the lower half is considerably much tricker. Maybe that's why a pair of RTW shorts is also like finding a unicorn.

I ended up needing a new pair of boxer shorts at the start of the year because my pjs needed replacing, so I whipped up a pair one night. Unfortunately, I made the wrong size, so Sophie got a new pair of shorts and I made a second pair the next night that were much more successful. I don't know if it was these quick boxer shorts that gave me the confidence, or having made Sophie some beautiful pants last year, but I had sudden renewed motivation to finally tackle actual shorts again. 

Turns out the journey of making shorts is long. I rolled out my pattern pieces that have been meticulously adjusted and checked so many times, and made the final tweaks to them (I had hand written what needed changing (mostly length adding or hem leveling) on the pieces last time, but actually needed to make those changes visible before using the pattern). That took less time than I thought (maybe an hr or so?) so I dug out the fabric and looked at it for a while. 

Even after I puzzled the pattern pieces onto the fabric I honestly just sat looking at it some more. I knew the whole cutting of the pattern pieces would easily take an hour. I still had to find lining fabric and cut those pieces as well as the interfacing. And as I looked at the pattern there on the fabric I knew it already represented hours and hours of trial and error, fitting and checking, sewing and unpicking and starting all over again. Literally hours of my life, and still no perfect pair of shorts existed yet. 

More than that, since the pattern had again been tweaked before this time round, there was every chance it might still need some small adjustments. Last time I tried it was over two years ago too, so also every chance that my body has changed since then too. Even if it all sewed up perfectly, just that time alone will take hours as well. It took a lot to get myself cutting I can tell you. 

For reference, I'm not over exaggerating when I say shorts are the work of hours. I started the shorts journey way back in August of 2021, with three pairs of shorts which I mostly blogged about here. I then tried again in January of 2024, with a white bedsheet pair for fitting and then a maroon pair that were wearable but a little tight, pictured below. 

I don't know why I never blogged these, but looking back, January 2024 was busy, as was February, and then we went to Japan at the end of March that year, so I guess time got away from me. I was feeling good about these shorts though, five pairs in, even if they were not perfect yet. 

Alas though, size fluctuates for all of us, so I knew I would need to try again. That's where we are now. Trying again. With what remains of the maroon fabric from the fifth pair. Is it sixth time lucky for shorts? I sincerely hope so. Anyway, you'll have to come back another time to find out how it all turns out, because this post is long enough, and the shorts aren't finished yet. See you next time!

Fabric Notes for Future Paula Who Likes to Remember Things. (Sorry there are no photos of my quick boxer shorts)

Boxers shorts round 1 were made with some of the fabric I had made Sophie's wearable toil Zero Waste halter last year. I was hoping I could make a matching top with the rest of the fabric, but since the shorts don't fit and Sophie prefers a T-shirt....

Boxer shorts round 2 were made with the leftovers of Luke's Christmas present shirt. Good to use up the scraps! 

Falinks Bag

Falinks is a Pokémon that is a bit like a caterpillar. They walk in a line but rearrange to battle. Their little side shields also move independently to cover their eyes and what not too. It also happens to be Rachel's favourite Pokémon. 

Since we've been playing Pokémon Legends Z-A, thanks to Steve's Birthday Switch 2 purchase, there has been a swing back to enjoying Pokémon from our girls. One of the characters uses Falinks as his Pokémon, and has a very cool Falinks bag as part of his costume. 

There are no good photos of it online (the one above is from I don't know where!), but Rachel drew a reference image for me and I decided I'd be able to make one for her. (I mean, Sophie has a Majikarp Bag after all.) Rachel's instructions were that it would be big enough for her "stuff" - mostly a notebook, pencils and pens. 

I just used whatever I could find in my fabric stash. Yellow fabric from a friends wedding (which I talk about in the Majikarp Bag post) made up most of it. Black and red, I don't know where that was from TBH. The shiny blue was scraps from my Princess Bride costume, and the white was a bedsheet. I also used a zip that I salvaged from one of the girls old lunch bags, and hardware from free conference lanyards. 

The whole thing is stabilized with the sturdiest interfacing ever, though I do feel like I could have added an extra fabric or batting layer to give the thin yellow cotton a bit more weight to it. 

It is, of course, fully lined and has pockets, as per Rachel's design. This blue fabric... was from somewhere too I guess! 

The back of the pouch has two loops so Rachel can slide it onto a belt and wear it around her waist. 

The sides both have lanyard clips, so there is an option of putting a strap on, or just clipping other stuff on. I was going to make a strap with the yellow fabric, but Rachel was too impatient and just wanted to get going, so she used her strap from Japan. Works the same. 

It's the cutest little Falinks bag ever. 

Cooking with Parvin

What seems like a lifetime ago now (maybe December 2024?), Steve and I went for a date night at A Taste of Saffron at Stones Corner. It was a Persian restaurant that we had never been to and the food was delicious. The highlight of the night was an amazing eggplant dish with some kind of yoghurt toping. Couldn't tell you the name of the dish, but I took a photo of it. We had recently had some people from Iran join our church and I thought maybe they would recognise it. 

Parvin did recognise the dish and was happy to tell me about it, so I asked her if she could teach me to make it. She was so excited, but of course, by the time I had shown her the photo, it was late January, and then we left for Japan six weeks later. Fast forward to February of this year and, I finally had the pleasure of learning how to make this Persian eggplant dish with Parvin. 

It was so special to be cooking with this lovely lady. What I thought was going to be an hour or so, was actually more like four hours. We soaked the eggplant, cooked the yoghurt, chatted and sewed. Then finally got to the main cooking. It was delightful to be learning from her. The kind of thing I wish I could have done with my own grandparents. 

I was a little emotional about it, thinking of so many things. The wisdom that comes from the older generations, the traditions they can pass on and stories they can tell. The perspectives that come from people who had to flee their countries, how they continue to cook food that reminds them of home, and keep their culture alive in a new place. How our generation is missing these slow moments of connection in our busy consumer driven lives. Even thinking about God's kingdom and desire for every nation to be one people. 

When we finished cooking, Parvin insisted we go and buy Turkish bread from "the only place in Brisbane with the best Turkish bread" together. The shop was in Moorooka and had lots of Persian products that Parvin told me about as we walked the to the bread section. The whole afternoon/evening was good for my soul and I'm super thankful for it.