A Pie Safe

What an unusual piece of furniture. Why would anyone bake so many pies that they needed a whole piece of furniture to keep their pies away from flies? At least this is the reason I've always heard for having screens on a piece of furniture. But was this a fantastical story about flies swarming around our pies embellished to peak the curiosity of a young girl? Alas, I'm not an antique dealer so I don't really know. But why not put your pies on a counter or buffet with a cloth or net over them - or in the refrigerator? Regardless, I love this piece of furniture. I really feel attached to and cherish the one from my grandparents' house.

As a child I could see the screen, but not the inside because everything was coming from a distorted, unfocused perspective because of the screen. It was always very mysterious to me. I can remember being short and unable to see into it - yet I knew if I climbed on a stool or other piece of furniture all my hopes to see in would be realized. Then I grew taller and could easily see all of the treasures within. I wonder, if they were really all treasures or the same junk that all of us collect in drawers, cabinets, and closets all over the world? I know for sure that there were Easter decorations inside. I can remember Grandma lifting out delicate bunnies made of glass and ceramic. Some had children holding them or pots we would fill with delicious Easter egg shaped jelly beans. Did she also keep Christmas or Thanksgiving figurines there as well? Because I know she always had just the right figurine to put on the table or in the center of a sheet-cake. Upon considering it, why would we actually put a heavy ceramic figure into the middle of a cake? Seems absurd. I certainly loved it, but shouldn't it have sunk into the cake? Maybe it did, I can't remember. But I can remember licking frosting off the bottom of an Easter decoration. These are things that I have been pondering lately. But sadly, my grandmother is no longer here to answer the questions.

Since I've grown up, I fondly remember so many things that happened in that house, huge slumber parties over Christmas, the TOY room, Josie's treasures kept in tiny shadow boxes, doll houses, paper dolls from the stacks of Good Housekeeping magazines that were bound to be somewhere, washing dishes by hand, late night dominoes or spades tournaments, squash nachos, all these things were instilling in me such a strong feeling of tradition. Being so far away from that house that played a central role in my upbringing is strange. What's even stranger is how much I know it will have changed when I return in summer. I know life goes on and all of those things, but it is really surreal that a new person will be living there and furniture will be moved. Possibly my favorite piece of furniture in the world (which is saying a lot since I worked in a furniture store) is no longer in it's prime place by the Boy's bathroom or dining room as it was most recently. I've heard lots of things have been transferred to other people's houses. As one of 30 or so grandchildren to 9 children borne by my grandmother, I never really had much hope of inheriting much other than china, which I am excited to use one day... but part of me longs to continue to remember my childhood and the wonderful times with my grandmother by having this permanent reminder in a home of my very own. The nesting instinct is growing... Yet, I know there have to be others who have these same strong feelings.

Dear China

Dear China,
In order to have a smooth Olympics I have some ideas about what you should do.

1. get more taxis. Most people get belligerent when they have to wait for an hour for the seemingly simple task of getting a cab.

2. Also, put in a taxi stand in popular tourist attractions such as the Forbidden City or even somewhere near Tienanmen Square.

3. Allow cabs to stop at major intersections so passengers can get out or in easily.

4. Help drivers learn the English-y pronunciations and locations of the like 6 historic places in Beijing where foreign tourists would want to visit. Here's a hint - look up the place names in Lonely Plant. Probably the oldest Confucian temple in the city is one of those places. We had two different cab drivers who couldn't find it.

Other than wasting a lot of time trying to convice drivers to take us where we wanted to go, I think your city is nice. A bit on the hazy side because of pollution but it doesn't seem any worse than Bangkok.

Spring

Spring is in the air here in Fukui. I'm amazed at how quickly and evenly the seasons change here in Japan. A lot has been said about how Japan has 4 distinct seasons, and as I've been here longer I tend to agree. I don't think this makes Japan crazy unique or anything like it has been presented to me, but it is a cool thing. Certainly in East Texas the weather isn't normal or predictable. It's just as likely to snow in April as it is to be sunny and 80 degrees on Christmas day.

This year I was shocked at how quickly the mountains around Takefu have changed from barren branches to covered in cherry blossoms to bright green leaves. It all happened so fast, and I feel like I barely had a chance to take it all in. I guess traveling to China over the peak cherry blossom season made that feeling more acute. Since I'm preparing to leave soon, I've been trying to get in the last cherry blossom viewing party, the last BBQ, last time to see a mountain covered in azaleas, and so on. I know the time I've got left will pass quicker than I want it to.