Wanderlust

Sad news, I'm sorry that I can't make it home for the funeral. Miyo was always very caring and sweet, and practically a professional bingo player. I've never seen anyone else so passionate about that bingo! She also loved going to Jackpot - I remember wandering around the casino after midnight one time and finding her on the dollar slots with buckets of coins around her. Always innocent, she obliged when I told her that we should cash all her (heavy) buckets in for something she could securely stick in her purse. And the funny thing was, when I returned with her paper winnings, she forcefully tipped me! Haha! She made the best teriyaki chips, and I regretfully never did learn from her exactly how to make them, though I luckily do still have the recipe. Hopefully I can decipher her handwriting. I'm also thankful for the beautiful rice bowls she gave us years ago, and will think of her fondly every time I use them.

Miyoko 'Miyo' Sumida Ota

POCATELLO - Miyoko "Miyo" Sumida Ota, 91, Pocatello, died Monday, January 28, 2008, at a local medical center. She was born May 9, 1916, at Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Wajiro and Yoshiko Ishii Sumida. She married Joseph Noboru Ota in September 2, 1944, and they were later divorced.

She had worked for food service and housekeeping for Idaho State University. She was an avid bingo player. She enjoyed going to Jackpot, fishing, playing cards with her very good friend, Carolyn Ray, and crocheting dish cloths. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church.

Miyo was an active member of the JACL. She was also active in association of Sister City. She is survived by a son, Philip (Connie) Ota of Pocatello; a daughter, Kathi Rivera of Pocatello; three grandchildren, Chris Harada, Hollie Ota and Cassie Ota; two great-grandchildren, Akima Harada and Tayvin Siebert; and a sister, Susie Okimoto of Gardena, California. She is preceded in death by her parents, a sister, Martha Shimamoto, a brother, George Sumida, and a grandson, Aaron Siebert.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 2, 2008, at 2 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church, corner of 15th Avenue and Clark Street, Pocatello, with the Rev. Eric Brown conducting. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday evening and one hour prior to services in the church Saturday. Interment will be in the Mountain View Cemetery, Pocatello.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Cornelison-Henderson Funeral Home, 431 N. 15th Ave., Pocatello.

Published in the Idaho State Journal on 1/30/2008.

Apparently Eagle Watching this weekend is a pretty big event here in the area - there were lots of folks out there, and they brought the big ole cameras. You know the kind, the size of a commercial tv cameras that look like they weigh more than a small child. Bird watching is a popular hobby - we even saw personalized license plates. Maybe I'll give that a try. My crochet attempts were pitiful. Any recommendations for a hobby, please send them my way! Back to bird or eagle watching, it was an event - the visitor's center was packed, and there were talks and food and face painting. The actual looking at them, however, was a bit anticlimactic. Maybe you do need those giant cameras to truly appreciate it. Or a bit of knowlege about the subject. Neither of which I have. Either way, it was a fun day to get out and explore the area.

There is a groovy little pub in Utica called Duffys - good Bloody Marys, lots of tap beer, and yummy fried veggies. In Irish fashion, they've got a year-round countdown to St Paddys day on the wall. 50 days left, my friends!

Along the Illinois River at Allen Park... where I spent a frustrating hour trying to heel Charlie, before calling it quits!

Well... until we get out exploring the new area, I will have numerous pictures of the dog. Actually, no matter what we do, I will most likely have lots of pictures of the dog. hehe. Like this one - I tell you, mom is right - she is like a cat. Not quite sure what exactly her goal is here, but she managed to just balance on the back of a chair for a while.

So, we are now in Ottawa, and it's quite the quaint small town outside the big city of Chicago that you would imagine. In fact, we live in a DRY COUNTY! No joke. But I suppose there's no harm - that only means we have to drive further to buy beer. Over the river - it's so perfectly stereotypical. We are directly across the street from a huge park, it couldn't have worked better for Charlie, despite the bitter cold and wind. It's getting warmer as the days pass - and now my cheeks and thighs don't become painfully hard and cold while on our walks.

And believe me, there really is a deer in this picture. This is but one of the many country roads around here.

And now, in other news - have you heard of the campaign called Beautiful Lengths? It's a program from Pantene to get donations for hair, which they use to make free wigs for chemo patients - pretty groovy, eh. So I did it. Yes, I admit I had a twinge of nerves, for a second. But hey, it's just hair.

I found a salon here and snip snip I now have short hair! Ha! Pretty funny Cujo's hair is MUCH longer than mine now. This salon was great - and guess what? They served alcohol! No joke - I had a beer during the appointment. It felt like I should've gone all shi shi and gotten wine, but you know me and my crush on beer. And I was really just so flabergasted when the offer came, I placed my standard order. But anyway how great is that?! You need at least eight inches to donate, so start growing now.

Sounds like a campaign brief... on the road to Illinois... vote for us!

Anyway, back on to I-80, our home away from home. Pit stop Omaha, Nebraska.

Funny thing, I'm getting worse about pictures. I am started to feel like I have too many, go figure. I thought I could never have enough of one thing. That was proven by my fifty pictures of the same koi fish in the Omaha Zoo last summer. Anyway, I digress... pictures - I was not so psycho "I HAVE to take a picture of EVERY second" of our latest trip through Omaha, which makes me have regret now. Haha. So, no pictures of dinner at Vlasaks, no pictures of washers at Dinkers, and no pictures of Grandma V. Bummer. I have learned my lesson. And will now be the rabid picture taker once again. Though, Team Potato was not worthy of a picture at washer night. Then again, Team Rock of Love was. Moving on...

Charlie has to be a very adaptable dog to live this lifestyle. So far, she's doing as well as we expect for a puppy thrown into this crazy yellow line chasing life. She slept all day riding in the truck.
She found her spot in the motel.

She had her run-ins at the Payne house, but overall made a friend, I think. Be it a love/hate relationship, it's still a relationship. Just like real friends. And they only drew blood once. Which is similar to Cujo and Hilt. Ha!

New restaurant alert in Omaha - this place was GREAT! Just wanted to jot it down before I forgot - this is after all, my reference page, too. Wonderful Italian pasta and groovy ambiance! Thanks to Grandma for taking us there for lunch!

Mom sent a workshop in a bag with us, so we held a Kite Making night with the kids and a general schmooze session with family. All the kids are growing so fast, and it's always good to see all the family and hear what's new.

After a few days with us, this is what the end of the night looks like.

After fixing what was broken (read home maintenance), we had a chance to slow it down a bit and enjoy just being back home for a couple weeks. Amidst the relaxing were Christmas parties, meals, movies, happy hours, and watching football games with friends and family.

Weird find - The elephant condo from Florida had this EXACT elephant in it - we are being followed. He made it all the way to Pocatello! What are the odds?

Luckily, we got home a few days before Ashley's last basketball game! Even though they lost (by 20), it was a good game and Ash did really well. I never knew girls middle school basketball could be so cut throat.

Poor Charlie had her surgery. She was probably wondering what kind of people adopted her. She was so out of it when she came home you couldn't help but feel for her. Cujo even went so far as to hand feed her. Really, we aren't those kind of people. But yes, he was that day. She was moaning and literally crying. Let's all do a collective OHHHHHH. Okay, it's over - she's fine now.

We brought in the New Year very low key, but I took a picture so here it is. Hey, at least we stayed up til midnight, right?

Mom held another Kite Workshop - this one was Tako (octopus) Tako (kite), and was followed up days later with a New Year Day Kite Fly, which is supposed to be good luck. The workshop gained the attention of the local newspaper, who posted an interview here.

Who couldn't use a little extra good luck, so we braved the cold and wind and flew those kites! Errrr, two did get stuck in a tree, but only one stayed in it. And yes, Charlie loves his Grandma Micki, haha! She thinks he is a cat stuck in a dog's body - he does love to rub on people and balance precariously on stuff, oddly enough.

Cold weather and holidays = PUZZLES! Seems that puzzles are a phase, and that phase rears its head in wintertime. I swear, I start on these things and don't raise my head for three hours. Then when I finally do, I wonder where the time went and why my neck hurts so damn much. Ugh... Still, I return. And yes, happier than shit when it's done, and oh so full of accomplishment. And PROOF needed, thus photos! Nerds!

For the holidays this year, we not only had a lovely turkey dinner together, but also went bowling. I think all of us broke 100 - woohoo! Actually, I think that most all of us got right around the same score, within single digits. Spooky. Anyway, enough about bowling, in all honestly, we went for the beer and wings afterward.

Turns out Charlie loves to go hiking in the outdoors and snow, and also likes chasing sleds (and small children) down the hill.