Hi, everyone!
Right after we got to Hawaii, Grandma got an e-mail from Uncle David. He had to take a business trip to San Francisco and wanted to take Aunt Emi along for her birthday. Uncle David asked Grandma and Grandpa whether they would be willing to stay with Bill and Karin in Ottawa during the trip, and Grandma and Grandpa said yes! As soon as we got home from Hawaii, Grandma put away my aloha shirt and lei and got out my hoodie. “Kita” means “north” in Japanese, so I was going to be a kitalion-san for a week! Last Monday, when we started our trip, the snow had pretty much melted in Fairport and the temperature was above freezing. I saw a Cooper’s hawk in the back yard as we were getting ready to leave!
When we started driving north, around the eastern end of Lake Ontario, there was still snow on the ground. It was raining after we crossed into Canada, but we were lucky the temperature stayed above freezing while we were on the road. When we arrived at Uncle David’s, about 5:30 p.m., the temperature was starting to drop below freezing again.
Katie’s lion didn’t want to come along, but the hitsuji-san that has been living at Grandma’s did! I made sure to introduce the hitsuji to Karin as soon as we arrived! Then I watched a video with Bill!
Uncle David and Aunt Emi didn’t leave for San Francisco until Tuesday afternoon. That gave Grandma and me time to see what needed to be done to get Bill and Karin off to school each day. Aunt Emi left a chore chart for the things Karin and Bill were expected to do to help. Karin showed me how she packed her lunch and snack for school. Bill and Karin both showed me how they wash their lunch boxes when they get home, so they’ll be ready for the next day. Bill and Karin are taking care of Shadow and Mocha, too!
So far, getting up in time for school has been the hardest chore for Bill and Karin! Grandma helped the first two days by baking fresh sticky buns! Karin didn’t have school on Thursday, so she helped Grandma and Grandpa buy family favorite toppings for pizza. Bill helped make the crust after school and everybody helped put the toppings on. It was yummy!
Grandma says her big adventure this week is figuring out how to use all the appliances in Uncle David’s house! The rice cooker buttons are labeled in Japanese. My big adventure has been making friends with Shadow and Mocha. They both seem to have decided that Grandma and Grandpa and I are part of the family!
Today, we had snow here! Karin was hoping for another day off from school, but there has to be a lot more snow than we got for that to happen in Ottawa! There’s a black squirrel running around in the back yard. That color really stands out in such a snowy place!
Love,
Lion-san
You didn’t have any time in Rochester, it seems like. A black squirrel would be easy to spot in snow, not so easy where you were. That is nice Aunt Emi had a list of all of Bill and Karin’s chores. That makes it handy to give out the chores. Joe says you are the first kitalion-san he has met. And you saw a Coopers hawk too. What a find.
It sounds like an impossibly fast turn around for a little lion. Your family is very good at the impossible, though. How nice to have a few days with grand kids.
LaVache