Mmmmmmmmm, bacon.

So, here we go... Somehow I, along with my coworker Clint, got roped into cooking a pig for an office function. A whole pig. So, we rented a pig roaster, and went to the commisary and picked out a pig. Yes, the commisary sells whole pigs for some reason. We got a beautiful 64 lb oinker. He was all cleaned and shaven. We ordered him about a week before, so he would be all thawed out. We picked him up the night before and put him to bed on ice. We started the next morning at 2:30 at Clint's house. It actually wasn't too difficult, but it took about 8 hours to cook. We finished up about 11:00 and loaded the pig into Clint's van and transported it to the party, where about 80 guests eagerly awaited. It acutally turned out to be quite succulent and was enjoyed by all. Right down to the ears.

Pic of said pig roaster:

Pic of said pig on ice:


Pic of said co-worker stoking the fire:

Pic of me "moppin'" the pig:

Pig is done. Note: we had not an apple to stick in its mouth. So we used what was available.

Oh yeah, almost forgot the best part. To save $25, we decided to return the roaster trailer on our own. Not many vehicles here have a hitch however. But of course that's not going to stop a couple of engineers. Surprisingly, the guy at the rental place said that's the first time he'd ever seen it tied to the bumper before. Hmmm. Of course we used the safety chains.

Supplies!!!!

The Saturday before Erin's birthday we gave her a surprise birthday party. Complete with hot dogs, balloons, face painting, pin the tail on the donkey, pinata, and various other games. WE had it at a park on Kadena Air Base. I think she was very surprised and she loved it.

Our little baby is 8!

Eisa Festival- an Okinawa thing

The Eisa (pronounced ay-sa) festival is an annual event held in September. Eisa Groups are formed according to geographical locations. So each town or area will have an Eisa group. You can here them practicing until about 10pm most every night for 2 or 3 months leading up to the festival. They drum, they dance, they play the sanshin and sing. They drink. They eat.

Holly, enjoying some yakisoba, a tasty dish of fried beef, noodles, and cabbage.

Corn dogs, corn on a stick, chicken on a stick, and lots of other yummy treats.

The Neighbor

Some of you have probably heard us mention our neighbor, Mr. Iha (aka Iha-san). He usually buys the kids a drink from the "quatah machine" every day (see below). One thing there is no shortage of in Okinawa is drink machines. You should never have to go thirsty here. They are pretty much on every corner. We have one within 50ft of our front door. So he gives the kids each 100 yen and tells them to go buy a drink. In this pic he must be helping Bri with her Japanese homework. He calls Brianna "numbah one friendo" and Erin "numbah two friendo."

This is usually the drink of choice: C.C. Lemon. It is especially delicious and has the vitamin C content of 70 lemons. There is often several in our fridge that we aren't able to keep up with.

Last post was 29 Aug? Really?

Wow, how time flies... Guess I'll just post some random end-of-summer pics for this one...

Speaking of random, how about this guy? Enjoying some ice cream at the Big Dip eatery.


Some sweet gogs. The kids were quite sad to see the pools close for the year :(

A restaurant called "Pizza in the Sky." Obviously terriffic views and the pizza was half decent by Japanese pizza standards. That's one thing where we've decided there's no comparison- American Pizza is the best anywhere in the world. I think that's one thing we've perfected. Unless of course, you like hot dogs on your pizza. Then you can get Japanese pizza.

This is an area called American Village. Lots of shops and restaurants.

And, something our neighbor gave to us. I didn't know if we were supposed to eat it or hang it on the wall. After taking a bite, I was pretty sure I had made the wrong decision. Still not sure what it was... But quite pretty.