Welcome Home Athena and Mat!

So excited the kids arrive for a two week visit home today!


Mat and Athena Noosa, Australia Spring 2012

"Where we love is home,

Home that our feet may leave,

but not our hearts."~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Our Saturday Adventure with 3 Yr. Old Rex

A week ago we were able to spend the whole day with our nephew and nieces son Rex. We had a lot of fun taking him to the park to watch the little league softball games and then for a two mile hike through our local nature center in Long Beach. It was a lot of fun but by the time we drove to the airport near our home to watch the planes land Rex was fast asleep. We wore him out!
Here's a little smilebox which shows our Saturday adventure with him.

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My Fun Week With Linda

Spent a great week beginning March 20th with my sister-in-law who was visiting with us. Here's a little peek at how we spent our time sight-seeing, eating, shopping and being silly.

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The Great Mushroom Adventure

Among the gifts my husband received at Christmas from our daughter Aria was a kit to farm oyster mushrooms (the other was a kit to make Barola wine but that's another story).

About a week ago he started his little oyster farm. Every day he would mist the small box of soil and soon, very soon the beginnings of mushrooms started to appear. It was truly amazing to watch them grow almost before our eyes.

Tonight Mike was ready to harvest his "oyster" mushrooms. He had a plan.

Here he is. I think he looks very pleased with his first crop.

He wanted me to take a "before" picture of his mushrooms. Then he got to work cooking.

It didn't take long before dinner was ready. Here it is! He made a divine, out of this world mushroom risotto! Wow, I can hardly wait for the next batch of mushrooms to grow!

The Jingu Family Home Re-Opens

A Dream Comes True

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A Little History on the Re-Opening of the Jingu Home

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Oct. 21, 2011 Family Texas Adventure Begins

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Hey Y'all Headin' for the Lone Star State

Yee Haw....here we come!

A Grand Re-Opening of the Family home

The Jingu family home

The city of San Antonio, has recently completed the renovations of the home my grandparents Kimi Eizo and Miyoshi Jingu helped develop and subsequently lived in at the Japanese Sunken Tea Gardens in Texas.

l-r: Ruth (my mom), Grandma Miyoshi, Lillian, Rae, Jimmy, Kimi, Mabel and Helen Jingu on the bridge at the gardens

Historically the family has played an integral part in the development and growth of this landmark site for the city, overseeing the public gardens and running their tea business on these grounds.

I am proud to say I will be able to attend this opening ceremony with my daughter Aria on behalf of my late mother, Ruth, who was the second eldest of the eight Jingu children who lived and worked at the gardens. Our family is thrilled to be represented at this event by twenty family members and their children. 2nd and 3rd generation family members in attendance will represent 5 of the 8 original Jingu siblings. Myself and my cousin Pati were born in San Antonio and although residing elsewhere have always considered ourselves Texans at heart. We will be flying in from California, Washington, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Wisconsin to gather together for this event. My one surviving aunt Mabel, now in her 80's will join us too with her children and grandchildren.

Sisters Mary and Ruth in the gardens c. 1920's

This will be the first time I will be seeing the interior of the home in which my mother lived throughout her childhood and young adult life before the family eviction at the start of WWII.

Mary, Ruth and Rae, three of the Jingu children stand in front of their home in the gardens.

The gardens have always been the subject of many warm memories for our family. We grew up surrounded by stories told and retold by our mothers of the happy times in the tea gardens. My grandparents and all of my aunts and uncles took great pride in being part of the city of San Antonio living and working in these gardens. Their home in the midst of this beautiful garden setting was certainly a lovely haven in their early beginnings as Americans. It is therefore so meaningful that the family home has been recognized in such a wonderful way and restored for future generations to enjoy. As you can imagine emotions centered around this re-opening run high. We are all very grateful that the city of San Antonio and many loyal friends of the parks have raised over a million dollars in the restoration of the gardens and subsequently for the family home.

Dedication of this site to the Jingu family is open to the public on Saturday October 22, 2011. Everyone is invited to attend.

A Grand Re-Opening of the Family home

The Jingu family home

The city of San Antonio, has recently completed the renovations of the home my grandparents Kimi Eizo and Miyoshi Jingu helped develop and subsequently lived in at the Japanese Sunken Tea Gardens in Texas.

l-r: Ruth (my mom), Grandma Miyoshi, Lillian, Rae, Jimmy, Kimi, Mabel and Helen Jingu on the bridge at the gardens

Historically the family has played an integral part in the development and growth of this landmark site for the city, overseeing the public gardens and running their tea business on these grounds.

I am proud to say I will be able to attend this opening ceremony with my daughter Aria on behalf of my late mother, Ruth, who was the second eldest of the eight Jingu children who lived and worked at the gardens. Our family is thrilled to be represented at this event by twenty family members and their children. 2nd and 3rd generation family members in attendance will represent 5 of the 8 original Jingu siblings. Myself and my cousin Pati were born in San Antonio and although residing elsewhere have always considered ourselves Texans at heart. We will be flying in from California, Washington, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Wisconsin to gather together for this event. My one surviving aunt Mabel, now in her 80's will join us too with her children and grandchildren.

Sisters Mary and Ruth in the gardens c. 1920's

This will be the first time I will be seeing the interior of the home in which my mother lived throughout her childhood and young adult life before the family eviction at the start of WWII.

Mary, Ruth and Rae, three of the Jingu children stand in front of their home in the gardens.

The gardens have always been the subject of many warm memories for our family. We grew up surrounded by stories told and retold by our mothers of the happy times in the tea gardens. My grandparents and all of my aunts and uncles took great pride in being part of the city of San Antonio living and working in these gardens. Their home in the midst of this beautiful garden setting was certainly a lovely haven in their early beginnings as Americans. It is therefore so meaningful that the family home has been recognized in such a wonderful way and restored for future generations to enjoy. As you can imagine emotions centered around this re-opening run high. We are all very grateful that the city of San Antonio and many loyal friends of the parks have raised over a million dollars in the restoration of the gardens and subsequently for the family home.

Dedication of this site to the Jingu family is open to the public on Saturday October 22, 2011. Everyone is invited to attend.

Globe Trotting Kids

Athena and Mat are flying in from Australia today..... Yippee!!!

Home for the Thanksgiving holidays.