The desk is finally done!!

Here in Misawa, we live in a 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment.  Although we really like the space, finding a strategic place for everything has been challenging.  With our floor plan, we have a large living area that can actually be broken up into two parts: TV area and small home office.

Since we technically have a small office space we desperately needed a desk!  I searched everywhere online, but furniture is expensive and I couldn't really find anything to fit our space.

So why not build it myself!?

I did some research online and found a great plan with a modern design.  I have no experience in the wood shop other than my little iPad display, but I was eager to get started.  Go big or go home right!?

Our wood shop imports all types of wood from the states, so I was able to get what I needed there and bought screws, glue, plywood and drawer slides from Homac.

I then rolled up my sleeves, put my protective eyewear on and I. Was. Ready.

{Here we go}

{cutting all the wood @ the beginning}

Wood is more expensive here than at home, so a few adjustments had to be made right from the beginning.  I was unable to get one large piece for the top, so we pieced together 4-2x4's to make the top.
I then used biscuits in between each board for more support.

After the top was glued, nailed and clamped, we sanded it down and it became so smooth it looked as if the top was one piece!

{Kashi sanding the top}

Next up was the legs.....this was interesting.  We measured and cut according to the plan, but once all the parts were laid out it was too short on one side, too long on the other!  I think I spent a good half hour playing Jenga with these pieces.  Other guys in the shop even came over and tried to figure out what was going on and we came to the big conclusion:

the plan was wrong.

WHAT!?

"Oh, it happens." they said.

Again...WHAT!? 

So we just recut a few parts and kept on building.  

Dori, from Finding Nemo, kept echoing in my head..."just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

{new legs glued and clamped}

{I used small nails & then filled everything in with putty}

I spent 4 hours one day sanding everything.  It was a daunting task, but Kashi said it was the most important part. :)

The next step was to put all the pieces together!

Kashi said it would be a good idea to use screws to reinforce the glue and I didn't argue.  I made wood plugs to hide the holes.

Finally...the drawer.  It was the most difficult part of the build, but it's done!

 and after three weeks it's finally done and in our place!

{ta-da}

 I'm now in the process of deciding what color to paint it.  A final reveal will come soon!

Dentists just wanna have fun

Last weekend the dental squadron had their annual brewery trip.  About 40 people from the clinic loaded up onto two busses
This wasn't your typical brewery.  In fact, I never even saw where they made the beer!

We walked in and they had 5 long tables set up waiting for us.  Each group of 4 had a small grill where we were going to cook our own meat and veggies.  While we were eating they brought out pitchers of their beer, along with sake and the house drink Melon Shochu (it's like vodka).

{beer, sake & shochu}

{the Commander & Docs-incl. 2 wives}

{our friends Allyson & Brent}

After the 40 minute bus ride home, we decided to go out to a bar where a Doc's husband was DJ'ing.  This place was right outside the front gate.

{Jeff's dream job!}

{drink menu} 

{pumpkin pie shots}

Until next time…..

Yoshino's birthday dinner

It was fun turning 30…for the fourth time. ;)

Jeff surprised me with dinner at one of the best places here…a hibachi restaurant called Yoshino's.  They only have 10 available seats around one large hibachi grill so the 7 of us pretty much had the entire place to ourselves.

Here are a few pics of our food….totally forgot to take pics of us!  I know…terrible.

{potato salad w/caviar & crispy beef appetizer}

{best shrimp & scallops ever}

{Aomori beef (from our prefecture) & Australian beef}

{my dessert-fried ice cream!}

{ingredients for Jeff's dessert}

{fire!}

{wait…wasn't it MY birthday?!}

It was a fun night, with amazing food and great company.

34 is going to be a great year!

Just call me Bob Villa

I've been following a few blogs lately that are dedicated to DIY furniture and other wood crafts and I thought I really should try some things myself.  After all, how hard can it really be!? ;)

Our wood shop here on base has access to all sorts of power tools and you can even buy various types of wood right there.   

For my first project, I wanted to start with something simple to get familiar with the different types of saws and just to become more comfortable with the wood shop itself.   Every time I go in, there are always a few men working who know exactly what they are doing and it can be intimidating.  

But, the man who runs the shop is a sweet Japanese national named Kashi, who has worked there for over 15 years, and he's been a huge help!

So onto making my iPad stand.  I bought all supplies from Homac, similar to Lowe's.  One part was already cut the size I needed so that was a bonus.

I've been working on another, much bigger, project which I should finish this week.

Stay tuned.  :)

Garlic is King

Jeff and I have lived here 6 weeks now and are really trying to take advantage of this opportunity.  We figure we have two choices on the weekends: stay at home or explore!!
Exploring sounds way more fun. :)

Now as you know, the Japanese love to celebrate.  And beef & garlic are no exception.  The Beef & Garlic festival is an annual event located about 2 hours away in Takko (taco) town, so we tagged along with some peeps from the dental clinic and off we went!

You may be thinking how can you possibly celebrate beef & garlic!?
Well, the process is pretty simple:
1) buy meat and veggies
2) cook everything
3) enjoy!

:)

The festival is located at the base of a mountain that serves as a ski lift in the winter.

You can purchase meat a few different ways-already cooked from a rotisserie or packaged raw meat to cook yourself.  Cooking everything yourself is a major part of the experience, but we just had to try the rotisserie beef as well.

{that was an entire cow at one point}

They had indoor grills available to use, but we wanted to be outside where all the action was happening. :)

{our own hibachi}

{these guys were serious}

This group had an amazing set up.  Along with the beef and veggies, they brought their own prawns and whole fish!  A lot of people brought chairs and coolers too.

Now we know for next year. :)

When we were finished grilling, we walked around the festival to see what vendors were there.  They were selling everything from garlic (duh) to french fries to carnival toys.  I also loved seeing the mascots that were roaming around!

{little girl photobombed my photo op}

{happy garlic}

{hope there's no radiation in those scallops}

{fried balls of octopus-not bad}

{black garlic}

{garlic is king}

{sweet kid}

This event was so much fun; we'll definitely be going again next year!