Oriase Gorge

Fall is here!

But almost over.

Last weekend we drove over an hour out to Lake Towada with our friends Brent & Allyson.  We knew we had to go before all the leaves were gone!  

The weather was amazing and the area was absolutely beautiful.

{this guy is so talented!}

{this was what he was painting}

{we made it}

{don't fall in!}

{Allyson & I were hungry after our hike}

{Lake Towada}

Painted!!!!!

The desk is finally painted!!
Since we don't have a backyard or patio, I had to set up shop in the kitchen.  Not ideal, but it worked.

The painting was the easy part, 2 coats and I was done.  But then I used polyurethane to seal the top and it turned yellow!  I did some research and figured out the issue most likely was because I used a light paint color, so I sanded it all off, repainted and used a spray protector instead.  I would feel better if I could find a piece of plexiglass to put over the top to protect it, but Kashi said it's really expensive here.  And Kashi would know!

I'm really happy with the way the entire project turned out.  I'm still looking for desk accessories and drawer pulls.  Good thing Target ships to APO! :)

{started underneath to make sure the paint was okay}

{lookin' good}

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!