Winter arrives

On Saturday the men-folk in the Gaynor-Takahashi family got busy doing what men-folk ought to be doing: changing tires. In Hokkaido snow, ice, constant sub-zero temperatures and insistent TV commercials by the Yokohama tire company mean that cars come with two sets of tires, one for summer and one for winter. The latter are made of softer rubber, are slightly wider and have deeper threads, which technically makes them more suitable for winter conditions. However, as any policeman here will tell you, it's the driver not the tires that makes the most difference.

Usually I get the tires changed down at the local garage along with an oil change and replacement oil filter. But under the withering scorn of my father - "Think of the impression you are making on Cian. He's half Gaynor. He's got Castrol oil in his blood. For God's sake, man up and change the tires yourself!" - I decided to do it myself.
So off to Homac we went (think Woody's but with way more cool stuff) and bought a socket wrench and a decent car jack. And some winter wipers (they have heavier blades for the snow). And a pretty damn cool flashing yo-yo, which we didn't really need at all.



So, we changed the tires and wipers, and emboldened by our lack of serious injuries doing same, we decided to go up on the roof to clean out the gutter.



Well I did. Cian got three rungs up the ladder before deciding he was better off down at ground level. Plus, he wanted to give one last torque check to the wheel nuts.
Up on the roof I marveled at (a) the view (yes, that's Sanae in the hot pink ski pants); and (b) the small shrub that had sprouted in the gutter.

Saturday afternoon

After cleaning the gutter, I was on a roll, so I also buried my bonsai plants, moved all the big potted trees to the lee side of the house under the kitchen and other stuff I won't bore you any more with.
And all just in time too as on Tuesday evening we had an almighty storm blow through. 140km/h winds, a meter of snow in 12 hours, trees felled, power lines down, over 50,000 homes without electricity, and Sanae's school closed until next Monday as they reckon it will take that long to restore power to that area. Which is great for Sanae but not so great for the people living there as they have no light, heat, water,  nor means of cooking. And the temperature is well below zero at night.

Tuesday morning

The (blocked) entrance to Cian's nursery school

Those of who you a bit 'jouzu' with the auld 'nihongo' can enjoy the link to the news report below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GOmyY-IpC4&feature=relmfu