made a little photo book for gift and sale featuring postboxes of the world, post offices here and there, and letter writing “still lifes” scenes with stationery and bevvies (note to self: post a link or something to purchase this book)
A few years ago (or less), each day was quite tough. Now, each day i deal with pain and confusion but enough joy and interestingness to compensate. My brain fires but i have to throttle as i get headaches and eye strain very easily, i remain very sensitive to light and sounds so use dark glasses and ear plugs when out and about.
Anyhow, there are several recent “standalone” dispatches of activities and outings (Mae Maes concerts, tea ceremony, museums, tours…) but this post simply gathers up miscellaneous whatnots which don’t really chronicle anything but normal day-to-day tasks and action with brief annotations.
coffee and cake date with the amazing Ryoko who amazes me daily with her tenacity, honesty, grace and endless interests
this time is a local restaurant bound to be a new fave, its quirky, calm and the food was great and well-priced (we even ordered some meal set for Christmas dinner) remember to pick it up at 3pm!did some tidying up for Ryoko’s work garage with all sorts of landscaping and tree maintenance supplies as well as her ubiquitous “k” trucknoticed this poster and how the human on the right is rocking my style – this is allseasons changing, times get chilly, house is not insulated… as such out comes the kerosene heater and a refill tank with a handy pump. this is safe, really :)another coffee stop somewhere along the way… always a proper saucer and spoon. note i generally take cream but not sugarset up a little christmas display with stockings from 100 yen store, a shrub, a couple mikon, few candles and a photo of my brothers and i on a christmas past in Surrey. Note: painting above is an original oil from a 2nd hand store.yup, another lunch date with my wife… this time at Okayama University campus in a unique building all done in glass with a café and a gift shop with rotating artists which was at least half of our quest – the other half was grain and a salad (and a side of smile)then went to buy this awesome hat! handmade by a local artist. she took some photos too, i’ll get to sharing those and give ya some more info about Naomi Maeda
Update: here’s a photo by Naomi Maeda (the fabric artist) of us in hats
at an important match near Kurashiki to decide promotion to next league, cousin Genta’s team was ahead 2-1 with a few minutes to go, but a few dodgy penalty calls allowed the other team to win 3-2, breaking the poor fellow’s heart – regardless we had a picnic and enjoyed the vitamin d (though was chilly!)did a big round up of grocery shopping at the Japan Agriculture farmer direct outlet to stock up (going out to the store is tough!) – enjoyed the product and the pricei scored a library card! in other words, i really feel like i LIVE here now. note: the downtown Okayama library is great and has a load of foreign language books AND the bus to and from there and house is straightforwardgiving some support to a whisky made in my own stomping ground of Tottori – not much of a drinker but respect to makers of handmade goodnessjust stepping outside to the yard – getting used to the weather patterns here… December is sunny mostly, chilly at night but pleasant during the days – anyhow, i am used to Vancouver’s endless drizzle or escaping to sunny hot climates in recent yearsin the backyard, watching the leaves change – used to this happening in Sept or Oct, moreseo than Nov or Dec.just popping in for ramen in the neighbourhood. not the best, but ya know, ya gotta tryanother ramen somewhere, this one was spicy – actually this is the same place as Ryoko above… #duhbeen rocking a moustache sometimes of late but my skin is sooo sensitive from rocking beard for 30 years so trying a proper brush and shaving soap rather than using “whatever is handy”arrived in Japan with a backpack and suitcase with some clothes – mostly “fancy” for wedding and then lightweight from living in tropical climates, so hitting up 2nd hand stores for leisure wear and other handy items including this velour Rusty ath-leisure lounger for like $7 – makes me look vaguely like a mid-level fixer from the ‘stanswe’re fixing up a wall inside the house so got some boards, cut up to size and soon (really!) will install – in the meanwhile, stored in the breezeway between our cottage and parent’s houselousy photo but we purchased a few seedling fruit trees to add to the erstwhile orchard – orange, lemons etc – well see how it goes
Vending Machine Variety Pack
vending machine: ice cream treatsvending machine: coffee, brewed in machinevending machine: hot meal, really!vending machine: hot meal, detail (did not sample)
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