many topics to share in this public diary, yet still scattered from recent weeks great things happening:
including: winterkeep EP release, advocate poetry chapbook ready, school moms scrapbook session, Kurashiki ‘model’ gig, hanami by bus and and and
yet brain disoriented, flustered & forgetful (including yesterday hospital appt – urgh! :() just so fog’d #mecfs
so reminding myself that along with the above:
had 4 medical appointments in March
+ 2 very different sets of visitors, plus helped 2 more groups navigate Japan
add in multiple school activities, keeping household rolling, freshening up for spring, always tidying
heck even charcoal firing & backyard fires
so started charting out April’s themes which include:
Ryoko’s birthday on 28th
7th (already!) wedding anniversary on 4/20
+ a visit to tax office to register biz
finish sewing 2 unique curtains
regrouping on Japanese studies, step up the reading
keep momentum on creative projects = yeah!
& 4 or 5 hospital visits (including one in Omichi Hiroshima)
let’s enjoy, right
before I hit the bath, should remind myself and possibly others i used my superpowers extensively of late, which are:
1) bringing various people together to spark friendships & activities
2) copious tangible communication especially to those who might be feeling down
Recalling @PaprikaGirl_JP‘s notes about “avoiding loneliness in Japan or elsewhere” by getting in with a hobby or club circle
helped effectuate ^this^ w/ old-timers & newbs alike
i.e. intro’d a Japan 20+ years guy who loves castles with a Japan three or four months guy who loves antique ceramics… I barely got word in ;)
{…which is awesome as I sipped the tea and made commemorative postcards for the ladies}
plus remembering my dear late Mom’s advice about:
“to get a friend you need to be a friend”
in other words, reach out, find space & #AlwaysBeKind
addendum: after the meet up with the castle guy and the ceramics guy and two brilliant ladies, I was on the bus homeward bound, not optimal timing with the crowded transport, message from my wife meant a quick exit and change the bus and rendezvous at the library, we fill up all three library cards with English and Japanese kids books, a few special additions for Ryoko and DVDs, mostly nature documentaries and a few European cartoons which we watch from a dodgy DVD player projected through a lousy machine onto a bedsheet on the curtain rod.
sent a view of the castle to my friend who was on the train back to Osaka after doing another quick circuit around the original walls (sorry I don’t know the technical names of turrets, ramparts, gates & keeps but he sure does) of Okayama Castle
an hour or two later the castle was lit up with beautiful blue lights and looked magical as we drove home in a borrowed car, crossing the bridge meaning we’re almost to our part of the city, looking back at the garden and the castle all twinkly is always a bit of a moment for us, especially us in the backseat
But before that, we stopped for Ramen at our usual place, and because Ramen doesn’t count unless it’s documented, well, documented. Lovely chat with the kind master who has become a dear confidant as we’ve been to his restaurant probably close to 100 times by now often with international guests in tow. Ichiro has a special version he’s created and the master indulgences. If you’re curious it’s shio tonkatsu with loads of corn and a big chunk of butter
we also get this delicious egg mayo side and a mini chashu don as sides… We’re not being gluttonous, but Ichiro has gone from just a little bit of Ramen to a significant portion so we get two bowls, one extra big and then a few sides so the three of us go home full
