Going to try to make the hemp curtain for the back door this afternoon. What do you think for the top curtain loops: the green or the peach?
You maybe caught the first iteration of hemp curtain project for the “old genkon” – this time to cover a rarely-used back door which gets a little bit drafty – still wanted to make sure to look nice with all the paintings I have around there. also had some of this same hemp fabric in black which would’ve been a little bit gloomy for that corner.
(this embroidered cloth is made to be the edges of tatami mats – purchased a highway rest area in the “local made products” section for 300¥ each)
Ok step by step, here we go (notes as captions)
Progress! 191cm L x 78cm W / top-stitched, sides have 14cm overlap. Next up loops / also prepping 3pm ice coffees for landscape bamboo cutter “crew”“Schematic” & toolshockingly, I just double checked my measurements… Like you’re supposed toPlan is “Approved” by Ichirocut the pieces for three loops. It’s really fantastic cloth and (oddly) bought at a local goods corner at a highway rest area for ¥300 Progress, 2 more to go, then bottom hem & tie up stringContinue reading DIY: Hemp curtain , part 2 (with tatami cloth)→
Made a birdhouse from some scraps of wood, noting birds don’t care about “perfection“ (and fun to make while they’re tweeting all around around me.)
Added on a little bit of an “front porch“ so the little birdies can hang out and enjoy the view and have an easy landing spot.
Note: scraps from poncho stashed inside for nesting – decades ago we would watch the Good the Bad and the Ugly in my VW bus in Orem high school parking lot with Bob Olson & Cory DeMille et al
Blurb: Now that the major parts of our renovation(s) are done and we settled in, turning our attention to “improving the campsite“ with yard, garden(s) and more decorative outdoor projects including this directional sign post, with weather station on top, aligned with the compass cardinal points.
Hoping it becomes an object of interest for the neighborhood kids, as well as when friends can come visit down the road, they can make/add a sign.
If curious, measured exact distance from our front yard to a specific point (hospitals, hideout, parks, museums) notable from my rambles rather than from “city center to city center” – then figured out azimuth from the geo-coordinates.
Made a Google Earth project with candidate locations, still plenty to add in leisure times using leftover scrap wood from the construction, a bit of milk paint, and loads of memories / all mounted on a decommissioned tree from my wife the arborist. (the unadorned board in the middle-ish is showing *exact* West & East)
Combining memories, leftover floorboards, milk paint, quasi-Shodo, and various amateur cartography skills, added the first few signs today… More to come >> Will need another pole for the whole list.worksheet with places, geo-coordinates and compass azimuth
Places: Current working list with latitude and longitude and compass points (is the azimuth?) denoted here – Referenced to exact special points in each of these places, often hospitals, peers, homes, hideouts and so on. More to come… Ran out of paper but still have more pencil.
If you have questions about any of the locations, feel free to ask, will eventually explain in more detail for the permanent record. Also suggestions welcome, though I probably already know :-)
Process: First i planned the location in a google earth project, figured out geo-coordinates (degrees, minutes, seconds &/or 4 decimal points out) and distance right from our front yard to a specific landmark.
screenshot of project in process – each place has a story (not surprisingly)
i.e. 133.9833 E 34.6968 N (Tsuchida Station) to 32.6014 E 25.7401 N (Valley of Kings Egypt) is 297º25’35” on the compass
the Moab ones are a gift for some friends, Noto needed kanjj (now painted by Ryoko) Process: cut the boards, a couple coats of “milk paint”, the the lettering (in one breath) and then clear coat, drill holes
Post (mounted in cement) has a weather station on top, also adjusted to proper cardinal points. Measures temperature, dewpoint, humidity, UV, rainfall, wind direction, barometric pressure etc., transmits to a display panel inside the parents’ house and then onto the Internet.
Note: the unfinished board about halfway up the post is pointing to “exact“ east and west
Next batch in process already, lots more places to add. Have plenty of scrap wood, a sweet little work area, and an assistant delivered in a box.
Adding a wish for peace in Ukraine from Tsuchida Station where we oppose violence and tyranny and all its forms.
Sharp peekers maybe caught the preview in “Post’d: New Years “nengajyo” in process” and now fresh from various post office trips with stamping goodtimes comes our best wishes to you for a pleasing 2022 in the form of a card from Tsuchida Cottage featuring us in ‘The Linda Lindas” shirts and swag. Note the details.
You may be shocked that I did not *accidentally on purpose* steal the post box/pen holder but I did use the stamps at the post office to decorate the postcards because, that’s what the stamps are for – specifically featuring the coming year’s zodiac sign, the tiger. Yep, cute tigers coming on your New Year’s cards.
130 out to foreign address and around the same in process to domestic Japan (with different back and includes Japan Post special “raffle” cards) as of this writing Dec. 27 (hurry hurry printers!)
I hope one of them is for you. I’m doing my best.
Fondly from Dave, Ryoko and Ichiro
PS On the back is a poem by me (naturally) with a few sentiments about adapting to situations and using the unexpected to reinvent as well as expressing empathy.
All the Time
Reinvent
Re-create
Replenish, even Rejuvenate or Rejoice
Adapters plant seeds
and watch the trees tell time,
over decades
There’s no hurry
We’re here forever
Go slow
We’ve got all the time for you
Records, flowers and paints
Fresh coffee with a view
If you’ve had a hard year
We’re here with our ears
Pack your steamer trunk and be ready for queen tides, we’ll spark the woodstove
Ramble forth, possibly fret, maybe cry but
know – even without *believing* – light is here as needed
Always fondly.
By Dave Olson, Tsuchida, Okayama
Bought all of the 70¥ stamps the post office had – every single one.
Took off the jacket and scarf and sat for a while putting on inky stamps and postal stamps and dropped first batch into the wormhole.
Each card receives seven+ special touches yet it doesn’t seem like *near enough* to express my appreciation for my friends and correspondents.
In brief: #Spoilers
Front side a photo made by an Insta film camera and decorated with dymo labels, scanned and printed – Each one a little bit different with colour distressing #punkrock.
Reverse features an original freeverse poem with various touchpoints and hallmarks from the year & intentions ahead.
A hand applied “postcard“ signification (black ink), and air mail stamp (blue ink), a tiger stamp to commemorate the year ahead (red ink).
Hand addressed with my own “quasi-calligraphy (midnight blue ink)
Glued on 70 ¥ stamp with classic Japan vibes design.
Mildly obsessive? Yeah, definitely but I want each one to be better and better.
Up’d the total count to around 150 pieces so I hope you get one, I’m trying my hardest, I really really am – Rough couple of days after a few really good weeks, so it goes so it rolls #mecfs
Grateful for Post offices, correspondence, and you.
Blurb: Join Uncle Weed for a hang-out workshop riff in a not-so-secret barn studio in provincial Japan as he shares favorite tools and supplies and techniques for making “static montage” collage, scrap-journals of ephemera and musings, and elevated postal projects including tactile postcards, panoramas and aerogrammes. Plus – importantly – discussion about, “why bother?“ (Hint: meditation, inspiration, memories – dopamine for you and others).
There will be ephemera! {And treats for participants.}
UW says, “Look forward to chatting with you live about any creative projects you’re curious about or working on”.
Gist: I’m collaborating with some pals on a new Cannabis Community project – its all metavers-y and NFTs and such as and while that’s not my forte, sharing stories from rambles, campaigns, and creative riffs is (fer sure). Check links to get in on the hi-jinks. So happy to be getting studio barn set-up with all the wires, dongles, adapters, extenders, lights and mics. Catch all the topics in the riff below and come on along!
What follows are simply sundry odds and ends from mostly late Nov, (bit of early Dec). 2021 with an emphasis i suppose on a few DIY projects as we continue to settle into our reno’d home, doing loads lil tasks and looking forward to each day. Pardon, brevity and repetition, this is me chronicling the usual days of a poet-storymaker+house-husband+oldish-papa, doing my best.
First off… Making fire starters in the car port with paper egg crates, sawdust & paraffin in a sorta double boiler on a canister stove.
One of these in the woodstove with no other paper or whatever and a single light and you are good to go. Works so well (though next time use soy wax and also recommended by others: dryer lint).
Also from the DIY file is persimmon and ume vinegar, freshly decanted / will filter in bottle in a few more weeks. Such natural macrobiotic goodness.
Flashback to decanting vinegar:
“& voila / persimmon & ume vinegar decanted >> In a couple weeks will filter & bottle (bottled some ume cordial & syrup while at it)
Filtering persimmon vinegar while listening to @TBeanpod / Seems oddly appropriate and glad you were brave enough for IKEA because no way I’m going there :-) if it can’t be delivered or bought at the recycle shop, it’s just off the list”
Another quick DIY project… A little rolling cart for the kitchen for fruit and serving tea and drinks and what not. Ordered used, delivered next day, total about ¥3500 ($30 USD ish). Casters on everything!
Next up, some hemp canvas panels to go over the drafty doors that were skipped over in the renovation. We hung hooks and cut bamboo poles/rods/.
We eventually need a couple of curtains for some view windows but want to get those special made by the noren makers of Katsuyama.
Memo: I just folded the laundry (yup again) and now onto dishes. Thank you for your support of my creative projects of late.
Related: Made video with books which arrived by post incl about Hunter S Thompson + Neal Cassady 50th anni (sent / signed by daughter with postcard photographs by Carolyn), and a dude in Scarborough who published letters to friends while traveling the world (sound familiar?)
Lots of videos coming out, don’t expect anyone to watch *all* but if you’re really smart, you will :-) #notaplug
Super fun/strange, got a call on not-so-secret-but-no-one-ever-uses Japan VoIP number *and* it was a wrong number asking for Etsuko-san. Replied “I’m just a regular guy named Dave”. Anyway, was my excitement while organizing supplements for next fortnight & watching hockey.
Put in another big order with @iHerb / A company which continues to amaze me with their incredibly fast (free!) delivery of unique items – although they’re definitely having some “out of stock” issues
PS Got the laundry folded (yeah i know i always say this), nursing a cold so I think going to a special event tonight is going to be off the list… was first time to go out in well, forever – however have persimmon vinegar to bottle and/or start on New Year’s cards + vids to edit > tmrw online meditation “retreat”.
(Another day) gotta get ready to go to big city hospital for a bunch of scans and tests and what not #mecfs …
Thanks for hanging out while *sorta nervously* get ready by sending out little dispatches. Wishing best days to everyone wherever & whoever you are. be your own revolution
Lost in translation and somewhat translucent but back home in bed
File under “things I love”: this new heavy duty, cast iron, small footprint, front loading, side cleaning woodstove in our cottage in provincial Japan. Cozy and safe. With an arborist wife, always have a stash of heavy hardwood to burn – hot & slow.
Stash the ash in the compost and brought in a new little stack of wood.
Anyway, getting towards the end of the year so rocking out a little projects to finish up strong. This afternoon is another doctors appointment, hopefully the last for the year.
Tomorrow is some picture framing festival and some Santa Claus voice recording, the following day the Grannys from the Silver Center are coming to clean.
Good morning and good night from our home , Tsuchida Cottage, Okayama, Japan.
My pal Cameron Uganec of Lynn Valley hit 50 so i made a spoken-song-arts-and-crafts-thing / its not long because he suggests “brevity is key” so i tried to not ramble on as per usual – making a “Ramones-sized song”.
Sharing here so i remember the fun making this for a great pal including: my Mom’s heavy duty pinking shears; Dymo labeller; scribbling “lyric and chord” writing; and a pink insta-camera + mighty hat a’la Richard Brautigan (made in Utah), and a Royal Stewart tartan jacket.
Thanks for being a top-notch gent Cam (and always driving and getting coffee etc).
oh! comes back around so the envelope goes int an envelope and round again
Sometimes the letters come back – due to an errant digit or NATA or maybe just want another circumnavigation / so, off they go again! Get in on the rotations.
Thanks to R Scales for original snap – art’d up by dvo
[UPDATE]
The very special dispatch loaded with b&w lomography photos from Gandhi Beach & oil pastels of sherbet-colored houses in Kerala India, Jack Kerouac exhibit in Kobe items, collage of fake IDs (or are they?), & snaps from Suez Canal – which (somehow appropriately) required two circumnavigations to reach Montréal due to an errant “8” not “3”.
Question: Does the mail travel west or east from JPN to QC, Can?
From the front porch of the kura studio with cicadas chirping on a sunny day in Okayama come riffs and reflections about tatami mats revealing generational touchpoints, thoughts of friends passed on, reminiscences about american road trips with bands in renegade youth, sickness and healing, tree doctor tests, mystery old-timey radio shows, submarine films and evasion tactics from the signal corps.
Overall: home is where the projects are, planes can take you places you forgot (or try to) and phones can call anyone anywhere and the ¥10 is optional. Importantly, do you remember the number?
