Tag Archives: cake

Improving Campsite

Kitchen: Iced Coffee & Pies (for bamboo crew)

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3pm ice coffee & cakes for bamboo cutting crew from “DaveO Kissaten”

First, ice cubes in chilled classes
Then a generous squirt of honey and a bit of cold water
Coffee ready in the French press
Little pies fresh from the oven
Pour it and stir it, serve quick
Handy collage for collectors

Note metal straws & honey on the cubes + new French Press is nice cause higher capacity than previous broken unit & a lovely shade of green to go with the green/blue/natural wood vibes of Tsuchida Cottage.

Re: bamboo “crew”…

My darling wife is doing a project at our house to set back the bamboo forest behind our house a couple of meters requiring chopping down a whole bunch of 20m-ish bamboo trees.

She’s enlisted her Dad & another arborist to help. They’ve been at it for the last couple of days with chainsaws, wood chipper and today a front digger machine (very cute).

With my illness, I’m just not rated for such work so I’m helping out with “catering service“.

(The hope is to put in a charcoal kiln me and eventually pizza oven, bar-b-q etc. with the reclaimed space… and make access a little bit easier for possibly even a small tea house within the bamboo forest)

Kinfolk + Pals

Diary: Otoosan’s (FiL) 65th Birthday

Happy Birthday to this fun-loving, shogi-playing, loud-talking, curry-making, sweet & kind (with great head of hair), retired civil engineer and new Grandfather.

65 today and hilarious and serious all at the same time / Celebrating with take-home South India Kerala curry & veggies from Spicy Spice resto (thanks Shabin Jabbar!) here in pleasant Okayama, Japan. 

Anyhow, being a foreign son-in-law in Japan ain’t always easy (as I understand it) so feeling rather fortunate for this kindly and fun father-in-law. 

For dessert, he gets to hold Ichiro ?!

Delicious Kerala-style bento (though not in stainless steel tiffin ;)) Continue reading Diary: Otoosan’s (FiL) 65th Birthday →

Kinfolk + Pals

Diary: Birthday Fun with Dear Ryoko

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Happy Birthday to my ray of sunshine Ryoko!
Every day is the most wonderful fun with you.
Let’s enjoy tea, cake and picnic today (& kiss :)).

Ryoko’s birthday came, of course, in the midst of the pandemic and all that, but, we did some great activities starting with lunch at Mac’s goat farm the day before then we drove to Setouchi to (socially safely) pick up a custom made cake by the same baker who made our wedding cake which we really didn’t get to eat. Then enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch with the parents (who live “inside the wall” with us). 

That night, sparked the candles in the cake and I sang (what I am sure is a magnificent version of) happy birthday etc. etc.

Evidence of this treasure follows: 

picking up the cake “social distance” style from Pom in Setouchi town
Pom bakery had a fun photo booth frame set up and of course, we cheesed out

Continue reading Diary: Birthday Fun with Dear Ryoko →

Japan Life/Travel, Personal Musings

Diary: Autumn Miscellany, scenes of “regular life” in Okayama

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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

Continue reading Diary: Autumn Miscellany, scenes of “regular life” in Okayama →

Portraits of the Artiste

Portrait: Robe, PJs, and Pig Cake (+ glasses and middle part hair)

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Smoking Jacket: daveo disguised
Smoking Jacket
Robe and pyjamas and a perfect middle part in the hair – all on point – not to mention and yet another pair of glasses… Yes I bought boats for optometrists many times over.
 
10th birthday places this snap in 1980, dawning of a new era. 
 
Note: remixed this on 46th birthday.