Today, we drove out to beautiful countryside location to the home of a lovely lady who recently lost her husband. Our mission was to load up a approx 200 kg mochi making stone. Massively dense and unbudgeible at first. Took some levers, hoists and dumptruck power moves.
But don’t worry, I had the assistance of my wife, the widow, her mother-in-law and her 12-year-old daughter. There’s no more invincible force than Japanese women but in this case, was not the ideal crew!
The giant stone was joined by menagerie of different ceramic plant pots, some bizen fired drain pipe and all sorts of other odds and ends.
those are wheels/rims, not hubcaps! vaguely-related: this well, I am quite convinced is a portal to Antipodes
We then went around the corner to a café (keep in mind, we were in a small hamlet and the drive was littered with Sakura, plum and peach trees in splendid bloom along was lazy river with elderly farmers doing their works and even Russian looking dacha cabins with garden plots for hobby gardeners to visit from the city) and ate a ridiculous ¥600 bento lunch.
Turns out the boss (who runs the sorta Bento café in a little hamlet which i am trying to recall the name) was born in 1974… He bought this one when he got his drivers license, the car is also 1974 and currently has 74,000 km.
Of course we talked for an extended period about my 1974 bus and the history of Volkswagen (including the Brasilian and Mexican versions) and, sat inside, checked the engine etc. and how this thing could run and until100 years old with proper maintenance.
The wife (or daughter?) drives a new-school Beetle, he had a couple of canoe/kayak-y boats, mountain bikes and a kura – which of course i inquired about and he hasn’t done anything special with but thinking about a karaoke lounge.
Anyhow, was cool to see this kind of tiny lifestyle business as our area could really use something like this. Also, noting, despite his house.biz being a traditional farmhouse with the tatami rooms, had a wheelchair ramp. Hooray for accessibility!
Update: the mochi rock is installed! Heavy. And no, its not a birdbath.
Valentines week which means the darling wife and I are going to do some scrapbooking today (Monday) + this week go to Uniqlo to buy raincoats for Canada trip, maybe pop by a secondhand store, sneak in a #MECFS (Thurs) hospital visit for me, maybe even drop off some special recycling #Romance xo
super cute kid’s outfit at Mont Bell (might return here)
Update: a few specific clothing items (sweaters, coats, socks!) and shoes acquired for trip complicated recycling disposed (a CD player and printer cartridges) coffee and lunch together second hand store visited but no purchases + visit to a bakery and a gasoline stand
don’t totally understand the promotion campaign but the great Ichiro and postbox at Uniqlo means, ok, i’m in
Various views of a coffee and cute dessert (at a Brazilian café) Sweet old Japanese lady rocking it solo. Further backstory unknown.
{I didn’t dig into the chitchat backstory as we were there during lunch hour so she had a few other patrons} I suspect we will return although it’s not in our usual area
Feb 10 Great magazine arrived, National Geographic, June 1984 with cover story about trains in India + history of Japan with special map insert >> looking forward to digging in / thanks @hokkaidomarkett (and wonderfully packaged as well).
Also arrived is a lovely postcard from a kindly correspondent showing my old work/hang neighbourhood of Gastown, Vancouver – including the “Hotel Europe” building which i could look into the apartments from my office at Rain City Studios at 1 Alexander and Nelson the Seagull coffee shop (which featured in a Hoot video) – bit of nostalgia from a place i don’t feel much nostalgia about.
Feb 9 I’ve got a (foreign dude) guest coming over, second time in 2 1/2 years… Really he’s coming to borrow some of wife’s tree cutting equipment but I’m going to ask/make him sit down and have a coffee and a conversation. Yes, this means I’ve changed out of pajamas.
Feb 8 Scribbled a freeverse poem for a friend experiencing sad loss in my little bedside notebook “Longer Than we Think“. Here’s the notebook (not the poem)
Feb 7 Took down festive cards from string of honour yesterday and started putting affectionately in an accordion scrapbook.
The arrival of a bushel of new “not particularly festive“ correspondence prompted the freshening up including: a wedding announcement from Idaho: hummingbirds from Vancouver: ephemera from California: gracious wisdom from Austin: and a new friend from Kolkata.
Still having a hard time rallying up to do anything, yesterday putzed around outside a little bit to spark some energy but wiped me out.
So many tasks on my list, some of them quite pleasant and can be done indoors however in bedlock brainfog crash mode #mecfs
(oh here’s + yesterday lunch)
Feb 6 (Still) making a sign post for the yard here at “Tsuchida Station” in Okayama / Sparks memories for me plus will be fun geography lesson for the local kids maybe. Added some clear coat (with bits of paper and cardboard stuck to it). Of course each sign location has a whole story behind it (and distance is to a very specific point).
While the sign post isn’t finished yet but starting part two for signs to: Moab in memory of a great land surveyor: Dubai to honour of special child/parents; & to Providence for memory of an icy and arty winter.
Plus a bit more soy paraffin on my fire starters… This time with dryer lint mixed with the sawdust/wood chips. Do not confuse paraffin with espresso.
K bye, All for now, so much to do (i also worked on Ichiro’s scrapbooks) and usual dishes and laundry. Just trying to “get out of the shed”.
If I can make it to 20 steps for my cozy bed to the kitchen, I can have a homemade eggnog and espresso + a ridiculous breakfast of fantastic leftovers – oh but it’s so cozy here! PS xo
Made it (with stollen)
Closing Books of sorts
i love making lists and *trying* to mop up everything nicely (of course never quite works out but hey…)
Over next few days, gonna hit up a seitai session, do some pick up/drop off paperwork for wife’s business, mail out some more New Year’s cards, hopefully drop specs off for new lenses (again), finish up this year’s misc scrapbooks, + release a new video (done). Close the book.
[Update, a day later]:
seitai – check Kinome errands – check new years cards – in process scrapbooking – not yet video release – done mae maes video – almost glasses – not gonna get there closing books… sorta
Observed on Errands
On an errand to a community center. Where two phones are, where two phones once were & a really nice copier. 10¥.
¥1100 lunch / not sure how it’s possible to be this fantastic. Wife and kiddos lunch plates were great as well. File this under “lousy photos of usual food“.
Bonus of a happy lil boy (note injury by his eye from a table collision and on chin from a floor tom drum)
Been Meaning to Call you
Just to note that I’ve made a lot of phone calls to vocally express fond greetings of late ~ but also have run out of batteries #mecfs and trying to mop up a few projects by the end of the year…
What I’m trying to say is, “I’ve been mean to call you” and eventually I will. Ergo:
One big question remains for this year “will I get all my browser tabs closed?“ I will not answer all lingering emails however, that’s assured.
Intentions, not Resolutions per se
Also: maybe watched my *beginning of the year type writing out of intentions, themes and musings* for Reiwa 3/2021? Going to try to recap in the next few days. “Let’s go so we can come back.” Weird to say (i guess) but really a mighty year overall. (I foolishly live streamed the session via Facespace and due to a little bit of incidental background music, the video is locked in a steel cage so I’m chalking that up to stupid lessons learned. Open source, open content, fair use ahoy!)
Kei Truck Project
Kei truck dealership guy came by the house today with brochures about a dump truck kei for wife (she’s an arborist and forking out big loads of trimmings every day is a bit much), but sadly dump truck models *only* come in white and with the same crappy seats.
This is a generic photo of what she’s looking for next… The problem is, the ones with the dump truck attachment only come in white and without the extended cab and/or more comfortable seats but… The dump truck part is really important for her job (She’s an arborist)
This beauty has higher and longer cab with a great moss green color is so wonderful, except she *needs* the dump truck part
This is wife’s current runner / You can see with loads like this every day why the dump back feature is desired. Btw The number plate is also her birthday :-)
Various Kei-trucks (660cc engines, mostly with manual transmission and 4WD, one of Japan’s greatest contributions to the world
Was hoping she could have a green color to do some branding for her business (Kinome) and comfy seats for sometimes long drives but no go. The “regular“ kei-trucks you can get the extended cabs, better seats and colors. The dump back is the critical part though. Sorta like below>>
Of course the aftermarket/specialty market has all kinds of customized models including colors, lift kits and fancy wheels and stuff but we’re trying to be cheap and cheerful and off the rack.
Oh, this is Ryoko’s business, Kinome. I’m super proud my wife is part of a small cohort of women-owned small businesses doing “rough“ work. Most is fieldwork, followed by teaching hands-on classes but increasingly more and more landscape design (which is great)
Food Annotations
Forgot to tell you that for dinner last night, took goatfarmer’s housemade focaccia bread, piled it with stuffing, turkey and gravy and made first hot open faced turkey sandwich ever for wife and kiddo.
A note from Christmas dinner: I loved making both moka pot and French press coffee at end of meal for folks to make custom eggnog/coffee/espresso/Bailey’s/Kahlúa concoction. Everyone was so confused/surprised/pleased :) I also explained how the humble mokapot is the *very pinnacle* of Italian design :)
Good Night, you are a marvel
Oh that’s bedtime for me. If I owe you replies, messages, notes, favors etc., I’m working on it… Please know I’m super proud & impressed with what you’re doing and especially glad for creators making interesting pods, vids, paintings and poems. Self expression is everything.
Open w/ care indeed (this scrapbook is an archive of 2021 inbound correspondence)
Good night the Internet, thanks for the amusement today.
the birthday girl enjoys a (no-alcohol) brew from Italy with lunch
Ryoko’s birthday on April 28 was of course in the midst of all of the *global meltdown pandemic* whatever but, we managed a few fun activities, rather safely and all that… Including (on April 27) going to our pal Mac’s goat farm for a special lunch and visit. Evidence follows:
Mac makes this sort of hybrid “Italian/Tuscan style with Japanese ingredients style” food and well, we let them serve us what he wants and it’s always fantastic and comes out in various courses at a leisurely pace, finishing with goat milk cheese cake!
Of course his farm is where we met so it’s a very special place for us and we feel very much at home, plus I can check in on my artwork which hangs in his market which, by the way, had gone through a little bit of a rearrangement making it a bit more spacious and organized.
We look forward in years to come to put on some music and arts festivals and welcome our friends from around the world and around Japan back for more fun. In the meantime though, had a lovely lunch and memories including some choice selections from Buddy Mac’s epic record collection.
Amidst the “specialness” of life – which included of late:
trip to Nagasaki and all the glorious trains, building and museums (well documented elsewhere)
Mae Maes spring concert in Tamano (artifacts to follow)
baby coming! (and related prep)
10 years anniversary of Vancouver Olympics (which was such a big deal for me and i meant to do “something” to commemorate, but ya know, this feeling was overridden with ambivalence (but do have some notes and copy/pastes i’ll get to before 11th anniversary)
– is the “regular out n abouts” of life. These moments are treasure and, as memory fades, are quickly lost to the “exciting bits” never the less, i capture and archive for me, for others like me, for the little one, for the future, for the process. You know this already so behold, more of the usual: trams, coffees, meals, and various items spotted in the wild.
Ergo, just things, observed / scenes of life in Okayama, en route to “seitai” treatment session:
* fine bicycle (wagyu burgers in bg) at sunny intersection
* non-chronological aside but related / wagyu burger (with Ted) / as an additional aside, compared to 25+ years ago when I was first year, so much more international food available, to go along with the obviously fantastic Japanese native food… Would having pizzas, mighty burgers, lots of India/Nepal food, there are Mexican food places but i don’t wanna be disappointed – Anyway we do not lack for fantastic food even in our small city
* angled manshon apartment bldg, striking against the sky (this is parking lot for seitai sensei)
Note: Some of this riff originally appeared in “real time” via FB social channel to the amusement of many (everyone loves a comically large bootle of hooch!) – shared here for posterity in edited form with several other topics included.
++ Confession ++
pardon me, but does this come in a large?
Well, i am at risk of irreparably damaging my reputation as a good resident of Okayama as it seems some library books are overdue.
I know! Terrible. Shameful breach of trust.
As such, i will finish this coffee (delicious by the way) and hop on the luxurious Uno Bus (seriously wi-fi, power outlets, clean, comfy, pay-per-stop) to restore my status as a decent human.
I’ve really let myself go off the rails – i’ll try to improve.
fondly, dave
PS i will not blame this on this comically huge bottle of saké – seriously, 18 litres and came in a wooden crate. Just when you think Japanese people are all diligent and serious, they pull out this! i mean the logistics of shipping, lifting, holding, pouring alone are baffling
Checkpoint busstop (yes my life does look like a Studio Ghibli movie)
Did i mention the bus has great wi-fi, power outlets, seatback headrest covers, and pay-per-stop system? Uno Bus is truly great.
Also before leaving washed dishes, folded laundry, started rice, composted food scraps, fed rabbit, aerated kobo starter, refilled kerosene heater… and didn’t forget library books(!)
Ryoko’s out of town for 2 nights teaching a tree trimming workshop & stayed in a trad guest house with wooden bath. So cool. And she’s truly incredible (and doing great with pregnancy!)
You could be forgiven for thinking that my life involves entirely eating delicious food and drinking fantastic coffee as you are somewhat correct… however, there is slightly more going on as i am into the routine of “regular life” and doing things which I file under “life administration”. As such, some tasks (as much as I delight in the mundanity of everyday activity) doesn’t get documentation.
Not that these things are not interesting – but because in the diligence and action itself, there’s interestingness – but photographs aren’t always timely nor appropriate and in themselves, there’s not often a story to be told. Within this thought is why I enthusiastically and rather comprehensively documented everyday life when first arriving in a new place… As in: when you stay in a place for a while, the uniqueness of every day life fades and it’s easy to think that “I’ll do this another time” or “I’ll wait for something special” or “why bother?”
A coffee break at “Tartan something or other” (not actual name) in downtown Okayama
So it goes, the festive season passes yet calendar stays busy with the usual sorts of things. Yesterday included returning books to splendid library, a few letters (Switzerland and Indonesia) to the post office, a stop for the best ramen, and a visit to a chiropractor and then a super good little (i mean little) coffee shop – like just perfect right?
In amongst, we repaired/re-did a wall in Tsuchida Cottage, attended a parenting class(!), went to opera variety show, hit up Hatsumi-san’s piano recital, moved some brick around outside, printed more flyers for Mae Maes gig, talked to a guy about replaced some drafty windows, recycled plastic items, booked a trip to Nagasaki…
Here is a variety of snippets collected along the way, with minor annotations as possible.
we ordered umeboshi by the kilo – i love these pickled plums and nope to make them myself one of these days soon but in the meantime, order up in bulk! salty, sour goodnessone morning i awoke to Ryoko singing snippets of so many songs – realized she was tidying up all her sheet music/scores etc.tidied up the Kamidama a little bit with fresh items to bring good fortune and happiness more and more
Dave visits a Café terrace at Night – at “the Market” for a special event (described below) – photo by Ryoko (van Gogh homage)
After all the friends came and went from the wedding festivities in April (including a hospital stay by one intrepid adventurer) and then the Emperor abdicated and new one enthroned, then we rambled through much of May to Toyama, Nagano, Niigata etc. seeing small museums, riding various trains, soaking in a few hot springs, visiting a few pals… oh then of course, doing all the paperwork and procedure for my zairyu card, national insurance and pension programs and setting up our little house with some 2nd hand furniture, a fresh shelf books and hooks and hangers… we set about just “normal life” here.
Note: Indeed, indulged with a very practical maneouver to acquire a stack of books… this pile is primarily from Vancouver and Vancouver-related by Grant Lawrence, Aaron Chapman, Eve Lazarus, plus Marc Zegans and David Willis… i will document these and many others recently added to collection forthwith(ish).
What follows are very mediocre snapshots to chronicle various normal-outings, non-events, day-to-day errands, and other otherwise insignificant actions.
For the record, we live in Tsuchida neighbourhood outside of Okayama city (shi), the capital of Okayama prefecture (ken). A mix of old (pre-war) homes, new homes, rice fields. 20 mins by car or 30 minutes by the fantastic Uno Bus to Okayama Station. Easy to go to Kurashiki or Bizen or the inland sea.
I’ve even tried to plant some garden boxes and various seeds for greens. Okaasan (mother) has a much better technique and diligence with gardening.
You must be logged in to post a comment.