New addition by Jean Smith (see also: Mecca Normal) / this lady reminds me of someone, somehow… do you know who?
Needs properly hung but wanted you to say “hello”.
Also, glimpses of: * Miyake Noriko * Grateful Dead pacific Nw box by Roy Henry Vickers (thanks Trev!) * Gravelly Beach series (me)
Elsewhere in house: Michal Korman & many others (this is a note to self to document further)
Note: There is another by Jean who is doing so many interesting projects to build an Free Artist Residency (FB) somewhere in BC… check her interviews for more of her great story.
This summer was a splendid fog of humid waves of action welcoming baby Ichiro amongst *all the world*. Yet, remains tasks to do (esp as i am still getting settled as an immigrant in a new country and logistically removing myself from several other countries, so: make a list, check the items, repeat.
Anyhow, what follows are scenes of “usual days” in late-summer 2020 as we caught up on life after welcoming Ichiro and tending to various life admin tasks. In other words, the bits which don’t fit anywhere else yet i find somehow amusing. Minimally annotated, non-chronologically. Carry on.
Note: I roll slowly (1 action per day and only 1 outing a week usually) so strategic planning and adjusting to my health and the baby’s need were/are key.
Background: I have challenging/delicate eyes (astigmatism, wearing glasses since a baby) and need an awesome ophthalmologist (眼科医 Gankai) eye doctor – was hoping someone with english skills as some the vocab evades me but had a very thorough test and fresh prescription to take to an ace optometrist and/or optician + optical shop / Note: tricky eyes so the “cheap and cheerful” places aren’t right for me.
Also: for the eye chart, instead of “letters” it was circle shapes with an opening to the up, down, right or, left. Of course the circle shapes and the opening became progressively smaller. got to do it all in japanese to add the brain confusion / needed to be placed in a dark quiet room for the rest of the day to reset my brain / needed a quiet room after. Continue reading Diary: usual days / summer’s end 2020 (ophthalmologist, peanut butter, cats, coins, plans)→
Census form packet came in post! Really starting to feel like I *live* in Japan now, (complete with adorable wife and wonderful baby, house full of art and parents next-door… Some kind of heaven). Looking forward to checking some boxes. ForeverHome, Okayama.
Yesterday went to community centre (with protocols etc.) for an exchange of baby clothes, toys etc > came home with stroller, bouncer, various trains & planes, and bunch of cool clean outfits for his next growth spurt. Zero cost. Hooray (Tsuchida, Okayama) community!
There’s also various events (assuming etc. etc.) for a parent’s club including a Christmas party so I might as well just volunteer to be Santa Claus, it’s practically an obligation I think. Scheduling beard re-grow for post-Halloween.
While at the community centre, observed 3 items – which will you choose?
Lots on my mind to riff about sometime about with various dangling topics & conversations unfinished and yet the days go by so quick, ergo:
* libraries (lost in Showa) * meeting Ed Abbey (for Heads Lifestyle) * my next postbox paintings/poems * Ryoko’s new Fluevog shoes(!) / below (note: Vancouver company but these came from the Amsterdam store in the magnificent box with extra treats. She will look so great in these, and hopefully can wear in her next concert sometime this autumn if things well, get safer.) + I kept an eye on the sale section and special sale days to find just the right pair at well, a good price and this was my third attempt * Dennis Kearns & Quinn Hughes * Canucks family cook book circa 1981 (contents thereof) * paintings by Noriko Miyake (She’s local to our area but spends a lot of time in France making her vag!na goddess art. We have 2.5 of her pieces. Purchased this “wild hot spring” as a surprise “momma’s gift” for Ryoko Olson) & Jean Smith (she’s rocking it so well right now) * reducing humidity for book and record archiving in kura barn * Fast Times (film & soundtrack etc) * Itami’s “The Funeral” film * scheme for house modifications/extension (safety & efficiency) * so many letters out in the post, absolutely fantastic custom and complicated… And time-consuming(!) but so worth it * Ichi-Stan’s CDN paperwork / checkmark #io * The Queen never getting to know the pleasure of making a perfect grilled cheese sandwich * further annotations re: hemp in Japan (state of & unpublished artifacts) * recap #daveo50 / 190+ posts project * wild boar sausages & inflatable pool (+ impending typhoon) * how i ended up in Japan this time around * how are you? * condolences for losses (i see you) * yes *the illness* persists #chronic #complex yet research drastically increasing (note: One strange /good thing is with *the virus*, there’s suddenly a lot more attention and awareness and research going into CFS/ME vis a vis so-called “long haulers” / Would be so wonderful to see so many people get so much of their lives back #MillionsMissing) * “Hollywood” Scurlock (for Dark Poutine Mike Browne) #weird * etc * full email box #trying * autumn is best season in Japan * questions??
> in the meantime…
Note: The reality is, I wrote this as a little bit of “stuff I’m thinking about but I can’t do anything about right now“ list when I was in a crash mode from my silly consortium of syndromes.
(When I “crash“ I can only be in bed with the lights off, audio playing but not video, no outside light or noise,… but my head is swimming with ideas of stuff I really really want to do but can’t. In this case, three days of almost complete an activity aside from bathtime with baby.)
Dictating out a “laundry list” of thoughts, helps the brain calm down and well, means I’ll maybe address the topics eventually… maybe.
“Champey” Fluevogs for Ryoko (bit of another Noriko Miyake painting)
Project: Upon turning 50 years old on August 16, 2020, Dave Olson (me, hello) is posting a photo (or maybe photos) a day / per year – starting with 1970 and ending with this dispatch.
Thank you for your perceived interest and erstwhile support.
Note: gone “over the wall” for a haircut / yup legit barber for #daveo50 coif.
Results:
This fella Touse-san at a neighbourhood shop called 理容タカシマwhich has that “Lost in Showa” vibe i dig (his Dad was previous proprietor)… with a few Heisei updates obv.
Ergo: Shelves of old manga, TV (i asked to turn off), coffee pot, smokes and the like. See for yourself:
Hot, humid days these days… kept it cool whilst waiting. Then, outside to catch a bus at a stop across from this smiley little post office.
Now let’s see if bus is rolling during Obon holiday / yes!
You cant see my sharp haircut and wicked moustache so you’ll just have to dig my legitimate hemp mask.
Walking home from the bus stop… this is my neighbourhood like I live in a Miyazaki movie… though I always think of myself as more of the Zatoichi type (though I skip the sword fighting and just do the part about rescuing damsels in distress, actually now that I think about it… I don’t do that part either, also don’t give good massages (usually)).
Walking home from bus stop / this charcoal wood siding is called Yakisugi (焼杉) / roasted cypress – resists rot, termites etc & renders fire resistant + water repellent. Used widely / lasts decades or centuries.
Anyhow, this is my neighbourhood Tsuchida, (Okayama, Japan). Next step: fresh up the wonderful bathtub for bathtime with the magical Ichiro Stanley / possibly listen to Jimmy Buffett, yes, I’m in that good of a mood.
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.
Our local city government of Okayama has a splendid program which offers us a choice of tree sapling upon significant life events, including wedding and birth of child. As we’ve accomplished both now, we get a second tree. Hooray.
The choices include Japanese maple, dogwood (provincial tree of BC), and a few others. We ticked the box for “peach” (which are the “famous item of the area” and mailed in the postcard and will await instructions to pick up to add to our burgeoning orchard of fruits here at Tsuchida Cottage.
Katsuo no tataki / bonito tuna sashimi served with with onions, green onions, shiso leaf and lemon
I suspect you eat food, likely more than once per day. While I dabble in many mediums of art, the kitchen has never been a place of creative comfort for me however… I’m working to add a few new skills to my repertoire, as well as watching the unique techniques take a bus out for some traditional Japanese favorites.
Also, paying attention to the importance of plating and presentation and choosing an interesting variety of dishes when serving – I’m probably better at this part than in the preparation but hey, one revolution at a time.
As such, very little in the way of annotations or details, or quality of photos for that matter, just evidence of living life at such a cottage.
The results are sort of a hybrid of Japanese and “western“ dishes, and usually served rather Japanese-style meaning lots of little plates as we sit at usually a low table on a mat to enjoy the creations.
snack plate with fruits and maple syrup for coffee/tea
While life is still exciting and new here, I occasionally remember to take a snapshot of things prepared, most of the time I don’t, but sometimes I do, and since I did, i’ll share with you. There are loads of these round-ups elsewhere in this archive if curious.
impromptu smoker in the kitchen / chips in foil in a pan, pork meat on grill above / worked so good
