Evidence I’m alive and rebuilding/reinventing/rejuvenating…
Here’s me and Ichiro at the Tsuchida Matsuri
Working through a lot of conundrums from spinal discs to immigration status.
Thank you to a few very kind people for cards and letters. No greater tonic aside from frolicking with this kiddo.
xo dvo
Briefly: Evidence of us doing the Halloween rounds this afternoon / including the magnificent Taroman pumpkin shriveling into repose & our “bare minimum yet very effective” costumes of a ragtag baseball squad
The neighborhood has four “official” trick-or-treat stations, specifically available from 1 PM till 2:30 PM.
After hitting up a couple, I pulled out the pumpkin to the stoop, set up a lawn chair and added chaos into the well-ordered routine with spontaneous station number five while my darling duo hit up a couple of others, returning beaming with treats while I am a few twizzlers lighter after visits by a young surgeon (with stethoscope and spectacles in his pocket), a young police officer, a couple of cats, a little bear, and a few middle-age neighborhood guys shutting down the other stations.
Noting that station number one had a great persimmon tree and issued scissors to bring a few of these wonderful fruit home which look like tiny little pumpkins. We use them all sorts of ways including my fermented vinegar.
The nice lady there took a snapshot of the three of us & the husband there asked when we’re having another baby ?
Really nice to see a little bit of liveliness in the neighborhood after, you know… “all of this“ / glad to be able to chitchat with folks as I’m still a bit of a mystery in the area but Ichiro is clearly famous(!)
Friday, Sept 23: Equinox day walk up to the ancestral graves for cleaning, incense and fresh flowers… as is tradition. We tended to several generations in Tsuchida, Okayama.
Note we are wearing our “family tie-dye tartan” made by brother Dan (wiped me out so back home to rest fckn #mecfs :()
Continue reading Equinox at Ohaka, saying respectful hellos to the ancestors
As will no doubt be *not shocking* I have quite-literally hundreds of photos of post boxes around the world, as well as other postal type artefacts – from “still lifes” of writing letters, to random global stamps, to paintings of post boxes etc. etc.
While I made a book out of some of the artifacts {Post’d: Letters to Elsewhere}, most don’t have a “permanent home” here in this creative life archive and well, it’s a bit of a daunting task to do *all of this all at once* so sometimes a collection just sort of falls together around a theme and says (metaphorically, i hope) “hey, this seems nice” and here is one of those times.
In this case, a few post boxes – both for sending and receiving – in and around my Tsuchida neighbourhood and Okayama at large, and a few other snaps that friends here sent me (i think, sometimes i don’t know if took the photo or someone else did, no offence intended if i mistook).
No doubt this post could go on and on but instead I’ll say, “Here are some postal items, please enjoy (and remix as desired)”.
Note: i have meant to start participating in #postboxsaturday Twitter activity, maybe this’ll help me start.
Continue reading Postboxes (and related items): mostly in/around Okayama, Japan
With the public health conundrum is the last few years, the usual neighbourhood festivals have been cancelled including our small Tsuchida area event, which is usually a wee bit bigger and held at the elementary school. It’s significant to us as this is where I first met Ryoko’s parents who were helping out selling yakitori. Ryoko bought me my own yukata summer kimono for the event.
Of course, in Japan there are many sizes and traditions with the summertime festivals from small neighbourhood gatherings to epic shrine carrying and fire burning and fireworks.
In this case, in mid-July, 2022, at a small community centre right by our house, the neighbours did their best efforts to do a small and safe gathering which is especially geared towards the kiddos.
There was a sudden rain storm, a band which were doing their best (arena rock and the obligatory country roads”), some young ladies in kimono, fellas in their cool t-shirts, an energetic ballon-making lady, some older gents happy to see me settling into the neighborhood, many people remarking about Ichiro’s adorableness.
Yes, temp checks and masks and you pay a ticket price with then gives you credit at each of the stands so we came home with a buncha extra popcorn we didn’t need/want but ya gotta use your chits.
Went to the grandparents/ancestors graves with the wheelbarrow on the first day of spring to tidy up, add fresh flowers/blossoms, light incense, and say thank you for keeping an eye on us.
cute lil fella is learning to cross streets and look sharp (well that part is easy)
Bonus: First year Wakaba houikuen (pre-school) finished like a wee champion + have a dossier of new outfits, supplies, routines, accessories to prepare for “next year/week”… Involves a festival of stamping /writing “Olson Ichiro オルソンいちろう” onto things. It’s all quite wonderful wonderful.
Thinking about “going home in October” or even more, going far away with this video version of the audio-first podcast.
Take some spoken word poetry and add some shaky tuktuks and random trains with assorted filters and voila, ya got a podcast you can watch AND listen to if that’s your thing.
+ Lost the Plot (Finding Home) – Postcard #85 podcast, but video(!) +
Blurb: Thinking about “going home in October” or going far away via freeverse poetry backed by trains from Moncton to Sri Lanka and tuk tuks from Kerala and Thailand, read by a weary fella in barn in Japan.
Note: Postcards from Gravelly Beach, literature podcast, est 2006, now with 85 dispatches, each handcrafted with affection.
fondly, dvo
Audio-only version of “Lost the Plot (Finding Home) – Postcard #85
Continue reading Lost the Plot (Finding Home), Video – Postcard #85
Thinking about “going home in October” or even more, going far away from home via freeverse poetry, read directly from scribbled travel scrapbooks and backed by trains from Moncton to Sri Lanka and tuk tuks from Kerala and Thailand, by a weary fella in an olden barn in provincial Japan. Fondly home.
Be Lost at Home: Lost the Plot (Finding Home) #85
(17MB, 10:26, 192 kbps, mp3, stereo)
Me and the little champion went up to the grandma and grandpa‘s graves to light some incense, give a clean and have a little hang out together. We met a snail, Ichiro fell asleep. Evidence of all follows:
Out and about! On an errand (picking up a second hand roll-top writing bureau desk) in the Kei truck with the absolutely incredible and adorable Ryoko Olson at the wheel rolling the country backroads to the (minor provincial capital, mostly forgotten) city of lovely goldilocks Okayama – yes, we even have canned coffees in the cupholder and a.m. radio (which you can’t really hear over the 650cc engine but whatever) – got to say it’s a *pretty romantic* date
matchy matchy / curling sweater and hockey jacket, handmade hats, snappy scarves
Update: this is what we picked up, look at this gorgeous desk with the rolltop and everything
