Heinz, makers of pickles and ketchup, proclaim on their label that they have 57 Varieties. Now I have caught up with them in years.
I enjoyed a birthday weekend in the city. While Tod attended Asia BSDCon for the first time in pre-pandemic, I met up with friends and walked a LOT – 40,000 steps (about 24 km) in two days.
The walk was needed to reset my mood, as I had slept poorly (thanks to cats and covers being in all the wrong places) and the first words out of my mouth were an exasperated, self-focussed “That’s even worse than before” when Tod bolted upright in bed at 4:30 and pulled all the blankets off of me in his quest to stop Beryl from scratching the door. Oops. Not the best start to the day or a new year.
Fortunately, walking is good medicine for me. 90 minutes from one side of the city to the other was just what the doctor ordered to shift my frame of mind before two feasts with friends.
Tod & I stayed at the Toggle Hotel in Suidobashi and I loved it. Colorful, funky design, comfortable minimalism, and a youthful staff brimming of enthusiastic service. Also, it’s just next to the expressway and the JR Sobu tracks so I got my all-time favorite white noise and had a great night’s sleep.
And back at home, Naomi took good care of the cats and sent me updates and photos of them eating. She tried hard to get Maura to have some tinned food while she was here, but he just won’t trust anybody but me and Tod. Beryl ate his portion (again).
Gifts appeared in my absence: Lawrence & Kyara stashed cake in my fridge! And there is a lime tree sitting in my genkan waiting for me to plant it at 555. It’s a gift from Rob that was delivered while we picnicked.
Thank you to everyone who made my birthday a special one.
I am not sure what the 57 varieties of Kristen will be, but I look forward to exploring them all.
