Tod’s mom, Jeanie, and her husband, Tim, are visiting us. They were last here in 2018 but it seems like hardly any time has passed. Our days have been packed with activities that I have enjoyed so much I have forgotten to take pictures. But here is a daily log of highlights since their arrival on the 24th. It’s a good exercise to recall the events of each day especially since there are no photos to jog my memory.
Wednesday, April 24th: After a few days of hectic preparations, Tod & I drove to Haneda. While we were waiting in the coffee shop in T1 Arrivals, their flight circled over our village. We stopped on the way home for sushi. As the sun set, we toured 555 and settled Jeanie and Tim into their freshly redecorated rooms in Tod’s office.
Thursday, April 25th: I have limited recollection of what we did, but I got a snapshot of Maura in the garden before the day got going. I think there was laundry and catching up on family stories. I received a belated birthday gift of floral frogs, which I put to use right away with mint from the garden. They were leftover sprigs from Tod’s Persian dilled rice and salmon dinner.
Friday, April 26th: After a drive along the forest road and a walk up to Futatsuyama for the panoramic view, we enjoyed the local waterfall before digging into a nine-course gourmet lunch at Cafe Lamp with friends. Afterwards, we visited their minka for coffee, though none of us had room for coffee, so we just sat and talked a bit. This started a trend of heavy lunches and light dinners.
Saturday, April 27th: A day of firsts. We finally got Lawrence over for a visit to 555. And to celebrate, we opened the RTG Habanero Sardines whose packaging I designed. Tod made us braised lamb shank for lunch. He’s been enjoying a lot of cooking on this holiday and I appreciate all old favourites and new experiments.
Sunday, April 28th: A drive along the coastal end of Chiba with stops at a new recycle shop called WELL where we enjoyed the quirky inventory. Chikura Art Marche was full of beautiful works by local artisans but all I had was a fruit-vinegar kakigori. Tod took us to Awa Jinja which was so serene and ancient. I think our biggest purchases were at Daiso; I needed supplies for the Farmpark project and Tim wanted some “old driver symbol” car magnets. A mid-afternoon picnic lunch on the beach in Shirahama was light because we knew Jeanie was making chicken cacciatore for dinner. We have been eating very well this week.
Monday, April 29th: We started with a stroll in the Kitaguchi Peony Garden where we learned the difference between Japanese peonies (botan) which have woody stems, and Chinese peonies that grow straight out of the ground. We spent a lot of time poring over the stunning Tasukake art gallery and buying handmade paper, and then landed at Hangar eight for another luxurious lunch. That led to a light meal for dinner after naps and some cribbage.
Their visit continues until next Monday. I will see if I can’t get some more photos this week.
