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Spring Hiking
Sunday was the Spring Mineoka Walking event at Oyama Senmaida. We had 29 participants on a 7.5 km course along the country roads and up the mountain. My main role was doing a warmup with everyone before we left, then walking at the end of the line with the slower, chatty walkers. It was fun…
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Bonichi Shimbun
Today I am on the front page on the local paper, the Bonichi Shimbun. And at the top of the digital edition, too. On Monday, I was interviewed about my activity at Oyama Senmaida, specifically how I am working with Ushimura-san to update their English language materials and planning an English version of the website.…
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Hardscaping begins
I was excited to find the Monaca Doken yumbo parked in our driveway when I came home from lunch today. And a little while after that, my fav guys turned up with a truck full of stone slabs to supplement the ones I already have. They first changed the bucket for jaws, a process that…
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Chakra Balance Yoga
In Satoyama Yoga I honor the Spring Equinox with a theme of balance classes for the month. Many involve standing balances, we test our dynamic balance, and we also try energetic balance using the chakras as a framework. I feel about chakras the same way I feel about horoscopes, psychic readings, auras, and fortune telling…
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Matsuri-zushi
Today I joined the Oyama Senmaida sushi-making workshop. It’s not regular sushi. This is vegetarian sushi rolled in special ways to form pictures. It’s like the origami of sushi, really. In today’s class we made a camellia and a snail. For the first 90 minutes, we prepared all of the parts we’d need, cutting sheets…
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Cat-astrophy
Yesterday, I headed over to Tod’s office to help with spring cleaning before guests start to arrive. When I alighted from the car, arms full of cleaning supplies, I heard a cat meowing loudly. So of course, I investigated. And I found this guy, with his leg completely wound up and stuck in the blue…
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Winter into Spring
Woke up with a bit of a headache and decided to take a walk before yoga. Mother Nature gave me some lovely scenes on a foggy morning. Spring is on its usual rollercoaster of temperatures and precipitation. We’re finally getting rain so the weeds and grasses are waking up from their dormant rosettes. It won’t…
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Patio Approach
Well, I am back to the 555 drawing board, literally, as I design hardscaping for the patio. Unlike my garden plans which are subject to change even after implementation, putting in hardscaping requires precision and finality. I want to get the patio done before Tod’s mother and her husband visit during Golden Week towards the…
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New “headshot”
I’ll be leading a couple of workshops at FEW Japan’s FEWture Conference on June 7th. It’s a one-day extravaganza for women executives in Japan and this year’s theme is diversity and inclusivity among women. Today they needed a bio from me and a headshot. The bio was easy; I love writing bios for myself and…
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Sugidama
Today I helped Ushimura-san make a big ball of cedar branches at Oyama Senmaida. This weekend they are having an event for members of the Sake Owner’s Program – officially opening the sake made with the rice they grew in 2023. It’s the first time since the pandemic that everyone’s gathered for the special tasting…
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