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Inktober 2023
I enjoy an art challenge, and Inktober always draws me in. I can usually find time for at least a quick sketch for the daily prompt and sometimes a little longer playing on the page. I won’t say these are quality drawings, but I had a good time with them and I feel that I’ve…
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Timeline of a rescue
2:30 am. I wake to strange sounds. A bird in distress? A really large cicada? I don’t recognise the noise. I’m half asleep but can tell something’s wrong. Sounds like it’s coming from outside. I get up and pierce the dark with a flashlight. Maura and Beryl come running towards me from the fishtern. Do…
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Unpacking a dream
My sleep is usually broken by cats taking over my space in the bed, or cats coming in from a hunt announcing their triumphs, or cats jumping on my chest and requesting access to the under covers. Let’s face it, cats mess up my nights. Thanks to a lot of cat activity last night, I…
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Carnage
Cats are apex predators and mine are at the top of that apex. I will spare you images of the discoveries I have made in the last couple of days, but let me list them because this is way more than usual: Anyway this morning’s trash had a lot of dead animals and their parts.…
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Light-up delight up
Sounds from Oyama Senmaida carry straight over to 555. So yesterday afternoon, when I heard a muffled welcome speech, loud applause and then shouted instructions, I was intrigued enough to take a break and walk over to see what was going on. Aha! A clue. It wasn’t long before 200 high school students came trooping…
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555: Things I Love
There might be ten things I’d like to change, but there are so many more things that I love about this house. That takes us to ten, matching the number of things I’d change. But there are so many more things that I like. I will continue… I could go on. The house is a…
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Anniversary 34
It’s Friday, October 13th. Our wedding anniversary. It’s been thirty four years since we eloped, wow. How does the special day pass for a couple of our longevity? It’s pretty much a journey, like most days, but with higher stakes. Everything should be “right” on a big day, right? From my perspective, anyway. I got…
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Housewarming
The 555 construction chapter closed out with a housewarming party on Sunday. Forty five people attended over the course of 6 hours. Our landowners, architect, contractor, several subcontractors and their families celebrated. And then there were neighbors and local friends who stopped by for a look and a chat. Tod’s Mom and her husband in…
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Early October Pictorial
Nothing big happened this week, but it’s the little moments that create a life. So here they are for this week. Sunday, October 1: Good Start. We had lunch at Currywalla in Kimitsu. This is definitely the best Indian food within driving range; it’s 45 minutes and worth it. I caught a lovely moment with…
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555: 10 things I would change
The number one most often asked question about the house so far has been “What would you change?” It’s a shitty question. Thanks for making me think about the negatives and things I probably can’t change. But since you asked, here are my answers. Each one is a cautionary tale for when you build your…
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