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Containerless
When we first looked at 555 in March of 2021, there were four shipping containers on the property. They were being used as storage sheds for household stuff, tools, and farming materials. Two were disassembled before the build started. One came down this summer when I wanted to use stones underneath it. This week, the…
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Inner Critic Points a Finger: Fearful, Fake Adulting
I am full of fears and personal hurdles that get in my way of being a competent adult. I have recently (re)acknowledged this about myself. I was in denial for some time, but moving into the new house gave me space to examine this aspect of myself more honestly. Maybe I can be better? Unfortunately,…
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Simian Stirrings
This morning as I stood on the East Road with my coffee, waiting for the sun to show me what sort of day we will have, I heard rustling in the treetops on the ridge. Monkeys. I couldn’t see them but I observed the treetops for a quarter of an hour and heard the monkey(s)…
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Chocolate for breakfast
Today marks the 8th anniversary of my yoga classes in Kamogawa. They started as a twice weekly practice at Satoyama Design Factory and later become a daily class first in person and then via Zoom. I never set out to be a yoga teacher, but I am glad that I did. My practice has created…
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Sunrises
I am an early riser. If am going to get things done, it’s likely to happen before breakfast. Maybe not three impossible things like the White Queen, but things, nonetheless. Morning is my time, though I am less focussed in the morning as I used to be. One of the things I have started doing,…
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There are no Good Guys
The world is on fire with large-scale hate and intolerance right now. Wikipedia lists 57 ongoing armed conflicts ranging from skirmishes to major wars. Here are some of the bigger conflicts: As far as I can tell, these are all complex wars for territory, resources and political power. In most of them, one side is…
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NaNoWriMo 2023
It seems like every few years, I sign up for NaNoWriMo. Write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days? Sure! I “won” in 2010 with my YA novel, 9 Point Plan, and failed in 2004 and 2018. So maybe 2023 will be a winner. UNLABELLED is a hero(ine)’s journey – a coming of age book…
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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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