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Healing Journey
I do not want to learn about your “healing journey” By observing posts on social media. You reveal self-absorbed, lingering agony When sharing your blessings in the guise of coaching And encouraging others to follow your steps to bliss. I will laugh derisively if you believe anyone else Can ease their despair by tracing your…
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The view from 45 cm up
Our foundations are unusually tall for a modern building; they are much more like the vernacular kominka of old when high floors kept the dirt and animals out. At 45 cm (18 in), our floor floats so far above ground level that there will be two steps up into the house from the doma. The…
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Pre-cut
Yesterday afternoon, the wood arrived! It was three trucks’ worth of lumber – beams, posts, rafters, gables, studs, joists – all of the fundamental framing parts. Next Friday every stick of it will be put into place for the jotoshiki. These hundreds of timbers have been precision milled. They are pre-cut to length as well…
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Hokora, the little shrine
Sakaguchi-san came on Sunday, his day off, to work on something that I know has been bugging him: getting the hokora (祠), our little shrine, back in place. When we started the gabion work, Kawasaki-san disassembled and moved the shrine to the shed. There was too much chance of it being damaged by big equipment…
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Airport scent
Last night, we drove a friend to Haneda. It’s the first time I’ve been anywhere near an airport since seeing Jenny and Dan off at Narita in February 2020. I stepped from the Cow to the curb and – bam – the scent of AIRPORT hit me. It’s a distinctive mix of nerves, broken suitcases,…
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Crepuscular lessons
Fritter had a brief 9:30 pm walk with me. Another with Tod at 11:30pm. He then made loud requests to go outside every 90 minutes until I capitulated at 4:45 am. His stitches are out and Fritter is ready to get back to normal. But normal is now chaperoned walks in a harness and he…
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Secret Ways and Hidey Holes
Since Fritter came back from his surgery, I have been keeping him mostly inside. He’s tired and sleeps a lot so doesn’t seem to mind. But since he isn’t litter trained and is ultimately an outdoor cat, we go for leashed walks on his request. And I have been learning a lot about cat behaviour…
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Nama-con #3
Yesterday was the final pour of concrete for the foundations. It is such a treat to watch the coordinated mayhem of professionals doing their well-understood roles in a project. Six men worked together to fill all of the oiled framework for the riser ring (thanks for the correct terminology, Mark). One operated the cement mixer.…
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Fritter’s awful fortnight
Sasaki-sensei at Mare Animal Clinic let me take Fritter home for the night after bandaging him up last Sunday. Fritter had struggled hard to get home to us on that damaged foot; I wanted him to have a comfortable night with us before admitting him to the clinic for treatment. So we made sure he…
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Trains & city things
When we lived in Tokyo, the sound of trains was the sonic background of my day. I loved the different rumbles and rattles, the subtle Doppler effect as they travelled past, and the consistent, constant, regular schedule of sound. There’s nothing like that in the countryside and I didn’t realise how much I missed it…
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