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Reasonably Tidy
The living room circa 1978 “What sort of home did you grow up in?” a #minsgame friend asked me after describing her mother’s hoarding tendencies and the clutter she lived with as a child. A phrase popped into my head immediately. Mom described our house as “reasonably tidy” and I remember her making sure that…
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We won the #minsgame
Tod & I both played through the Minimalism Game this month with great success. 1576 items left our apartment in 31 days. What?! I started the game thinking I didn’t really have that much clutter and that reaching the goal – 496 items – was going to clear out my spaces very well. As it…
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Hisashiburi, Kimie!
Me, Kimie Yanagi, and Hanako Murakami. A few summers ago, or maybe more than a few, I was part of Hanako Murakami’s exhibition at the Echigo Tsumari Trienniale in Niigata. It was a great summer of making art and helping out with the festival in the tiny village of Matsudai. One of the residents, Kimie…
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In Front of the Camera
Me & Tod “on set” in our living room For a change, I am in front of the camera in character and in costume. I have a small part in a film project being done by Jesse & Will at Ice Block Films. Their shooting schedule spans a full year and mine are the first…
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Minimal Wardrobe Experiment
I am trying out the idea of a very minimal wardrobe. I put away all of my clothes except five layered outfits, two pairs of pyjamas, and four each of socks and underwear. I’ve got one sweater, one fleece, one coat. Four pairs of shoes. It’s been a week since I started and I am…
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Uniform
As I go about simplifying and minimising my life, I’ve been reading about personal uniforms – the efficiency of not having to think about what to wear. New day, same look. Steve Jobs and his mock turtleneck and jeans is a good example. I had a uniform for a while: leggings, short skirt and tank tops. It…
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Minimalism Game
Tod & I are planning to move house this spring and we are also striving to simplify and downsize. We’ve been in our current apartment for over 13 years, so even though I frequently purge things, moving is going to be painful. So I was sort of delighted when Tod agreed to play the Minimalism…
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At the Kid’s Table
Lucy and her mandala with Lily in the background. A selection of our drawings. Tod & I went to an oden party yesterday evening hosted by Elizabeth and Atsunori. Their apartment was filled with food and families. After chatting with the parents for a while, my introverted self decided to go color with the kids.…
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Waffle Experiments
Tod’s been cooking up a storm over his long two-week winter holiday. Over the last couple of months, we kept seeing interesting waffle recipes, so this break has been taken us from “we should try that” to “that was delicious.” This is my report on Tod’s tasty experiments. Waffle #1: Cornbread with Chili The waffles…
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Ringing in the New Year
At midnight, we joined the parade of neighbours and worshippers at Denzuin temple and payed our respects. It is a beautiful temple, very rich and recently renovated. Outside there were festival booths selling warm foods and drink. One sold a lucky opportunities to ring the giant bell. The bell started ringing at midnight, pulled 108…
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