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Bad or Good?
A week ago in a meeting, I shared a story to illustrate that business setbacks or successes can be reframed with a single word. Alan Watts delivered the Story of the Chinese Farmer with his usual panache: And here I am, wrapping my head around the events of this weekend. It really feel like this…
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Fire Investigation
We got a call this morning requesting us to go to 555 for questions from the fire investigators. After the quickest of breakfasts, we headed out the door. We ended up spending the majority of the day there. The questions were mainly for me as I was the last person in the house, on Tuesday…
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Gone, gone, gone
At about 12:30 this afternoon, an announcement came over the loudspeaker: 大山地区。建物火災。平塚５５１。 (Oyama area house fire. Hiratsuka 551.) 551 is the old house next to our kominka – the one with the big gate. Oh! But the announcement was wrong. It wasn’t 551. It was 555. Our kominka, “Go-Go-Go” is gone, gone gone. To be…
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Floor planning
This is the current floor plan, more or less, of the kominka. It’s 120 years old and has had a lot of adjustments over the generations. The last renovation was about 6 years back, when the owner’s daughter and her family lived there; they updated the kitchen and bath. I really don’t like the layout…
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Go-go-go!
Tod & I (mostly me) have been looking for a new place to live since we arrived here in rural Chiba more than five years ago. The house we landed in is comfortable and easy to live in, but it’s on a busy road and we are renting, so we can’t really fix it up…
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Fritter belly
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In memory of Gord
Yesterday afternoon, two hunting dogs invaded our space and chased the cats. Fritter and Maura got away, but the beasts caught Gord and killed him. I am furious, sad, and in shock even now. As our neighbor and the police searched for the marauding dogs, we buried Gord next to Isabella Bird, near Futatsuyama and…
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In Memory of Isabella Bird
In memory of Isabella Bird April 2, 2019 – December 21, 2020 Isabella Bird didn’t have a name when she was born. 3rd in the litter and the only calico, we called her #3 Calico until we understood her personality. Her namesake, Isabella Bird, was an intrepid female explorer in the Victorian age. Our IB…
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Fritter the Conehead
Poor Fritter got in a scuffle and a small wound grew abscessed in after couple of days. We took him to the vet and they had to do surgery. So for the last ten days, he has been wearing an Elizabeth collar. He was so freaked out at first that he could only walk backwards.…
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In memory of Futatsuyama
2 April 2019 – 8 Sep 2020 I am grieved to report that I found Futatsuyama on the side of the road this morning. He had been hit by a car and crossed the rainbow bridge without me knowing. We buried him next to Foreground Cat. I write this through tears. Futatsuyama was the second…
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