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4 Plugs
When Tod ran us our first bath in the new house, we discovered that the old bath plug was no longer sealing the drain – a slow leak meant that the water was noticeably lower upon getting out after a good soak. PLUG 1: Tod measured the plug – 34 mm – and we biked…
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Shoji repairs
The holes and the old paper removal process This old house is totally wonderful and it is full of projects to do. Today I learned how to replace shoji, the paper on our interior doors. First you take the paper off by dampening the old glue and peeling the paper away from the frame. Our…
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Unpacking in Kamogawa
The movers arrived at 9:00. 90 minutes later, everything in that truck was in the house. How did we get so much stuff and where is it all supposed to go? We’ve spent a few days now sorting through boxes and trying to put our square peg into this round hole. My favorite Japanese word…
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Goodbye, Bunkyo-ku
In the living room at 3:30, 4:30, and 6:30. It was a long day scrambling to get the last of the gear and materials packed. We did get to the stage of putting things in boxes marks “stuff” and “random” when the movers arrived half an hour early. But I’m sure it will all be…
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Bittersweet Goodbyes
The kids’ chalk drawings at this house have gone from Anpanman scribbles to train schematics. Me: We’ve only got a couple of days left; we should plan to eat at our favorite restaurants and say goodbye to the neighbors we like. Tod: Yeah, we should but we’ll come back. Me: Did we go back to…
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Boxes & Kanji
Preparations for moving are definitely underway. We have piles of boxes where the sofa used to be. Ultra Bob collected the sofa last weekend and traded me an electric bass for it – a trade I am very happy about. If it all works out, our unwanted furniture will have a happy new home: the…
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Midlife Lifestyle Style Change
Our current home and our soon-to-be home. So many personal plans have been happening behind the scenes and now that dates are set and everything is moving forward at a brisk clip, I can finally tell you about them. Long story made short: We are permanent residents of Japan; Tod’s quit his job; We are…
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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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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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