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New circles
After building 555, I wasn’t sure what my next big project would be. Well, it has turned into a fluster of expanding my circle of acquaintances and activities. I am making time to get to know the neighbors, build rapport, find support, be a useful member of the community, and ensure my life is not…
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Conference Impressions
I attended the FEWture Conference last Friday. I had agreed to teach a yoga session and run a community art project for this long-running conference of women in Japan. But as it grew closer, the thought of going into Tokyo to spend a day in a hotel with a lot of strangers and attending talks…
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One painting, three works
I sat down to paint an abstract self portrait yesterday and ended up with three artworks for the price of one. My plan was to paint on canvas using a technique I’d seen recently. I knew I wanted the end result to have a woven effect and lots of color, but I didn’t have a…
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Struggling with Pride
Having realised that I am queer last year, I am struggling with Pride Month this year. Is being queer something to take pride in? I’m not ashamed of it in the least! Being queer is an essential part of me, like the color of my eyes or the way I thrive when I am outside…
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Painting Yatsufusa
This beagle is the key to our new animal hospital. Fujii-san and Yatsufusa met Dr. Aoyama at a dog park in Tokyo many years ago. Because of that encounter and the friendship that developed, Aoyama-sensei and her family moved to Kamogawa to build a house with an attached veterinary office. So I thought that a…
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Yoga in the rice fields
This morning you will find me goofing around in the Bonichi Shimbun again. This time I’m not at my desk, but doing yoga in the rice terraces in my work apron and boots. The article announces an event that I am co-hosting at Oyama Senmaida. For International Yoga Day, on June 21st, I’ll be teaching…
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AI Gaslighting, frog-deer edition
At 1 am the other morning I was awakened by a sound that I thought might be prey in distress in the living room – maybe a mouse or a rabbit trying to get away from one of the cats? Even in my sleepy state I knew I didn’t want to let that continue, so…
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Double Taiken
Fresh off the planting season, we are roaring into school experiences (体験 taiken) at Oyama Senmaida. Today I attended two programs as an observer in order to make notes to write up into English instructions. One hundred and twenty six 4th graders from Tokyo came to participate in nature observation and indigo dying. In the morning,…
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Last planting session
This morning was the last planting session of the season at Oyama Senmaida. This time we hosted 134 middle school kids from Yokohama. I got my own section again, with more students this time. Unfortunately, I reinjured my foot last night by leaping out of bed at 1 am to investigate a loud squeaking noise…
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Resisting Growth – a Meditation
On Sundays in my yoga class we focus on meditation. Every week we do a different form of meditation, because people find their way to inner stillness from many vectors. Today we practiced my own system, Drawing Meditations, where we use art to find insights, inner peace, and connection. And it was a remarkable session…
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