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Hmm…
This bit of stained glass has a story and it was an important part of the design process at 555. When he retired, my creative father decided to try stained glass. He loved it and before long had his own studio in the basement, with tons of glass sheet in racks he built himself, design…
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One week left
I am not sure how it happened that we are one week out from the move and I am not prepared. All these months of planning and getting ready and I am just…not. It’s all going to be fine. Really, it is. We will get there. Moves always are a pandemonium. I had a plan.…
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Mapping my Move
I started this drawing a few weeks back when I was feeling stressed and at odds with the whole project. I finished today with a few last details and a title. It really does show my route through the project or moving from this mess to the lovely fresh house up the hill. I shared…
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Maura’s ouch
About a week ago, Maura showed up for dinner without his collar. I scanned him for injuries, but didn’t see anything. I put a new collar on him and forgot about it. Until two days ago, when I noticed a scabby bit on his back. It was matted with hair and hard to see what…
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Clean it up
The antique doors in the bedroom needed some attention to smooth out the rough edges and even out their complexion. I took on the task yesterday. The day was very hot and Maru-chan’s yumbo preparing the ground for the concrete pour made it impossible to work outside, so I decided to test out the doma…
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OMG, not mould again
In 2006, we bought a new sofa and lived with it for nine years in our Tokyo apartment. It was a great place for naps, long conversations, wine parties, and all sorts of hijinks. In 2015 when we moved to Kamogawa, we gave the sofa to UltraBob. Seven years of family life with a growing…
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Meanwhile, at home
I am tearing the house apart to undo 8 years of accumulated clutter. Even though I regularly declutter, this is an opportunity to assess every single thing I own. And it is a chance for me to bring Tod into the process for our shared things and hopefully reduce them. It is tedious. Flowchart for…
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This summer’s fav drink
Japan ‘s beverage & snack industry is known for its seasonal and limited time products. It’s a manufacturer’s nod to the seasonality of produce and fish, I suppose. Nothing sticks around forever. I appreciate it now, but I still remember the juniper-flavored soda I encountered on our first trip to Japan in 1995. It was…
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In the cracks
The other day while we were sitting around 555 on a break, Sasaki-san asked if I had started packing for the move yet. “A little bit,” I replied. But mostly I am thinking about what I want (and don’t want) to take with me. Right now, I am decluttering my “fantasy selves”. For example, I…
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Q is for…
Q has long been my favorite letter. When I was learning to write, I loved Q for its circle and line and how you could dress it up by making the line wavy. The cursive uppercase Q with its double looped numeric shape was fun to write, even though it made no sense and seemed…
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