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Lighting design
I have put off a big part of the 555 planning, and that is lighting. Included in our quote is a basic lighting setup but even as I agreed to it, I knew it was inadequate. I like lights and this house has potential for interesting lighting inside and out. Friends recommended that I look…
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Overcoming fears
This weekend there is a basketweaving workshop in Kimitsu. Naomi sent me a link this morning for a “make a colander basket with goldenrod” event. There’s a Zoom version and an in-person version for five hours on Saturday. 555 has a wealth of raw materials that have rekindled my interest in fiber arts, herbalism, and…
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Treating Myself a Little
This was a weekend of small indulgences. On Saturday morning, I joined a yoga class for the first time in years. Heguri Hub has been running outdoor yoga with live music sessions since the spring, but this was the first one I managed to catch. It was a treat to participate rather than lead, and…
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Sunset wine
I am sort of disappointed in my life at the moment. I haven’t fulfilled my potential; I keep delaying my ideas until I can realise them fully. But at 56, time is running short for grand plans and I feel a slight sense of urgency to act on my dreams. Maybe I can do something…
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It’s cat blanket weather
We are in that best-of-year period where days are temperate and nights are chilly. The low temperature this morning was a single digit (8) for the first time this season. It won’t last forever, so I will savor all of these lovely days. Last night, I grabbed an extra blanket for the bed. In the…
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Recycling electronics in Japan 2022
I recently cleared out a too-long neglected drawer of small electronics. Almost all of them were dead or long past their last upgrade cycle. I have been putting off this decluttering because recycling electronics is a troublesome process. There’s no central system, despite various recycling laws coming into effect in the last decade. So for…
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A record year
Tod & I celebrated our 33rd anniversary yesterday with our first overnight trip since January 2020. Where did we go? What did we do? We visited Otaki Herb Garden and stayed overnight at Mochinoki. It’s only an hour north of home, but a refreshing change of scenery and tempo. We relaxed to the max and…
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The mystery hole
Today we went back into ujiko mode. The next big step for Monaca Doken is to set the drains around the barn. It’s going to involve a lot of hand-digging and after the mess of groundwater yesterday, I think we all want this to go well. But a piece of information about the height and…
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Platitudes for Failure
My latest art project is a snarky perspective on trite phrases. What can you say to someone when they fail, fuck up, or falter? Why not use some platitudes that sound positive and supportive on the surface, but have a multitude of other meanings between the lines. “C’est la vie.”You failed and don’t want to…
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Shuttle driver
This week is the F1 Grand Prix in Japan and Fujii-san is a fixer for the Renault team. One of his extracurricular responsibilities was to host the related journalists for a day of interviews and meeting some of Japan’s Alpine owners. So he organised a daytime event at Monaca with lunch at Hangar eight yesterday,…
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