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Extending Pension Payments
In Japan, when you turn 60 you officially stop paying into the Nenkin national pension system and you can choose to take “early retirement” at a reduced rate (76%), or opt to wait until 65, 70, or 75 to receive monthly payments at higher rates. If you haven’t reached the 480 month contribution maximum, you…
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Dandelion Color
This week I spent creative time in the shed, making color and paper. It began when I took a walk and gathered dandelions on the roadside of the route between home and Tod’s office. When foraging, I never take everything I see. I am not the only entity using these resources; there are bees, butterflies…
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Five Ideas That I Can’t Do Alone
五つのアイデア、一人ではできない I have been overflowing with project concepts recently – maybe it’s spring, maybe my brain has a burst of good sense for a change – and these five ideas keep coming back to me. I am sharing them here in English and Japanese. 最近、プロジェクトのアイデアがあふれています。春のせいかな、それとも珍しく頭が冴えているのかな。その中でも、五つのアイデアが繰り返し頭に浮かびます。どれも共通するテーマがあります。 These are largely ideas around: Akiya Recycle Village 空家リサイクル村 Let’s…
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Language woes again
Japan is getting more rigorous in their requirements for visas. They have increased visa fees to match global standards (but not wages; that’s another blog post), changed rules around applying for permanent residency, and added language requirements. Starting soon, new immigrants who use Japanese in their work and are applying for Engineer or Specialist in…
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Sunset Hanami
I don’t know why I never thought to set up our hanami in the family cemetery on the hillside. Fortunately, Tod did because that location has the best view westward. I appreciate the Kawasaki family graves. The newer ones are overseen by a jizo statue and the old ones are clustered together at the side,…
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Kanreki
I made it to 60 and here’s how the day went. Woke in a panic at 2:30 am when I remembered that I hadn’t gotten cat food and the dishes were nearly empty. Debated whether to get up right then and drive to the 7-11 to buy some, but my eyes ached too much to…
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Life Eras (with data)
In a couple of days, I turn 60. The long-awaited kanreki! In preparation for this milestone, I took a tour through some of my life’s data. What does my life look like as a spreadsheet and a chart or two? I read a long time ago that when life is viewed as a series of…
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Camera Roll
Covering 8 weeks from late winter into spring, here’s the latest compilation from Stories. I know Instagram won’t stick around forever and I will be happy to see these moments again in a few years. Lots of cats. Nature. Creative adventures. You know me, so you know what to expect. 🙂
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Oyama Walking
Always on a quest to improve visitor experience at Oyama Senmaida, I recently created a walking map featuring three of my favorite routes around the area. The green route, 不動の道 (Fudou no Michi), leads to Oyama Fudouson, a 1300 year old temple and registered cultural property. It’s an uphill ramble along a forested road dotted…
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Pressure Cleaning
Not pressure washing, but deadline pressure to do a cleaning and reorganizing task that I’ve been putting off for too long. The studio. With a guest arriving this afternoon, I decided that Wednesday would be the ideal day to pull the studio apart and rearrange it. My art supplies and tools are pretty much where…
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