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難しいけど
Japanese is hard. I struggle through conversations with awkward pauses, misplaced modifiers, and incorrect verb tenses, not to mention my garbled pronunciation. “I’b leaning moor. Good spek…homework maikey. Existence toward Javanese.” That’s how I sound. The ideas are there but meaning is open to interpretation. Wide open. I am lucky to have people around me…
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Sayonara, Aloha
Aloha Gardens Tateyama is a local fixture; almost everyone in the Awa area has been at least once with family or on a school trip. After a decade living here, we finally made time to visit. Just in time… Opened in 1970 as “Nambo Paradise”, the botanical garden features a long stretch of hothouses, a…
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Forest fire?
Yesterday afternoon, I thought I heard the crunch-crunch of a cat eating a mouse downstairs. But nobody had a mouse. The cracking sound was coming from outside. Maybe Kawasaki-san was doing some brushcutting? I opened the door for a better listen. No…this sounded more organic. A fire popping and cracking. Bamboo burning. I trotted down…
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Moriya Beach
Today was the last day of a very long and relaxed New Year holiday. Tod & I did just about nothing all week. We puttered around the house, made meals, and played with the cats. We missed midnight. Haven’t been to a temple yet. I didn’t even see friends’ Line greetings until today. This morning…
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Welcome 2025
明けましておめでとうございます！今年も宜しくお願いします。Wishing you a very happy Year of the Snake. This is the final design in the 12 year cycle of Nengazou in the Chinese “zoudiac.” It didn’t start out to be a series. For 2014, I drew the elephant-as-nordic-horse as a cute pastiche of the Chinese zodiac year, traditional Christmas decorations, and our favorite animal.…
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Ending Notes
Am I obsessed with death? Perhaps. Any of my friends will tell you that I am deeply aware of the passage of time whether it’s mere moments or long ago futures. I am always thinking ahead and looking back. Planning and remembering. That’s who I am. I can’t help it. One of my goals this…
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Mystery Drones over Chiba?
For the past couple of weeks, people in the US have reported mysterious nighttime drone sightings, specifically over New Jersey and now spreading along the east coast and elsewhere. There are been reports of drones over US bases in the UK, too. And last night, Tod saw flying objects in the sky over our local…
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Community Center Festival
This weekend was the Kamogawa Kominkan Matsuri, a gathering of all the clubs, circles, and hobby groups that meet at the city’s community centers. Each showed off their activities at the city gymnasium. It was like the craft hall of a county fair. There are so many interesting hobby clubs in this town. Who knew?…
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Camera Roll
Looking at the world around me and finding interest in the mundane. Let’s start with cats. They are always interesting. The weather is cooling down so they are seeking warm places and changing their daily routines Nature continues to provide beautiful moments. I have played in my studio lots this month. For every project I…
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Cat bite
Friday night my friend from Oyama Senmaida, Mai-kun, trotted over to 555 and tried to enter the cat door. I am sure he wanted a snack and cuddles, but Fritter on the inside of the door was having none of it. They were both growling and angry. I ran outside to send Mai home. He…
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