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Pre-typhoon
Typhoon 19 is on its way, on a course to hit us on Saturday into Sunday. Today, Tod and I prepared by stockng up on food, filling Tilly’ tank, cleaning up outside, and getting all the storm shutters cleaned and ready. The cats do not like the change in weather. They have been extra vocal…
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In the paper
As Tod, Zan, and I were leaving the “refugee room” at City Hall, a reporter from the Asahi Shimbun introduced himself. He was working on collecting stories from foreign residents affected by the typhoon. He was very interested (of course) in Zan’s damaged house and after talking with us for half an hour or so,…
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Typh0on #19, Hagibis
Social media sources and the news are loudly warning about Super Typhoon 19, which looks like it might make landfall in Japan over the weekend. But where it will hit, and at what intensity, is a matter of speculation at this point. Tod & I are scheduled to go to Mie-ken to celebrate our 30th…
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Happy at harvest
I didn’t take any photos today. The view from Hatanaka’s rice fields was beautiful and it always makes me happy to see the Hiratsuka valley nestled into the mountains. The images are etched in my mind: the red torii in the distance; the mined-flat top of the mountain to the west; the nearby trees and…
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We have electricity
Zan decided in the morning that she wanted to return to her house; living here as a refugee with her two cats was really stressful for all of them. After yoga, we helped her pack her belongings into the kei-truck and drove her down the road to her almost perfectly fine (slightly crushed and still…
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Typhoon #15
Wow, that was incredible. The biggest typhoon I’ve ever experienced. We went to bed last night knowing there’d be high winds and rain, so had battened down the hatches and let the cats inside for the night. They were nervous. First asleep in a pile near the door, as the wind picked up they began…
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Happy 2019
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Windy Day
A dust devil spinning itself three stories into the sky above the grocery store. A hundred seagulls facing into the wind as they bobbed on the choppy water. Dozens more gulls swishing in the wild winds over the harbour. A mountain of full-grown trees being brushed by the wind like a Kansas wheat field. A…
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On the Roads
Yesterday at driving school, we went out on the real roads with our new learner’s permits. I expected this to be a brief circle around the school, but it was a gorgeous drive along the coast. We did it three times in three hours and each time was better than the last. Learning to drive…
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Going to Driving School
Whooo! Watch out on the roads; we have our learner’s permits now. Three weeks ago, after a year in the countryside with only bicycles and busses for transportation, Tod & I enrolled at Kamogawa Driving School. Our neighbor, who runs the Korean restaurant, heard we were considering it and insisted that we set a date…
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