Awa Odori dance practice ROCKS!!! Everyone is so fun and so kind. Even though communicating through the language barrier AND the non-stop taiko drumming is a challenge, we figure it out and have a great time!
In Case You Were Wondering…
Lost in Translation—Notices From My Realtor
I love coming home to find a green folder containing an envelope containing a note from my realtor and his English translation program. Excellent. It did not disappoint: “The requestI was sultry and did I become an unpleasant season but am I vigorous?I enter the improvement of the tree the morning on June 28th in…
Sake-to-me Sake-to-me Sake-to-me Sake-to-me
Shoop! I wasn’t sure what to expect when my friend Ann and I bought tickets to Sake Seminar and Tasting last night at the Officer’s Club. Would it be comparable to over-priced wine tastings where you wander around filling your glass and sampling dried out cheeses? In fact not. Long tables faced the front where…
Postcards From Alexandria
MosqueAlexandria Rooftop SunriseMontazah Gardens, AlexandriaPompey’s PillarThe Library of Alexandria Sunset on the Mediterranean
Dear Chris: Please Come Home. The Cats Are Driving Me Crazy
One minute they’re snuggling in my lap or on my feet, then the next thing I know they’re squabbling it out all across the house. Then five minutes later they’re sedately lounging in the tatami room looking at me like I’m crazy. Chris, please come home and work some more of that kitty magic. It’s…
Kamakura Hydrangea Tour—This Way!
Kamakura in general and specifically Meigetsu-in Temple are famous for hydrangeas! In fact, Meigetsu-in is commonly referred to as Ajisai (hydrangea) Temple. I told some Japanese friends I wanted to visit the temple this weekend and was cautioned it would be very crowded—as in two-hour-line crowded! Weekdays are better, they advised. So with no pre-planning,…
Clear Skies in the West Means Tomorrow Will Be Fine
The sunset washed the evening sky in dove-gray purples and glowing, firey pinks. It’s been a while since Fuji-san has appeared through the warm rainy season haze but last night—still streaked with snow and layered in blankets of low-hanging clowds—she shook off the things that ail her to enjoy the damp air of a balmy…