How can I remain grumpy when my darling is now home, mini moo is great and random text on trucks can be so culturally contextual? BTW this is not a swear work it is pronounced i-ma-fu-ku and would not be offensive at all to a Japanese speaker. It is either someones name (of the company) or the name of a company :) Though, it did make me have a giggle on the way past.....
Thats kind of a lot but spread over the life of this blog, I guess it isnt that many really...if you consider there are 365 days in a year and Ive had a this blog for a couple of years....anyway, I like doing this and I really like to hear from you guys. It is a lovely way to touch base and feel connected. Thanks for all your lovely emails and comments. My website is still on its way but I realise the main time consuming thing is getting my drawing folio looking how I want it...maybe I'm a too much of a perfectionist and it will never be good enough....however, it is looking better these days and my red shoes series will be part of it. After doing some research, the old red shoe image is in need of a revamp...red high heels and fishnets, short skirts...ugh....soooo yesterday....
This is a typical lunch I send with moo to daycare. The high cost of daycare does not include lunch (or dinner) or nappies so these are extra (not to mention the other ongoing extras...). Now I make my own coffee at home, I save about $1500 a year (amazing when I looked at it that way) so now I can use that money for nappies!! Anyway, the bento is an amazing creation which has so many elaborate forms that I could not replicate so I aim for the Aussie version. There is usually rice in a 'real' bento but I rarely use it for lunch. Moo eats all this, usually, unless I try to slip something I there that he might not like but is good for him....So, this is a chopped boiled egg with mayo bread roll, a plastic divider is used to keep it from getting messy, a banana and choc chip muffin which I made yesterday, fruits, dried fruits and a cream cheese square. I also send along a small bottle of milk. I was using the uht milk packs but I think it has sugar in it so I just use normal milk. It takes about 10-15 mins to get it all organised and put it all in a lunch bag with a small ice pack that you can refreeze. It is amazing that all these trinkets and small containers, picks and bright colours really does encourage him to eat and because of the way it is chopped up, he can eat the whole lot without any assistance. Also, most of this stuff is plastic so it just needs a wash and you can use it over and over. Since he wakes up at 5am, I usually have time to get the lunch organised, eat brekky, do some exercise with the dog and glance at the front page of the paper before it is time to go.....early birds do have some advantages however, it is hard to remember that at exactly 5am......
I dont always want to ramble on about the weather or my son.......but......it has been hot and I have been in need of seeing some water.....this wasnt exactly the pristine beaches I'm accustomed to (or spoilt by) in Oz but who said a concrete jungle splash pool in the middle of a big city doesnt have its own charms?.........
Japan is obsessed with packaging. This is only an advantage when trying to find a suitable way to present something because there are a million choices. Many of these choices reside in the 100yen shop so cost is low and choice is high. I made these fruit cups for a kids party, you cant chuck a fruit salad in a bowl these days and I didnt want to bring lollies, cakes etc.....so in these cups are 2 blueberries, a small piece of watermelon and 3 small black grapes. The stickers I made also held a pick in place which makes it more fun to eat. These guys were a hit....froot is cool, ddint ya know??? Ok I got a bit too Aussie there...my dearest love is on his way there now....he is going to a BBQ at a friends house in our hometown this weekend....he said he cannot bring himself to walk down our street and look at our house...........it makes me miss home to think of it, the peace and quiet and gum trees you can see out the window, especially when my neighbour here is a twat and has all night parties with his uni friends.....
oops I just went to upload this image to illustration friday and realised this weeks topic is not cloudy but foggy....well, I feel a bit cloudy and gloomy as I usually do the day before my dearest goes away.....
I never had any reason to think gumboots were cool. Oh gee, that was until I came to Tokyo. Rainy season is excellent just so you can see some great boots. So many people (mostly women) wear rubber gumboots but not the old black ones we save for gardening, these ones are all brightly coloured with lots of patterns, flowers, spots, colours and even some great ribbons. I have been paying close attention and even came close to buying a pair...
It has been so hot the past few days. It seemed to get really hot just overnight. You just stand there and sweat. I know this is just the beginning of summer with many hot days to come, which seems to be fine if you are a tomato plant (on the right of the step).
This the mozzie coil pig I was talking about yesterday. It is quite a tradition in Japan.
This is the back opening. You hang the mozzie coil off the small wire hanger you can see inside and the smoke comes out the nose (and back) and looks so cute. I think it makes more sense now :)
Rainy season is almost over as there are fewer rainy days than sunny ones, hooray!! The mozzies are out in force and seems to have these very nice white and grey striped legs. I have had a delivery of RID and these excellent little patches which look like a circular dot sticker and you stick them on your clothes. They are soaked with citronella and something else that smells nice. They are great to stick on the back of a small persons tshirt to keep the mozzies away. I also got a katori buta which is basically a ceramic pig which is hollow and you put mozzie coils inside. You put the pig with lit mozzie coil at the entrance of your doorways or windows or wherever you might be outside. The smoke comes out the pigs nose. I will put an image in later as it is kind of hard to describe.....I also heard that eating banana is a natural defence as they dont like the taste of something in your blood after you eat a banana...possibly an old wives tale....?
This is a scene from the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. It is by far the most fascinating fish market I have seen. Aside from the usual supsects you might see at a fish market, this place has the tuna. It is amazing to see so many tuna fish, huge with swollen bellies, some with silken and shiny skins and others frozen solid. 
These men are cutting one of the fish. Many of the stalls have cross section slices of meat so you can check the quality.
all wrapped in ice and green blankets on top. Over fishing of our oceans is in your face when you see a small slice of the global seafood industry here......
