weekend peace

This is one of the 5 great lakes around Mt Fuji.....it is truly lovely! We have now ventured to all 5 and think this one (especially on the other side) is the most beautiful (minus the large yellow 'submarine' tourist boat...see it on the left...ugh....)...if you turn around, you can see a huge, silent, still snow capped Mt Fuji. I never tire of looking at it, even on a misty day like this one, it is awesome in its size and beauty. Unbelievably, in this area there are no 'nice' places to eat OR stay! Accommodation and food places that are there have been open since the 50's and never moved into this century.....
in another nearby area we just had a wander around these cabbage (I think) farms....if I were a cabbage I would like to live here....
next to the cabbage patch is the loveliest view.......hence my desire..... if I ever was a cabbage.....and was lucky enough to see this everyday :)

.....you can see a great view of Fuji from the car while driving into Kawaguchiko, another lake area and entrance to the other lakes, Mooey in the backseat said "Mt Fuji - not happy today....." being grey and covered in clouds - rainy season after all....very articulate! We started out early to avoid nasty traffic jams and the weather was predicted to rain around 12noon......so we had a great morning and about as we left about 12.15pm it started to rain....the accuracy of the weather prediction spooks me sometimes....on another note, there is also an info site about traffic jams so you can get an idea of how busy the roads are.....THAT is what I call an excellent service!
....So now we are back into the week, Mooch is sick with a cold, paranoia haunts me about H1N1 and if I need to get the test...he has no flu symptoms....maybe he just has a normal kid cold.....so I'm watching him without trying to pour my paranoia on him and divert our attention and imagination into some fun making of crafty stuff................
..and fooling with paints.....
..and glue......

nice read

I am currently reading "The Divided Heart" by Rachel Power...a good read about art and motherhood...its short stories/interviews make it easy to pick up and put down...I find myself agreeing a lot with what I read and feel less bad about housework blues as it seems plenty of peoples, feel the same...

fun things

We have been busy making some fun things inside while the weather outside swings from hot and rainy to just plain hot, hot....and more of it to come.....lucky my list of things to do is loooong....
experimenting with milk cartons/paper/paint and butterflies and glitter, which was good fun, until I (yes ME) spilled the glitter, a LOT of it....(swearing)......if I didn't share our room space with my loved one, who might not look as professional as he hopes with his bag/computer covered in glitter....then it might not have been a big deal................I think I got it all though...phew...sorry darling....:(
major fun and focused concentration :)

my morning tea

I re-made these little gift tags in my quest to turn off the box at night and do something productive. Collecting stamps is my new hobby but making them into these is even more fun....
oh, and collecting tape, for no good reason, has also become an unwanted hobby...I cannot get out of the stationary shops.....go here for excellent-ness Japan stuff......
...do you notice anything about this paper bag?.................
it DID have my morning tea in it..............................

My day...

What I'm doing: Lots of doodles for upcoming projects...
What Long Long is doing: resting...all of a sudden its over 30 degrees today...I dreamt last night that he died and I found him in the garden all limp and cold...I woke up with such a fright and found it very hard to get back to sleep. I love this pooch xxx
What mooch is doing: fine motor skills development!................
What I'm reading: I never usually buy mags as I think they are a waste of money and paper, flicking through them in the shop is enough to confirm I don't need to buy it BUT.....these ones struck me as something I want to keep....and for some reason mags are generally much cheaper than at home and of course the VARIETY is astounding!

The week Tokyo was closed...

I love Japan....but, I am often frustrated as I dont understand WHY certain things are the way they are...Monday, pool was closed, Tuesday, pool was closed, Wednesday, zoo was closed, Friday, burger joint was closed......in fact a lot of shops were closed this week for no apparent reason...no special holidays... along with supermarkets open at 10 and other shops open at 11.......I found myself grumbling a LOT this week....BUT all misfortunes can be turned around and in this city of opportunity, there are millions of things waiting to be discovered when one door closes......so, we found this beautiful temple..........whilst driving along grumbling, this tower caught our interest...and boy, it was a winner!!!

it also happened to have a lovely, wooded walk, with thousands of hydrangea in bloom, monks chanting in gold embossed rooms at a funeral, many Sunday painters making watercolour masterpieces, school kids chatting excitedly, very old people in wheelchairs drinking tea from paper cups, lots of people taking photos of the flowers.....

beautiful, sensitive tributes....

and the mooch learning how to pray....

and a shrine for almost everything!! So, although a lot was not done due to the closures much more was gained by an open and enquiring mind. Thank you Tokyo.

mini collaboration

I love to make a good collaboration, especially if it involves the mooch!! Here's a small and funny thing we did together....
but the concentration of a 2.5 yr old can only last so long.......
but it is much fun while it lasts .....
...I was told that up to the age 4 or 5 kids are able to recall/articulate their feelings of being in the womb and birth, some pretty amazing things to hear from your kids mouth...I asked the mooch what he remembered, he said 'rubbish and chickens'....I guess that explains the pregnancy.....

baby gift

One of those lovely people I mentioned in my previous post, one of the people who changed my life while here in Japan... is due to have her 3rd baby soon! I have been making this floor blanket and small bunny for a while and finally finished them up!! I am so lucky to have met Miss M because without her, I dont think I would have survived (especially)my 1st year in Japan and the subsequent ones :)...and I am thankful we are still close, let our kids hang out when we can and just grow old as friends....lovely :) Ganbarre until the end Miss M!!

back home

Now I'm really back home, washing, dishes etc...I'm working on a very nice couples wedding stationary, it has been a delight! I am also hoping for some good news on Monday about plans for a creative collaboration!! Let's see how we go! I have been thinking a lot about Japan and how lucky I am to have the chance to scratch the surface of a culture and country that is not my own. Also, as we will move on from here soon enough I feel I need to soak up all the things I hoped for...and do the things I had hoped to do. Going to Singapore and Malaysia recently made me realise just how homogenous Japan really is!! As much as I love so many things about this place it is often same, same, same, which really is so much of the essence of Japan and explains so many things....It will be 5 years, yes FIVE in total that I have lived here by the end of 2009 and many things I have learned about myself and life in general has been due to my experiences and people I have met here and also lessons learned/ing about living away from the people I love. I also realise very clearly that apart from loving my family and friends, the one thing I think is important and truly enjoyable in my life is diversity, in peoples and ther result of a mix of those peoples eg: the foods/languages/beliefs/arts/cultures etc...and luckily Oz, or at least my pocket of it, has those things....I dont think Japan has enough of this kind of diversity to sustain a long term happy life for me....as much as I love it. I guess it comes down to having the chance to move in and around lots of influences, kind of like travelling to interesting places but not getting on a plane....

brain space

some time away has made me even more enthusiastic about these illustrated cardboard creatures I have been making (and associated stories). I love making things from cardboard and cutting out these characters brings them to life somehow...I just collect old boxes from peoples recycling, if I don't have any myself.....just another thing to add to the list of things I collect from other peoples gomi...I have a couple of other kids related, fun things to do with painted cardboard and will show you soon :)

I happened to watch Courage:The Cowardly Dog over my holidays...I like it and it reminds me a little of Ren and Stimpy with a little less gross....damn that was a good cartoon......also a lot of old cartoons like Tom and Jerry, which to see now as an adult, are pretty clever given the time they were made, also, only a little dialogue with mostly 'classical' instruments, maybe an orchestra type arrangement (I'm not an expert) for the music.....now Im back at home, I realise we also have that channel on our TV.....(OK so it has been here all along...maybe more than 1 year), but sometimes you gotta step aside to see whats in front of you :)

if you can...go there too...

Hi there....I was not too sad to start my week with all the Tokyo peoples...then head off on an adventure......
first stop was FLAVOUR...in Singapore!!!!...oh, nasi lemak is just so good..I never used to eat the fishy things but after a while of living in Japan you get used to such things.....then, after a breather, off to island of Redang in Malaysia...you get the idea....
a short plane trip......woah, such vibrations and noise especially after a ride in the super quiet giant A380.....but exciting to see the rotars and wheels in action...(for the mooch).....
after arriving, a bit of exploring and photography by the mooch.....

and exploring of rocks for crabs and other sea life....
...me, relaxed?!......
it was impossible not to feel relaxed...very, very laid back...very hot and so pretty.....
and no peoples!!! I cannot recommend this place highly enough, we originally discovered it when looking for a dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It was so expensive so looking at other alternatives, this was it!! And its easy to get to from either Singapore or Malaysia (and a LOT cheaper than travelling in OZ) sad, but true. I guess until you take a trip like this do you realise how important a break from the usual routine is...a break from the daily grind of housework and less inspiring jobs like that is so refreshing, mentally and physically, to think and do things out of the normal is wonderful. I went swimming (for exercise) in the sea, I have never done that and something so simple is so memorable....as was the huge and numerous dive bombs off the pier, snorkelling to see lovely and scary fish and just floating in warm tropical waters, looking up into the sky and thinking about nothing, having time to do nothing, no rushing, nowhere to be and no pressure. Its also hard to return to big bags of washing and the 'normal life' feeling a bit out of step, tanned and in need of supermarket shopping but finding excuses not to go.....