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Category Archives: This & That
A Weekend in Yonezawa, Yamagata
Cloud streaks caught the setting sun and bathed the valley in soft light as I disembarked from the Shinkansen at Yonezawa Station on a late October Friday afternoon. The crisp air was faintly redolent with smoke–like incense–as farmers had burned … Continue reading
A Period of Technical Difficulties
It has been a while. Longer than I’d hoped. After an eventful weekend in the Japanese countryside followed by jaunts to distant areas of Japan and several hours on trains to write about the adventures, the computer got balky. Photos … Continue reading
Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That
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Halloween Karaoke Party
What do you dress as when you’ve unexpectedly been invited to a Halloween karaoke party and you don’t want to spend big bucks on a costume? I’d bought a cheap wig in Tokyo but left it behind as it was … Continue reading
Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That
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The Flow of Time: DESIGNART TOKYO 2018
October moves into its final week and I am more acutely aware of the flow of time as my stay here is limited to the end of November. There are only so many days until Christmas, and in what will … Continue reading
When Everything Claps
In Plautdietsch or Low German, a language used among Mennonites for more than 500 years, there’s a saying: Daut klaupt aules. Meaning everything claps. In English we say everything clicks to describe such a state of convergence. Monday’s International Class … Continue reading
Posted in Ikebana, Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That
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Showers and Blessings
Saturday evening I was about to go out for another round of exploring DESIGNART TOKYO 2018 when thundershowers hit the city. Instead, with soft jazz streaming I poured the wine, laid out the bread and cheese, and pulled out the … Continue reading
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Week One: Valuable Lessons
The first week of ikebana lessons started well; however, the challenge has been huge. By Thursday of the first week I was punch-exhausted from all that jetlag, settling into my apartment and resuming classes entailed. To complicate matters, the steel grass … Continue reading
Ikebana: Revised Goals and Aspirations
Before resuming my ikebana studies at Sogetsu Kaikan, I had determined to do things a little differently this time. Last winter there were various challenges inherent in the move to Tokyo competing for my attention. As a result I … Continue reading
Three Weeks to Takeoff
The Fall 2018 issue of PostScript: The Magazine for Retired Educators containing my article on last year’s ikebana studies in Tokyo arrived in the mail this week. The editorial team did a particularly fine job of the layout and thanks … Continue reading
The Right Response
Due to a milestone birthday earlier this year, on August 2 I enjoyed my first sailing on BC Ferries free of charge. When I pulled up to the ticket booth I announced the fact as I handed over my credit … Continue reading
Posted in This & That
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