Category: Living

Beneath the Surface

Walked past a construction site, which got me thinking about Azuma House in a working class suburb of Osaka. I’d made a point of standing in front of that home last week: it raises questions; with answers I warm to it. “Like” or “Dislike” are not enough.

Skin Care

Accompanied Dwight to his appointment to remove a basal cell carcinoma. The procedure went well, the lesion was shallow. As we walked towards the exit, chuckled at “Everyone will notice. No one will know.” Not our style.

Categorized as Health

An Early Night

It’s almost inevitable: after an overseas trip, a cold has set in. An early night sounds so good.

Improving with Age

Reheated tonight’s dinner in the microwave: lamb and root vegetable stew. I’d made it this morning because stews improve by sitting (in the fridge). I made a double batch so there’ll be an encore appearance mid-week.

Categorized as Cook

Getting my Coffee Fix

Made a pourover using a product I’ve not seen here. Every morning, in my hotel room in Japan, I made pourover coffees. Unlike pods, it’s biodegradable and it tastes pretty good. At home I prefer to grind my own, but when traveling it’s a convenient option.

Japan 2022 Itinerary

I’m home from a solo three-week trip to Japan. As usual, I made it up as I went along based on research, past experience, and whim.

I visited three of Japan’s main islands: Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Hokkaido didn’t make the list this time because winter was setting in there and I didn’t want to carry winter clothes.

Tokyo Hike

Took the train to Asakusa, Tokyo, walked back until I ran out of time. Along the way it was my kind of urban hike: huge temple; buildings not intended to last (that’s OK); the only Le Corbusier building in east Asia (went in); stark transit infrastructure (love it); and the gardens of the Imperial Palace.