Christmas Morning

After we open the presents while drinking a sparkling beverage, The Mister was a sweetheart and made bacon and eggs. That's my new coffee cup. I think it's a "J" for joy, but I'll take "J" for Judy.

See Si licking his lips? Bacon stealer!

The theme this year is Yellow Submarine! We all live in a yellow submarine!

The Mister's stash.

The Mister's Yellow Submarine.

My stash.

Little green man.

That's an inside joke.

Sandy, our neighbor's cat, lonely and forgotten. We decided to save him this Christmas from the rain and wind, so The Mister put up the old pup tent we used to use for our indoor felines, you know for fun.

And it looks like he likes it!

So probably out of some guilt he buys Si an indoor pup tent for Christmas. Awwwww.

Silas really liked his fishy mat, although he smelled himself and subsequently sprayed the mat at a later time.

Look a solar power welcome kitty.

Merry Christmas!

Norwegian Wood: Review

After I read Haruki Murakami's autobiography, I knew I wanted to read a few of his novels. He is a well-known Japanese novelist with a very modern approach. So a checked out a couple and started to read concurrently, but quickly opted to just one for fear of getting the stories mixed up. Norwegian Wood was the first one.

I had just finished Catcher in the Rye and was hoping for something completely different. Unfortunately Norwegian Wood is Murakami's Catcher in the Rye.

I didn't see that in the beginning. In fact, I was sucked in by a surprisingly wonderful first chapter. The best chapter in the book. The second chapter was the second best, the third chapter was the third best, and then the book sort of plateau and by the end, well the conclusion was foregone. The reader knows from the start what the end will be. Or maybe I'm just a good guesser.

Without giving too much away, this book was very much like Catcher in the Rye coming of age story, only the storyteller is a little older and in college. Short aside: I finished the book on January 9th. On the same day there was a Japanese holiday, but I hadn't a clue of what kind of holiday it was. (I have a Flickr contact who is Japanese and her photos show some kind of celebration.) So I Googled it of course, and guess what? Jan. 9 is The National Coming of Age Day in Japan, and the age in which they celebrate is 20 years old.

Anyway, the age of 20 figures prominently in this book. So weird how everything sort of interconnects.

Really, the strength of this writer is in his descriptions of nature and landscape, his ability to paint his characters unique, and the main character is far more likable than Holden.

I might recommend it, but first I want to read a few more of his titles.

Obon Festival

I upgraded to Lion OS and I can't say I'm completely enamored. The scrolling is exactly the opposite of what I was used to with the magic mouse, and I often use Preview and the F3 button to look at all my pics at once to get the feel for the blog post storyline and now that doesn't work. I haven't figured a way around it yet. If you know, please share. I'm sorry if none of this makes sense too.

Anyways - I went to the Obon Festival in San Luis. By the way (PSA), San Luis is pronounced like San Loo-es, not San Loo-ee. And we had a real good time. They were doing a martial arts demonstration inside the building which made me laugh (shame on me) because essentially they were wearing helmets and face masks but they were whacking the dickens out of each other. Right over the head. Whack, whack, whack. Very rhythmical. I thought it was hilarious.

The vendors indoors were very rummage sale too. Except the book seller. All sorts of books on Japanese culture, history, food, novels. I went crazy!

Outside there was the food and fun. This bonsai demonstration was really interesting. The son explained what the father was doing. A typical juniper bush was being pruned in a very specific way, both plant and roots, to be a bonsai.    

I'm going to try this, you know I am. I've always wanted a bonsai.

This is the before picture. The plant was a standard shrub in a pot like something you would buy from a nursery.

This is the after shot. 

The father was putting 

the finishing touches 

on the tree.

The chicken dinner was really delicious
too.

Happy June!

This is a partial scan of Evening at Itako, 1930 by Kawase Hasui. It is June's picture from my Japanese woodblock calendar.

Many of the 12 paintings on this calendar I recognize from a set of stationary cards I bought as a young adult. Beautiful cards, a few designs for each season, and blank on the inside.

So this slightly crazed thing I have for Japanese art and food is not new.

I also like this month's picture because it is set at night and the kimonos are still drying on sticks. I also like the full moon.

The colors here are not as vibrant as the calendar and you are not seeing the foreground. I love the blues and greens and the trees poking high in the clouds.

It is serene yet fully engaging.

Do you have a favorite style of art or artist that you are drawn to?