Radiation rising...

I came home from work to this article in the news

 - Asahi Shimbun - Raising levels of Radiation

There have been more rumours of the government lying to us and it is scary to see another map like this.

Should there be another big earthquake in Fukushima, Japan will be over with...so I have heard.

Apparently, the mountainous areas of Saitama have been hit quite badly.

So, what does it mean?

We pack our bags and go? Science professionals and farmers wish they could. A few we know are...

Fukushima is on the news a lot these days, but we know about the animals dying, but what do we know about the radiation?

No one can measure the levels and predict it all accurately.

Not out to scare you but we need to think about these things.

The thing is, the 'radiation' lines conveniently stop at the borders of Saitama, Chiba and Tochigi, not reaching to Tokyo, Niigata, Nagano. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not wishing clouds of radiation to float over anyone. However, I am thinking, that should there be any levels of radiation in these prefectures, then we need to know. It would mean that half of Honshu island is affected, but of course, no one knows that yet.

Check out this picture from May -There has been a clear spread of radiation in the past few months, so it just makes you think ahead, that's all. What to do and what to believe is another matter.

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Frogs, blogs and flowery logs.

I haven't written here for a long time now. But, in any case -welcome to Autumn!

I have been working so hard these past couple of weeks, not just at work, but at home too. I have been trying to organise my writing and fill my facebook page   page as well as my other blogs.

Writing is such hard work suddenly when you actually want to and have to get things done, but it is hard work I enjoy.

We are in the middle of yet another bank holiday here in Japan, so I have been lucky enough to be able to get some work done. Today, however, I took some much needed time out to look after the garden. I think the feng shui there is as important as the feng shui in the house.

Some indoor plants. They needed re-potting and love.

Sanservia - A cute indoor leaf plant

Sanservia - A cute indoor leaf plant

This is a great pot. A friend gave it too with ivy in.
I have moved the ivy to a window basket to revive it and
in the meantime put bright greens and flowers in this pot.

I don't know the name of this flower, but it is everywhere these days. Pinks and whites and they grow. I just moved these back to the big pot because the typhoon battered them in the window basket.

The ivy and the 'pot luck' are growing great! The flowers come out when the sun is out.

I weeded lots and lots and re-potted many plants. We shall see how they all turn out, but hopefully they can flourish and keep looking pretty.


I still have my sunflower plant, now it's bigger than me....much bigger! Sadly, there is still no flower. I am still hopeful.....

Along the way, I have come across many frogs that still inhabit our garden. They always make me smile and this time, they are not just bright green, but spotty too.

On the mosquito net, pre-typhoon

Still lurking on the net post-typhoon

Dark frog guarding the pot

Spotty green

Perched on the chair

Hiding in my pot!

Earthquake Pets: Maruko's happy ending

Earthquake Pets: Maruko's happy ending: Maruko,last week at HEART 6 months on This lucky lady certainly has a guardian angel or two shining down on her. In brief, she was trapp...

Maruko's story!

We have just had news in of Maruko being returned to her owners!!!

I am so happy, I cried. Her owners had lost everything on March 11th so Maruko was sent to the pound. They were ready to gas her, when JEARS stepped in and begged and pleaded to rescue her from her evil plight. Now, six months later, she can be reunited with her family!

Here is her story on youtube - 

Kate wrote about her as she was there to meet her and follow her story.

Please read all about it on her blog -

 Maruko's story - Part 1  & Maruko's story - Part 2

Earthquake Pets: Beating the heat!

Please read Kate's post about time at Heart animal shelter, Tokushima. Also included are tips on how to deal with the crazy heat.....¬

Earthquake Pets: Beating the heat!: We lucked out! There was a typhoon on the horizon a few days before we headed up to Tokushima. It miraculously dissipated before we got there...

In season?

Right now, I hate Japan...lol

The weather is still scorching. There hasn't been a day under 30 yet and I am melting.

Don't get me wrong, I love the sun, but, being back at work means that I should probably dress at least a little bit conservatively. That said, i have a uniform of a T-shirt (it's simply delightful), so, whatever I do wear gets covered anyway.

I shouldn't really complain. I mean, rocking up to work in surf shorts and vests is hardly problematic, is it?

But, my gripe is that, today, I put a strappy summer dress on and suddenly felt wrong, even though, I know I could catch the rays as I cycle. Yet, somehow a bare back felt uncalled for what with the Autumn equinox almost upon us.

Just yesterday, my husband and I were talking about Japan and it's seasons. Maybe this was at the back of my mind.

You see, in Japan, even if May is sunny and warm, or rainy and groggy, there is no air conditioning on the trains because it is not yet summer. Just like in Autumn, you will see people wearing coats, not because it is cold, but because it is Autumn - of course!

This year has been one of the hottest yet and I will seriously worry for anyone with any unnecessary layers after the start of official Autumn next week.

So, while I long for a cool breeze, I love that I can still trot off to work in my birkies, shorts and vests. Am happy to wait for true summer to wear that dress again!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:In season?

Location:Kasukabe,Japan

Blind - A short film

Watch this - it will take five minutes, but you will be thinking for a lot longer.

It is a video about a salary man and his journey to work. It might seem so surreal, yet, in today's world, it is more real than we realise.


blind from YUKIHIRO SHODA on Vimeo.

Harvest Moon

This morning, I saw the sun and the moon share the same piece of sky in the east. This baffled me for a while as I thought the sun reflected in order to make the moon visible, so how could we see them both so near to one another?

But, at full moon time, the moon is near the sun - of course it is. That is how we get the rare solar eclipse. (Next full one is in November next year!!!)

Oh, did you know that there actually IS such a thing called the blue moon?! It is rare, but it has nothing to do with the colour. Given that the lunar month is 29.5 days long, there are the few times where there are two full moons in the one calendar month. The second one is called the blue moon. Well, I never!

This morning, the views were just amazing, this evening too...

The sun

The moon over the rice paddies

The moon, loitering in the east.

Sunset in the west

Even Elbi has his full moon moments.

September 11th 2011

Today marks the six month anniversary of the tragedies in Japan and the tenth year since the attack in the US.

We have to stop for a minute and remember. Remember the people lost at those times. Remember the suffering on those days, the suffering that continues still in their hearts.

Humanity has to hold its hand out to one another and be kind, patient and caring.

Please don't forget.

JAPAN - 2.46pm - Stop for a minute.

Lists

I work from lists. I write and re-write and eventually things get done.



Procrastination can come in so many shapes and sizes, as we well know.

This weekend, I have found myself making bags with duct tape and also old T-shirts....

From an old T-shirt

Made using duct tape

Counting my suddenly impressive collection of Kokeshi dolls....

Kokeshi dolls originate in Tohoku. The dolls are simple wood figures with no head, no legs. Some speculate that they symbolise the death of unwanted babies during 18th Century. The dolls are a great symbol of the region. I made one too - Can you guess which one?!

 And, I also tried my hand at self-mutilation....

OK, it was an accident. Let me tell you, caramalised sugar from the hot pot is HOT!

On the list, you can see the words 'pineapple' and 'carrot'.  This weekend, I was going to attempt my first jams.....It went rather wrong, shall we say and three fingers have been scalded, this one being the worst.

4 days later....yuk!

Cook I am not, but it won't stop me trying.

Now, to work on the rest of that list.....

I want to steal a sunflower.....

...but I haven't got the heart, even though they are there growing in the wild as if wild.

Welcome to Friday!

 The sun is breaking through the cloud as we leave the house and the beams just get stronger and stronger!

Yay, it's Friday!!! Or is that 'Get the f**k away from me!!!!

On our path, covered in mud

Perhaps he is trying to get back to the family.

 Wild flowers are everywhere and I take them without guilt.

This flower is in abundance but what is it?

The rice is being harvested. This field has some hanging to dry!

Attached to a garden and a house - definitely cannot steal these.

And pop it in a jar, and presto, we have decoration

So glad I had my camera out with me this morning.

Scrubs

So, in Bali, we had a bottle of olive oil going spare. I think we cooked just the once, but it was so much easier (and cheaper) to eat out, so we had some ingredients to spare.

I did not want this oil to go to waste. I was convinced that we could do something better with it than throw it down the sink.

So, I started googling like crazy!

I found many options.

Olive oil makes for a great conditioner for the scalp. You can simply massage it in for 5 or 10 minutes and then leave it to do its work. You should wear a shower cap to a) style it out and b) (most importantly) not get anything covered with oil.

Now, here is where it gets exciting.

Olive oil and sugar together form a great body (and face, according to some) scrub.

Olive oil & Sugar

I use it on my lips. It scrubs, but it's gentle enough not to make your lips sore or go bright red.

It is great for the body too (especially the legs). The oil hydrates the skin and the sugar gently exfoliates, leaving a very polished feel. Not only is it cheap, but it is simply divine. You can add essential oils too for that extra scent.

Honey, lemon & sugar

Another lovely body scrub is the very simple mix of honey, lemon juice (fresh, of course! Orange also works well.) and sugar, once again.

This is lovely and smells great in the morning; the citrus is vibrant, the honey is soothing and the sugar, well, scrubs.

You need good pots!

Flowers outdoors

My sunflower is sooo tall, but still no flower in September!!

Wild flower addiction!

Looks great in an egg container!

Don't know what they are, but the are pretty!

one pink petal 

wild flowers

Things that go bump in the night...

There's a typhoon heading this way and I wait until after dusk to walk Elbi...alone.

The wind is picking up slowly but surely and you can see the clouds moving swiftly through the night sky.

The walk begins with a small toad, dead on the road. Poor thing. Was he eaten? Was he hit?

We walk on. The bats are out in full force, as always. They hover overhead threatening to fly into your face, but never doing so (unless you are my husband!). While, my face is safe, I don't feel safe.

To say that the mood is ominous is such an understatement. The wind blows just as I steady my pace, but a cyclist without lights creeps up behind me knocking my sense of balance and judgement.

a glimpse of the moon through the fast moving clouds...

From that moment on, my heart is weak and even a leaf blowing over my toe, (or at least I am hoping it was a leaf), scares me silly.

We have to walk through a hedged path. To my left, the thick of trees, leaves and bushes hides the unknown. To my right, a dip down to an overgrown dry part of the lake, more unknown, only a small trip away.

I hum some random tune, not too high pitched, I am no longer a soprano anyway, but low enough for the bats to hear and to steer clear.

We bump into two dogs and their owner turning a corner. My heart jumps again.

Perhaps, Elbi is as nervous as me. He pulls to go home. The wind pushes us along a road that may as well be a deserted highway, although it is only five minutes from our house.

We walk past the front of the scrapyard from where many creaks and squeaks emerge. Once the lights disappear, we are left alone in the dark street passing some plots of land.

Elbi stops to sniff the earth, but the strings marking the land suddenly shake with vigour as the wind reminds us of its presence.

We both jump with such a fright that we start a quick shuffle back.

One huge lorry comes towards us, lights beaming in my eyes reminding me of far too many a horror film I have seen.

We dart in front of a second lorry, turning into our drive to avoid it.

I can breath a sigh of relief now I am home, but then I remember we have typhoon lock-down and we have rented some thrillers and screamers!

Brace yourself.