Annular Solar Eclipse / 金環日食

Like an eager kid, I prepared my personal cardboard pinhole! -  Fortunately, in true 'Lee' style, it was Hello Kitty packaging!!

The day began sunny enough - this was at 0640, when I woke so fast thinking I had missed it! Seriously, I don't get out of bed that fast for work... 

 It quickly clouded over, allowing us (kind of) to look at the sky, but not give us a great view of the sun and moon together.

But then, here and there, little breaks in the cloud provided the answer to my prayers!

The moon in action!!

If you look closely enough...

Reflection on the rice field...Er, you had to be there!

Through the power lines!

Through the funny glasses

Eighteen years ago, I witnessed the full eclipse in Cornwall, England. The whole place went dark for five minutes and the cows went to sleep and the birds stopped singing. This morning, it was more of a sight to behold than a sound not to hear. We didn't have glasses (didn't know about the eclipse until the last minute!), so, I made the pinhole, but it wasn't bright enough for shadows. Our neighbours and some fellow dog walkers shared their specs with us and we were lucky to share in this unique moment in history.

Animal Walk Tokyo!

This year, the money went to help the animals at SALA (Save animals, Love animals) and we were lucky enough to meet some of the dogs staying with SALA right now.

The second AnimalWalkTokyo was a great success (Read about last year's HERE).

The turnout was once again a good one and some similar faces were there too.

Marley

Lucky Marley!

The first creature that caught my eye was an Elbi look-a-like! So I was happy, although again, I wished I could have brought him in! Marley (the 17kg Frenchie) was lucky to bag a ride with mama at the back of her bike!! It gave me more ideas for Elbi, although I should probably limit myself to the pram!!

The walk was a lot quicker than last year even with the inevitable stops for snacks. It was nice to see families and newborns even enjoying the event.

So well behaved!

Maku 7 months old.
A rescue dog from Fukushima, now with Sala.

Hello :)

Marley guarding the donations box

There was tight security - Those funds were precious.

To round of the walk itself, cookies were on sale for 200 yen a pop. They were delicious and each cookie sold would pay for a meal for one of the dogs at SALA.

Catching up with V, left and finally meeting a wonderful animal lover and tireless volunteer, K

To accompany all the chit-chat, the catch ups and the barking, there there was some delightful music form a husband - wife duet (whose performance name I forget....doh! They are at  'What the Dickens?' tonight...). It made for a wonderful morning in the breezy sunshine!

And for me, it is a day out in Tokyo! These days, it's a rare occurrence; it's so far from home and, like Marley, I get tired easily!!

Pooped!

Au naturel - air freshener!

OK, time to share the recipe as it has worked so well and is so yummy and divine and....natural! Happiness!

Stewing in vodka!

Blinging up the bottles!

Take the zest of some lemons (I didn't even use that many) and add to some vodka (again, there wasn't much left....!) and let it sit in an airtight container and stew for a few days.

After that, simply add water to the mix, choose some oils and serve it up in something pretty!



It's the best air freshener ever!

(Scents so far include, lime, lemongrass, rosemary and a mix with lavender and marjoram!)

Note - this could work as an anti mozzie repellent if you add citronella oil!!!

(The mix I made just a few days earlier with the bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice and water with essential oil failed. The lemon juice goes off to quickly if it isn't preserved with alcohol and it was no longer freshening the air. It did make for a good laundry detergent for some smelly shoes, mind!)

Au naturel

So, I had to update the little note book I had for writing down my ideas. Actually, Elbi devoured it, but in hindsight it was far too small.

Olive oil page

Home made body scrubs page

reusing coffee grounds

This self-sufficiency / natural turn in our lives takes a lot of time, (even if not a lot of ingredients!) and my book needed the upgrade.

Top favourites for the house and avoiding palm oil as well as many chemicals include, olive oil, vinegar, lemons and bicarbonate of soda and that is one house cleaned, refreshed and ready for action! There is a lot to learn and remember, but writing it all done helps!

It does take time to prepare things...if only I could eliminate the days I have to work....

This morning, I actually tried to make air freshener - just lemon juice, water, bicarbonate of soda and some nice smelly oils. It's really watery when you spray, but, it's great!!

I also have some lemon zest soaking in vodka - that too will make an air freshener in just a few days...or just lemon vodka....!!!

Left - green tea, vinegar, tea tree oil toner
Right - Olive oil
Centre - Lush hair cream/conditioner

Oh, and I have given up making my own shampoo...it was too tricky for someone in a hurry. I decided to stick to all things Lush. They are even eliminating palm oil from their products, so you know it's a company you can rely on! Must not forget the fact that it smells divine!!!