CONTRASTS

     I made a million Japanese origami cranes, threaded them on heavy silver embroidery thread and wound them around the tree as the finishing touch. Small bits of antique kimono material were recycled and sold as drink coasters, but I added a hanger and used them as colorful ornaments instead. Red Chinese paper lanterns adds to the festive collection this year, contrasting with the plastic Rudolf....hanging on my tree for 57 years now.....old with the new, Asian and traditional Western. So pretty, so sparkly....the earliest I've ever put up a tree.  Being so far away from family and home, it adds a warmth, festivity and comfort that keeps me connected and makes coming home wonderful. 

     Many Japanese homes are heated with kerosene....I was wondering if I was going to be able to get my tush as warm as I liked, without my wood stove, and I'm happy to say, kerosene heating is lovely: a toasty even heat that will keep us comfortably warm this coming winter. (When I walk outside, there's a faint whiff of kerosene in the air, as neighbors fire up their stoves against the cooling days and nights of the waning autumn season.) I won't have the crackling of the fire but then again, no wood to haul, no ashes to clean out. I'm happy.

     We spent Thanksgiving in Tokyo and walked a million miles. Every neighborhood offers something different and the thrill for me is in the contrast. We can go from cutting edge technology, super modern, upscale and high fashion (women shopping in stilettos and furs)  to rows of Edo era housing, five foot high doorways leading into tiny, windowless establishments filled with pottery, household goods, fresh vegetables or tofu or bean cakes. There are restaurants with enough stools to cater to a maximum clientele of three:  at a small counter you can slurp piping hot bowls of soup with udon noodles, eat sticky rice and warm yourself with a cup of hot tea. You'll be shooed out if you linger; a practical business necessity. We ate French pain de chocolate around the corner from a Shinto shrine. For a hundred yen you can buy your fortune, tie it up with the others to assure your good fate walk down the street and sit at a velvet chair, be waited on by clerks dressed in Armani selling diamond studded Louis Vuitton handbags....

     On Wednesday, I boarded a train to Kawagoe, met with two of my three 'students' for a tour of the city and lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the female camaraderie and the sights, smells and tastes of the town.  Venturing out on my own for an hour train ride adds it's own spice to my day and I made it home in time for the annual Christmas tree lighting on the base and dinner out with hubby. Life is full and very busy. Tomorrow, we will be boarding a bus and heading to Chichibu to view one of the three largest night festivals in Japan. The festival features Geisha dancers, taiko drumming, a large parade with elaborate floats and culminates in a fireworks spectacle at ten...we're slated to return home at 1AM...phew. It goes without saying we will be eating.....

I am working in my art room.... sporadically...... have a batch of art-o-mat blocks almost ready to ship back to the states and will post some artwork updates soon. Meantime....here are a few pictures taken over the last couple of weeks of traveling adventures. Take care.