I need to find a job else I’ll be cutting weeds for the rest of my days!

We will miss the community tidy up day on Sunday as we will be on a business trip.. so today we did our bit by tackling the local play park.

This fan assisted jacket is a gane-changer! My battery can now outlast the rechargeable batteries of our weed-whacker

A light grey short sleeved jacket with hood lies on a grey sofa, there are two black fans just under where the wearer's shoulder blades will be. A kids play park with tidier, shorn grass/weeds, featuring a slide, swings, and a tree covered picnic table. An overgrown section of the same part with lots of foliage, some of which is about knee height. there is a tree in the foreground too. a weed whackers leans ominously against the brown wooden wall of an old house.


Another morning of tackling “weeds”!

This time my fan-assisted jacket helped a huge amount. By the time both weed whackers batteries were depleted I still had energy to continue.

Much of the previously cleared land had become overgrown again but it was easier to deal with than last time.. We are now maybe about 40% done but not much tough foliage still left

Before picture of a plot of land covered in wild foliage. Before picture of a plot of land covered in wild foliage. After picture of a plot of land covered in slightly less wild foliage. After picture of a plot of land covered in slightly less wild foliage.

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Found this critter today in our overgrown herb garden.. no idea what it is but they look very cool.

Yellow, black and white beetle-like insect on a green shiso leaf


Some photos from our business trip to Eastern Hokkaido. Didn’t take many because it meant being de-gloved for too long (my phone takes too long to do anything).

Kinda boring shot of a small paper coffee cup with the Japan Airlines logo on it. Craft beer menu and a small circular sign with the pub details on it. a plate of nachos with salsa behind which is a pint glass containing imperial coffee porter along side its companion bottle. a snowy scene with an old elementary school in the background and a sign for Brasserie Knot in the foreground, a brewery located in the gym hall of the school. a snowy scene with blue skies and many Japanese cranes wandering about a protected park slightly zoomed in photo of more Japanese cranes in the snow


A few photos from the post-launch event, first proper meeting of the Kochi Craft Beer Association. Lots of positive discussions and samples with explanations of beers from each of the breweries! Exciting to be part of this.

A bunch of happy looking people with beers sitting around a table covered with beer, pizza boxes and various snacks. A bunch of happy looking people with beers sitting around a table covered with beer, pizza boxes and various snacks.

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    The founding 5 brewers of the Kochi Craft Beer Association. Likely, I will be the seventh member, if we make progress with the location challenge that is.

    I hope that there is some female representation in the group in the future and have some plans in that regard.

    snippet from a Japanese newspaper featuring a photo of five brewers, all holding cans or bottles of their beers in a restaurant setting.

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      We received a box of very ripe tomatoes from our tomato farmer friend and they need to be used very soon.. so lots of simple tomato sauce bases will be made today!

      As well as a tomato tart for lunch, and some roasted tomatoes.. delicious.

      lots of very red tomatoes

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      “Haw you get aff o ma lawn!”

      No really, we bought the Duplo for my youngest daughter.. absolutely not for papa..

      a primarily blue and yellow castle-ish swing structure with a Duplo person wearing a bucket over their head and wielding a shovel.


      My 5 year old daughter was at home today for an obligatory ‘stay at home after a fever day’, so we decided to cook together.

      We made a tomato and red lentil pasta sauce with croutons, served with spaghetti. I think we have only bought 1 jar of pasta sauce since we moved here and not only due to the absence of variety.. we cook an array of kick ass sauces nowadays from scratch.

      A white porcelain dish with roasted tomatoes, garlic, green peppers and onions. A very saucy spaghetti dish in a bowl.