Failed on the one a day mission. But it’s all in the execution.

Have realised that with our conflicting schedules (work for Dad, year one of school for lad) we’ll not be able to post an new photo each day, especially with the composition required to do our chum Domokun justice. Be we will persevere! And the whippersnapper loves to see his work published – which is the idea really.

This time, Domokun is perched in a fencepost across the road from our home. As long time city dwellers (it’s all relative -the young one spent his earliest couple of years in Tokyo), semi rural life has taken a bit of getting used to… In the background, although you can barely see them, are some sheep with day or so old lambs. Awesome for 5 year old to experience – and a bit of a trip for Tokyo born & raised Mum…

It’s actually been almost only a day!

When the whippersnapper and I took the photo of Domokun on the stones, he also wanted me to take a photo of his hand, which we did. When he saw the blog pot, he reckoned that a photo of his hand would look good on the blog, so after school today we took a photo of his hand holding Domokun. In the background is the only tree on our rental property. It’s dying – which I’m not really thankful for – as we like trees. We’re on the lookout for our own place – which will need to have lots of trees.

Mmmm… trees…

It’s only been almost 6 years…

…so time to add a new post. Have decided to try one of those “post a photo that you’ve taken every day for a year” type things – most seem to insist on going on about something that they’re thankful for – but that all seems a to be a bit much work. So I’ll get it out of the way early – I’m thankful for a: being a dad to the worlds greatest whippersnapper (it’s my world that I’m referring to – I’d expect every other parent to feel the same about their own whippersnapper(s)), b: thankful that I’m in a place where I can blog pretty much what I want to without too much oppression – although well aware that Big Brother is always watching – & c: thankful for many, many other things.

So, to start it off – because I’m a bit crap – here’s a photo that I didn’t take today – took it yesterday with the help of my whippersnapper. All photos will feature Domokun – because he’s rad.

OMG – Coke!!!!!!

Coke’s subliminal push for the 14 year old American girl market somehow ended up on the Japanese product.

Maradona-san – you did this.

There’s not a lot more pitiful than a sad lookin’ pooch. & having his team on the verge of not qualifying for the World Cup is a sure way to give ‘lil Inu-chan a biggerthannormalforJapan sized case of the downs…

Maradona-sensei, Diego, if I may – if you cannot urge your team to qualify for the pride of the nation, or even for yourself – please do it for this little feller. We just want to see him smile again.

Aye aye!

It has come to my attention that I am not a very consistent blogger. Although my other blog is updated quite frequently, possibly because that involves cars and I spend a lot of my time around awesomleytunedJapanesecarsthatmakemegoWootWoot!!YeahYeah!!! – sorry – had a bit of a funny turn there…

So, in the spirit of being a more worthy blogger, here are some boats I saw at Shonan Beach a month ago. I rode my jitensha out there, which is about 30km & got nicely sunburnt on the way out, encountered mist over the beach for four of the five hours I was there, then had a bona fide monsoon hit as I was about a quarter of the way home. Took four days to dry my shoes, black canvas Vans slipons – surely some of the easiest (apart from those easy dry/sandal/or even Croc(?) things & I aint wearing those No Sir) shoes ever to dry. Ever. I think Im starting to understand Japanese weather. Which means that I now understand that it is beyond being understood.

So, boats. Whoohoo!

Misty as all heck, but was about 36deg C. Steamy desu!

No sign of the painter. I imagine they’d been lost to the mist…

Hot & Wet. Not in a good way.

 

Meh. Rainy season sercks.

Back in Ichigatsu, we knew that we still had a couple of wintery months to deal with & I was feeling just a little jaded by the samuiness. Winter, incidently, having begun a little early on Jyugatsu Kokonoka at Fuji Speedway. The day previous had been quite warm, so manus here didnt take a jacket. Yep.

These people all had jackets.

Aaanyhizzle, silly old nature (the crazy joker) decided to throw a late January curve ball (baseball season still several months away, so quite a masterstroke. Ha ha. I said…) our way with one 26C Saturday. Followed by a sub artic Sunday. But I’d like to go on, and on, about the Saturday. I was so discombobulated by this state of affairs that I even went to the park. Twice. With the missus. Both times.

As you might expect, if youve suffered through my previous rantings, it took me next to no time to go quite troppo. Thus I did some unseasonable lurking in the undergrowth. Being technically mid winter, the undergrowth was somewhat sparse. The overgrowth was just sticks. Pretty poor effort really.

My little bird buddy here couldnt believe his crazy warm weather luck.

It was all going swimmingly until the pidgeons turned up.

Followed by the Americans.

This sign was only here during winter.

Presumably these noisy little creatures get all sweaty under the helmet (Ha ha! etc.) in warmer weather, thus staying away from the park, rendering a nattily crafted warning from the municipal authorities somewhat redundant.

Of course, if one was to take one’s  inu for a pleasant sampo in the koen on an unseasonably warm Doiyobi, then one would need not be concerned about rowdy midgets with potential under helmet sweat.

Although old Hat’n Jacket’n Sausage Inu here seemed to be running from something…

…Gajin Four Eyes trying to steal his soul perhaps?

Or maybe those racket making Americans with their warlike aeroplanes of wardom.

Not just I had gone troppo. Here, a local tree attempts to fly a kite.

Ultimately unsuccessful, but kudos for giving it a bash.

Beaver Shot.

I mean, if you had a flash beaver like this, you’d want to show it off to the neighbourhood wouldnt you?

 

Anata no Eigo sensei wa Marvellous desu ka?

Who wouldve thought that a Japanese English language school would have miniature versions of John Campbell teaching madly away in the depths of suburban Tokyo?

Now hows that? A little spooky, but kind of marvellous at the same time.

Ah Japan. Even in a porcine tainted world financialmageddon, they still kick out the jams with a stylin’ PocketCampbell.

Be prepared desu.

Yesterday, Japan’s first swine flu case (in Osaka) was announced on the morning news.

So my mother in law wasted no time in gettin’ to the mask store…

I dunno. I think we need more…

& where is the black one with the skulls? For me? Oh right. I get it. Kuso baba!