December Gratitude - Day 1

 I am grateful for the time I had with my son over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. He drove up from St. Louis on Wednesday and promptly decided that we needed to set up the Christmas tree. It was a joy to see him happy. 

It was especially nice to have him here to help with snow removal. We did get a lot! By Sunday at lunch time, the drive was melting and drying off. He decided it was a good time to drive home (before another round of snow kept him here longer!)

The time spent together was good. Actually, it was great! He will be back for Christmas. I am looking forward to more quality family time.

Japan: Nara

 Such a fun city! 3000 deer roam the streets looking for biscuits!

I loved how they bowed, asking for biscuits

This is not a deer!

Japan

 A few more shots. There was a fabulous market at the train station. 

A thousand Yen is between 6 and 7.00 American dollars. This shop seemed a little pricey for a few things, but it was downtown in a major city. Really no different that shopping downtown Chicago.  It was fun to "window shop" and enjoy the sights and smells. 

Japan

 Some shots from a shrine in Kyoto:

The fox is very important. He eats the sparrows that eat the rice. I love the bib!

Yes, there were many people here, but I learned to use the eraser feature on my camera phone. 

Middle of the night... can't sleep

 My brain clicked on at midnight. It's now 1:30 am and instead of tossing and turning I might as well do something. We read that turning on a screen isn't the best option, but here I am. There are still photos from Japan to share, art projects in progress, and many ideas floating about. Instead, I am thinking about December Gratitude journaling. Today is Thanksgiving and the thought of sharing thankfulness on only one day seems a little sad. I am thankful for each day and I think a month of expressing my gratitude during the coming days is a grand idea. Today is mini warm-up for what I hope to do for 31 days.

I am grateful for travel and new experiences. No - I didn't eat this, but I did eat some new things that others would not touch. The eel sushi wasn't something I need to eat again, but I tried it. On the other hand, the Sea Bream sushi was delicious. I also looked forward to the picked daikon radishes on the breakfast buffet each morning. 

Now back home, my meals seem a little boring. I'm still grateful for what's on my plate. I wonder how I can make my morning oatmeal glamorous?

Saturday, November 22, 2025 / Can't sleep

 I woke at about 11:30 pm. I certainly needed more rest, but by 1:30 am, I decided that the tossing and turning was getting me no where. I tried drinking a cup of tea, journaling a bit, and stitching on my sashiko jacket. Still no sleepiness in my body. Now - here I am. After some serious thought about my social media commitments, I realized that I really do like to blog. I'm just not good at a consistent flow. I had every intention of daily posts while in Japan, but, time would not allow. Besides, working on a phone instead of PC is very limiting. Do I try to "catch up", or just work at my speed and publish when I can. I vote for enjoying the process.

This is the inside cover of my little journal I worked on in Japan. This page was completed before leaving home, to hopefully encourage daily work. That didn't happen. I am getting together with friends for an art journaling morning this coming week. Will this be my project? Finish the journal before leaving in a short 2 weeks on another trip? Or just create papers and backgrounds for something else. 

Taffy was our first family pet while I was growing up. Her mother was from Japan!

I do like to smash china, cups, bowls, vases, etc. How fitting that a shard from a plate caught my eye to become a piece in my Japan Journal.

Quilt show 3

 I have been a fan of log cabin quilts for a long time. This one did not disappoint 

Quilt show 2

 I found the details to be interesting:

Note that the border is not the same on all four sides.

 

Yokohama Quilt Show

 Where do I start?!? The show was fabulous and I took over 500 photos. Let's just begin: