Not far from my house there is a big kiwi fruit tree, full of fruit. When I take Owen for a walk that way, I check to see if the fruit is ready, but it`s always been hard... until now. Finally they`re ripe [jukushiteiru]!
Because that tree is in an abandoned field [akichi] - well, it was abandoned while we were walking past on Saturday... - I thought it would be okay to taste one. YUM!
I also took a couple home. Tonight I had one chopped up in a pancake. YUM again!
In 2001 I stayed in a traditional Japanese-style ryokan (guesthouse) in Ohno in Gifu Prefecture. There was a square `irori` cooking pit in the floor of the living room, with a variety of iron hook-and-lever systems(jizaikagi) for holding pots above it.
I made sketches there, then did this 20 x 30cm woodblock print later at home.
On Saturday I went hiking in the hills north of Inuyama castle. The weather was cool but comfortable and the view from the top of the final hill was very clear.
As usual, the people we passed were very friendly & always greeted us. But! Did you know Japanese hikers have their own special greetings?
Instead of "Ohayogozaimasu" (Good morning), they say "zai-MAS!", & instead of "Konichiwa" (Hello), they say "chi-WA!".
I think this is because:
- they don`t have much time when they are passing each other
- they`re trying not to laugh at each other`s strange fashion
My father-in-law had some old wood that he said I could use, so I decided to try to make a bookcase.
It took me a while, and I made lots of mistakes; one reason was because a lot of the wood wasn`t straight. However, I`m creative and - like my finished bookcase - flexible, so I discovered ways around this problem. Some of the techniques I used would make my high-school woodwork teacher`s pens explode from the top of his long socks like rockets if he knew, but in the end I`m pretty happy with the result.
The next big challenge is making my wife let me use it in the house...
![BeachLand]()
`Beachland` sounds like the name of a bad Hollywood movie, but it`s actually a theme park on Chita Penninsula, near Chubu Airport. I went there on Sunday for the first time with my son, wife, & her friends.
My son Owen really enjoyed himself, especially at a big indoor play area for small children, which is full of various toys. He also got excited about some of the sea animals on display, especially the turtles & colorful fish. However, he didn`t seem so interested in the dolphins or seals, which surprised me a little. Maybe he was slightly scared by them.
It takes about one and a half hours by highway from Ichinomiya, which is a little far (especially if you have a hangover after drinking too much wine...) but I recommend it - kids can get really close to a variety of unusual animals, and can even touch some of them.
There are also lots of open, grassy areas, so I think it would be a nice place to go in summer, & have a picnic lunch.
As usual, clicking on the above picture will make it bigger.
I had a good time at the party on Saturday night.
However, I didn`t do very well in the wine tasting challenge. Each team was given 4 wine samples & told to decide which country each was from. Unfortunately an Australian wine - which I usually drink - wasn`t included, & though I sometimes drink Italian wine (e.g. when I go to a great Italian restaurant next to Iwato Station called Manma Cina), the Italian one we were given in the contest was a dessert wine, which I never drink - yuck! Also, I thought American wine was terrible, but I didn`t realise that Argentinian wine is even worse... urgh!
Anyway, in the end my team got zero points. But I wasn`t too shocked; after one of my team members drank his first sample, he asked "Is this wine?" Uh oh...!
Anyway, congratulations to the winners: Parren & his team.
And congratulations to Argentina for making a wine that is worse than $4 American wine!
Tomorrow night (Saturday, Nov.27) is Gifu Teragoya school`s Beaujoulais Nouveau (pronounced "Boo Noo") wine party. There will be a wine-tasting challenge, so I thought I should practice a little tonight...
This is a bottle of Californian Cabernet Sauvignon (pronounced "Koo Soo") I got at Seiyu supermarket for 380 yen (A$4). Wow - even cheaper than Saizeria!
There will also be live music by our gifted Ichinomiya student Kiyotaka. It`s from 6-8pm if you want to go - please join us if you`re free!
This is a woodblock print I did in 2007, using black acrylic paint. I added color (watercolor paint) by hand afterwards.
The size is 20 x 30cm.
I saw these objects in this arrangement in the grounds of a temple somewhere in Yoro. I was out riding my bike & exploring the countryside at that time.
The frame on this one is real!
This is a new series on my blog called "otto-no-arto" (Otto`s Art).
Nowadays I don`t paint or draw much, so some of these pictures are not recent, but I hope you enjoy looking at them anyway.
This is a lino-cut print using acrylic paint. The size is 10cm x 7cm. I made it in 2003.
By the way, the frame isn`t real. I found the frame image on the internet, then I cut & pasted a scan of my picture onto the frame.
Japanese gifts are often wrapped in stylish & colourful paper. I sometimes use this paper for writing letters on, & occasionally I even make matching envelopes from it too. I usually send these letters to my family in Australia - my nephews & neices think they`re cool & interesting.
I don`t think it`s suitable for my Japanese friends though. They think I`m strange enough already.
This is an envelope & writing paper set I made from the packaging on a souvenir I bought in Shikoku.
What do you think? Would you be pleased to receive such a letter?
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