Just because I'm in America doesn't mean that photos from Kyoto's stop, because I've got gazoodles of them waiting in the wings. I'd earlier thought I'd be able to use this trip to catch up on my Kyoto photos, not realizing the family photo opportunities that awaited us here (playing with a toy backhoe, a visit to a farm, a round of kid golf, or even my son wearing a sweater I wore when I was five years old).

Today I dip into my archives to last month's visit to Kyoto's Giouji Temple (祇王寺), to follow up on the post [...]

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I woke up this morning to find an exceedingly pleasant day, partly sunny, with a mild breeze. It was very disappointing.

The forecast had been for typhoon #4 to blast right into us at about 9am, which would have made for quite a bit of excitement. Having grown up in Midwest America, I enjoy a good thunderstorm or the frenzied winds of an occasional typhoon. Sadly, it sped up and went way to the south, leaving its last rain in our area at around midnight. Sigh, we never get any fun.

Kyoto is normally hazy (often exceedingly so), but it's [...]

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Lately, it seems we're on the receiving end of gifts of upscale edibles. On the heals of yesterday's matsutake mushrooms, today we enjoyed the cantaloupe we received from Nils' mom when I visited her house in Miyagawa-cho the other day.

(At least I think the English translation is "cantaloupe." It has green flesh like a muskmelon, but a webbed outer rind like a cantaloupe.)

Fumie has a knack for pleasing presentations (such as these strawberries), and she didn't disappoint, preparing it nicely, adding a few strawberries for color, and some cookies around the plate for balance. Anthony had the idea [...]

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