Where does the time go?

You promise yourself you'll post every day then that gets reduced to 4,3,2 times a week. That becomes an easy once a week, I mean anyone can keep up with that right? Two weeks have passed and there has been an empty inbox in this corner of cyber space. Gomen ne? as they say here, a friendly way of saying I apologise and hope you'll find within to forgive my errant ways:-)

I should justify my absence by remarking that no laurels have been rested upon here. I am closing in on the one tonne mark of pet items packed, wrestled with, got stuck to and eventually shipped from Okinawa to mainland.My furbs are wondering if they'll ever get that shady corner of the living room back again, especially since the Okinawan sun has been putting in full work days in the last few weeks.

So I'm boarding a plane again, then a bus, then another train and most likely a taxi. Door to accommodation door: 12 hours.Quick rest and on the road again. I've mapped out two hokenjyo visits and a third is pending. What happens in between is anyone's guess.

I had two very special phone calls this week. The first was from a lady you met earlier, Miyuki san. Her dogs are doing well and the big news is that they got their electricity back. Think about your longest blackout and then multiply it by three months.Oh, and throw no running water into that mix too.She is busying herself with collecting yukatas for the young ladies and jinbei for the men in her village so they can celebrate their annual summer festival in the proper traditional attire. A Yukata is made of light cotton with vivid summer motifs printed on it. Nearly all village summer festivals throughout Japan see the womenfolk don these pieces of art. I'm going to stop off at the mall on the way home to-day to see if I can find any with Okinawan motifs on them.

My second, I picked up the phone and heard a voice bubbling with good news. GENERAL rule of thumb for relaying important information in Japanese conversations: Preface your point with a few token banal utterances. Weather is a good neutral starting point. As is the rhetorical "are you well?" to which a nod or an affirmation is made and the courtesy inquiry is then reciprocated. Conversing parties agree, all is well or weather is (insert adjective) and now you can smoothly progress to topic at hand. The voice said "I'm getting my cats back today......... Kate, is that you?" ...... in that order. Fu, Mi, and Shou are going home, in fact as I write this they are with their human mum again. I'm hoping my volunteer trip this week will take me by their new temporary living quarters so I maybe pop in and say hi.
don't you just love happy endings?:-)