Enjoy the journey.

Tag: JET program (Page 3 of 3)

Ishigaki Island

 

By Gem
278Well here we are, back at work and back from three days in Okinawa. We had a wonderful time in the Yaeyama Islands and feel much better for it, despite receiving a scrape or two from some coral as well as a really stupid-looking triangle I managed to burn around my glowing white butt.

The triangle is brown now. The butt is still white.

With the end of third term, our Japan countdown has started. It’s only eleven months now until we’ll be back in Australia and we’re starting to feel a certain amount of pressure to make the most of our remaining time. With that in mind, we figured, it’s summer, the kids are on break and hotel air conditioning is included in the price. What better time for a trip away?

240Ishigaki starts being lovely as soon as you land. Kin made a dash for the luggage carousel, while I made one for the Ladies, but even those activities were made more pleasant than on the mainland. The orchid decorating the washbasins was deep gold, cheerful and actually alive. Meeting Kin at the carousel, it was the same; the entire airport was full of colourful plants and aquariums with brilliant local sea life. 247

Ishigaki is basically a tourist trap; a pleasant, reasonably-priced tourist trap that actually has the history and the natural attractions to back up its reputation. They want to be certain that your time is enjoyable from start to finish, I suppose, so the airport was just the first step.

The Ishigaki landscape looks a lot like Northern NSW or Queensland if it had been settled by Thai or Chinese people. The architecture is completely different to our area of Japan; lots of very solid, blocky little ground-hugging structures with very different lines and shapes to the ones in Honshu. Also a lot of cement! I suppose there isn’t a lot of hardwood available in a climate like that and you can tell that they must see some really nasty weather sometimes.

315We’d booked rooms at a basic (but nice) Minshuku, so we hopped off our bus at the ferry port, found it very quickly (thank you, Google Maps!) then dumped our bags and headed out to find bikes to rent.

Now I know I usually rave about bikes being the best way to see a place, but I will actually admit this isn’t the case on Ishigaki. The recommended way of getting around the island is by rental car and I can definitely see why; the cars are very cheap and the island is very hilly! Nevertheless, we boarded our gearless mama-charis and headed off to adventure.

314We spent a LOT of time on those bikes over the next three days. DAMN does that island have a lot of hills! We managed to survive the experience, see a lot and have a lovely time, but if you can, just rent the car. You’ll be happier in the long run.

Most of our time was spent cycling the (many, many) hills of Ishigaki or exploring the awesome coral at Yonehara Beach; we spent two extremely happy days on that reef alone (I could probably spend the rest of my life there).

288 329 327 306Still, we did manage to haul ourselves away on our last day to visit Taketomi Island, which along with a star-sand beach and its own selection of fabulous reefs also has a very, very old town, which has maintained a very traditional Okinawan style of living.464

It also has some seriously nice sugar-cane icecream, which Kin ordered and I promptly stole after tasting (he stole my mango sorbet).461

Sadly, we didn’t get to Iriomote Island. We only had three full days on the islands and we spent most of them on Ishigaki. To be honest, we probably should have based ourselves on Iriomote instead, but Ishigaki coral is amazing and the town has attractions of its own; the food is cheap and awesome. Soba is a bit of an island specialty, and they serve it in a variety of ways, but it was mostly the preparation and seasoning of the food, rather than differences in the specific dishes, that made it all so enjoyable. 346345

The green bubbles above are umi budou (sea grape) , a really, really delicious, crunchy seaweed that was served as an entrée at a few of the restaurants. Apparently we are much too far north to be able to get it in Shiga (we have the nasty, petrol-flavoured, scraped-off-a-rock hajiki instead) but I’m already dispatching spies in Australia to hunt for it during their coastal and ocean photography missions.

Perhaps most importantly, we pursued our joint hobby of finding and irritating crabs of various species. The Yaeyama islands are the hermit-crabbinest place I’ve ever been, and we managed to aggravate individuals both large and small.336 337

We strongly recommend Ishigaki and the rest of the Yaeyama islands to homesick Australians and people who enjoy nature tourism. They also have a lot to offer people who enjoy a bit of luxury on a tropical island, but we didn’t do those bits, so if that’s what you’re into, you’ll have to Google it.

Kin is popping some more of our photos up in an album on our Facebook page, so click here for lots of pictures of furious crabs!

Gem

XX

P.S. I’ve tried to avoid giving you a bunch of boring travel details, but if anyone is actually planning a trip and wants to know more about getting to or staying at Ishigaki, I’d be thrilled to share!

At The Moment…

Kimchee PastaGem is doing her best to duplicate California Girls’ amazing kimchee pasta recipe.

Red EyeKin is trying exciting new things. (Note: Trying exciting new things is not always a good idea, especially if they involve beer and tomatoes in the same can)

FireworksWe are seeing these beauties almost every weekend. Gotta love the Japanese summer; the heat is intense but the fireworks make up for it.

IMG_0303We are trying out our wonderful new camera! (Visitors to our Facebook page may have already seen “The Blair Wasp Project” one of Kin’s first experiences with the Powershot; we are very, very happy that it’s a Toughcam!)

Cool Japan (tanuki)

We are showing new JETs around our wonderful town.

IMG_0316We have run out of pins AGAIN, working on the photo wall.

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We are counting down until Gem’s mother comes to visit!

What’s going on in your world at the moment?

Gem and Kin

Right Now…

We mostly wanted to write a quick note to say that Gem has started a Facebook page! So if you want to, you can like us over there, without getting constant naggy emails every time we post.

Other things that are going on in our world right now are:

IMG_5653Kin has been sketching at work (this is Timbuktu, his visit school coworker).

IMG_5148We are enjoying final farewells with friends.

IMG_5318Gem is making a lot of salad (the last of the iceberg lettuce need to be used RIGHT now, before the heat dissolves it into pots of sludge; the leafing varieties are still going strong).
IMG_5491We are enjoying warm summer nights in beautiful places. This is the August illumination at Kodaiji, a lesser-known temple in Kyoto in one of our favourite areas.
IMG_5656Gem has started this book (under Kin’s guidance) and can feel new synapses fizzing into existence. For an example of Gem’s current artistic ability, please look here.
IMG_5227We are relishing everything a Nagahama summer has to offer!

Bring on August!

Coffee Body Scrub

fixed-coffee-stuff

WE-ARE-SO-TIRED!

Kin can’t sleep at night because of the heat so, of course, I can’t sleep either. In the morning, when it is a little cooler, I can’t sleep because of the bright sun so, of course, nor can Kin! We’re a very sad and weary pair right now and have been for about a month.

On the other hand, our next-door neighbours have a new baby that, no matter which one of us is awake, at whatever time, we always seem to hear crying. That’s put our problems into some perspective; at least we’re getting some sleep! That couple must be so exhausted, I’m sure they’re close to crying as much as the baby.

So, after a bad night’s sleep and a hard day’s work, what better way is there to rejuvenate myself than with a lovely, home-made coffee (thank you, Kin!) and a lovely homemade coffee body scrub?

Recycling Coffee Grounds

Usually, Kin’s used coffee grounds end up in the same place as my used tea leaves; fertilising our leafy greens! Recently, though, I’ve started swiping them for a different purpose. I don’t know if it’s a Japan thing or just my local area, but I have searched far and wide for a body scrub with no success at all. I DID find one tiny little tube of salt scrub which, not to mention how expensive it was, would be an absolute nightmare for my dry, cranky skin. So I’ve started making my own!

To start with I just scoured myself with the plain grounds, but after a bit of thinking, a bit of Googling and a bit of experimentation, I’ve come up with a recipe that makes me fairly happy.

Coffee Body Scrub

I’ll do this in ratios, because not everyone uses Australian measures:

– 1 part coffee grounds

– 1 part brown sugar (what they call “brown” here is more like the stuff we call “raw” in Oz)

– 1/3 part olive oil

– Cocoa powder and vanilla essence.

I just mix all of these things together in a bowl, pop it into a little bathroom pot with a lid and voila! A gorgeous, extremely cheap scrub that works really, really well.

IMG_5634This scrub is honestly a bit too rough for the face (although I have no choice, so I’m using it anyway, just very gingerly). But for the bod, it’s perfect and it smells absolutely divine. I chuck the cocoa and vanilla in there just to add to the scent (it stays on the skin so nicely). I know that cocoa flavenoids are supposed to be beneficial for skin health, but I’m pretty sure you need to ingest the stuff, not just slap it on yourself and hope. Ditto topical caffeine from the coffee; I’m pretty sure it needs to stay on the skin, not just get rubbed on and rinsed off.

This scrub would probably be really luxurious if you had sweet almond oil, or glycerine or all sorts of other things that I wouldn’t be able to get here. But even with plain old olive oil, I’m happy.

For those manly folk who are scoffing at my recipe, I have one word for you: Solvol. But home-made, recycled-ingredient Solvol. Interested now? Every bearded eco-warrior needs something to get the bicycle grease or planting dirt off their hands. It’s also good for beard dandruff or product buildup in your hair (although warning to blondes; we also discovered it will stain pale things, including hair!).

IMG_5636I love finding new ways of using things and this scrub has been a real winner. And even if I’m taking some of the lettuce’s coffee grounds away from them, as long as this weather keeps up, Kin will keep producing plenty more! Are there any other uses for coffee grounds or tea leaves that I’m missing?

Gem

XX

July was….

IMG_1085Swallows nesting EVERYWHERE.

IMG_5316Yakiniku dinners with our lovely new pan.

2013-07-04 10.06.27Tanabata wishes!

IMG_1224Some changes from green rice fields.

IMG_5290Crops of summer vegies from our balcony garden (the zucchini and beans have been especially great).

412406_399036620156026_1586376513_oEarly morning trips to (or from!) Kyoto.

IMG_1303Lots of cycling in the hills on our old Mama-charis.

sushiCool sushi dinners (with cool dinner beers)

IMG_5266Lots and lots of wasps and hornets!  We both like them, but everyone else seems to have a problem.

IMG_1109Nagahama folk just chilling until the weather cools back down.

July was warm, wonderful and full of quiet adventures. We said goodbye to so many friends, but we don’t feel sad; we’re grateful we met them (and are already looking forward to times when their travels take them to Oz)!

To all the new JETS, welcome! Here’s to August and the great times we’re going to have!

Gem and Kin

XX

Surprises (NOT Kyuushoku Style!)

What a busy day! But all in nice ways. It’s late now, and I’m sitting at my desk, sipping a cold glass of mugicha and savouring the warm glow of knowing that the English cupboard is clean…. while trying to ignore the cold chill of knowing that the English ROOM is not….

I need to find a happy distraction! Luckily this has been a week full of wonderful discoveries.

Discovery 1 – Terrifying Tea Ceremony Lady isn’t scary at all when she’s at home!
Chelsie's Tea ClassHer hair still doesn’t move very much, though!

The Anglo-Saxon in the photo is Kelpie, our friend. She is now a level-one qualified teaologist, and is now permitted to fly solo (with the lower-level ceremonies).
Tea Ceremony has not been the stiff, difficult experience I was afraid of; it’s all turned out to be wonderfully gossipy and warm! These ladies are, of course, extremely beautiful in their movements (not to mention extremely kind about my maladroit efforts to imitate them) but they’re also super-cheery and happy to chat while we practice.

Discovery 2 – This little nest of gargoyles directly above the door of one of my favourite glass shops!
Baby swallowsIt’s summer in Nagahama and the swallows are raising their clutches in traffic lights, street signs and every other cranny they can manage to stuff mud into! I love watching the babies squeak and wheeze whenever anything comes near them (then collapse with exhaustion at the effort of holding up those enormous heads), but I love watching their parents even more. Swallows really seem to ENJOY flying, don’t they? The way they twist and swoop between the buildings to feed their asthmatic progeny is one of the more beautiful parts of summer.

Discovery 3 – This guy:
2013-06-16 14.38.10Within the peaceful-seeming collection of pots in my balcony garden, lurks this merciless predator, existing only to slaughter and consume.

THANK HEAVENS!

Since the weather warmed up, my aphid problem has been getting ridiculous. I’ve been having to wash the lettuce four times before we can finally eat it, and the health of my plants has been badly affected. I prefer to be a lassaiz-faire gardener wherever possible, but I was actually getting to the point where I was about to mix up some soap spray and declare war on the little swine. Until my secret weapon appeared, in the form of that baby ladybeetle!

Like baby swallows, baby ladybeetles aren’t the most beautiful of young creatures, but no mother’s heart could have swelled with more joy than mine when I spotted that particular little one. Since then, more have started appearing and my aphid problem should be sorted in a matter of weeks.

Discovery 4 – I love Pilates!

I know, right? What’s next, Tai-Bo? Seriously, though, Pilates is the good stuff. I know I look fairly healthy (and, in general, am) but I have some long-term pain issues that sometimes put a fairly serious crimp in my efforts to be awesome. Basically, where your spine is supposed to curve in your upper back and neck, mine goes straight up and down; which makes my posture look SPECTACULAR at ceremonies, but which causes me a lot of everyday pain and is a big reason why I drink so much wine in the evenings.

In an effort to STOP drinking so much wine in the evenings, I’ve been working hard with a physio  for some months now, and at his urging, finally took a Pilates class.

HOLY CRAP.

Pilates is about gently stretching and exercising your limbs, while ripping the HELL out of your core. This might not seem applicable to my neck and shoulder issues, but basically everything you can do to strengthen your core will help with your overall posture. I need to keep working my neck and shoulders with the Physio, but I think it’s safe to leave my lower back and core in the hands of Pilates for now.

Discovery 5 – Tadpoles in the paddy fields.

IMG_1232Just in general, Kin and I both tend to be fairly strong tadpole enthusiasts. But before you dismiss our joys as irrelevant, be aware that there are good reasons for everyone to be happy to hear croaking coming from the rice fields at night.

Basically, pretty much EVERY environmental toxin kills frogs. Pesticides kill frogs. Herbicides kill frogs. Heavy metals kill or deform frogs. ARTIFICIAL FERTILISERS can kill frogs! Frogs are like a food canary, dropping off their perches wherever agriculture gets too poisonous.

I’m Australian. Anyone who has ever had to go through Australian Customs understands that we tend to be somewhat cautious about disease. And when I say “cautious”, really I mean “obsessively paranoid”. I’m not even kidding. If we could irradiate all guests and their luggage at an only barely sublethal level, we probably would, but we can’t because we’re also paranoid about radiation. We even tend to be fairly cautious about pesticide and heavy metal pollution, not because we pollute less than other people (we’re really not very virtuous), but because we have a lot of space and these things just don’t get a chance to build up as much as in other countries.  As a rural and an organic gardener, I’m probably even more paranoid that most.

But when you see FROGS sitting around in your food, you know it’s not as bad as all that. Sure, there’s probably a lot going on that I still don’t want to know about, but any lingering nasties are a lot less likely to be hanging around in water that has several generations of frogs sitting in it.

Discovery 6 – These lovelies in the hills around town!

IMG_1342Kin and I both adore berries and I always have an eye out for free food, so we were thrilled to spot these wild raspberries and alpine strawberries on one of our weekend bike rides. The flavour of the raspberries isn’t as sweet and full as that of our garden cultivars and there will never be any comparing these little wild strawberries to the real thing, but they were a light and refreshing reward for a very long, hot bike ride and a wonderful treat for a pair whose food budget won’t be able to stretch much further this week!

Discovery 7 – This beetle not only looks awesome, it SQUEAKS when you annoy it!

IMG_2443Seriously, it sounds like a furious rubber duck! Kin and I are going to hunt out as many of these guys as we can, and then we’re going to POKE every single one of them!

(Well, the kids are all going on holiday soon. We need SOMETHING to annoy!)

What surprises are in your world this week? How is winter treating the Australians out there?

Keep it happy,

Gem
XX

Tanabata Projects

From http://from-japan-with-love.blogspot.jp/2010/07/tanabata-star-festival.html

From http://from-japan-with-love.blogspot.jp/2010/07/tanabata-star-festival.html

Tanabata (Australians might know the Chinese version, Qixi) is one of the nicest festivals of the year. In Shiga, there are several days of celebration, culminating on July 7th. This is the day that the cowherd prince Hikoboshi (Altair) and the weaver princess Orihime (Vega), separated by Heaven for neglecting their duties, are able to cross the Amanogawa (the Milky Way) to meet and reaffirm their love for one another.

Unfortunately, if it rains on this day, the lovers are unable to meet. Since Tanabata falls smack in the middle of the summer rainy season, you can imagine this happens quite a lot!

This year, the Nagahama skies were clear, so I guess the celestial couple successfully got it on. This also meant that there were no impediments to the humans wanting to celebrate the festival! There are some truly spectacular Tanabata celebrations out there, but ours was pleasantly low key. One of the major Tanabata traditions is writing wishes on pieces of colourful paper and tying them to bamboo branches, which are hung outside houses, shops and, at my school, classrooms.

 

2013-07-04 10.06.27 2013-07-04 10.08.33

Traditionally, girls wished for skills in needlework, while boys wished for good handwriting. These days, the kids wish for all sorts of things, but the emphasis is still on skills and personal improvement. For example, they might wish for certain personal attributes, such as being hardworking or cheerful, increased skills in games or schooling, or for good relationships with their peers.

This little one has wished to be good friends with all of the people around her.

This little one has wished to be good friends with all of the people around her.

 

This first grader has broken with tradition; his wish is to collect an entire set of mushroom stickers!

This first grader has broken with tradition; his wish is to collect an entire set of mushroom stickers!

2013-07-04 10.10.51With all of this decorating and wishing going on, I shouldn’t really have been surprised to start finding things like THIS on my desk; strips of paper in various colours along with requests to know MY wishes for the year.

It was actually really hard to think of one thing to wish for in front of my kids! My eventual wish was very obvious, but completely sincere: I want to be much, much better at Japanese by the time I have to go home. Some of my kids were sweet enough to say the same thing about English!

2013-07-05 14.24.58

Still, while Japanese is a major learning area for me, it’s not the only thing I want to study this year!  So, what other skills should I ask the star lady for this Tanabata…?

Kin is starting glass blowing classes (In this heat! I’m worried he might actually die!) and will be coming with me to my cooking lessons when the new round starts. This week I begin tea ceremony classes with a truly terrifying lady whose hair never, ever moves (the Japanese ladies pay hundreds for classes with this woman, but she seems to want to encourage ladylike behavior in her butch Australian neighbour, so I escape for about twenty bucks a month).
Less excitingly, I will:

  • Learn to braid my hair. Probably not as well as this (done by the ladies down the road, including the terrifying one) but I can at least make a start.

77452_431260703600284_1198629207_o

  • Learn to swim (properly). I’m Australian, so of course I can sploosh around in the water safely and even surf a bit. But I never learned to be a strong swimmer, and I never learned an overarm style. The HoneyJew is a swimming instructor back in the states, so I’ve asked her to help me out.
  • Poach a blasted egg! I’m a fair cook, but poached eggs and scones are two areas that have thus far completely eluded me. Scones can wait till next winter, but by golly, poached eggs are happening this month!
  • Finally learn to bloody knit and finish this wretched scarf for Kin. For the last two years, I have picked the damn thing up, done a few rows, made a mistake, unpicked a few rows, done a few more and then put it down again. This time, it’s happening!

2013-07-08 20.34.38

  • Learn to draw! This is my current, sorrowful ability level: 2013-07-09 09.30.30

But Kin, Master Illustrator, is going to teach me! I’ll keep you updated with my progress (if any).
I love thinking about all the new things we’re going to learn! It’s so exciting! Does anyone else have any plans for Tanabata projects? What would you like to learn this year?

Gem

XX

June, 2013: Our Kyoto

We took our Aussie friends to town,IMG_1585
To play and play and play.
But once we all hopped off the train,
Our playful went away!

First we used our GPS,
And walked and walked and walked.
Our tired guests enjoyed themselves,
But weary feet soon balked.

Then we all hopped on a bus
And stood and stood and stood.
Hemmed in by sweaty, smelly folk
With elbows made of wood.

Now we’re wiser; we rent bikes
To fly and fly and flyIMG_1722
From Fushimi to Gion
And Shijo Shotengai

From Tofukiji we set forth
To Sanjusangendo.
We followed Kamogawa’s path
To party town Sanjo.

From here on in, I’m telling you
It’s true, it’s true, it’s true!
Cycling in Kyoto town’s
The only thing to do!

Well…

Okay, that’s something of an exaggeration; Kyoto is awesome, however you choose to hit it and the Kyoto buses (¥500 all-day passes FTW!) are definitely not the worst way to get around.

What’s NOT an exaggeration, however, is the COMPLETE awesomeness of using bicycles to get around the city. Kyoto has a large population, but it doesn’t really cover that much ground. It was built in a valley back when people still had to walk everywhere, so almost everything you’ll want to see is actually quite close to the centre of the city.

Kin and I have been hitting the Kyoto roads pretty hard lately (thank you, Google Maps!). We used to try and do one or two big things each time we went there, but the bikes have made the whole thing so comfortable and familiar that now we just hop off the train and sort of drift; hence the number of locations in the above (terrible) poem!

Sanjusangendo

Our Kyoto

Is different every time! This week, we felt like a nice relaxing afternoon in the city. Nothing special, just a bit of shopping, a bit of a stroll, that sort of thing.

(If you’re suffering from travel fatigue and fancy a day like that, Kyoto has you covered.)

Most of our day was spent wandering in Gion and in the Shijo shopping district (a massive area which we still haven’t even BEGUN to explore, despite spending hours under its awnings). Kin was in search of art books, preferably second-hand, while I just fancied an amble. Even if you’re not much of a shopper, there is still an awful lot of interesting stuff in this area, and the ride to and from is simply lovely, whichever route you pick.

IMG_1537Kin found some excellent books while I admired the pretty ladies and earmarked some shops for more thorough investigation at a later date. Then, off we went to Sanjo!

Sanjo is a wonderful place and not nearly famous enough as a destination for visitors. Like most of Kyoto, it has some pretty solid history (involving the Shinsengumi), but if you’re a young party fiend, this is honestly the area you should check out on a Saturday night.

IMG_1666Kin and I are NOT young party fiends, but we have been befriended by several, so we’ve spent our fair share of time on the banks of the Kamo, sipping on beers and watching the street performers. Even if you aren’t in the mood for an all-nighter, watching the river after a long day’s touristing (even surrounded by this much activity) can be surprisingly restful.

IMG_1723

However:

I wouldn’t really recommend this itinerary for a non-local visiting the city, though, especially if you’re only dropping by for the day.

I will never give anyone orders about what should go and see in Kyoto, because it’s KYOTO. There are an incredible amount of different experiences available, which you should decide on based on the time available and your own tastes.

IMG_1547

IMG_1553

Cycling is simply the best way to tie those experiences together. It turns Kyoto into a CITY, not just a collection of locations. The cycling time feels more restful than its bus-based equivalent and makes for a much more relaxing time, with none of those low-blood-sugar-rushing-for-the-bus squabbles that are so easy to get into when travelling.

So, for those who are interested, I give you:

How To Experience Kyoto In This Most Perfect Of Ways

Man, I’m going to regret telling y’all this… There may never be a bike free again.

Okay, the way we do it is this: we get off the train at Kyoto station (if you have bags, you can rent a locker) and walk in a straight line for about ten minutes. Our destination is this place:IMG_1502

http://kyoto.j-hoppers.com/

J-Hoppers is a hostel chain which, along with K’s House, we’ve had good experiences with. In Kyoto, we often don’t go there to stay, however, we go there because they provide the most awesome service ever: Rental bicycles! For ¥100 per hour (or ¥500 for the whole day and evening) your chariot awaits! There is a small amount of paperwork involved (just in case you’re actually a gang of international bike thieves). The bikes are pretty crappy, but are more than enough for city hopping. Just try to get one with a basket. You’ll thank me for that advice as soon as you buy ANYTHING.

If you don’t feel like walking that far, there are a lot of other options for renting cycles which are closer to the station; we’re just cheap and ¥500 is hard to argue with!

Then, choose a location on Maps (or download a cycling map), and off you go. Feel free to get sidetracked by the many wonderful things you’ll see on the way!

IMG_1522 L  Let me know about your trips in the area! Kyoto is always full of treasures and I’d love to see other people’s finds.

Happy travels!

Gem

XX

The Wonderful Weekend – and – Gem Gets Bossy

EDIT: Up until this point, En Route had been a forum for Gem to complain bitterly about the school lunches provided in Nagahama. This entry marks the point at which the two of us started journal-keeping; the complaints are still available at Kyuushockers.

By Gem

Kin and I wound up doing some fabulously exciting things in May. Clubbing in Osaka, parties on boats, capsule hotels and trips to Gifu, not to mention lots and lots of travel to all sorts of wonderful festivals.

401005_528406003885753_1264102096_n 947315_528406633885690_1384460149_n 

Trouble is, we’re just not fabulously exciting people. We had a fantastic time at all of these events (which is why we keep getting invited, heaven help us) but we tend to need a bit of time between parties to recharge. This weekend, we did hardly anything… okay, we did go to the firefly festival in Moriyama  and we also did a four-hour bike ride yesterday, but that was just the two of us and was strictly local. This weekend has been recovery time. Time to do our housework, time to exercise (hence the bike ride), time to spend together. And we’re both feeling so much better for it. I’m about to plan our menu for the week, Kin is making me a pot of tea and the breadmaker is grunting contentedly to itself in the corner (it’s name is Oinky; when it starts kneading, it sounds like a relaxed truffle pig). When the time comes to go back to school tomorrow, I’ll be ready.

This Week’s “Awwwwww”

2013-05-29 14.47.10

This girl’s writing practice sheet might be the cutest thing I’ve seen this year. My favourite is the one in the pool.

This Week’s Nightmare Creation

2013-03-07 16.22.28

From the same fourth grade classroom. I’m not 100% sure who’s responsible for this one, but I have a few guesses.

Time at home this weekend has given me a chance to do something else; something I’m about to become demanding about.

Starting Out in Summer – Or – Do Some Gardening, You Lazy Tossers

Southern hemisphere friends can ignore this (although if it’s anyone from my Newcastle, I KNOW you can still get some broccoli and herbs in, not to mention English spinach). I’ve been bossy about this before, as I recall and I’m about to get bossy again. Whether you’re a lazy person or a busy person, there is something all of you need to do with your time:

Grow some bloody herbs

Do it!

There.

For a Lazy Person, having a few herbs and greens about the place takes so much stress out of the “Oh crap, people have come over and I have a loaf of bread and two tomatoes. What the fuck am I going to give them?” supply situations our people are so prone to. Toast that bread, chuck some chopped tomato on top with a bit of torn basil and some black pepper and BOOM! Bruschetta! (of sorts…) 2013-06-09 14.12.56

For the Busy Person, it makes even more sense; the investment-return ratio for gardening is better than anything I can think of except regular exercise and the biggest cost will be your time (which you always have too much of anyway).

But I Don’t Have A Garden!

Location isn’t that important for either group; I’m one of the laziest people I know, and I’m still sprouting seeds indoors and bunging stuff in scavenged pots on a balcony where my watering can freezes in winter and the surfaces scorch in summer. If you have anything outdoors at all, a courtyard, a wide windowsill, a veranda, you have NO excuse not to grow a few things to make life easier, no matter how lazy you are.

(Unless you don’t ever cook, in which case you’ll get me started on a whole new naggy lecture).

In the Summer Time…

Most of the northern hemisphere has warmed up bee-yoo-tifully by now, which means that it’s the perfect time for a lazy entrance into the world of gardening. Anything you plant now will grow like the blazes, giving you that nice, speedy bit of positive reinforcement so necessary for we lazy folk beginning an endeavour. 2013-06-09 14.22.28

My pots are filled with an assortment of winter survivors (like chives, that lurk underground and don’t seem to mind freezing) and spring additions, although I have a lot of work to put in for the summer veg in the near future. The spinach, broccolini and lettuce are producing, we should have our first zucchini and beans this week and I have a new batch of seeds ready to pop in any time. My summer garden is well underway. Let’s start on yours!

Step One – PLAN

What do you want to grow? Of course, everything; but when you consider the time and space you have available, you might want to start limiting your options a bit.

Things to consider are:

–          Ease of growing (which is one reason why I recommend starting with herbs; they don’t make unreasonable demands about sunlight, water and weed-free soil AND they grow much faster than many vegetables)

–          Ease of access (is this something you can buy cheaply and easily anyway? I’m not growing aubergines, because they are one of the cheapest vegetables available here)

–          Availability of space (not just in your garden, but in your food-storage. To me, it is very much worth growing lettuce, just because my fridge is too small to always keep it on hand. Ditto green onions, because they wilt in the crisper. A potato crop, on the other hand, would give me a HUGE storage problem)

2013-06-09 14.22.48

Storage is easier in the garden than the fridge; and it’s always there when you need it!

So plan, review and, for the love of Inari, START SMALL. If you get over-enthused and fill up every bed or container you have in the place, it’s likely to all become a bit much the first time you have a bad week and can’t water. A couple of basil plants and some thyme in a pot is a perfectly reasonable beginning and you can keep building from there. I started Spring with chives, lettuce, basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, flat leaf parsley, broccolini, cucumbers and beans. This has expanded to include zucchini, cherry tomatoes, lemon balm, dill, sage and pak choy and is likely to expand still further.

The other reason to start small is for continued cropping. If you check my balcony photos, you’ll notice quite a few empty pots, or gaps in the current ones. These are for future crops of lettuce and beans, which will be planted a few weeks from now, to ensure a continued supply. If you’ve already filled up all the available space, you’ll have one big harvest, then nothing for a couple of months.

Step Two: PURCHASE (or scavenge or whatever)

The major things you’ll need are containers and soil. (People who have some actual ground to garden in can ignore this bit, but you’d better go out and start preparing a bed. More on this in future posts, if anyone’s interested.)

Containers are fairly easy; if you’re cashed up you can buy some really lovely ones, but even if you’re broke, acquiring containers is as simple as going to your local fruit and vegie shop and requesting their used Styrofoam boxes. Broccoli boxes are best, but don’t forget to cut drainage holes in the bottom! Soil is a little more tricky; if you’re lucky enough to have gardening friends, they may be kind enough to share their compost with you (although don’t bet on it; compost is precious) but to be honest, you’re probably just going to have to buy some. Yes, it’s expensive, but if you work one container at a time, it shouldn’t murder your budget too badly and you will soon start saving grocery money. I purchased the two classy-looking green containers, but scavenged the rest from a neighbour’s large trash pickup.

Fertiliser could also be useful, but isn’t essential. A nice organic liquid one is good for pots, but there are some good granule-types available too, which have the added advantage of being slow release. If you can’t afford fertilisers to begin with, don’t worry about it. Herbs are also lovely and undemanding about nutrition, whatever the label on their seed-packet tries to tell you.

If you’re really broke, apparently human urine can be a good fertiliser for balcony plants, but it needs to be VERY dilute; one part urine to ten parts water. You also need to be sure that there aren’t any nasties in your urine; not simply diseases like hepatitis, but any bits and

Saladcat

There’s WHAT on the rocket?

pieces left over from what you ingest. For example, I use hormonal contraceptives, so there’s no way I can try this out.  To be honest, it’s probably safer not to pee near plants you plan to eat, just to avoid the gross-out factor if you realise halfway through your salad that you forgot to wash the lettuce. This method should be fine for flowers and other ornamentals, though.

Step Three: PLANT

The fun bit! But what should you plant, seedlings or seed?

Growing plants from seed is far, far cheaper and can often give healthier, better-growing plants, especially for ones prone to transplant shock. It’s a good way for the experienced or time-rich gardener to go.

HOWEVER: if you’re a first-time grower, I recommend starting with seedlings and potted herbs. You’ll see much faster results and gain much faster satisfaction. We’re lazy people, remember; we need quick rewards to keep ourselves going, especially in the early days.  A couple of herbs and a punnet of lettuce and you’ll be eating your own salad in under a month, which is a wonderful bit of positive reinforcement.

I’ve gone with half and half; the beans, cucumber and a lot of the lettuce have been grown from seed, while most of the herbs, the broccoli and four lettuce plants were purchased.

There you go. You’re ready. Omelette aux fines herbes is within your grasp within the next month; IF you get started now.

Get growing!

Gem

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