Neighbourhood Flower Watch

Walking to work today I spied this lovely tree, or bush, or is it a hedgey shrub?
I snapped these pics with the ubiquitous instagram.
(I'm a bit tentative with instagram, not quite sure of it yet, but gosh it is handy)





After some internet searching I've decided it's a japonica, also known as a flowering quince.
If anybody out there can confirm or deny this I would be most pleased.
I think my squashy, murky garden could benefit from one.

Osaka sniff

Stopping to smell the plastic subway flowers.
Stopping to smell real flowers that looked like wild little flames. I want my garden aflame with these!

home

We are back!
The trip was magnificent.
The exhibition was well received, many friends were hugged, songs were karaoked and the season was most definitely summer.

I don't have many good photos of the exhibition at the moment, but as soon as I get my hands on them I'll put them up. In the meantime here's a bunch of happy Tokyo times in our friend Shoko's house.

Hydrangeas - ajisai - were everywhere, and lined the local train tracks.

There were small animal parades all over the house.

 

Shoko made us a delicious, multi-plated dinner.
All the vegetables came from her parents' garden near Sendai.

 

 

Animal parade!

 

Breakfast with a polar bear speaker.

Thank you Shoko and Shinya for having us!!!!!

nippy but nice

On June 6th "Snow was falling; snow had fallen all day. The sky spread like a grey goose’s wing from which feathers were falling.." The Years, by Virginnia Woolf

I live across the road from a park - everyone should do this.
It's spectacular all the time, particularly on the morning after a snow day.

wheeeeeeee Japan in 2 days!

Kim and Linda (the other two ladies organising this extravaganza) left for Japan yesterday.
Ignoring such pressing matters as preparing a presentation, washing clothes and doing the dishes, I decided to make them a handy dandy dictionary to help them in their first few days in Tokyo.



As Gareth is the only thing I can competantly draw from memory his face features on nearly every page.

 


Nippon wa ii desu ne!

nippon ni ikimasu!

In one week Gareth and I will be back in Japan for the Shared Lines exhibition. We are crazy excited to be going back and for such an exciting reason too.
The website is now up and running, so take a look!

With temperatures in Christchurch below zero, a smattering of ice, snow and bitter winds,  a Japan summer is looking quite attractive right now.
This is what we plan to do..
 

 

izakayas/karaoke/sunshine pineapple chuhais/kakigori/summertime

300th post

The kittens feature in a music video made by my friend Hamish.
Celebratory!

Remember you can buy these little fellows at my felt store

watch this!

 

For my birthday I would like a 1990's New York debutante ball please.

leaf love

AUTUMN AUTUMN AUTUMN.

Christchurch does such a good job.

More fundraising!

4 of these handsome gents/ladies are available in my felt shop.
All sales will go towards the Sendai/Christchurch Art Exchange.

Every little cent helps! It might help us fly to Japan, or hire a projector to show someone's work or even buy little Japanese pins to hang works.

Hope everyone is having a tremendous day.
I have been painting moons, admiring as-large-as-my-head hydrangeas, learning about claymation, ignoring the dirty dishes and poaching eggs.