Yama in Kamiyama

The day after we arrived back from our Yamandu-collection road trip, we had arranged a BBQ party to welcome him to Kamiyama. All the usual suspects were there. And as per usual, Hopper and Ira had a great time getting into mischief. No worms this time, but they made some tasty mud soup. Mmm mmm delicious.

It's always a potluck situation with people bringing all manner of different things to eat, some things even from people's gardens. I get super excited about the different guises of tofu with varieties of sauces. I'm not even normally that into tofu but here in Tokushima prefecture, it's the bombdiggity. Yes, I said bombdiggity. And I would say it to your face. 

Yu-kun had ordered some fancy beef that actually turned up by refrigerator truck, in the middle of nowhere at a house not belonging to anyone present (it's a vacation rental, Yu gets special permission to use it for BBQ's), in the middle of the day, on a Sunday no less! So we tucked into that after Mandu manned the grill, South American style. 

Local hospitality at its finest, welcome Yama!

breakfast in Shanti Town (our hood)

where's my breakfast? and where's my frog? and you have to wait here while I pick the chair I want to sit in! 3 year olds are bossy and specific.

mini roadside farmers market just down the road from our house

mud soup

what are you boys up to?...

hey, no throwing mud soup! (sometimes parenting = policing)

Holy Grill Holy Grill (they were throat chanting) and this is Adam: nomad-artist

started to rain so we moved the party under the barn

total concentration

fancy meat delivery

easy now

Yu's parents came to town, and that's his wife Kazue-chan and Keiko

oh my goodness what a cutie patootie

they were playing magic strawberry. like you do.

besties

cuteness *2 (squared)

Teru-san, DJ from Tokyo gave up the city life to become an organic farmer

playing catch (aka Standing Single Leg Balance II - if you know your Pilates)