Mother's Day was nearly a month ago already, but that's not gonna stop me from posting about it. My day went a little like this...
Breakfast made and set for me outside with beautiful drawings and flowers the likes of which I've never seen, extra hugs and kisses on top of an extra half hour sleep, a trip to the Sunday market in Tokushima (where we scored some gorgeous bits of old fabric, some kimonos, a couple junky toys, 3 new pet fish, and a whole great big bag o freak carrots- the rejects with knobby bits and multiple roots.) All this grandness was followed by a delicious BBQ with some fab people back at Shanti HQ (our little hood).
***I would also just like to say that I just loves me a market. I love love loooove rooting through other people's junk and seeing all the bits of life that turn up unwanted. I really feel like the market tells a lot about a culture, you can really get a feel for how people live and what they treasure. Like here in Japan, you see a lot of sake and tea cups, gorgeous earthen vases, masks, coins, and a ton of old kimonos and their accoutrements. (Of course there's also a lot of crap and dirty kids clothes and chipped coffee mugs but the logos and brands and slogans are all completely different and it's fascinating.) And specifically to this area, you see a lot of clothing geared toward the older folks (holy granny panties) as well as farming and garden stuff. It's also pretty fab that half of the market is all about food (locally grown produce, specialty items, fish, etc) and you can get lunch from the multitude of ready-to-eat stalls selling all sorts.***
So my day was pretty full of things I really like and that's already totally effen fantastic, but the icing on my mama cake was Hopper telling me it was a special day for me because I'm his mama and he loves me and he wants me to be happy. And that is all I really could've asked for.
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| my flowers, my view |
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| start of the food bit (I will go ahead and apologize for the market photos, they were a bit of an after-thought, and though I'm not necessarily blending in otherwise, getting my camera out at every little turn seems a bit rude and well, douchy |
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| some trash, some treasure, some 100 yen half broken toys |
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| mmmm, more rumaging. some crates still have everything wrapped in newspaper so you really gotta get in there and look |
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| fishing game: pay 300 yen and get a flat rice paper "net". move it too quickly and it shreds. You gotta move it slowly and with the right angle to get the fish into the bowl. Hopper has zero finesse but you can see the other kid knows how to stretch his 300 yen (and fill his 300 gallon tank) |
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| He actually busted the net on the first try but the guy took pity and scooped 3 out for him. He was happy to have the fish but bereft for not getting to play longer. |
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| my yummy scrummy boy |
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| TAKOYAKI! |
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| Who's happy? Daddy's happy. Hopper won't touch them but loves to say TAKOYAKI! |
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| For such a modern culture, at least in the vein of Japan's cities, around these parts it's a bit more grimy, a bit more Southeast Asia, a bit more rustic. It's fab, that it's all a bit more low key, less sterile, and a bit more on a human level. I'm sure these people have been making okonomiaki, takoyaki, yakisoba and oden for years, in the same spot, with the same equipment and the same jokes. Why fix what's not broken? It's perfect as is. |
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| Hopper, what flavor of shaved ice did you get? Blue. |
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| Happy blue sugar dance |
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| just cute |
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| feeding the resident koi |
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| dragon lunch. i love it that she appears to be filing her nails, shunning the silly boys who are just gettin down on some fried balls with sauce |
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| Full load! End of the day, take the rest home. (You see a lot of old ladies like this, they've spent their whole lives working the fields bent over, now they can't stand straight anymore. But you bet your ass they are still out there and come to market ready for a chat.) |
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| smooch his little face off |
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| Yamandu had some old friends in town from Kyoto. They had 2 kids, this 5 year old boy and a little girl about 1 1/2. They had a great time running around during the BBQ. |
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| Special Moment: Yama let the boys help him build the fire. |
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| Ah to be a kid, when shirts are optional and the kitchen table is a badass space ship that protects you from the "bum monster" |
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| I've raised a heathen, he prefers the outdoors. |
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| sometimes pants down is better than pants up |
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| Good food, good people |
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| Oh Ira. |
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| They "fixed" Adam's bike |
