Life Before

Illustrations by Jean Primrose

Someday I'll tell you why I seem to be taking this Japanese situation so personally.  I guess it has to do with Mrs. Nakamura across the street with the koi pond when I was a baby, and my Auntie D. who put my first 2 Franc coin in my hand when I was a toddler and sent my sister and me the MOST BEAUTIFUL book of Japanese fairy tales.  And because of Miss Happiness and Miss Flower, by Rumer Godden.  These people are just some of the "why" that I feel as I do about the people of Japan. 

Life does go on, and the normal parts of it are reassuring.  As much for those of us far removed from crisis, as for those who have been completely ripped out of normalcy with few hopes of returning to what was once everything to them.  Family, jobs, homes, pets, routines, certainties.

I'll post soon some of the very happy and normal-making things that we have been doing since the Japan quake and tsunami.  But meanwhile, maybe you'd like seeing what "normal" was before.........

From here, we got the specs to make a living room coffee table.  Mr. Paradis having found (for a full three years now!) other options available in the consumer-sphere NOT to his satisfaction.  And offensively expensive, so he says.  Me, I've always had problems with sharp corners, flimsy construction or skimpy dimensions.  

We modified Ana's instructions a bit.  We had planned to top it with a piece of limestone, so we strengthened the support at ends where the casters went in.

Otherwise, it was fairly carelessly cut HomeDepot redwood.  (We would not use again.)  Hardwood, new or recycled is a much better option.  I think Ana went with repurposed salvage lumber and more rustic vintage wheels.  She called also for screws that ended up splitting our wood.  That would either have been the fault of the softer redwood or, we just needed SMALLER SCREWS!

sans primer, raw state

And so.......hammers, power tools, paintbrushes and some no small amount of swearing later.  Ours still needed a little more glamour and since we grew impatient with finding just the right piece of scrap stone and accommodating fabricator to go with.....we just bought a stainless steel Ikea top - which I thought improved the useable surface area significantly and........... VOILA!

What do you think to it????????

Side view en "Contre Jour".  It's gleamy, no?

The books and platters soften the industrial kitchen-y look which I was a bit nervous about........I would love to put a soft piece of lace on it or cut rice paper.  For $300.00 all in, it was not exactly ye olde garage sale bargain, but it is competitive, it is attractive.  And it actually looks EXACTLY like my original inspiration picture which I will dig up and post another time.

Here's another little something that I finally accomplished.  The cacti had been sitting around the deck for awhile.  I hope our recent rains do not completely rot these babies out.

After I paint my house "Casa Azul" blue, maybe I'll fill it in a bit, having given the debutants a little time to spread their wings.

It's a big improvement on the local dogs using it for you-know-what and I'm totally loving my Andy Goldsworthy style hurricane fence.  (I had NO EXPECTATION that it would actually stay up!)

As my Dad say, when the going gets tough, the tough get fixing.....or something like that.  It does make you feel better about things.

Meanwhile yes, ONE U.S. PLANE that I know of has flown out to Sendai today, filled with water for tea, rice, noodles, miso soup, egg custard.........the newspapers are not reporting it, but you can find out about Operation Tomodachi ("Friends", in Japanese) out of Yokota Air Base (anyone know where Yokota is?)   HERE.  If you click on the links to the individual stories, you can also leave a comment at the end with your further suggestions, thanks, and encouragement.

Waterpumps are also being sent in a joint effort with the Royal Australian Air Force.  I feel so much better!