good-ness

random 03.

1. a sling. a baby one. that is what i am going to sew. the fabric is a nice weight linen. strong enough. but i need help. from sewers. and mothers. i don't know if i should put the fabric outside to dry. or go find a dryer. i always hang it to dry. but i think it would be easier for mothers to just throw it in the dryer. if it gets dirty. which means i should dry it all before making it. hmmm. 

2. just recently i found out something. that little old ladies who have purple hair. do it on purpose. i always thought it was an accident. chemicals mixing with their hair gone wrong. seriously. that is what i thought. now i smile every time i see a purpled hair obachan walk by. because she must be full of spunk. 

3. kim. the commenter from the weekend goodness 60 post. was number 100. she will get a little goodness shop credit. the next 100 comments is already under way. this is not bribery. it is a thank you. to those of you who participate in my life. me sharing goodness with you. 

4. fans. are a good thing. hand-held ones. and electric ones. all good. 

weekend goodness 60.

 

another bbq. where there were cherries. which are so expensive in this country . and there were a lot of them. so. i ate more than a few. and so did the others. and i even instigated a cherry pit spitting contest. nope. i did not win. maybe next time. with watermelon seeds. 

i made lemonade. for the first time. in my life. it was good. and continues to be. we have a bit left. love the sour. and the sweet. but would love to find a way to sweeten it. without using refined stuff. and without altering the taste so much. no to maple syrup. no to brown rice syrup. honey maybe. next time. 

this was the highlight. of the weekend. the best bit of weekend goodness. in a long time. having dinner with sumo wrestlers. it is sumo tournament time in my city. and wrestlers from all over the country come here to compete. the groups (stables) usually stay at a temple or shrine. this group hosted a dinner for a big group of folks. including h-kun's aunt and uncle. and us. the wrestlers waited on us. and the high ranking ones ate with us. a crazy experience. that you can't find in the travel books. 

chanko nabe. this is what they eat. basically soup. with lots of vegetables. and meat. this is how they get big. plus beer. and napping. and only eating once a day. this is all hearsay. 

these guys are big. not just fat. and there were so many of them. twenty or so. it was definitely a great cultural experience for me. and for h-kun, too. i hardly ate because i was taking so many pictures. and staring. and asking them to bring me more cold ocha (tea). that was strange. asking a huge sumo wrestler to bring you tea. i am off to watch the sumo tournament tomorrow. for the first time ever. and will see the guy in purple wrestle. i'm sure there will be more pictures. yep.

random 02.

1.  our globe. was one of very few non-monetary wedding gifts. and i love it. sometimes we play that game. where you close your eyes. spin the globe. and then you put your finger on it somewhere. and that is where you will live. h-kun keeps getting russia. or china. i guess we will have to wait. and see.  

2. i have decided. to swim to kyoto. not literally. i am just going to add up the kilometres i swim. every week. and hopefully i'll get to kyoto. at some point. h-kun says it will take a year. but i said i can get there in an hour. and a bit. on the shinkansen (bullet train). but then i realized. it goes really fast. yep. it might take a year. or more.

3. there is nothing wrong with watching project runway. now. we're waiting for episode two. it helps me stay connected. to what. i am not sure. 

4. it's best to hang clothes inside out. so the sun doesn't bleach them. too badly. 

5. i want to. need to. learn how to pipe. do piping. mom, not in the smoking sense. but the sewing sense.i don't know what to call it. sew piping. regardless. i need to learn soon. i have plans. and i keep thinking about them. 

 

others.

etsy. is a dangerous place. so dangerous. i spend a lot of time. everyday. using etsy. and one thing often leads to the next. and i am not busy selling. but buying. dangerous. but good. or swapping is a nice alternative. it feels much more justifiable. much more.    

this whimsical little notebook. is from my friend. julia. from lineanongrata. and she has some new designs. yippee.

shim + sons. sally's mouse + pad is perfect for me. along with everything else she makes.

this is a new shop for me. the sycamore street press. and i am in love. yes. you can get some, too. 

mine.

a bag. for me. finally. it has been too long. but the wait was worth it. well worth it. i am happy with the details. 

remember. i love dots. well. stripes are trying to take over. i would say that i love them about the same. now. and there is nothing wrong with either of them. on linen. 

of course. it is reversible. the linen is from here. in japan. and is one of my favorite fabrics. there might be some left in my shop. the green interior is alexander henry. i think. and i love it. the tape is from over here, too. linen. and lovely. 

good-ness. the plan a few years ago. was to start selling bags. that i designed. and sewed. and my brand was going to be called good-ness. because my last name is good. for those of you who have not figured that one out yet. well. life got busy. and good-ness turned into a shop selling japanese goodness instead. but someday i would like to take back the name. and use it for it's original purpose. for sure. someday. 

weekend goodness 59.

my new lens. so small. and lovely. just what i wanted. 

the quilt. got finished. just in time. i sewed the binding on while in the car. on the way to meet her. our friend's akachan (baby). so now i know how long it takes. in fast mode. two and a half hours. flat. 

and the little one. so tiny. beautiful. and perfect. the first meeting was so memorable. and h-kun was totally overwhelmed. in a good way. i loved it. 

starting.

so. last weekend. i decided. that i am going to start taking back my life. slowly. step by step. finally. 

since last summer. my life has been busy. super busy. one year of craziness. and leslie got put on the bottom of the list. the priority list. the very bottom. the bottom that you never get to. that bottom. i would go through waves of frustration. big waves. and therefore h-kun, too. hated the busyness. and my grumpiness. so. decisions have been made. about the business. (increasing my helper's hours.) and teaching. (keeping my current schedule. and slowing down the school dream.) that will give me more time. more time. 

because. it's time. to start doing things i used to do more of. that i need to do. and that i enjoy. keep-leslie-sane-and-smiling kind of things. creating. designing. and sewing for me. exploring with h-kun. swimming. reading. buying flowers. studying. writing postcards. taking pictures. taking naps. biking. window shopping. relaxing with others. and maybe a couple of new things, too. 

and it's time. to get healthy. which encompasses so much. sleeping. exercising. eating well. relieving stress. growing emotionally. spiritually. relaxing. and being thankful. and joyful. 

this last week was good. i bought flowers. i swam four times. four. i sewed. met a new little one. and i didn't work today. nor did i buy chocolate. today. whoohoo. i know. it's not going to be easy. but i am going to try. try hard. because i need to. for me. and for h-kun. 

h-kun. loves this new plan. too. and just wants to see me happy. and enjoying life. to the fullest. so i made him a deal. that if in the fall my plan is still in place. and i'm still trying. then we will go to disney sea. in tokyo. two places he does not care for. almost hates. the deal. call it manipulation. or trickery. or something else. but it sounded good to me. and he agreed. instantly. this is how i know he loves me. times ten. 

and. if you would like that mickey and minnie flip mirror. above. that was bought for this post. because i couldn't find any disney in the house. just be the first person to let me know. 

oh. it's before 11pm. and i am going to bed. amazing. 

random 01.

1. thinking of starting something. new. for all you. every 100th commenter will get a little something. a little ten dollar credit. in my little shop. that's like a giveaway every few weeks. or so.  

2. mushrooms. are my favorite vegetable. hands down. and there are so many kinds over here. yatta. 

3. my mom wanted to name me sarah lee. amen that didn't happen. the frozen dessert company must not have been around then. or maybe it was. shoot. maybe i was destined to be chubby. 

4. they were having a liberty sale. at one of the local fabric shops. i spent a bit of money. but i am happy. happy. i am now a first-time-liberty-owner. 

5. rainy season is officially over. and the heat switch has been turned on. my new mantra. i love summer. i love heat. i love humidty. and the two together. even better. because. i love sweating. i'll let you know. how long the reverse psychology works for. 

weekend goodness 58.

suika. this is what h-kun brought me. all the way back from his hometown. from his okasan (mom). i know she loves me. because she remembers that watermelon is one of my favorite things. ever. and she bought me a whole one. which is a tad ridiculous. over here in japan. but i was happy. so happy. and still am. 2 days later. it will be finished by tomorrow night. guaranteed.