While I Haven't Been Blogging

While I haven't been blogging, I've been making lots of fabric pendants and brooches...

While I haven't been blogging, I've been madly preparing for the Sydney Life Instyle show that is now only a couple of weeks away...  If you're there, please come and say "hello" to me in stand number 62...

While I haven't been blogging, I've been putting together a new website that I hope to have up very soon...

While I haven't been blogging, I've been planning on what to do on the single free day I have in Sydney... I'd like to visit this shop, see this exhibition and have a cup of tea and a browse in this store...

While I haven't been blogging I've been missing blogging...

While I haven't been blogging I've been missing visiting my blogging friends... What have I missed?  What have you been doing while I haven't been blogging?

Back to Normal Programming Soon

A quick drop in to apologise for not having announced the winner of the giveaway yet. DH continues to be unwell, so things are a little crazy around here at the moment. Luckily mum is coming to the rescue and flying in from NZ to give me a hand.

In the meantime, I'll be at Boutique Markets this coming Sunday.

Photo borrowed from here

Getting a move on.... looking for a designer

I think it's time for me to move this blog soon. There are so many wonderful, kind comments that I want to reply to, but have trouble through Blogger. Think I will go to Typepad. Or, I could take the big leap and finally get my website together and have a blog page on it.... I'd really love anyone's thoughts or advice.

I'm also looking for a designer, someone that can do a fabulous blog/web design for me, an Etsy store design and a logo. Does anyone out there do that sort of work or have someone they'd recommend?

And I just thought I'd leave you today with a image I took at the "Fuji Flower" (Wisteria) festival that's happening at a temple up the road from me. Ahh.. spring is well and truly here!

Thank you!

Twice today, I've said the same thing to different people, I thought I'd share it with everyone.

Living in Japan is at times amazing, at other times really, really difficult. The culture, and the thinking, is so different which brings about both fascination and frustration. Add to that that neither my husband or myself is fluent in the language and we can read little.

There are days I love living here. I love my students, I love having easy access to the fabrics and the papers. I love the tranquil temples, the energy of the festivals, the amazing things you can buy. For the most part, I love the people, their kindness and generosity.

Other days, this place just makes me cry. Trips to immigration, the racism (they can be a terribly racist country), the bureaucracy, the unwillingness to think outside the box and being surrounded by ugly concrete. Yes, most people have this image of Japan being a beautiful country and in areas it really is, but a lot of areas are just down-right ugly and lacking in character.

I desperately miss space and nature. I miss beaches, trees and animals. I miss my family and friends. I miss so many foods. And I miss my creative community. I do have a wonderful small community here, but not a creative one. As my under-graduate degree is in visual arts, I have many close friends in Australia who are creative folk.

But the wonderful thing is, I feel now that I am part of a creative community. I can't sit down to a cup of tea with any of the members, because they are all people who I've met online. It is through blogging, Flickr and some of my wonderful eBay customers that this community has built.

Really, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that I've met, that comments, that communicates with me online. You make life in Japan so much better!