Every New Year's Day, my mom would make osechi ryori, traditional Japanese New Year foods. Actually, I need to correct myself. She'd be cooking all day and night before New Year's Day. If we weren't home in Seattle, then we'd have an even more elaborate osechi in Japan with my baa-ba (grandma). In recent years… Continue reading Flower carrots, sleep deprivation and memories
The last 12 months
Sometimes I see the notifications comes into my email that I gained a new blog follower. "Oh, that's nice," I think to myself. Nice that someone out there is interested to subscribe to a blog that has been dormant for 12 months. How did this even happen? There are a few factors. The first half… Continue reading The last 12 months
Home for the holidays, but it feels different
You're probably tired of hearing people say it: The holidays will look different this year. They won't just "look" different, they will feel different. (It's felt different this entire month!) I'm home in Seattle for the holidays. Many people around the world cannot go home for the holidays. Better worded: They are making the smart… Continue reading Home for the holidays, but it feels different
Checking in
Hi, there. I'm here to check in with you. It's weird because I feel like time is going both slow and fast during quarantine. I really don't know what I've been doing since I wrote my last post in September (!) I guess just work, a little running and tending to little Aki — who,… Continue reading Checking in
It’s Aki season!
Now that we are one week into fall, it seems like an appropriate time to officially introduce you to Aki. (In Japanese, Aki means fall/autumn). This is Aki, my shiba inu. She joined our lives at the end of July and now is four months old! I have always wanted a shiba inu since I… Continue reading It’s Aki season!
A quarantine on top of quarantine
The West Coast is on fire. It's been more than a week of very smokey air in Seattle from all the wildfires. We're "lucky" since it's even worse in Oregon and California. I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to have to leave your house because you were in danger from… Continue reading A quarantine on top of quarantine
“You’re an athlete!”
She came riding by on her horse with a little grey dog running alongside of them. "Wow, good for you! You're an athlete!" she exclaimed. I smiled through my mask and said "Hi" with a wave. "A monster athlete!" she followed up with. I have no idea who this woman was or what prompted her… Continue reading “You’re an athlete!”
Getting away from people
The one thing that is not lost this summer is hiking. Living in Seattle, there are so many (relatively) nearby mountains and forests to explore. But, hiking has always been a popular outdoor activity among Seattleites (and all the transplants). Now with the pandemic, if you want to avoid other hikers, you either have to… Continue reading Getting away from people
The little things
I went on a run Friday morning. I have hardly been running these days, but that is not what I came to write about. As I shuffled my feet, I crossed paths with an older man walking with a camera that had a huge lens slung over his shoulder. He wore a utility vest and… Continue reading The little things
Not the summer we planned for
As my friend and I chatted, we kept referencing how this wasn't the summer anyone had planned for. She had planned to spend the entire month of August back here in Seattle. (She currently lives in Spain). Now she doesn't even know when her next trip back to visit her parents and friends will be.… Continue reading Not the summer we planned for
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