new family (again!)

Ji and his family join ours. welcome!

long may we rejoice in growing friendship and fellowship.

strongly and richly may you and J2 build your home.

gladly may we worship and love.

what God has brought together, may we gently tend.

it's a good day

i've become an old man, someone says. the final verse speaks to me.

i've become an old woman too, then. 'tis been these two verses for me. my voice is poor the melody does not hold and my poor tongue lisps. one day it shall be a nobler and sweeter song but it shall tell yet of the fountain that washed my sins away.

busy day (all before 2 PM)

• buy HOM a shirt and a pair of slacks for an unexpected rehearsal dinner with Ji's parents
• buy me shoes for an unexpected rehearsal dinner with Ji's parents
• top up salad supplies from trader joe's
• endure traffic jams because of non-functioning lights
• discover the power outage extends to the hotel 
• climb to hotel room and have lunch
• discover the wifi is out too

busy busy

when a place is famed for the busyness of its pedestrian crossings it stands to reason the cafes in the area will be overflowing onto the street. and the line for the loo will double back on itself in the anteroom to the loo. we ought to have remembered that.

companions

glad we did it together: going astray and hustling back and getting hungry and finding food and coffee and skipping the same options and sharing the same priorities including onsen dips. thank you, friends.

proverbs 17:17.

small town japan*

it is surprising how much superficial resemblance there is to small town 'murrica.

*at karuizawa

nakasendo wayfarer thoughts

• a stout stick helps
• as do goretex-lined shoes

• it's important to have nothing to prove to anyone and to skip whatever you are not keen to do
• it is also important to supplement the day's hike with onsen dips ❤

• too many walking companions can confuse the issues. the old adage is true
• eating companions who share the same ideas about food and food sharing are particularly important

• japanese efficiency is inconspicuous and awesome
• walk japan is also inconspicuous and awesome

• it has been a lovely interlude but i would probably not do it again. the hike up to Torii Pass has given me PTSD