I'll be back updating once a week or more now that my daily routine has returned.
I'll be printing t-shirts again very soon. I said that many months ago however. There were some hold ups on the process but I've almost got it all together. I can design worth anything so I have to borrow. I take things I like and make them better or turn them into prints you wouldn't see on a shirt. That was my interest in making shirts from the very beginning. I saw things no one would ever make into a shirt. I hope to churn out a lot of prints this year. I'll probably do some designs on paper too.
The past weekend I went to a local festival that is held on a mountainside. There are lots of terraced rice paddies so it's rather pretty in my eyes. There was a lion dance where little boys and a girl fought the evil creature. The little girl was swallowed up by the lion but a tengu saved her at the end. I had never seen that before and it was great. After the sun starts to go down they light a bunch of torches all over and around the terraces.
The following day I joined the local stone skipping competition. It was international but I turned out to be the only international part of the whole thing. I lost in the first round. I wouldn't have made it far anyway. There were some pros out there. Really really good. I was interviewed by the local tv station before and after. I hope they make my Japanese look good with their editing. I'm nervous to watch it. I also won some prizes for the best foreigner of the competition. It was only for foreigners so I won by default. Lucky me. I got a bunch of free onsen passes. Really wonderful weekend.
I promised myself I would swim in the river next weekend. Fall is hiding in the earlier sunsets. I can feel it. Maybe a trip to Kyoto in November is needed. One last time to stroll temple grounds and view momiji. I might just find an old jinja around here and dream on its weathered steps. I find it hard to travel sometimes and stray from where I live. But what am I talking about? I live in Japan.
