I am having a hard time getting back to normal. I not only have to get my body back on Eastern Standard Time, I have to put my apartment back together. My tenants left the same day I was supposed to return. (You can read about my miserable trip home, here.) They cleaned up and left everything in good shape, but I had pulled everything apart and stored all my personal stuff in my second bedroom. Now I am putting it all back in place. Many things are still over at Robin's house. I have been slowly bringing things back. My biggest problem seems to be getting enough sleep. I slept for 12 hours on Thursday night; ten hours last night. It's not even 1 pm and I am ready to get back in bed. When will this end?

I am actually trying very hard not to take naps. Also, I have been doing what ever I can to get back to normal, whatever that is. This morning I went out with my walking group. It was cold but not unpleasant. When I logged on to the computer after my walk the Weatherbug thing said it was 53 F. in Kyoto. More like 31 F. here. But it's been great being with the family, particularly seeing Eli, and I would have missed that had I stayed in Kyoto. Weather isn't everything.

Sixty three years ago today we dropped the first atomic bomb. It is an anniversary commemorated each year in Hiroshima, but never here in the United States. We have never been able to acknowledge how much destruction we have brought into the world. We continue to believe we are on the side of the angels, and the world grows more dangerous every day. Keep in mind, our government thinks we need more nukes. Read about the ceremony in Japan here. The Teheran Times published the complete 2008 Peace Declaration.

This is a brief ride on the Duquesne incline. I couldn’t figure out how to embed it in the previous post.

I don’t know about spunk, Alice. I just want to do something different with my life, and this seemed like a good solution. In the past when I traveled I was told I was very gutsy (crazy?). I was never sure whether it was because I traveled alone, or because I left my husband home alone.

Yes, I will keep the same travel blog. I’ve already begun writing in it, but mostly it will be sparse until October. My plan, for now, is to spend about a month in China, depending on the inclination of the Chinese to give more than a 30 day visa. Then two months in Japan, trying to see everything I missed last year. I plan to return to Pittsburgh in early January.

There is a possibility I could then spend a month or two in Chicago, or I might buy a 30-day Amtrak pass and train around the country. I’m not going to do anything about planning for January and beyond until I see how long my apartment remains in someone else’s possession. I would really like to continue traveling until next summer. Then I will think about getting a cat and settling down. Probably my money will run out at that point and I will have to look for a job. That’s a terrifying thought–not working–looking.

I’ve had about 10 responses to my sublet ad, but no one reads. They all want the apartment now. I’m not ready to give it up for at least another month and I could actually wait until October 1. Several people wanted it for only two months, I said minimum four. I’ll try rewriting the ad to make it clearer, but I won’t post it again until the end of July.

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Download Charnabook.pdf

Here are some photos from our visit to the Three Rivers Festival on Sunday. After we looked at most of the artists wares we walked out to Point Park. Eli has been customizing his shorts by drawing pictures on them. Here Charna is helping him by drawing on the back of the shorts.


She's so good. She just drew three little pictures. If he was my brother, I might have thought of lots of nasty things to draw or write.
Here is Eli doing handstands.


These kids were looking for votes at stuckatprom.com to win college scholarships.


Their outfits are made of duck tape. The website has lots of pictures of prom outfits made of duck tape. If you'd like to vote for them, they are entry No. 4115.

I was still having trouble with the heat and humidity on Sunday and to some extent yesterday. I seem to have trouble breathing when it's humid out. Today is cool and dry and I'm feeling good.

This seems to be Nancy Crow week in Pittsburgh. She gave a lecture on Wednesday, which I attended, and a huge (50 quilts) show of her work opened last night. You can read about it here. I'm not a quilter, although I made one and pieced another one that remains unfinished. But I love fabrics and have always done some sewing, at one time making most of my clothes. I often heard about Nancy Crow and pictured an older Native American, because of her name and one or two of her early quilts I saw. She's certainly not the person I dreamt up, and her quilts have changed dramatically from those early pieces. I enjoyed the lecture and the opening, but I can't say I found the work compelling enough to go back for another look. The gallery write-up calls her one of the most genuine voices in contemporary art. I don't seem to have a lot of interest in contemporary art. Only occasionally does something speak to me.

The Three Rivers Arts Festival is also on now. I'm planning to get there this weekend. Last weekend, when it opened, was just too hot.

Last night, Robin, Steve and I went to see "Young @ Heart," the movie about the chorus of elders who perform rock and roll. We all enjoyed the film and all had a similar question: were we laughing with or at these people? At the beginning of the film there are extreme closeups of some of the singers. You saw the hair on one woman's chin and someone else's bad teeth, causing lots of giggles in the audience. All three of us were uncomfortable. Closeups (not so extreme) were used throughout, probably in an attempt to simulate intimacy. I felt some of this was effective, showing older people warts and all. But those first shots were unnecessary. Also, I noticed few closeups of the better looking members of the group.

What pleased me most was how dedicated they were to being in the group, maintaining a high level of professionalism and performing. I think all of us, as we age, need to find passion and commitment to something outside of ourselves. It's what makes life worth living.