I have added a slide show about the markets at Toji Temple in Kyoto and some other new pictures to Japan on My Mind. Mostly I’ve spent the last few days exercising and wrestling with ideas for dealing with all the material I’ve accumulated. It’s hard to get back in the groove after so much time away.
I lost about 10 pounds while I was trekking around Japan, something of a miracle. Now I’m trying to figure out how to keep it off. I’m certain I lost the weight because of all the walking and climbing I was doing, diet was not a factor. I just don’t have the same opportunities, or interest in doing that kind of walking, here in Pittsburgh. Most of my pursuits are sedentary.
Yesterday, as I waited for my bus to go back to the Chinese art class, I had this very strong feeling I didn’t want to go back to the same old, same old. I don’t know why I thought this trip should have changed things, but I felt it very strongly. I just haven’t figured out what to do about it.
I was supposed to go walking with Mary and Phyllis this morning, but it snowed. I got dressed and went to the health club where I worked out for an hour and a half, 40 minutes more than I ever did in the past. Maybe that will help, but it’s not nearly as interesting as walking around Kyoto.
I’m back from Japan; got in late last night after a 36 hour day. After more than six months of planning, my one month trip went very quickly. I’m feeling a little deflated; I can’t believe it’s over. I have a lot more to say and lots of pictures to post, as soon as I finish going through the mail to make sure my electricity won’t be shut off.
One of the things I missed in Japan was the beautiful fall color in the trees. Because of our changing climate most of the colors were late this year. But I woke up this morning to this scene in my back yard,
and just down the street I found more wonderful color.
Thank you EasyDiverChris for the nice mention on Time Goes By. And thanks to all of my friends and family who keep in touch with me as I travel. I love seeing all the wonderful things here in Japan, but the most interesting part of the trip is coping with a different culture and a language that is almost impenetrable to me. I’ll be posting back here in the middle of November. Right now I’m busy at Japan on My Mind.
I’ll be picked up in about half an hour. Everything is finished and ready, or as ready as I ever get. I was able to close my suitcase. I think I packed everything I will need. I’m flying to Chicago today. I’ll have dinner with Betty and Carol, and spend the night with Carol. Tomorrow I’ll have breakfast with Al and Phyllis, then on to Tokyo. For the next month I’ll be posting at Japan on my Mind. Come and visit me there.
My bills are paid; my itinerary is complete; most of my packing is done; my classes are finished. It’s been a boring day. Never even went for a walk; it’s been threatening rain all day. Finally decided I had to get out, so I went to a workshop (?) at the Apple store about the new iMovie. Not something I really want to think about now.
Tomorrow I will water plants; run the dishwasher; do a very small load of laundry; get my hair cut. Then it’s just a matter of packing those last minute things. Beginning on Tuesday (I hope), I’ll be blogging at http://ruthek.wordpress.com/ Japan is 13 hours later than we are. I’ll arrive in Tokyo about 3 am, my time, and it will be 4 pm Monday.
Here is the edited version, from Photoshop.
I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to learn everything about my little camera, in particular how to extend the tonal range it captures. 
I haven’t been very happy with it: the highlights tend to get too white and shadows too black. They lack detail, even with some Photoshop doctoring. I now understand all of the settings on the camera. I don’t know if I’ll ever be entirely satisfied with it. In reality in this vertical picture the sun was a brilliant ball framed by the tree branches and the haze was not so heavy. The camera has compressed the highlights so there is little differentiation.
However, I’m not willing to burden myself with lots of equipment, and I can’t see to focus an SLR. I’ll stay with the point and shoot.
This morning I went out walking alone, again. Since I had been to Frick Park yesterday I just walked down Reynolds and over to Mellon Park.
It’s a shorter route so I didn’t get as much exercise, but the day was heating up quickly and I find this heat really debilitating. I took these pictures in Mellon Park. 
The haze is accentuated in the pictures; it wasn’t quite that strong. I liked the play of light and shadow in an otherwise not very inspired landscape. I took the flower photo because I wanted to see whether I would get detail in the white blossom. The green is reasonable; the white is off the chart. I can probably fix it, but this is the unedited photo, taken without flash.
Last night we went to a book signing. What’s the big deal, you say. First, it is a very special book, written by Karen Williams and Khadra Mohammed. Read more about it here. Karen and Khadra are both very special women. Khadra runs the Pittsburgh Refugee Center. Karen is a writer who does no end of incredible things; read about her here. 
This is Karen reading to the children who came
to the event.
The older children were reading to 
themselves.
But the astonishing thing about the event was the place where it was held.
About six blocks from where I live is a huge old warehouse. It looks almost deserted. Casablance Gallery has a mural painted on the truck entrance door to the building, and someone who repairs musical instruments, or teaches music, has something painted on another door. Neither place ever seems to be open, and the neighborhood appears to be iffy, at best. We walked down the street uncertain about whether we were in the right place. Steve spotted some balloons in front of an open door. Stepping inside was like walking into another world–a magical world.
Everything was clean and shiny, beautiful color on the walls, wonderful decorations to look at as you walked up the stairs. 
The huge loft space was organized by conversation groupings–sofas, chairs and decorative items inviting you to sit and be comfortable, but also be excited and examine all of the interesting objects decorating the group. None of these pictures 
does justice to what I saw. I wanted to live there, at least in a small part of the space. When it was time to leave I felt like we were breaking the spell; going back to the real world.
One week and one day before I leave for Japan, and now I’m getting excited. Most of my classes are finished. My audit class, Art of China, continues through December. I’ll go to two more classes next week, and there will be three more after I return. I’m missing the time period that interests me the most, Tang Dynasty. I’m hoping I’ll have another opportunity to take the class–I confess, I haven’t given it as much attention as usual.
I am still working on my itinerary, but most of it is filled in. I have hotel rooms booked for the first three of the four weeks. I just haven’t decided how much of that last week I want to spend in Tokyo. My alternatives are Matsue, Nikko and Yonezawa.
I am keeping a detailed record of my planning in another blog, which I will use to record my trip as I travel.
100 Books Before I Die 