July 15 coming to grips with Mum's situation.

The trip to Brisbane for ALIA was very interesting and we all felt this course was presented well. It was very intense though being confined all day in a small apartment which acts as an office. The office manager was a little dog Billie who wore a striped bow tie for the occasion. Very different. The social dinner following the assessment was very convivial, one of the best we have attended.  The next day when I was leaving our apartment hotel I discovered my swipe would not allow me to leave. I even left the car and tried to swipe in manually first but apparently you need to do that in a car! I had entered the carpark prior to registering so I had a parking ticket. The reception had said I would be fine but I suspected that would be wrong. I should have left and returned with the swipe. In my effort to back out of the exit I bumped into a pole and scratched the back bumper. I was pretty upset because it is my brother's car. Anyway I finally got the reception staff to swipe me  and my companions out. What a relief! When I got to Mum's place I took some Jiff cleaner and scrubbed off the black marks on the bumper and joy, there is only a very tiny, tiny chip in the duco.

The rest of my time I spent with Mum and I am seriously concerned. She is very fatigued, has lost about a stone in weight and has very little appetite. It seems that the cancer has begun to impact on her activity level. I feel so helpless not knowing what is going on so I have decided to organise things in Melbourne and return to Mum for the next few weeks. She needs support and I want to be there for her. Jonathan and Clare will need to find another sitter for Ziggy on Wednesdays, hopefully Clare's sister Chipiwa will be able to help. I will miss him so much because he is developing so quickly now and is so much fun. I have disentangled myself from courses and arrangements that I have had planned to free me up to return to Brisbane.

My next big issue was the wedding. The invitation said formal and that we needed to wear black, white or black and white! As the mother of the groom I wanted to be really smart and edgy and not safely boring or old frumpy Mum. Those two fashionistas will look so fabulous. My lace blouse needed dressy pants and I felt that it wouldn't be formal enough. I set off to Carla Zampatti boutique for pants and decided to try a couple of dresses. OMG! The Cream/white Gigi dress looked fabulous and felt so right. I didn't hesitate. This is the dress! It is so simple but with a twist and even though it isn't floor length it looks so dressy I am over the moon. Even with my black tights which were not the best look. It is long enough but I could wear it to cocktail parties and get a lot more wear than a full length gown.

 Trouble is I bought the pants as well. An expensive day though entirely satisfactory. I don't usually spend this much money on clothes but you can see why they are expensive when they fit perfectly. It is a great relief to have the main event sorted. 

Now to pack for Qld.

July 2

I gave my talk at the Camino group and after fluffing about with the media finally got the slide show owing. It seemed to go well. I talked about the three pilgrimages, Spain and Japan. Caught up with Rob when we took in the Degas exhibition  together at the NGV. He had been having a few days in Melbourne just catching up with galleries and his breath. Even though he loves his country life he misses not getting away more regularly. He needs the stimulation and I need the isolation of the country.. Funny match up! The rest of the week was focused on preparing for the trip to Brisbane for ALIA and Mum and a visit to the Zoo with Ziggy. It was so cold we were both happy to head home at lunch time. 

I had a lovely visit with Kim and David at Mt Martha who are minding a B&B that they have stayed at twice before. The owners needed someone to mind the chooks and the cat! I loved the chickens and picked one up for a cuddle. Their feathers were so soft and smooth. We visited the Briars one of the first  homesteads on the peninsula which had some connections with Napolean of all people. What a gorgeous place.

The weather had been the coldest for nine years; Freezing and finally some good snow in the mountains. Maybe I will go skiing this winter. It has been several years since I donned skis or snow board. Could be fun. In the meantime I am heading to Brisbane for a week for work and to visit Mum.

 Voting today so that was a conundrum? I am not convinced by any of the parties but I have done my best and hope we don't get a hung parliament again. I went with Nick and we got a chance to talk. He is still heartbroken and rather low about his broken relationship and life in general of course. 

I can only encourage him and remind him there are no quick fixes. 

A week at home

I have been on the go all week as usual with some extra bonuses such as a play Straight White Men  about three grown men who are disappointed with how their lives are and finding a purpose in their lives. Heavy, funny, unresolved and interesting. Then the next day I attended an Arcapella performance of the Russian orthodox service devided by Rachmaninov. The voices were exquisite but the church was freezing and I have been struggling to get dressed appropriately  for the weather since returning. I am either too hot or too cold.   Leonie and I went rushing off to a Carlton Cafe for hot coffee to warm us. I had had trouble parking the car and driving across from Glen Iris to Carlton at mid afternoon was unbelievabley congested. I felt so despairing after the efficiency of Tokyo transport.

I haven't been sleeping well. I think it is because I am not expending as much physical energy. My mind is too active and out of step with my body.

Sunday12 th

We had our first earthquake today!  4.9 on the scale. I chuckled at my response which was to grab my futon and hang on. Not like I am going to fall out of bed!  It was amazing watching the washing swing wildly.  David slept through the whole thing. Japan is saying goodbye.

Today we packed, and then we set off to do a practice run to Shinjuku and the JR line Narita express. Despite all directions we found ourselves confused after trying to locate a lift to avoid carting suitcases up stairs. After  buying our tickets we decided it would be better to walk from the apartment!

We found an Okonomyake place by accident and we're thrilled to experience this dish before leaving. Kim had suggested sandwiches but I insisted on a Japanese meal on our last day and that led us to find the Okonomyake.

 

The dish is a little like a pancake with cabbage and is cooked on a hot plate in front of you. It was pretty filling but we were all happy. It was  David who had decided to go to level 8 instead of queueing. After lunch we returned to the apartment and finished packing. Before long we had dinner to find and we decided to explore further away in the opposite direction. We were attracted by some music and a bustling crowd which turned out to be a beach shack decorated Sri Lankan curry place. It was delicious and we were all satisfied. 

The morning dawned with heavy rain and so we found some plastic bags to over the bags and set off to the station. Of all the days to rain but we arrived at the station in plenty of time, somewhat bedraggled but on time and in the correct place! 

I had an interesting train ride when I started talking to a young Japanese guy who was on his way to Amsterdam. Then I t was the airport some shopping and we were soon winging our way home. 

Bliss Nick was waiting at the airport unexpectedly. He is my angel.  Home by 1:00 pm.

What a great trip.

Saturday11th

Bill set off to visit Mt Fuji by bus but the rest of us decided to stay local. I couldn't face the thought of a four hour return trip on a bus. The rest of us mooched around taking it easy before we headed off to the gardens in Shabashi. I felt a desire to get amongst greenery for its soothing effect on the soul. It required a trip by train of course. We feel like we have spent half our holiday in Tokyo on the trains. They are amazing, efficient and run about every two minutes and we have used them constantly. I usually walk everywhere when I am travelling but here we have not walked from one end of the city to the other. It is too hot and too easy to use the train.  Just before we left Bill appeared. There were no tickets on the bus to Mt Fuji  available! All alternatives would take too long and he wouldn't be able to return on the same day. We should have planned it earlier, though the weather hasn't been good. Mt Fuji is notorious for being shrouded in cloud or haze! David decided to go freelance looking for a festival and so Bill came to the gardens with us.

We arrived at the gardens and found them delightful and relatively empty. They have sea water ponds because they are close to Tokyo bay and adjacent to the river. We saw huge fish leaping out if the water as well as lots of baby eels/ tiny fish skittering across the surface.  There were these amazing old wisterias with trunks the size of trees all twisted and split yet still producing new shoots. There were also Gardeners on ladders trimming the pine trees to maintain their sculptured shape.

In the centre is a tea house where we took a bun and cold green tea. There were leaflets that explained how to drink the tea and though we did not have a tea ceremony as such  we got the gist of it from the instructions.

 

I love the simplicity of these tradional Japanese buildings with their sliding doors and tatami mats. They are so peaceful and gracious. While walking through the gardens you can smell the change in the air quality. It seems so fresh there.  Next stop  Omato-Sando for a last attempt to buy the Comme de Garçon shirt for Ziggy. What an upmarket trend spot this part of Shibuya is. We tried to sit on some benches ouside the Prada shop to eat some sandwiches we had and a young man from Prada asked us to leave! We did but felt quite offended. We laughed about being refugees from Prada. You don't see people eating in the street like that so we were probably offending them too.

No luck in the Comme de Garçon store so we headed over to the Meiji-Jungu shrine the most important in Tokyo. As it turned out thousands of others did too! It was along walk throufpgh two huge Torii gates before we got to the shrine. It was impressive but not compared to those at Hongu and Naichi we thought. 

By now it was past four and we were all tired out. 

We came home and got takeaway for dinner. We were in bed quite early and lights out by 10 pm.  

Taking it easy

We have taken it easy this morning by sleeping in, doing the washing, catching up on the diaries, ringing Mum. Bill has been endlessly fascinated by the construction site opposite the apartment. The skill and finesse of the workers has impressed him no end. The site is always kept tidy and the workers  very skilled with their machinery. 

We have been so impressed with the service and attitude to work here. There are  a lot of people employed to assist everywhere in shops and stations. That is why it is so clean and efficient here.

Eventually we went off to the Issey Miyake exhibition via the Suntory exhibition of Hara Yasusaburo Collection of Utagawa Hiroshige woodblock prints. They were first edition prints made in the 1850s. They looked so modern and the colours so bright.

We were mis-directed to Roppongi Hills to see the Issy Myaki exhibition only to find it was back where we came from! We finally found it and what an amazing building it was. The exhibition was so interesting. What a creative man. It was fascinating to see the graphic flat designs that you lifted up to be a dress. 

We returned via Shinjuku and a new way home. It was exciting to see a new area. Irene was suffering sore feet and glad to return.

Thursday 9 th

This morning we went to the Tzujiki Fish markets. This required an early start but we were not committed enough to make the auction of the Tuna at 5:00 am.  We were there early enough to see the wholesalers. What a scary environment with little trolleys zipping every which way. The most confronting sight was a fishmonger scaling and then slicing a live fish that flipped and flopped while he cut it. Ann saw a tuna heart still beating while it was being sliced! Wandering around the outer market was so interesting too. There was a huge range of sea products that I had never seen. After the guys had been shoved aside a few times we decided to leave. We settled on a breakfast at a street stall on the main edge of the market and had sashimi with seaweed and rice which was amazing. The cleanliness of the staff was outstanding. We kept getting these whiffs of bleach!

Leaving the market I went home to meet up with Hiko my friend from walking the Camino Fraance in 2012.  

 Some of the produce

Baby eels alive

 Ann eating fresh crab

I was so hot I had to have a shower before meeting them. Hiko had prepared lots of questions and checked off all the things I had seen so far. He was very pleased by all the things I had seen. We used the Google translater and his electronic translator to converse. His wife was a lovely person who had some English. They bought a gift of a Shinkansen train for Ziggy and some Yokohama biscuits for me. We had tempura in a little place around the corner then off to coffee. I invited them back so I could give them the chocolates I had bought. They are such kind hearted people. I was embarrassed that when I brought them up to the apartment that the others did not hear my knocks so I went down again to the letterbox and tried to put my hand in. Hiko and his wife both tried too without success. Back we went upstairs and I knocked harder this time and finally the door opened. We all came in and I gave them the chocolates. They stayed for a cup of tea. I was exhausted from the effort of concentration. 

Outside the Tempura restaurant

After a couple of plum wines I felt restored. We finished the evening off with a fabulous dish of noodles from one of the restaurants under the office building opposite our apartment.