Corner View--Box of Tricks, a Rose on a Tightrope

Ladies and Gentlemen, step right up, see what this little rose is about to do,

watch her walk the tightrope,

yes,

and in the rain yet!

There she goes, along the thin wire, suspended high above the streets,

see her pink,

see her blush,

and now,

poof,

she's gone!

See what's in box of tricks around the world at this weeks Corner View!

ai ♡kawarazu

jgy

ps sorry if I haven't visited or am late to write back, these flower friends have been calling me away from the computer and my hands seem to need to touch the air. I will be back to the keyboard and to visit soon! ---With Love, JGY

sunflower in the city

I stop

my bike

get off

to see

a sunflower

as tall

as me!

ai

♡

kawarazu

jgy

Love

I believe in You
like I believe
in God and in
the moon.
You know they are there
even though they're far away.

Those you cannot see
may be closer than
you think.

Find a touch that's gentle,
still,
a touch that's meant
for them.


ai ♡kawarazu
jgy

borscht and tomare

I`ll have a borscht with beets,

and a tomare with the sun.

*in Oita we found borscht in two places but no beets in the borscht,

On the ground there are tomares but they don`t yet have the suns.

One of my tomare dreams is to paint radiant suns on the tomares on the ground.

For the beets, will have to wait till I get to NY. (the soup was good though, even though it had no beets:)

What`ll you have?

*view from the window above of a "tomare" from the table at "Nakhodka" a Russian Restaurant in Oita

if you look into the middle picture, that is the "tomare" graphic painted all over the streets, I picture this on the ”止”:

ai☆kawarazu
JGY

A Song and a Smile

This song is called "Yozora no mukou" .

夜空の向こう

It is by Suga Shikao, the artists here in the video are Suga Shikao and YUI.

Beyond the night sky...tomorrow waits.

Ibb, this song's for you, a PS to Corner View.

Still the rainy season here, but we're having beautiful clear skies today, sun pouring into an opening of blue before the rains give way to official summer in Oita.

Have a great weekend to all.

ai♡kawarazu

jgy

Corner View--Positive Words for Down Moments

The theme for this week is from Ibb, it's Positive Words for Down Moments.

I had some words about rainbows and love, I showed them to Y,

and she said if someone said those words to her when she was down, she would hate it.

She said when she's down, there is nothing anyone could say or do that would make her feel better. That she has to come out of it at her own time. And words about Love and Rainbows just make the bad seem worse.

And if she is in an up mood, than it doesn't matter what words someone says either, it's all great.

I thought, wow, I see what she means.

And so I don't know what to say.

So I will leave this picture for now.

And will come back later. And maybe you will feel better then already. Now I have to get a bath with Y. And then I will post the links to Corner View.

ai♡kawarazu

jgy

Bagels + Tenugui = Epiphany

For some people, an epiphany comes in reading a line from a book,

in a dream, when watching a beautiful sunset, or in writing a poem.

Today I had one from a combination of a bagel and a te-nugui.

My daughter said she'd make me a surprise for Sunday breakfast, and that I shouldn't come into the room. She said I should do yoga or meditate or something.

Two hours later she called me in to the kitchen.

She’d made bagels!

I am from NY, most of you may know, and never made a bagel in my life, so that my daughter effortlessly (seemingly) had this spread ready for me was pretty amazing. We ate the bagels.

They were amazing, like NY bagels, chewy in the middle and "pari pari" (Japanese way to say hard and crunchy) on the outside. Here on our table in Japan.

After we ate I ran to get the camera and a te-nugui cloth. What can I say, I just had the urge to wrap a bagel. When I began to wrap the bagel in my original te-nugui I saw my whole life in front of me.

There it was.

The bagel my daughter made for me wrapped in my Tomare Tenugui.*

New York and Japan; The pink lines, the sun, the "STOP", wrapped in

to one.

Tomare Tenugui now available at my Tomare Shop. If you try one, please share with me any unique ways you find to use them. And if you find an epiphany, please share that too!

ai ♡kawarazu

JGY

Lines from the Rainy Season

Today

How many days does it have to rain before I see

rain too

is a miracle

ai♡ kawarazu

jgy

Corner View--On my Wall

see more on the walls, around the world starting atFrancesca's

愛

ai

♡

kawarazu

jgy

Introducing Tomare Tenugui (1)--Thanks & a brief history of Tenugui

I'm happy to share my latest Tomare news-- the Tomare Tenugui is fresh off the press (and there it is on top of the pita bread, above :)

Tenugui (手ぬぐい） are long and light rectangular cloths, usually cotton, with a long history in Japan. They began to be used in the 8th C. during the Nara period, and became more widespread in the Heian period (ninth thru twelfth centuries). The word comes from "hand" and "to wipe" . They were first used mainly to purify the body in Shinto or Buddhist worship. They came to be used in many practical ways, from hand towels to wraps and simple containers for small items. In the Edo period (1600-1868) they became widely used, and were printed in popular patterns of the day. Tenugui can be seen in woodblock prints from that time, in various patterns and in various uses in everyday life--as headbands, to wipe sweat by travellers and laborers, as a way to wrap small bundles. Today they are still popular as souvenirs, as decorative cloths, and for use at on-sen (hot baths) as towels or wash cloths.

Tomare Tenugui （トマレ手ぬぐい)--can be used in all the traditional ways, plus it is a tenugui with meditation, yoga, and relaxation incorporated in the design. You can put a few drops of your favorite aroma or essential oil in the center for relaxation, use it in stretches, or center your attention on the radiant sun for a focus in meditation. It came in handy when I made pita bread, as a cloth to cover the bread while it rises.

Thank you all for the support with my first Tomare product, you helped make my Yoga Mat Dream come True!! (still a few mats left:) Simply by being here and reading my process, for spurring me on with your positive wishes and belief, and to those who are using the mats, thank you so much and　hope you are enjoying it. I love mine and it is teaching me about 'Tomare' every day---one lesson being to keep going.

I'd love to send Tomare's around the world, and in a lightweight cotton cloth it's getting more possible:))

They are available at my Tomare Shop.

Special thank you to Natsumi Nishizumi, who worked to collaborate with me, from my sketches to make the design in graphic format on both the Yoga Mat and the Tenugui.

Stop and Find your Center. Let your Energy Radiate out from the Heart.

ai♡kawarazu

JGY

Umbrellas in Oita

It's the rainy season in most of Japan. Strong rains just cleared up for the first time this weekend and there is a luminous glow over the mountains, with a line of clouds hovering, I can hear the swish of cars on wet pavement from my window.

happy（） end of the Weekend,

ai♡kawarazu

jgy

Happy Birthday, Natsumi

Happy Birthday Natsumi,

Wish we could do something special with you today,

to share

a bento

and

a cake!

let's dig in!!!!!

xo Hope it's a terrific year! Thank you for everything お誕生日おめでとうございます！

ai♡ kawarazu

jgy

a gesture, a workshop, a poem

Open your legs!

Spread them out wide.

When did the gate we're birthed through

become something to hide?

"Banish your shame"

said the voice

of a crane.

As she unfolded lines

to a victory sign.

Unfolding lines

echoing

mine.

ai♡kawarazu

jgy

photo courtesy of Sasamuta Schule

photo courtesy of Sasamuta Schule

Corner View---Destination, Tomare at Sasamuta Schule

Date: a Saturday in June

Time: Suspended, when the light is making everything green and footsteps are soft from room to room

Place: Just up the road from Sasamuta Shrine, in an old Japanese house that belongs to a professor of Aesthetics that is being used as an Art School. Where the rooms leave space for folded cranes to rest in handmade twiggy woodsy nests. Where there are books and plums and hydrangeas and one room leads to the next, and the ladybugs outside join in our dance. Where my dreams of Japan merge with a childlike feeling that I've been here before.

Photos by やまふじ, courtesy of Sasamuta Schule

from To-ma-re at ささむたシューレ: an original mix of meditation and art

ai ♡kawarazu JGY

Find your way to Destinations around the world at this week's Corner View:

Francesca, our host , Jane (creator of Corner View) Ian, Don, Anna,Dana, Otli, La ninja, Theresa, CherryB,Joyce, Natsumi, Lumetta, Kari,Bonnie, Cate, Dorte, Skylar, April, Lollipop, Janis, ibb, jgy,Ida Nielsen,Liza,this weeks theme byLikeschocolate, Isabelle, Lucylaine, Allegria, Pienduzz, Elisabelle,Rosa Maria, Elizabeth, Bichos da matos, Juniper, Victoria, Annabel,Angie, Emily, Kamana,Tikjewit, Tanïa, Barbara, Moetjatja, Dorit,Flowtops, Valérie, Juliette, Castor, Wanderchow,Lou et Tom, Lise,Fashion campagne, Tzivia, Cole, Juanita, Li + Belle, Sophie, Menthe blanche, Leslie...

Sneak Preview: Tomare Te-nugui

on tomarejgy.blogspot.com

By the Window

Little Cheerful Cafe

Oita, Japan

Window by Steven Watt

Everchanging views by

nature herself

ai♡kawarazu

JGY