Sometimes when I am studying, listening to music, and watching my cat stare at birds, I think of how great it all can be.
Tales from the "illegal" garden, I have found a wooden table on the curb that I bought over to support my wildflowers.
Takagi Shrine in Oshiage, Tokyo. Firstly, it's purple instead of the usual red. Secondly, onigiri (rice balls) everywhere, thanks to a pun. The shrine is dedicated to musubi, a Shinto concept that refers to creation and the link between all living things. However, omusubi happens to be another word for onigiri, and that's how you end up with a lovely quirky shrine.
Shirokuma Kinako frozen dessert from 7-11! Kinako is sweet roasted soybean powder (tastes not unlike peanut butter). This is a thick, crunchy shaved ice flavored with kinako, topped with shiratama mochi, red bean, kinako-dusted warabi mochi, kinako whipped cream, condensed milk, and molasses. I don’t even usually like condensed milk or molasses but I really enjoyed this! Will definitely get it again in the summer.
lady who picked up her laptop a minute ago gave me a little origami crow that was like a billion milligrams of dopamine directly into my brain
Do people commission artists/caligraphers for hyousatsu or how does it work? Especially with uncommon names or styles.
It hadn't occurred to me that you might commission them, how interesting! Google says that does happen, but I believe it's mostly from design companies. My icon is actually from a simulator like this where you can input text and try out different typefaces, designs, materials, etc.
If you wanna try it out, click the left icon ("Choose from series") to see all the different templates. (Or choose by door type [middle] or from the gallery [right].) If you find one you like, click the green button below it. From there it's mostly self-explanatory regardless of Japanese ability :)
So look what I saw at the pet store!
It's a catalog for animal-themed goods, including nameplates! (The title, うちの子 uchi no ko, is a colloquial way of saying "my child," and it's used to refer to your pet.)
Some of these seem more decorative than practical and the kitty cat one at the top 小太郎 Kotarō is just a first name, but there are some surnames too so I imagine at least some people are using these as their real nameplates!
For choices, look at all these adorable silhouettes! There are so many so many different choices for Shibas! And lots of less common pets, including way more rabbits than I would have expected!
Finally, I'm including the car decals because someone needs to recognize the brilliant hedgehog name! 太郎 Tarō is *the* generic boy's name or suffix for boy's names and 刺 toge means sharp, pointy, thorn, pierce, sting, etc. So basically Togetaro is a hedgehog named Spiky Son 😂
Been thinking about making this soup all day and then I made the soup and guys it was good soup
Had a small hitchhiker from my cilantro from the grocery store that I transplanted to my garden (ft. The Gard-ian, Mer)
Reviewing a name because the typeface is unbelievably cute. 高橋 is usually read Takahashi, but you might find a rare Takabashi, Takanahashi, or Tahashi too.
高 is read taka or kō, and it means tall, high, expensive, or to raise/increase. Its radicals are 亠 kettle lid, 冂 upside-down box, and 口 mouth (x2).
橋 is read hashi or kyō and it means bridge. Its radicals are 木 tree, ノ no, and the same combo of 冂 upside-down box, and two 口 mouths. I think that symmetry is what gives this name so much potential for cuteness.
Softly filtered dead wife in movie montage but of the sandwich I had one time and can't stop thinking about
when you're younger you make fun of it because it seems boring but one of the best parts of getting older and maturing is recognizing how simply lovely all that cliche shit is. sunsets really are so endlessly satisfying. the hint of lilacs in the breeze really is soft and delicate and sweet. sometimes it feels good just to successfully clean the sink, to find an affordable appliance in the color you've been wanting, to try a new recipe, to finally get through that one television series like how you've been meaning.
it seemed stupid because they tell you - it'll feel quick - but it does feel quick. when i was younger it was like time was molasses. i couldn't get out of there fast enough. all the eras of my life stretched out into taffy. but then you are 29 on a walk with a friend and you both just stop to smell the lily of the valley at your feet. you are both standing there, quiet, enjoying the simple moment of peace.
they say it gets better a lot, which used to have no meaning to me. better for me was undefined and daunting. but here is one way it got better without me trying - a few days ago i was walking my dog and stopped to stand in a sunbeam, turning my cheeks up at the shaft of golden fairylights, the dustmotes in the wood all shivering their little dancing bodies. a stranger stopped and kind of cocked her head and said basking? and i laughed nervously, already moving to get out of her way. instead, she said can i bask with you? and we stood there, full adults, a soundless hum in our chest. when the clouds came back over the sun, we made that awkward small talk - yeah i didn't expect it to be this chilly! and haha spring allergies are comin'.
and you pour yourself a cup of tea and are delighted when you measure the sugar ratio perfectly and you manage to parallel park correctly on the first time (probably because nobody was looking) and yoga really did help your lower back mobility and brown paper packages really do tug on your heartstrings and you love sweaters and furry blankets and watching your little potted plants grow one new and shining leaf and you want to find your younger self and say. yes, i am nostalgic for summers that bent like wheat and were buzzing with low energy and sleep. but darling. adulthood gets better because the time condenses into a prayerbook of your own psalms, these tender beautiful memories. it gets better because things become prettier, gentler, kinder to you - somehow. without you even noticing. you just get to the top of the hill and you realize - oh, this is the thing i've been missing.
A neighbor dropped off like 8 plants at my (not technically allowed lol) potted plant garden I've set up in the mulch patch in front of my apartment front window and left without explanation. I'm vividly reminded of people desperately foisting off their zucchinis and tomatoes on people when they had too many at a certain point in the summer.
‘Give Pigeons A Chance’ A drawing for all of the magical and misunderstood birds
Anastasia Trusova, “Lace over the river” Acrylic on canvas / 60 x 70 cm / 2022
Source: atrusovaartist.com
Kyûsu (急須, small teapot) and chôshi (銚子, sake decanter) collection, put together by Edo-lover Nadeshico Rin. They based this handy chart on designs seen in shunga (春画, erotic woodblock prints).
The captions list famous artists and the erotic compilations where those items could be found. I don’t care much about shunga so I won’t link them here but feel free to search - and ofc ready yourself for naughty NSFW ;)
cant recommend this enough but if youre able you should go on walks every day. like fuck weather fuck circumstance uust go outside. got rained on today and it was blissful. even just sit outside get fucked up by crazy ass wind youll never forget how small you are and rememebr everything matters