2024

Happy Holidays, All!

It's been a busy travel year for us — we went to Japan twice with Mom (first time was to see the sakura with Keisuke), and Brian went back to New Zealand to see family and friends. He was unable to keep his dates as planned due to heavy rains and mudslides that blocked the main highways in Northland. He'll be returning to NZ during their autumn to follow-through. Whether we return to Japan depends much on Mom; she has been enjoying playing "fantasy money market" with the strong dollar, so ... hopefully?

While in Japan, Mom went to see her friends, and we got to see some of ours too, as well as attend festivals and events that are normally outside of our purview. Many of the photos are from our travels. We're constantly discovering things, new and old (like finding feijoas for sale at a road-side stand in the Japan alps!)

2024 has been an otherwise eventful year, unfortunately with the deaths of some of our beloveds, including the Hoashi family patriarch; Fatso (a.k.a. Jackson Fluffypants / mrJ); and notifications of the deaths of a number of Brian's cousins as well as his mother while NZ was still in the throes of lockdown. The contacting and gatherings have enabled us to be back in touch with many of the Hoashi-side relatives as well as the Mannings and Gardners. Of course, the Horita family are always in our lives; we stay at the farmhouse when in Japan and they lovingly torment us and happily meddle endlessly.

It snowed early this year; thus the drawing of mrJ's corpse doing duty as our snowman (we were originally going to have him "help" with the construction of the snowman we were referring to as 'Beowulf'). And Zoomie flying in didn't quite get there in time to save him from such indignities, but he made sure (I'm sure) that mrJ got to dog-heaven without trouble ;). By the way, Mom is an excellent creator of snowballs — must have something to do with all that onigiri she's made in her lifetime!

Live well and kindly and pay attention to those you love.

— Maki / Bif / Mom