Cerebrating Birthday, Starting New Painting

Baked a pumpkin pudding for my husband birthday.
This is the most favorite dessert of him!
I used to bake cakes, pies, and cookies very often for the first few years of marriage, but not anymore, since we both were putting on weight...　;-)　
Anyway, this is his birthday, so some treat for him.

yummy??
おいしそうですか？

I always try not let my housework eat into my studio hours , so I started cooking as early as 7:00 this morning (!) right after my husband headed off to work.
Getting in time at 9:00 AM, started studio work.
Listening internet radio I come to know recently, I just continued to paint until lunch break.

夫の誕生日のために好物のカボチャプリンを焼きました。
新婚の頃はケーキやらクッキーやらやたら焼いたものですが、二人とも太るようになって、最近ではたまにしか作りません（＾＾）
しかしまあ、今回は誕生日ということでお祝いです。
時間的に家事がアトリエでの仕事に食い込まないようにしているので、今日は夫が出かけたすぐ後の7時から作り始めました！
なんとか9時に間に合って作業開始。最近知ったインターネットラジオを聞きながら、昼休みまでひたすら描き続けました。

Relaxing time with "Les Misérables"

Finally ( i should say so?), bought a whole series of "Les Misérables" ! (Japanese version, no doubt )(^ ^)
I also bought a expository book entitled "106 stories of Les Misérable"by Shigeru Kashima；It has a lots of beautiful illustrations by wood engraving, so makes me much easier to understand the whole story as well as the social landscape and religeous views of France at that time. 
Probably　I would not read through without this text. Wonderful book!

inside of expository book

As with many foreign literature, "Les Misérables" start with long introductionary part which sometimes seems nothing to do with the main story; I am now reading the life of a catholic priest who later helped the main character Jean Valjean, although his name has not even been mentioned yet.
Still far to go, but I am planning to read all of them during holiday season.

In addition, I will go to the movie "Les Misérables" with my husband tomorrow. Already reserved the best seats in the theather. Sounds too much? Maybe, but this is my fad in this winter.


ついに。。というか、「レ・ミゼラブル」全巻を買いました！(もちろん日本語版です＾＾）
ついでに鹿島茂氏の解説本「レ・ミゼラブル　百六景」も。
こちらは木口木版の挿絵が沢山載っていてとてもきれいです。当時のフランスの社会情勢や宗教観が説明されているので、物語がより分かりやすくなります。
この本が無かったら私は多分完読できないでしょうね。
大抵の海外文学がそうであるように、「レ・ミゼラブル」も導入部分が長い！今読んでいるのは、あらすじには殆ど関係無いような神父の生涯の箇所で、主役のジャン・バルジャンを助けることになるのですが、まだジャン･バルジャンの名前さえ出てきません。
まだまだ先は長いですが、年末年始の お休みの間に読むつもりです。

明日は夫と映画の「レ・ミゼラブル」に行く予定。既に席を予約しました！
ちょっとやり過ぎ？でもこれがこの冬のマイブームです。

New Surroundings

It had been my happy routine for a long time to enjoy a nap after lunch.
It is now but a dream of the past since I moved here; Backyard of my new house is facing to the playground of a junior high school, and therefore, my naptime came to be disturbed by the chimes which ring every fourty minutes to announce the start/end of the classes. Ummmm..

The chimes, however, is useful for me, too; It tells me when to start working and when to take break. It regulates my studio hours.
I also love to hear the students chanting "Fight, Fight" or "Go for it" etc. while PE class or club activities in the playground. Sometimes their practice starts as early as  eight in the morning; It makes me realize that is also the time me to start working or housekeeping (sometimes)  leaving PC.
Although some artists hate to be tied down to clock, I like this way of working a little more than a little which my new environment affords me.  At least, it prevent me to become lazy.
Sorry for my poor English, as always.(^^)

ランチの後の昼寝は私の長年の幸せな習慣でした（＾＾）
しかしこちらに越してからというもの、それは過去の夢になりつつあります。というのも、新居の裏が中学の校庭に面していて、授業の開始や終了を知らせるチャイムが４０分ごとに聞こえて、昼寝の時間が邪魔されるからです。
でも、チャイムというのは便利なもので、いつ作業を始めるか、いつ休憩するかを知らせてもくれるので、アトリエでの時間が規則正しくなります。
それに私は校庭から聞こえる体育の時間やクラブ活動の掛け声を聞くのが大好きなのです。中学生の練習は早いときは朝８時から始まるので、それに併せてわたしもパソコンから離れてアトリエ作業やらを始めます。
アーティストの中には時間に縛られるのが嫌いな人もいますが、私はこういう仕事の仕方が嫌いではありません。少なくとも怠けないようにしてくれますから。

Stay Gold - elementary school reunion

I was gone to my hometown, Osaka, for a few days.
There are many galleries and museums in Osaka, and I wanted to visit some of them. But the biggest purpose of the trip was to participate in elementary school reunion for the first time in 35 years.

 

24 out of 44 who were in the same class for 2 years at the age of 11 to 12 got together for the reunion, plus our class teacher.
She (Ms.M) was very famous as the most strict teacher in our school and we were very scared (!) when it was announced that we were going to belong to her class. Indeed, she was very strict teacher. But, moreover, she is one of the best teacher I have ever met. I think all of my classmates will agree on that; While she was very strict on our behavior and always encouraged us to study hard (very hard!) by giving a lot of homework, she loved us more than anything. On sunny day, she often brought us to the riverside close to our school to play softball, throwing up the classwork (without getting permission of the school principal.)

In a small pub close to our school, we could not stop talking about our old memories. We felt like we are still 12-year old kids.
Everybody remembered very small details of the happenings in the class;  Who was the most mischievous boy and got it by Ms.M,  or who was the first love of whom, or what was the best school lunch, etc...
Each of us had good time and bad time in the past 30-something years. We grew up and became capable to look back the past objectively and look forward to the future with a hope which we still cannot see.  One of the classmate said, "If I can go back to the best time in my whole life, I will definitely want to go back to the boy when I was playing with you guys." I think most of us thought the same way. It was the golden age for us. We know we can't go back to that time, but also felt very certain that our reunion this time is the start of our new golden age which will last until we die.

Friendship in childhood is jewel; never loses its brightness. At the end, I especially want to thank a few of my friends, who planned this reunion a half year ago, and spent so much time and energy to find old friends (most of us left the hometown for a long time ago). It is quite something to do. We could not regain this friendship and have a opportunity to build new bond without their tremendous effort and quiet dedication.