Day 357 - All Done!

Thought of the day: I spent the evening talking with a new friend on a tatami over some divine Japanese food. It was a lovely evening. On the wall facing me hung a large framed photograph of white cherry blossoms. The Japanese waitress was unbelievably friendly and she was dressed in an oversized beige silk blouse with orange floral prints on it. The ambience of this place made me feel very comfortable and I was momentarily transported to Japan - a country that had held my fascination for quite a while now even though I hadn't had a chance to visit yet.


Photo of the day:

"All done!"  Lila loved Dushanbe Teahouse's coconut rice pudding.  We were there for lunch to say goodbye to our house guests - they would be sorely missed.

Day 151 - Socks

Thought of the day: Sunday is a great day to relax, take a break, and enjoy the family time.  And that's exactly what we did today.

Photo of the day:

Socks for Japan - somebody in Japan is collecting socks to distribute to people affected by the earthquake and tsunami.  It seems like a legitimate operation.  We bought some socks and attached a note to each of them - a Japanese friend kindly translated the message for us - and will send them off tomorrow through a volunteer at CU. Some people may consider it a folly to send something as insignificant as a pair of socks when lives and entire livelihoods have been lost.  However, this is the only way I know of to send some words of comfort directly to the victims.  If it reaches but a single person and warms his body and heart, it would already be worth the effort.

Day 148 - Copper

Thought of the day: After returning from a good day of skiing, I read and watched news for a short time but it was just long enough to get me depressed: house vote to ban public funding for NPR, situation in Libya, and worst of all: more bad news from Japan - it's hard to believe that the unimaginable human tragedy can get even worse.  So many bad news, tragedies and senseless acts in the past few years from all around the world - why?  Has it always been like that and I just haven't paid attention?  I can't help but wonder how much longer we can be cocooned in our comfortable life.  I can't help but fear when the tide of events will catch us.  I can't help but wonder where we are heading as a race.  Yes, I'm sure a lot of doubts and fears will dissipate by tomorrow morning when the sun rises and I have had a good night of rest, but will anything have changed fundamentally?  Probably not.  Looking at it in a positive light, perhaps all these doubts and fears are what it takes to keep us grounded, no matter where we are, no matter what we do.

Photo of the day:

Ski day at Copper: windy day, icy bumps, slushy runs - they desperately needed snow!  However, my recently adjusted boots were more comfortable and I had great company, so I had another fun winter day in the mountains. (Cell phone photo)