Somewhere Under the Rainbow

Well, as some of you know we relocated earlier this spring when the new school facilities opened. The front half of the old school was turned into an apartment for yours truly. We are very happy to have such a beautiful location beneath the rainbow. Our only complaint is the leprechauns who keep stealing our mail and dropping little pieces of gold all over the place. One of the big bonuses is our big blue front porch ceiling, which lights up. It means you can set up the lawn chairs out front any time, all the time - it's always summer around here.

The red lettering on the blue sign says "Grace" in katakana, one of the three Japanese alphabets. Why do they have three alphabets, you ask? We've asked the same question and only received blank stares. Or comments like "Well, there are three alphabets." Culture: it doesn't make sense, it just is.

We've bought some plants at the local DIY and only killed a couple of them. We're never sure what we're buying and are always pleasantly surprised when some unknown flower begins to blossom. Actually the smaller plant in the foreground is a fiesty little strawberry plant which regularly produces not-so-sweet strawberries.

We bought the huge green thing with orange flowers for 99 cents about two weeks ago. It was much smaller at the time and has since gone ballistic, now contending for ownership of our front porch. It's little friend alone in a small pot is a parsley plant. Every time it starts to make some progress a wicked cook sneaks out of the kitchen and cuts it down to the soil. Poor little guy. All he ever wanted to do was grow.

On the side - Our plants have nothing on Japanese gardens. This country is full of green thumbs, and some of the gardens are absolutely amazing. It's been all the rage for several centuries now to have finely trimmed trees and bushes. One of my students told me he pays $500 three times a year to have the foliage professionally trimmed at his house. These exorbant fees for professional trimmage are standard throughout the area.