Lunar Eclipse

We had a full lunar eclipse in Tokyo, and the sky stayed clear long enough for me to photograph it. I took over one hundred photos, but I thought I'd share just five highlights.

I'm still working on learning how to photograph the moon, so don't flame me. :)

(mr)

This was the exact minute of the full eclipse. 

Wall Art Pt.1

We like our house, but the walls have gotten rather dirty right around little kid height, if you know what I mean. I'm kind of a clean freak, but I've learned to live with a certain level of mess, because there's just no way to have a perfectly tidy house with six kids (half of them being teenagers, half being little).

People are more important than stuff.

So my wife and I thought we'd just wait a few more years until the little ones were old enough to not run around smearing their grubby paws across the white walls, and then we'd repaint the walls. But a friend of ours, who just happens to be an artist, decided to do something different. He decided to take those crayon and pen scribbles on the walls and turn them into wall art! There was one particular section of wall that had a long zig-zag scribble on it. Our friend looked at it and said to the girls, "You know what that is? That's a dragon's tail."

The girls were hooked. They just sat and watched him transform a dirty, scribbled wall, into a work of art. Check out the transformation!

Whaaa! What's up with that head?

Look at the door! Yeah, our kids are wild.

I'll update here when the castle is finished!

Until next time, live...and love!

(mr)

Summer Reset

Something happened to our blog and all the images got deleted or something. I think it was when I got my new phone, which was, because it's an Android, automatically linked to my Google account. Somehow I messed things up here, so I've decided to stick to a simpler design. This'll do.

Why are you taking over my life?!

We've had an amazing summer here! Sure, we had our hot days, but overall, it was cooler than most summers, which just thrilled us. And now we're almost in October, and the weather is perfect every day.

The Mrs. is 27 weeks pregnant, and we're expecting our seventh child (a boy!) around Christmastime. After six daughters -- to finally have a son? Yeah. Surreal. Everyone in the family is excited and can't wait to spoil the little prince absolutely rotten.

Isn't she lovely?

The Mrs. and I spent most of the summer alone, which is unusual, since we usually hang out with friends a lot. But this summer we just needed time alone -- and that's what we got! A perfect summer of love, sharing, and happiness. As Jane Eyre says, "as gay as in company, as free as in solitude". That is the idyllic life I share with my darling.

Until next time, live ... and love!

(mr)

Sumida River Walkabout

EDIT: Sorry so many of the photos got deleted.

The other day, because the weather was so fine and we wanted to spend the day together out and about, my darling wife and I took a walk through Tokyo, starting in the bay and working our way up one of the cities major rivers into the heart of what was once the old fishing villages of Edo. On the advice of my photographer friend, I recently got a 50mm lens for my Canon EOS 20D. I love taking pictures, but it's strictly a casual hobby, so I'm not claiming to be the best or even good at this or anything. Anyway, here are some moments I caught. (Some of these images have been cropped to fit what I wanted.)

Lovely even on a 10-mile walk

The spring flowers in Tokyo are amazing

On an artificial beach in the middle of Tokyo Bay

In the bay -- built by the Shogun to stop foreign ships

The gun batteries on the island

This bridge has a long, technical, boring name -- we call it Rainbow Bridge

More blossoms, of a different variety

We walked across Rainbow Bridge

One of many old noble gardens converted into national parks

Along the Sumida River

He flew right over my head

We stopped for sushi in the old fish market

Me

Not common for modern Japan -- even the natives were surprised

The end of our journey - the Thunder Gate of Sensouji (Asakusa Temple)