A Yokohama Art Exhibit and Pleasant Digressions

Last January I had fun attending the Sogenkai art exhibit with Flat Stanley, Mary Beth, and Mimi. None of them could squeeze the exhibit into their busy schedules this year so I tossed my camera and Kindle in my bag and headed to Yokohama on my own. It was a another rewarding day in more ways than one.

Takako's entry this year is similar to last year's painting in that it's a landscape she recalls from the years she lived and hiked in England. The teachers who critiqued her painting earlier in the week said she should lower the horizon by eliminating some of the distant hills and said the left side of the painting is too dark.

She'll make these changes between now and the Tokyo exhibit in April but won't spend more than a day on it.  A higher priority is a portrait of her son and his bride who will marry in March on a Hayama beach.  This is the wedding gift they have requested.  Based on their choice of wedding gifts, I like this young couple sight unseen.

Over a leisurely lunch of Japanese curry, Takako and I talk about our children and other interests.  I am surprised to learn painting ranks below hiking on her list of hobbies.  Painting for her is simply a way of remembering a few of the most memorable views she's enjoyed while rambling around England and California.  Only lately has she started appreciating the scenery in her native land.  She has identified three potential Japanese views for future paintings and I hope she completes at least one of those paintings before I leave Japan.

The prospect of entertaining their son's new in-laws motivated Takako and her husband to renovate their kitchen and bathroom.  She is the third of my Japanese friends in the past three weeks who has described a thirty-year old house as old, a concept that tickles me due to my affinity for American houses built between 1885 and 1925.  She affably answers all my questions about that kitchen renovation.  Yes, she installed a drawer-style dishwasher like Dr. T's and Shinagawa's.  Yes, her new refrigerator opens from both the left side and the right.  Yes, her new stove features one of the little drawers for cooking fish and making toast.

My one-on-one time with Takako is a memory I will cherish.  Rambling around the interesting neighborhood near the Kannai station before I got my bearings and found the exhibit hall was also rewarding as was my tiny detour into the cream puff shop in Kamiooka when I was transferring from the subway to the train on my return trip to Yokosuka.  Two visits to the cream puff shop in one week might seem a bit much but that strawberry cream filling is a temporary flavor that, for all I know, could change to soy or red bean paste tomorrow.  Carpe diem!

P.S.  If anyone reading this knows anything about electricity, I would be willing to swap a case of sake or mushroom-shaped cookies - your choice - for information on the possibility of getting Japanese kitchen appliances to work in the United States.