First night, Two Baths @ Figtree

One night, two baths, forty minutes Kikou, and a refreshing sleep. It is now our second day at Fig Tree Cottage in Maleny, QLD. Aco and I are enjoying the easy going atmosphere. Last night Aco was lucky to find that the stars were visible mid-night. It has been raining and cloudy day after day in QLD this last month, so Aco was fortunate to find a moment when the clouds had cleared, we could see the moon, the Milky Way.



Aco cooked an oil-free curry using Japanese curry powder. It was delicious, I was surprised that a curry can be so tasty without frying the spices first in oil. It is now the morning after, and I am cooking Okayu as Aco takes a shower. Today we will visit the Glass-House Mountains, have a picnic, hopefully visit a local winery, and visit a national park.

A special person is coming to Brisbane

Dearest Aco will be here in 2 days.
It's hard to believe that she will be here with me, where I am now, in a short while.
I hope she can relax in Australia, and enjoy our holiday. I know she has so much to think about these days. She is truly special, working so hard, preparing for the end of year, preparing for a tax investigation, and for our holiday.

I'll take the train to the airport on Tuesday morning at 6:21 AM, to meet Aco at Brisbane International Airport. Her flight will arrive at 7:05.

Leaving Tomorrow

I have only one day left for leaving to Australia.

I sent off my beloved bunny Lapita yesterady and handed him to my mother at tokyo station.

I miss him please be well until I come back.

It was so quick the time has passed by.

I m still working today and I haven't finished packing, but it should be ok I hope.

I will leave early morining tomorrow, I just hope everything will be all right until I arrive at Adam's place.

Fingers crossed!

Dilemma

今とっても、気持ちが落ち着かない状態です。

あと少しでAustlaria

でも、仕事は山のようにある。。。


どう～しよう。

やるしかない！　ですね。

がんばりましょう。

崖っぷちのAcoです。


・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・


This is the translation by Adam :)
thx for that


At this time I am really feeling down, tired, unsettled, restless.
In a short while I should go to Australia.
But, I have so much work to do. thid is like a big mountain just infront of me.

How can it be done?
But it must be done! Right?
I will rise up, and do my best, as much as I can.
This is my challenge.

This is like Aco is sanding on the edge of a cliff :P

Mr. Frog

Mr. Frog climbing up the wall in my room.

Buldings, clouds and yellow trees

This is Shinjuku city in Tokyo taken about 10 days ago.


I found the sky looks nice with clouds.

the trees are getting change their colour at this time.

And, I took this today on a way back to the office from Shinjuku stn.

As you can see the trees are coloured beautifully yellow.

Country Skies and Rain-Clouds, Following Record Downfalls in Queensland.

a view outside my room

I am back at Lucas Camp #94.
This is my second hitch at 94 since we had closed down a few months ago.
Recently there has been an extremely high amount of rain, breaking records, and causing widespread flooding. 
I hope the rain will decrease by the time Aco comes. The seems to be have been falling each day for the last 2-3 weeks. 
The last two days have been dry where we are, with rain-clouds scattered here and there around our camp.
Work has been ok. I have been feeling a bit tired with this work. I can sense I have grown slightly averted to the culture of the mining camps, as well as the day to day tasks of this work. I will continue working, as long as I can. After-all this job helps me save a decent amount of money, which will help me fulfill my goals.

15days left Before leaving Tokyo

We have 15 days left before our next meeting!

I'm really looking forward to seeing you Adam, and I am happy to be next to you again soon.

At the same time, I become more worried about my work.

Since we will have investigation in January I have to do more work,  more than I expected.

In the end of the year, each year, we are normaly busier than ordinary time. And I should prepare for the time during which I will be absent from work.

Noone can replace me :( so I'm a bit worried about my company....

Anyway we have only 15days left and I think I should do what I can do right now to get ready for our holiday and for my work as well.

I hope I can be well prepared before i leave tokyo.

Eighteen days before our Australian Summer Holiday!

Aco will be here soon! In eighteen days, Aco will be in Australia with me, at this old Queenslander house where I currently live. For me, it will be a dream-come-true.

We have been planning our Australian summer holiday since June. We will stay here, at my share house, for the first night, before going up to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, to our hideaway cabin in Maleny for three nights, and then back again for another two nights. I cant wait to be with Aco again. It has been around six months since the last time I was with her in Japan :(

Aco, I put these photos here for you to see :) 

I hope you are looking forward to our holiday as much as I am xxx.

A typical "Queenslander" home. My room is at the front of the house, on the top floor, left side.

A view down the road from the porch (east)

A view (west)

Yummy Sandwich

Organic Whole-grain Bread, Tomato, Swiss Cheese, Cucumber, Spanish Onion, Avacado
Dill, Spring Onion, Parsley, Kyupi Mayonnaise, Dijon Mustard, Miso Paste, Shichimi, Salt and pepper.
and Umeboshi.

これはとてもおいしかったです！

This was really yummy!

"Coopers" one of My Favorite Australian Beers

Coopers Pale Ale

I'm drinking a Coopers Pale Ale at the moment.
Coopers is made in Adelaide, South Australia.
Its one of my favorite Australian beers.
No Additives
No Preservatives
The taste is a bit yeasty, the way a good beer should taste.
I prefer a beer that has a mildly dry, bitter, refreshing taste, over a beer that is sweet and light.

I dont like to be drunk.
I like to drink for the taste, and to reach a nice tipsy warmth within. I'd rather feel a bit silly and warm from a few drinks of good さけ, wine, or a nice beer, without drinking too much and loosing my senses.

First Attempt: Cheese Soufflé

This afternoon I prepared and baked a Cheese Souffle, my first ever Souffle.
I've never even tasted a souffle before, I am a chef, I work as a chef, graduated cooking college, and yet I have never had to make a souffle, embarrassing but true.
I have a copy of Julia Child's, Mastering the Art of French Cookery, on my laptop.
I read through the basics of souffle preparation, and found that there are many ways to alter a souffle, to create something more personalized, using the standard recipe as a focal point.
I had decided to start with a classic, cheese souffle. To see what is required to prepare, and produce a decent souffle, before deciding if I'd like to go further.
Since I have also not seen many souffles, I wasn't sure how it should look, what a perfect souffle should look like.

I went ahead anyway, following the recipe as closely as I can, and baked my first souffle.
Here's a photo:



おいしいそう？
たべますか？

I thought it looked like it had blown open on the top. But the taste was nice, a very simple taste.

I will make another soon.

When I was in Tokyo last May-June, Aco and I had eaten a Natto Omelette. It was quite nice. Natto taste complimented the egg taste. Perhaps I could try to cook a Natto souffle :) after-all, the basic ingredients of a souffle are eggs, flour and milk. I think I would be quite happy to find some Natto in the middle of a nice baked souffle... well, that just my taste imagination. I will see how it tastes in reality, next time.

Fermented Goodness

Since the 19th November I have been at home, enjoying my break from work.
I have been taking better care of my health this break. Eating Okayu (rice soup) almost every day, for breakfast, and drinking at least two pots of fermented black tea, which was a gift from Aco.

For some time I have felt that I might have some health issue with my stomach or intestines. I often feel bloated, and full, even if I eat a small amount.
I have been following Aco's advice, trying to have a more holistic approach to my well-being. I first started learning BouKikou (CHi Kung with Bo) from Aco last year. Since then I have been practicing more frequently and finding it helps to relax any tightness in my shoulders and neck.
The tightness in my left shoulder and left side of my neck, can at times be very severe and painful. So I have asked for more advice from Aco about these symptoms, to find out what she would recommend, how my symptoms would be interpreted by Traditional Chinese Medicine.
It was interesting to learn that the left shoulder is related to the stomach. Aco had advised me to start taking better care of my stomach, by eating Okayu each morning, and Miso Shiru, and to drink the fermented black tea each day.
I have been following her advice, and I have been feeling better... less bloated, and clean within. I am now wishing to find more fermented foods and drinks. There is a tea shop in Chermside that sells fermented teas, I will have a look next week, and if it's not too expensive, I will buy some.

Thanks Aco. MD.