Mari is away for three weeks visiting her mom in Saitama, north of Tokyo. Two things keep me here in Kyoto: my DSL lifeline (for work) and my pet allergies. Over the next few months, Mari will need to be in Saitama a lot, so we’ve been talking about setting up a broadband connection and a dander-free cleanroom for me up there. For the next few weeks, though, I’m out here on my own.
The other day, after my neighbors Carlos and Reme found out that Mari’s gone, Reme surprised me with a delicious lunch delivered to my doorstep: bean and vegetable stew (with the biggest beans I’d ever seen), bechamel/ham croquettes, rice, and a banana. It was a touching treat, a welcome change from the rice and miso soup I’d been eating for the previous two days. Such a thoughtful gesture from next door, and how lucky  I am!
While I miss Mari, I’m also enjoying my temporary solitude. I have a bunch of projects I need to focus on, and I can do my own thing for awhile. I can stay up late watching sci-fi and horror movies, read an ActionScript manual in bed, hog all of the blankets, sleep in until 11 — go wild. Actually, I’m a little proud of myself for keeping the house together. I’m still vacuuming, doing the dishes, showering, doing laundry, eating my vegetables. This afternoon, I remembered Mari’s advice to pick leaves from the garden and make a salad. It would have been nicer to share the bowl with her, but this way I can tell her about it on the phone and in the blog.
Comments
8 responses to “in my solitude, friendly neighbors”
Hey Rick,
I’m glad you liked the food 😉
We should plan something for next week or so.
Cheers.
You really have a Wonderful Blog with some really Great Photos!!
Thanks, Azim!
Carlos, do you know what kind of beans those were? They’re about 5 times the size of the “average” bean.
They are called “pallares” or “Lima beans”, and we bought them in this Brazilian shop I told you about (from where we got the lentils too). They are really good, aren’t they?
I’ll have to order some Lima beans, then. I wonder if they’d be good fried…
A lima bean recipe recommendation from the other side of the world (North Carolina, US): baby limas, tomato, corn, sauteed with a little onion… “suffering succotash,” as Sylvester the cat would say…
Hey Rick– don’t know if you remember me, we lived in Okada together freshman year… Remember Chris, as in Chris & Angel?
So that’s what succotash is!
Wow, blast from the past. Of course I remember you, Chris! How have you been? I’ll have to get back to you offline.