I'm taking a Japanese language class this term—the Intermediate 3 one that I enrolled in last term only too see it canceled due to low enrollment. So far, so good. The earlier time slot (17:20-18:50, as opposed to 19:00-20:30) means that many of the downtown shops are still open when I pass by, and I could even stick around for a bite to eat after class.

Last weekend I attended brian_252's beer-brewing party at Shenandoah Brewing Company and took pictures. I opted not to brew anything, since I dislike the taste of beer, but I can at least recommend their root beer on draft.

My parents will be visiting this weekend to help me plan a Japanese-style room (for tea ceremony) that I have in mind to establish in my living room area. I think it could be about 4.5 2 tatami mats (7.5 3.3 m²) in area and separated from the larger living space by shōji. The big challenge here will be figuring out how not to spend a fortune.

I recently had a plumber come and replace the leaky polybutlyene pipe between my house and the street with non-leaky copper pipe. This fortunately didn't require ripping up the entire driveway but rather digging two holes—one at each connection—and pulling the new pipe between them. If this sort of thing interests you, come look at the pictures.

My parents have been visiting for the past few days to help me clean up various long-neglected messes around the house. The backyard was a huge one, what with the overgrown grass; unfortunately, the application of two weed-eaters and a reel mower has stirred up all sorts of allergens and insects. I moved my computers back to their desks, freeing up the piano downstairs and removing at least a few of the obstacles in the path to the washer and dryer. We reorganized my pantry and threw out a bunch of stale food from the fridge. We returned the first new garbage-disposal unit (whose electronics had been fried) for a second one, which works. And my dad pointed out that the perennial wet spot in my driveway is probably the result of a leaking water line. Ugh.

heat pump capacitor: $156
emergency service charge: $75
labor: $99
"trip" fee: $5
having air conditioning in 100°F (38°C) heat: priceless

We have a cookbook of authentic Civil War era recipes, and the other day Mara—ever the adventurous cook—was the first to make a dish from it: beef stew with homemade dumplings. She did deviate from the recipe by adding herbs, a choice with which I completely agree. It's soooo good. Beef stew may possibly be the Best Thing Ever.

At my tea ceremony lesson, I did my first chabako temae. (Temae means “tea ceremony procedure”; if I say “ceremony” I think it sounds too solemn.) Cha means tea, and bako means box; chabako is a tea ceremony where all the utensils are carried in a lacquered box, making it portable enough for an outdoor tea gathering, none of which I've ever seen, but that's the theory. I performed a basic summertime chabako temae, unohana, which means deutzia blossom. I was far less flustered this time than when I did my first ryakubon (tray) temae; a lot of ryakubon procedures are directly applicable to chabako unohana. This was my last tea lesson before we go to Japan, and I got all sorts of advice about Kyoto: where to buy tea ceremony utensils (department store basements) and specialty foods (Nishiki Market), viewing the city (go to the roof of Kyoto Station), and visiting our tea school's headquarters (say hi to Yoko Satou). I'm so excited!

I picked up the Gothic Lolita-style dress I mentioned, and I tried it on to make sure it fits now. Indeed, the arm cuffs no longer cut off my blood circulation, but somehow I had an even harder time getting out of it than before. The shoulders are tailored in a such a way as to require nearly unhinging one's shoulder joints to slide one's arms out of the sleeves. I'm not sure how long I spent in the dressing room, maybe twenty minutes, but it seemed like an eternity in my epic struggle to get the darkly cute garment over my head. I wonder what the proprietor thought I was doing in there. :) My victory reward: thai bubble tea. Yum.

Our new laminate flooring was a good excuse to get Robomaid, sort of a Poor Man's Roomba that works on hard, smooth floors. So far it seems to work, but that's almost beside the point: it's worth its price as entertainment alone (not unlike the Roomba), especially if you share your house with a cat.