Happy Friday, my friends! I’ve been quiet here, there, everywhere. Thinking a lot, reading a ton.

Speaking of reading, I created the poster above for Sasquatch Books for an upcoming event. Obviously, I had fall on my mind. I also made a spring version:

Which do you like better? I believe it’s getting printed right now, though I don’t know which version they decided to go with. I’m betting autumn.

I haven’t felt engaged online for a long time. Not because there isn’t great content out there or because I’m trying to avoid the media mayhem that’s going on politically and economically. I used to read hundreds of blogs and would eagerly scroll through my Instagram feed. Not anymore.

I’ve just been…quiet. Like I just want to settle into a comfortable settee with a blanket on my lap and a piping hot cup of tea beside me. I want to read books printed on paper for hours on end and occasionally stare out the window to reflect. Just call me granny Sanae. I still send out my monthly Furoku (yes, it’s still mysterious and it’s still hard for me to describe), which I love and there’s a little bit of virtual interaction that goes on there that I enjoy very much.

I guess I’m becoming more protective of my time because it’s all going so fast and I don’t want to miss the precious parts. K started middle school last week and I’m watching her transform before my very eyes. She does so much more on her own now, her face and body are changing and I sense that there are hidden compartments within her that I’m not allowed to access, that I may never be allowed to access. She’s also way more hilarious – she keeps me in stitches when she describes her days of locker drama and weird homeroom protocols and assorted teachers and embarrassing moments. Those keen eyes of hers miss nothing.

Anyway, just thought I’d say hello since it’s been a while. Life is good. Very peaceful and oh-so-quiet right now. But I’ve got an inkling that might be changing soon. The quiet part, I mean.

Have a lovely weekend, all! I hope to be back soon!

P.S. I’m doing an event at Kinokuniya on Sunday, September 17th at 2pm for Chibi Samurai Wants a Pet. If you’re in town and would like a custom watercolor of your favorite creature, come on by!

Happy Friday! I always start off with an ambitious list of things I’m determined to complete while my mom is here in Seattle. Since my mom is the world’s greatest babysitter (Homemade Japanese feasts and treats! Art lessons! Never-ending willingness to play board games and charades!), I feel a certain amount of pressure to get as much work done as possible.

And every time, I don’t even make a dent in my list and throw in the towel mid-week. As far as spring break goes, it’s been mellow and uneventful, and we’ve done a whole lot of nothing. The best kind of vacation.

The one thing I have been doing is staying up way too late reading books. For some reason, I’d taken a hiatus from fiction for many months, but now I’m back at it. I’ve become a little obsessed with Patrick Ness and his YA novels. I just finished The Rest of Us Just Live Here and the first book of the Chaos Walking Trilogy. So good. There’s a generosity of spirit and humor in his writing, even when supernatural beings are wreaking havoc and bloody violence. I also read Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which took me a while to get into, but I ultimately loved it. You really can’t go wrong with Rushdie. As you can see, I’ve got a strong fantasy/sci-fi theme going on. K wants me to write a middle grade/YA novel one day, so I’m calling this recent spate of binge reading research. K recommended this book from her own personal library, and I read it in a day. It left me heaving with sobs and utterly spent emotionally. No wonder I needed to escape to fanciful worlds in which animals talk.

My watercolor bunny up there doesn’t have much to say, however. It’s Easter in a couple of days, and I’ve run out of time to make K an outfit. Ah well, let’s hope that I’ll find my sewing energy once the school routine resumes next week. These are the patterns in my queue at the mo:

Naeh-Connection Undies for K

Aster Top by Colette Patterns (I have the PDF ready to assemble)

Kelly Anorak by Closet Case Patterns

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Hunting Easter eggs
is not as thrilling for K*
But she’s a good sport

*This year, our neighbor’s tiny tot is joining our annual Easter egg hunt, so the challenge level will skew to the ridiculously easy side. When do kids officially stop wanting to look for candy-filled plastic eggs? It seems like K is pretty over it…