We are having a quiet week at home during the second week of the school spring break. After a week of skiing and exploring the Japanese Alps, it is nice to be home and relaxing with the family. I am realizing that time is flying by and the kids are growing up and will be leaving us soon, so I am trying to savor my time with them. It is so nice just to have the time to spend so much time with them. It is one of the perks of having a career in education.
With spring coming, although it is still cold in Osaka, we cleaned the patio. With the kids help, I sanded and put a new wood stain on the furniture and Nadia picked out some flowers to put in our pots. It looks a lot better and we are looking forward to meals outside once the weather cooperates.
Owen is getting braces so we ventured downtown to his orthodontist’s office for x-rays and a consultation. Osaka is a huge city, the size of Chicago and combine it with neighbors Kyoto and Kobe, it is the size of London or Moscow. I like the urban buzz which differs from our suburban location in Minoh. We found a nice restaurant serving tempura and ramen after he was done.
On Sunday we visited the National Museum of Art and the Osaka Science Museum. Nadia wanted to share with Ocean the exhibition of Belgian artist, Pierre Alechinsky. She loves modern art and it was interesting to view the works and watch a video of his career. The fine arts play a part in our family’s life and so it is good to expose the children to the work of the masters. His painting of Central Park (1965) is shown below. I like the graphic novel-like panels in black and white on the outside and how it contrasts with the big splashes of color on the inside. I purchased a paper DIY diorama of the Great Wave off Kanagawa from the gift shop that Ocean and I put together yesterday.
I am also working on school projects this week, both OIS and for my doctorate, so it is good to catch up on my things to do list. We hope to get up to Lake Biwa tomorrow.
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