winter! **

Originally uploaded by Lero !!

Okay, so this first one isn't my photo, but I kind of gasped when I saw it... A miniature snowman !!! So cute.

Word on the street - it might snow again tomorrow! Last time it snowed, we had a big snowball fight around the tree outside :)


The snow reminds me of the stars.

** *

*

* * * * * *
*
**
*

Meet Inkiko *(^.^)* !!

This is my new Japanese cat friend! Isn't he just adorable?!! I named him Inkiko because it looks like he's got a little inkblot on his forehead...it's like a hybrid English-Japanese name that can be said in a really cute voice! ... "Inkiko! Inkiko!" ... He's a miniature "Maneki Neko" that I bought at the Grand Asia Market about 20 minutes away... I love Inkiko because I'm not allergic to him and when I pick him up he makes me speak gibberish because he's just so darn cuuuuute !!! ^.^

Traditionally, "Lucky Cats" like these are meant to bring money and fortune. That's why his right paw's up in the air. But Inkiko just sits next to my bed with that cute little smile and the world is okay. :)

Japanese!!

I started teaching myself Japanese!! For months, people have been telling me that so much of what I do (especially in regards to my art) is very "East Asian" as are many of my thoughts and "philosophies" on life. I'd been feeling "unbalanced" in terms of my ethnicity. . . Don't get me wrong, I love my other half too, but I just feel like there's so much I don't know about my roots, where I come from. I'm going to change this by slowly exploring ~^_^~

So far I've learned the Hiragana syllabary :

あいうえお
かきくけこ
さしすせそ
たちつてと
なにぬねの
はひふへほ
まみむめも
や ゆ よ
らりるれろ
わ を
ん

and some Katakana too !

アイウエオ
カキクケコ

I don't know what it is, but I just find all these characters adorable. I love the little curves and loops and circular motion that's visible in many of them. My favorite character is the vowel "O" : お !

I love that you can see the energy of the second to last stroke which carries into the final tick mark. It's not just a random line...it's connected to the whole !

The other thing I love about the language is a little something referred to as "ten-ten" from the word dakuten which can be understood as "softening marks." When added to a character, the consonant becomes less hard ** i.e. the "k-" sound becomes a softer "g-", "t-" becomes "d-", and so on.


I like to hold up two fingers next to my face in imitation of these marks. **!!**

Some things I can write/say/spell:
Ohayou gozaimasu (Good morning) おはようございます
Hajimemashite (Nice to meet you) はじめまして
まりさ (ma ri sa, Hiragana) or まりっさ (* the small 'tsu' っ indicates a double consonant)
たまこ(ta ma ko, my grandmother's name !!)
みずです。(It is water or I am water or You are water -- I want to learn how to say We are all water next!)


Hooray for learning things independently !!