About Our Web Page Design

This is just a quick note about the background images for these web pages.

We are living on tatami mats, Japanese style. No chairs. Our dining table is just one foot high.

The image you see here in the background was created from actual photographs of the floor I am sitting on. The straw matting and the brocade cloth edging were captured as separate images, modified into seamless tiles, and then put back together as they appear here. The result on my laptop screen is very close to life-size.

Welcome to our floor.

P.S. Just for fun, if you are on a Windows PC and you would like to see the tiles themselves, right-click on the straw matting or the brocade and select "View Background Image." (Sorry, Mac users, you are on your own.)

On a rainy day

David was at Doshisha University today so I decided to stay home and finish reading the book I am very much enjoying. I also did a bit of laundry and relaxed with several crossword puzzles.
It is difficult to get good photos of the rooms inside the house because the areas are so small. Here are a few. The "genkan" is the entry area - an extension of the outside and where shoes are taken off before entering the house. The hallway has the "noren" I bought for the house as a gift. It is hanging in front of the kitchen door. Our sleeping room is a 6 tatami mat (one tatami is apprx 3 x 6 feet) .

Garbage Day

It is easy to recycle in Kyoto. Foodstuff and burnables go into the yellow bag, plastic, pet bottles, glass, foil, etc go into the clear bag. Set it out by the curb on the proper day and it gets picked up twice a week.

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Settling In

The house we are renting has 4 rooms on the main floor and three on the second. The stairs to the second floor are at a 50 degree angle - I do not exaggerate! I am so very thankful for the handrail.

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