bicycle riding and ice candy

last weekend, i took my new (old) bike out for it's first ride. it was glorious. here she is, it's she a beauty? her model name is D-X Lady. it's old, and heavy, with a bell, and a light with a generator, and a basket, and i love her.

here she is coming out of her stall in my building's bike parking garage. as you can see, there are 2 levels of bike parking, and you can't see in this photo but there are two rows. and this nifty tray that pulls out and becomes a ramp. clever.

this is my street. it's wide, with a divided sidewalk and crosswalks for pedestrians and bikes. (some of my best friends are urban planners).
here are all the bikes parked illegally in front of the kyoto train station.

and my new favorite treat: the morinaga chocolate ice bar. morinaga is a brand name. and in japan, they call ice cream bars 'ice candy' which at first i thought was kind of dumb, but now i think it makes sense. anyway, this one has a chocolate center, chocolate ice cream, and then a chocolate coating. hmm, perhaps i need one now.

tree pose

this is a tree of wishes by portuguese artist ana of fricdementol.

this week was my first week to go back to my part time job teaching english and to the university after i broke my foot. my students were great; when i am away for awhile, i always forget how inspiring it can be to teach them. the visit to the U was also productive and energizing and reaffirming.

i had some help getting around from the kindest people on earth, my neighbors who i think of as my fairy godparents. and i spent a lot of time on trains, and changing trains. being on crutches often means balancing on one foot, kind of like tree pose in yoga.

while short, my week was exhausting, but i am looking forward to more crafty posting soon!