Pages

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

My first month of the year 2017

Hello,  my dear Friends! 
Hope you started healthy, happy new year with peace of mind and smiles.

Now that the first month of 2017 is going to be over, 
I'd like to  share how my January has passed with you.


Isonokami Shrine surrounded by holy cedar trees
I-Phone photo edited by Waterlogue
Year of the Rooster started in sunny, warm weather in my part of the world.
(Chinese Year of Rooster starts from 28th of January.)
My husband and I paid our first visit to the local shrine on the 2nd
 to get purified to start the New Year afresh.


We also visited Isonokami Shrine in Tennri City.
Isonokami Shrine is one of the oldest extant Shinto shrines in Japan.
 There are many roosters roaming around the shrine grounds.



Rooster and Hen walked in formation as if posing for me like models.
They looked caring for each other, which made my heart warm.





A good luck charm, earthenware bell in the shape of rooster from the local shrine

New Year days were mostly spent with my grandchildren.

Legos

Cat's cradle, painting, kite-flying, pla-rails, card game, etc.
I’m happy with some lovely colors when the land is the least colorful.
Assorted Ornamental cabbages with pinkish -purple leaves is one of the New Year ornaments. 


I-Phone photo by Waterlogue
Also happy with the colors of tree blossoms blooming in the middle of winter.

Sazanqua Camellia
Two weeks in the middle of January, much of country had the coldest days of winter. 
Heavy snow fell in northern Japan and Sea of Japan coastal areas
but only a little here in Nara.
The snowiest and coldest days made me lazy.


Snow-melt on the moss in my garden
Lastly, these are paper cranes for well-being of family and world Peace.
I hope the days filled with smiles for each person 
and the world free from tyranny of leaders including lies, distorted facts,
and inhuman and destructive action.

At Nigiwai-no-ie in Naramachi
Wish you a lovely February!

39 comments:

  1. Beautiful paintings and lovely photos! So nice to see your post! Warm hugs. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. 戻ってきてくれて嬉しいわ。いつだろう~~と待っていましたヨ。洋子さんも石上神社にお参りされたのですね。
    お孫さんたちもそろって、にぎやかなお正月を迎えましたね。お庭の雪溶けのドロップ、真珠のよう。雪予報があるたびにワクワクするけどちっとも降らない。まだチャンスあるかな?今年もよろしく!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy New Year to you! Beautiful water colours and photos. Your grandchildren are cute too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy New Year to you, too! Thank you for the comment.

      Delete
  4. こんばんは。本年も宜しくお願い致します。 日本人のブロガーが減って寂しいです。もうすぐ春ですね。先日、初孫のお食い初めをしました。私もG3 妻もBar3になりました。

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely to have a glimpse into your January. I like picturing you and your husband going to the shrine. Nice also to see your caring roosters and winter flowers. My flowers are snowflakes.
    Sweet end of winter to you and yours.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wish you all the best for this Year !
    Great photos !!!
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  7. You were wonderful days in January. Nice to look at your grandchildren. I like roosters crawling sanctuary and painted. * It is sad that after such a long knowledge of the blog you stopped being my constant friend. Regards.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm glad to see your post. I really love the "paintings" created in the phone by Waterlogue. I have never heard of it. I suppose it is an app and I would love to try it out. Best of all I loved the photos of the sweet grandchildren playing. How nice that they all have the chance to grow up together so they know each other well and you can see also them all develop steadily. I hope the rest of the year is good for you, Yoko!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Yoko,
    thank you for the wishes which I share, and paper cranes - a lovely symbol! The rooster and hen really look a couple. Can they be? - I am wondering. The picture of sparkling moss is a masterpiece.
    It is great to have you back in blogging. I wish you and your family a healthy year ahead. Take care, will you?
    Irina

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm pleased to read your post (it's been awhile). The images are beautiful as well as the message conveyed. I wish you a wonderful year, full of joy, of love and all that your heart desires. Kisses from Switzerland :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I haved seen several photos done with a painterly effect before but none as good as yours Yoko - the rooster in particularly is lovely.
    The little crames are very attractive and may they fulfil their promise of well-being for the family and world Peace.

    ReplyDelete
  12. January in the U.S. has been mostly like hell with a monster for a president! Thus, I really appreciate your calming and colorful post. I love the "watercolors" and the photos of your family enjoying each other. Maybe it always be so!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello Yoko, thank you for this cheerful and colourful post much needed in these dull winter days.
    Your grandchildren are growing so fast - and looking beautiful!
    Wishing you and your family peace and joy in 2017.
    Ruby

    ReplyDelete
  14. En del av dina bilder är ju som små målningar så fint att kunna göra det med ett foto.
    Det är härligt med alla fina dagar som trotts allt är fast det är vinter men snart så kryper våren in till oss. Så roligt att få tillbringa tiden med dina barnbarn
    Önskar dig en fin tid framöver
    Kram Meta

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh, wow, I love the watercolor look on some of your photos. A fresh new year always makes it feel as if something good is possible for us and for the world. We too have symbolic cleansing rituals in some circles helping the mind and spirit move forward with renewed optimism. The children are fresh and beautiful too!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Welcome back and Happy New Year to you.

    Ms Soup

    ReplyDelete
  17. I wish you and your family a very healthy and happy new 2017! kind regards mieke

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dear Yoko, happy new year. I missed your posts. Welcome back :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. beautiful paintings and photos! Wonderful to have you back:) Happy year 2017 to you and your family

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yoko, I'm so interested that Y related to my post - something I could not have imagined when visiting the museum. Thanks for sharing this!
    Ruby

    ReplyDelete
  21. Beautiful paintings, Yoko. Marvel of camellia. Nice month of January.
    Welcome, February. I'm glad to see you again here.
    Besos.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your photos are as marvelous as ever, my favorite is the painting of the colorful rooster! Wishing you many more happy days! Grandchildren are the most wonderful treasure - I talk from experience! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Olá Yoko, adorei todas as imagens.
    Bom começo de mês.
    Abraços.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Happy Lunar New Year to you! I love your photos and the watercolor shots. They are so vibrant and colorful.

    Next week I will be visiting the Sapporo Snow Festival and I am so excited like a child.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Dear Yoko. Thank you so much for your comments and good wishes. It's always wonderful to hear from you and I'm hoping this year will be filled with much love and joy in your life and the life of your family!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Happy February to you Yoko! We have had snow here in Southern Ontario and there will be a new storm next week, or so the weather forecast tells me. I like to pictures of your family.... and Lego! I have a lot of Lego, and when the grandchildren come to visit, Lego is the first toy they play with. A secret..... I like playing with it too!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi, Yoko! Undoubtedly your desires come wrapped in precious paintings and photographies. The beginning of a new year always brings spirits to undertake day after day with small reforms and to reach small goals. Emblematic places, animals and children look like to me a good source of inspiration to begin this new stage. I also wish you a lovely February.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Boa tarde, gostei de conhecer esta sua bela pagina, com imagens maravilhosas.
    AG

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hello Yoko, I'm enjoying your Waterlogue photos very much.They makes me want to use it again on some of my photos. The melting snow on your moss is lovely. That tree trunk reminds me of an elephant's foot! Also, I can't believe you have tree blossoms in winter. I love seeing how the grandchildren are growing. Amanda and Ben turn 14 this weekend. That time seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. Be well, Yoko.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What beautiful photos! We are having winter here in Canada and it's snowy and cold - no flowers until April! You have such lovely grandchildren.
    Happy February!

    ReplyDelete
  31. What a gorgeous series of shots.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dear Yoko! so wonderful pictures and aspects in this gorgeous post! Many thanks for the warm thoughts and words expressed! Love the good luch charm, the roosters at the shrine, the snow that is melting in the green moss... excellent series! I feel lucky to have a look at so much beauty, you know! That's positivity shared through the aspects captured in your pictures!
    Have a very wonderful and happy New Year! Great weekend and a very lovely february to you, too!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Olá Yoko, boa noite!
    As fotos dos netos estão lindas, admiráveis. As crianças encantam, pela pureza. Netos são preciosidades.
    A foto do musgo está espetacular.
    Desejo dias felizes neste fevereiro, com muita paz.
    Um beijo e abraço afetuoso do Brasil.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Αγαπημένη μου φίλη Yoko,
    Συγχώρεσε με που δεν έρχομαι συχνά, δεν σε ξέχασα ποτέ! Σε θυμάμαι πάντα με αγάπη και χάρηκα σήμερα που είδα τα εγγόνια σου! Πόσο μεγάλωσαν! Να τα χαίρεσαι και να τα καμαρώνεις!
    Οι φωτογραφίες σου, όπως πάντα, κομψές, πολύχρωμες, υπέροχες!
    Σ΄ευχαριστώ πάρα πολύ για τις ευχές σου, αντεύχομαι μια ευτυχισμένη χρονιά, με υγεία και ευτυχία στην οικογένεια σου!
    Πολλά φιλιά

    ReplyDelete
  35. 新年明けましておめでとう御座います。春節のお祝いとして受け止めて頂けると幸いです。
    石上神宮、いいですね〜。是非是非参拝したい神社です。歴史的に重要な刀剣の御霊が祀られてるし今尚禁足地(これって中にいる荒ぶる神が外で暴れないように閉じ込めるという意味であって、我々参拝者の入場を禁止するという意味では無いんですよね)を石垣で囲っているのも曰く付きだし、摂社に出雲建雄神社があるのも何か意味深です!
    私の英語は和製英語より酷い自作英語を頻繁に利用してますので、勉強にはならないと思います^_^こちらこそYokoさんの格調ある英語を毎回勉強させて頂いてます。
    今年もマイペースでブログを更新していきますので、どうか宜しくお願い致します。
    Yoshi

    ReplyDelete
  36. Such a colorful cheerful heart warming post for the start of the year! I am enamored by the play of the hen and the rooster. Watching the kids is always such a delight. I love the effects you have given on the flowers here. Stay warm Yoko, I wish I could send some sunshine from here towards all of you in Nara!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. I will visit your blog shortly. Have a nice day!