Katriona's Diary

A few days ago, one Palestinian journalist was killed in Gaza in the missile attack. He was surely not the first journalist killed in that area, and since Israel resumed the massacre people has been dying every day. Though he happened to have been the reporter for one of the biggest Japanese newspaper companies for years so his death and its detailed description was reported in many media here.

Israel often says they want to annihilate Hamas but I believe they just want to kill as many Palestinian as they can, Hamas or no, soldier or infant. This is a genocide. And I see no essential difference between it and the Holocaust by Nazis. During the WW2 the Jewish people had been the victims of the horrible war crimes, but it doesn't mean they have the right to slaughter other people. I don't have any interest in Israeli-Palestinian conflict and much knowledge about it, any particular likes and dislikes or prejudice against Jewish or Arabian people, also one of my good British friends is a Jewish. Still, with such horrible and endless reports from Gaza, how can a decent human have any sympathy with Israel or the Jewish people? Netanyahu is one of the worst war criminals and should have been punished strictly. I can't think he is doing good for the ordinary Israelis.

And, we are all watching what has been happening there for months, years still cannnot do anything to stop the slaughter. This is the worst thing. And USA, the nation once considered a leader of the free nations, has agreed with Israel's crime like they now seem to do the same with Russia.

We are now living in the nightmare, but we are fortunate ones because some people are living in the hell at this very moment.





Even on such crazy time the nature shows the beautiful flowers. Only we human beings are helplessly stupid and cruel.

Today again it's fine and warm. But the weather is unstable. After the supper I was in my room. A quiet evening. Then suddenly, I heard the sound of heavy rain and wind from the outside. it has continued about maybe 30 minutes. The sound was so wild and made me a bit nervous. Then it ceased. Again it's a quiet night...

After the cold rain, we have the sunshine again and it's warm. And today is the national holiday. So I moved the table and chairs from the living room and waxed the wooden floor - with beeswax. It's a bit hard work but made me feel good :) Tomorrow is the ordinary workday so I haven't worked too much, left one room undone. I will do that room on the coming weekend.

About love, friendship or other fellowship. They are not ... mean looking at each other, but mean looking at the same things - same purpose or goal. Aiming for the same goal and working together make two or more people admire each other. So to make good friends, first we should do or look at something seriously, not just looking for the people we would be able to like. Any job, hobby, something we can love or do in earnest.

So, before retiring from the job in near future, now I feel like I want some more good friends, what should I do ???

The spring is really hesitant. After a gew warm days, yesterday the temperature has dropped and it has begun to rain. This morning the rain was rather heavy, fortunately little winds but rain continues all morning. Now. In the afternoon rain has become lighter still continues, and the temperature is low. Out garden cats (2 of them) are curling into a ball together in an old cardboard box for hours.





I didn’t want to wake them and took these photos from behind the windowpane. They were sleeping soundly…

His is a gloomy day but I think this rain would grow the spring plants…

On my trip to Ishigaki island I have stayed in a small, reasonable hotel. It's convenient and comfortable enough but the bathtub in the hotel room was a bit small. So after coming home I enjoyed to stretch my legs in hot water in my bathroom :) Also my own pillow felt so comfortable after sleeping on an unfamiliar bedding. I enjoyed my trip very much, though I also felt the mild happiness in my house.

Now it's been a week after the trip, on every workday I go to the office, come home and have supper ... then just 1 or 2 hours left before going to bed. In those evening hours I'm generally tired, don't feel much motivation to do something. So I often take my rabbit Krurun up in my arms, hold her for a while. Her soft fur feels so nice to my cheek, her warmth soothes me much :) It's really, quiet and sheer happiness.

I like travel, and know I'm fortunate to be able to travel sometimes, but maybe the most fortunate thing is that I have this ordinary, usual life.

The 11th March. It's already 14 years, from the fatal day of Tohoku great earthquake and tsunami, and the nuke crisis. The TV news said more than 22 thousand people were killed or missing by them. Surprisingly and tragically, about 2500 people are still missing - their body have not been found. This is, of course, because of the tsunami. Many people, houses and precious things were wasahed away by the massive waves. (The great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 has killed over 6400 people but most of the victims were soon found, just 3 people were still missng.) Thinking about this disaster still brings tears to my eyes.

The earthquake and tsunami are the natural disasters which are essentially unavoidable but the nuke crisis was a man-made disaster, which has been forcing more than 20 thousands people into evacuation life even now.

Just after the disaster I felt, and believed that we had to change many ways of our life and social systems for the sake of the victims. But what has changed better in our society since then? I can't say. We are so stupid, lazy and forgetful. Our life and society are still on the edge of great danger but we behave as if we are totally safe. We really need to reflect our life, society and the nature. Need to think seriously, and act.

This is the gloomy day, and we should be serious and think...


At the entrance of our office.


Some building near our office hoisting flags at half mast.

I came home in the middle of the afternoon today. I washed the swimwear, took the stuff from the bag and put them into the closet etc. Also I had to check the e-mails arrived during my absence. Tomorrow my ordinary life will start again, I’ll go to the office so I feel rather busy X( And I found the sign of coming spring in our garden…

The 2nd day of my trip. The clouds was a bit lighter and the wind was not as strong as yesterday. So I think it’s OK X). I went to one day kayaking tour. Fortunately the guide was a very skilled, knowledgeable man and he took me to the beach where the wind and wave were not strong. The sky was grey and the colour of the sea was not like the tropical sea but I could enjoy paddling. And the greenery on the beach, waterfront was very tropical and beautiful.

Yesterday morning I opened our kitchen door and found many Ume petals on the paved ground, they have fallen from the Ume tree in our neighbour's garden. Every winter we enjyed this sharing of the coming spring :)



Though yesterday afternoon the cold rain began to fall, it has become wet snow in the evening. The temperature has dropped of course, it's really freezing in the evening! :(

Fortunateky the snow stopped sometime in the night, still I saw the remain of it in the garden when I opened the shutters this morning.



Spring is always hesitant....