A Train to Toyo

There's nothing quite like a train to see the country. And, when you travel from Tokyo to a small island off the coast of Shikoku, you can see pretty much the whole country. For a large part of the trip, my wife and I tried to guess where a good place to live would be, if we ever tired of being in one of the biggest cities in the world. We're both from the country, so it may very well happen. The rest of the trip I spent scribbling away at mythological beasties which I can't show all y'all just yet. Above, you can see Toyo, my wife's cat. Toyo is currently rooming with my in-laws until such time as we move into a pet-friendlier place and I am magically cured of my allergies. Like all cats, Toyo can sense people with severe dander problems, so she spent most of the time crawling into my lap. Or maybe she just likes the sound of sneezing. Good thing I like cats.

Typically I'm not one for the ocean (or inland sea), but I completely enjoyed the island, with its salty air and its jaggy mountains climbing right out of the narrow beaches. After such a nice break, it's good to get the nose back to the grindstone. And what a grindstone it is. Big and rough. Posts may be scarce for the next few weeks until I get some of these deadlines behind me.