there is always a story

Sometimes when I start to think about what to write in the next blog post, I feel empty, like there is nothing to say, nothing that makes sense to make a post about; this feeling was stronger than ever this week. Thinking about Ukraine, feeling completely under the weather for a few days after having had the third vaccination, I concluded that there could not possibly be anything meaningful to write about this week. I want to stay away from writing about topics that I lack passion about, so I was quite prepared to leave this weeks blog post empty and hope for better times next week.

Of course, since I am writing this, something interesting turned up; actually it always tends to do that. When I am resigned and ready to give up, my mind seems to continue searching anyway and as so often is the case something happens that makes me stop giving up and go back to a positive forward moving action instead. The third vaccination left me more sick than I had felt in a long long time, and since our little baby needs me no matter how I feel, I resorted to a little bit more than usual TV-time to make the days manageable. From normally just looking at the weather forecast on the phone, my son and I started to take a great interest in the televised forecast, and the most fascinating part of it caught my attention as a must for a blog post in the life of a house husband.

Japanese weather TV is special to me. Different channels have different styles. The forecaster standing with a long rod with a big ball at the top, dotting the ball on the map while talking, of course about temperature, rain, sun and wind, is a favorite. As is pollen forecasts, wave heights, whether to bring an umbrella or not, what clothes to wear, and my favorite – the laundry chart! As most people dry the clothes hanging outside, the characteristics of the air are of vital importance for determining if the clothes will dry or not. All the science behind clothes drying, the humidity, the wind, the temperature, and I am sure many other variables, I imagine are baked together into a symbol describing how good or bad the drying conditions are the next day – a big must in every shufu’s life when planning the weeks laundry.

Or not… Today was supposed to be a perfect day for drying, but the humidity where we live did not seem to agree – when I took in the clothes before dark they were still a little damp. And it is only march – oh happy rain period to come, although I am not too stressed about it. We do have the option to dry our clothes inside as well!