Finished at long last

After months of searching through wallpaper catalogues, endless discussions about light fixtures and meeting after meeting on floor tiles it is finally done. Our dream house is finished. We actually moved in about one and a half months ago but work on the garden/exterior has only just finished. That and I have been too lazy to update my blog. It really is amazing too. It's even better than I imagined it would be. We both couldn't be happier.



What else do you want to know? As you can see it's pretty Mediterranean in style, mostly due to the fact that I am a mad Francophile. It also has an abundance of arches and curves (for such a square house) as well as a variety of little decorative touches here and there. The interior and exterior are also very colourful by Japanese standards too.



The above two features are mostly a reflection of our personal tastes but in part a reaction to the blandness of so many buildings in Japan today. It seems to me that a lot of people have taken the simple principles of traditional Japanese architecture and modern Scandinavian design and melded them into a colourless hybrid. That or they can't be bothered to take any time to really think about the spaces they live and work in. Either way it means that urban Japan is a sea of off-whites, greys and browns. Anyways, I'd better stop this rant now before I get too carried away.



As I mentioned in other posts, it's also a pretty green house (moreso than Al Gore's from what I hear). Here's a list of then eco-friendly feature we've incorporated:

• Solar panels that generate up to 2.5kw.
• Double glazing and decent insulation.
• An energy efficient heat pump hot water system.
• An IH cooker that uses less energy than either gas or a 'normal' electric stove.
• Modern air-conditioning that uses far less energy than older models.
• Large windows that provide natural light. No need for switching on lights during the day.
• High ceilings on the 1st floor to help keep the room cool.

All this and the land we built it on used to be a car park but which is now covered in grass and will soon be covered in lovely oxygen producing trees. We've done our part, now it's your turn Mr. Bush!

Well that's about all I can think of for the moment, head on over to flickr.com for the rest of the pix.

P.S. If you see my Dad anytime soon, ask him if he has figured out what the "U.P." on our houseplans is yet.

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs

Joshie's latest obsession is with dinosaurs. Thanks to his cousin Hideyo's efforts and enthusiasm, Joshie has well and truly become enamoured with all things Creataceous. Our living room is littered with plastic Tyrannosauruses, Pachycephalasauruses and Spinosauruses. Joshie and I have watched all 3 Jurassic Park movies countless times, so often in fact that I may have to pay somone to take out the author, Michael Crichton:-) Either that, or I could just stop renting them from the video store.

Needless to say, I have been forced to accompany Joshie to Toyohashi's Museum of Natural history twice (in the blazing summer sun) to see their dinosaur exhibition. As well as the usual fossil displays they also have a collection of roughly lifesized fibreglass replics outside. Although their representations were a little old-school (e.g. the impossible standing posture of some of the dinos) Joshie loved them.

We also went to see an exhibition in Nagoya called "Dinosaur Continent" which showcased dinosaur fossils from across Asia. The skeletons were only of mild interest to Joshie but he loved the animatronic replicas. I was surprised he wasn't even a little bit scared when he saw the Velociraptor eating Protocertops. Oh well, kids these days.

For all the pix of the Jurassic action click here