Spent the weekend cleaning. Read about the Japanese nationwide spring-clean on the web...
One of the Japanese traditions I most anticipate is The Great Cleaning that proceeds New Year's Day -- otherwise known as o-sooji. (The o is honorific denoting greatness, sooji means cleaning.)
Traditionally, New Year's in Japan was a time to wipe the slate clean of the cobwebs: debts, grudges, unfinished business as well as the thin filaments hanging from the ceiling and dust bunnies behind refrigerators. Much has gone the way of the samurai dressed in warfare armour but the spirit of the tradition remains intact.
So on the days leading up to New Year's, workers, business owners and homemakers commit their time, spray bottles and buckets, cleansers and rags, dusters and mops, and hands and knees to cleaning their properties. Homes are scrubbed top to bottom -- windows too! Employers "knock off early" so employees can clean their desks. Shopkeepers from the operators of the small noodle shops and izakaya (Japanese pubs) to the large department stores will emerge from behind closed doors and be seen sweeping steps, sidewalks and stoops. Mostly men but many women too will be scrubbing their automobiles spotless and placing on the hood small ornamental pieces of greenery representing fresh tidings.
Only today have I cleared the pile of ironing I had sitting on the bed. I bought clothes for the new year in the sales.
I finished off the yearly ‘family type stuff’ with a drive up to dads farm for a couple of days of country fresh air last week.
It was nice to see big fluffy cottonwool clouds in the sky as I drove up the highway.
Currently blue skies are drought skies over here.
I think that the happiest I’ve been in a long while, was driving up to dads and back. Not the arriving there, but the drive itself.
Threading through the country side, music blasting out of the radio, stopping off in tiny rural towns for drinks and snacks.
I helped dad round up some calves, then we snagged their ears with electronic tags.
I’ve read about this sort of measure in the U.S. where animals are tracked by computer to quickly shut down disease outbreaks like BSE or foot and mouth.
After seeing the chaotic business of animal movement in the U.K. I reckon this is probably a good thing.
The calves in the 'cattle crush' (metal fence arrangement designed to allow a single person to handle half a ton of unhappy muscle and bone) were shitting all over the place, and I’m told that the dogs like to lick it up, especially when the wind has formed a bit of a crust on top (hay I felt sick after hearing the story, I’m just passing on the joy!)
There were also the swarms of flies, which didn't seem to bug dad very much. I guess that's what you get when you lump a group of animals together in one spot.
A while back, dung beetles were introduced to the area in an attempt to reduce the 'turdage' (that's an official measurement. much like tonnage.)
While the calves were penned up, we cut marking wedges out of their ears, and I’m told that the weirdly intelligent Indian Minor birds like to peck away at the discarded triangles of flesh. These sly little buggers were perched strategically (trust me when I say that this word is very apt for Indian Minors) around the area while they waited for the humans to clear out.
Dad finished the job, with trickles of blood running down one hand.
As usual when visiting parents (even at my age) I arrived home totting a bundle of food.
A bag of cherries, Chocolate brownies and a slice of pizza for my lunch.
Aims for the New Year…
I’m thinking that it would be nice to finally fix up the kitchen, so I’ve got that to look forward to.
Post more videos.
Get a flat mate, or turn my residence into an illegal b&b.
The weather has started to warm up enough for people to think about beaches and BBQ and snogging under a tree in the park. But it’s spoiled by the arrival of thousands of flies. Suddenly they’re everywhere! 
The Italian guy at work has the outline of his sun glasses burned into the skin of his face (he fell asleep on Bondi beach.)
People start walking down the shady side of the street.
I get home after work and the sun is still in the sky.
Air conditioning advertisements move to high rotation.
The weather outlook for the next couple of days is HEAT WAVE. Surf life saving organisations expect the beaches to be ‘standing room only’ and issue a warning for People to swim between the flags. Large chunks of bushland are forecast to be charcoal by Monday.