Happy Coming of Age Day!

I could see my breath, and I was still in bed.

Tomorrow it's back to work for me, so this morning Reiko and I slept in and enjoyed the warmth of our nuclear powered futon bed and when it finally came time to venture out to the kitchen to make some coffee and to switch on the hot carpet and the kerosene heater I had to brace myself for the chill.

But it seems my body is finally settling into winter.

Even the freezing cold water that comes out of the tap when I brush my teeth doesn't induce heart trauma like it did a few weeks ago. Heck, yesterday that wasn't even a problem because the pipes froze and no water came out anyway.

While I waited for the coffee to brew and the house to heat up I went out on the veranda and took down the dry laundry and hung up the new batch. Just a few sweaters and towels and unmentionables.

Yesterday I asked Reiko if it's ok to hang up her underpants on the line outside with mine and she asked me, "Why not?"

I told her I've had female friends who've had their undergarments stolen from their clothes line, most likely by a chikan, a pervert.

Reiko doesn't seem concerned about it and just told me to hang up the laundry.