On the Road Again

 Here we are again. After months of being relegated to my house and its surroundings, after almost one year of observing the local bugs and birds and trying to guess flower names, I'm ready to hit the road again. 

And what a way to break my cloistered life: I'm flying to Okinawa, that island which is in Japan but is not really in Japan, if you know what I mean. 

For the occasion, I'm using one of the two notebooks I bought in India 22 year ago. That's where I'm going to scribble my travel notes. 

I'm going to spend only three days in Okinawa, so I'm taking with me the orange, slimmer notebook. It looks like it was assembled by hand using different spare parts. That's the genius of Indian handicraft. It's rough, humble and sturdy. A veritable workhorse of a notebook. 

Don't ask me what's written either on the front or back cover. 

 The other notebook I'm saving for a bigger adventure, possibly (hopefully) this summer - if everything goes well and the gods of writing and travel smile upon me. 

This one looks gorgeous and beaten up a the same time, starting with the hole in the satin cover (I don't remember if it was already there when I bought it).

When you untie and open the cover, you are welcomed by this beautiful red and golden... what?... I don't know how to call it. 

And look at the handmade pages, with tiny little pieces of newspaper and other miniature scraps coming from who knows where. 

As usual, I'll be off-line until I come back on Sunday. 

Until then...