Sheltie Gazette: Pictures from 🇯🇵and a dog guardian
Jan 11, 2026 4:01 am
Hello from Japan, !
My father was an imperfect man.
Of course, we are all imperfect, myself included. But between having some life experiences that were truly horrendously bad luck, and then blaming everything else on luck rather than ever examining his own behavior, my father was...particularly imperfect. He died from complications from a motorcycle accident in Cambodia when he was the age my husband is now, and there were certainly a large number of personal choices leading to the bad luck of that precise incident.
But I wanted to tell you about something valuable he gave me.
He left America by the time I was five years old and never returned. He lived in Asia and I spent a few weeks traveling with him every summer, and we sent letters the rest of the year. When I was little, he wrote them in different colored pencils to keep them interesting, but it was difficult to read the parts written in yellow pencil. So I wrote back explaining this. He found it amusing that I used yellow pencil to ask him not to use yellow pencil, so he thought I had made a mistake or forgotten my own advice. I thought this was a perfectly reasonable way of making my point. I was assembling evidence about the futility of yellow-pencil using.
He worked hard to be a good and meaningful parent despite the limited time we had together. One treat that he always gave me was that we took one flight each trip in business class...
One day we were in the business class lounge...
...in Kuala Lumpur, where there was a whole bar sitting out where one could make one's own drinks. I wasn't allowed to have soda at home, but I could when we were traveling, so I put ice and Sprite in a fancy glass...and then, I put a maraschino cherry on top. The elegance! The charm!
I finished my Sprite and made another. They were small glasses, and this time, I put two maraschino cherries in. Then...another! And...another! I glanced sidelong at my father, waiting to be scolded for maraschino cherry abuse, but he didn't say anything. I had as much Sprite and as many maraschino cherries as my little-girl heart desired in that airport lounge.
My parents at home said my dad spoiled me, but really, he just had a different way of doing things. A long time later, he explained what he was thinking in that business class lounge. He said that maraschino cherries really aren't that good, they're just restricted. By removing the restriction, he let me see what I actually thought about them.
And you know what? He's right. That day, I realized that canned maraschino cherries don't taste like anything at all. They were never a temptation for me again.
But even more importantly...
Spending a few weeks every summer traveling with my dad gave me a confidence in myself, a confidence in traveling, and a confidence that I could figure things out. We ended up going to almost every country in south-east Asia, some when they were barely open to foreign travel. There were big disasters and small disasters, good times and tired times, but I was a child and I learned that this is all normal and it's all possible.
It was that confidence in the world that allowed me to say "yes" to living in Uganda in order to foster our daughters, which gave them an extra year of living in our family rather than an orphanage while their paperwork went through. (That was hard, and a story for another day!)
And it's that confidence that allows me to say "yes" to planning and managing a trip around Japan with eight people, including my mother and husband and five children. The teenagers have a lot of opinions. The little kids have a lot of meltdowns. Something always goes wrong.
But in the end, hopefully I am giving my children the same confidence in the world and themselves that I have. My father's gift is passing on to a new generation.
Lots of pictures below, but first—books
I hear that email servers don't like a lot of pictures, so hopefully you can see these! In case they load slowly, I'll include some free book links first. First of all, here's a clean "stay home to read" winter giveaway...
Now, I know sometimes these multi-genre giveaways don't seem as exciting. But I looked through these, and there are no fewer than FOUR books set in Japan, so if this newsletter gives you a Japanese vibe, you can find some further reading! (Some of them look a little violent, which isn't my cup of matcha tea, but they might suit you!)
Furthermore, I lost track of how many dog and cat related books there are. There's "A Little Fox Cottage" with a very happy dog on the front. There's "Dog Gone Trouble," "Feathers and Foul Play," and "The Bindery's First Chihuladay," plus multiple cozy mysteries with a dog and cat on the cover. If you want uplifting, I read "Priye" a few months ago and it's short and charming. Lots of options!
Do you know you're looking for fantasy? Here's some fresh stories for the new year.
It leans more towards Norse world-building than Japanese, but I spied one torii gate! I read "Blackberries and Crowns" and was totally charmed by the slightly-prickly teenage characters ("Jovin's hiding in the storage closet...again"), and I just downloaded "When a Slave Falls" for the promise of "sublime writing."
And now — here's Japan!
We went to Koyasan, which is a village of temples high in the mountains. It was amazing. Pictures aren't allowed in the temples themselves, but this was the walk to the largest temple, which was lined with 20,000+ memorials and graves. The second pictures is the inner gardens at the monastery where we spent the night.
This is the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. Every detail is planned carefully, including the reflections in the water. (I don't share pictures of my kids publicly, and most of the good pictures here had adorable kids in them!)
We accidentally stumbled across what is apparently the most famous restaurant in Kyoto. It was the only place near us in the "Find Me Gluten Free" app (one of my son is celiac, which has been really difficult here!), and we assumed "fire ramen" meant spicy. No, it meant they poured flaming oil into your ramen which sent a fireball six feet high! Then they had us match the expression on the wallpaper and take a giant bite while they took a picture. Taking a picture of the experience is very important in Japan!
This was my favorite garden so far. Intimate, picturesque, cozy outdoor rooms.
We stayed at a hotel in the countryside with full board, and one of the highlights was being able to bring these little burners to your own table to cook teeny tiny fish at your own table! So cute! So perfectly adapted to the situation!
We went to a village where artisans specialize in making paper. We got to learn about the history of washi paper, watch the artisans work, and make our own paper!
And finally, here's some sunset over Tojinbo Cliffs.
But....what about the dogs?
Alas, the Shelties did not get to go to Japan. The only dogs here are very small, very cute, and do a lot less running than herding dogs. Malin, Adare, and Inish are back home with a house sitter who is indubitably spoiling them with pets and treats!
Meanwhile, we found this dog during one temple visit. We can't read any of the signs, but decided it was a shrine for our furry friends. My littlest son left a coin and a prayer for Doney, one of our Shelties who passed a couple years ago. So here is a stone guardian for you, too, watching over your dearly departed.
My daughter recommends...
In my latest shipment of books, my 15-year-old announced she was stealing "The Boat on the Lake of Regret," because the cover was so pretty. She brought it on this trip and just finished. She said it was really good, and she especially thought that "the characters interacted in a way that felt realistic." In case you also want to lose yourself in a misty, magical world where the characters have very real arguments and friendships, you can get the paperback or e-book here:
(NB: This is a real review. Mostly my family ignores my books. Also, my daughter can deliver some stinging criticism, mostly delivered by yelling at the characters while reading.)
That's all for now!
If you responded to my recent newsletters, pardon me for not responding yet—I read your emails on the plane and it's been pretty chaotic since! But I loved all your similar stories and thoughts about trees coming through the roof. Thank you for being here and sharing stories with me!
