Do you see the darker space to the left of Ioan in this next photo? It's actually a hole in the concrete side of the building where there used to be a window. That must have been many many years ago, because the building next door - which is built right flat against ours - is easily fifty years old. It must have been a sad day ... the people who used this room would have seen the new concrete wall come up and obscure their view ...

How would you suggest we use that 'empty' window space? We think we have a good plan for it ...

This next photo shows something we expected to come across on the first day we began tearing walls down, but didn't see until just yesterday, when I lifted these floorboards to run some new electrical wiring - a sizeable mouse nest!

The inhabitants have scattered (presumably to upstairs I think). We're not anticipating a major problem with vermin; in all our time here so far, we have seen absolutely no traces of mouse droppings, or roaches, or anything else in that department. They are certainly in the building, because the guy upstairs does have trouble with them, but I think that if we keep our place clean - and aired and active - we should be OK.

The smallest room in the shop is also coming along nicely - although we are perhaps running a bit ahead of ourselves by putting the vanity in place before we get that column re-painted ...

Meanwhile, out on the neighbourhood streets ...

The other afternoon we heard the sound of somebody playing an accordion drifting in the front window, and when I peeked out, I saw this lady strolling along ...

And Lee-san captured this shot of a procession of rickshaw carts taking a wedding party from a local shrine back to their hotel ...

Rickshaw carts ... Hmm ... does that give anybody any ideas about how we might promote some of our Ukiyoe Heroes prints? :-)