Today our first finished batch of the new maki-e pens arrived. This was a big day for us. We have been designing and working with the artists since last June and finally the pens are nearly ready. We are still waiting for the boxes to arrive, however, so we are a little anxiosness about this point.

But in the end it looks now that all of our hard work is paying off. This year we will offer two different designs. One was Ron's idea. One was mine. So instead of doing 200 pens in one design we chose to do 100 pens in each of the two. Whoever sells out first wins the bet.

Today I met with one of my friends at Starbucks. Last Sunday she ran in the Naha Marathon. She was not a main competitor, just one of the thousands of joggers, who was happy to finish the course. She proudly wore her T-shirt. However I couldn't help but notice how stiff and painful her walking was. After nearly a week since the race she can hardly move. She asked me if I would like to join her next year, but after seeing her, I think I will decline. Riding the exercise bicycle at the sports club is enough for me.

Love, Meg

meg@kamakurapens.com