"When are we going to eat udon?" asks our neighbor Rikimatsu-san.

"Well, maybe in the spring," says my husband.

That was two years ago, when my husband started renovating the bathroom and toilet in our Japanese-style house. When he has free time, he works outside sanding and cutting wood, and mixing cement. Since we live on the port, where people constantly pass in front of our house, Paul's activities attract plenty of curious onlookers who wonder what he is up to this time.