It rained yesterday, and the heat of the past few days eased a little during the night. However, it has been very hot again since this morning. It looks like it will rain again tonight, and some areas may have extremely heavy rain that could cause serious damage. We often have sudden evening showers like this during the summer.
The students are now fully into their summer vacation, and I see many more children everywhere. I feel a little jealous that they have such a long vacation 😅, but at the same time, child poverty is often reported in the news during this season. Japan may look like a very wealthy country, but recently, the number of children who cannot get enough food has been increasing. There are many reasons for this. Some parents are struggling financially, families are becoming smaller, and the divorce rate has increased. There are also more families with just a mother and one child. For some of these children, the school lunch they receive every day is the only proper meal they can have. Most Japanese elementary and junior high schools provide lunch, and more schools are now offering it for free. However, during the month and a half of summer vacation, there is no school lunch, which causes difficulties for both the children and their parents. Even in ordinary families, the recent difficult economic situation has made things harder. Because there is no school lunch during the vacation, parents must prepare lunch every day, and many families feel that this is an extra financial burden. Various nonprofit organizations have started working to help with this problem, but their support still does not seem to be enough. It is also said that the situation may become even more serious in the future.
Today, one of my regular customers asked if I had any of the cube puzzle boxes with a drawer in stock. That reminded me that I have not made this box for quite some time. I used to make it very often. This year, I only made some 2-sun cube puzzle box with 7 steps at the request of an overseas shop. It is the same size as this cube box with a drawer. As I wrote last year, one reason I have not been making these boxes is that I have been thinking about reducing the number of smaller puzzle boxes I make. Small boxes are often made in large quantities, and this has gradually become more difficult for me, both physically and because of the time required. I also make many Mame puzzle boxes, but they have their own special production method, so making a large number of them is not such a heavy burden. However, because they are so small, my aging eyesight can be a problem 🤣. This 2-sun cube with a drawer and a 4-step mechanism was the most popular of all my 2-sun cube boxes, and it sold very well. It was so popular that another craftsman even copied it. It is a box with many memories for me, so I would really like to make it again when I have enough time….On the other hand, I also think that I may be able to make it again when I get even older.
