Remembering home stuff

I started to write this one several months ago. I don't exactly know what made me think of reminiscing of home in. I do it often lately though. maybe it's the loneliness I don't know.
My aunty's Japan trip talk made me think of home and the few Japanese things that I grew up around.
One huge thing I remember was the smell of traditional incense. Not that hippy shit you can buy from any smoke shop or walmart. I'm talking about the sticks we used to get from the Hongwanji mission when the reverend from the temple came to pray with us at the house once a month. I remember Grandma telling us. "clean the house, the reverend coming to pray" We'd get our little pillows and kneel down with he and Grandma. I needed to have that smell. in my house, so I googled where to get it. I ordered it and the only thing I lacked was the little pot of ashes that you put the sticks in. because they are full incense and not that shitty ones on the thin sticks, these burn all the way down, you cant just the holders you buy at the store.

With the same incense instance I thought about another smell I was used to.  Fuckin' mosquito punks. The green coils on the thin metal holders on the ground next to the chair you're sitting on outside. Another use for these were lighting fireworks with them. I think was the most brilliant thing ever. It prevented the kids from using matches, or lighters to try to light their fireworks and sparklers. Making sure they were lit when you're outside helping Pops with his chickens was a must.
I know I'm not back home or in Japan for that matter, but I was always brought up to take off your slippers/shoes when you go in a house. I will never understand the outside shoes in the house especially in a house with carpet. I don't know why I can't get used to it. It's dirty. You track dirt, oil, possibly animal shit all over your house, and then after you shower you have clean feet, but you're walking through your dirty house and it gets all over your feet. Although I have friends that don't practice this tradition in their own houses, I do appreciate when my friends come over and they know me, and they respect my house and they automatically take off their shoes. I never ask, but they know me already and they do it for me. I remember when we'd have family gatherings and there would be a crap ton of slippers outside the house on the porch. When I was smaller I'd sit in the doorway and make all the slippers face outwards in the correct pairs. Turns out thats actually what they do in Japan for the purpose of in case they have to run out of the house for safety reasons their slippers are facing the correct way to just step in them and walk away. I think I did it for minor OCD reasons, or the fact that sometimes when you leave your family's house and you never turn on the porch light you end up leaving with one side of someone else s slipper. you don't notice until the next day you step outside. "Why I get aunty's left side purple slippah" ahh good times.
More on the Japanese track, I was thinking what they heck does a zen garden accomplish? does it make you feel at peace to rake sand lines around a rock. Lets try it. Little zen garden came with a little Buddha figure. Meh, it's cute, but too small for any kid of stress relief.
Little Japanese lanterns were too cute to pass up. I was gonna order more, but the outlet plugs won't accommodate the way I wanna string them. cute though.
And finally, every Easter back home I remember buying little chickies with bead eyes and plastic feet. Not one reason to buy them, but decorating my room with baby chicks, Michaels had them on clearance for a dollar. how could I pass that up.