Yoghurt, juice and magazine editing

For days it's been a puzzle to us why though most food is back on the shelves, we're having difficulty buying yoghurt and orange juice. A short conversation with the owner and chef of the restaurant we enjoyed on Sunday night put us straight. 

Power outages have played havoc with the process of making yoghurt, which requires a long period of warmth to grow or the culture dies. I should know this as we made our own yoghurt last year in Australia, but of course didn't realise that the yoghurt manufacturers were in Tokyo. 

The juice (and even milk) issue relates to the containers they come in. The factory which made many of the cartons was wiped out by the tsunami. They are both starting to come back onto the shelves now. Apparently another company has stepped up their carton manufacturing. Don't know what's happened with the yoghurt? Maybe a non-Tokyo manufacturer has stepped up production?

Today I've had my most peaceful child-less day in nearly a month. Everyone at school. Me at home working on pushing this magazine closer to being published. It has been a lot easier to concentrate when I don't have boys in and out of the room. However it is incredible the amount of details which go into a magazine (and I have to work hard to concentrate on details, they aren't really my strength). 

Today I've been checking with writers, editors, editing articles, looking for photos (and permission to use said photos), watching word-length, thinking about how it will all fit (which pages to put what) and even writing an article of my own. I probably need to think about the marketing side of the magazine, but really need the help of my boss on that one. Marketing is another one of my not-a-strengths.

But for now it is back to school - got to pick up those rascals and bring 'em home.