a bus tour of watching flowers

Last Sunday I went on a bus tour of watching flowers in KAMAKURA with my friend. We really enjoyed watching flowers in early spring. The photos are in turn, KAWAZU cherry, Hiragi nanten, Mansaku, Ume. ( I don know their English names.)

Going on a bus tour was the first experience for us. I thought such tours were for "OBASAN" (middle-aged women) and elderly people. And now we become OBASAN so we went in.

Well, actaully before being OBASAN, it was difficlut to go out leaving kids at home. Now my daughter is willing to let me go out on holidays.

Of course if we had enough pocket money and time we could travel personally. The bus tour is really inexpensive and easy to move. While we are chatting, the bus transports us.

The attendees were 3 OBASAN groups (including us) , a OJISAN( middle-aged men) group, some couples (our generation, and elder generation) and some single attendees.

Probably I think I told you, I'm not good at enjoying by myself. I was really surprised at them, and though they were cool.

I said to myself "I'll try to do it by myself like them!". My friend heard them, and said "don't say such a sad thing, enjoy together!".

I was really happy.

Of course it was a good one-day trip.

sweets sweets and sweets

Yesterday I had an adult English class after an interval of two weeks, because everone had a cold in turn.
I prepared sweets for them, and as you guess every student brougnt sweets for us, doughnuts, dumplings, and sweet rice cakes with fresn cream.
The photo is dumplings. When you hear Japnaese dumplings, you usualy imagine (if you are familier to Japanese sweets) bean paste dumplings. These dumpings has various tastes; bean paste( black one in the photo), tea, strawberries, grapes(purple one in the photo), kidny beans( white one in the photo ) , green tea, coffee(brwon one in the photo), apricots, and YUZU( a kind of citrons). Of course they are really delicious. The leftover four ones are going to be my today's snack at 3 o'clock.

The doughnuts: we ate them for breakfast and the leftover dougnhuts were taken by my daughter as her snack at school.
The sweet rice cakes: my daughter and I ate them for dessert of supper, and the leftover ones were served to my junior high school students at night to make them active.

Speaking ( or writing) about sweets makes me happy.

Anyway I had much sweets, so I'll go out dong 30-minute-exercise.

tiny complaints

There is my favorite bread shop nearby. They deal with various original breads. I like one of them. BUT I have a tiny complaint. It is a kind of "ANPAN"; that has AN(bean paste) and GYUHI(kind of Japanese sweets), and wrapped with sesami. I love it.
BUT the type of AN is not smooth type, rough type. If it were smooth type, it would be perfect for me.

The other day I had fresh ripen "KINKAN" ( a kind of tiny orange? lime?). It was the first time for me to eat them. Though I eaten KINKAN, they are boiled ones with sugar. It was really delicious. I want to eat again. But it's expensive, and probably the way to get them is telephone shopping or net shopping. Moreover my daughter and my husband don't like them.
My daughther is allergic to some acid in fruits, so she doesn' t have fruit so much. My husband proably eats KINKAN when I serve. BUT not so impressed.
Is it OK to buy the expensive thing for only my plesure?
If I want to buy clothes, I'm not puzzled, but about food-- I 'm puzzled which to choose something I only want to eat, or somehting my family want to eat.

We had a cold

We? yes my daughter and I. I had a cold for a week. Today, I'm not so bad.
And my daughter she also had a cold since last Saturday. Fortunately today she was able to go to school, and she had to go to school. Because from today her term exam has started.

Oh poor thing. She had caught a cold two days before her important exam. She had a high fever. So what she could do was just sleeping. It means she couldn't not do overnignt cramming for her exam.

Anyway this week started. I hope her good luck.

white beer

Yesterday my husband and I went on shooping to a depertment store nearby to get good quality pork. After an interval of 2 weeks we (my husband, my yougher daughter and I) was going to have dinner together.

Incidentally we dropped in at liquor shop to get a little qood quality drink. There my husband found a bottle of white beer. When he went to Belgium on his busniess drip, I heard, he always have this kind of beer. (According to him, when he ordered beer saying just "beer please", usually this kind of beer was served.) It reminded him of that trip , so he bought some bottles.

Actaully I'm not strong at alcohol, having a sip is tasty. BUT having more gives me a headache quickly. So wine, beer and cocktail are too tasty for me to drink much.

When I took a sip of white beer. It tasted strange. I've haven this taste somewhere before. It reminded me of licorice. I checked the ingredients. It included orange peel and coriander. There was a label of spicy beer.

This beer is OK for me to sip it. (In Japan, usually beel is gulped.)

Well, I found an interesting notice.

According alcohol law in Japan, this drink includes some spice, so it doesn't belong to a group of beer. Well, does it belong to what?

strange? or reasonable?

Next Wednesday , it is Valentine's Day. In Japan, though I don't know the reason, we have a custome to pleasent chocolate from women to men. My lessons of this week is called "Valentine's week." I read some picture books related with Valentine's Day, and give choclates to all students.

A junior high school student said a strange? or reasonable thing.

On the day all students were really sleepy. So I shouted, "wake up, wake up, let's study!". When I gave these chocolates, a student said "having a chocolate will make me awake. May I have it before studying?". I said "sure".

But another student said, " I think so, but today I want to go to bed as soon as this lesson is finished. If I have it and make me awake clearly, I can't to do that. So I dare not to have it, I magange to bear this sleep".

Well, is her excuse strange? or reasonable?

She beats me.

Who's "she"? My youhger daughter.
I like reading the consulataion page on the newspaper. This morning such a story appeared.

I'm in the 40's. I have a calm life with my husband and kids. BUT these days I really envy my close friends who are shingle, work hard and enjoy their rich life, and my sisteres whose son go to a first-class university. Probably I can't stand the situation that my close people have higher-class life. What should I do?

The adviser said "Do you know the story of "blue bird"? Don't look for a blue bird which is far, hold hard on your close blue bird. Your current live was built by your self step by step.

I understand what the adviser said. AND I also understant her feeling.

I said to my daugher "I'M REALLY AGREE WITH HER".
She said "To whom do you want to boast of having a kid who go to a first-calss shcool?"
I said "no one specail, because if I boat such a thing I must be hated"
She said " If you don't have no one, you don't need to envy such thing."

Yes, she is right.
I know that I've sticked at first-class universities becayse I failed to do that, it was a long long ago.
I like her broad-minded chracter.

Time flies

February came, and March is just around the corner. "Time flies".
This mean in Japanese Time flies like an arrow. Yesterday my daughter said "Time flies like wind(probably a gust)". She didn't know know the probarb (probably) so said this phrase without intension.

From tomorrow my elder daughter is going to Europe to visit some art museums. From the end of the next week, the term examination is going to starts at my younger daughter's school. And the end of month all members of my family are going to meet at "Home".
I'm looking forward to the end of month . What story will I be able to hear from my younger daughter? I'm excited. On the other hand I'm worried about my younger daughter's score.

Anyway "time flies like a gust". I like this phrase.

"Mottainai"!

"Mottainai", do you know the meaning of this word? It is difficult to be tranlated in English. Probably it is the peculiar to Japanese. This Grandma has habit saying "mottainai".

When a boy is brushing his teeth at bathroom while the water is running. She comes and says.

Splash Splash! Leaving water running. "Mottainai". And she turn off the tap.

I think the closet word to "mottainai" is wasteful.
When I went to a picture book exhibision I bought this book. It was written by a Japanese writer, but it is translated in ENGLIH using "mottainai".
Yesterday in my lesson, I showed this book. All kids knew this book. Actually now the word of "mottainai" is reconsidered even in Japan. So I read this book in English. Every kids seemed to enjoy my reading shouting "mottainai" together.

Japaese picturebooks exhibiton

I went an exhibition of Japanese picture books. It is an unusual thing that such exhibition is held in this rural city. It was full of family and some old women (including me). I think the women are volunteers to read picture books to kids somewhere or nursery school teachers.Every kid seemed to enjoy reading books. Seeing the sight I thought bullying world that is now a big issue at school would never exist. From when kids and parents will be busy into their life and loose such fantastic leisure. Everybody including me (probably) was smiling.
There are some awarded pictures drawn by kids in the room. Every picture was lovable. What talented kids they are! Looking at the pictures the future of the kids seems to be full of possibility. Additionaly my younger daughter has got award sometimes when she was a lower grade. I reminded of the her. Where has the talent of her gone? --though she keeps her unique personality even now.
Of course many foreign picture books which are translated in Japanese were introduced. I found some books that I have. It was the first time to read the books in Japanese. I'm really impressed "what perfect sentences they are!” I realized again that translators were really talented in Japanese though I already knew. We are Japanese, so when we read Japanese picture books, we can guess the writers feeling that are not written from pictures drwaing Japanese culture and history as the background. But on the contrary sometimes it is difficult to understand such feeling of foreign pictures books. On some books translators translate the sentences with some suitable supplementing words.
I got lots of post cards for free. What post cards are your favorites?

What are your favorite pastimes

On a Japanese blog a woman makes a list of her favorite pastimes. There are ten things. What and how many do I have my favorite pastimes? I'll list them.
1. Going to new tearooms or restaurants.
Actaully now I have a tearoom I'd like to go. I'm looking for someone who goes with me.
2. Going on one day trip
Since my daughters are grown up, I have some chances to take "one day" trip. The end of the month I'm going to go on a bus tour of KAMAKURA with my friend. It is the first time to make a "bus tour". I'm really exciting.
AND thoug it is one of my dreams, after my daughters will stand by themselves I would go abroad for several months.
3. Going to concerts
Last year I went to concerts five or six times. This year if "TARAZUKA"(women's revue) comes to this city I'll go again. (I don't check this year's shows at concert halls yet.)
4. Going somewhere with my daughters
My elder daughter seldom comes home, my younger daughter is busy doing something (sometimes studying), but we all like to go art museums or interior shops. This month a new national art museum opened in TOKYO. And an interesting photo exhibition is going to be held at a studio in TOKYO. I want to manage to go there with my daughters.
5. Going to see movies
I sometimes go to the movies with friends. (My husband don't like very much, instead of it he is into seeing DVDs.) This year I'll try to go to the movies by myself.

These things are all going somewhere with someone. So I think what is be able to be done by myself.

6. Reading
I like reading. Every other week I go to a library. These days my younger daughter also likes reading books though she still loves reading comics. So sometimes we go together. And sometimes we change books we borrowed. When our interesting is the same, we are really excited about the story. (Though my husband likes reading books as well, but he usually reads historical or political things, seldom reads essay, and never reads love stories.)
7. Going to used shops
when I find unusual but cool clothes, I'm really happy. I wear them when I play the piano at a tea room. When I find really cute clothes, I grin. Though I'm embarrassed, I wear them when I read picture books to infants at a nursery school.
8. Sharing new tasty sweets and foods with someone
I'm really interested in new sweets and foods. I like to look for them. AND when I share with someone (usually my adult students), if they are impressed like me and share the emotion, I'm really glad.
9. Keeping blog
Probably I'm addicted to writing blog. And it is the most favorite pastime as far as I think of now.

I'm afraid I can't list 10 items.