things I could throw away,and I coudn't

In the morning I struggled things in a two book shelves (the big one and the smaller one). This house is about 23 years old, can you guess what were the oldest things or books?

Our reference books (not my daughters) in probably high school, or university. At that time we studied mathematics 3 fulled of marks of integral. And I started to work at a company I learned C-language. I learned FORTRAN, COBOL and assembler at university, and at that time C-language was a new language in the computer world. Is it still used now? Anyway I turned the paces of the books quickly, but CHINPUNKAN--- every word made no sense to me. Where the knowledge has gone????? Anyway I throw the books away.

Well, well, well, it is a matter of course, about 20 years ago I was a "young" mother. My daughters were in the kindergarten. At that time I used to make and sew many things for them by myself. And as a line at the kindergarten, kids were wearing hand-made smocks, so I had to saw it. And once a year, at the Sports Day parents did a costume procession. It was the dress --the title was "HIMAWARI MUSUME" (sunflower girl). Because the class name was "HIMAWARI", sunflower. What a pretty dress though it is crumpled. I was the head of PTA of the class, so I've had it. Well, the person who wore the dress was unfortunately not me, younger mother. Now she is OBASAN ( it means not young any more.) I put it away in another place.

Anyway I got rid of the shelves. Half of them I threw away, but half of them I put in another place. And the most things I couldn't throw away were my daughters things, pictures they drew, textbooks, comics-- this case, we should be scolded if we did.
Now they are not here, but I couldn't. Thinking my mother's house, actually many things I used to use are left.
We are parents, though it is not strange.

July is just around the corner.

Today it was really hot, thought it is still rain season. According to the weather report, since this Monday it will drizzle again.

But anyway July is just around the corner.

On July 7 it is TANABATA or the Star Festival. On the day, people write their wishes on colorful strips of paper and hang them on bamboo branches.

So I put "plastic" bamboo tree at the entrance, and next week I'll have TANABATA lessons writing student's wishes on paper stars.

I'm happy to celebrate this festival. If you live in Japan, you don't see such bamboo trees in your neighbor hood. When I was a child, my mother got a bamboo tree from somewhere, and I would hang some strips of paper written my wishes.

But now, such "event" is done at kindergartens or nursery schools.

Well, the day after tomorrow, the July issue of a magazine goes on sale. In the magazine, my friends works are introduced. I have one. I'm proud having it, and having such a friend. Congratulations chocominto-san.

http://book.nihonvogue.co.jp/search/searchDetail.do?productId=3225

It is rainy season

Yes, in Japan, it is rainy season except HOKKAIDOU. But yesterday morning, here, we didn't have rain, so I went to TOKYO without an umbrella. How careless! It took about one and half hours by bullet train. 20 minutes passed since I got on a train, it was raining. And I got to UENO, it was raining heavily.So I bought this ****** with grinning and mumbling "it is a good chance".

Can you guess what it is? Yes it's an folding umbrella: Do you know that?-- these days folding umbrella can be folded up into 4 layers.

The handle is the face of JR (Japanese usual train in TOKYO.) I was at UENO station, so I could buy this umbrella. T he outside was usual than I thought.

Well, what are you doing, Ms.I? This morning we ate KASUZUKE you sent to us. They were really delicious, sorry thought they have good quality, I burned them a little (not a little?)

What is KASUZUKE, it is a fish pickled in SAKE (Japanese alcohol) lees. and the kind of fish are cods.

Gulliver's Travels

Have you read the book of Gulliver's Travels? I know the story (but today I knew, it was one of the stories), so probably I read the abridged version for kids in Japanese when I was a child.
Today at our meeting of intensive reading English picture books, we read Gulliver's Travels in English though it was also the abridged version (penguin readers), and talked about the stories.

In the book there are three stories; A Journey to Lilliput (at a small people country), Gulliver in Brobdingnag (at a huge people country), and Gulliver in the Country of the Houyhnhums ( at a horse country instead of people). Unfortunately the story about a country in the sky is skipped, and I don't know in the story the author wrote about Japan and "Japan" is the only one real country in the story, I'm going to read the story some time soon in-- probably Japanese)

The Last story was fun, it was about "horses", the last month we read "Black Beauty". Horses seem to be special thing for American and England People, actually I felt that in Aiken this spring.

Well, through three stories I thought three words in my mind, they are "discrimination","IJIME", "ignorance".
"Discrimination" is not bad, I know. But wee usually live or associate with people who have the same feeling with ourselves unconsciously, sometimes we discriminate others ."Discrimination" is here and there. I want to have capacity to accept various people, though whether they and I will become friends or not is another thing. Begin compatible and with no distinction are different.
(Does this sentence make sense?)

"IJIME", these days in Japan this thing makes a big problem at school , workplace. Probably "IJIME" is translated to "bullying" in English. BUT these days "IJIME" has a little bit different nuance, so in some reports in English I've seen the new word "IJIME".
A woman said, "when people speak ill of someone about the things he or she never change, age, sex(these days it can be changed), height, weight (it can be changed), family background, appearance, and the person us deeply hurt, it is "IJIME"."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/shukan-st/english_news/essay/2009/ey20090605/ey20090605main.htm?print=noframe

And the last word I thought in the mind was "ignorance".
It is an ironic proverb, I know. "Ignorance and incuriosity are two very soft pillows."
But these days I sometimes think because of getting old, ignorance would make my life calm.
When I face to another world, I'm afraid of the world, I envy the world, and I sometimes discriminate the people in the world.

Does this make sense so far? Even in Japanese it's a little difficult to settle what I thought in my mind.

EIGO RAKUGO

EIGO means English, and RAKUGO means -- it's difficult to translate it in English, according to a dictionary you can see these words "Japanese sit-down comedy, comic monologue, comic story, comic story telling , comic storytelling".

Anyway I went to Tokyo to listen to EIGO RAKUGO of Mr.Kaishi.
He said; (though include my opinion) "Japanese people are seemd not to understand jokes, but we can understand jokes, and we have a 400 old traditional performance of RAKUGO. I want to show the world of RAKUGO to people in the world "

I'm not sure whether Japanese people don't understand jokes. We , of course , laugh. Probably the points of view to laugh is different according to people.

Nowadays "HAIKU" is becoming a world-word. (I'm not sure whether this sentence makes sense). In Japanese when we make "HAIKU" we keep 5-7-7 tempo. And Japanese is easy to keep the tempo, because we can separate the word based with vowel sounds, like Ha-I-ku.
But other languages are different and difficult, but they enjoy the style of HAIKU in their ways.

So probably "RAKUGO" is also be able to be enjoyed everyone in each way.
To share laughing is interesting, though it might be impossible to convey delicate nuances, and it might be different in the laughing points.

I'll introduce a short comedy.
Japanese version is
A: Hato ga nanika otoshitayo! (A dove has dropped something!)
B: FU-----n (Fu---n means really, but fun( the pronunciation is f-oo-n means shit)

So Mr. Kaishi's English version is
A; A bird has dropped something!
B: Oh! Shit!
C: Exactly!

Which do you enjoy?
I can understand both of them.
But Japanese version is "A dove", it has the nuance of "calm", "innocent", "slow".
Person I feel that person B is smiling.
On the other hand in English version I feel that person B is shocked, and person A is grinning.
What do you think of it?

Anyway if you can enjoy this story, please drop by this site.
http://eigo-rakugo.com/index.html

I have a question

What difference is there between "oval" and "ellipse"? Do you chose the word case by case?
in many picture books about shapes I have usually "oval" is introduced, but the other day I knew, at math lesson ellipse is used. Is it right?
http://www.mathsisfun.com/area.html

Are they same?, just the difference is depending on the world? (It means math world, or usual world)
If you are free, please teach me.

LIke a (wonderful) storm

My friend came to stay with us and went back, she was like one-night storm.
Now I'm alone in this house as usual, from the afternoon some students are going to come, it is usual.

I called some friends to tell her visit, every body said "Really? NATSUKASHI (I don't know the suitable English, good old memory? or It feels just like the good old days to see you again.)
And many years passed since "I" talked them on the phone.

Around 4 o'clock, "she" arrived there.
We went a restaurant "OKONOMIYAKI". There are 5 friends, thought someone came out as someone went in.
My husband picked us (me and her) up by car, but he also drunk, so "I" (I usually don't drink alcohol, and in Japan no one who drink or even "ship" alcohol must not drive a car) drive them home.
It was at 10, not so late but everybody went to bed, because she left home at 5 in the morning on the day, and my husband had to leave home 5 the day after the day. And I was tired.

The next morning, my husband left home at 5, I got up as usual time and prepare breakfast.
At 7 in the morning, another friend came with breakfast.
She took a walk to see her neighborhood, on the other hand I started preparing for my job in the morning. About at 10 o'clock another friend pick her up to tour this area, because since she moved to another city this area has changed a lot. I went to work.

At noon, 2 friend came to see her to have lunch. It was just a lunch bread for a friend. The other friend works from 2 o'clock. And my lesson starts at 4:30 o'clock.

At 2:30, everybody went to usual life. "She" left for her house, probably it takes 3 hours from here by car. Today she is working now. The other friends are also working. I'm at the computer.
Now it is my usual life.

Well, it is cloudy, so I washed a sheet but --- probably it won't dry. Tomorrow I'll go to a coin laundry nearby.

Monday again.

The title is---, too usual. While we are alive, days run in circles.

Well, have you visited my photos site? If you've come there, I'm really happy. These days I have a problem about the site, not a problem, it is my mistake. I forgot my account, and can't manage it. So finally I rebuilt new account and new photo site has started.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/choro2009/

Last week I was really busy, and I'm afraid I cancelled playing the piano at a usual tea room.
The other things I had to do was done.
This week, I have two "big" wonderful things. The first one is that, my friend is going to stay with us, though it is only one night. She lived there, and 12 years ago she move to another city. Since we met each other, probably 7 years has passed. Once or twice a year we talked on the phone, but this time we will be able to talk face to face, though both of use get old.(We are in the same age.)

Another thing is that, this week end I'm going to listen to RAKUGO with another friend to Tokyo. Of course listening to Rakugo is fun, but I haven't talk with the friend for a while. She was really busy to care her father-in-law, and this spring he passed away. Now she is also busy to care her mother-in-law, unfortunately her mother-in-law becomes senile.

My mother nursed her mother-in-law, her mother, and her aunt. (My father suddenly died with cardiac infarction, so she couldn't nurse him.) Fortunately my mother and my mother-in-law are fine. BUT though medical technology is being advanced, the facilities are not enough or getting poor or is left. So nursing is a big jog for women.

Anyway it is Monday. Today's breakfast was "cake". We (my husband and I) got it yesterday night, and we were alreday full so we couldn't eat it. Too sweet? Too high in calorific value? Sometimes are OK, I think.

Can you do it?

Look at the first photo, it is a box which inside is red and outside is blue. The box is assembled with 12 triangles. Can you turn it inside out without holding the triangles like the next photo which inside is blue and outside is red.

The third photo is another virsion, this is a little bit bended box.

Do you know these puzzles?

Among some friends of mine these puzzles are now current topics.

Let's enjoy them.

The first week has done

Now, it is Sunday, though Monday is just around the corner. I've done all things I planed.
On the other hand, I'm afraid that my daughter's workplace is not decided. Now a little quarrel, ,arguing , or discussing has started among her, me, and my husband, though she is trying to do some other job interviews. According today's newspaper, forty percent worker they started to work after their graduation from this year "if I graduated next year, I couldn't get this job". Yes, we are in the big depression. On the other hand a boy passed two big companies. It means her will to work there might be a little weak. (I hope this English sentence makes sense)


This week I went to TOKYO twice, The first one is to attend English club meeting. And Another one is to visit my friend's exhibition. The exhibition is wonderful. I bought her hand made wallet.
Next month her works are introduced by a magazine.

Today I went to my friend's farm to pick up last strawberries of this year. There were many people to enjoy picking them up. I read some English picture books for the kids there. Well, today I noticed in the pot, I found "one" raspberry. It is the first time of it to have a fruit.

And this week I got three interesting picture books. I knew two of them from a artist. And the last one is introduced by an elementary school teacher. All of them are not introduced by English or Japanese teachers. "Picture book" world is really interesting. Have a nice new week to all of them and me.

June

June came, and rainy season is just around the corner.


Last Saturday it rained, and yesterday it also rained but during the bad weather (for me, some kids enjoyed the weather) Sports day event was done in this area.


I know how hard to do PTA-job in the rain, it means not just to visit, to run hear and there in the ground to help kids with teachers. Of course teachers are also hard, but it is their job, and PTA-job is---just volunteer. Opt, I don't want to discuss what doing volunteer means--- later. (These days I often talk this issue to myself.)





Well, today it is fine. I have to go to a clinic for a monthly check. And on the way home from the clinic, I'm going to drop by some stores. Yes, it is a housewife shopping day.





Today I cut some stalks of the rhubarb in the garden. It is the first harvest of this year. I baked them with cream, and made rhubarb cream paste. Of course I baked bread.

All weekends in June I have something to go out. This week I'm going to go to TOKYO to visit my friend exhibition. Next week I 'have to' attend a meeting of a company I belong to. And next next week --- I'm going to go to listen to "RAKUGO" in English.

Do you know RAKUGO? Rakugo, the telling of long humorous stories, mainly in the form of dialogs.

Anyway June comes, and ---probably bug season comes. The other day I saw a small cockroach in the kitchen. Cleaning and ventilation is necessary against bugs and molds. Housewives are busy.