Oh! It's Friday.

Well, this afternoon at about one o'clock PM (Japan time) , Mao-chan appears to the TV, but I will not be able to watch her, watch the live of final competition in Olympics Figure skating. I'll have to go out. That's too bad. Are you interested in this Olympics show? what fields are you interested in?

Since this new computer with Windows 7, more than 2 weeks have passed. Now it almost seems to adjust to our life. While we got this new computer, we restructured our LAN system.
And it gets easier to listen and watch English web-site.

I'm really surprised at recent progress in the audio world very much.
When I was born, the main material to listen to music was records, and listen to English conversation was ,probably, radio, or expensive "open reel tapes". My father would used to listen to them.
And cassette tapes were popular, though I don't know since when. My mother in-law still uses them to practice KARAOKE.

And CDs and Videos appeared.
( for a while laserdiscs appeared, Yuki loved them, but unfortunately they have gone somewhere.)
We have lots of Videos tapes of our children we took by ourselves.

And MDs appeared, though in only Japan.

Now CDs, DVDs, and i-pots are popular.
So lots of audio books appear inexpensively or free.

For me, English conversation programs or News programs are difficult to understand, but story shows are easier .
For example, storynory website, BBC story web site.
But I don't know where these audible sites are clear or not, it means I can understand whether some one's Japanese is standard Japanese , kid's Japanese or something.

If you know some programs you recommends, please let me know them.

the last student life

Her (my elder daughter) last work was completed, and fortunately it got a prize at a exhibition. My family went to see it yesterday to Yokohama.

The work is going to exhibited at three places in turn.

One exhibition is hold at the national art center in Tokyo. This exhibition is organized by five art schools. For students it might be one of a dream that their woks are exhibited at such a famous big public art museum.

I really thought this year was really an important and valuable year for them. All senior or graduated students must have pursed their times to make their works including my daughter.

And, I hear that most of students will not work at companies as businessmen or businesswomen. The word of "the most" might be exaggerated, but at least "half of " is right. And to be more correctly, at least half of students couldn't get official decision, though they tried to work at companies including my daughter.

We , of course, backup her. But yesterday I thought "What a many eggs of artist there are!"

They have manage to live their own life. I can't imagine their life because I was a steady business woman. And Yuki has been a steady business man. (These days even business men are not steady.)

And the works are great though, they can make their work because they have a place to make in their school, they can get material easily and inexpensively because their school support them.

After they graduate from their school, where?? How???

Fortunately, my daughter get part time job at her collage.

In my brain, various difficulties floats in turn, but it can't be helped. It is the life she chose.

What we can do as her parents are, being a big fan and doing a slight financial support with an IOU.

Happy Valentine!

This week all students made a balloon card with a lottery ticket, and today I got a wonderful package from U.S.A with lots of awards. I didn't prepare the awards to students who would draw the first prize. Tomorrow we are going to go to YOKOHAMA, so I was going to get something there. What a coincidence! I got wonderful awards to students and wonderful Valentine.

And another coincidence happened, in the package we got "special" ingredients. The ingredients are suitable to bagels that I bought this week at a special store.

These days bagels become popular in Japan. But among kids they are not so popular.

But in their English picture dictionary ( organised by my franchise English school company) there is a photo of bagels. In this picture dictionary, there are some interesting foods, Jelly beans, biscuits, and pretzels. I served Jelly Beans in summer, and served pretzels in fall, and "biscuits" can be got by KFC, so the last food was "bagels". So I served bagels this week with sweet cream cheese.

And some bagels were left for Yuki, probably he cannot have known bagels. Even though he has seen bagels, he considers them just as bread.

For today's supper I made spacial beagle sandwiches.

Valentine's Week

This week in my lesson we make a Valentine craft, the craft is --- heart balloon card.
Inside of them we put a lottery ticket, the red triangle sheet.
When the balloons go down, or are broken , and they open the tickets, and "if" they found the sign of first prize, I'll give"special" chocolate to them instead of "giri - choco" (obligation chocolate).

In Japan, though I often write about Japanese Valentine, women present chocolate to lovers with love, and to friends to show their thanks, to co-workers ( or husbands ) as a custom (or out of sense of social obligation)

.

Well, I've already send some sweets to my "friends" to show my grate "thanks", not "giri".

This Sunday, my family and my mother are going to go to YOKOHAMA to see my elder daughter's works that won a prize, and after that we are going to go to China town to eat Chinese food.
Our favorite Chinese restaurant is here.
I hope it will be fine day.





Oops, I found a spelling errors on a balloon. It's my fault as a teacher.

Mexican?? dishes

The other day "we", it means Yuki and I joined a cooking lesson.
Did Yuki join to " a cooking lesson"?
Yes, we were invited to it by my friend, saying " A "man" show some Mexican dishes.
So Yuki joined to see a man, and "eat" some spicy real Mexican dishes.

But unfortunately it was cooking lesson, I took our aprons secretly, and I passed one to him, but --- while we were cooking, he was ???? where????? I don't know.
And he came back in time to taste the dishes.
In the cooking lesson some men joined it too, and all of them wanted hot, spicy taste.
(Well, the members separated into four groups)
So the dishes of our members were chosen as "hot spicy taste table".
So Yuki and some people who "love" hot spicy taste, came to have our dishes.

Well the dishes we made were
fresh salsa, cooked salsa, guisado (pork dish) and Arroz con Leche (it looks like rice pudding)
Do you know these dishes??

This time we use flour tortillas. In Japan they are easier to get than corn tortillas.
But I think corn tortillas are common, aren't they?

February

Now February has started. It is getting colder and colder,and start raining. According to the weather report, tonight it "is going to" snow. I hope, it won't snow stay around, this winter our cars don't "wear" snow tires yet.

In Japan the first event in February is SETSUBUN. The day is not holiday, but probably in school lunch beans will be served, though I don't know kids like them or not.
The other day Yuki got this set at a gas station.
At least more than 100 beans are in the bag, so for us the set is enough.

The next event for me was supposed to go to a kindergarten on this Saturday, where my daughters graduated from. But the day was changed into next Tuesday, so unfortunately I can't go because of my work. When my younger daughter graduated from the kindergarten, they buried a time capsule in which they put their favourite things. And all kids became 20 years old, it is the time to dig it up. Unfortunately most of them including kids can't go because of being a weekday, so some mothers will go to dig it up, and later we will open it with kids, their mothers and fathers. I'm looking forward to a big kindergarten class reunion.

Well, finally I almost complete to adjust this new computer. It works much faster than the old one, though it is why I bought this new one. But unfortunately some my favorite HP site address has gone. I'm waiting for your comments.