Finally?

Finally --- I want to tell you two things.
The first thing is that, just , my new fiscal year has started. in 20 minutes two girls are going to come.
And the second thing is, that my daughter came back here until tomorrow and we were waiting a phone calling, and finally we got a call from the art university where she graduated about a week ago. She got a part time job there as an assistant. So she could get a toehold in the art industry.

If she didn't get the job, her main job would be a waitress at a restaurant. Now he main job is an assistant, it is a part time job though.

Happy Easter!

Yesterday the members of my group came to my house, so we tried to make Easter Eggs.

My friend sent all kids to me, so it would have been easy, ---- we were too lazy to calculate to change Fahrenheit to Celsius. So they were a little bit burned.

All's well that ends well. We really enjoyed them, and the members took them as a souvenir for their kids.

In the morning I "did" walking and "did" house choirs, I went to a bank, a post office, a pharmacy, and a supermarket on foot.

Anyway I did walking today.

As you know (probably), I don't like doing any sports. And I know it is the reason why I have a weak constitution. I'm afraid of being tired because it seems to take up my power of having lesson from evening to night, it is an exaggerated expression though.

Now I have no lesson this week, I have nothing to be afraid. So I "have to" do some sport to keep or improve my health. So today "anyway" I did walking.

Why I added "anyway" was -----

As soon as I finished my morning daily routine (cooking, washing, cleaning, checking e-mails, etc), I started to "prepare" for walking. First I recorded some English radio programs into my MP3 recorder. Next I looked for a sunscreen. About 30 minutes already passed. I opened the entrance door, and started walking. Then I met my neighbor next to door. We talked "for a while". And finally I started walking.

Though I wore grasses, it was a little bit windy, so pollens attacked on my eyes. My eyes were watering during my walking, so I gave up walking for a long distance. And actually it was almost at noon. In the afternoon I had something to do, mainly preparing for lessons in April.

And now I'm writing this dairy. I hope walking wouldn't not give up easily, not quit after three days, tomorrow in the morning some friends will come so that I will not able to do walking.

My spring vacation

My fiscal year is finished. I made a declaration for last year, though I wouldn't have needed it because my income was not much last year.

Until next week I'm in the spring vacation, no lessons, and nothing special. Usually I go to TOKYO or meet some friends, but this time, "nothing".
And my husband will be not here in Japan.
I'm alone. What will I do????

Clean the house???? Jan, sorry, I try to do it only a little.
First I 'll classify the books,and make the book list.
Next I 'll start walking regularly.

Since my two daughters left home approximate two years passed. Since then I didn't need to take them somewhere by car, to cook constantly for them including daily lunchbox. So I got lots of "free" or "my " time.
But I didn't get used to free time, free time made boring, and I felt guilty.
So I re-started some volunteer activities, and try to organize a grope, and to improve my skill I went to Tokyo once a week.
And now I'm a little feeling out of breath.

I was got after by myself to do something if I didn't earn money more.
Everybody around me seems to like to say "I'm busy".
Yes, actually they are busy.
Even my mother, and my mother-in-law say "I'm busy".

"Busy", this word is not bad. On the other hand, "Slow" life is not bad either.

Easter eggs, and White day

This week is the last week of my lesson in this fiscal year.

So students take spring homework, new materials, and "the egg".

Do you remember a photo of eggs rapped with stockings?

And some students requested "where's sweets? where's a real food?"So I decided to make another Easter eggs using boiled "real" eggs.

I told to Yuki that the breakfast in this week is always with a boiled egg.

To tell the truth, I don't like a boiled egg much, it's dry, isn't it?

I like egg sandwiches, but to make egg sandwiches one boiled egg is not enough. (I boil about ten eggs for my students every day in this week.)

Well, do you know what the day of March 14 is called in Japan? It is White Day.

Yesterday I went to KARAKU to play the piano, and I got handmade orange marmalade, and wonderful HASAMI plate.

Last night we had snow, it's really cold today. But I enjoy March.

HIKIDEMONO

HIKIDEMONO means thank-you-for-coming gifts, is it right?
The other day Yuki attend a wedding party of his subordinate. And he came back home with HIKIDEMONO.

There were three boxes.
KATSUOBUSHI is considered as a kind of good luck charm, so I thought One of box would be KATSUOBUSHI. It's half true. The box is UDON and KATSUOBUSHI. When we saw it, we reminded that the prefecture he went to was famous for UDON. What a fancy way! You can see Udon curled into hart shape.



And the thick black thing is a gift catalog. Well, well, what should "I" choose instead of Yuki?????
Unfortunately they don't have a page for tennis goods, a page for music instruments, and a page for golf goods page.
So this is my catalog book.

Last two weeks

My lessons of this (fiscal) year is the end by next week. So this week is the craft week of Easter.We made felt eggs, now I'm drying them,I hope all of them are "wonderful" and "perfect" felt eggs.

Well, the other day I went to "GINZA" in Tokyo on (a kind of) business. "Shinjyuku", "Harajyuku", "Shibuya" and "Roppongi" are probably famous for foreigners, on the other hand "GINZA" is a little higher ranked town for "middle" aged Japanese people. (or it might be better to describe "Ginza used to be ---" ).

Even when I lived in Tokyo , I seldom went to GINZA. When I went to Ginza probably with my mother or my grand mother, they took me to Shiseido Parlour. There was an old gentleman having some sweets alone, and the server was a middle aged man. The scenery was really suitable to the tearoom. I was there with my friend, and we said "If our husbands had been here .........."

There we had tea, but I wanted to coffee additionally, but we had no enough time to enter another tea room. Suddenly we saw a sign "free cafe".What??? Free??? in GINZA??????

Can you guess where it was? It was a free cafe with rice crackers organized a famous rice crackers shop. It was crowded with middle aged men and women. This scenery is another face of Ginza.

Anyway one event was done. Next Sunday I have another big event. And .. this (fiscal) year will be finished. What happens in the next (fiscal) year?

I can't wait for coming May. This year, May is special year for me.

.

March has come

It is Monday, and March has started. My 2009 lessons are almost finished. Some students graduated from my class. "Congratulations!".
And some new students will join us in April. "Welcome!"

This season many people seem to be restless.
And these days the earth seems to be restless, too.
Big earthquakes, Tsunami, What is going to happen on the earth?

I don't know which way our government want to go?
I don't know what influence we'll suffer on the diplomatic front -- Toyota cars problem, U.S military base.
On the other hand in the domestic affairs, the tuition of public high schools is going to be free, and our government is going to pay parents a child allowance. Unfortunately I don't get any profit. I know many students and many parents are glad.

But seniors are left somewhere. A friend came to my house today, and said "Fortunately we found another hospital to accept our mother."
The lack of numbers of senior nursery centers are one of important problem, but I think it's to difficult for the government to discuss .
I just hope "public" senior nursery centers should increased more.

Well, Well, on the previous blog , I mentioned about audience materials.
Are you interested in Japanese classical stories?
I found a NHK WORD RADIO PROGRAM. Here, you can listen a short story of "This Child" written by Higuchi Ichiyou. To tell the truth, I didn't know the story. And for me, it was a little bit to understand the story in English. So I bought a paper book written in "modern " Japanese. The original is written by "Classical" Japanese, and it is more difficult to understand it than simple English.
This Listening Library section is going to finish in the next month.

So I have a question. Do you know that each KANJI (or HIRAGANA) of Japanese person's name has meaning. For example Mieko, my name, is written with three Kanji --Mi, means beauty, E, means full and Ko means a girl.
So when Japanese people hear the name of Mieko, everybody understands that the person is a girl(or a woman) and her parents wish their girl will become a beautiful girl.

Now I try to translate two boys name into English.
One is "Shokichi", "Sho" means honest, and "Kichi" means a boy. So I want to name the boy "Honest ****", How about "Honest Jack"?
The other is "Usokichi", "Uso" means a lie. How about Lair Peter?
I'm happy to get some ideas.