How much is it??

 

Do you like doughnuts? When do you eat doughnuts?

Since they dealt with doughnuts at convenience  stores which are open 24 hours, Yuki has often bought doughnuts for our breakfast.

It costs about 120 yen.

 

 

Well, the other day, we dropped by a book store which used to have a café.

And we saw a van there. A man in it sold doughnuts.

 

At least one doughnut costs 300 yen.

Actually it was bigger than usual one Yuki buys.

 

 

Is it an American size?

However it is expensive!

 

 

Kobayashi farm

 

This is pre-cooked dishes for this week.

 

And this is today's breakfast.

 



I have Mr.Kobayashi who runs his farm  delivered a box of vegetables once a week.

This weekend Yuki and I visited his farm.

 

What a beautiful sky it is -- though it is in the same prefecture.

It takes about 40 minutes from here by car.

Now spring vegetables began to sprout.

we had a really good and calm time with him there.

 

 



Three? no five years have passed since we met each other last time.

I was really happy for her to have come over all the way.
Today a friend came here from the next prefecture -- well, it doesn't seem to be distant, however, the traffic condition is not so good. It takes more about three house by changing local trains.

We were really surprised that five years have already passed since we met each other last time.
Both of us run our own ECC English school, so of course we have lots of things to talk in common, however we talked about our "senior" life mostly, because we are almost at the same age.

We were going to go out for lunch somewhere, we thought staying at my house would be more easier and cozier.

So I prepared lunch.

 

 

It was a good excuse to buy this Bagna càuda sauce on the net.
This winter vacation, I found it at a store, and it has become our favorite.
So for her coming I bought some again.

The dessert was of course

Perfect!!!!

Egg shell cutter

Tomorrow a friend comes here from the next prefecture. Though we keep I touch it has passed three years since we met last time. 

Of course the main is chatting, however I would like her to enjoy making something. So I did a trial.

It was the first time to use this egg shell cutter. Perfect.

While I was baking pudding, I also made them.

And Tada--,

Perfect. I can't wait for her smile.

Anyway my lesson time comes.

With friends

Yesterday it was the third Tuesday, it means a volunteering day. My friend and I read and introduced some English picture books at the library. This time the them was "snow". Actually light snow fell. --- however when we finished reading books, the sun appeared.
Some pairs of mother and kids join us, some adults join us, some my friends bothered to come there.

After that my friend and I went back to home and had lunch.
My friend K helps and encourages me, so as an express of my thanks I cooked it for her -- not only for her but also myself.
 

 

And in the afternoon, another members joined us to read these books.

It was the first book club.  For a while we are going to read this book once a month in each chapter.

dinner at home

This weekend, I stayed home lazily.
However I did what I should do.

I cooked pre-cooked dishes and discarded 15 things.
 

On Saturday, I decided to make cheese fondue because I had a box of cheese fondue. It seemed to be very easy. However --- we (Yuki and I) thought that good quality French bread was necessary. So we bothered to go out to buy just this French bread.
Thanks to our efforts, the dinner was very good.

The next day (Sunday) we had SUMGETAN (Korean food).

We "bothered" to go out to a department where they deal with Korean foods to buy them.

And we also bought very "expensive" UMEBOSHI (Japanese plum) kimuchi.
There is a whole of chicken and soup in a bag.

 

While we were separating?  the chicken, we enjoyed SAMUGETAN.

A graduate student came by here!

 

 

Yesterday, a girl who graduated from my school two years ago dropped by here with these sweets and tea.

She is now a sophomore. and in three days she goes to China to study Chinese and will have studied at a college ( I forgot the name)  for one year as an exchange student.

 

This spring another girl who graduated from my school last year is going to the US.

 

More than 15 years have passed since I started this school. Some of them continued studying English with me until they entered to college.

And some of them have already be at work ----- in Tochigi, or in Tokyo.

Sometimes they drop by here. It makes me very happy.

 

However no one had never study abroad before these girls decided to study abroad.

I'm also very happy.

 

 

It is right !

Though I told you about laughter yoga, I finally made my own brochure supported by my elder daughter T.

I don't decide how to use it specifically.

Anyway the end of month some people will come to experience doing it.

On the other hand I've been doing 10-minute laughter yoga every morning with Yuki since I took the leader training course. 40-days practicing is the final step to become a leader.

Of course for the first 5 minutes Yuki and I are not willing to laugh.  We pretend to laugh, after that we start to smile or grin because of such nonsense.

And -- we know that while doing such nonsense, we are all right. We are not "too" serious.

 



On the other hand yesterday's word on our daily calendar, which caught a big hit because of too negative phrases, the phrase brought a big laugh to us.

 

 

 

Let me translate the phrases in my English.

Though there is a saying "happiness come along with laugh, or fortune comes in by a merry home", it is doesn't come.

I (it means the man in the photo) used to keep smile when I was in junior high school, but now I don't. I would often be said to others "your smile is strange". If your smile doesn't accept naturally, you don't need to force your lips into your smile.

 

It is also right.

The day after Valentine's Day

Yesterday, coincidently it was the day for me to play the piano at Karaku
To be surprised it was full of audience, and it was Valentine's Day so the master served us his special.

Wonderful! And I was served another cup of coffee -- of courser for free. Lucky me.

After the concert Ms.U (reciter) and I lingered at the café for a few hours. It was really really good , calm, and "lazy" day.

 

And at the concert, of course to show our thankfulness we presented a piece of heart-shaped rice cracker. 

And after the concert

we got  these gifts from the audience.

 

Surrounded me it seems to get general that on Valentine's day we show our thankfulness and love to each other.

 

Of course Yuki got this one from one big group of ladies in the office.

 
 

 

 Do I need to prepare something for the group on March 14 as Yuki's wife???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day

Yuki went to work very early morning, so he jade just one bite of it and coffee.

Since the week before last week, I had said to Yuki that on Valentine's Day, it is the day to exchange cards, gifts or something with our Valentines to show our thanksfullness and love.

"So" --- according to him, he ordered something via TV shopping. It was the first time to buy something through the such way .

Not Internet, not going to a department store---- TV shopping which is the best way the senior loves. 

We'll, well and  the present arrived,

According to him (or TV), this kind of kitchen knife is made by a very skillful craftman , not made by a factory. Though it is a kind of stone knife, but it is very light.

Actually it is light. And I could discard one of my knives, which wasn't used because it was heavy.

Anyway against to Japanese culture I got a present from my Valentine.  Well, well here in Japan, we have white day in March. On the day, usually women get somthing from men. Will I be able to get another thing from him??

Additionally though he ordered it via TV shopping, the payment is deducted from home bank account.

This weekend

Tomorrow, it is Valentine's day, isn't it?  Did you prepare something for your Valentine?
This weekend my daughter and Ah-chan came.
Though I had a cold, Yuki took three-days off. So they went out ---

looking Hina-dolls  to the next town.

Of course to a meat shop (even there hina-dolls were decorated).

 

 

We enjoyed YAKINIKU (home barbecue)

 

While I was staying home, they went out to a kid's concert.

 

 

Yuki said that probably only they were a only one group of grandfather, daughter and a child.

Mainly, a group of mother, father and children,  a group of mother and a children, or a group of grandmother, daughter and children. A group of father and children is few.

He said someone might have thought Ah-chan would be his child. --- Actually we (it means Yuki and I) were misunderstood as her parent when we were three with Ah-chan.

 







Valentine cards by junior high school students.

 

Yesterday, two junior high school students came.

First they enjoyed "playing" with the spry can of cream. Though one of them dislike sweets, they have to or are willing to eat them.

 

And I let them to make cards using a joke.

I found an interesting sites of kids jokes.

http://www.skiptomylou.org/cute-sayings-for-valentines-day/

 

 

The one chose "I'm stuck on you!" it's not so difficult to understand the joke. The one is a girl.

 

And -- the other one who dislike sweets is a boy. For him it seems to be difficult to understand all jokes.

He chose  "I'm buggy for you".

The reason why he chose it, according to him "I just copied it".

So I let him look up the word "buggy" with a dictionary. (He said -- "troublesome")

 

Valentine's day cards by adults

Yesterday, unfortunately two ladies canceled, however another two ladies came, and had a pleasant time together.

I prepared these cakes baked by me,
and we enjoyed decorating them with Jan's cream.

Of course the ladies made their own Valentine's Day Card for --- I don't know whom.

They are to go.
Two of them were left.
One is for Today's breakfast.
And I froze the last one for Ah-chan who is coming this weekend.

Laughter yoga

This is my monthly brochure, this brochure is put up at some city community centers.

Unfortunately, I haven't no guests from these brochures, though I received some calls requesting more information.

And today, three guests(my friends) come together for making Valemtime cards.

I'll bake a cake before their coming.

Well,well, today's topic is, 

I took a three-day training and I was qualified as a leader of "laughter yoga".

Do you know what is laughter yoga?

http://laughteryoga.org/

 

It's difficult to involve neighborhoods  in my workshop at home through using English, however probably "laughter yoga" will be able to involve them easily  regardless of sex, and even over 60.

 

 Additionally I've just learnt about -- the difference of qualified and certified.

I am certified as a laughter yoga leader from Laughter Yoga organization. So I do teach it as my job, and of course do volunteer job more using the skills. Is it right?

,

Monday has started!

Monday has started! And now it is almost evening.
Now I finally sat on the chair and started updating this blog.

Yesterday, it was Sunday, Yuki went to play golf.
And I  -- did usual Sunday chores in the morning.

Cooking pre-cooked dishes for this week,

 

discarding 15 things and vacuuming all rooms, 

and  --- I refilled our (Yuki also uses some of them) aroma bottles.

 

The pet bottle is for soften laundry, I make my original softener based citric acid.

The jar is a jar of Epson salt, I use it my special bath sold adding some aroma.

The blue bottle is to heal running nose.

---- it means , yes a pollen season has come. I started to take medicine, and refilled bottles for pollen allergy.

The red bottle is to heal muscle pain -- Yuki sometimes uses it.

The brand bottle is to heal headache.

 

AND the transparent bottle is to relax and  get calm myself when I can't sleep well from pollen allergy.

 

 

Of course the air purifier has started to work.

 

 

 

Seasonal things in February

5 days have already gone since February started.
Last Friday it was SETSUBUN, my students who are in elementary school and I scattered beans saying "Devils out, good luck in". Who wore the mask of devil? Me? --- no in turn.

 

On the day, I went out to buy special beans -- and dropped by at a café. Yes as you know I love café.

There the owner lady served simmered beans called GOMOKU MAME. It is a kind of seasonable dish. -- of course we eat GOMOKU MAME as usual (if you don't bother to simmer beans) . I didn't do that for my self, so I had lunch here.

 

 

Well, after Setsubun, of courser Valentine's week comes.

This Tuesday, two ladies will come and enjoy adult Valentine's Day craft.

Of course I use "the" rest of Epson salt.