It's Monday.

Last night we had some rain here, fortunately not so much. Recently Amami islands in Japan got a heavy damage by heavy rain.

Well, last week, unfortunately I was not in good condition. After the bad cold, I needed some time to get my strength back.

Well, while I was in bed, I was thinking what I will be able to do in my 50's life. To tell the truth I'm not so positive to improve my strength and chronic health problems. (I can hear your voice, Jan). On the other hand I would like to do some things through civic activities.

I'll confess I need recognition.

Or if I do something, I don't get anything to my students who think "why we need to study English?"

And it means I myself am not be able to get the answer why I continue to study English.

Of course we might not get the answer.

Why I write such a thing, these days I think hear there are clearly two groups. One is people who are interested in education, and the other is opposite. Though economic reason makes this difference partly, it is not the all.

And actually without enough education, many people enjoy their lives.

Opt, it is not right to use the word of "enough education". Without going to universities. And the people who went to universities don't mean educated people.

So what kind of education I have been taken? These days I ask it to myself.

Anyway tomorrow my students (junior high school students and high school students) are going to do a trick or treat tour in the neighborhood. (I don't know why elementary school students won't do that. Anyway touchy young girls want to do that, so I organized, and my neighbors are "really" looking forward to see them. It is a kind of wonderful civic activity,isn't it?)

Now it's Friday.

How are you doing everybody? I'm ---now I've recovered. To tell the truth after the noisy last weekend, I was so excited that I ran a fever. -- It is a usual thing, in retrospect (how many years ago??) after the school trips I would run a fever. Now I'm OK. And it was a low fever, so I didn't cancel the lessons at home, I canceled to go volunteering outside.

Now we're enjoying "Halloween" month. This week I gave out a bag of pretzels that is a compliment of a mother of my students. I opened one to taste, and --- I was surprised, it was actually "Halloween pretzels". This is a shape of Jack-O-Lantern, isn't it?

Today I put new poll, "Would you rather visit a haunted house or travel to strange land?", My answer is "neither would I".

I hate all scary things.

To experience a thing is important before to tell the thing. So "once" I saw a scary movie --the Exorcist. Since then I've never seen scary movies. And even I 'voe never been to a haunted house in Tokyo Disney Land.

Well, yesterday two high school students came to take my lesson. Usually before they leave my house, I ask a question. The question of yesterday is "what things worry you when you're at home?"

One girl said "I'm always worried when my cell phone is taken away by my mother"

-- actually this week her cell phone has being taken away after their quarrelling.

The other girl said "I'm always worried on weekends what time my mother will come to wake me up".

Anyway their family are peaceful family, I'm glad to hear that.

Well, well, about my worry---what do I cook today?

three consequtive holidays

We have three consecutive holidays this weekend, today, it is the last holiday.

During these holidays many nursery schools or kindergartens hold Sports day or athletic meetings. Unfortunately on Saturday, it was rainy,so the events were postponed. And On Sunday, and Monday --- it was , and is fine --- but too "hot" like summer.

I hope not many people would not have had suffered heat exhaustion especially elder people who visited to see their grand children.

Well, well, about me, I went to TOKYO to see my mother and my daughters. It was a "women"'s day. noisy, noisy, noisy. "Who was the nosiest person of us --- probably "you", who is "you"? I don't know, everybody point to someone."It can't be helped.

On the other hand, Yuki attend a golf competition and won the fifth prize. The prize a basket of fruit. "Wonderful".

Just I'll tell a funny story, until he ate it, he had thought something had been avocados.
"I" was a kind wife, so I always served him peeled and sliced La Fr acne ( we call pears like this). On the other hand I don't like avocado, so when he saw avocado, it is as a ingredient of SUSHI.

Though I wrote a long story, the thing is just he mistook La France for avocado.

Yesterday both of us were home, I was really tired, so got up lately. We went to a SUSHI restaurant, though he didn't eat avocado sushi. And we started cleaning in a closet.

"Finlay" we threw away two Hula-hoops that were used by my daughters whey they were ??? 8 or 9 years old. And other toys were thrown away.

This morning it was a collection day, we put lots of bags of garbage, and they were all gone without leftover that would be against the rule. These days the rule of recycle is strict. Sometimes it's difficult to dispose "toys". Actually some disposed toys are back of the garage. I have to throw them away on another day.

Today Yuki went to golf again with friends (today, it is not a competition day), I had one student in the morning. And now I'm updating this blog.

Tonight--- probably we 'll go out for dinner somewhere.

Well, Well, I almost forgot. Yesterday we had "hot wine", that is a little bit popular these days in Japan, -- not so ---good. I don't know the quality of wine was not good, or "hot wine" was not good, but Yuki prefers usual wine, and I prefer hot SAKE.

Did I tell you? I "can't" drink alcohol, just ship, but "hot" sake I "can" drink a little. So I thought "hot wine" I could have drunk.

Old scare stories in the world --- probably

Now, as you know, I'm at the PC. It is 1 o'clock in the afternoon, usually this time an adult woman comes to take my lesson (mostly we chat though.) Today she is absent, so I've started to use English by myself through the web.
Well, the question of the poll is that,Do you know these "scary" stories in the world?
These stories are introduced by a Japanese publish firm "FUKUINKAN", and of course for kids.
There are ten stories.
1 Frau Trude written by Grimm brothers
2 The singing Bone written by Grimm brothers
3 a lamp of the life; one of Greek old stories
4 the treasure of a ghost; British old stories
5 Perseus and the Gorgon one of Greek myths
6 a bride of Satan one of Russian old stories
7 vampire one of Russian old stories (the main character's name is Vanie)
8 the wolf man one of British old stories
9 Bluebeard written by Charles Perrault
10 a monster who can swallow anything; one of Russian old stories

No 3,4,5,6, 7, 8, 10 I don't know the English title. But anyway they are introduced as the scare stores in the world.
Unfortunately or fortunately ( I hate scare stories) I didn't know anything.

Well, Well, one of my favorite "scary" story is BANCHYO SARAYASHIKI.

The origin is a scary story, but this story is taken as a funny story (RAKUGO), I love the funny version.

It's autumn

The day before yesterday, Yuki and I put a hot-carpet on the floor in the living room. ( We use a hot-carpet instead of Kotatsu). And we changed spring & summer clothes into autumn & winter clothes in the wardrobe. Now our house is for autumn. (I don't take out winter sweater because I still keep thin long sleeved shirts in the wardrobe, but it is a just matter of time.)

Yesterday, Yuki went to golf and on the way home he dropped by a domestic vegetable farm's shop. He bought some fresh vegetables, and the seasonable citron "YUZU".

So it encouraged (I'm not sure it's a suitable word or not) my apatite.

As you might know, in Japan beef is more expensive than pork and chicken. And good quality beef or brand beef is really expensive.

That night I wanted to eat good quality beef. So in the evening we went to "the" department store to buy some good quality beef. (In this area, in my opinion, there is only a department store in this city.)

There we bought good beef at the butcher's shop, you can see it's not packed meat. Additionally in Japan most foods are sold in packs.

It's tiny thing, but now there are only two member in this house, so we can do it. But we are chicken hearted, so we were not able to buy the beef which costs more than 1000 yen per 100 gram.

Anyway I took out out hot-plate. It was trouble some to put away on the day. So this morning I baked pumpkin pancakes. I used the pumpkin pancake mix and add some cut pumpkin which I microwaved for a few minutes.

I'm ready for Halloween

In this morning I was preparing this year's Halloween story reading time.
Since tomorrow October starts, and the first reading time is --tomorrow. In October every week I do Halloween story reading somewhere.And "on time" the package arrived.

In my classes, I'm going to do cooking lessons the last week in October. The main ingredients were in the package -- later I'll up date them. And one thing is really necessary, it is difficult to get in Japan. It is candy corn.
In some picture books we see illustrations of candy corn. Actually I knew candy corn from the books. So I'm waiting for real candy corn. It is a really important gadget when I read Halloween picture books.
I didn't know that candy corn is not only one kind. There are some versions. In the bag of candy corn, there were three kinds of candy corn. Normal one, pumpkin shaped one, and the other has something black. To tell the truth, the last one looks not so good ( look like a tooth with a cavity), I tasted one of them -- I'm really surprised the taste is chocolate. not black licorice. Sorry if you are a fan of licorice.



Well did you remember, we changed the windows in the kitchen into double windows in spring. Now heater's season came. Today heater is on.
Usually when I put on heater I close the accordion curtain between the kitchen and the living room. Now I tried not to close. Not so bad, until now, one heater works to make two rooms warm. I'm not sure because of the temperature or double windows.

Apple season has come???

Now I'm OK, though I think I'm not a positive person in world-wide vision, I seem to be back to an usual positive person in Japanese version. (Sorry, just some people understand this meaning.)

As of now my life style is getting along with my delicate health, but I'll try to overcome it to spend my 50's　life lively --- My Big Sister , I'll promise you, but please beg forgiveness to murmur sometimes about my health condition. I like to mumble to myself.

Well, a few weeks ago I got a bottle of Japanese pear jam, and even now it is still a season of pears in this area.

On the other hand an apple season seem to have come. Yesterday a lady brought apples saying "fresh apples in this year", and on the same day I got a package from a friend. The inside of it was apple jelly, not usual jelly a boiled whole apple wrapped apple jelly.

We enjoyed pears, apples --- autumn is a wonderful season, isn't it?

So we call autumn "autumn for eating". (Autumn has three names, autumn for reading, autumn for sports)

And in autumn seasonable foods are chestnuts, SHITAKE mushroom, grilled SUNMA (fish), ginkgo nuts, sweet potatoes and " new rice".

In this area we can enjoy " new rice", easily. Actually until I came to this area I was not interested in the taste of rice. I'm really happy to enjoy the taste of rice, especially new rice.

Let's enjoy the autumn for eating.

This week has started

Last week I was really bad, I managed to do all my work except house wife's work though. And even now I have had a headache and dizziness. It can't be helped, I have to do deal with my condition in this unstable season. It is an usual thing for me.

It is easy to omit the house chores, just I closed my eyes in the house.

But, this morning -- it was a collection day, so I put a big plastic bag in which Yuki put trash, outside. I heard something clink. Two cans were there. I opened the back and take out them. --- I need to train him more.

And this bad condition seemed to make me bad-tempered more. Though I'm seemed to be open-minded, I'm partly really stubborn. So this bad condition made me build a barrier around myself. (I hope this sentence will make sense.)

A woman said

Where is the pianist who is not playing the piano?

Where is the surgeon who cannot operate?

Why, in Japan people become an English teacher who cannot speak English well ---?

I couldn't answer it.

Well, well, I have to stop murmuring.

Anyway suddenly an autumn came, every tree started to change the color.

Halloween is next month, but our pumpkins cannot wait.

As I told you, Halloween month has started at my English school. I put the pumpkins outside. (This time I got 8 pumpkins.) The farmer said "If you don't peel them, they can keep their freshness inside for a while". How long is the meaning of "for a while"??? Even in September, it

is still hot (for these two days, it is cool or cold to me,) and my students asked "Are they OK?"

So we started to carve them.

Ta-Da!

In each class, the students I did. For the students carving a pumpkin is the activity they try once a year. For me ---- I started to feel "enough", but today --- I have three class for carving pumpkins.

This morning I washed the entrance hall, but still "pumpkin-shy".

Karaku, Halloween-month, and garden

Yesterday, it was the day I played the piano at Karaku. I go there once a month.

There were one couple and one guest. I enjoyed playing the piano. After my performance, I also enjoyed coffee and cake which the master and his wife made.
Well, did I tell you? Now it is the season for Japanese pears, and there are many orchards of Japanese pears in this area. We can get fresh Japanese pears easily.
Master's wife made jam of Japanese pears. She gave a bin of it.

And I went to a children center to read English picture books.

Jan, can you hear (see) it?

The book caught a "big" hit.

I got home around 6 AM. I had one more lesson. Two junior high school students came. Now our "Halloween month" has started.

After one-hour lesson (usually two hour lesson), we made wreathes.


Yesterday was finished. Everything worked out.

Now Wednesday has started. I picked some leaves from the garden, SHISO, MITSUBA and green peppers. And I made breakfast.

I hope everything will work out today again.

UN in Switzerland

Yuki went to Switzerland to attend a meeting. You can guess where he went from this photo.

This "Broken Chair" is really famous.

I've seen the pictures, though this time it is also a picture.

I know the monument has a strong message, that is "opposite to land mines and cluster bombs"

So, it is not just an modern art monument.

On the other hand, I noticed, it is "a chair". For people who don't live in Japan, chairs are usual thing in their life. Or, chairs are necessary for their life. On the other hand using chairs is an imported culture yo us. Our original culture is sitting on TATAMI (not the floor).

So one of interesting points of this monument is using a chair.

Well, well, this time, Yuki bought something for my students. It would be a good opportunity to introduce UN specifically, I thought. Partly it made it, but partly I failed.

Elementary school students said "What is UN?" --- I gave up to explain, so I said "It is your homework, please ask your parents the question."

Junior high school students said "I've heard about it ---um---- international something"

Anyway they and I got a chance to check UN.

I checked UN on the website (in Japanese), it is difficult to explain it in brief. Yuki brought a brochure but it was just a map. Why he brought something to tell us about UN in Japanese--- probably if he had found a pamphlet, it would not have been written in Japanese. Probably in English.

If someone has it, please send it to me.

This time, he didn't have something special there except cheese fondue. At the first night he said to go out to "YAKINIKU" restaurant. (Korean style grilled beef restaurant).

the middle class, and bagels

Most of Japanese people seemed to consider ourselves to be in the middle class, but these days it's changing some people worries which class we belong to.
Of course , I know, "Live and let live".


So, some people don't mind such a tiny thing.



BUT ----


I'm one of usual people who mind outfits, rumors.
These days I sometimes think about the meaning of "the middle class".
Does it mean just our income? or our academic backgrounds????
Or, our work places?
Well, probably in my case, I'm a housewife, so "our work place" means the place where my husband works.



Last week, I went to a "small" bagel shop, it took 20 minutes from here by car. For me, it seems to be a quite a long trip, but the place belongs to this city, though it is completely in the country side.

I was driving on an "usual" road to the country side, and according to the map, I turned left, and I had to drive on a really "narrow" road, and climb up on another "narrow " road. If you know my house, you can guess the "narrow" roads were more narrow than the road in front of my house.

Suddenly a small old residential area appeared. The atmosphere of it was actually "showa". (It's difficult to express the atmosphere specifically, anyway it looked like a retro area. It reminded me of the time when I was a little girl)
And in the area there was a small bagel shop. A family (a husband and a wife and a new-born baby) owns a shop.



They sell only "bagels". Not so many. Now the shop is becoming famous via web, and by word-of-mouth. So usually all bagels get sold out in a few hours. And probably they baked some bread for some contact restaurants.

But anyway it's small.

Can they get by on their bread???


I suspected their life without reason.

The owner, a young man, was really kind, and nice. They must be enjoy their life. The baby must grow up freely and spontaneously.



On the other hand, some parents are really eager to get their kids high education.
And actually I seemed to be a kind of "grade-conscious" mother.
--- For me, it was natural, because I grow up like the way.



Now, my daughters probably got "middle" academic backgrounds. (Unfortunately or fortunately not the highest)
I thought they would be able to get by on their lives.





Of course the bagels were very delicious.
Can you see two spread-paste. One is YUKI's souvenir. It's Harrods lemon cream.
He came back safely from an oversea business trip.

Today's lesson with an adult.

From this month, a new adult came to study English with me, until now there is "one" member though .

Today, we talked about "foods" and "restaurants".

This is my short speech.

.
One of my favorite restaurants is "TADEN", they serve mainly grilled eels.

This summer I went there with my friend. When I go to a new restaurant, after someone recommends it to me, I usually go there. I love eels, and especially to go to eel restaurants, I'm never one of the first try to a new eel restaurant, and never judge an eel restaurant on its aesthetic appearance. Some my "senior" friends recommend the restaurant of "TADEN", so I went there.

Though I don't like stay in a restaurant where they don't separate smoking section from non-smoking section, it's depends on the situation. Some of my friends smoke, and Yuki smokes. Well, usually Yuki don't smoke in front of my family though.

And in the restaurant of "TADEN" , they have only some private rooms, so we don't mind whether other guests smoke or not. ( Of course it's another problem whether the guests with you want to smoke or not.)

I'd like to go there frequently, but it's a little bit expensive.

The restaurant where we go frequently, is probably "KIRIN", kind of a Chinese restaurant. It takes 3 minute to walk from my house. The restaurant is a kind of our "second" kitchen. When I get sick, Yuki usually go there alone. And when my daughters were here, both of them used to go there without me, and they used to take something to eat back for me.

They don't have so varieties, but they are managed by one family, and all the members of the family are really nice. To be familiar with the restaurant, it is really important to know the personalities.

If at the restaurant of TADEN, their service or quality get poor, it will be my last visit at that time without any comments. But at the restaurant of KIRIN, if we have such a surprise, we'll comment to them.

Not QP, it was a kewpie doll.

Yesterday, it was Sunday in Japan, I went out to a museum to see the exhibit of Kewpie dolls.

What I knew about Kewpie dolls until I saw the exhibition, was a QP doll as a character of Q.P. mayonnaise company.

Now I learned.

Kewpie was born as a character in a picture book written by Rose O'Neill.

The first is picture books, next is a toy of Kewpie dolls.

And she dared to name it "Kewpie" to distinguish from Cupid.

Well, anyway in Japan Q.P. corporation started to use Kewpie as their character. I don't know from when? , but anyway since I was born, I've seen Kewpie character on a tube of mayonnaise. But to tell more precisely, the Kewpie of the character doesn't have wings. To tell the truth, it was not until yesterday that I knew Kewpie had wings. And also I knew yesterday, "QP dolls " was the wrong spelling, the correct spelling was Kewpie dolls.

But it can't be helped. In 2007 Q.P. company chained their logo mark from Q.P. to Kewpie.

So for me the familiar spelling was QP dolls.

Well I'm not so crazy about adorable things, like Micky mouse, Kitty-chan, Kewpie, etc.

But -- Actually they were really adorable. And I could get more information. It was really useful time.

When I came back from the museum to the parking lot, something was holding the antenna of my car.
Can you see it? A dragonfly.

September and --- early Halloween

This time last year Lea started to live with us, (I sometimes think back fondly on her).

One day we took her to YANA to eat AYU, on the way home coincidentally we found big Halloween pumpkins in the field. So I bought some.

The farmer said "Probably next year I'll make them".

So yesterday I check the situation to the farm "How are pumpkins this year?"
They are already "done". I couldn't bring them by myself, even though the farmer would carry them into the car.

So in the evening I went there again, of course with "YUKI".

We bought ? (it is a quiz, how many pumpkins did we buy) pumpkins. And we put two of them in the entrance.

This hot weather made them bigger quickly than last year, so some of them got orange, but some of them are still white. The pumpkins we got last year were suitable size to handle by one person or one kid. Every pumpkin this year, is really big, or too big to handle by one person.

I'm thinking how we handle them with my students.

What's this?

Can you guess what this is? Probably even though if you don't like ----, you can eat it. (Refer to the poll above.) You can see some legs.
Yuki bought it at Tokyo station. I don't know why it is sold there, anyway it is one of souvenir of Tokyo station.








The answer is, can you read Japanese?, it's octopus-rice cracker, TAKO senbei.
It tastes salty, now sweet.






1.female sheep
2.happy dog activity
3.chicken farm product

The first week of September

Though accurately September starts from this Wednesday, on my calender it is the first week of September.

Though it's really hot, in the entrance hall autumn comes.

Yesterday, after doing house chores, I attended a Toast Master meeting. A woman made an interesting speech, the title is "a myth of vitamins". The contents are like that, "We are always exposed by excessive information about vitamins. We can get enough amount of vitamins from our daily life. We are not victims of vitamin addiction."

Autumn is the best season to rethink about our daily diet, I hope we can harvest a enough crop.
This rice ball work is drawn by my elder daughter probably when she was 10 or 11 years old. "Rice balls evoke our Japanese spilt"

After the meeting, Yuki picked me up and we went to a big home center, and we bought some seedlings, Brussels sprouts, and red-leaf lettuce.

I wondered whether I bought them or not because of this heat temperature. Anyway this early morning I planted them. I hope they will survive and grow up.

I did Sunday's housechores.

Before writing about today's house chores, well, well--- Thanks for voting the poll. And as I expected, octopus is not popular (or some people dislike it). Octopuses are really popular in Japan, and for some elderly people they are too to chewy to eat. Squids are also chewy, but probably octopuses are more chewy than squids.

About me I don't like avocado Sushi, some one said it tastes like sea urchin eggs. Unfortunately I don't like sea urchin eggs either.And I like eels, and SHIRAUO.

If you are interested in SUSHI more, look at this site.

This morning, I cleaned the house, once a week I clean the rooms of upstairs.

And "finally" I weeded the garden, though it's not perfect.

Well, it's almost noon, I'll prepare lunch--- cold UDON. And I'm going to go to Toast Master meeting. Today I don't need to make my speech. Have a nice afternoon (in Japan).

How many times do you say or are you told?

As you know, I like reading the newspaper. I read an interesting article.
"20 times a month", can you guess what?
And another number is "15 times during the summer vacation".

Mothers who have 9 or ten years old kids say to their kids "Do study!" about 20 times a month.

And during the vacation the kids are said by their mothers "Did you do (today's)summer homework ?" about 15 times during their summer vacation.

So, How many times do you say this question (if you are mothers) to your kids? or how many times are you told it by your mothers?

Well, I was a kid, I have never been told it by my mother -- because "I was a perfect kid" ( of course, it's a joke.)

And to my kids, I tried to say that instead of this question "Let's study together". While they were studying, I helping them or I was also studying English. According to my behavior, my daughters seem not to like studying. So my elder daughter went to art college, and my younger daughter studies interior architecture.

Today's wordbox quiz is here,

1.zig counterpart
2.time since birth
3.golly

ATUIDESUNE----

Everybody says, "ATSUIDESUNE". It means, yes, you can guess, "It's hot, isn't it?" The rhubarb in the garden couldn't survive this heat. I hope the rood is alive.
On the other hand basil is fine, and the leaves are not eaten by bugs. (Shiso-leaves (kind of Japanese herb) are almost eaten bu bugs.)

The other day I attend a reunion of ---, you'll be surprised, mothers whose kids went to the same kindergarten. My younger daughter M 's class was called NIJI-GUMI (rainbow).There were about 30 kids, and on the day more than 20 members attend to the main party. I had a class so I couldn't attend it. But at 10:30 PM when I just finished my lesson, the phone rang. "Now follow-party starts, it's your turn." So I went there. About 10 members were there.

I often meet one of them, because I get my hair cut at her beauty salon. I sometimes meet and talk with another . Some of them I see at supermarket because they live nearby. And I meet other year others at the reunion once a year or every other year. Our reunion is held once a year or every other year.

Though the kids were in the same kindergarten, but they went to different elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools. And now some of them work.

When our children are young, they were actually "cute" , "innocent", and apart from the world of grade. Probably it is a rule not to say where they go to school, where they work.

Friend "How's M-chan (my daughter) doing?"

I "She's fine, she is in TOKYO and lives with my daughter, the house is next to my mother."

Friend "Oh, you're lucky."

I "Oh, no I pay the rent to my mother"
Friend "How is your mother? Is she fine?"

I "Yes, she's fine, thank you, she is getting old though"

Friend "we too"

We had an idle talk for a while. It seems that we waste our time. But to have such in idle talk is a secret to keep the reunion.

TOCHGI's usual weather

Everybody had said "this year we don't have much thunder" --- before last week.
This week, we have usual weather, it means
Anyway it's really hot, the temperature is always over 34 degrees centigrade at noon.
Yesterday's case, it came at 4:30 PM. Though the sky was clear, big drops started to fall down, and in a few second it changed into a big storm. I went up to the upstairs to close the windows in hurry, but when I went down --- the floor of the sun room was already soaked.
I closed the windows and wiped the floor, and it came, big thunder started to roar. We had three-minute blackout.
5:30, everything got into normal as if it were nothing, just the garden was enough wet. So I didn't need water the garden in the evening.
We had humid, hot,unpleasant night. (We sleep with an electric fan.)
This is the usual TOCHIGI's weather in summer.

Well, today's' wordbox quiz is easy. I could solve it.!

1.decay
2.rowboat tool
3.attempt

It's my mistake.

The poll question this time --
yes means safer, and no means more danger.
I tried to edit it, but someone already voted it (thank you), so I couldn't edit it.
Sorry, it's my mistake.

Why???

I know I have a hard head, so I'm really weak at solving quizzes.

1.bound paper stack
2.what's in the hole
3.study

and the answer is

1 p a d
2 a c e
3 d e n


why? something that is bound paper stack is pad, is OK.
What's in the hole? ace? It means hole in one???
Do the word of study and the word of den have something with??

Well, as usual Monday came, September is just around the corner. Now Japanese pear (NASHI) season has come. So yesterday I went to a orchard nearby. And some boxes of NASHI sent to my brothers, my mothers, and my friends who lives in another prefectures. Because of the bad weather of this spring, NASHI of this year look a little bit small. This morning Yuki and I ate the NASHI for breakfast, though they were delicious, but compared with the last year, they are a little bit short of sweetness.
I hope my brothers and my friends would like them.

TACOs

We made it. (Can Tarrah see it?)
Yesterday five students tried to make TACOs. One of them said " I only know the name". One of them said "I've eaten at TEKIYA"

Well, I thought TEKIYA is a Mexican restaurant, but I've never heard of the name, though "I" am famous as a gourmet among my students. So, I asked him "where is it?" -- he said "It's not a restaurant, I ate them at a festival" And I understood that TEKIYA means a kind of stall at a festival.And the others don't know TACOs. I was wondering they would be too spicy --- but they ate them in a gleeful mood, though a student said "I 'm weak in something spicy"

Of course YUKI knew that we had made TACOs at lesson. So today's breakfast is TACOs. He said "Were they really OK, they are really spicy, though I love them."

Can you guess what is the picture?

They are jangly cherry tomatoes, though you might see any tomatoes. I used the tomatoes to cook our TACOs.

Well, today other 5 students come in the evening, so we are going to make TACOs again. Junior high school students , high school students, and elementary school students in the lower grade don't do that --- it's a secret, though I hear some junior high school students whose younger sisters are also my students, are complaining.

Thanks Beth

Since yesterday my lesson has started. In the evening, one package came from the U.S. There were a book and a CD. Thanks Beth. Yuki and I were really surprised that during such your short staying, you realized what we liked. Yuki said "Did I tell her my favorite Jazz player?"

About the book, the sentences are like a poem, simple. So at night my students and I read the book. Thanks.

This week, junior high school students take one-hour lesson and another one-hour, they do their summer school homework. They are given a special workbook, and most of students do finish only a

few pages.

On the other hand, elementary school students, they also are given a thin daily workbook. And I promised them to help them with a page. So this week, we are going to make TACOs. On their picture dictionaries they use, there is a picture of TACOs as one of famous Mexican food. But they didn't know that. So I said to them "OK, during the summer vacation, we'll make it." I bought this box of TACO set.

My usual day has started, though for students they are getting to the final part of their summer vacation.

OBON vacation has finished.

Now there are two members in this house, and since tomorrow my usual life starts, it means to have dinner alone. So tonight we went out for dinner at OKONOMIYAKI nearby. The restaurant is Yuki's favor.

During this OBON vacation we had really good Japanese cuisine.

TEMPURA with my elder daughter, STEAK with my family.
Well, steak is not Japanese cuisine, but at the restaurant they serve steak with soy sauce and mastered for dipping.

Crabs with Yuki's reunion meeting, and another TEMPURA in TOKYO with my mother.

The last dinner was OKONOMIYAKI.

Where's SUSHI?????? probably another opportunity.

On the other hand this time we missed the opportunity to eat AYU (sweet fish, or Japanese trout) in TOCHIGI.

Since we came here we knew the taste of AYU.

But instead of the, we got them.

Can you guess what they are?

While our elder daughter was coming back here, she went to a fishing hole near the lake??? ( I don't know where it is.) According to her, they fished some trout, and next day the smoked trout came here.

Though the SAKURA chip is popular to smoke in Japan, they seem to be hickory smoked trout.

They were really delicious.

We really recognised, the common favorite things of our family is "eating".

You migth have a question, what we ate at home --- TAKOYAKI!

vacation with art

For these two days we went to two art museums. At a museums, the exhibit content is "innocent". Works and pictures that were drawn by disabled (mainly mental disable) persons and works that were drawn by some present-day famous painters who tend to focus on "life" in their works.

If you are interested in the present-day painters, drop by these sites.

They are active internationally.

KUSAMA YAYOI, NARA YOSHITOMO, TASHIMA SEIZOU

Well the works that were drawn by disabled persons are too strong too me. I understand how seriously they face on their daily life.

Another museums is in MASHIKO that is famous as a pottery town.

Works by Lucie Rie are now on the view.

The prototype asked by Wedgwood company is also on the show. The color is "Wedgwood blue". I knew, unfortunately it finished as a prototype.It seemed to be ill-suite to mass production.

When I saw the work, "It is the color of Wedgwood". When I was young (in my thirty's), I had really wanted something of Wedgwood. And at that time what I could buy are cups with wild strawberries. At that time I was into porcelain. When I came here in my twenty's, I was into pottery, so I used to go to MASHIKO once a month.

And at that time the Wedgwood jasper ware was thought to be betwixt and between for me. So I was not so interested in them. Now---- no, no, I decided not to buy extra cups.

On the other hand I fall down my elder daughter's mug cup, and "Naturally" Yuki's SYOUCHU mug was cracked.

So I bought two cups from necessity.They are not extra ones.

Today, the elder daughter went (or saw) fishing with her friends, so Yuki was discharged from Dad's work, and he went to golf. And in the evening the younger daughter will come back, so I'm stay in the house as a mother.

This is a homecoming souvenir my daughter made --- the color is vivid, so I like it, but -- too big, not piratical.