It is snowing.

From this morning, it has been snowing, but it seems to change raining. So probably the snow doesn't pile up.

 

It was about two weeks ago, Akari and m daughter came again. Yuki and I took care of her for a day without her mother. What did we do? We don't need to take her to an amusement park, shopping mall. So we went to see "ROUBAI" (Calycanthaceae?) which has yellow flowers.

The fragrance is very good and strong. "KINMOKUSEI" (fragrant olives) are famous for their strong fragrance.  I prefer the fragrance of ROUBAI, and it's my mother's favorite flower ( or tree). All of three us enjoyed ROUBAI (or you say Akari enjoyed being outside in the buggy.)
Then we had lunch at a SOBA shop. Of course she couldn't eat it yet.

We bought her special chair and attached it to our table in the kitchen.

She wears ANPANMAN-dress. Do you know ANPANMAN?

 

 

 

 

It is interesting. Such dress is called character dress. When I was a young mother I didn't like to put such character dress on my daughters. However-- don't mind, or I like to do it.

 

Japanese wedding

I heard an interesting thing, which is that in Philippines, the common wedding style is a civil wedding. I know the word of a civil wedding. But I didn't know that even if it is a civil wedding a witness is necessary, if the couple visit a city hall without a witness, the mayor becomes their witness.

Here in Japan, there are some wedding styles, a church style, a shrine style, a temple style, or a civil style. Probably all of them have witnesses, such as a minster price, a flamen, a monk or participants (in Japan the witness of a civil wedding is usually the participants.)
However all of them are simply a formality (if they have their own religion and the wedding is done according to the religion, it's not a formality. It's meaningful.)

The couple just submit  a piece of paper saying they're married to the city hall, and the couple are registered as a married couple. So if the couple don't want to hold their wedding ceremony they don't need to do it. These days some couple don't do that. However when they fill up the paper to marry, there are two places where two witnesses write their signature on the paper. In my daughter's case my husband and her mother-in-law did it. (Unfortunately her mother-in-law has divorced.)  though  we didn't write our signature at the same time. They visited us and her mother-in-law in turn to get our signature.

I wrote this report as my note.

DONTO-yaki

Probably all Japanese people have started usual days. However January is the `first month` of the year. So some interesting things were held.
Last weekend my friend I went to HATSUICHI, which means the first fair. There some luck are sold, like DARUMA. Here in Utsunomiya, `Kibuna` is popular as luck. Kibuna means ` a yellow carp`.

It is said that once upon a time a big yellow carp saved people in Utsunomiya who caught the plague.
We put such lucks in our room which would bring us happiness, health, and richness??.

On the other hand we have to `give` the old lucks to shrine, not to discard.

So this morning I went to a shrine nearby with the old things and put them. It was too early to see the torch. Today the old lucks are burned and --- (I don't know whether my sentence is correct or not.) and their wish are sublimed or go to heaven.

It was a good day.

Usual days have started. Yesterday it was my birthday. It is the last year to be 50 rounded off. (Additionally I'll say that I'm still 50 rounded down to the 10)  - Do these sentences make sense?
I got this flower basket from my company. Since I started this branch school under this company, more than 10 years passed. When I got this flower basket, I was not so interested, but these days when I get new one each year I'm very satisfied with my job.

It was a usual day, but I had no class and had no appointment with my friends. So I spend all day alone.








In the morning I did house chores, and tried cooking a new thing. It was "whole Japanese orange with syrup".  It was easy. Peel the skin by hands (Japanese oranges are really soft so it's easy to peel the skin), and boil three minutes with a teaspoon of Baking Powder. After that I soaked them in the syrup. Perfect. Yuki and I had it this morning for our breakfast.

And after that I had lunch by myself, and --- I called a spa nearby and had a facial treatment. It was the first time, and it was a birthday present from me to me. It's a little bit expensive.  I got this present from the salon.

And I was going to have dinner by my self, however unexpectedly Yuki came home earlier than usual. So --- of course I didn't cook, we went out a restaurant nearby, and celebrate my birthday with SAKE under our family budget.
It was a good day.

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year -2-

On 3, there were only two members , Yuki and me, as usual. It was a really calm day.
I was really surprised to myself. Usually after I separated from my daughters, I felt really sad. I have sometimes cried on my way home from Tokyo in the car. But this time, I was really satisfied, and calm. Finally I seem to accept their independence (though my elder daughter is not completely independent financially)


We, Japanese have a custom to go to shrine during the New Year's holiday. So we visited a shrine where is on a top of a small mountain, it takes 30 minutes by car. And there we can toll the big bell. Of rouse Yuk and I tolled the bell in turn.

 

 

 

Next day, we went downtown. DEZOMESHI was hold, it was the parade and show by Utsunomia fire fighting members.  Can you see the ladder? It was great and seeing the ladders from the ground it had a tremendous impact.
A traditional show was also hold using a traditional ladder.  It was the first time to see these shows. --
The reason is that Yuki didn't go playing golf, though he went to practice playing golf. It is --- unusual. (However, next weekend, and next next weekend he is going to go playing golf.)

Happy New Year -1-

Happy New Year!
Yuki and my new year's holiday was finished. It started noisily and finished calmly.
On the New Year's Eve, all members of my family gathered. Probably it was the first time for 4 members to gather. When my daughters were here with us, my mother came to stay with us. So at that time there were five adults in this house. Since my daughters left home, they liked to spend the New Year's Eve with their friends or their boy friend in TOKYO, so there had been three adults in this house. This time it was different. My mother didn't come, because my elder brother are living with her. He divorced himself and came back to her. So she is really busy "taking care of her important son", though she is about 80.  My elder daughter T also broke up with her boyfriend. So she chose to spend the Eve with us. And my younger daughter M --- in her case she has to spend her husbands and her mother-in-law ( it's the opinion of our generation), however, her baby is very young, and her mother-in-law is not in good condition, so she and her husband chose to spend the Eve separately.  Can you see the beef? It is present from M's mother-in-law. We had a great dinner thanks to her.

 

 On the  New Year's day, we could see a beautiful sunrise from our house. And we eat OSECHI made by me and went shopping to buy surprised bags.

It means --- Yuki and I were taking care of AKARI at  a baby play space while M and T were shopping.( Additionally next day, Yuki went to buy his surprised bag of golf goods.)

And on 3, we left for TOKYO to visit my mother, Yuki's mother with my daughters.

”OJISAN" ballon appeared

"OJISAN" means a middle-aged or senior man.

 What's this? or who is he? He is OJISAN, and it's a ballon.

It was in the air last Sunday from the afternoon to the night in the downtown of Utsunomiya.

It is an art work, which is in a fine art field, and this show is organized by Utsunomiya city museum.

It is drawn by hands of many artists, the way is dot-drawing. And the face is imitated from one of real man's face who was selected from 270 men walking in the downtown of Utsunomiya this Summer.

You might think what a ridiculous show it was !

However, many people had a good chance to watch up the sky and the ballon, and to laugh.

Actaully Yuki and I were walking around the school where there was the ballon basement  with laughing. All of sides of him brought us laughing.

Japanese people tend to be said  they had little of sensese of humor, but see it! Some people have such of sense of humor.

It is said these days  suburbn cities in Japan are lossing their lively power in their mental and physical situations. However see it! It was fun, and our city of Utsunoniya is lively. I love Utsunomiya.

Why don't you come to Utsunomiya?

pre-chirstams

lThis week my students and I enjoyed making Christmas sweets house. These days "Hexenhaus" or Gingerbread house is getting popular in Japan Some families enjoy making one, or actually I can buy one at a cake-shop nearby, which has started to sell one sine two years ago. Last year  I bought one, every one enjoyed seeing it, but it was difficult to find the day to eat it up. All students wanted to "deconstruct" it and of course to eat it.

So this year I decided to make all students to make their own house.

 These are log-house version.

 These are simple version.

  This is  the easiest version.

Can

 you see a gate on the left house? It's a new year version.

Thanks to Jan, her present, sprinkle-set , made the craft more fun.
Our Christmas lessons are finished.

after chirdbirth crisis

Now Akari is fine, she can pre-roll-over.
She came here with cold, and her mother had a cold too. So I took care of them instead of her father. Her father also had a cold, but he had to work,though I also had to have lesson at home.

Since Akari was born, she and her mother often? come here. Probably I should say to M "you made your bed, now sleep in it." Actually since my friends became grand mothers they have  often accepted  their grandchild and "daughter" (not son or daughter-in-law), I used to think that why they have spoiled their daughters. --Now I'm laughed by them and I also laugh by myself. I can't say "no''. because her husband, and even her mother-in-low asked me to take care of them. Of course Yuki asks me to take care of them. and to be surprised he helps me more than he was a father.

These days the word "after childbirth crisis" is becoming popular. In January the new (comedy) dram is going to come on, which theme is after childbirth crisis, and two popular actor and actress played main characters. So it will become trendy.


When we who are in their 's or more, heard the word, we didn't understand it. And  we thought why these young people are so impatient. But it seems to be a serious problem.
Its difficult to explain the word, but let me try to do it.

We call the word "SANGO KURAISHIS" in Japanese. KURAISHISI means crisis. So I thought this word came from the U.S.A. but it seems to be wrong. It seems to have been born in Japan.

These days many "new" mothers seem to have problems, mainly mentally. Shortly after giving birth, they are going to have less affection to their husbands. They think their husband don&t meet their expectation child-rearing. But it doesn't mean that their husband don't do anything. They try to do something, but unfortunately they tend to miss the point. It sometimes makes bigger the gap between the mother and her husband. And it leads to the after childbirth crisis, and finally which might result in a divorce.
I think, what mothers want their husbands to do is different from what their husbands want to do for their baby. So mothers are irritated and their husbands are discouraged and eventually don't do anything.
So I told M's husband, I know you are willing to take care of your baby, but you should help your wife, not to take care of your baby directly. It is called "big turnip method". Do you understand the word or do you know the story of the big turnip. To pull down the big turnip, first grandfather pull the turnip, and grand mother pull the grandfather. They never pull the turnip together.

December has started.

I put Chirstmas ornaments on the shelf in the entrance hall. Most ornamnets were made by my daughters, and me when I was a young mother. 

These days we get such ornaments easily at 100 yen shop. So we can easily enjoy Christmas.
When I was a young mother, though I'm not good with my hands I had to make handicrafts. I didn't like that. Now it's easy to get a smock for kindergarten kids.
Well, well, my mother used to say the same thing.
She is not good with her hands yet, or she can't sew clothes. At that time, most closes were sewn by mothers. So she asked to sew our clothes to mother-in-law, or her friends. She says it's easy to buy clothes at reasonable cost. And another senior lady said that it's easy to cook using microwave, she is not good at cooking.

These days I got something fresh.
I got apples. But my younger daughter M (she comes with AKARI ( my ground child) again. saying "I, Akari and even Youichi-kun (her husband) have caught a cold.  We (Akari and M) won't get worse.) can't eat fresh apples because of she has an allergy to apple-enzyme. So I baked big pancake. in Japan we call it big HOTCAKE.

I got fresh DAIKON; Japanese radish. So I stewed it with KONBU which is a kind of seaweed. And dip sweet MISO.

This is  MAZESOBA, it's not RAMEN or Chinese noodle. It doesn't have soup. so it looks like spaghetti. I got this special noodle . it's Yuki's favorite. So Yuki cooked it.

Homemade delicatessen of this week

Today, in the morning, I did house errands and went to a gym to workout. And I had lunch at home
And I cooked delicatessen.
Salty cabbage with sesame oil, kidney beans tasted with soy sauce,  stewed DAIKON and chicken and sliced Daikon with vinegar and YUZU citrus.

Yesterday it was very cold, today it's warm. It's difficult for me to adjust the difference of these temperatures.

But children are tough.
One of my students was wearing T-shirt, and she can stand up on two golf balls directly. Can you do it?

TAKAKURA KEN

Have you ever heard the name of  TAKAKURA KEN? He was the greatest movie star.
This report is on digital students' newspaper.

 



I was very surprised finding out this report on the newspaper.
The reason is --- though he is the greatest movie star but not so popular among young students.
Why? They might had introduced him to young people saying that he used to be a traditional true Japanese macho persona.
Anyway I learnt how to use the word awkward  and rugged in a good meaning.
Yes Kensan used to be an awkward an rugged persona.

My volunteer group "English Picture Book workshop club"

Yesterday I had a meeting of my voluntter group "English Picture Book workshop club". 8 ladies participated. We did "bibliobattle" in English. Each person introduced a book which is their favorite Japanese book making 5 minute speech in English. After that we chose one book which the listeners wants to read, the book is called "today's champ".

It was not a competition of who made the best speech in English, though Toastmaster meeting is a kind of competition who makes the best speech in good English.
Of course the members' English skill is higher.

--- to tell the truth, I have a hang-out about English especailly speaking English. (Well, I know that before saying such thing, I should practice speaking English.) So before I attended this meeting, I had made sprict, and practiced --- (Thanks Jan)

However, this time I realized, the contents and fasination of the speaker are more important than speaking skill, English grammer and so on.
The members had only one thing in common -- they are ladies.
However their genration, their family member, the jobs are all different. It means their interesting things are different. So the field of the books which were introduced had a wide-renging.
The members were in their 30's, 40's and 50's. If someone who is in her 20's , 60's or 70's had joind us, it would have been more fun.

This is my script but it was too long, so I shortend it when I made a speech.

Hello, today I’ll introduce a digital book. I used to dislike reading digital books but now I sometimes read digital books on my IPAD. There are mainly three reasons. The first, letters are large enough to read with aged eyes. The second, we can read books as soon as we want to read them. The third we don’t need space to stock paper books. If you are in senior generation, the first reason is very important. And if you want simple and OSYARE life, the third reason is very important.

OSYARE life--- what is a suitable word in English for OYSARE? OSYARE has wide-ranging implications; fancy, fashionable, smart, trendy stylish, and so on. I think being simple is a kind of OYSARE.

Well, the title of this book is “OSYARE na kurashi”. The way to live with OSYARE. It is written by NISHIKURA REIKO. . Have you ever heard her name?  She was born in 1942 so now she is in her 70’s. She has pursued OSYARE na KURASHI for more than 50 years since she found the way to enjoy OSHARE.. What is OSYARE na Kurhashi?

She says to keep a positive attitude and a cheerful face. Try and challenge many things you want with positive attitude, on the other hand don’t bring yourself into the corner saying “I have to do”. Activities　done with impatience make your face angry.

Reiko shows an example in this book;

Some women; probably they are in their 50’s or 60’s, have angry faces, and the reason might be very simple for example, they think “Though I just passed the post office, I forgot to buy a stamp. It’s troublesome to return to the post office.” Such a tiny reason makes their faces with angry. You find a positive attitude and a cheerful face in your daily life.

Reiko also says “When women get old, their faces get complicated naturally, so don’t forget to keep calm feeling.” When I read this paragraph, I grinned to myself, and looked at my face. I’m sick of hearing such things.

She says, to keep a positive attitude, you should find a nice and attractive person and imagine their daily life. If you don’t imagine it, try to get along with them. When you are getting along with them you’ll be more attractive naturally though some efforts might be needed. And enjoying the efforts will bring you OSYARE na Kurashi.

Don’t you think the word OSYARE na KUASHI has a nice ring?

This book was published in 2010, so at that time Reiko was in her 60’s. The OSHARE Reiko thought about at that time, and the OSHARE Reiko thinks about now, and the OSHARE Reiko used to think about when she was young might be different, but since she appeared in this art and book world, she has pursued the word “OSHARE”. So if you are not interested in this book, you should read other books which were written at the same generation as you.

Monday

A new week has started.

How was your weekend?

Last week Akari and her mother ( my daughter) was staying with us,  now she can almost hold up her neck, so it' s easy to hold her and hold her on my back.
Have you ever held a baby on your back?
These days young mothers don't do that, though if she has more than two babies she must do it.
I wonder if I could hold her on my back or not. But my body remembered. So I could hold her back on my back naturally.

Here in Utsunomiya, it's getting cold, especially early morning, and evening. Of course it's very cold at night. Can you see the pink cape? It was knitted by "me" for my "daughters". I seldom do such things. So I kept it for my memory. And this time it works again. I'm very happy, and I'm pround of myself.

These days some interesting things happend. Since my younger daughter M got independent, she had been against me, and had seldom contacted with me and Yuki, but since she had a baby, she did a one-eighty. She started to respect me. It's wonderful, though I don't know how long such attidute will last.

Have a nice week.

Somone always comes.

When I read today's news paper, I grinned naturally. These days the number of people who reads newspaper is decreasing. And main people who subscribe newspaper are more than 40 years old. So the reports about senior people are naturally increasing. I like such reports.
Today a man who is 70 years old put his comment about one of his usual days.

He and her wife were going to go out somewhere because it was a calm day.
When they were going to go out, a (senior) lady came with a small pot of food, so they invited her to their house and had a chat for a while.
Then they were going to go out again, but another (senior) lady came , so they also invited her to their house, and his wife was listening to the lady's "complains". and he also was watching their conversation.

He wrote "All of them including my wife had a good smile after their talking. And I was also satisfied with their smile. So we gave up going out the day. It was a nice day. Fortunately someone always come to my wife, I think why women likes talking so much, but I like this style."

I also like the style. When I get much older, I hope someone always come to visit us.

Today I cooked DAIKON, and share with my two adults students.

November has started.

November has started. It means only two months are left in this year. As soon as Halloween finished, we see Christmas decoration here and there.
This year I organized a Halloween event at home.
I invited an actress and she hold two stage, one was for kids and their parents, and the other was for adults including junior high school students.

My house is not so big, so about 10 people were enough. There is not a parking, so they came by bike, on foot or their family drove them here. But most of them live near my house.
If such a small show can be held here, our "senior" neighbors including us would be much more happy and cheerful.

The renovation has finished

 

It was long. Anyway the renovation of our kitchen has finished. I discarded lots of things. Fortunatley some dishes are still used at a restauant nearby. Some coffee cups are used at my friends house. So some things were recycled. I'm glad to do it.

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 Anway Yuki and I "have to " keep this clean & simple kitchen.

 

Our kitchen is being renovated.

Since this Monday the renovating of our kitchen has started. It will take about three weeks.
This spring suddenly the kitchen floor rose. A man worked for a home builder took a look, he said "probably dampness for long years". It has been 29 years since this house was built. So we decided to renovate our kitchen.

 

 

Fortunately the basement had no damage.
In an old house, sometimes termites attack, or dampness gets a big damage. Our basement is OK.
For one week, all basic renovating was finished. But for a while we don't still use the kitchen. So we are camping at home --- sometimes. It means we often go out for lunch, dinner with just reason.

Of course tonight we'll go out for lunch to the restaurant nearby.

I bougnt it!

Now I'm writiing this diary with this keyboard. It was not so difficult to connet it to my Ipad. I could do it by my self.  I think it might take a little time for me to get used using it. Anyway using this, I will update my blog more. 

PS. It's not genuine, Yuki suggest tto buy genumine goods, but I didn't know whether it's  useful or not. So I tried it. I don't know whether it has the quality to last long 

Finally I've started

For a long time I had been thinking how to use my collection books effectively.
I had often asked some people "will you try to use my books for free?".
But just few people showed the interest to my books.

Recently one of my friends, who is Canadian, and lives in my city started "MOTTAINAI group". I also joined them. And I started rental of boxes of English picture books. Not "lend out", I'll rent them for three months for 1000 yen. (Now I'm thinking whether deposit system is added or not, though my friend suggested this idea.)
Anyway some foreigners living in this city showed the interest of the boxes.

 

 

The books will be able to be used effectively, and  I'll be able to meet new people and join a new world.It's interesting.



usual life has started

Akari has gone back to TOKYO. The life for two of Yuki and me has started again.
Our daughter had stayed with us for three months. If you are a foreigner, you think it's too long.
Before she came, I agreed with you.

But --- M was too nervous to start her life with her daughter in TOKYO. Around her she has no friends who has babies.

Though it is an old story --- in my case my mother came here to help me, and she stayed for only two weeks, after that Yuki went on a long business trip, and two months later, I had to start to go to work.
So I was really busy to prepare for working again, and I was also in a bad condition, so I went to the clinic every day. I had no time to become nervous.
--- BUT, my neighbors helped me -- I remembered.

Now the time seems to be different.
I go to KOSODATE-SARON which is a place for mothers and their babies, is not a nursery school as a volunteer, there are many mothers who seems to be lonely. I wanted to say that "don't be easy on yourself". --- but  my daughter felt loneliness too.
They seem to be happy to have babies, on the hand they look worried to stay home with babies as a house wife.

Working is important to be independent, on the other hand being mother is also a wonderful thing. So  please be proud of yourself who are being a house mother.
Does it make sense?

tongue stew

This week is the last week for four of us (Yuki, M, Akari and me).
Next weekend, M's mother-in-law is going to come here and we'll celebrate about one month birthday of Akari, which is called OMIYA-MAIRI. So all of us are going to a shrine.
(Usually to celebrate happy things Japanese people go to a shrine, and to comfort our sadness or purify ourselves we tend to go to a temple --- I think.)
And M's family are going to "go back" to TOKYO, and their life with three will have started.

So this weekend was the last "lively" dinner with four of us, including AKARI though AKARI cannot eat yet. (Every weekend, M's husband comes here)

M's husband is from SENDAI, and SENDAI is famous for ox tongue. ( I don't know the reason.)
So M's mother-in-law presented us a block of tongue.

 For us it was an unusual thing. I know the quality, quantity and price must be wonderful. So I have to manage to cook it.
I searched the way of cooking a blog tongue on the net --- these days "net" is very useful, isn't it?
And I cooked.
Fist I boiled it with herbs. Then I cut it into "thick" pieces.(When we eat tongue stew at restaurant, the block is  small.)

 Then I boiled ed-wine to bun off alcohol.

 

Then I simmered tongue, vegetables, herbs and "the" wine instead of water.

I did it.

---- I'm afraid I forgot to take the photo of the finished tongue stew.