Haiku at mamada shrine

Today, though it was raining we went out to see an exhibition and to a shrine.

The shrine is Mamada-shrine, which is famous for HIKU (It is a kind of short poem and the style has 5-7-5 sounds in Japanese.) At the shrine HIKU we make is be able to dedicated for free, and  the HIKUs which are made in the month are showed on the bulletin board in the shrine.

 

Kouyou no  Hitotsu hitotsu to  Tebanashite

Colourful leaves falling down one by one

Hachi kiku no  Enji hounou Omokarou

How heavy such kindergarten kids put the pots of chrysanthemum to dedicate

In the shrine there is a smouring, it's unusual. In this area, SUMOU for kids is popular.

Amefurino Sabishiki Dohou(smou ring) Aki omoi kana

What a lonely smou-ring, looking like sentimental in autumn rain

 

This place is a gallery where my friend holds an exhibition.

She makes accessory with MIZUHIKI which is a kind of string.

 

MIZUHIKI no  Gold hana ni  Kureru Aki

Shining gold Mizuhiki while it's drawing in one autumn day

 

 

 

I hope you understand my HIKU.

 

November

Today it's a national holiday, however Yuki goes to work as usual, so for me it's a usual day.

I removed all Halloween goods, and put this stuffed turkey on the shelf.

Here in Japan "thanks giving" is not popular, however I run a small English school, so I show TURKEY (fake). Of course if I have a chance to eat whole-turkey I want share to kids. I get import-turkey, but it's really expensive.

 

In the afternoon, I struggle with icloud for windows.  I has used ipone and ipad. so I started to use icloud. BUT it doesn't work well on my computer.

 

Today's afternoon seemd to be finished with struggleing with the computer.

 

 

 

Our Halloween

November has started, it means the noisy and happy Halloween has gone.

All students including Akari carved pumpkins. (this year I got them from HOKKAIDOU)

 

Some students made spider pancake with Halloween sprikle.

Some students made skeleton hans with pop corn.

And most students (unfortnately two stdudents couldn't join us becasue of their school trip) did trick or treat. Two neighbours opend the doors, and three neigbours helped us.

 

I'm not sure sunce when Halloween has popualr in Japan.

Well, well, here in Japan, Halloween means wearing costumes.

This year here and there Costume parties were held.

At some places, the entering fee got free if you wear costumes.

It was fun.

The main event "trick or treat" is not so popualr, probably not so many houses won't open their house.

 

Anyway Halloween has gone.

Mieko you did a good job! OTUKARESAN(this is Japanese famous word to encorage people.)

 

 

 

Herb tea

Now a new week has started. Though it's a holiday today on Japanese calender, Yuki goes to work as usual. I do chores in the morning, and in the afternoon I'll go out to attend a workshop instead of seeing the dentist.

In my garden SYUMEIGIKU is too full to stand straight. So I cut some of them and "just " put them into the big vase. Not so bad. We feel fall, don't us?

 

Well I coincidentally got this herb tea. Do you know that? It seems to be famous in the US? in the UK?

 

 

I tried to have it. It tastes --- I was really surprised --- like Chinese tea.
I'm really sensitive to coldness, I hope my body temperature raise up to 36 degree Celsius or more.
My body temperature is usually around 35.5 degree Celsius.

How much is it if I asked someone to clean the windows?

Well, well, according to the newspaper, you should start house cleaning (Here in Japan in December is the season of general house cleaning not spring cleaning. Because I think, in December we don't have much pollen, we don't have much rain even though it's really cold.) from this month little by little ( for senior people.)

I think it's a good idea.
What people usually do?
Cleaning conditioners, cleaning  the kitchen stove and a kitchen ventilating fan, and cleaning the bath room and cleaning the windows.

In our case, we usually do cleaning the windows.
(we often skip cleaning conditioners and ventilating fan.)
This house is old, so compared with current houses, we have more windows.
And -- if we were too old to clean the windows ---
I looked up the cost on the net.
It costs 400 yen a pair of large windows currently.

well, well,  additionally, it costs at least 12000yen to clean an air conditioner, and it costs also 12000 yen to clean a ventilating fan.

Toufu au gratin

I don't know how call GRATAN in English, according to my dictionary, it is showed as "au gratin".
Anyway, yesterday I tried to make perfect Toufu au gratin, it means that I used only Toufu to make white sauce.
Just I whipped TOUFU with a little powdered consomme.

And bake it in the oven.

 

Looks perfect. The taste is not so bad, it means -- it was a little TOUFU-ish.
So if you love TOUFU, the taste is wonderful, and you are not a lover of TOUFU, the taste is not so bad.

However it's really easier to make TOUFU cream instead of white sauce.
It might be better to add some soy milk or some cheese (if you don't mind too much calorie).

From a radio program

I listened to NHK radio program in English.
It was an interesting article.

This is that Technology & Business: Responding to Your Specific Needs - New Housekeeping Services

(I don't know how long we can listen to it on the net.)

Here in Japan having housemaids is not so popular (among not the upper class), of course I can't afford to hire a housemaid either.

However looking back to about 50 years ago, not only the upper class but also landowners or some middle class people used to hire some housemaids. (Well, my grandaunt was single forever, and worked as a professor at a women university, and she hired a housemaid, which was also her friend, my great grand parents hired some housemaids because there were lots of people to live together.)

Now, it's completely different.

And now we face the population decline  because of the declining birthrate, though increasing the number of senior people.

So for senior people they have no one to help them. It means they might need someone who do house chores instead of them. However the people in their 60's or 70's are not used to accept other people who do house chores or ask something to other people .

For young people in their 30's or 40's, probably after 10 or 20 years, it will be usual that  a couple work "outside" together, (I think doing housework at home is a kind of work.), so they might need a house made, but what such a housemaid does? Do they live in such a big house?
Such couples don't have free time in weekdays, so they can't go to bank or post office  to do fill out paperwork. However housemaids won't be able to take care of such paperwork because these days it's really difficult to deal with personal information.

---- sorry I can't put together my thoughts. (even though in Japanese).

Anyway the article was interesting.

They are good phrases, aren't they?

In your country (not Japan), Is it familiar to talk with a psychology counselor?
I think nowadays it seems to be usual little by little. So these days I  see lots of blog talking about psychology. I'm a little bit fan of two couselors' blogs.

What he said today was that
"people surrounding you look bright and attractive means  that you are bright and attractive."

It is said we love our own kind.
So to be honest, these days I feel blue, however the people surrounding me are still attractive and cheerful. --- It means I still have power to get cheerful!!!!

And
Another phrase was that
Sometimes talking with someone including counselors, is effective, however the final way is just "courage" to break anything saying "let's do it (without thinking".


It's right.
I think, if I feel my courage, it's not the time to do a thing. For that to happen, it's OK to be still, just wait for coming up your courage.

What phrases encourage you?

This is today's breakfast.Yesterday a friend came to my house and had lunch together.I grilled chicken and made marinated beans. She brought green-tea cake. So I shared it to Yuki for our breakfast. It's not leftover.

Do you know the word "head spa"?

Yesterday, coincidentally a woman dropped by my house and gave me "head spa".
And now I checked the word of  "head spa" on the net. -- It is JAPANAESE.
Head means or course head, and spa means hot spring.
Head-spa is a kind of massage on our head to clean the skin of scalp, massage it and recuperation( or healing) the hair--- according to the information I got.

Anyway I had  a 10 minute head-spa. It was good.

She gave a compliment about my skin of scalp. "How soft your scalp is!, so you have good blood flow.".
It seems to be the first time for me to get such compliment about my body or my health condition.
As you know I'm suffering from stuffed shoulders, and sensitivity to cold (to tell the truth today I put a hot compress on my back to stimulate a pressure point against coldness.)

Probably this must work well.

I give myself massage on my head every morning to prevent from losing hair.

Well, unfortunately having soft skin of scalp doesn't mean being clever, but anyway getting a compliment pleased me.

However---
I searched more about soft skin of scalp on the net.

Having too soft (flabby)  skin of scalp means ---

having too bad blood flow
immune compromise
lack of energy
and being negative

These symptoms seem to be applied to me. Automatically I laughed wryly.


How's your skin of scalp?





 

Not so bad

Since last week I've been takeing medicine. It works well. So this weekend I was able to go out with Yuki and enjoyed outside.

Yesterday in downturn an interesting event was held. Some manufacturers demonstrated there works, and many kids joined their workdshop. We would have tried some, however adults had no business doing.

A famouse (though a little) actress came to do a talk show. 

And today  we went to a hot spring nearby. 

And since this evening while we are watching TV, we are slobing at home. 

New week starts soon. 

I'm at clinic.

Good morning. It's about 9:30 am.

I'm waiting for my turn. These days I have not been in a good condition. I have had Chinese medicine and did this week's job.

However my condition is griping worse , and from this day 5 weekends has started. So only today the clinic us open.

I got here before 9 o'clock.

Every this session my condition tends to be bad because of allergy. 

My allergy causes tiredness , horse voice,  and sometimes a slight fever. 

I hope this condition is caused by my usual allergy.

This afternoon Akari (and her family,it means my daughter and my son-in-law)

So I got up earlier than usual.

Even though I won't be able to cook well, they will manage to do our meals. 

What's this?

Have you ever seen this gadget?

It's a machine of making grape fruit juice.

This Sunday Yuki and I went out to down town.

Though in some cities near Utsunomiya, and some towns in Utsunomiya they have been still in troubles, the situation of  downtown is OK.

In downtown a small fair was held. We dropped by.

She is drawing a portrait---- who? Ours.

We had a calm weekend.

It has been rainig.

Though typhoon doesn't hit this area directly, it has been raining since this Monday.

Even though there are only two members, for these three days we have lots of laundry they don't get  dry yet because all of them are dried in the room. I don't have drier. So since this morning the heater and the dehumidifier have been working.

I thought I would have gone to a laundry shop nearby, but it's raining hard, so I gave up.

 

Yesterday it was also rain, but thankfully three regular listeners and a man came to listen to KARAKU.

Do you know Paul Klee who is a painter? Recently his exhibition was held in our city art museum.

His paints are so popular in Japan, so a famous poet gets afloat  some books and picture books with his poems.

Yesterday my partner who is a recitalist and actress read some poems from this book and I played some tunes on piano along her reading.

 

I like this style, and the atmosphere. The time spends very slow.

 

 

Too much garlic

These are appetizer for this week. I get a box of vegetables once a week from a farmer directly. So I cook them as appetizer at a time.

 

Usually I cook green leaves with sesame, or KATSUOBUSHI(dried bonito). I'm a little bit tired of the tastes. So this time I cooked KUSHINNA-leaves&stalks with olive oil & garlic.

 

Today I made fried noodle (you mentioned that you can say it chaw mein). Then I added olive KUSHINNA.

 

It tasted good, but--- now I feel full of garlic tasted in my mouth.
On no! In an hour I have to go out. Today it is my recital day at KARAKU tea room.

It's strange.

September has already started. This month I decided to subscribe to the newspaper for kids.

It's very interesting. For me it's really easy to understand our political things.

And the English page is fun, but---

 

sometimes it's not so good.

This time stalls of food stands in summer festivals are introduced.

 

cotton candy, shaved ice, shooting gallery, goldfish scooping--they are OK. (though these days mable scooping  is more popupalr than goldfish scooping.)

 

However --- chow mein ---. Probably fried noodle is easier to understand, but it 's OK, because in Chinese it's called chow mein.

 

The strange thing is the KATAKANA sound. It's  ch- o- m-ai-n.

I think if we try to write in KATAKANA, it's ch-au-m-ai-n.

What do you think of it?

 

 

 

 

Where has the hot summer gone?

The hot summer seems to have gone, on the other hand a typhoon season has come.

I'm relieved to manage to survive against or with the hot summer. This summer, it was very very hot.

While the cool season came, my thumb started to hurt.

So I often do OKYU-- moxibustion.

It's not so bad.

 

Anyway, Monday has started. I cooked appetizers (often they become my main) for this week.

Now it's in a season of eggplants. Luckily I often get lots of eggplants.

Sometimes I grill them, sometimes I simmer them. This time I deep-fried them and soaked them with soy sauce and Dashi.

Our usual day has started

You see two pairs of chopsticks. Our usual quiet day has started.

Yuki went to work, and I -- don't have lesson today, I'm going to the gym ( so my vacation has still continued.)

 

The bright noisy sound has gone -- I miss her and I relieved.

The very hot weather seems to have gone. Today it's rainy and cool. I'm wearing a long sleeve shirt. This coolness comforts me.

Yuki and I really enjoyed with our grand daughter. We are really  happy.

 

 

Last summer, she was born, and now she can play with lots of things.

==== for her just riding on it is fun, we don't need put a coin in the box.

 

See you Akari!

Before OBON vacattion

 Next week we have one-week vacation called OBON vacation.

Lots of people go traveling or visit their parents or grandparents.

It means another busiest week with our granddaughter will come.

So before the busy OBON vacation, fortunately Yuki could take a day off, so we visited a hot spring nearby. 

In the late evening we got there, and walked around the inn.

There we took foot-bath, and had beer in a cafe?bar? .

And we stayed there one night. We had a traditional Japanese breakfast-- I forgot when I had such a breakfast. I have stayed a hotel or an inn sometimes for these years, nevertheless, probably all of them served or we choiced Western style.  

Then we started hiking. We walked for 20 or 30 minutes and met a waterfall in the forest.

In this area there are some small but beautiful walls.

 We saw two waterfalls.

It was before OBON vacation, so there were not so many people and we could stay at a reasonable price. If we stay there in OBON vacation it costs more than double for the weekday price.

Well, well, another busiest (or happy) week with Akari will wait for us.

Before true OBON vacation, Yuki is going to golf  this weekend, and I have to attend two events with my students, though the events are fun for me.

Akari got one year old -4-

One hear has passed since Akari was born.

When M came back to this home last summer she said " I will go back to Tokyo as soon as possible but anway I have to stay here in one month". She was so --- offensive, or she says " at that time I was till your child, I was rebbelious." Now she is a mother  --- she is very clever, it means she takes more easy way, So she often come back here. Of course there are some reason. One reason, another Akari's mother is not so in good condition, so she has to go to Sendai. However it's a little bit difficult to go straingt to Sendai, so first she comes here and stay one night and she goes to Senday by burrent train to and from. And  --- she stays with us for a few days to take a rest.

 

Anyway I made this photo book as a memory.

I downloaded an application in my ipad and ordered this photo book using photos on my ipad.

It was very easy and not so expensive.

I added some HAIKU (short Japanese poem) in each page.

On the other hand M made photo book to go to a photo shop.

 

One year changed us a lot.

To tell the truth, Yuki and I are very happy when they come back here, however, I don't like vacuum after they go back to Tokyo.

And probably I do to much for them and after they go back to Tokyo I'm really tired.

 

So this is our today's breakfast.

 

 

 Well, well, our usually life of two of us has started.

--- though in one week OBON vacation comes.

Akari got one-year old. -3-

During M's staying, she usually takes a lesson of architect at school for one day here in Utsunomiya.

So I was taking care of Akari on a weekday.

 

First I went to a baker to have morning snack at 10 o'clock.

Akari ate baby rice crackers.

Then I went to the library.
On the day from 11;00 to 11:40, story time was held for babies--- of course in Japanese.
Additionally  on the third Tuesdays from 11:00 "I" do story time in English for babies.

She listened to the storyteller hard, and played or read books.
Then we had lunch at restaurant.
At this restaurant they serve low-allergy menu, it means eggs, milk, wheat are not included. These days during having baby food they recommend not to eat eggs, mile and wheat much. So there Akari "ate" rice-bread, soy milk stew and baked potatoes,  I ate "stake".
Additionally the price of Akari's food and my food were alomst same.

Akari got one year old. -2-

During M & Akari staying, Yuki had a holiday.

So we went to a mountain to escape this hotness.

There --- we got on a lift.

It is a ski resort in winter, and during the summer it is opened as a lily park. And to climb the mountain ( or hill) one ski lift works.

We didn't expect that AKARI was accepted. HOWEVER, she was accepted.

So all of four got on a lift and went to the top of the mountain.

On the top of mountain it was really cool.

So we decided to climb down the hill on foot. (Her baby car also got on a lift together, this was another surprise.)

 

You can see M, the baby car and Yuki.

I took the photo on the half way to the "goal" ( it means the rest house).

For young mother "M", and the person who is getting used to walk on the golf course, this walking must have been not so bad. HOWEVER for me --- it was foolhardy.

--- My stinginess ( or my thrift) brought this result.

Well, well the scenery is really good.

However the fee is 1000 yen a person (It's OK, because I got two free tickets), and the fee of one way lift is 700 yen  a person.

(Additionally it doesn't cost money to carry a baby car. But it was funny and strange. because, four of us, though Akari was carried in M's arms got on one lift, and the baby car , itself  got on another lift with no one.)

 

It was a good hiking course, so many people climbed up and down with sneakers.

So probably next summer "I" will use a lift to and from.

Akari got one year old. -1-

Since I updated this blog last time, one week has passed. It's August!

During the last week,  our younger daughter M and our grand daughter Akari was staying here in Utsunomiya.

We celebrated her one-year- birthday.

 

This is her lunch.

I cooked simmered vegetables (tasted soy sauce a little), grilled hamburger stake ( not only for her but also ours) and made cold potato soup.

 

They and Akari's father came here to Utsunomiya around noon, so in the morning I cooked some (for me lots) of dishes.

 

The main was hamburger stakes, because Akari also could eat it.

The hamburger for adults were "huge", because I bought 1kg grand pork, and  ----" this is a very important point ". Yuki said,--- Yuki kneaded the ingredients of hamburger. In his life it was the first time, and I hope it wouldn't be the last time.

 

And the special is --- the cake with her likeness.

Near my house there is a Japanese sweet shop, these days probably the owner's son help his parents and he is good at cake. So now the sweet shop serves Japanese sweets and cakes. And he makes such a cake with likeness.

Akari doesn't eat such cake yet, and unfortunately she didn't seem whose face it is on the cake. But Akari's mother (our daughter) and father seemed very happy.

It is not a Japanese custom, but I like this idea.

Akari's birthday is July 24. It is a weekday, so Akari's mother and father celebrated the birthday instantly the early morning at their house in Tokyo,
Next day they came to Utsunomiya, and we celebrated her birthday again like this way.
Then next day they went to Sendai. There another Akarai's grandmother and Akaria's parents celebrated her birthday again.
It means she got three year old in three days.
In Senday, Akari carried "ISHOU MOCHI" which is huge rice cake on her back and belly.  To be collect they tried to her to carry them but failed.
It is a Japanese custom in some area ( I knew this custom when I came here to Utsunomiya). It means the baby will never suffer hunger.
And on the same day M and Akari came back to Utsumoiya, Akari's father came back to Tokyo.