TATAMI mats

It is the last day in January. I can't believe that since we celebrated the new year, one month has already passed.
For these two days I have no lessons, because I have being changed TATAMI mats. so I can't use my lesson room. Yesterday at 7 o'clock, a man came to take out TATAMI-mats. And now I'm waiting for him with new TATAMI mats.

I sent this photo to my friend living in America. She asked some questions to me.

>  How often do you change the mats in the rooms?
Though depends on the people, my mother changed the mats once ten years. In our case, it is the first time to change them since we bought this house about 28 years ago.

>  How many rooms did you change?
We have two TATAMI rooms. but because of the budget, and thinking of the troublesome (there is a bed, closet, and other stuffs etc., in the other room.) we changed only one room.

>I seem to recall that one of my hosts mentioned the mats are expensive. Have you ever considered doing something else, like the flooring in your kitchen, for example?
Actually we changed kitchen floor two years ago.

> The other thing that was somewhat surprising to me in your photo was the board floor rather than using plywood (large sheets of composition wood that is smoother and stronger...also more insulated).
I think in usual wooden Japanese houses such boards are laid. Anyway our house is not new in a Japanese thinking way, so I don't know how current new houses are built.

 > Does your house have a "crawl space?"
Yes, it does. In Japan it is really humid. So most Japanese house have such a crawl space. I think.
Actually Yuki and I are thinking to seal the back side of  the board floor again against coldness. 28 years have passed since this house was built, so the sealing seems not to work well, though it's really expensive.

 >   What is directly under your boards?
It's ground.

 Later I'll re- update this blog with new TATAMI's room.

PS it's finished. The smell is nice.

Thursday

Now it's past one p.m. What did you eat for lunch. I ate the rest of our breakfast.
In one hour a little girl will come to take my lesson.

According to the weather report today, it would have snowed. Actually early in the morning it snowed a little, but all of snowflakes melted. It's sunny again.

Last Tuesday my friend and I drove to NIKKO to a log house used as a cafe. My friend, Eiko-san is really interested in log houses. She lives in a good house, but she seems to build a log house or have a log house built, of course with a wood stove. The live with a wood stove is a good example to have "slow life" in Japan.

And the cafe opened last year, a senior couple (I think they are still in their 50's) started to enjoy? their retired life. Putting on a fire in a wood stove in early morning is the husband's job. Baking bread in early morning is the wife's job. Sometimes I think if I could run own own cafe with a mustic studio. But looking at real jobs, it feels to be difficult.

Eiko-san and I are the same age. She is the first friend since I came to Utsunomiya, it means We have know each other more than 25 years.
Last year she took early retirement. So we can meet often, at least these days once or twice a month we meet each other. What we talk about is always our "senior" life. I'm happy to have such a friend to talk our life.


Well, at the first lesson, we'll practice an English play. It's time to prepare for the lesson.

It was sunny

Since last snow, one week has passed. Today it was sunny though it was cold. (And at night it got colder.)
Last week the Donto-yaki festivals at shrines finished. Last year's good luck charms and talismans  were burnt at the event. It was the final event of new year's ceremonies.
I changed the  entrance hall decoration from the New Year's one into the Valentine's day.

 

 

In Japan, most Japanese think " we are in the middle class". I think in Japan there is not such a clear difference between rich and poor, though it seems to be getting clearer.

But sometimes I feel a slight difference.

This weekend we had  lunch at a good restaurant. Most of the  people who were there were groups of women or middle aged couples. It is a kind of gourmet restaurant.  

 

 

We didn't have coffee there, but we wanted to have coffee, so after that we went to a bakery where they serve coffee for free and they have an eat-in corner.. The bakery was crowded with lots of families.

We bought some bread for the next day's breakfast, and had coffee.

After that we went to listen to a string quartet.

The concert hall is a private concert hall. Most of  the audience were in their 50's, 60's, or 70's.

 

After that we bought some cuisine  at an Italian restaurant which was crowded with  middle aged couples.





 

Each place seems to have suitable for a particular generation, or kind of   customers. I'm not sure which class we are in, anyway sometimes we enjoy expensive things and sometimes we have to save. It's difficult to juggle it.



 

 

 

It's snowing

Now it's already evening, but it's still snowing. I'm eating hot sweet red beans soup for a snack.(I know some foreigner don't like it.)

 

Well, we have consecutive holidays, unfortunately today's weather is really bad.
Yuki went to work, his car has snow tires, so it's OK.
My car doesn't have snow tires yet,  but I had to out to work in the morning. The road was like sherbet, fortunately it didn't freeze, so I managed to come back here safely.

Tomorrow in the morning a meeting is going to be held, but --- I don't know whether I'll go out. Do I need to call a taxi? Or the meeting may be cancelled because it's not a job meeting.

Last Friday my friend and I went to HATSUICHI which means literally the first fair. There were many food stalls, flower stalls and DARUMA stalls. At HATSUICHI , DARUMA is sold, so the another name of HATSUICHI is DARUMA-ichi.

DARUMA is a doll made of paper and usually painted red. (These days there are various color's DARUMA.) It is a roly-poly, and is said to invite fortune.
We went there at lunch time, so we ate hot SENBEI-soup.

 

 

Anyway today's weather is really bad. Yuki called me a few minutes ago saying "I'll try to go home as fast as I possible". But I don't know whether he'll come back earlier than usual. Anyway I'll cook something for dinner of two of us.

 

 

Thursday

Since usual days started, four days has alreday passed.
Today at noon I'm going to go to a small festival near the station. It is called "HATSUICHI", that means the first festival. Actually it is the first festival in this year. There are many or some stalls along the street. There flowers and DARUMA which is a kind of lucky doll are sold.

This Monday I went to a post office to save money with this can. ( In Japan post offices also have a role as a bank.)

Can you guess how much is it in the can? I'll tell you later.
I usually keep our household accounts once a week. At that time I also check my purse.(Here in Japan coins are more common than credit cards.) And I put all coins into the can, though I keep bills.
This year I saved 38010yen (currently 1$ costs 80 yen.)

Yuki and I had counted them before I went there. It was 38000yen.
According automatic counting machine in the post office, it was 38010 yen, Lucky me.
I save half of them ,and we'll go to a fancy restaurant using the rest of them.

Do you do such a miserly saving? ( Is it a right way to use a word miserly?)

A usual Sunday afternoon

My younger daughter M came back to Tokyo this morning. Yuki went to play golf.  I finished washing all bed clothing. I'm spending a quiet usual Sunday.
During this winter vacation I met my mother who is 76 years old, and my mother-in-law who is 84 years old. I'm happy both of them are fine. But I felt a little change on both of them.

My mother, Hiroko-san, seems to be worse at communication in a group. She usually has breakfast, lunch and dinner by herself. Fortunately someone such as her friends, neighbors and her four grand daughters often visit her, but usually it is one-on-one communication. and someone comes to  her house, so she doesn't need to care for surroundings. To tell the truth, I already noticed her change, so I would take her somewhere to enjoy her and went on a trip this fall. I want her to keep concern for the good of the community  being a part of a group,  though it might be difficult considering her circumstance.

On the other hand my mother-in-law Kazuyo-san seemed to change. Since my  father-in-law passed away she had lived alone. Now she is living in a senior center by herself. There she is not the eldest person. Though she has her own room, she usually has breakfast, lunch and dinner at a big dinning room with members in neat clothing. She needs to have concern for the good of the community.

In many foreign countries people seem to enjoy party with "neighbors", "friends", not only with their family. I think having a party is a kind of culture. Here in Japan such culture is not so popular. But having party keep us communication skill, sociability. To tell the truth, I don't like such a party culture very much, or I'm not used to it. But considering the two elderly women, I started to think about the benefit of the party culture.

It might be a good opportunity to build a base of party culture for me in my 50's.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Yuki and I visited a shrine in NIKKO. The first visit a shrine of a new year is called "HATSUMOUDE". NIKKO is one of famous touring spots in Japan, so many people visited there. It takes about 50 minutes by car from Utsunomiya. Though I don't like too much crowded place, visiting busy place with people and stalls  made us fun.
How are you enjoying or did you enjoy the New Year's Day? You may have watched foot ball game on TV.

On New Year's Eve, we could have dinner with all members of my family, two daughters, and my mother Hiroko-san at home. Hiroko-san and I went to "the" department store to buy beef of good quality. (In Utsunomiya, there is only one big department store, though we have two big malls.)

We bought four kinds of beef by 200g each.
And of course we had SUKIYAKI.

On the New Year's Day we went to TOKYO with five members, and had a Yuki's family reunion.  And, Yuki and I came back to Utsunomiya.
We celebrated our New Year with two of us again quietly.

Well, for a while I skip cooking breakfast, just grill MOCHI (rice cake).

Winter vacation has started.

All jobs for this year has done without problems. And my another job as a mother or a daughter has started. At first I cleaned a room and organize it for my mother. She'll come here from tomorrow.
She'll stay with us just two days, That's why we have lots of things to do together.
Though she lives in Tokyo, she doesn't go out by train, because of stairs. When she comes here, she loves to go out to a department store, a hot spring, "by car". She has some favorite spots here, but for only tow days it's difficult to go to all of them. So I already went to one of her favorite shops
 and bought this, which is good to eat with rice. The shops is called "TOCHIGI souvenir shop" which deals with lots of TOCHIGI's products.

 

 

I bought lots of vegetables from a farmer directly. Yuki and I'll take her back to TOKYO by car on the New Year's day, so she can come back easily with vegetables. 

 

 

Most of family must have special feast at New Year. We celebrate the New year at Yuki's mother's house, so I don't need to cook it. Cooking it is my sister-in-law's job.(Thanks Mayumi san). I'll bake cakes.

 

Anyway for a while I'll enjoy house chores for my family. It's the time to start cleaning.

 

 



Is it a bad habit or not?

Can you whistle through your fingers? Do you think it 's a good manners? Yuki can do it, and to tell the truth I think it's kind of rude for  audience to do it in a "classical" concert.

Well, I read an interesting column in the newspaper. A man who is over 70, stopped to listen to live music by two young boys at a station. There was only one listener, so he was the second listener. The music was so wonderful, so he whistled through his fingers to encourage them, and he said whistling through his fingers is one of a few his specialities. The musicians were very pleased. In a little while some people came to listen them, so he went home.
The column was heartwarming.

It's cool for elderly person to whistle through the fingers to young musicians.

But unfortunately I don't like Yuki's whistling through his fingers at a Jazz concert.

Let's count doun to the New Year.

How was your Christmas?
Last night two students came, and they enjoyed eating the rest of our Christmas cake and apple cider sent from America. Our Christmas cake Yuki bought has gone without wasting.

In November I thought "it would be troublesome to something to do for Christmas".
But thanks for students we really enjoyed Christmas this year without our daughters.
And our daughters seemed to enjoy Christmas with their friends in Tokyo.

Yesterday I went to a clinic to take regular medicine. I also took the result of blood test of last month. Unfortunately the result was not so good. It gives sings of  chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis.I don't need to take special medicine until now, anyway I'll try to spend days with positive and cheerful attitude to reduce stress as much as possible. The important thing to bring relief is to improve a immune system.

Merry Christams

It's Monday and a substitute holiday in Japan because a national holiday  fell on Sunday (yesterday). How do you spend this Christmas Eve?
Yuki went to work, but he came back earlier than usual. He bought cake and chicken for Christmas. So we could celebrate tonight together.

 

 

He bought a present for me. Thanks. I'm sorry I didn't prepare anything for him. 

 

From early December to last Friday, my students and I really enjoyed Christmas crafts and cooking. To tell the truth, while I was doing it with them, I often thought that it was troublesome. But thanks of my students I really enjoyed Christmas season. And I could celebrate this Eve with Yuki.

 

 

In the day time I already put away Christmas ornaments, and put New Year's ornaments.



Can you see the title of the book? It's "Hide and Snake". The Chinese zodiac sign of the next year is "snake".



Monday

It's Monday. A new year is just around corner. I finished a big event this weekend. I went to GUNMA prefecture. Though GUNMA is next to my prefecture, Tochigi, it takes more than two hours by train, because SHINKANSEN (bullet train) doesn't run.  I assisted an event which one of my friends held. The event was a big success, I'm relieved now.
This week I'll go out to do two volunteer works. When I'll be finished the works, the works I'm asked will be done this year. (Though I have lessons at home until December 28.)

The lower house election was finished. As expected the Liberal Democratic Party won. Coincidentally before the election day I saw Mr. Abe who is a leader of the Liberal Democratic Party at Kiryu station in GUNMA.

I listened to him for a while, I felt he would win, and actually he won.
I don't know how much he'll protect poor people, how much he'll exploit taxes from wealthy people. I don't want to use the words such as the poor and the rich. But these days I often feel the difference is getting bigger. And at the same time I feel the difference between a country life and a city life.

I read a report in the newspaper. These days the number of students who want to study abroad is decreasing, it's running against internationalization. The main reason is that when they return to Japan it's difficult to get to work.  I think to study abroad improve their carrier. But these days even in the big company they don't afford to hire so many people who have  enough carrier. The more highly carrier people have, the more difficult it is for people to find a suitable job.Only a few people succeed,  and get good salary.
If students know that they won't get a good job even though they study hard, they don't study. So the society is getting weak. We are in the bad spiral.

Well, well, let's think about something fun.
What is the top event for you this year? For me I went to MIYAJIMA in HIROSHIMA with my mother. Since I was born, it the first time to go somewhere only with my mother.   I really understand how weak her physical power is. (though she speaks very very--- very well.)
I decided until she is eighty once a year I'll take her to a trip to somewhere.

Tuesday

Today it was the day of Karaku which is a tearoom and I played the piano  there. After 30 minutes performing I had a good coffee and sweet. It was my luxurious time.

 

While I was drinking coffee, I talked a lady who sometimes came to listen to the piano.
It was the first time to listen to herself. She has a one and half years boy, and 13 years girl. I thought both of them were divided by an big age difference.
She told me more.
She was divorced and for a while she was a shingle parent. She managed to live taking ADC. She  had no qualification because she dropped out of school, so it was difficult to live with a kid. Fortunately she met a man and married again. And she had a baby.
Now she is thinking to go to a job training school and get qualification. Now she is taking care of her kids at home thanks to her husband, but she wants to a have regular job. Because his husband is now 50 years like me. 10 years later he must be retired, so she will have to support their life mainly because her second child will be still 11 years.
Fortunately my two daughters are already (half) independent, If  we had one and half year kid, what should we do?

She seemed to be happy, and live steadily. I wish she and her family would keep current happiness.

Monday

This morning it was so cold that we had the first frost on the garden. Most of green plants froze and died down. I pulled them up and threw away. (Today it was a garbage collection day.)
One of my friend who lives in the northern area of Tochigi said "it is snowing". Actually around the noon even in Utsunomiya snow was lightly falling. We don't change the tires into winters' yet. This weekend we have to do it.

I'll wirte one of things which I notice these days. I thought in Japan we have not so many rich people, and not so many poor people. I used to see the report "most of Japanese people thing they are in the middle class."  I think it is one of good things in Japan.
I wrote about "housewives in Japan" in the previous blog. Being housewives means being in the middle class. In a foreign country, while both a mother and a father are working, a maid is taking care their house and their kids. Some maids must be professional and being in the middle class. But in my image maids are poor. Here in Japan not so many people chose to become a maid. Here in Japan the salaray of made is not cheap.


Though I wrote that most people in Japan seemed to be in the middle class, I feel the difference between a little bit poor people and a little bit rich people is getting bigger.
I heard that some young people (I don't know they education background) earn less than 200000 yen a month. So it's difficult to rent their house from their salary. Most of money they earn is used to their living cost. I think they must feel that they are poor."BUT", they can't afford to feel being poor, because they work hard for 6 days, and they just sleep at home the last important day. They don't have time to use their money for their leisure time, so that they don't notice they are poor,
In Japan some people said working is virture. I think it is partly true, but---.

I often think "something is worng".

Sunday

We have to do "winter cleaning" in Japan as our tradition.
So Yuki bought a new gadget to encourage him to have fun according to him.

Do you already have one?
Anyway he cleaned the fence, garden blocks,the entrance hall, and the bathroom. Unfortunately the result was -- not as good as we hoped. Our house was too old to shine it up.


 













On the other hand I organized the garden. I also arranged a flowerpot.I put some vegetables with winter flowers.



Well, on the last blog I introduced our traditional Japanese Christmas cake. Well, the other day I had a Japanese sweet for Christmas which is popular recently.

Though on the photo it looks white, it was actually green and light green. It was modified to a Japanese sweet from Christmas holly tree. Last week, my students and I made Christmas apple pinatas, they are waiting for Christmas sweets.

December has come.

Finally December, which is the last month of the year, has come. I put some ornaments in my rooms to celebrate Christmas.

Last Sunday Utsunomiya International exchange organization held a festival which is "let's read picture books in the world". 6 people who are from Canada, Pakistan, Russia, Korea, China, and France, read their own countries' picture books to attendees. Most attendees were parents and kids who were from babies to 6 or 7 year old kids. More than 50 couples came. 
I assisted a Canadian lady. She read this book.

It really suited this event. In this book some things popular in Canada are introduced in turn, such as toque, loon , hockey sticks and so on. Do you have such a book? I think it might be good if we (my English Picture book club) could organize "Japan 1,2,3".

This time I found out about a Japanese cultural thing. I had thought  it was common or usual in the world.
Before I tell you what it is, I'll write another thing.

The other day my friend baked stollen. I know it is popular Christmas bread in Germany.

We are enjoying this stollen. We'll probably eat all up before Christmas.
Though the shape is different, in Canada thick fruit cake containing dried fruit covered with marzipan seems to be popular as a Christmas cake.
In Japan our popular cake is spongecake covered with fresh cream, and decorated with strawberries.

I didn't know that it is a "Japanese style". It seems to be a Japanese cultural thing.

cleaning time at school

If you have a chance to visit a Japanese school, one of surprising things is probably "cleaning time". At most schools in Japan, students clean their classrooms, hallways, the ground, the garden and even toilets.
Why? Today I found an interest report in the newspaper.
Roles of cleaning time
1, Organizing the cleaning procedure, and cleaning effectively help to grow children's ability to plan and sense of achievement.
2, They show more interest in cleanliness condition, find proper cleanliness level, and learn how to tidy up.
3, They acquire the attitude to take care of things, and make effort not to generate waste.
4. People feel good in a clean place, so cleaning somewhere for someone raises their emotion to do
 something for someone even though no one knows who did it.
5,Cleaning up give them a feeling of accomplishment.
6. They learn communication skills, how to share the roles, and understand the responsibility through cleaning in a group.
7,Cleaning somewhere in a set period time gives them concentration, and makes them punctual.

What do you think of them? I hope all sentences make sense.

Thursday

Now I'm getting better. It's difficult for me to adjust to the change of temperature in this season. Yesterday I got a shot to stop my dizziness, According to my medical record, it's a "usual" thing. I get a shot at least twice a year, in spring and fall.

The other day I talked about 1030000 yen barrier with mothers. It was difficult to put together my mind even in Japanese, but anyway I'll talk again about it in English.
Do you know what 1030000yen barrier means? People who earn under 1030000yen per year become dependents and get tax deduction. So if house makers want to keep being dependents while they work part time job, they control their work. If they earn more than 1030000yen, they have to pay tax, and if they earn more than 1300000yen, they have to pay insurance fee. If they earn less than about 2000000 yen,  a strange thing occurs. The money people get is the same with the person who earns 1030000yen and the person who earns 2000000yen, because 2000000 yen earning person has to pay tax and insurance fee from her earnings.

So some people say 103000 yen barrier makes people stop to work more though they want to work more.
In Japan working harder (or earning harder) is considered as a virtue, so people who have time, except doing house chores and taking care of kids, tend to be considered as being lazy.

I think 1030000yen barrier protects house makers. Of course earning money harder is not bad. Actually I often think if I earned more. But if you are able to live as being a dependent (though the life may not be rich), thanks to the barrier you can do other things. Or I dare to say you should something to the society such as to help poor people, to enjoy kids, to be tender to senior people. I won't think that money talks everything.
Of course volunteering is one way. Actually I do some volunteer work at nursery schools. But what is volunteer? I often think about it. In my case I buy English books by myself, I pay for gas by my self, sometimes I buy costumes by myself. It's fun for me, but I won't recommend this way to others. I'll say again "I don't think money talks everything", but --- it's difficult.

Yes, it's difficult to put together my mind. Anyway I'll post my mumble.

Monday

A new week has started. How was your weekend? Unfortunately I was not so good, so most of time I was reading "Japanese books" in the bed. When a season changes, I often suffer dizziness.
Last night we had cheese fondu simply using the things in the fridge. It made us warm.

This morning I'm so-so, but probably I won't go to workout.
When I was in the bed, I noticed the places that I had to clean. It's funny, because when I'm busy I don't notice such things. In Japan December is Winter cleaning month. I want to do "winter cleaning"little by little, such as clean up the shelves, an air fan, etc. Cleaning the windows is Yuki's job, probably he will do on 29 December, before my mother comes to stay with us.

After I finish morning chores, I'll lie down for a while. Have a nice day. And let's enjoy this week.

After reading a book

I've just finished reading a book. The author is a Japanese woman who is a person of my own age. I like reading because sometimes books evoke my sympathy, and clear what I'm thinking.

The author said in the book;
Women are brought up from a baby to an adult without pressure of becoming a member of society or becoming independent. On the other hand men are brought up under the pressure which is that they have to be independent, and become a member of society.

I definitely agree with her. Is it a Japanese thinking way?

And I thought that;
women are brought up naturally with a picture of having a baby. It means women thinks naturally about their marriage and their future family. Of course women don't have to have a baby, so I add the word naturally.

So for men work is the most important thing and for women family is the most important thing.