We celebrated Ken's 
birthday 
We ate delicious cake Thank you Ken!!
Hope he will grow up and be not chibi-chan anymore...
Leo played birthday song with acoustic guitar
What a sweet brother Ken has!!
birthday We ate delicious cake
Thank you Ken!!
Hope he will grow up and be not chibi-chan anymore...
Leo played birthday song with acoustic guitar
What a sweet brother Ken has!!
It was a very sunny day
. We enjoyed Ken's sports day 
: 100m running, 
, Kibasen, kumitaisou(we missed to see..
, but we had nice lunch 
together (JIJI came
)
. We enjoyed Ken's sports day : 100m running, , Kibasen, kumitaisou(we missed to see.., but we had nice lunch together (JIJI came)
6.14 am. All the stuff to go into the bento (lunch-box) for Leo (15yrs). Chinese meatballs, sweet potato, soya beans, sweet black beans. Sour plum and sprinkly 'furikake' for the rice. Note also the Saran-wrap, scissors etc needed also to put it all together.
6.26 am. Prepared !!
Now, for the flask. Time ! Time ! Rush ! Rush !
Fairly healthy. Lots of salad and grilled salmon, and knicks knacks. Let your eyes eat it all up.
Here we go - a look at what we just bought. The groceries! Meg and I just bought them at Tokyu and we had to walk back -in a typhoon !! 
So, have a look.
In the foreground, some stuff for Leo's 'bento' (or lunchbox): 'kara-age' or fried chicken in batter, hashed potato pieces, then a bit of asparagus -a special pack of very thin ones, but many, produced in the Philippines (so, recently, safer than Japan!), which I like to chop up and fry lightly with meat. Next to to the chicken is the 'edamame', or soy-beans on their unprocessed state. I had always felt, on those occasions I hummed and hawed about leaving Japan that it was because of these wee green pods of delight that I decided to stay in Japan. Next we have the spaghetti, of course, the staple of a good Saturday night, along with a nice glass of red.
Coffee, milk, half-cabbage, lettuce, sesame dressing, orange-juice, yoghurt, sea-weed sheets in a pack, sweet-bread for the kids, 'natto' (fermented soy-beans), 'ume-boshi' (pickled / sour plum), American cherries, two fresh cobs of corn, and, last but not least, the cereal, Weetabix and Alpen, and a wee box of Bran Flakes.
They all have a story behind them. Wanna hear them?
We'd be here all night !! No thanks !
Let's make dinner instead!!!
So, have a look.
In the foreground, some stuff for Leo's 'bento' (or lunchbox): 'kara-age' or fried chicken in batter, hashed potato pieces, then a bit of asparagus -a special pack of very thin ones, but many, produced in the Philippines (so, recently, safer than Japan!), which I like to chop up and fry lightly with meat. Next to to the chicken is the 'edamame', or soy-beans on their unprocessed state. I had always felt, on those occasions I hummed and hawed about leaving Japan that it was because of these wee green pods of delight that I decided to stay in Japan. Next we have the spaghetti, of course, the staple of a good Saturday night, along with a nice glass of red.
Coffee, milk, half-cabbage, lettuce, sesame dressing, orange-juice, yoghurt, sea-weed sheets in a pack, sweet-bread for the kids, 'natto' (fermented soy-beans), 'ume-boshi' (pickled / sour plum), American cherries, two fresh cobs of corn, and, last but not least, the cereal, Weetabix and Alpen, and a wee box of Bran Flakes.
They all have a story behind them. Wanna hear them?
We'd be here all night !! No thanks !
Let's make dinner instead!!!
Another month, another haircut. 
I have an Ichibankan card, which helps in two ways: after its ten stamp spaces are filled in, I get 500 yen off the price of the next cut, which costs ¥1800. Also, I can refer to it to see precisely how long it was since the last time I went. And, it would seem, a one month interval is the norm. After that, the head starts to take on the appearance of a poor man's Einstein, and you find yourself constantly dabbing up top to flatten the mess. There's not a lot up there, but, still, it can start to look a bit funny without intervention. 
It's a great experience. Not just a cut, that you'd get at the ¥1000 yen place, QB House, but an entire refurbishing, with shave (preceded by the laying on of hot towels) and a shampoo. Then there's the brief two-handed massage karate chop delivered to the pate and the shoulders.
Abundant oils and lavers and creams, corralled by a fine-edged razor, wielded with alacrity but precision (one always hopes).
A touch of some old world, one glimpsed in Saturday afternoon Westerns, Gregory Peck or Burt, reclined, shooting the breeze with the (always portly) barber.
I have an Ichibankan card, which helps in two ways: after its ten stamp spaces are filled in, I get 500 yen off the price of the next cut, which costs ¥1800. Also, I can refer to it to see precisely how long it was since the last time I went. And, it would seem, a one month interval is the norm. After that, the head starts to take on the appearance of a poor man's Einstein, and you find yourself constantly dabbing up top to flatten the mess. There's not a lot up there, but, still, it can start to look a bit funny without intervention. It's a great experience. Not just a cut, that you'd get at the ¥1000 yen place, QB House, but an entire refurbishing, with shave (preceded by the laying on of hot towels) and a shampoo. Then there's the brief two-handed massage karate chop delivered to the pate and the shoulders.
Abundant oils and lavers and creams, corralled by a fine-edged razor, wielded with alacrity but precision (one always hopes).
A touch of some old world, one glimpsed in Saturday afternoon Westerns, Gregory Peck or Burt, reclined, shooting the breeze with the (always portly) barber.
I bought Leo his 1st new I-phone 
He was so happy! 
