"Japanese Sweets"

Good afternoon!

Today, I wanted to introduce to you some Japanese sweets...

This o-dango shop is located in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki.

It specializes in hand-made o-dango... and very reasonable！

Dango: A Japanese dumpling made out of rice flour. Dango are eaten year-round, but the different varieties are traditionally eaten in given seasons

There are many different varieties of dango　with different seasonings...

There were so many different flavors...

Of course the usual:

An

Mitarashi

Goma

Yaki

Zunda

and some unique flavors...

Marron

Shibu-an　Kabocha Cream

Lesson: How do you say these in English?

Answers:

An: sweet bean paste(jam)

Mitarashi: a syrup made from soy sauce, sugar and starch.

Goma: a paste made of sesame seed

Yaki: lightly cooked with soy sauce

Zunda: a paste made of green soy beans

Marron: a paste made out of chestnut (marron comes from the French & Spanish )

Shibu-an: a paste made out of the purple sweet potato

Kabocha Cream: a paste made out of pumpkin

What is your favorite o-dango flavor?

Tsukuba, Ibaraki

"J is for ..."

C is for... cat

D is for...dog

E is for...edamame 

F is for...ferret

G is for...gingerbread

H is for...hide-and-seek

I is for...insect

and

J is for...

Jelly beans

Jelly beans are a type of candy that comes in many different flavors. They are small (the size of a red kidney bean　or smaller) and generally have a hard candy shell and gummy interior.

Gourmet jelly beans come in over 50 different flavors: such as cotton candy, watermelon, and popcorn.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan loved jelly beans and kept a jar on his desk.　　元大統領ロナルド・レーガン氏の大好物

In Harry Potter, Bertie Bott creates the "Every Flavor Beans".

百味ビーンズ

Some flavors to try:

Ear Wax ？

Rotten Egg ？

Booger ？
Pencil Shavings ？

Toothpaste？

耳カス　

腐った卵

鼻クソ

鉛筆削り

はみがき粉

Yummy!

"Culture Day"

Country Cat Miu

Did you enjoy "Culture Day" today?

It was quite chilly today, but still sunny and gorgeous

Miu enjoyed his day...

Today, I read some books...

studied...

went shopping.

and of course, took some photos.

What did you do today?

菊　Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemums are often called "Mums" for short.

Good day!(;^ω^A

"A Cappella"

Hello!

Another busy weekend...

But today is another beautiful day... November rd is "Culture Day"

Culture Day: a day for celebrating love of freedom and equality, and promoting culture.

Are you doing something "cultural" today?

Last weekend, I wrote about going to Michael Jackson's This Is It!

Have you seen it yet?

There is another Michael Jackson fan that is getting a lot of attention on You Tube.

His name is Sam Tsui... and sings a Michael Jackson medley a capella.
A capella: アカペラで, （合唱で）無伴奏で［の］.イ タリア語「教会風の［に］

A capella: From Italian meaning from the church; from the choir.

Anyways, his video has already had over two million hits!

Two million= 2 百万！

As you can see, Sam sings all six parts!

Bravo!

"Don't Forget!"

Tomorrow is November 1st.

Don't forget to say "White Rabbit's Foot" first thing when you wake up!

朝一番に言ってね！

If you forget to say it in the morning, just say it whenever you remember!

It's better to be safe than sorry... 用心するに越したことはない。

This will bring you good luck for the rest of the month!

Let's have a great November

This is it!

I went to see Michael Jackson's This Is It documentary tonight.

Even my 74-year-old mother-in-law is a fan!

ﾟ･:,｡ﾟ･:,｡★ﾟ･:,｡ﾟ･:,｡☆ﾟ･:,｡ﾟ･:,｡★ﾟ･:,｡ﾟ･:,｡☆

"This is It!" has many meanings...

いよいよ来るぞ!

これがそうです!

これだ!

ここだ！

もう駄目だ！

これで最後だ！No More!

For Michael Jackson, "This is it!"meant that this was the last time he would perform on stage.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was quite surprised.

The film starts with his hit "Wanna be starting something" and immediately,

you are hooked!

Throughout the film you can seen backstage how hard Michael worked to give his fans the best show possible.

Of course, he can sing...

Of course, he can dance.

But he was also a songwriter...

A choreographer...

And a producer...

He was a genius and the "King of Pop".

A member of his band says, "He is really humble and he really know his music."

　　　　　　　　「彼は謙虚な男だ。彼は音楽をよく知っている」

In the end, I didn't want the film to end...

For a little while, Michael was alive on stage.

"Good-bye Michael.

It was a great show!

May you rest in peace."

"Rotating Sushi"

Last week, I took Melody to a "kaiten zushi" place.

"Kaiten zushi" has become quite popular overseas...

In English they are called:

Sushi boats

or

Sushi trains

or

Sushi-go-round

or

Rotating Sushi

or

Revolving Sushi

ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟ

So first, you make your own tea...

Now, try the chawan mushi...

"Oh, it's absolutely lovely!"

"Now, try some octopus..."

"Hmmm... interesting taste"

Now, try the eggplant...

"We say aubergine in England...

Eggplant is used in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Aubergine in British English comes from the French word.

Now, for some real raw fish...

生

"Oishii^desu^"

Melody is very brave...

Have a wonderful weekend!

"Long Time No See"

Hello everyone..."long time no see"　

久しぶりですね。／しばらくぶりだね。／ご無沙汰｛ぶさた｝しております

I am so sorry for not posting and updating my blog.

I really missed talking to everyone.

I really appreciate everyone visiting...

I hope to catch up with everyone.

Are you enjoying the beautiful fall weather?

October 31st is Halloween

Question: Do you think a pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable

I'll let you know tomorrow!

Sweet dreams!

菊　chrysanthemum

"Addicted to Amazon"

It's here!

The other day, my friend Melody introduced to me an author she really enjoys.

Of course, I immediately ordered it from Amazon.jp... and found a secondhand copy at a great price!

This book is written by a modern British author.

Recently, I enjoy reading books by British authors... espcially light and humorous books such as:

"Brigitte Jones's Diary" by Helen Fielding

"About a Boy" by Nick Hornby

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella

These books have also been turned into films. I really enjoy reading a book then watching the film to see how the books were adapted.

Also, if you are studying English, reading the book then watching the film is a good way to really understand the story.

These books are very easy to read, so if you are studying English then I definitely recommend them!

secondhand copy: 古本　表現パターン: secondhand book, used book

British author:英国人作者,著者、作家　表現パターン：writer

turned into films: 映画化された　表現パターン：adapted into a film
recommend: 推薦する、薦める、推奨する

humorous: ユーモア［面白味］のある

Thanks for your clicks! Enjoy your weekend!

"Country Cat Ko-shiro"

Other cats in the countryside...

Snow White

How was your day? Hang in there... Sweet dreams!

Click!