Country Cat Miu Tuesday

*Miu's life in the countryside*

Basking in the sun

The weather is too nice to stay inside. Have a lovely night

"I 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

and

I is for...

Insect

虫、昆虫

When you live in the countryside,

you have many "little" visitors.

Some are welcome...

Some are not ...

But they share our environment with us.

Insects are also called bugs.

Have you seen the movie,

"A Bug's Life?"

Did you know that there are over one million species over the world.
species: 種,生物分類の基本単位

Insects can be truly fascinating...

Are you fascinated by insects

be fascinated by: ～に魅了される、～に興味をかき立てられる

Illustration by Kaori

Country Cat Monday

Miu's life in the countryside...

Thinking

Did you have a nice day? Good night... see you tomorrow

にほんブログ村

"Book day in Shinjuku"

Hello! Did you enjoy your weekend?

This weekend, I went to Shinjuku for the first time in over....5 years

for the first time in～years; ～年ぶりに

I met up with some other mothers whose sons go to school in Yamagata.

We went to a lovely Vietnamese restaurant... I really love 【Nem cuốn】

【Nem cuốn】in Vietamese

【生春巻き】in Japanese

【Summer Roll】in English　

Have you ever heard of "spring roll"?

Spring roll is Chinese 春巻き and so Vietnamese 春巻き is called "summer roll"!

This is a picture of Vietamese salad

I then went to Kinokuniya Bookstore... I really love bookstores!

Of course... it's almost Halloween

Do you know these books?

In total, I ended up spending over 4 hours just in the Foreign Books section.

I ended up buying these books:

Some books for teaching...

Some books for studying...

And of course, some books for pleasure!

What have you read recently

にほんブログ村

"I miss you!"

This week, I have been taking care of my mother-in-law's dog, Mel, while she is away.

take care of: ～の世話［看病］をする、～の面倒を見る、～を保護［管理］する

"I'll miss you"

～「（あなたがいないと）寂しくなります～

"I miss you so much."
～あなたがいなくて［あなたに会えなくて］とても寂しい。～

The word "miss" has many meanings: 打ち損ない,失敗,不成功,的を外す見逃す,欠席する等。

Of course you can say "I miss you" to your boyfriend or girlfriend. But you can also say "I miss you" to your family, friends and even people at work!

When their masters are away, dogs are just not the same. They look so sad and lonely...with no energy ...

I wonder if cats miss their masters too...

master, owner: 飼い主

I don't think so!

Thank you so much! Have a terrific weekend!
にほんブログ村

"H is for..."

Hi there!

A gorgeous autumn day...

C is for... cat

D is for...dog

E is for...edamame

F is for...ferret

G is for...gingerbread

and

H is for...

Hide-and-Seek

かくれんぼ

Hide-and-seek is a traditional child's game, where the person called "it" seeks the others, who are hiding.

かくれんぼは伝統的な子供の遊びで、「オニ」と呼ばれる人が隠れている他の人たちを捜します。

Miu loves to run around outside.

She likes to chase

birds

, insects

,frogs

and mice

She's lucky because we live in the countryside with a big yard, so there are lots of places to hide.

Ａh-ha! I found you... You're "it"!

Enjoy the sunshine

にほんブログ村

"The Clouds of Shonai"

This weekend, we went to visit my son at his high school in Yamagata prefecture.

Of course, this area is famous for its mountains...

"Yama"= mountains

The Shonai area has many beautiful mountains：

Mt. Haguro, Mt. Gassan, and Mt. Yudono

But what I find most beautiful about this area

is not just the mountains...

but the beautiful clouds

that surround these mountains.

There is something truly beautiful and mysterious

about these clouds in Shonai.

Clouds...

This reminds me of a song I wanted to introduce to you.

Do you know "Both Sides Now"(青春の光と影) by Joni Mitchell?

"Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere

I've looked at clouds that way..."

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

Like everything, clouds can be seen from different perspectives...

Sometimes beautiful...

Sometimes they block the sun and rain...

I guess it depends on how you feel at the time.

I think you will enjoy this song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcrEqIpi6sg

にほんブログ村

"What's konnyaku?"

"What's this?" Melody asked.

"Oh... that's konnyaku." I said.

"What's konnyaku", she asked.

"Ah... it's chewy, like rubber ... ?!" I tried to explain.

"What's this?"

"Oh... that's dango".

This weekend, we visited a local festival and I introduced Melody to some Japanese food.

地元のお祭り

What's konnyaku? Good question!! Konnyaku is very difficult to explain.

Here is one explanation:

Konnyaku: Konnyaku is a traditional jelly-like food made from a kind of potato called the "Konnyaku potato" of the " Konnyaku plant" also known as the "Devil's Tongue plant". It is the perfect diet food because it is low in calories and fat and full of dietary fibre. It's texture is very unique... firm and gelatinous.. and a bit rubbery.

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. An-Dango made from sweet bean paste,Mitarashi: Covered with a syrup made from soy sauce, sugar and starch.

Which do you think she liked better? The konnyaku or the dango?

" This is savory..." Oishii! Konnyaku!

Gochisousama!

にほんブログ村

"Autumn Reading"

Are you enjoying the long weekend?

Of course it's nice to go somewhere but my favorite pastime

is just "RELAXING"...

Sometimes it's watching an old black and white movie

Sometimes it's playing with my cat...

And sometimes it's just doing nothing at all...

There is an expression in Japanese "Autumn Reading".

Sometimes it's nice just to sit outside in the sun and read...

...and of course, play with my cat.

We ALL need to take it easy sometimes

(Of course I have lots of plans this weekend. I will update tomorrow!)

How do you relax

Your click is very much appreciated
にほんブログ村

"Sharon Fruit"

The best thing about a typhoon is...

the next day! Clear, sunny skies...

Today, I decided to pick some "Sharon Fruit".

What's "Sharon Fruit"?

Kaki

Kaki: Japanese Persimmon (also known as Asian Tomato). Recently, kaki which has been chemically ripened has become popular in Europe. It is marketed as "Sharon Fruit"(also known as Korean mango).

There are two kinds of kaki: astringent(渋い） and non-astringent（渋くない、甘い）,

The Persimon fruit was known to the ancient Greeks as "the fruit of the Gods".