The last day of the Golden Week

May 5th is the national holiday called "Children's Day". At this time of the season, huge carp streamers are floating in the sky at private houses with small children or at public parks. It's really fun to look at. Inside a house, we display dolls or ornaments for this day. Every item is displayed with parents' wishes that their children will be blessed with good health and happiness.

When my children were small, it was one of the family annual events. (See also this past post.) Even today since we have a cluster of national holidays called "Golden week" starting from the end of April to May 5, it's a good time for my son and my daughter who both are off from work and school and spend more time with us going out and eating out. That's the recent way of enjoying our "Children's Day", the last day of the "Golden week".
My daily routine will come back tomorrow.

Good bye to Strawberry fields

I have a friend whose father has been running strawberry fields for decades. Now this season is going to be the last crop of his strawberries. He's going to retire from this business. He used to own another two strawberry vinyl houses beside this and now he's going to change this one into rice fields which is easier to take care of.
So here was our big surprise! We were invited to visit his strawberry fields and picked up as many as we could! Oh dear, it was endless and such a fun!

Study time!

It's study time! I've go to read a lot on the Japanese lay judge system which has been newly introduced the previous year. Now a judgment in a criminal trial is not necessarily a matter of law professionals but of ordinal citizens like me, if they are eligible to vote over 20 years old. The Justice Ministry expects more common senses by six citizen judges should be brought in on the process before the final judgment is determined with three professional judges. Whewwwwwwww, it's a tough topic especially when it comes to English but it's a good opportunity to study the system itself. I learn a lot by reading lots of Japanese materials before studying it in English.
I might one day have a notice from the Supreme Court that I am one of these six citizen judges who are picked out from the voters list. Maybe not----honestly I hope not as a matter of fact. I hesitate to play a role to determine one's destiny.

Chinese Tea Set

Tonight I'm in a mood to have tea with my Chinese tea set. I got them when my husband and I visited the China Town in Yokohama near Tokyo.
There are one small tea pot and five small cups(as small as egg stands) on a drainer tray with holes. You serve hot water into the pot and then after you put a lid on, you pour hot water onto the pot itself! Isn't it amazing? There is a good reason for this-----to make it easier tea leaves open inside and get them enough steamed not to mention keep teapot hot enough. That way you'll get your tea so tasty. When you serve tea, you are supposed to empty the pot so that there should be no excessively strong tea left inside. You just add hot water whenever you want another cups. What a lovely way to enjoy tea! Since I have any one else around me tonight at home yet, I enjoy it all for myself! Five cups one after another!

Taking a break

If I had time to take a picture in the evening like tonight, I should have cleaned the dinner table first. But sometimes I just need it before I get started with my house chore routine. Some people may think it's only a waste of time but I feel I need it so that I won't kill my mind out of being busy.

My laptop was dead

It was like the end of the world! My laptop was dead all of a sudden due to some hard drive fatal trouble. I back up my data regularly but still I lost some. Awwwww! Now for the time being until I get a new one, I use this small net book which my son lent it for me. Glad he had this one but you know it is quite smaaaaall! And as long as it's his, I'd better not customize it the way I like. It's a little bit exhausting. Now my friends, beware of your PC. It's a machine after all. Don't forget to back up your important files.

Inspiring hint from Dionne

Dionne is such a talented woman in many ways. She owns "City of Dionne". She is a graphic designer, a writer, a photographer, a cook and an organizer-----and maybe a bit more talents.
Well, more than anything else, she has a generosity to accept friends from different backgrounds and shows her understanding toward differences. Her blog is filled with deep insights and warmness not to mention her artistic talents.
She also writes some articles in different sites besides her own blog and I'm a fan of her articles.

In her recent post in Meylah, she introduced the importance of making a blog button and I found it very interesting in a sense that I can use this button not only for linking to my blog but also for directing readers to a particular site or post.
A button is not only for advertising a blog. I haven't ever thought of that. Then, why not try a button for my own post! Thank you Dionne for inspiring me.

I've just followed her step-by-step instruction and I think I did it all right.

If you want to read her post, just click on the green button above.

I myself made a button to lead you my tulip album in a side menu. Would you like to click on that button? Thank you!

The origin of cell phone straps

(picture from http://hanakagesho.blog17.fc2.com/page-1.html)

I believe there are lots of people here regardless of ages who collect straps as well as enjoy putting them on their cell phones. Young ones love cute and pretty items or anime(cartoon) characters and grown-ups may prefer more crafty and artistic ones.

I have posted about a cell phone straps before but still there are a little more I want to tell you why we adore straps.

Although our dressing style was changed drastically after the western culture was introduced more than 200 years ago, it doesn't necessarily mean we have abandoned our traditional clothing "kimono". Kimono still remains in our daily life along with its accompanying accessories like sashes,sash bands, fans, hair ornaments and the like. Among them there are "netsuke" (miniature carvings), which we believe, the origin of today's cell phone straps. We just take it for granted that straps are not only for fun but also for its function.

Here is a video on this topic. You may also like to read this site.

Good excuse for sweets

Here are one of my favorite Japanese sweets called "Ohagi" , sweet rice balls.

Ohagi are rice balls similar to sticky rice cake and are covered with sweet red beans paste(right rear), sesame, sweet soybeans powder(front) or so on. My grand mom and my mother used to make these sweet balls as some offerings on the family Buddhist altar on several special commemorative days during the year. They are popular Japanese sweets which we have daily throughout the year as well.

So today I just needed something sweet so badly after I walked quite long to enjoy cherry blossoms at Nagoya Castle. On the way home, I stopped by at one confectionery store and found these Ohagi. Such a treat after I went through a comfortable fatigue. Good excuse to have some sweets!

When I got home, I had them with coffee not green tea but it was a good combination.

Well, just forget about calories. Happy tea time!

a stray kitty on an underground walkway

It's about 200meter long underground walkway which leads to one of the newest office buildings from the Nagoya station. Underway paths can be just bleak occasinally with dirty graffiti on the walls but this walk through is named "Lucent Avenue" and an art gallery with illuminations of different colors. You'll never get bored while walking. In fact it's fun to realize that this walk way has a story that stray kitty on the walls guides you from the one end to the other. We will see this black kitty on several points on the way as if she enjoys following us.