--azure sky--

my recent condition

2007-07-14T11:33:00.000+09:00

My dog is staying at my home now, so my husband and I are spending happy time with her!
She is already 10 year-old but still cute, I think.
I really envy her! I hope I will be a cute old woman, like her!

It's middle of rainy season, and a powerful typhoon is approaching now.
Many Japanese people can have a three-day weekend this week. But they will have to cancel or change their schedule, I guess.

But I don't need to change my schedule, because I've been thinking that I would take a rest with my dog this weekend!

Lavender

2007-06-16T12:43:00.000+09:00

I planted a lavender last year.
And now, it is blooming!

It smell very nice (*^^*)

I want to grow many lavenders, but I withered a few ones before.
That's why I've hesitated to plant another lavenders.
But... it is too great flower!
I can't give up!!

I heard there are a lot of type of lavenders.
I try to find lavenders which is a good match with soil in my garden.

I found a persimmon bud

2007-06-15T09:40:00.001+09:00

I finally found a persimmon bud!!
There is only one bud on tree's upside, so I couldn't take a photo finely...
But I think bud will increase from now.

There are the tree in my parents-in-law's garden.
And my mother-in-law who is an instructor of IKEBANA has taken care of it, but persimmon blossom is not within her recollection.
Persimmon blossom must always bloom in obscurity.
But I will definitely see it!!

My dog will come here!!

2007-06-09T09:10:00.000+09:00

The other day, my mother phoned me that she wanted me to take care of our dog for 1 month.
I'm not living with my dog now.
Because when I got married, I lived in an apartment and I couldn't have a pet there.
After that, we bought our own house so we can have pets now.
But it was too late! She was already an old dog at that time.

Now, we're thinking that our decision is good for us and our dog.
But sometimes my mother is very busy because she works as a nurse now.
And she has to prepare a Buddhist memorial service for her mother until Aug. and visit his brother who stays at a hospital.
That's why, my dog will stay at my home next month.
Of course, I worry about my mother, but... I'm looking forward to seeing my dog!
Oh! I'm a undutiful daughter!!

Lupines

2007-06-04T14:25:00.000+09:00

I don't like lupines, but I have some Lupines in my garden. My grandfather likes them　because it looks like rising.
I mentioned about Wisteria before, and wrote "wisteria has downward flower and is associated with a negative image".
And Lupines are associated with a positive image in contradiction to wisteria.

Oh, can you see a pink columbine to the left side of the photo?
Yeah! I like it (*^^*)v

Blue Rose

2007-05-31T09:21:00.000+09:00

I have two blue roses in my garden.
And this is the photo of one of them.

It is not real blue, I guess.
But it is too hard to make real blue roses.
That is why, "blue moon" means "non thing".

Bluish roses are mysterious and I'm always attracted to them when I see them.

Rose

2007-05-26T08:33:00.000+09:00

Roses in my garden are blooming!
I love rose, especially drab-orange rose in this photo.

This rose's name is "Julia". Its name is also beautiful, not only appearance.

To be honest, I didn't like rose before I got this because I thought rose were hincty, fiddly and self-assertion.
But I crushed on it when I found it.

My husband's grandmother on his mother's side bought me it as a housewarming gift and I planted it in my new garden 5 years ago.
Unfortunately, she is due to the advanced age and lives far from here, so she can't see it.
So I sent a printed card to her.
I hope she will be happy!!

My holiday

2007-05-23T11:18:00.000+09:00

I stayed at my parents' house with my husband for 4 days.

During our stay, we drove to Morioka city and "KOIWAI FARM".
I took this photo there... it was a beautiful day so rape blossoms shined brilliantly in the eyes of me! 　　　　　

This is Mt. Iwate.
We could see it at the farm.
There were no trees and grasses before, can you believe me?
Mt. Iwate is active volcano, so this place was covered with lava and volcanic ash.

I can't believe it though...

A kind of Iris

2007-05-19T12:07:00.000+09:00

It is an endemic plant to Japan.
We call it "Hime-shaga" and it doesn't have English name.
But it is a kind of "Iris", so many people have seen this shape, I guess.

"Hime" basically means "princess", and sometimes expresses "pretty" "cute" and "small thing".
It is very small... its plant length is about 20-30 cm as its name suggests.

There is only one blooming "Hime-shaga" in my garden.
I hope it show me many flowers next week.

Blueberry blossom

2007-05-18T13:28:00.000+09:00

Blueberry trees are coming into buds right now!
I planted three trees to get berries at first.
But now, they feed my eyes (*^^*)

They prefer acid soil, so I have to regulate acidity every year.
But it is not so hard because I only have three trees and I have never thought that it bothers me.

I can get berries in a month.
I'm looking forward to it!
But... I have one big problem(T-T)

There are many birds around here and they always watch for a chance to get berries when there are many berries.
I know enclosing with the net is the best way, but I don't want to do that.
If I do that, this place will have a gloomy atmosphere.
That's why I chose the competition with birds.

Wisteria

2007-05-17T14:27:00.000+09:00

I went to my parents-in-law's house yesterday.
There was a beautiful wisteria ( we call it "Fuji" ) in their garden, so I took this photo.

I like this colour... "Fuji-iro".

"Iro" means "colour", maybe people in the past thought that wisteria is representative of light purple things, and used its name as an expression of light purple.

It is familiar flower to Japanese people.
And some people... especially Sumo-wrestlers frown on wisteria.
Because wisteria has downward flower and is associated with a negative image of their results.

Wisteria is sometimes used as a motif of family insignia.
But it is never used as a motif of their ceremonial aprons.

Hosta

2007-05-15T10:23:00.000+09:00

I want to introduce "Hosta" to everyone.
Hosta is common in Japan too and there are many kind of them.
Of course, we can enjoy their flower and their leaves feed our eyes all the year round.

I got them from my mother-in-law.
There are several types of them in her garden.
I chose this one because this flower was the most cute among them.
The other hostas which she has grown also have beautiful leaves, but this is my favorite!

It is not, but Japanese people sometimes eat a kind of hostas.
We call them(eatable) "URUI" and eat them boiled.

A lily of the valley

2007-05-14T15:37:00.000+09:00

I took these photos in my garden this morning.
They are "Suzu-ran(lily of the valley)"... very small and cute!! I really love them.

The flower appear the shape of "bell", doesn't it??
Japanese people of the past thought so.
"Suzu" means "bell" in Japanese(*^^*).
Incidentally, "Ran" means "orchid".
Can you fully understand?

I planted them a few years ago, and I haven't taken care of them.
But they show their flower to me.
They seem frail on the surface, but might be strong, I guess.

They thrive in shade.

They always look down shyly.

This flower is common in Japan.
How about your country?

my staple dish

2007-05-11T21:05:00.000+09:00

I sometimes cook this dish during summer.
Because it is very easy to cook and not heavy.
I can eat it on very hot days even though I suffer from the summer heat.
It was hot day the day before yesterday, so I wanted to have this dish and cooked it.

1. Boil sliced pork.
2. Cut some SHISO (beefsteak plant leaf) , MYOGA (Japanese ginger) and SYOGA (ginger) into strips.
3. Make dressing... mix SU (rice vinegar), SATO (sugar) and SHOYU (soy sauce) = 3:1:1
4. Serve pork and herbs and put dressing on them.

I think it is very healthy but sustaining dish.
Pork contains B vitamins which can relieve our tired bodies.

Golden Week holiday

2007-05-09T10:14:00.000+09:00

Golden Week holiday is unique to Japan.
There are 4 national holidays a week.
In addition to these holidays, we can take a day off on weekend as usual.

But unfortunately, my husband had to go to work on several days during Golden Week.
That's why we couldn't take a long trip.
I wanted to visit my parents, but we put it off for 2 weeks.
At first, I got discouraged because I really wanted to see my dog!
But now, I changed my mind(*^^*)
Because the traffic always gets heavy during Golden Week.
That's why, I think that it was the right decision.

I only went to a park which has a lot of flowers with my husband and parents-in-law!
But I enjoyed these Moss phloxes and I am satisfied now.

Festival in my hometown

2007-05-01T09:30:00.000+09:00

It's a festival in my home town.
I couldn't go to see it this year...

It is the most beautiful festival I have seen so far!!
And it is familiar to me because I have seen it since I was very young.
Of course, I sat on that parade float when I was 9-year-old.
I wore a beautiful KIMONO ( maybe... purple ) and hair accessories and I sounded a small drum to the music.
I'm proud of this festival!!
If I have a daughter... I want to attach her to this festival(*^^*)

Cherry blossom

2007-04-28T13:59:00.000+09:00

I finally went to see cherry blossom last Saturday.
It has been one week since I took photos though...
But I want you to see cherry blossom!!

I love cherry blossom!
I was waiting for blooming them since last March.

But they kept me waiting for a long time, because the cherry blossoms were later than expected.

And now, most cherry blossom are gone.
I hope to see beautiful blossoms next year!

Wow, the thunderstorm is approaching here(T_T)

I have to turn off my laptop!!

Reuse!!

2007-04-24T15:45:00.000+09:00

I made it a few days ago!!
It is reuse...isn't it?
Flowers in Japan are very expensive, so I didn't want to throw them away when they were withering.
And as I mentioned before, I had made dried flower and I made it with the dried flower.

Now, I am drying a yellow rose which I used once when I took the lesson of IKEBANA now.
I have only one rose, but I don't want to throw it away.

When I think like it... I mean, when I hesitate to throw something away because I might be able to use it, I always think it is "Mottainai".
Have you ever heard "Mottainai"?
It's Japanese language and I can't translate it into English correctly.
But the mind of "Mottainai" is important for us, I guess.
Please read "Wikipedia (about Mottainai)" if you have time(*^^*)

Do you remember?

2007-04-21T19:54:00.000+09:00

I've been drying these flowers for 3 weeks.
Have you seen them??
Yeah, I used them for IKEBANA before and I'm drying them now because I want them to be "dried flower".

Luckily, they are best dried flower, so I didn't have to throw them away.
I am going to put dried flower in a small container or something.
And... I want to put it over our front door(*^^*)

Flowers!!

2007-04-17T10:45:00.000+09:00

I went to a park that is near my house with my husband last Saturday.
There were a lot of flowers in the park!!
Yellow flowers are rape blossoms and pink ones are cherry blossoms.

I love spring!! Because I can see beautiful flowers.
I also like gardening, so I'm always busy during spring.
But it's OK because I always enjoy doing them, so I don't get tired easily.

Spring and my gardening are far from over!!

Scones I made　(^^)

2007-04-12T09:10:00.000+09:00

I baked scones with chocolate chips.
I had wanted to have scones since I wrote about afternoon tea.
I prefer them to bread... actually, I don't like bread.
Because bread sometimes contains a large amount of fat and sugar.
In contrast, scones are very simple. It's good for me.

But my husband doesn't like them. He always says "too powdered and I'm getting thirsty!!" when he has.
He may be senescent... hehe

Plum Blossoms

2007-04-07T11:20:00.000+09:00

I went to see plum blossoms with my mother-in-law yesterday...not cherry blossoms.
Because the cherry blossoms don't bloom around my area yet.
The cherry blossoms usually bloom after plum blossoms.

Japanese people originally had enjoyed viewing the plum blossoms.
But now, "Hana-mi" means "to go to see(view) cherry blossoms".
Literal translation of "Hana" is "flower and blossom" and literal translation of "mi" is "see or view"　in this case.
That's why, "Hana-mi" doesn't originally mean "to go to see cherry blossoms", but "Hana-mi" reminds many Japanese people of "cherry blossom"

a plum tree with reddish pink blossoms

a plum tree with light shade of pink blossoms

a plum tree with white blossoms

Which one do you like? --- I like light pink one!!

Inari-zushi

2007-04-03T10:31:00.000+09:00

I made INARI-ZUSHI for dinner last night.
It's a kind of SUSHI.
And according to my dictionary, it's a pouch of fried bean curd stuffed with vinegared rice.

I think it is a grab-and-go meal. I want to go to see the cherry blossoms with it and eat it under the tree when the cherry blossoms are really beautiful.

I can't wait!!

Wheatears

2007-04-02T15:05:00.000+09:00

I went to my parents-in-law's house to take the lesson of IKEBANA on Friday.
I used 5 wheats and a subdued red freesia this time.
Sometimes we use a thing that is not flower as a main stuff.
It is not important that main is flower... The main is seasonal, it's very important for IKEBANA.

It will be time of the wheat harvest next month in Japan.
Well, do you think it is too early to use wheat?
Most Japanese people don't think so.
In fact, we always think "smart" and "refined" about it.

Britain in Japan??

2007-03-30T08:58:00.000+09:00

I live in Japan but Britain is near here!
To be more exact, "British hills" is correct.
What is it?? Uh... I don't think most of people know about it.

British hills is in Japan, but we have to speak English and can have a British experience there.
And I have been there with my husband, and we took afternoon tea.
Scone, quiche and sandwich... Everything was delicious!!

Later, I heard that I can learn how to scone there. Of course, I need to use Eiglish but it is good for me, I guess(*^^*)

* photo: I took at British hills