Seven Grass Porridge

Yesterday my wife made a traditional porridge. On the Seventh of January, some people make nanakusagayu which is a rice porridge with seven kinds of wild greens. Many children do not like it because it has a strong grassy flavor.

I like many different flavors, so I enjoyed the porridge. This morning we ate the leftover porridge and added Japanese plum.

Japan is a country with many, many traditions. Some of these traditions are disappearing. I think nanakusagayu is a disappearing tradition.

What do you think? Do you eat it every year?

My Mother’s Birthday

Today is my mother’s birthday. She is now 75 years old.

My oldest niece was born on December 4th. After my niece was born I always confused their birthdays.

My sister’s birthday is two days before my birthday. Of course, I never confuse our birthdays.

Tonight I plan to call my mother. I will wish her a happy birthday.

When is your mother’s birthday? Do you do anything special that day?

Grand Canyon

I grew up in America. I have traveled to about 45 states in America. I have seen many great places and monuments.

I visited the World Trade Center, Liberty Bell, Niagara Falls, Astrodome, Alamo, Devil’s Tower, Mount Rushmore, Grand Coulee Dam, Space Needle, Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman’s Wharf. I have seen the Olympics, Cascades, Rockies, Sierra Nevada, Appalachians, Smoky Mountains and the great mountains of Alaska. I swam in the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean.

But, I have never seen the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is immense and amazing. I think everyone should go to see it, but I have not seen it myself.

Someday I hope to go.

Have you been to the Grand Canyon? Do you want to go? Is there a place you think everyone should see?

Favorite Color

When I was a small boy, my mother made me a sweater. She let me choose the color. I really liked orange, so I chose orange. Orange is not a good color for me, but I wore it everywhere.

When I was in high school, I really liked purple. I wore a lot of purple clothes.

In college I wore a lot of gray clothes. I liked exercising and I thought gray clothes looked like exercise clothes.

At the end of college, my girlfriend suggested white clothes. I liked white because it seemed very clean and pure.

Now I wear different colors, but I really like blue. I think blue is a good color for my skin, hair, and eyes.

What is your favorite color? Do you think it is a good color for you?

Moon Viewing Party

Monday was a holiday. It was also close to a full moon. Our friends recently remodeled their home. They decided to invite us to a moon viewing party at their home.

Everyone brought lots of good food. We drank some special beer.

When the party started, the sky was overcast so we couldn’t see the moon. After we ate dinner and prepared the garden, the sky cleared up. We had a beautiful view of the bright moon.

We made Japanese tea in the garden and ate sweets. A perfect end to the long weekend.

Quick Break

I work at elementary schools. Every day I get a break for 45 minutes. The school office is noisy, so during my break I want to go someplace else. I want to go someplace quiet, but there is no place close enough. Usually I sit in the noisy office and work instead of taking my break.

Recently I moved. I was living in an apartment in another town. My new home is a small house very close to my schools. Actually, it is only about two minutes from my Friday school.

Today, during my break, I went home and sat in my own living room. It was very quiet and peaceful. Rays of sunshine were coming in through the curtains. It was a short break, but it felt very nice.

Do you live far from work? Do you get many breaks? What do you like to do on your breaks?

New Socks

On Saturday I gave a speech in Kyoto. The speech was in Japanese so I was very stressed. The speech was outside in the sun. Everyone enjoyed the speech.

Saturday night we had a nice dinner to celebrate.

Sunday we went shopping. I got new socks. They are made from very nice cotton. They have a chestnut design on them.

Chestnuts are very popular in Japan during Fall.

Do you have a favorite store in Kyoto?

Antique Shopping

Antique shopping is a popular activity in America. There are many antique shops in almost every town. Some shops are very big and many shops are quite small.

Some antique items are small daily use items, some are dishes or vases, and some are large pieces of furniture.

This weekend we will be antique shopping in Kyoto. Antique shopping doesn’t seem to be as popular in Japan, but there are some good shops around.

We are hoping to find a small table for our small dining area, chairs with no arms for the same small area, and a getabako. A getabako is a kind of cabinet with places to store many shoes. In Japan we store the shoes in the entry hall because shoes are considered dirty and should not come into the house.

Do you have antiques in your home? Do you like antique shopping? Do you have a getabako?

Talking with my Friend

Yesterday my friend visited me on his way home from work. He came to my new house.

We had some bread and tea while we talked. He talked about his new hobby and his two year old son. It is always nice to hear about his son.

I gave him a book to read. Also I gave him a tour of the house. He likes the house.

I hope many friends can visit the new house and chat.

Where do you live? How long have you lived there? Do friends visit often?

Walking on Stilts

My grandfather made stilts for us when we were children. He made short ones for me. He made longer ones for my brother. He made very tall ones for my sister.

When I first used the stilts, I was very scared. Soon I learned how to walk on stilts and I wasn’t scared. After that, I was happy when my brother or sister went to a friend’s house because I could use their stilts. I really liked the tall stilts.

At the circus, I saw clowns wearing really, really tall stilts. I’ve always wanted to try walking on clown stilts.

Have you ever used stilts? Were you scared? Do you like tall stilts?