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?

Homemade Balloon

Today a teacher and a student made a giant balloon. They cut open trash bags to make plastic sheets. They taped the sheets together to make the balloon. They used a fan to fill up the balloon. They tied a plastic string to the balloon.

When the sun was shining on the balloon, it got hot and flew up into the air. It went up about 20 or 30 meters. I was very impressed. They wanted to attach a camera to the balloon, but it was too heavy.

The balloon was leaky, so it got heavier and heavier as the air leaked out. Some other students noticed the balloon outside the window. After that, they couldn’t concentrate on their class.

They wanted to use black bags because they would get hot in the sunshine and rise faster. Unfortunately, most garbage bags are clear now. I want to make my own balloon now.

Have you ever made something interesting like this? What was it?