Step by Step

So happy to see the first full moon of this year. She looks so beautiful in clear, cold air that Mei-Shun chose moonlight scores for Ms. Piano tonight. There was a little discovery: she misread a G key, wrote E for it. Since musical notes full of lines are not friendly to her eyes, she makes it a rule to use pencils for confirmation. Now she is ready to play it precisely, while make further efforts of weight control toward the end of lunar 2016 which comes in 2 weeks.

Copyright © 2017 Profesor M or Shimaneko Sensei All Rights Reserved.

Protect U

They are for horseies, longer ones attached to forefeet while shorter ones to rear. Mei-Shun ordered them via net shopping as お年玉=otosidama, meaning new-year gift for herself. She is ready to purchase such items little by little. Rental gears are available for free at our club, yet her favorite colors and designs are much better. Her dream is to own a horse in the future, at home if possible. Shin loves them as well, would be happy to take care of him/her or — them.

Kimono Touch

Thank you so much, Professor M. He is good at calligraphy designing, sometimes works as a manager of Shimanekoya studio. These chic pieces were sent from Kaori-san last year, enclosed with a letter of 寒中見舞い=kanchu-mimai, a winter greeting. Her husband is from Kyoto, might be the reason why her gift is always accompanied by scent of that ancient capital. At a glance, Mei-Shun decided to make them her name cards.

Japanese Culture@holiday

Shin and Mei-Shun visited her mother’s home, one week later than expected. Now let’s enjoy mom’s best 黒豆=kuromame, sweet-simmered black soybean and 数の子=kazunoko, hot herring roe marinade. A tree of 蝋梅=robai or Japanese allspice welcomed them in full bloom. It was her beloved father who fell in love with this winter flower soon after its market introduction. Bright yellow petals look like art works made of wax, giving the sweetest scent around — you can recognize it at a distance of 10 feet.

1 Wk Left

… for mom to reach her birthday. She has set three objectives of this year; to acquire 師範 certification in Kikunoe-ryu, to succeed in weight control, to pass an examination to become a Japanese language instructor. The second and third might be allowed to carried forward? Nil, this is a matter of willpower. She has continued daily study so far, while succeeded and failed in exercise and healthy eating beside me. They just must be upgraded for better results, meow.

Thanks, Mothers

Happy birthday, mom-in-law! We have 小寒=shokan, the 5th of winter 二十四節気 today. It means we rush into the coldest season called 寒中=kanchu until 立春=risshun, the beginning of spring. Mei-Shun’s mother gave birth to her younger daughter in 寒中 as well, made her share zodiac sign (Capricorn) and 干支=eto, Chinese zodiac symbol (申=saru, monkey) with her mother-in-law. That means we have to eat birthday cakes twice a month, with new-year feasts and alcohols …

Great Honor

She is blooming. How pretty her first bud is! We have been worried about her health since she was found hurt. Thanks to warmth, all buds left have shown their faces within today. Actually, Mei-Shun failed to move her into bigger pot: she stays in her first place. So severe an environment for these grown-up roots, has not nourished them enough. It is why some leaves turned into yellow, as they are called in flowers. Your highness, please keep patient a little more.

Second Challenge

Mei-Shun drove mom-in-law to one of major shrines in Japan 八坂神社=yasaka-jinja whose headquarters is located in Kyoto. It is called 祇園さん as well, since the famous Gion Festival is hosted by them. Our nearest branch of 八坂神社 was late dad-in-law’s favorite. He used to buy something at a food stand along a path to the shrine to warm up our hands during midnight queuing for hours. 17 years later, we quietly spend 30 minutes in sunshine to worship.

Japanese Culture@holiday

あけましておめでとうございます。A Happy New Year!

This has become 寝正月, sleepy new-year holidays for Shin and Mei-Shun. He brought a cold to home, making her have the same symptom — sore throat and a slight fever. It is never seen to affect their first omikuji of 2017, yet he drew 小吉 while she did 半吉. The latter means half lucky, the worst among 吉 lots. They therefore tied them on a 南天 branch grown in the shrine garden to avoid such ill-fated souvenirs.

Cannot Wait

Mom, I’m still hungry. Why you take so long a time to clean my restroom? Please serve me crispy food, rather than wet one. I finished up all gel around them. Meow, that’s it. You weigh and pour it onto my bowl, before leaving again? Okay, I’ll help myself.

Now, on behalf of my mom, I would express the most profound appreciation to you gentle followers. Today’s post is the last for 2016. Looking forward to finding you well next week and year, please kindly let us say 良いお年を！=Purrrrrrr …

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meishunkikunoe

… loves Japanese dance, cat and piano.

Step by Step

Protect U

Kimono Touch

Japanese Culture@holiday

1 Wk Left

Thanks, Mothers

Great Honor

Second Challenge

Japanese Culture@holiday

Cannot Wait