Shin started to cultivate vegetables on our roof floor. Tomatoes and cucumbers have bloomed in one month, yet corns look a bit sick. They grow too fast to keep themselves healthy? We hope the phosphate fertilizer would work well — hey, pretty guardian, please let mom take their photo.
For a “trip” to Tokyo, Mei-Shun always reserves a window seat of Joban line train to enjoy nice views. Ushiku Pond soon appears on the right. Nisshin Co. factory follows with steam from Cup Noodle-shaped chimney. Many river banks serve as sport fields. And the Sky Tree of course, as colors turn from green to gray.
Our next-door neighbor has a unique hydrangea. Petals (not really, sepals) are colorful ranging from pale blue to pink, different from each sprig. They say acid soil grows blue hydrangeas while alkaline one pink ones. Ours is the former, so we wonder which nature their garden has.
These are Japanese sweets to celebrate Children’s Day, sent from Tane-ya, including chimaki (=sweetened rice cake wrapped in a piece of bamboo grass) and kashiwa-mochi (=rice cake filled with bean jam). The former was found in a paper bag on which a carp streamer is printed.
Two months have passed since Mei-Shun had the operation. It looks easy to live a normal life at home, yet only for you in normal health. For an ex-patient, it is quite difficult to do similar to yesterday. However, she could not but going forward little by little, as much as possible. Let’s resume practice. Why don’t you put on kimono?
This is dora-yaki, a pair of pancakes with anko, red bean jam, normally sandwiched. Shichino is a popular dora-yaki shop who serves a variety of filling flavors. As the special choice of month, this April features Earl Grey tea mousse and whipped cream. You can enjoy fresh dora-yaki and soft drink on the table set within the shop – oh, Earl Grey will be finished today!
From the end of April to the beginning of May, we have a semi-vacation called “Golden Week”. Today is Showa Day, one of public holidays set during GW. Others include Constitution Memorial Day on May 3rd, Greenery Day on 4th and Children’s Day on 5th. If any of above days were on Sunday, the next Monday will be a holiday. And if your company is flexible enough, you would be able to have paid holidays from April 30th to May 2nd. It really depends, so many of us expect good timing which brings longer vacation.
Kuro- (=meaning “black” in Japanese) chan is one of Tora-chan’s boyfriends – maybe. He puts on a black jacket on a white shirt, which reminds us of “Piano”. This spring with many cold days, including a snow in April, had Kuro-chan to share the warm bed and meal with Tora-chan almost every night. Boy, where’s your family? If you’d like to stay here, you must let us bring you to see Dr. O.
The most popular breed Somei-Yoshino is over. Now wilder Yama-Sakura and gorgeous Yae-Sakura are in their last bloom. Mei-Shun prefers the former, which looks chic but is ranging from almost white to clear pink color. Some of them are so shy that we do not know they are there, behind other trees. However, their presence would be recognized by petals flying from nowhere.
Mikan-chan loves sunshine, but not too much sunbathing. Sometimes she goes out of mom’s sight – a hide-and-seek game starts! Hummm … not in the bedroom. Neither on the refrigerator or in the closet. Oh? Here you are, just in your own bed.
meishunkikunoe 