おざぶ Chair pad

最近おざぶ編みを楽しんでいます。身体が冷えやすい私はキッチンの木製椅子がどうも苦手。だから、とりあえず自分のを作っています、様子を見て多分もっと。。。
I am having fun crocheting a chair pad. My body gets a chill very easily and I don't like the wooden stools in the kitchen. So, I am making one for myself and possibly more.

この本を今年の夏日本で見つけました。可愛いおざぶがたくさん載っていて、どれも編むのがすごく楽しそう。
I found this book in Japan this summer. It has many cute chair pad designs and they all seem really fun to crochet.

暑い！ HOT!

このところ最高気温３５度を越える暑さが続いています。湿度が２０％位なので、アジアでの暑さとは少し感じ方が違いますが。。
というところで、今日のおやつは、ミルク金時抹茶白玉添え。いや〜、美味しかった。

Lately, the highest temperature here is above 95F and HOT! But the humidity here is below 20%, so the heat you feel is a bit different from how you feel it in Asia.
Anyway, today's snack is finely crushed ice with condensed milk, red bean, and green tea flavored sweet rice cake. Delicious!!

種 Seeds

芝　grass
枝豆　Edamame
カボチャ　Pumpkin

子供達が先週末それぞれ種まき。りきは芝、よしあとけびんは枝豆を育てています。。毎日学校から帰ったら水やりをし、まめに面倒を見ています。。庭のカボチャも育っています。
Kids planted some seeds last weekend. Riki is growing grass, Josh and Kevin are growing Edamame. They water seeds every day, when they get home. They are checking and taking very good care of them. The pumpkins in the garden are growing, too.

選ばれた。Chosen.

何に？陪審員に。。私はアメリカ国民ではないという理由でお断りの返事を出しました。何らかの返事をちゃんと出さないと、罰金か刑務所もしくは両方なんてことになる可能性もあるんです。ぎょ！良いお断りの理由があって良かった。。。
For what? For Jury service. I sent the letter back to say I am not qualified, because I am not an American citizen. The letter says, "Failure to repond to this summons will subject you to a fine, a jail term or both." Wow.. I am glad that I had a good excuse.

１１ Eleven

この虹色の犬で多分１１匹目完成。この２匹はいよいよ今日家を離れます。迷子にならずに無事新しいお家に着きますように。
追伸：私の風邪はすっかり良くなりました。皆さんもお身体気をつけて！
This rainbowish dog would be my 11th finished one. Those two are leaving our home today. I hope they won't get lost on their way to their new home.
P.S. I recovered from the cold and feeling much better. Hope you all are well! Take care!

初どら First "Dora"

日本に住んでいない私達、おいしい和菓子が食べたいと思ったら、自分で作るっきゃない！今日は午後のおやつに「抹茶生クリーム入りどらやき」を作りました。台湾の阿里山で採れた美味しいお茶と一緒に。お味は？もうちょ〜〜美味しい！み〜んな超はっぴ〜！！
We're not living in Japan. So, if we wanted to eat yummy Japanese sweets, we must make them ourselves! I made "Japanese pancake filled with sweet red bean paste and green tea fresh cream" today. I served it with thevery good tea from Alishan, Taiwan. Taste? It was SO delicious!! Everybody is SO happy!

最新 Latest

たった今送られてきたばかりの最新の写真です。見て下さい。チョコバナナちゃん達の成長の早いこと！！！前回の写真は１６日に撮られたもの、そして今回の写真は２１日に撮られた物です。たった５日間でこんなにも変化が。。。ひよこちゃんだったときの可愛い姿がなつかし〜〜 生坂特派員さん報告ありがとう！
Those are the lastest photos that just came in. Please take a look. How fast Choco and Banana are growing!!!! The last pictures were taken on 16th and those ones were taken on 21st. What a big change in only five days! I miss those cute cute baby chick days..... Thank you for your report, my Ikusaka correspondent!!

風邪 Cold

また風邪をひいちゃった。原因は多分これ！！土曜日にシーワールドで楽しんだ乗り物。なるべく濡れない所に座ろうと思ったんだけど。。結局私は全身びしょぬれ！！もう夕方だったので、濡れた服を着ての駐車場までの道は寒かった！そして、車の中で乾いた服に着替えたものの、身体の芯まで冷え冷え。さらに、その晩行った焼き肉やのエアコンがすごく強くて、身体はガチガチに！今回はただの鼻風邪なのでもう少ししたら治るでしょう。楽しかったんだけど。。。身体がついていかなかった。。。

I got a cold again. I know why.. We went to the SeaWorld and enjoyed the rides on Saturday. I was trying not to get wet, but well ..... I was totally soaked after this ride!!! It was already in the evening, so the walk to the parking lot in the wet clothes felt SO cold. I changed to the dry clothes in the car, but my body was already so cold to the bones. What made it worse was the AC in the BBQ restaurant we went for dinner that night. It was SO strong and I was frozen!! It seems this is just the common cold with runny nose and sore throat, so I will be fine soon. The rides were so fun, but my body couldn't catch up with the fun...


今日は家でゆっくりしていたので、学校１週目でストレスを感じている子供たちの為に、M&Mのチョコレートのケーキを焼きました。美味しいおやつで身体も心もリラックス？！
Today, I rested at home and made this M&M chocolate cake to cheer up kids who's feeling a bit stressed during the first week of school. Hopefully, tasty afternoon snack will make their body and mind relaxed.

太極拳 Tai Chi

４０歳を過ぎて身体の節々が硬くなり痛くなっているこの頃。。もう少しちゃんと自分自身の身体に気を配り、鍛えなければと思っていたところ、５０才から太極拳を始めたという友達に何か始めたらと励まされ、ではと早速今日初めての太極拳クラスに行ってきました。ゆっくりゆっくりした動きですが、汗をかきました。いいかも！！ちなみに写真は私ではありません。。ネットからです。まあ１０年後の私はこんなかんじかな？
Ever since I turned 40, I can feel the stiffness and the pain in the joints of my body. And I was thiking I really need to take better care of myself and need to gain strength in my body. My friend who started Tai Chi at the age of 50 enouraged me to start something... Well, today I had my very first Tai Chi lesson. The movements were very slow, but I sweat. It was really nice. FYI, the person in the photo is not me! And the photo is froma web. Maybe I might look just like her after 10 years.

お引っ越し Moving

今まで家の中の大きなダンボール箱の中で生活していたチョコバナナちゃん達、いよいよ大きく成長し、新しいお家へ引っ越しです。新しいお家気に入るといいね。チョコとバナナに関する写真と最新情報は日本にいる姪達リポーターから定期的に送られてきます。ありがと〜〜。
Choco and Banana used to live in a big cardboard box in the house until now, but finally they have grown big enough to move into their new house. Hopefully, they like their new house. The updates and photos regarding Choco and Banana are periodically sent by my niece reporters in Japan. Thank you~!

いくつ？ How many?

この可愛いワンちゃんは、もうすぐアリゾナへと旅立っていきます。私、これまでに何匹のワンちゃんをつくったのかな？
This cute doggy will soon begin its journey to Arizona. How many of those dogs have I made so far?

キャンプ Camp

いとこ達がキャンプに行ってすごく楽しかったって言うじゃあないですか。。。。だったら、僕たちもと！！テントを２つはって、夕べ子供達はその中で寝ました。実は家の中ですけど。。。でも楽しかったようですよ。
Kids' cousins told us that they had so much fun going camping. Well, then why not us! We set up two tents and kids slept in them last night. Though, it actually was in the house, they had much fun.

焼きたて Just baked

とても仲のいいお友達がお料理の上手なメイドさんを雇いました。朝から焼きたてのバナナマフィンを食べたと聞いて。。家族一同、いいなぁ〜〜。朝食が９時なら私にも出来ると思い、今日はバナナケーキを朝食に焼きました。とお〜〜っても美味しかった！！！なんとか一切れ残っていたので写真を。。ちなみに、たけちゃんは９時前に家を出たので、朝食はオートミール。
A very very good friend hired a helper who's very good at cooking. She told me that they had freshly baked muffins for breakfast. It sounded too good and we all said, "SO LUCKY!" Well, this morning, I tought to myself, if the breakfast was to be served at 9am, then I could do this. So, I baked a banana cake for breakfast this morning. Oh, it was SO good. I managed to take a picture of the last piece. FYI, T.K. had to leave home before 9am, so he had some oatmeal for breakfast.

サイン Sign

今日は子供達を映画館に連れて行きました。彼らは「ナイトミュージアム２」を見ました。私はその間友達とお茶をしていた訳ですが。。。このサインはその映画館の入り口にあったもの。ちょっと笑えませんか？これって、ただの冗談？それとも、ペットお断りのサインのつもり？
I took children to a discount cinema today. They watched "Night at the Museum 2", while I was having a coffee time with my friend. This sign was on the entrance door at the cinema. Isn't this funny? Is this just a joke? Or meaning "no pets allowed?!"

隠れた才能 Hidden talent

.
日本での夏休み中、理輝はいつのまにかいとこのひかるちゃんがピアノで弾いていた曲を覚え、自分でも弾けるようになりました。もちろん、ピアノなんて習った事もありません。そして今回２曲目を一生懸命練習して、これもまたひかるちゃんが練習し始めていた曲、を弾けるようになりました。彼の演奏をお楽しみください。
During the summer in Japan, Riki memorized the song that his cousin, Hikaru was playing on piano and he learned to play on his own. Of course, he never had any piano lessons. This time now, he practiced this second song which Hikaru just started to learn. He finally completed it, so please enjoy his performance

結婚記念日 Wedding Anniversary

今日は私たちの結婚記念日。１９年です。りきがお祝いになが〜いプリッツェルを焼いてくれました。結婚がなが〜くハッピーに続くように。
Today is our wedding anniversary. It's been 19 years. Riki baked a long preztel for us. Wishing us a long happy marriage.

庭仕事 Gardening

日本から帰って来て、まだ学校も始まらないので、このところ庭の木を剪定したり、雑草抜いたりといろいろしています。今日はカボチャと枝豆の種をまきました。元気に育つと良いな。
After we came back from Japan, since the school hasn't started, we've been doing some gardening...pruning, pulling the weeds out and so on... Today we planted some pumpkin and Edamame(soy bean) seeds. Hope it will grow healthy.

ひよこたち Chicks

あのひよこさんたちがこんなに大きくなっていました。名前はチョコちゃんとバナナちゃん。首も長いし、羽根も生えて来てるし、目も違う。なんでも小さいときの方が可愛いねぇ。ひい〜、写真提供ありがとう！
That chicks are getting so much bigger. Their names are CHOCO and BANANA. Their necks are longer, got more feathers, their eyes look different... Things are much more cute when they are tiny... Hika~,thank you for the pics.

歯 Teeth

歯って結構長いんですね。見えていないところの方が見えているところよりずっと長い。これらはよしあの歯です。矯正をする為に先日４本も歯を抜きました。彼は大丈夫です。次の日には痛みもとれていました。
Teeth are much longer than I thought. Where you cannot see is much longer than what you are seeing. Those are Joshua's teeth. He had to have 4 teeth extracted for the orthodontic purpose. He is doing fine. The pain was gone the next day.

飛んだ！ iFLY!

昨日はドイツから来た友達を案内してユニバーサルスタジオへ。今回は思い切って久しぶりにワクワクする体験に挑戦。最近このての物(iFLY)にはトライしてなかったんです。。歳をとるにつれ、新しい事に挑戦するのが怖くなったみたい。。
短いビデオを見てインストラクターからの説明を受けた後、ギアをつけて、本番。ドキドキというよりも、どんな感じなのか想像もつかなかったからワクワク。実際飛んでみたら、もうちょぉ〜〜〜楽しかった。初めてなのにすごく上手だと褒められました！！トライして良かった。

We went to the Universal Studio with the guests from Germany yesterday. I knew that I haven't tried anything new for a long time, especially this sort of stuff (iFLY). The older I got, the more I became afraid of trying new things...I guess..... So, I challenged myself to try this exciting adventure.
After watching a short video and taking a short lesson from an instructor, we put our gears on and were ready to take off. I wasn't really nervous, but it was more of an excitment of not knowing what's gonna happen. How was it? Oh, it was SO COOL and FUN! The instructor told me that I was VERY good and natural. I was SO GLAD that I tried.

暑すぎで寒すぎ！ Too hot and too cold!

今日の家の近所の最高温度は38.5度。暑すぎだよ！！体温より高いんだよ！！で、冷房かけてるから、私には寒すぎて、足元ひえひえで関節が痛い！冷房の温度を上げると男達が暑いと文句を言うし。。靴下２枚はいて冬支度なわたし。。。
The highest temperature around this neighborhood today was 101F. It's TOO HOT! It's higher than my body temperature!! We turn the AC on, then it's too cold for me, especially my legs are freezing and my joints are aching!! I turn the AC temperature higher, then my family complains that it's too hot..... I put two pairs of socks on and clothe myself just like in winter....

超乾燥 SO dry!

日本はとても緑でお肌しっとりだったけど。。。南カリフォルニアはちょ〜〜乾燥。水から飛び出しちゃった魚はこんな気持ちなのかな？！。
Everywhere was SO green in Japan and my skin was so moist, but here Southern California is SO dry! This must be the feeling of a fish jumped out of the water?!

８月だ。It's August.

今朝はケビンが早起きして朝食を作りベッドまで運んでくれた。ダディにはオートミール、目玉焼き、フルーツにお茶。彼はこうした不意打ちの優しさで人を喜ばすのが得意だ。
Kevin woke up early this morning and made us breakfast in bed. Daddy had oatmeal, sunny side up egg, fruits and green tea. He is good at making people happy with sweet surprises.

それから、クレー射撃へ。Then, we went trap shooting.

そして、お昼は飲茶。美味しかった。お腹もいっぱい！
そしたら。。突然眠気が。。。時差ぼけ？　
Then, we went to a Dim Sum restaurant. The food was good and my stomach is full! Then, suddenly got drowsy... is this jet lag?

買い出し Shopping

冷蔵庫がからっぽ。料理はしたくないけど。。。でも外食もする気がしない。。。ご飯とふりかけばかり何日も食べてられないし。。。。。仕方なく買い出しへ。。本当にアメリカのスーパーは広い、そして何でもでかい。。。実家の畑から取って食べてた新鮮な野菜が懐かしい！
The refrigerator was so empty. I didn't feel like cooking at all, but I don't feel like eating out either. We cannot be eating rice and seasoning for so long.. So, we decided to go shopping. The grocery store in the states are SO big and everything in there are big, too. I miss the fresh vegetables I used to pick and eat in my parents' garden.