Oishii desu

misadventures in gardening

I don't take after my mother when it comes to loving plants well. She's one of those people that rescues the almost dead "orphan" plants at Wal-mart. I'm a murderer. Here's the evidence...

This is by far the worst case. It was a hibiscus... I haven't had the heart to break it apart and trash it yet. I tried really hard to keep this thing going--even giving it a few showers to get rid of the mites that had attacked it.

This is the latest victim. I just transplanted it into this great tea mug that one of my students gave me. It's so droopy. I'm hoping once the shock of the move wears off, the little faces will perk up.

I think this one is too crowded in the pot. The twiggy things on the right used to have tiny, cute white flowers, but they fell off. Actually, I'm not too sad about that because the scent was so strong it gave me a headache.

This one is actually doing really well. And, you can see my antique salt and pepper shakers in the background that I mentioned in a previous post.

This is my favorite one--and it's actually thriving with a new tiny, white flower that's bloomed this week. I love this bonsai tree.

a regular feature of American life?

This is from an article concerning a shooting in Alabama that happened just yesterday. It makes me sad this is how people view the U.S.

"Mass shootings have become a feature of life of the United States in recent years.

In one of the most recent incidents, a gunman dressed as Santa Claus killed nine party guests on Christmas Eve, before taking his own life in Covina, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.

On April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech, a university in Blacksburg, Virginia, became the site of the deadliest rampage in modern U.S. history when a student gunman killed 32 people and himself.

Guns are widely available for purchase in the United States, a country that prides itself on the right to own weapons for self defense and hunting."
(Writing by Matthew Bigg; editing by Tom Brown)
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1036167920090311

My Apartment

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

*notice my strange accent...I suppose this is what I sound like when I'm speaking English with Japanese people... :)

can you crack this code?

(note: sorry, Mom to include you in my blog tonight, but this was too good to pass up!)

My Mom has always entertained me with her notoriously bad typing. But, recently she has started texting me on her cell phone, which has tripled the guffaws. Tell me, what do you think this means:
"I am sk ths morog"

loverly day

It really was a great day last Saturday when I went with some of my students to Ayabe. We started the day with a French lunch."

"Kani Miso" for starters. (ground up crab brains mixed with mashed potatoes and some Italian bread twigs) It wasn't nearly as disgusting as it sounds. It was actually quite good.

Next course: tiny veggies (yes, that's one piece each of broccoli, asparagus and cauliflower) The black half circle is jellied blow fish, some other fish I can't remember and squid ink. Again, not too bad.

Soup Course: Carrot Potage. creamy goodness.

Main Course: A mild white fish with vegetables and a tasty creamy sauce. Nice flavor. All of this was accompanied by some locally made "Ume" (plum) juice.

Dessert! That's plum ice cream under the tear drop shaped cookie thing. There was also fruit, a baked thingamabob with caraway seeds and a tea flavored custard. Yum.

And finally....my FAVORITE part.....

How sweet is this! I squealed with delight when I poured the milk in the cup because the most beautiful swirls came to the surface. Simple joys, right?

We had an amazing view of the "kira kira" (sparkling) ocean.

After lunch, we made our way up to the "Ume" (Plum) tree grove.

Spring is here!!! Hang on, my Indiana friends! She's coming soon to you too!

creepy

Every Tuesday when I commute home from Osaka, I walk under this sign in the train station. It really freaks me out. You can't see it fully in this picture, but it says "REST" in big letters on the right. Impossible. Too creepy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

from me and the cutest baby English students in Japan!

woah!

This afternoon I answered the door to a man holding a clipboard. He was looking down at the clipboard when I opened the door and when he looked up, he had a shocked expression on his face and actually stepped back! He said something like "Japanese is bad, isn't it?.....something.....newspaper....I'm very sorry....excuse me..." I've had a few people (mostly Jehovah's Witnesses) ring my doorbell who are surprised to see a foreigner on the other side of the door. I use this to my advantage, of course, and have an easy out. Although I did have a persistent telemarketer once who tried to speak English and asked me if my husband was home. Oh the awkwardness that is my life...