My Baby!

Look! I have a baby!

This is 'Baby Frog' who started out as a tadpole in the rice field 3 weeks ago. At that time, my friend came over and said she wanted some tadpoles for her daughter. So she, my husband and I went looking in the rice fields for some.

It was probably a funny sight - 3 adults with a net and plastic 'bug' box, searching around in the rice fields and irrigation channels by my house. Finally we got one tadpole, 2 very tiny baby loaches and two water snails. My friend took them home for her children.

But this week my friend went to America so I got the box and brought it home again. That was on Sunday and 'Baby Frog' was still a tadpole. In fact, he looked more like a baby blowfish than a frog - he had a big round head with a cute little mouth. On Monday his legs got a little bigger, that's all. On Tuesday night he was STILL a brown tadpole swimming in the water.

Wednesday morning I got up and went to look at him but he was gone! Then I found him on the side of the plastic case - he was a FROG! It was amazing that he changed from a tadpole to a frog in just 8 HOURS!!! He changed into a tiny bright green frog.

I kept him for just a day and yesterday evening my husband and I took him back to the rice field and released him. It is raining today so I hope he is happy and could find some bugs to eat.

The loaches and snails are still in the case and I'm going to keep them! I can't wait until they get bigger. Yesterday I went to the pet shop in Lala Garden and bought some food and moss to make a proper home.

Next year you should get some tadpoles and watch them change. It truly is a miracle of nature!

tadpole - オタマジャクシ
come over - (other people visit your house)
rice field / paddy field - 水田
irrigation channel - 水路
loach - ドジョウ
water snail / pond snail / mud snail - タニシ
blowfish / pufferfish - フグ, 体をふくらませる魚(フグなど)
bug / insect - 昆虫, 虫
moss - コケ: スギゴケ類，セン（蘚）類

Win, draw, lose

Did you watch the soccer last night?

I'm not really a soccer fan (I prefer rugby) so I didn't watch all of the game last night.

Yesterday everyone asked me "Who will win, Japan or Australia?" I really have no idea about the skills of the players on either team, but I do know that many Australian players are in the professional leagues in Europe and England. And I also know that Aussies don't give up very easily! So yesterday I said the game would be a draw at 1-1 or the Australians would win.

Maybe I am mean, but I don't understand why most of the Japanese players cannot shoot goals under pressure. I just watch soccer highlights on the TV news, but I often see wild shots at goal. It was a problem 4 years ago and it is a problem now. Even as an outsider, I can see this is a weak point that the players really need to work on.

Anyway, last night I thought that Japan would win and was disappointed that the Australians didn't try harder. BUT then in the final 10 minutes everything changed! Maybe the Aussies are tougher in hot conditions? :)

Best of luck to Japan in their next game!

Miso-ume Dressing

Last year M-san gave me some delicious miso-ume dressing. It was good with salad, or as a sauce for chicken or pork. I really wanted to make some more but I had to wait until this season when green ume are in season.

Japanese ume are usually called 'plums' but in fact I think they are closer to apricots, though much more sour.

To make the dressing you need equal weights of green plums, rock sugar and miso e.g. 500g of each. First of all you wash the plums (and you can dip them in white liquor to kill any germs) then dry them and put them into a jar. After that you add the sugar, and finally the miso. Leave the jar in a cool dark place for 3 months.

After the dressing has matured, put it in a pot and simmer it to reduce the amount of water. Finally, put it into clean bottles.

I really hope that my dressing is successful!

germs - 微生物, 細菌
mature - 熟成した
simmer - ぐつぐつ煮える

Back to health

Sorry, I disappeared from my blog for another two weeks! But I am back again, mostly because I am back to health. ("back to health" = return to a healthy body/mind condition).

I wasn't really 'sick' but I had a headache for 10 days straight. Reading made my head ache more and using the computer was horrible. It was all my own fault because the headache was caused by stiff shoulder and back muscles. Sometimes this happens - my shoulders get stiff, my neck gets stiff and then my head begins to ache.

One reason is that I need to exercise more! The other is that I use a computer quite a lot, both at home and at work. Finally, I think I need to check if my pillow is the best shape and height.

I got better after going to a massage clinic in Takezono. It is just down the street from Kasumi and is across from Seven Eleven. After a 20 minute neck massage on Wednesday afternoon I could feel my headache going, then yesterday I had another 30 minute body massage and a 30 minute foot massage. Today all the stiffness AND the headache are completely healed! Yay!!!!

As well as the stiff shoulders, another reason for my ill health was that I wasn't sleeping enough. These days, it gets light about 3:45am and the sun rises just after 4am. My bedroom is really bright so I was waking up after just a few hours of sleep. I know that waking up is really healthy but that means you have to go to bed about 8pm!!! Not possible or practical with a modern lifestyle.

I solved that problem by putting up a navy blue covering over the window. These days I sleep like a log until 6 or 7am.

Many other people told me that they are not feeling so well this season. I think our body takes a while to get used to the changes in weather.

Anyway, take care of yourself!

PS. You can see a BBC story about sleep here -->
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5063670.stm


disappear - 見えなくなる, 消える, 姿を消す
headache - 頭痛 {one word, noun}
head ache - 頭を痛む {two words, noun + verb}
Reading made my head ache more. - 読書は私の頭をさらに痛くする。
stiff shoulders - 肩がこり
heal - 治す
practical - 実践［実用］に関する,実践上の［に基づいた］,実際［実地］の,実際的な
solve a problem - 問題を解く
sleep like a log - ぐっすり眠る

Surprising socks

I wish I could go to Australia - I want to show everyone my socks :)

In Japan, why can you buy socks with toes in them? I have never seen any of these in Australia or other countries. In fact, I thought they must be uncomfortable so until last week I had never bought any. To be honest, the only reason I got these ones is because I wanted socks with no part on top of my foot so that I can wear them with slip on shoes in the summer. These 'toe' socks were the best ones I could find.

They are quite comfortable to wear but they do take longer to put on. You have to make sure all of your toes go into the correct spaces! Kind of troublesome ....

Bush Peony

I got some lovely bush peonies last week. They came from M's garden and were absolutely beautiful. And so BIG! I was quite surprised.

I was also pleased that I finally found out the difference between ボタン and シャクヤク. It seems 'botan' is a 'tree peony' and shakuyaku is a 'bush peony'. Basically in English they are both called 'peony'.

Drive Through

A new drive through restaurant opened in Tsukuba last month. Not a McDonalds or Mos Burger, but Starbucks Coffee! It's on Route 354 (Noda Sen) between Nishi Odori and the Cineplex/Yamada Denki shopping mall.

I know Starbucks drive throughs are popular in America, especially in California where many people drive. I wonder how many Starbucks drive throughs are in Japan? Is Tsukuba the first?

I really like Starbucks - 99% of the time I buy the same drink, a hot Cafe Latte in a tall size. I guess I only go about once or twice a month. Sometimes I go to Tullys in Lala Garden because the Starbucks there is too small and too noisy. Actually, the cafe in Q't Mall is also too small and noisy. The new shop on R354 seems to be bigger inside but I guess on the weekends it will be crowded too. But if you are an early bird or a late owl, why not try the R354 branch at 7am or 1am? (Open from 7am to 2am).

My favorite Starbucks in Japan is the one in the Yaesu underground shopping mall of Tokyo Station. Getting one of the comfy (comfortable) sofa chairs is like winning the lottery! I've seen businessmen sleeping in those chairs for hours but the staff never tell them to go away. Oh, and another newer shop that is really good and extremely spacious is one on the second floor of Tokyo Station's Nihonbashi Exit. (Sorry if I made a mistake, but the exit where the highway bus from Tsukuba arrives.) I think that shop is the biggest I've ever been to.

The counter only Starbucks in stations like Otemachi are also interesting. When I lived in Tokyo I often carried a small Starbucks thermal cup in my handbag and in the mornings I got a cup of hot milk! Yes, not coffee but steamed milk :)

The BEST thing about Starbucks (Tullys too) is that all branches all over the world are non-smoking. Yay!

By the way, if you'd like to read a good book, try 'Pour Your Heart Into It - How Starbucks Was Built One Cup at a Time'. It was written by the CEO of Starbucks and is very interesting. Sorry, I don't know if it has been translated into Japanese.

Finally, some trivia. I wrote 'shop' but in the Starbuck's book, they are called 'stores'. I guess the meaning is the same. They are not really restaurants because the original Starbucks in Seattle was a store ONLY selling coffee beans. The cafe part came much later.

Spectacular Sunset

Sometimes simple things are so beautiful.

This afternoon there was a storm but after that a lovely sunset. I took these pictures from my bedroom window.

Couscous Cooking Class

Today I went to a cooking class. Amel from Algeria taught us how to make a couscous dish and a French salad.

It was really interesting to learn how to make authentic couscous and to hear about Algerian food. The couscous was served with a simple chicken and vegetable soup and was super delicious!

I'm going to try and make the same dish at home some time in the future. I hope it turns out well.

Flowers and Weeds

I always try to tell people it is very hard to judge "good" and "bad" English. I think it is simpler - you can communicate in English or you cannot. If you speak English and the people who listen can get your message then you are a SUCCESSFUL English speaker! Being a successful speaker is more important than being a good speaker. Why? Here are some examples:

1. Professor B works at a famous university. He is a native speaker and he has a very good education. His English is "good". But his lectures are very boring and difficult and his students cannot understand what he says.

2. D is an international soccer player. He didn't have such a good education and his accent is working class ( 賃金労働者;労働者階級 ). Some rich people think his English is "bad" because of his local dialect and because his grammar is poor. Of course his fans love him and never think about his English!



How about your Japanese? Do you think it is "good" or "bad"? Can you communicate? Which do you think is more important: perfect language or communication?

Yesterday I took a walk and I found all of these flowers. I thought they were lovely so I took pictures. Should I call them flowers, or should I called them weeds? ( 雑草 )








I guess most people would call them weeds, especially the ones that were growing in my garden where they shouldn't. But look at the last flower, a nasturtiam, which I bought from a shop. In some places in Australia nasturtiams are weeds!

Homemade Bread

I did this and that in Golden Week, and one day we had a BBQ.

One reason for the BBQ was that I wanted to make bread and use the BBQ to cook it! You might wonder how that is possible, but my BBQ has a lid and becomes like an oven.

I wanted to make my own bread because I wanted to make 'yomogi pan' (bread flavored with mugwort). I LOVE the taste of mugwort but wanted a different way to eat it. Tenpura is nice but too oily, and yomogi-mochi is nice but too sweet! Neither option is healthy. Bread seemed like a good choice :) I got the yomogi from my garden where I grow it in a pot {so that it doesn't spread and become a weed}. It's from Kagoshima, from my mother-in-law's garden originally!

Have you ever made bread? It's not so difficult but it does take time - you have to begin two or three hours before you even start to bake it.

The result? Wonderful! I baked the bread as rolls, using a muffin pan. The shape was interesting and the taste was SO MUCH better than in a shop! They were light and fluffy and the best bread I've eaten for a long time.

The only disappointing point was that they didn't have any yomogi flavor at all! At first I blanched the yomogi leaves before drying them and chopping finely to add to the bread dough. Maybe I didn't add enough, or maybe the flavor was lost in the blanching water because my rolls were just bread, not yomogi-pan. Oh well, the color of the bread was nice!

Something wonderful!

This afternoon I went outside to do some chores and instead I found a wonderful sight! I ran inside to get my camera but I needn't of rushed because it is still there now - 2 hours later.




I looked in my 'bug book' (an encyclopedia of Japanese insects) and found this is a kind of moth called オナガミズアオ (onagamizuao). At first it was hard to tell because there is another moth almost identical (オオミズアオ) but my moth has more yellow fluffy parts on his/her bottom wings. The moths in the book look very pale blue-green but my moth is still yellow-green becaue the wings aren't dry yet. I guess it is about 10cm across the wing span.

Anyway, it is wonderful - I have never seen such a beautiful moth before. Have you?

PS. I found out this is called a 'Luna Moth' in English. Do you know that 'luna' means 'moon'? It seems these moths are common in the USA, but it is difficult to find one.

Flowers and frogs

Remember the flower I asked about recently? Thanks to M, I know the name. She said they are 'musukari' in Japanese. I found that name comes from the Latin name of the plant - muscari. In simple English they are called 'Grape Hyacinth' because they look like a bunch of grapes! Actually I think they look more like little bells.

Here is a really nice homepage that shows a great picture of the flowers in a famous park in Holland. --> http://www.theplantexpert.com/springbulbs/Muscari.html

And remember the frogs? Well I haven't seen any in my garden this past week because they have all moved to the rice fields. The farmers have been filling the fields with water and the frogs are in paradise! You can hear them in the daytime, and at night it is like an orchestra of frogs :)

Rainbow Frogs

Wow, today's topics are all about gardening ...

This morning was such beautiful weather that I decided to work in the garden. You might feel envious that I have a reasonable sized garden, but it is really hard work! In the past two or three weeks, weeds have sprung up from no-where like magic :(

But one good thing about the warmer weather is that summer creatures are beginning to appear. You can find small lizards scurrying about in the sunshine and look at what else I found today: rainbow frogs!

My guess is that when they hibernate in the winter, frogs become brown and when it gets warmer they change back to green. Is that true? And why could I find an almost WHITE frog?

Mystery Flower

Can you tell me what this flower's name is? You can see them here and there in people's gardens.

It is a kind of bulb (I found out by accident when I pulled one up by mistake), and they are growing in my garden. I didn't put them there and I don't know if they are wild or someone planted them long ago.

Are these Japanese flowers?

Spring in my garden

For the past few weeks I've been taking snapshots of things in my garden. All of the flower pictures are from sometime in the last few weeks. I really like plants that take care of themselves, so pansies are just perfect! As you can see, I like all shades of blue and purple. Yellow is a nice contrast so I planted some yellow ones, too.

As for the tulips, the packet of bulbs was mixed so I got red and white as well as purple and yellow, so I put those in a different place.

Back again!

Um, yes, I am still alive! Sometimes you might wonder where I disappeared to, but just be patient and I'll appear again!

Life has been busy the past few weeks. I had a few events to organize and attend, plus daily life and work. I am sure I don't know where time goes :)

Lovely Gifts

Look at these wonderful things ....

First is an orchid I received from H last week. Sorry but I forget the name .... anyway, it is really beautiful and still looks nice one week later.

The second thing is 'sakura manju' (cherry blossom steamed buns filled with sweet bean paste). I was really surprised to get them from S, who remembered that I LOVE any kind of sakura sweets. They were really delicious, thanks!

Lastly I got some nice bath salts plus other little surprises from V. Maybe she was reading my mind and knows I like to relax in the bath!

The Best Dessert

You can find the best desserts in Parfum, a cafe/restaurant on Ninomiya Park Street.

The main menu is good too; very nice homemade salad dressing on the green salad, nice soup, good main dishes, excellent coffee.











But the dessert? HEAVENLY! :) Last time I went there the dessert plate had homemade ice-cream and fruit (as usual) and the main sweet was an almond-orange tart. I think it is really hard to get good tarts, but this was one of the best I have ever had! The base was still really crispy which is difficult. (Tart bases usually become soggy after a few hours.) We also got a small sample of another dessert for free. It looked like a mini creme brulee - the top was toffeed sugar and when you broke through the cruncy toffee, you found wonderful creamy and fluffy egg pudding underneath .....









Just be careful because if you order the special daily lunch menu for less than 1000yen, you don't get dessert. You have to order a pasta lunch or fish lunch, etc. The prices range from about 1200yen to 1500yen but it is worth it to get the dessert!

By the way, they only serve lunch and dinner so you cannot go there for afternoon tea and just get dessert and coffee.

The Best Sushi

The best sushi in Tsukuba is Yamato Zushi on Nishi Odori, just north of Route 354.

It is 'kaiten sushi' (sushi that goes around on a conveyor belt) though the price is a little more expensive than family type kaiten sushi. BUT the fish is always delicious and the pieces are quite large. Because of the quality and size, I think Yamato is much better value than cheaper restaurants. And I've NEVER had anything that wasn't delicious.

The best dish is one fillet of sea eel (anago). Just wonderful! Oh, and if you go to Yamato, you can get set plates for a party or you can choose your own varieties and make up a special party plate just for you. Here is a plate that my husband and I made. The price is the same as if you ate in the shop. By the way, if you phone ahead to make an order, you must get one of the ready made plates from their take-out menu, so I recommend you go and choose your favourite things or the fish of the day.

Yummy Yogurt

I've just started making 'Kasupi Kai' yogurt again. (Capsian Sea)

I made it a few years ago but stopped because the taste became a little funny. Actually, as I got the starter culture from a friend, I was also worried about the purity of the bacteria at that time.

To give you some background, a professor of Kyoto University (Yukio Yamori) visited the former Soviet Union country of Georgia in 1986. He was studying longevity (people who live to become very old) and found Georgians ate a special kind of yogurt. He brought some back to study it, and then it seems his wife who is a doctor, gave some out. Over the years the yogurt was shared all over the country. Prof Yamori became worried about purity and safety so he set up a NPO to distribute dried culture starter kits.

One strange thing is that the yogurt comes from near the BLACK SEA not the Caspian Sea!!! Maybe 'black yogurt' wasn't such an attractive name ...

That was a few years ago, and now you can buy Kasupi Kai yogurt in supermarkets. I thought the taste wasn't as good as the homemade one, so last week I bought powdered starter culture from my local supermarket. It cost about 1, 200 yen! {For two sachets of culture plus about four sachets of powdered collagen which I haven't used.}

The main point about making the yogurt at home is keeping everything CLEAN!

Here is the process I follow:

1. Get two big clean glass jars with lids.
2. Boil water and sterilize the jars and lids with boiling water. Also sterilize a metal spoon.
3. Heat about 800ml of milk to 35 degrees C. (You can just put it in one jar and use the microwave to heat it to the exact temperature.) DO NOT put your finger in the milk to test the temperature!!! If you want to check, use the spoon to get some milk out and drip it on your wrist.
4. Starting - put one sachet of culture powder into the milk and stir.
Continuing - put about 200ml of yogurt in the milk and stir.
5. Put a tissue over the top of the jar and fasten with a rubber band. (The yogurt needs air to grow.)
6. Put the jar in a warm place, 20 - 30 degrees. It will take up to 24 hours for the milk to change into yogurt.
7. To check the progress, sterilize a spoon again and mix. When the yogurt is thick and 'sticky' it is ready.

NOTE: This yogurt is different from regular yogurt. The best I can describe is that the texture is 'sticky' kind of like liquid jelly!

If you want to make the yogurt faster, get a large foam box (like a drinks cooler or broccoli box) and put the jar of milk/yogurt in there with a hot water bottle! If you do this before bed, the yogurt will be ready the next morning. In summer you don't need to do this.

After the yogurt is finished, put about 200ml into the second clean jar and put on the lid. There is enough air in a big jar for the yogurt to live. Keep this to start your next batch of yogurt.

REMEMBER: Keep everything CLEAN!!!!!