xmassy week special #6

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hoping that you are having lots of fun out there.

hoping that all the conflicts among people are over.

but, hoping, wanting and giving are essential.

happy christmas!  

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kobe luminarie

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christmas lights?

no, they are nothing to do with christmas, actually.

it is an annual exhibition of lights

as a memorial to the victims of the 1995’s great earthquake.

but, the prayer is the same as ones at church on christmas eve.

whatever your religions are,

let us pray!

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xmassy week special #5

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i've heard of really good news!

maybe angels and santas prayed for that, too.

so did you?

the news...

just wonderful!

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xmassy week special #4

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hi, everyone!

i guess you are on holiday.

 with your loved ones and friends, i suppose.

and, you are having lots of chats, drink and rich food, aren't you? 

have lots of fruits, too!

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xmassy week special #3

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my place has no fireplaces or mantelpieces.

still, it's fun to hang my sock on. 

have a peaceful week, everyone!

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xmassy week special #2

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i am not christian, in my country, neither are most people.

but yet, we do enjoy the (mock) festivity.

i am getting into the mood.

you are already in it, aren't you?

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xmassy week special #1

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hello friends!

are you ready?

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the saffron revolution

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like my last few novembers,

i was supposed to rejoice at a little harvest of homegrown saffron

from my mother's balcony.

she missed the timing to plant saffron bulbs in september.

so, we have no saffron harvest this november.
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still, like any other november,

leaves have turned gold and red.

they have plenty of different shades of saffron.

i am absolutely charmed by every single falling leaf.

do you remember the saffron revolution, by the way?

nothing really has changed for those burmese monks and people, though.

but, growing saffron instead of, yes, poppies in afghanistan seems to pick up,

which is indeed good news, don't you think?

i hope this will make a true saffron revolution happen over there.

enjoy the gorgeous season before getting busy, everyone!

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marie’s birthday

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again! i am posting on the last day of this month.

october really flew by.

we had perfect (indian) summer’s days and a bit of wintery weather.

  

today is marie’s birthday. marie who?

marie laurencin.

she painted and wrote poems in “la belle époque” paris.

here is le carnet des nuits,

which has been my most precious book since i was so young.

e-books seem to be taking on, but favourite books will remain p-books.

papers yellow with age, while printed colours fade away.

even the written words now sound obsolete a little, maybe.

still, i love my old p-books like this one.

do you think i’ve forgotten all about halloween?

no. but, i just enjoy checking what fun-loving people do, not part of it.

i’ve cooked gnocchi di zucca for dinner, though.

happy birthday to marie!

happy halloween to everyone!

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september

on the last day of september, i felt inclined to say hello to the blog world.

this summer was a long and unbearably sultry one.

indeed, the climate change was turning japan into a tropical country!
but “my season” has arrived at last.

i did lots of ironing.

and adorning my place with wild flowers.

i am getting happier to see my environment as you can see here.

enjoy the beautiful autumn days!

xxx

many many thanx for all your lovely comments ;)

 
 
 



momo

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it’s neither this momo, the fantasy novel written by michael ende,

nor that momo, my favourite moroccan restaurant in london.

it’s a pink stone-fruit.
i am talking about japanese peach called “もも momo” in japanese.

there was a nice and kind person (actually my ex-mother-in-law).

she arranged for a box of momo to be sent from a momo farm.

momo, is, possibly, the biggest, pinkest and juiciest peach on this planet.

i’d love to show you all how i relished pinkish pleasures.

first, i just ate it with a ruby grapefruit enjoying the pinks.

second, i experienced the almost ultimate bliss with a frozen “momo” daiquiri i made.

my son came and stayed with me from tokyo last weekend,

so i made bellinis to toast.

the following morning,

i made frozen “momo” daiquiris again for us.

this time, they came out pink, perfect pink!!

then we toasted again.

i am having some more fruits...plums? that is... this weekend.

have plenty of juicy fruits in season, everyone!

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a midsummer fedora

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before august started,

my summer (painting) “white” project had been completed.

the new white floors of my living room and bedroom look so cool.

still, japan continues to boil.

i never like sultry days like these.

but i should try to see the positive side of the heat…

let me tell you…ah, i always love straw hats!

i used to have a english fedora and a french canotier that i really loved.

actually,

in early july when i got a paint can, a roller and brushes from a diy shop,

i bought myself a cheap and ubiquitous straw hat,

i want this straw hat to look old-ish,

so i put it on whenever i go out to wear it out fast.

i also have a fedora that looks a bit similar to my old one.

i did impulse-buy when i found it four summers ago.

and it would show up on my hatstand every summer.

it stays new since i’ve never worn it.

sadly because it no longer fits my style… say, age.

but i cherish my fedora.

fedoras have made a worldwide comeback for the past one or two years,

which is great.

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recalling

an

english

cool

summer

i

wore

my

favourite

fedora

wherever

i

went.

have a lovely summer week!

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the last taste of sweet cherries

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when i stopped by my local supermarket only two days ago,

i was surprised that cherries were on the shelf.

they were still around in the heat of the scorching summer!

japanese cherry season is so short,

it usually ends by mid-july.

have you heard of anyone on earth who does not love to eat cherries?

they terribly look sweet and cute as well.

they are so lovely to taste and behold.

come to think of it,

i kept missing a chance to post on japanese cherries i’d had them in early july.

so, here they are.

to mark the last day of july and the cherry season!

in the mean time,

there are loads of various stone fruits arriving now.

i can’t help but look at them in shops and blogs.

what a joy!

i’m sure you all are enjoying the harvest.

have a great summer weekend!

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a nordic dream

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are you on vacation or stay-cation?

there’s no hot news this week either,

but temperature-wise,

it’s just way too hot.

japan is sizzling.

i’m not lying!

when air-conditioners can’t beat the heat,

i always start a home-decorating project.

as a matter of fact,

i am in the thick of it.

i know i sound like a crazy ant.

i’ve been painting my living room floor nordic white.

it’s more like taking a swedish-style sauna than decorating, though.

the living room looks almost done,

so i can make a move on my bed room, then.

my dream will be drifting around the norwegian wood?

looking at summer flowers,
the bog sages, in the park as well as on my balcony, are blooming,

they are as blue as the summer sky.

white geranium is among my all-time favourites, by the way.

their petals resemble white butterfly wings, don’t you think?

enjoy your hot (or cool?) summer weekend, my friends!

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