2016-03

#946 “SEMPE in NEW YORK”〜I fell in love with the book〜

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A book “SEMPE in NEW YORK”

Today I had a painting lesson. I’m learning to paint from a teacher once a month.Every time she brings some painting books and shows to me.

This time the book was “SEMPE IN NEW YORK ”.
SEMPE is a painter’s name. He is famous for painting the covers for the magazine “THE NEW YORKER”.You might have seen his work before. This book printed “THE NEW YORKER”’s covers from 1978 to 2009.
I fell in love with this book at first sight. Because, his paintings are very heart warming and cool. They also have a sense of humor. They are like scenes in our daily lives. A cat, boys, girls, a business man and musicians in New York are the main characters in the paintings.
I am sure you have seen at least one of the scenes before. As for me, there is one particular picture that reminds me of a sort of nostalgia.

I made a plastic board for the first time.

Then, I made a plastic board of SEMPE’s illustration. My painting teacher taught me how to make it. I used a toaster and it was easy and fun!
It is my homage to SEMPE.

Thank you my teacher! You always give me a good inspiration for painting.

Small Joy!!(2016.3.24)

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↑This small plastic board is my homage to SEMPE.

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↑A cat is sleeping on a bed. The view from window beside the bed, you can see people work hard at offices in buildings at night. It’s a funny contrast between a lazy cat and busy people.

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↑An old picture and a new picture?

2016-03-29 | Posted in English2 Comments » 

 

#947 “WONKA” chocolate gives you smiles

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Who do you want to share with?

When you are sharing your special sweets, do you care who you want to share with?
For me, I want to share them with friends who are interested in sweets.

A chocolate bar named “WONKA”

One day, I bought a chocolate bar named “WONKA” at a limited time “Kit-Kat” shop. “WONKA” chocolate is made by “Willy Wonka’s CHOCOLATE FACTORY”. Actually, it is story in the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Although I have never watched this movie, I just wanted to taste the WONKA’s chocolate.

The movie story and golden ticket

Then, I shared the chocolate bar with my English lesson’s 3 members, my teacher and 2 other students.
My teacher had watched the movie 3 times and explained the story while she tasted the chocolate.
Student A had also watched the movie and asked me where I bought the chocolate.
Student B, an old lady, didn’t know the movie at all and said to me, “You are so ‘Haikara’(ハイカラ)!”.
We really enjoyed it. The chocolate was very sweet, and had choco crunch and caramel sauce in it.

Unfortunately, there was no golden ticket in the chocolate package.

I got some very sweet smiles

When I left the lesson, one of the students said, “Thank you for the chocolate!” to me again with a big smile on her face.
I think she really liked it because she had never said and smiled to me like that.

Small Joy!!(2016.3. 16)

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↑choco crunch and caramel sauce in it

2016-03-22 | Posted in English2 Comments » 

 

#948 Eel cuisine in NARITASAN TEMPLE

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↑A three-story pagoda

NARITASAN is a popular temple in Chiba

I went to NARITASAN SHINSHOJI TEMPLE with my parents.
We call it “Naritasan”. It is located in Chiba prefecture, it takes about 1 hour from Tokyo by express train. It has over 1000 years of history and is one of the most representative temples in Japan.
Since the famous kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro and his family have a close relationship with Naritasan, they are called “NARITAYA”.

Eel cuisine in Naritasan

There is a huge park in Naritasan.
My parents and I walked around and found a restaurant called “NATORI-TEI” which is famous for eel cuisine. Eel cuisine is also famous in Narita city.
We were hungry and ordered grilled eel with rice and eel-liver soup. I like to put a lot of sansho on grilled eel. We were very satisfied with them.

3 key holders

The set costed 4000 yen each. Though, it was sort of expensive, it was well worth it because eel is a precious fish.
At the cashier, staff gave us 3 different types of Naritasan’s key holders. I picked a small bell key holder. The other 2 key holders were heavy and didn’t look good.
Whoops! sorry, mom and dad!

Small Joy(2016.2)

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↑Grilled eel with rice and eel-liver soup

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↑A maneki-neko, a toad and a bowing guy figure at “NATORI-TEI”

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↑A traditional drugstore on the way to Naritasan

2016-03-14 | Posted in English2 Comments » 

 

#949 I stayed at my parent’s house for a week.

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My mom is weaving yarn into a cloth.

I stayed at my parent’s house for a week.
There was a textile which is still in the progress in a room. My mom is weaving yarn into a cloth to make a kimono for a event. A yearn was originally in white, my classmate’s parents dyed it in indigo. The textile was a simple geometrical pattern and beautiful. She weaves it every day.

I wish I could wear kimonos by myself.

Though I used to wear kimono by myself, I haven’t worn it recently. My mom also doesn’t wear kimono. So she is thinking to make something different with the kimono. She will use the kimono cloth to make western clothes, bag and etc.
Suddenly, I feel sorry for not remembering how to wear the kimono by myself.

A set of dolls for the Girls’ Festival

There was a set of dolls for the Girls’ Festival in my parent’s house. They ware prepared for me by mom. I really appreciated her. Though I became an adult now, I am still my mom’s little child forever.

Small Joy!!(2016.2)

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↑These set of dolls used to be in my grandparent’s house.

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↑This is my mom’s machine. She weaves yarn into a cloth every day.

2016-03-07 | Posted in English2 Comments » 

 

#950 Yuming’s song and a cafe “Dolphin”

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A cafe “Dolphin” in Yokohama

I visited a cafe “Dolphin” in Yokohama with my friend on February 13th.
As the cafe was on top of the hill, we walked up there from Negishi station.

Yuming’s song and soda water

The cafe “Dolphin” is famous for the song “Umi o miteita gogo” of Yuming’s. Here is the phrase “A cargo ship is passing by the soda water” in the song. So some yuming’s fans order a glass of soda water to mimic the experience. But I have ordered a Mont Blanc cake and a cup of coffee instead of a soda water.

Who came with you?

Actually my friend and I have been to the cafe before separately. It was many years ago.
We were talking about who came to this cafe with me at the first time and how this cafe looked like before in our memory while we were seeing a passing ship and a smoke from a factory in a coastal industrial zone from the window.
I came here with my ex boyfriend many years ago. I remembered that time very much. But my friend didn’t remember who came with her before.
Sometimes when we listened to Yuming’s song at the cafe, it made us happy, even though that was a sad song.

Sweet memories

When we left the cafe, it was getting dark outside. We started to walk then she told me “I’ve just remembered who came with me.”
I was surprised to hear it because that person is a celebrity now!
I want to mention his name, but I am not allowed to say it.

Anyway, we backed to the young ages at that cafe for a while.

Small Joy!!(2016.2.13)

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This is the cafe where we walked up

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A smoke from a factory in a coastal industrial zone from the window at the cafe

2016-03-03 | Posted in English2 Comments »