2017-04

#902 Hawaii’s Daydream 〜at the Heather Brown Gallery〜

Do you know Heather Brown?

She is a painter who lives in Hawaii.
I like her bright paintings which feature big waves, white plumerias, pretty birds and rainbows in Hawaii.
When I look at her pictures, I feel happy, relaxed and want to go to Hawaii!!

I bought a pink frame and two paintings.


I went to “The Heather Brown Gallery” in Osaka with my friend on April 2nd because Heather came to the gallery on that day. It was a beautiful sunny day although cherry blossoms had not bloomed yet. Many of her fans came to the gallery and everybody seemed to be having fun there.
I bought a pink frame which was made by wasted wood and two paintings that matched the frame. One of the paintings was rainbow and sea. The other one was a bear and a few birds. They were both art prints. My friend also bought an art print.
Then we gat Heather’s autograph on our prints in front of us and took a picture with her. She is amiable and a very nice person.

Message from Hawaii

After a short while I posted about Heather Brown’s gallery on facebook, my friend T who is living in Hawaii commented on the post.
She said “I remembered that we got Heather’s autograph in Northshore!” (Actually I’ve met Heather in Hawaii 6 years ago.)
I was so happy to get my friend’s message from Hawaii. How great facebook is! I wanted to fly to Hawaii and meet my friend right away!

Surrounded by many Heather’s paintings, I had a cup of Hawaiian coffee in the gallery. Heather’s nice smile hasn’t changed at all since 6 years ago.

Small joy!!!(2016.4)


↑They were selling Hawaiian coffee beens.

↑The other one which I bought was an art print of a bear and a few birds.

2017-04-20 | Posted in English2 Comments » 

 

#903 From Tiffany’s necklace to Somerset

A Tiffany’s necklace

I bought a used silver necklace from my friend and it is TIFFANY’s! Actually she gave me a great discount. The chain has many stars and the pendant is 2 big stars. The stars on the necklace remind me of the TIFFANY store in N.Y. where I’ve only visited once. I don’t know why it reminds me of that.

A novel “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

The week after I got the necklace, I went to a book store and bought a book called “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. The book was translated by Haruki Murakami.
In the book, the protagonist Holly living in N.Y., played by Audrey Hepburn in the movie of the same name, says, “How old is Somerset ?”.
I didn’t know who Somerset is, so I went to look for his profile. It turned out Somerset’s full name is Willian Somerset Maugham, and he is an English novelist. Although I’ve never read his book, his name attracted my attention.

W. Somerset Maugham

A few days later, I got some books from my uncle. One of them was Willam Somerset Maugham’s book “65 Short Stories”. It is an English book and is very thick at about 8cm. I’m not sure that I would be able to finish it.

Things happen for a reason

Tiffany’s star silver necklace, a novel “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, and Somerset Maugham are three separate items. But in my case, these 3 items connect strongly together in one week. What a coincidence! It makes me appreciate them even better. Sometimes maybe things do happen for a reason.

Small joy!!!(2017.3)

2017-04-13 | Posted in English4 Comments » 

 

#904 My favorite places in Nihonbashi


I went to Nihonbashi in Tokyo to see my friend. I’d like to share my experience with you because I really recommend these places at Nihonbashi.

1. “CAFE WIEN” in Nihonbashi-Mitsukoshi


I love this sachertorte very much. I think this is the best in Japan.

2. The view from Mandarin Hotel’s restroom at 38th floor


I didn’t know why I wanted to take my friend to the Mandarin Hotel’s restroom. The view from the 38th floor was stunning. We could see SKYTREE in the tall buildings.

3. Kuzu-mochi of “Funabashiya” in COREDO Muromachi1


We went to COREDO Muromachi and were looking for good cafe. We decided to go to “Funabashiya”. We both like Kuzu-mochi. Especially, I like Funabashiya’s.
Kuzumochi is a Japanese confection which is made from steamed wheat starch which has been fermented in lactic acid for 15 months.
It was so good. We devoured them in no time.

Surprise at Funabashiya

When I was paying the bill, a customer came into the shop and ordered some ohagimochi for take out, besides me. I glanced at the customer. Oh! He was my cousin who lives in Tokyo! What a coincidence! I visited Nihonbashi only once a year or less, because I am living in Osaka now. What a surprise to run into him!
It seems like our family shares the same taste for good food.


Small joy!!(2017.3.20)

2017-04-03 | Posted in English2 Comments »