Mrs. Happy Go Lucky

earthquake

2005-07-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 occurred in the Tokyo area. It was the biggest one in 13 years. As Japan is an earthquake-ridden country, we're used to having small quakes, but this time it was rather bigger, though it cannot be compared with the ones which struck Niigata Pref. last Oct. (about 40 people died) and the Kobe area in 1995 (it killed more than 6,000 people).
Even so, some of transportation system was suspended for hours, and about 40 people were injured.
It is said that any massive earthquake can happen anytime in Japan.
Maybe it's about time we prepared for it.

kimono

2005-07-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Kimono is Japan's traditional garment with wide sleeves and is worn with a broad sash.
Once a month I go to kimono-wearing class. I started learning it about five years ago. Today, very few people can wear kimono by themselves, because they wear a kimono only on special occasions such as wedding ceremonies, funerals, tea parties, and so on. So did I.
Now I can easily put on kimono by myself.

Unlike ordinary clothes, a kimono is usually a bit expensive. So there are a lot of secondhand kimono shops where we can buy many different kinds of kimono or sash at very reasonable prices.
I know some foreign tourists buy them as souvenirs and enjoy hanging them on a wall as a tapestry.

noodles

2005-07-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

This is fried 'udon'-wheat noodles I had for lunch today. It's very easy to make. You just fry noodles with sliced pork and some vegetables, and season with oyster sauce or soy, pepper and salt or whatever you like. We usually eat udon with soy sauce soup, but when it's hot we eat it this way.
Japanese love noodles.

What do you eat for lunch?

2005-07-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

I make lunch for my husband to take to work every morning. Here is a typical Japanese lunch box, I guess...... Today's dishes are coleslaw with tomates, rolled egg, fish sausages with Japanese basils inside (his favorite), potato salad and leftovers from dinner, and boiled rice with pickled Japanese apricot (very salty).

I used to make my lunch as well when I was working full time. It's cheaper and helthier than going to a restaurant or buying a lunchbox at the convenience store or somewhere and you can save time going out, but it's also true that some big companies have their own cafeterias and they serve various types of healthy lunch at very reasonable prices.

If you can find a lot of nice places for lunch nearby, it's kind of fun to think about what to eat for luch every day.

What do you want to eat for lunch today?

Do you like powdered green tea?

2005-07-16T00:49:00.000-07:00

Two years ago this month (July 4th), I started learning the tea ceremony. Before I attended the tea ceremony lesson, I knew very little about what was involved. I even had some images of it as being very strict and precise but now I can tell that it isn't like that at all.

While joining the lesson, I had to kneel on a tatami mat-thick strawmats used as floor coverings. Since I didn't have the habit of kneeling on a tatami mat in everyday life, my legs soon went to sleep. But my tea master said, "If your legs are asleep, you can stretch your legs out and make yourself comfortable. Just relax and enjoy the lesson first, it shouldn't be painful, you know. "

Her words made me feel so relaxed and changed my image of the tea ceremony.
It goes without saying that the tea I had on that day was really tasty.