Mitsuike Park - April 4th 2009

We went to Mitsuike Park to have lunch viewing the cherry blossom on April 4th. The park is located in the northern part of Yokohama. It has three ponds (“mitsu” means “three” and “ike” means “pond”), which were used to irrigate rice fields during the Edo period. It was warm today. I made lunch at home and brought it. It was delicious enough. I was satisfied to have lunch viewing the beautiful cherry blossom. It is one of the best places to visit with your family and see great Sakura. The beautiful scenery is like below.

Every spring, we can see 10 kinds of cherry blossoms in Mitsuike Park. You can enjoy viewing cherry blossoms by the end of April. There is a time delay between the different blossoms.	Mitsuike Park has not only ponds but also many hills. So, there are many short hiking courses with beautiful tress and flowers.
The sky was light blue.	When I'm concentrating when taking a sakura photo, my mouth opens unconsciously....
This is my favorite photo.	Water birds perched on each post. What a lovely view!
Look, the last post is vacant!	I tried to take a fine closeup shot of the cherry blossom using a manual closeup setting with my digital camera.
In the park, the cherry blossom was gorgeous but we could also enjoy viewing these tiny yellow flowers (Japanese rose).	This branch has a unique shape.
Cherry blossom and a pine tree.	This is the best photo. Good job! Do you think so?
There were 3 kinds of ducks on this pond enjoying a swim. Each breed gathered in a small group. That was amazing!	Because there were so many people eating and drinking under the trees, it was difficult just to take a photo of the blossom without people.
Fabulous scenary!	Though this picture is out of focus, I like it.
We seemed to take a Cherry blossom shower.	We could see the most spectacular amount of blossom.
We were satisfied with the lovely cherry blossoms in the park. I strongly recommend sitting down on the hill and looking down the wonderful blossoms around the pond.	This was taken by my husband at the same spot as the previous photo. I think it is the best of all taken by him.

Wire Wrapping - March 28th 2009

I went to an atlier for making Murano glass jewelleries on March 28th. I enjoyed the Italian atmosphere in the atlier which had a lot of Venetian (Murano) glass beads as always.

On that day, we did a wire working and made this lovely wire wrapped jewellery! There were many samples we could look at for inspiration before we started. The work was difficult for me because the wires were hard. Once we bend the wire, the wire is shaped and we cannot transform it easily.	Though it was more difficult than just making beaded jewellery, I enjoyed making jewellery using wire. I would like to make more. As the material such as this square wire is very unique (rare), I think that the quality of the end product is good and looks gorgeous. What do you think about it? After working, I like making wire jewelleries.
I bought these materials (freshwater pearls, Venetian and Czech beads) at a discount price. As I could select them for making a jewellery suitable for the summer season, I was glad to get them.	As soon as I was home, I designed an original long necklace using my imagination (or inspiration). I could add the beads stocked at home and I found making it very satisfying and I named it "stardust" necklace. I love it.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Last weekend, I watched the film “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” on DVD, as I am interested in British people, their culture and history. I enjoyed watching this film. It was very useful for me to know about England history. And I like Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I in the film, so I could spend a lovely time at the weekend.

Two years ago, I had watched “Elizabeth I”, the TV mini-series drama (Channel 4) starring Helen Mirren (I love her!). That drama was very good, so I enjoyed comparing Elizabeth played by Cate Blanchett and Helen Mirren. In my opinion, Helen Mirren is much better than Cate Blanchett.

The Biography of Queen Elizabeth I often plays on the telly and films in the UK. Do the British people love her? Why do they love her? I want to know about how they feel about Elizabeth I. I’ll ask that question to my British friends.

By the way, the pronunciation “Elizabeth” was very difficult for me. Especially the syllabic pronunciation. “E-liz-a-beth” is correct, but I have always pronounced “Eliza-beth”.

Only Fools and Horses Series 1 episode 1

I like this UK sitcom, "Only Fools and Horses". I bought the DVD "The complete Only Fools and Horses Series 1-7" from amazon.co.uk. Now I have watched up to Series 3. All the episodes that I have watched are lovely and I love three characters; Del Boy, Rodney, Grandad. As I could enjoy watching the programme, unfortunately, I cannot completely understand all the stories, because I am not British and English is my second language. Especially Cockney English spoken in the show, it is difficult to understand. That's why I’m trying to learn about Cockney English and the lovely British culture using the DVD.

From today, I will try to look in depth at all the dialogues of "Only Fools and Horses".

Episode 1: Big Brother

Firstly, my favourite scene is that Grandad is watching the telly and talking to Rodney sitting on a sofa. I like Del Boy's dialogue that is twisted at the end of the scene.

Grandad: That Sidney Potter's a good actor, ain't he, Rodney? He was marvellous in Guess Who's Coming To Dinner.
Rodney: Yeah, knockout, Grandad. Sidney Potter?
Grandad: Yeah, you know him. Always plays the black fella.
Rodney: Sidney Poitier!
Grandad: Sidney Potter.
Rodney: It's Poitier.
Grandad:It's Potter!
Rodney: It's bloody Poitier, I'm telling you!
Grandad: And I'm telling you it's bloody Potter!
Del boy: Are you two at it again?
Rodney: Del! How do you pronouce that fella's name on the telly? Sidney Poitier or Potter?
Del boy: Personally, I'd pronounce it Harry Belafontel but you two please yourselves.
Rodney: You daft old sod! It was Harry Belafonte all along.
Grandad: Well, I wondered why Sidney Potter kept bursting into song! I don't like Harry Belafonte.

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I’ve checked out all the unknown/unfamiliar words in the dialogues shown as above.

bloody
very mild swearword used mainly in Uk but also very common (I am told) in Austrailia. Can be used before or in the middle of words/phrases to emphasize meaning - be it good, sarcastic or bad

telly
British slang for television.

sod
The meaning 'sodomite' is a little old fashioned. More typically it's used as a softer form of 'fool', 'idiot', or 'bastard'.
ex:He's a daft old sod, but you've got to love him.

Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and Grammy award-winning Bahamian-American actor, film director, author, and diplomat. Born February 20, 1927 (1927-02-20) (age 82)

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Katharine Houghton.

Harold George Belafonte, Jr. is a Jamaican American musician, actor and social activist. Born March 1, 1927 (1927 -03-01) (age 82)

Reference: Wikipedia and Urban Dictionary
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If I continued to study like this until Series 8, I would have to spend many hours. But I think it will be worth all the time I spent learning British English and their culture to improve my English skill. What do you think?

Joyous reunion with SASUKE

On March 12, I was reunited with Sasuke at my parents' house. Before I met him, I had been anxious about Sasuke's memory wondering if he had forgotten me, but he remembered me!

As soon as I arrived, I went to see him and he noticed me. Much to my relief, he gave me a big welcome with a hearty wag of his tail. What a good boy he is!

I was so glad that I took a lot of photos and videos of Sasuke.


It seems that he likes this doughnut-shaped cushion.



He has a unique single marking on his spine. It's lovely.



As always, he is photogenic.



This is my favourite photo. I like this aspect.



Good boy, Sasuke, you are an accomplished model.



I took a closeup shot.



This is another of my favourite photo. He seems so cool.



Look, he thought that my mother had made his meal by wagging his tail, but no dinner! This photo is very realistic. It's an action shot!

Good boy

My father sent us some photos of Sasuke. This photo is one of them. We were very glad to see his photos. What a cute boy he is!

That night, using a webcam, my father and I talked about how Sasuke is doing. He said (looking so happy), "Sasuke always follows me around". My father showed me Sasuke picking him up to the web camera. I called his name but he seemed to have forgetten me. I was very sad to think that he hadn't remembered me. I'm seeing him as soon as possible.

I think he was the cutest puppy in the litter. Sasuke is very photogenic, don't you think ?

Nice meeting you, SASUKE

On Feb. 28th, my husband and I had an exciting experience. We went to Haneda airport to pick up a puppy, a jack russell terrier that my parents had bought from a breeder living in Hokkaido. He traveled all alone by air to start his new life in Tokyo. He is just 2 months old. So I was very anxious about him; "Does he feel lonely?", "Is he cold?" or "Does he get sick because of the long journey?" etc. It was the first time for him to take a trip by aeroplane. And for us, it was also the first time to go to the air cargo area instead of the usual place at the airport to pick him up. But as soon as we met him, the nervous feeling was gone. He was soooo cute.


1
At first, we found the sign saying "To Cargo Area, turn right".



2
Secondly, we went to "Cargo West" according to the sign.



3
After arriving at the entrance of the cargo area, we had to show our identification card to the gate man to receive the entry permit card.



4
We arrived at the destination; the ANA counter.



5
In the cargo area, we had to wear this permit around our necks.



6
Hello! Puppy! This is the first meeting with us. He was trembling. Don't worry about anything. We are kind people and will take you to your new parents.



7
Nice meeting you! He was well-behaved in our car.



8
The puppy arrived at my parents' house. His name is Sasuke. His godfather is my father. Sasuke is very Japanese name.



9
He is a wise and well-brought-up dog.



10
This is Sasuke and me.



11
Sasuke in his pen.



12
Live in happiness with my parents!

My Crafts 2008

I’m a keen crafter. I’m always making something that I think is lovely and cute. Even if I’m busy with work, I find time for knitting, crocheting, beading, and sewing. Many people ask me how I could make a lot of things when working so hard. When I’m asked, I always answer “No matter how I am busy with work, I would always be eager to do handicrafts. Using colorful items (like threads, beads, and fabrics) helps me relax”.

These are some things I made in 2008 (Click here!);