Japanese texts follow. 日本語は下にあります It’s been almost 2 weeks since I returned from Squam Art Workshops. I guess I had been too lonely afterwords, so I spent most of my time doing something – work, dinner with friends, watch TV drama series, knitting – until my brain stopped functioning and fell dead asleep. With this intense rehabilitation, I got over my jetlag and finally started to feel more or less “normal”. Since SAW website seem to have a technical problem, I will start by introducing a Food Styling class that I took on the 2nd day. The instructor is a well-known food blog writer/food stylist, who also contributes articles to Boston Globe and other major publications, Beatrice Peltre. La Tartine Goumande She used to…
knitting and slow life in Kyoto
Posts from the “**ENGLISH**” Category
秋の味。昨日の夜、九州から帰ってきました。近所の町で新米を買って2kgほど貰ってきたので、今日はそれを炊いてみました。いつものように電子レンジで炊いたものだけど、それでも十分。まだ稲刈りをしている途中の、しかも地元でもその地区が特に美味しいと言われている、採れたてほやほやの新米。炊いてぱらりと振りかけをかけるだけでご馳走です。親戚の庭から、かぼすも貰ってきました。 I came back from Kyushu, the western-most island of Japan. My mom’s hometown is in northern part of it. While I was there, I bought some just freshly cropped rice from a nearby village. They say that rice from that village is especially a local favorite (although you see rice fields everywhere around), and indeed, it was good.Even with my non-fancy micro-wave rice cooker, the shine and the bounciness is different from old rice we can buy at supermarkets. If you live in outside of Japan and if you have never tasted fresh rice, I hope one day you will!My relatives also gave us some veggies from their fields so I brought some home. This fruit is called Kabosu, used as lemon, but…
I am back from the camp. It was magical… It requires time to digest and write about my experience there.More later, for I am off to Nagasaki from tomorrow.
Categories: **ENGLISH**, 2. Diary
Ever since childhood, I have found it extremely curious that Chinese image of paradise or “afterlife place” is called 桃源郷, a place where peach flowers bloom everywhere, pink, green and red. As you might already know, Japanese image of afterlife (in a bit ghostly way) is where cherry blossoms bloom in a faint light of the night. Anyway, at this very moment, my personal “heaven” involves comfy couch, cool air conditioning, and knitting. Nothing feels more heavenly than knitting with wool for autumn when it is still 35 degrees C outside.These days I try not to knit in public, for it is really crazy just to talk about “wool” in this deadly heat. It is the hottest summer ever, according to 85 year-old lady…
Categories: **ENGLISH**, 8. Craft
ボタン戦争、という名前で子供たちにお裁縫を教えるグループがフランスに出現！らしいです。先日ブログにも書いた通り、フランスでは若い人がお裁縫を「独学している」状態らしい。 Somehow related to my previous posts – In France, a group called Guerre des Boutons (Buttons War – how cute!) teaches little children how to sew. During the lessons, parents are not allowed. As my friend told me, French youngsters are re-learning how to sew their clothes sort of on their own. http://www.atelierguerredesboutons.fr
That there are more (and perhaps better?) articles in my older blog. http://sparkles.jugem.jp/ More than 80 movies reviewed, some books reviews too. FYI-古いブログにも記事があります。映画のレビューや、かつてはもっとビジネス書を読んでいたので、そんな話題も。
Categories: **ENGLISH**, **日本語**, 1. Announcement, 2. Diary, 3. Film, 4. Book, 5. Thought, 6. Music, 7. Cosmetics, 8. Craft, 9. Quote
Dear readers,I am trying to get my blog more organized around proper labeling, and I am working on re-label all my past posts right now. Please bare with me, for “Contents” menu on the right hand side may not properly work for a while.Thank you for your patience!Meri DONE NOW! Please navigate past contents through the “Contents” menu.
Categories: **ENGLISH**, 1. Announcement
(日本語は下に） I have seen this book mentioned here and there for quite a while, and finally picked it up from piles of books on the floor (in my room). Knew this book is great, and it truly is. I have to confess, I did not even finish all the required math courses that were necessary to get into 4-year public universities. (I had to be specific, because some private universities in Japan do not require math exams.) To be honest with you, my grades in other subjects (English, Japanese, History, etc) were good enough to compensate the extremely low math scores (due to I did not even take Statistics and advanced courses). At young an age of 17, I knew my limitations. My best…
Today I read an incredible story on the latest issue of Courrier Japon magazine.Have you heard about a lady called Marta Eugenia Rodriguez de la Torre?Her IQ is 220, and her resume proves that there is such a thing (or person) called “genius” on this earth. Marta dissembled a washing machine behind her mother’s back at the age of 5, being curious how it worked.She earned 26 degrees from American universities before she turned 18.It’s like a movie or fantasy story. While she was in college, she was interested in computers then got bored with them, for computers can only do what humans ordered. Now she studies about human brains. I was fascinated by what she is studying, and I really want to read…
Categories: **ENGLISH**, 5. Thought
One more post, then I’ll stop. I have been knitting so many projects these days, so it took me longer to finish something to show to you. Here are some recent wins! Project: Pogona by Westknits (Stephen West) Yarn: Colormart Extra Fine Merino (DK), about 480 yards Needles: US size 6 or 7 (sorry I forgot) Raveled Here The pattern is just ingenious. When caped around your shoulders, the shawl looks just triangular, but it’s actually pentagonal. I finally learned how to use my blocking wire…! I love it, I am going to knit the pattern again.The yarn is from Colourmart, a yarn shop in UK. They sell industrial yarns/threads very inexpensively. Some of the materials are leftovers from Lolo Piana or other luxury…
Categories: **ENGLISH**, 8. Craft
Sparkles*United 