Sagemonoya (Netsuke Shop)

They released new catalog The 2009 New York SANS IVOIRE Netsuke and Sagemono selection. Sad to say I love ivory netsukes best, but this booklet seems very interesting and useful.

In fact, I had once visited Sagemonoya several years ago. It was like being a guest in private residence of a great netsuke (and other Japanese antique) connoisseur, and somewhat intimidating experience. I didn't know what kind of place it was, in the first place. I was expecting to visit a little 'shop' of netsuke... Though, if you are really interested in this kind of art and are in Tokyo, I strongly recommend to visit them.

Sagemonoya (English site)

At Jimbocho (Bookshop District)

Tokyo Guide (Kanda, Jimbocho & Ochanomizu)

Solfege Class (2nd)

The class was divided into two. And tonight (in late class,) 3 people including me attended.

Rhythmic dictation was the hardest for me as before. And my hand was slow to write musical notes, but I was a bit relieved to know other people also have same difficulty to some extent. Anyway, now I can spot my weak point (rhythmic segmentation) and strong point (grasp of pitch.) I am making some progress, aren't I?

Voice Lessons (34th)

Finished Concone #15 vocalise though rather half baked. The teacher said "Do not try to 'save' your breath. Instead, let out ALL the air within one phrase."

Caro laccio went much further than I expected, or prepared. Usually we work to grasp the melody line on the first week, read and interpret the Italian lyrics on the second. Today, we did the molody two or three times and the teacher told me to read out loud the Italian. Then she helped me in my faltering interpretation. Next week we will work on this song with lyrics!

Caro laccio, dolce nodo (lyrics)

TV Series Memorandum

Grey's Anatomy
ER
The X-Files
Columbo
Miss Marple
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Desperate Housewives
Bones
ReGenesis
Law & Order
Project Runway
The Closer
*Sex and the City
*Numb3rs

Equation3

I drew 1006 yen from my another unused bank account and closed it. This time I had to wait over half an hour, maybe because I had been leaving that account untouched for nearly ten years.

Now the amount I have to gather for the new coffee mill is 3340 yen. (To be continued...)

Baby Crow

I found this baby crow on the pavement near a subway station. I thought it had failed to leave the nest and/or got hurt, but I changed my mind after reading a PDF document titled "Found a Baby Crow?" provided by Pacific Wildlife Care. (If you want to read it, please google. Somehow I cannot directly link to the file.)

In general, fledgelings can look very miserable (from a human point of view) and be absolutely normal at the same time, now I suppose. I also learned only baby crows have blue eyes. This colour turns to brown as they grow up.

What To Do When You Find a Baby Bird

Equation2

Today I withdrew all 985 yen from one of my unused bank accounts and closed it. The teller was very kind and the procedure went unexpectedly smooth.

Now the amount I have to gather for the new coffee mill is 4346 yen. (To be continued...)

A Lot of Cats

I took this picture at the same parking lot of which I posted on May 23, 2009. You might find 12 or 13 cats above, but there were 3 more out of the frame!

Angels With Fur Japan

Japanese Army Ration

This is real Japanese army (Self Defense Force, I mean) ration. As you see, canned chicken and vegetables. These rations are not allowed to be taken out of the bases, so how did I get it I will leave to your imagination...

More detail about Japan Self-Defense Force

Voice Lessons (33rd)

Friday again. Today I did not get nauseous, but my voice was fading when we were working on Concone #15 vocalise and keeping proper high tone got harder and harder. Next week the same vocalise one more time.

Though I have finished Vergin, tutto amor by 'pure will power' or by keeping the right posture. To my surprise, the teacher even said "Well done!" Caro laccio from next week.

Vergin, tutto amor (lyrics)

Solving An Equation

Today I went to BIC Camera and bought the burr coffee mill. It cost me about 5,300 yen (55 dollars.) I am scraping together some money from my dormant bank accounts, so that I can cover the expense. I haven't used the mill yet, I will give it a 'test run' tomorrow.

Bic Camera: Ikebukuro

Honey Memorandum

Acacia honey

Clean and pure.

Blueberry honey

Sour-sweet on your soft palate.

Buckwheat honey

Smells like wet feather. Best in yogurt, I think.

Cherry blossom honey

Pleasantly light taste with flourishing aroma. Rare.

Chestnut tree honey

A touch of cinnamon-like aroma.

Chinese milk vetch honey

Most typical honey in Japan. Becoming rare, though.

Wildflower honey

Rich and deep.

How to Organize a Honey Tasting Party

The Bluff

This is an enlarged copy of a flyer for a speculative house in Tokyo. I don't know what made them to name this model 'THE BLUFF.' It is located by a cliff, I suppose. Or is it something related to the price ($878,000)?

Housing in Japan

Angel by Francois Ozon

Last weekend I saw DVD Angel (2007/I). Basically it is a melodrama, but Charlotte Rampling (Hermione, publisher's wife) and Lucy Russell (Nora, Angel's secretary) add this movie a touch of bitterness and reality, I think.

Angel (2007 film)

Burr Coffee Mill

I have been using blade-type grinder for years and it was not so bad, but I gradually became frustrated by the uneven coffee grains. (That leads to inconsistent brew quality, the experts say.) Now I am wondering if I can tuck this (see right) into our budget...

Before You Buy a Coffee Grinder

Kabuki-za At Night

I entered Kabuki-za only once and long ago, when I was an university student. As far as I can remember, the upper gallery was somewhat cramped, and also very barriar-ful...(I mean, hard to climb up there.) This exotic building is scheduled for demolition in May 2010. I (and a great many people) will miss this outstanding landmark!
Kabuki-za to be reincarnated in form of commercial high-rise(Kyodo News)

Voice Lessons (32nd)

Today was my lesson day. And I had to do some quick reading of Concone #15 vocalise with help of my MP3 before going out. There are some tricky tonal shifts!

The lesson went better than I expected. To keep the diaphragm tension (or 'support') is hard and makes me nauseous for a moment or two, but now it doesn't last as long as before.

About Italian Songs, I am still working on Vergin, tutto amor. To pronounce L more forward in the mouth improves my whole performance, the teacher pointed out.

Pronouncing Italian Consonants

Be Kind Rewind2

My other favorite trailer is Ghostbusters Rewind Kindly Sweded. I love the playfully running dog and the hand signal that looks quite genuine. BTW, you can learn some basic hand signals used in the military. See below:

Army Training: Hand Signals
"I can't reach this pocket." lol

Bankbooks

I have decided to cancel bank accounts I no longer use. There are at least four (maybe more.) The problem is, for doing so I have to visit branches of each bank during their business hours (usually 9:00-15:00.) To avoid exhaustion, I am planning to cancel an account per week.

How to Organize Your Finances in Four Easy Steps

A Very Small Victory

I confess that I could not swallow powdered medicine without help of a (medical) wafer -- until yesterday. Since I have been suffering mild indigestion for about a week, my husband strongly advised me to take some stomachic. And we have only powder type in stock...

His instructions were:
1)Hold some water in your mouth.
2)Pour the powder into mouth.
3)Then shake your head as if you're saying "No,no,NEVER!"
4)When doing 3, do not forget to keep your mouth shut tight.
5)Quickly swallow down the mixture of medicine and water.

But it sounded too difficult for me. So I simply rolled my tongue, carefully placed medicine in the centre of the tongue and drank a glass of water--and that was it! I had succeeded in swallowing powdered medicine without trouble for the first time in my life.

Tongue Rolling Genetics?

Heneybee And Clover

After showing yesterday's photo, I think I should add my camera is pretty good for this kind of shooting (see right), for the honour of it. As you see, this is a honeybee collecting clover nectar with yellow pollen on her rear leg.

Honeybee

I also uploaded a photo of four leave clover wishing every reader good luck. Thank you very much for reading so far -- this is my 30th blog post!

Kingfisher

Today I saw a kingfisher for the first time in my life (see left, in yellow circle.) I had brought my binoculars so I could see it quite clear. It was so beautiful, really shining and it is a shame my photo is so sloppy. It is just impossible to take picture of birds properly with my cigarette-case camera, it takes something like below:

By the way, the location of these photos is by a pond in Hikarigaoka Park (former Grant Heights.)

Be Kind Rewind

Today I saw DVD Be Kind Rewind, but now too tired to write about it. I also saw some 'sweded' movie trailers made for or inspired by the film on YouTube, for example: Terminator 2 sweded(lol)

Ready For Harvest

Today I confirmed that was really a BARLEY field. I also estimated the area using pace count. It was approximately 27x27 metres -- that means some 800 square metres.
How to use pace count to measure ground distance

The strange thing is, though I pass by this place at least twice a week, I had never seen anyone working in the field. Barley seems to come up, grow and one day disappear just automatically.

Farewell, Sweet Sweeper

This week I have been working on clean up my house. At least I have succeeded to organize our 'cleaning locker,' but not so successful at organizing my papers. Somehow the most essential documents are very uncooperative to be filed!
Anyway, I made arrangements to discard some old home electronics (including a vacuum cleaner), and now planning to recycle a full length mirror and a small low table. Haven't I made some progress?

Imagine no possessions (The Japan Times)

A Phantom Crop Circle

Near my apartment, and in very unbecoming place, there is a small barley (or wheat? I cannot tell) field. In April, when the barley leaves are all green and shining, I always have the itch to make a tiny crop circle of my own -- but I don't know HOW.

Image results for crop circle

Dog Whistle

Yes, this was a dog whistle, which is used not only for training dogs but also for signaling to dolphins during a show.

It is supposed to create sound around 20,000Hz, but somehow I can hear that high pitched tone during dolphin shows. Maybe I am not hearing the 'ultrasonic' sound itself, but low frequency noise produced by breathing.

On the other hand, my father was working at a labo and one day, when he entered a room in which an ultrasound mouse repeller was ON, he immediately responded like "What is this noise?" So it might be something runs in our blood.

Can anyone hear a dog whistle or am i the only one?

What Is This?

Test of posting text and photo via my cellphone. To be continued...

Male Bumblebee

Bombus ardens? Though I am not sure. He was very busy visiting flowers during a lull in the rain.

Flight of the Bumblebee

Solfege Class (1st)

Today I attended solfege class with other 6 people, for the first time in my life. We did very basic music theory drills, rhythmic dictation exercise, then a melody dictation. I faced two big problems:

1. In rhythmic dictation (teacher plays rhythm patterns with piano using A key only), my brain tries to translate them into Morse code.

2. My hand is too slow at writing down the notes.

I hope things improve little by little...

International Morse Code

Piece of The Earth

This slightly reddish grain of sand (or rather grit? dia approx 3mm) in plastic case is from Australian outback, somewhere near Uluru.

I visited Australia in 1997 with my parents. And was deeply touched by the scenery of red desert. I wanted to take some sand as a souvenir, but the guide told us not to remove any plant, stones, let alone insects or animals. So I behaved and did not take anything from the site. Though, after I returned to Japan, I found the grit half buried into the outsole of my sneakers.

I am planning on visiting Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park again (perhaps with my husband this time) someday, only to return this small piece of the red earth :)

Quick Facts About Ayers Rock

Dim Sum Lunch

Yesterday, after BSF, three friends (two ladies from Hong Kong, one Japanese) and I went for a lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Ikebukuro Sunshine City. We had a great time and the food was exquisite, but no photos because I didn't have the nerve to take out my camera in the middle of the posh ambience. What impressed me most was Chinese porridge with dried scallop -- very tasty and absolutely no trace of MSG!

Heichinrou - mainpage

Sharing Day

Today we had BSF 'sharing day' and I was inspired by other ladies' thoughts, for example:

Spend substantial time with old parents in their hometown*

Not only being comfortable receiving encouragement, but to encourage others

*An application of a 'jubilee' year.

Blisters

Today I developed blisters between my toes, and it's very unusual because I am rather fussy about shoes -- I mean, how they FEEL. Maybe it is time to update my shoes (and sandals) lineup. One of what I'm aiming for is MBT (see photo.)

MBT - The anti-shoe.

By the way, I was shocked to learn that Dr.Scholl's does not provide kind of sandals I loved most anymore.

Masked Encounter

Today I visited my doctor. It is very scary for me to enter the hospital building, because in my opinion hospital is one of the most likely places to catch the swine flu. Other dangerous place (or situation) includes public transportation during rush hour. Apart from the flu, I always hate those places...

But I must enter the 'hot zone' because I am running out of my iron pills, Valium, etc. At last, I was called into the exam room, and the doctor was wearing a surgical mask. I was wearing my respirator, too. We exchanged glances, and maybe smiled -- under our masks.

Rhododendron indicum

Doesn't this look strange? I googled and found this is an example of flower colour chimera. For your information, Rhododendron indicum is called SATSUKI in Japan. SATSUKI also means May (this month) in old Japanese.

Chimera (plant) - Wikipedia

Voice Lessons (31st)

Yesterday I went to my voice lessons. This cat and its pals and/or families are often gathering in a parking lot near my voice teacher's place.

I finished (but rather half baked) #14 vocalise of Concone 50 Lessons. Next one (#15, A major) seems a bit hard to sight read, I'm afraid. About Italian Songs & Arias, I am now working on 'Vergin, tutto amor' (by Durante.) Pronouce Italian words properly AND keep my vocal chords open at the same time requires still more training.

In The Subway

Today I rode the subway in daytime and found about 3 to 5 people (mainly women) out of a dozen in the car were wearing face masks. I also learned that what I bought were actually 'respirators,' not face masks. Until now, I used to believe respirator is some kind of device used for maintaining artificial respiration.

Masks/Respirators

100 Face Masks

This morning I was awakened by a phone call. My husband's boss ordered to go and get face masks but he couldn't find any in pharmacies around the office and rang me up for help. So I ran to a nearby general store and bought 100 particle masks.

What for all these masks? Of course, "To protect workers from swine flu." But the fact is the clients are getting nervous as flu spreads, and the company needs some token gesture to look as if they are doing something. Anyway, I felt quite uncomfortable taking part in this kind of mass hysteria.

Do face masks help prevent swine flu infection? (Los Angeles Times)

Last Class Day

Today was my last class day for BSF, I have completed my 7th year. It is still unbelievable that I could persevere all these years! When I first came into BSF in September 2002, I used to pray every Tuesday evening "God, please enable me to get up in time so that I can attend the BSF class," though I was a non-Christian at that time... Next Wednesday (May 27th) we are having a sharing day.

BSF International

Red Chestnut Tree

Last May, just after I started to take Bach flower remedies, I found this red chestnut tree blooming nearby my apartment and was amazed. I had lived here over seven years then, but never noticed that tree.

Red Chestnut is a remedy for those who 'over-concern for the welfare of loved ones.' I am now taking Wild Rose, Mustard and Water Violet.

Adding On To Yesterday's Post

After posting this I felt a bit dubious about 'Prophecy Cafe' and googled around. There seem to be some controversy whether CI Asia Tokyo Christ Church is truly a scriptural one.
According to blogs of Yogen Cafe visitors, the workers there do not seem to speak in tongues, so the prophecy is given only in Japanese. Anyway, I am more interested in Kopi Luwak than personal prophecy :P

Places I Want To Visit

Ben's Cafe
According to their website above, they seem to serve very rich looking cocoa swelling out of the cup! They also serve British-style breakfasts and I have been longing to taste English breakfast... Ben's Cafe is in Takadanobaba, Tokyo.

Yogen Cafe (Japanese)
In Takadanobaba there is a place named 'Yogen Cafe' (Prophecy Cafe.) It belongs to CI Asia Tokyo Christ Church. Workers there bring a message from God for customers, and there is always a long queue in front of that cafe, a friend of mine told me. According to their website (above, only in Japanese), they also serve limited and expensive (3,000yen!) cup of Kopi Luwak. Sounds quite interesting.

Have Some Fan

This is a Japanese folding fan. It was an article indispensable for a life of Japanese people, and it is essential even now, for example, at a Japanese tea ceremony.

A friend of mine (from US) bought several folding fans and gave them to her family members and friends. She told me that the gift was very much appreciated. It is not only an exotic souvenir, but also a very effective tool for cooling oneself during their hot flushes!

Hot Flushes - Embarrasing Issues

Flower In The Glass

This is special kind of Chinese tea called 'artisan blooming tea' or 'blooming art tea.' Green tea leaves are hand sewn with a dried flower so that it will gradually blossoms in the glass when brewed. Pleasant sight!

I've Joined 43 Things.

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Tree Hugging Spiritual Extrovert

And just wondering what is this 'tree hugging spiritual extrovert.' They also told me "0.47% of the 143661 people who have taken this quiz are like you."

Domestic Massage Parlour

Today, I was chatting with my Hongkonese friend. I asked "What surprised you most when you first came to Japan?" She (who has been living in Japan over 10 years) said, "Well, in Japan all family members taking bath together..."

I tried to explain that the average Japanese house does not have such a big bathroom, so it would be physically very unlikely that 'all the family members' taking bath simultaneously. But she insisted that she had seen on TV, the parents and their daughter taking bath together all right. I asked, "How old was the DAUGHTER?" My friend answered, "Seemed around twelve or sixteen." It sounded outrageous! A parent and very little child or children possible, but...

She continued that the girl was trying to get something quite expensive, and was nagging her father when she was rubbing his back. I was totally aghast at this additional comment. All I could say was; do not trust all you see on TV.

Twitter

This my room really needs tidying up!
I am going to turn off PC and start to clean this Augean stable...now...

Pumpkin Memorial

I took this picture on November 21st 2008, when I visited Kyoto. This pumpkin is not for Halloween but for Kabocha(pumpkin) Kuyoh(memorial service). In that event many people gather in this temple, rub the giant pumpkin, burn incense and wish good health, especially immunity from cerebral apoplexy... Of course I did not know about all those things at that time, I googled.

Hello

I have just started to blog in English to kill time.
I have been taking vocal lessons since July 2008, and my blog name is taken from 'Suzuki' who is Madame Butterfly's maid. Bye now!