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!