hiatus

An emergency has arisen and I am headed to Hawaii. I'll be there for awhile. Not sure if I'll be able to post or visit your blogs, so just wanted to tell you in advance.

Hope to be able to talk with you all soon...Be well everyone.

it's been a year

A year has passed since that huge earthquake hit the Tohoku area of Japan.

Some areas are cleaned up while others are still trying to figure out what to do with all that debris.

They still haven't figured out what to do with the nuclear plant in Fukushima, but have started to shut down other plants around Japan.

There are still people missing and the aftershocks are still doing "its thing"...

In my opinion, no matter where government is involved, red tape comes before aide.

Even after a year, it will take more time for things to come back to "normal"...prayers to everyone in Tohoku and the surrounding areas.

spring?

Despite it being March, we've headed back towards winter.

A cold snap.

And before the cold snap, there was rain, making for dreary days.

On Wednesday, the rain stopped but the sky was still an ugly grey.

Since I had been indoors during the rainy days, I wanted to get out and about, even if it was overcast.

I checked out Suigetsu Park and there were more ume (apricot) trees in bloom.

Spring is coming, though I think it is running a little late.

Hope it warms up soon.

I'm getting tired of wearing socks and long sleeves...

sammy pooh!

After lunch, I felt like I needed a walk, so I went to check out this bakery, Sammy Pooh! (what a name, yeah?!)

I tried their pain au chocolat, this needed more chocolate...

Their apple custard danish was delicious.

The custard was very thick and rich.

Their walnut bread had lots of walnuts.

We shared all of these for breakfast the other day, they are kind of on the pricey side, but I wouldn't mind trying some of their other items.

Sammy Pooh! (UPDATE: 2024 no longer in business)
4-9-11 Minami-senba
Chuo, Osaka
Phone: 06.6282.0058
Hours: 11:00-21:00

It's Friday here, we're headed for a cold snap next week, hope you have a great weekend!

le noeud papillon

Tuesday was the last French class for this term.

We all went to lunch at Le Noeud Papillon which I think someone said means "bow tie".

For 1575 yen, you can choose an appetizer, an entree and a drink.

I started off with this pork salad.

Delicious and the vinaigrette very tangy.

The steak frites was my entree choice.

There is a large nub of butter under that lemon.

I found the steak to be a little gristly but the fries were very crisp and tasty.

I chose a glass of red wine with my lunch.

A lot of others chose to add on desserts, but I was quite full, so I added an espresso...420 yen.

This came with a canelé.

It was nice to have lunch with my French class and for once, it was really reasonable.

The portions are very generous, I hope to bring Satoshi here, I think he would enjoy it.

Le Noeud Papillon
1-5-7 Azuchimachi
Chuo, Osaka
PHone: 06.6262.0123

culture shock

I recently saw this commercial on tv and was sort of appalled.

There is a young girl who comes out of the bathroom looking happy because she just "went" (bm)...

The slogan for the product is that even an 11 year old can take this medicine for constipation.

The thing that appalled me was why would an 11 year old even have to take medicine for constipation?

Aren't they eating properly?

Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill? I still think an 11 year old shouldn't have a need for this...

smile

I like how this red bell pepper looked like a heart when I cut it open.

Noticed these bushes on the elementary grounds...they look like they are smirking more than smiling, but still I thought it was cute.

We've been having rain the past couple of days. How is the weather where you are?