when life throws you curves

I knew this day was coming, but didn't think it would really happen for awhile...

My brother has decided to move back to the mainland (in October) and at the moment, it doesn't look like we'll be moving back to Hawaii anytime soon, so we need to get my parent's house ready to sell.

While I'm thankful my brother was around to take care of my Dad, I'm sad that he wasn't able to find his niche in Hawaii...I guess when you've lived most of your life on the mainland though...

So...this means LOTS of danshari (purging) among other things...

I told the doctor that I needed to take a break from rehab (yup, I am still going to rehab) and he said, "no stairs, no lifting of heavy items, etc"...Then I told him why I needed to take a break, so he prescribed me some medicated ointment to rub on my knee while I am in Hawaii and I will continue my rehab when I return in the Fall.

Am looking forward to catching up with family and friends.

I put "someone" in charge of my plants and to update me on the condo construction (in case you were wondering, this is what it looked like on 6.29.2019)...sad yeah?!...

I'll be posting from Hawaii (when I can) and my dates will reflect Japan time.

You can also check up on me on Instagram or Facebook (if you use these).

Be well everyone.

this cat

In our neighborhood, there are several cats.

Previously, I told you about this one.

Today, I want to tell you about this one that takes a nap on its owner's roof.

He always looks like he is mad and is the very first cat we stumbled on when we moved to Tokyo.

He's been under the weather lately because someone fed him something bad (they had a sign up saying so and not to feed him anything), so it was nice to see him on the roof the other day.

I give the furry ones credit for being able to survive in this heat and humidity.

Me, I'm a wimp and need air conditioning or at least no humidity...

supermarket finds

We recently tried these Red Beauty Plums which were grown in Yamanashi prefecture.

The outside is a deep red but tart.

The inside is a yellow-orange flesh and sweet.

Have you tried this variety before?

p.s. Typhoon season has started here and we are already on our 3rd! Hopefully it will pass quickly today without any damages.

life hack

Do you ever have a hard time peeling hard boiled eggs?

Me, I almost always do.

The shell sticks to the egg and my "peeled" eggs usually look all "bumpy".

I recently learned a new hack though.

Before boiling the egg, tap the "rounded" side of the egg with the back of a spoon a couple of times. (FYI: the opposite side is more "pointy")

The rounded side has an "air pocket" and when the egg is in the boiling water, the "cracks" will release the carbon dioxide that is between the egg and the shell.

(Apparently, this is also why the egg is put into the carton with the rounded side up, so it can "breathe"...)

Then when you peel it the shell should just slide off.

If you try this, I hope it will work for you.

prize

Have you ever ate the ice bar called Gari Gari Kun?

If I'm not mistaken, "gari gari" is the onomatopoetic sound from your teeth biting into an ice bar...

Anyway, the other night, Satoshi was eating a Gari Gari Kun and he saw this on the stick.

I brought the stick along with the receipt back to the store that I bought the ice bar from and they gave me another bar.

Cool, yeah?!

yesterday

Yesterday morning we had a big jolt of an earthquake.

It was only a second, but it was scary.

Usually we can hear the earthquakes coming up the road and usually it is a swaying from left to right type, but this one was all of a sudden and an up-down type, kind of like when a plane lands on the runway...

Of course, Satoshi was on the train going to work and didn't feel a thing...

On top of that, it was raining...kind of hard too.

I went to do some errands and when I came back, I noticed this...

Apparently it fell off of the ceiling above the stairs near our apartment...eep!

It looks a bit rusty so it probably fell off with the rain and shaking...

I called the building management and within an hour or so, someone called to reconfirm.

They'll be sending someone to check it out soon.

I'm glad they are acting on this and hope they will be able to fix the area soon.

Krazy weather going on here, huge earthquake in Yamagata & Niigata...AND Kansai (West Japan) still hasn't started their rainy season!

Without the rain, veggie prices are gonna skyrocket...

Hope the weather is nicer on your side of the world.

curry wa nomimono

Back in February while we were waiting for Ponta Honke to open, we spotted this place...Curry wa nomimono (literally "curry is a drink/beverage")...which is hard to translate, but I think it kind of similar to how we say "there is always room for dessert".

Since we had some errands to run yesterday, we had lunch here.

Satoshi had the kuro niku curry (literally black meat curry) + 300 grams rice...890 yen (tax included)

This is a European style curry...Rich fond de veau (brown stock) based with a little marscapone cheese as a hidden ingredient...while eating you can change up the flavors with the lemon, a splash of the habanero sauce and or the parmesan cheese.

I chose the Butter Chicken + 200 grams rice...960 yen (tax included).

Spicy and a teeny nick of butter it also comes with a spicy onion achar (pickle).

The chicken is cooked tender.

After getting your meal ticket from the machine and passing it to the staff behind the counter, they will ask you what 3 toppings you want.

All orders come with free toppings...From their list of 10, you pick 3 and yell out the numbers when they ask you...

1) ajitama (marinated hard-boiled egg), 2) rakkyo (pickled shallots), 3) fukujinzuke (pickled daikon radish/other vegetables), 4) potato salad, 5) fried garlic, 6) coriander (cilantro), 7) mayonnaise-dressed tuna, 8) mayonnaise-dressed corn, 9) basil bean salad, 10) fried onions.

Satoshi chose the ajitama, rakkyo and fried onions, while I chose the rakkyo, cilantro and fried onions.

The curries are served on turmeric rice and come out quite quickly.

Fried onions on curry is so good!

I'm glad we tried this place, they also have other shops in different parts of Tokyo...we'll be back.

Curry wa nomimono, Okachimachi shop
3-23-3 Ueno
Taito, Tokyo
Phone: 03.5812.4770
Lunch: 11:00-16:00, Dinner 17:30-21:30