this guy

When we first moved to Tokyo, I saw this guy and thought he might be homeless because he had so many things on his bicycle.

And then, once when I was walking back from the market, I saw his bicycle parked in front of one of the many pocket parks we have in the neighborhood.

I then realized he wasn't homeless, all the stuff on his bicycle is what he uses to clean the restrooms in these pocket parks.

I've never used the restroom in these pocket parks, but at least now I know they are cleaned.

saturday

Saturday I made some mac nut pesto using the carrot tops that I had kept in the freezer from that time we ordered veggies from Suzunari Farm.

The carrot tops are bitter but delicious in this pesto. (afterwards, an IG friend mentioned that I should blanche the tops before using to cut the bitterness, thank you!)
 

Am thinking to use the rest of this pesto with some pasta.
 

I made the same dough that I used for pizza back in May.

Since the dough was really wet and sticky the last time, I added the water in a little at a time, and ended up using less than what the recipe had listed.

In Elle Gourmet, besides pizza, they also suggest that you use the milk bread dough to make beignets.  So instead of filling them with jam like they suggest, I just fried them up plain and we ate them like savory doughnuts with the pesto and oil sardines.

And since I was frying, I fried up some shrimp chips that I have had in my pantry for ages.

These were so light and fluffy!

We saved two to dip into dark chocolate for dessert...so ono!

 

Since the weather is so hot, will definitely think of another way to use this milk bread recipe.

p.s. Yesterday, most of the Kanto (East Japan) areas hit 40C (104F)...the humidity brings the temps up 10 degrees!

We've been sleeping with the a/c on...can you believe July only had 1 day of sun? Looks like Mother Nature is trying to play catch-up in August.

Stay cool, stay hydrated and stay safe!

mcgyver

If you look through this blog, you'll see several "mcgyver" posts.

Well, the other day on the way to the market, my slipper broke.

I asked Satoshi to run to the 100 yen shop (which was kind of nearby) to buy some hair elastic or string, he tells me, "I don't know what to get, so you wear my slippers" and go buy some....gah.

So, instead, I took the hair elastic I was already using and fixed my slipper temporarily.

I didn't want to throw this slipper out because it was still relatively "good" but looking back on my blog archive, this slipper is actually 11 years old! 

Since I only use my slippers during the summer months, I guess it lasted longer than if I used them all year around.

 

Will have to look for another pair, but at least I know that if I'm in a pinch, I'd be able to fix it.

voted

So, I've been tracking my ballot, the status still says it is in California...

I saw something that Deb of Kahakai Kitchen posted on Instagram...you can check if the Voting office received your ballot.

So, I did.

 And they received it.

Love technology!

Hope you got your vote in too.

yesterday

Yesterday, I needed to pick up a few things at Takeya, so since I was in the area, I thought I'd check out the lotus flowers at Shinobazu Pond too.

I think I was a little too late this year because there were not many flowers to be seen.

After picking up the items I needed from Takeya, I stopped off at Tokyo Station to check out their newly renovated Gransta area.

Satoshi and I had these amiyaki niku (grilled meat) bento from Niku Oroshi Kojima.

Rice topped with teriyaki style grilled beef ...delicious!

Our temps have been blazing and the humidity has not helped either.

It is bad enough that we need to worry about COVID-19 but also need to worry about heatstroke.

Hope you have a safe weekend.

7 years

7 years...wondering what you would say about this pandemic.

Family friend, D, mentioned yesterday that this was the first summer I wasn't going to be in Hawaii...

I thought about it and it is the 1st time in the 19 years that I have been living in Japan that I won't be going to Hawaii...

Wear a mask, social distance and hopefully we can all meet up in person soon.

Miss you Mom.

new month new things

We received a care package from V (thank you!) the other day. It was filled with all sorts of snacks and these pretty masks made by Honolulu Aunty.

They are much cooler than our origami ones and they fit nicer than the ones the Japanese government gave us...can you believe the Japanese governent ordered more of those teeny masks to pass out?! What a waste of money!

As V said in her letter, it looks like we are going to have to wear masks for awhile longer...sad but true, yeah?! Dunno about you, but I haven't worn lipstick in what feels like ages...

Saturday, Tokyo's rainy season was declared over, later than usual and with so much more rain than other years...let the blazing begin!

We went to the Shinbashi/Toramon area.

Satoshi was reassigned to help out with that Go To Campaign, so we went to check out where his new office is.

He is not looking forward to "what" he'll have to do, but is excited because it is "something" to do.

Plus, he'll be in a different part of Tokyo, so he'll have new places to explore...sort of.

I’m just glad his company hasn’t let go anyone.

Changing the subject, how is this soba shop near Satoshi's new work place?

...looked it up and it has been in business since 1872!

Hope to check it out when this pandemic is over.

Some businesses were asking local government to help them get customers back into their shops, so many cities/prefectures around Japan have started to put stickers on their windows/doors to let customers know that they are abiding by the guidelines that the city/prefecture has set up to combat cluster infections.

FYI: this is Tokyo's.

Hopefully this will bring more customers back into shops...for now we feel it is too risky to eat in any restaurant and are still doing takeout until we can be tested and more asymptomatic people can be too.

Oh, and my rehab place went out of business, I found out as we passed by yesterday.  

Hope the doctor retired and nothing serious happened to him (he was kind of elderly and the close was kind of sudden)...sad I didn’t get to say goodbye & thank you for his care.

Hope everyone has a good week.