Snow!!

It is still October.
It is not such a cold Autumn compared to average record in England.


But.... it is snowing now!!




It is cold.
I guess I am not the only one who is excited to look at the white snow!!
At the same time, some kind of melancholy occurs in my mind when it snows. It is nice to be in the house with whole my family feeling warmth of family and physical warmth of the heater. But if every family member is not in the house, I miss the person so much. I get this feeling only when it snows...

So.. now I miss my husband who is only 100 meters away from the house. XD


Come back, please!!!!!!


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christmas present

Christmas is a big event in England as well. Of course it is rather commercial. People buy presents for EVERYBODY! This "everybody" seems to be exaggerating, but it is not. Believe me.

People start going Christmas present shopping as soon as a summer break is over. So from September is the crazily busy time for shopping centre. I often go to one of the largest shopping mall in the central England, it is not because I like shopping there, but because I often shop groceries at a supermarket in the mall. Everytime I go there, I have to drive around all over the huge parking lots, looking for just one spot for me. I sometimes give up to look for a space after driving around 20 minutes.

The presents people buy for Christmas are mostly cheap stuff, something nobody really wants. And on the boxing day, which is the next day of Christmas, all the unwanted presents go to charity shop..., that is the origin of "BOXING" day, one of my English friends told me. Yes, boxing day is not a day to box (fight) for bargain staff right after the Christmas, but a day to pack these unwanted presents in gift boxes to give away to charitable foundations or send to developing countries.


Now I decided a Christmas present for ME!
I don't want anybody to waste money to buy unnecessary present for me. But I secretly tell you what I really want. That is something useful and I have been longing for it for a long time.

The thing is .... this.

Do you know Chassuer? It is a French cast iron cookware company. It is not as popular as Le Creuset in Japan, but its quality is as good as the top brand Le Creuset. Also Chassuer is slightly inexpensive.

Last winter, just before the Christmas, the prices of Chassuer products slode down the hill rapidly as low as 80%OFF. I bought one pot and a grill pan at that time. They are excellent and I am sure they will last longer than my life.

You know what I am aiming for...?
Of course you know.
I am waiting for the time when the prices drop. That is the time I can get my new Chassuer wok.

Hehehehehe... :D


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Clockmice

The book I ordered two weeks ago hasn't arrived yet. More than ten days ago I received a confirmation e-mail telling me that they dispatched the book though...

I could hardly wait for the arrival without reading any other books, so I grabbed a book nearby. That was another children's book called "time and the clockmice" written by Peter Dickinson. I have just read one children's book "Pippi", although I rarely read kid's book myself.

This is the second time to read this book, and it was so fascinating again.

The way of his writing is sweet, funny, and lovely! Also he implies his philosophy through the main character. His philosophy is not something new, is rather familiar to me. It is the ideas I share with Dickinson a lot. That pleased me.

I can hardly imagine what children would think about the philosophical aspect of this book, but I guess they would understand the philosophy in a different level than adults, probably in much deeper level. Certainly this book brings a big joy for adult readers.

Peter Dickinson seems to like sciences and technologies. So readers find some scientific and technological contents in the novel, that was quite fun for me to read. I am sure many kids would love the technological descriptions as well as the plot itself. Of course this book gives many children interests in the world of science, as the author aimed.

I found his work quite fascinating, so I ordered another book "Eva." This is also children's book though it seems to be good for adults as well. This book again contains scientific and medical materials in the story.

I am very much looking forward this book's arrival...



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Take it easy!

My boarding girl left for Sweden this morning due to the half-term break. We have two-week break, so she will spend ten days at home in Sweden with her family and friends.

It is nice to have her. She is a friendly and social girl, and is open to new culture and people. When she is at home, my sons enjoy her presence.

Nevertheless it is also good to have some time without her, just with my family. She is like a family, but she is not quite a family. I feel that looking after her is a kind of a job for me, which is not equal to a responsibility as a mother. I have some kind of responsibility for her. When she needs help, we need to help her. I feel keeping our house tidier is one of my task as a host mother, too.

When she comes home late, I don't feel easy. She is seventeen, so she can legally drink alcohol and smoke. In England youngsters at her age have much more freedom than Japanese high school kids. She is not stupid, but it makes me feel uneasy when she comes back after midnight, which she does quite often. Our house is in a safe neighbourhood, but walking in dark by herself makes me worried. Especially because she is a cute girl.


Now she is absent, and I feel totally at home. I don't need to clean the house as much as I do when she is here. I need to cook only half of food without her, because she is surprisingly a big eater. And I don't have to be worried about her safety...

I enjoy my private time just with my family now, then I will enjoy the time with her more after the break.


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Pippi

Do you know "Pippi" ?
Pippi is a girl in a book "the adventures of Pippi longstocking."

I remember seeing the TV programme when I was little. The book always reminds me the theme song of "Pippi" on TV. As soon as I think about the book, the song appears in my mind and it never stop....

This book was brought to my sons by our boarder. She is from Sweden in the area where Pippi lived. She says the landscape described in the novel is just like her place. Now I am enjoying reading it, although I don't like reading children's books normally. I think this is quite enjoyable to all generations. Pippi is so sweet and funny, and her innocence makes me smile.


I also think this is a good book for English learners. This is suitable for ages seven to ten, which is fairly easy. With amusing story, 280-page stories are not too long nor too short, even for beginners, I guess.

Some people recommend English learners to read children's books, because the language is simpler. But normally I don't agree with it, for many of children's books are boring for adults. To entertain adult readers, the books need to have interesting contents even though the reader's English ability is limited.

But I like "Pippi" and can recommend "Pippi" to many adult readers!!




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Half-Term Break + application process

The school ended. It is an autumn half-term break now.
I don't have any plans other than one of the physics exams. I am almost ready for the exams, so I would feel relieved if I could finish it now...

Exam is something bringing you anxiety even if it is not a big deal at all.


Huuuuuu.


By the way,
now I am seeking a possibility for the entry of university in September 2010. Application should be submitted in October 2009. Normally the candidates are college students studying A-levels which they will take the exams in January or May 2010. The exam result appears only in August, which is only a few weeks before the new school year starts. So the exam results are not ready neither when they applied for the uni nor when the uni is in the selection process. Instead of waiting for the exam results, the uni selects their students by the predicted exam results which are done by college teachers. And the selected candidates proceed to the next step, interview. As a result of the paper selection and the interview, the uni decides whether they accept the candidate or not. If the successful candidates don't achieve the predictions, they might lose the seat even after they are accepted by the uni.

This is the process.

Problem for me is that I am teaching myself without attending a college. That means I can not get the teacher's predictions. If I can wait for another year, it wouldn't be a problem, because I will have all the exam results required by the time I apply for the uni. But I don't want to waste another year. So I really want to find a way to the application process in 2009.



It seems to be quite difficult. The department at the uni is very popular and there are about 15 times as many candidates as the number of their seat. Entering other courses are not too difficult and the courses are open for many people in various situations, such as mature students, international students, students from low education family, and students without qualifications. For the course I am aiming for is denying all these possibilities and basically it accepts only direct entry procedure...

But I am still seeking for the possibilities to enter the uni in 2010.




I still have a plenty of time. I can still research more and then decide how I get there.


Also I wouldn't be disappointed even if I have to wait another year.
One year is only a short period of time compare to the whole my life.



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book stall

I got several books from a book stall, which my friends held at school.
Since they are interesting and intellectual people, sharing anthloposophy with myself, I expected to find some interesting books there. Filling my expectation, I found some for me, and some for my children.

One of the books was called "All about Herbs" published about 30 years ago. I love herbs, and own some books about herbs. I found this book interesting, because it features a lot on cooking with herbs. And that was what I wanted to learn more. I have a book about growing herbs, some books about general information about herbs, and some are for medicinal info. As a housewife with two little ones, knowledge of natural medicine is great. But I felt the necessity of using herbs in wider area, for growing herbs gives me more harvest than I can consume as a medicine. Also one bag of dried herb from a shop is too much to use up before they lose their nice smell. Learning more useful methods of herbs is something what I need.

The book "All about Herbs" shows many cooking recipes that are practical, and some are quite unique which are beyond my imagination.

For example:
1. a sandwich with nasturtium leaves
2. elderflower fritter

I didn't know that the nasturtium leaves are edible. It is also surprising that you can eat them raw! They don't look taste good though....

Elderflower is one of my favorite herbs. I make elderflower cordial on its flowering season, but I have never imagined to deep fry them to make fritters!
....I guess it wouldn't be so great with soy sauce but sea salt might give a nice flavour...


I am not sure if I want to try these though this book is surely amusing.


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banana cake

I baked a banana cake today. I used to bake a cake quite often, almost three times a week. But recently I rarely bake. One reason I stopped making a cake regularly is a health and child-care issue. Non-sweet snack is simply better for children, for adults too. I often give my boys some bread or rice balls as a snack, which is healthier.

I have another reason, which is about my boarding girl.

Because of her allergy, she needs wheat free, dairy free diet. She eats other grains such as rye, spelt, buckwheat, millet, semolina and so on. Non-cow's milk products are suitable for her. So she usually eats goat's butter, goat's cheese, and soya milk instead of cow's. So I can make pancakes for her using non-wheat flour and soya milk.

But ... what ingredients would you use for a cake without wheat and dairy products? Wheat flour can be altered to other grain flour, but the goat's butter I found is only one choice and it is salted butter which is not suitable for baking a cake.

That is a reason I don't bake a cake as much as before...


Today I baked a banana cake. This cake is a normal loaf, with wheat flour and cow's butter. I just gave up thinking what to make so that she can eat.

I am sorry for her that she can not eat this cake. But we have no reason to give up something we like....




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appetite

How much does a teenager normally eat a day?

When I was a high schooler, I ate little. Some rice and miso soup for breakfast, lunch in a surprisingly small lunch box, small amount of snack after school, then supper. I didn't need to eat so much, and didn't want to eat much either. So I had one 80% full bowl of rice, and some vegetables, proteins, and soup for a supper. I rarely had a second.

Our boarder, 17-year-old girl, always surprises me with the amount of food she eats. From my own experience, I can hardly believe how much she can actually eat in one day.

Her daily appetite is like this:

breakfast(8:00):One big bowl of muesli with nuts, fruits, seeds. Plus two to four slices of rye bread with tomato or avocado on it.
little lunch(11:00)+ big lunch (13:00): One big container of lunch packed with grains and several kinds of vegetables.
snack(4:00):some fruits and rye bread. When she has a time to eat, she eats "snacks" as much as normal supper.
supper(6:30):big plates of food with rice, proteins, vegetables. Usually she has the second full plate.
second supper(around 9:30 or when she comes home):one plate of left over supper or anything she finds in the kitchen.

For me, it is astonishingly over eating, but my husband used to eat like she does, he says.

I know that Westerners have different digestive system than Asians. Their body got used to eat more meat than fish or vegetables, so they have shorter intestines than Japanese. Yes, we Japanese are more like herbivores in terms of our digestion.

So maybe, this appetite is quite normal for Western youngsters.....


I cannot help wondering where all the energy she obtained from foods are going.


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balloon flower

One of the things I miss about Japan is a flower called a "balloon flower," "kikyou" in Japanese. There is a same kind of flower of same family in England, but the Japanese balloon flower has different taste than English one.

Hearing my admiration for the flower, my mother sent a piece of root dug from her garden. In the early spring in this year, I put the root in my plant bed, and had longed for the day of blooming.

It was September when I found a tiny buds on the thin stems. Since then I have observed the little plant awaiting for the flower.


When I saw the flower blooming the other day, I got disappointed....

That was not right kind. That was not THE kikyou that I had been longing. I wanted the original kind with single layer petals......

Still it is a beautiful flower, so I upload its photo.



...Do you like it??


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new blog

I started a new blog on the blogger.
This is called "hands-on" for now since I can't find any good name for it yet.

This is my little gallery where you can see my craft works.

I have uploaded only three photos there, and I will add more and more.

I hope you enjoy looking at my works there!


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