Farmers' market

I went to a local farmers' market with my mom.
There were not only farmers but also blacksmith, gardeners, fish store, gold fish store, sweets shop, etc. It was crowded with people and enjoyable.

Great time

Three friends of mine invited me to their mochi pounding, or rice-cake making party at their place. They live in an old cow barn, do farming, and take care of a horse for a traditional ceremony called Yabusame. (Boys get on horses and launch arrows at a target. People pray for their healthy growth.) They keep a sheep, a goat and a piggy. They said they would shear the sheep after the party. I went a bit early to help them organize the event. About 25 people came. Half of them were children. I knew most of them, so did they.

It took quite a long time to prepare everything but none of us was in a hurry. Everyone was enjoying the time and it was great. We made mochi, and ate it with different kids of toppings: the azuki bean paste, sesame seeds, natto, etc. The hosting friends made soup with bamboo shoots, wild plant called warabi and the wakame sea vegetable that I brought from home. It was all tasty :)

Sheep shearing took a while since none of us had the special shaving machine but Imaizumisan, a professional knife sharpener, had brought some of his old cissors and he was very good at cutting the sheep's hair so he was a great help.

The kids were running after the animals :) I played with the kids and it was so much fun :) They are so lovely!

I had a great time there.

Homemade fertilizer

I make organic fertilizer at home.

Ingredients:
leafe soil
rice bran
smoked/coaled? rice husk
rapeseed meal
water

When you mix all the above in a tub-like container and cover it with old blankets or plastic, the temperature rises to about 50 degrees C, or 122 degrees F in a few days and stays at about 30-40C for about 10days. It smells. When the color turns dark brown or black and the smell clears, it's ready to use. You need to keep turning it untill then.

I am putting a tray that I sew seeds in, the other day on the tub to help germination. I'm a little nervous if the seeds would come out.

A day at the beach

I went to the beach with my mom yesterday.
The waves were very calming and the sand felt good to my feet.
We had a picnic lunch and I made a painting while my mom was taking a nap :)
It was a good day.

Movie: Music of the Heart

I have been lucky with movies lately. Saw another good one last night.
Pretty moving to me.

Flowers flowers flowers!

They are the source of my life!
Wonderful.

Painful days

I was suffering from this unexplained pain in my stomach for about 4 days last week.
It was intolerably painful that I even called an ambulance.
I went to the hospital four times, did all kinds of examination and saw five doctors but they have found nothing abnormal with my body.
It is very strange and frustrating to be told "everything is fine" when you are feeling an excruciating pain.
The pain went away after the 4 days and now I feel fine but I will keep searching for the true cause of the pain.

Lots of people helped me during my battle with the pain and it was amazing.
Without them I wouldn't have been able to take the brunt of the pain.
I would like to use this space to thank all the people who gave me support.
Thank you.