Shap as Wrap a Sick of Rice

(Part of the goheimochi preparation instructions from a recipe I helped to edit. Kawaii! It sound like part of a nursery rhyme or something.)

(Construction near my LMS. The red X replaces the man with the flag. The number is the seconds counting down to the the blue "go" light. After taking the picture I just went, because I felt like an idiot sitting there with no one coming. I interpreted it as a blinking red light. Stop, then go if it's all clear.)

The week in review: it was a pretty good week.

1.) With the exception of Tuesday which was actually cold, the weather was just gorgeous, with dry air and cool mornings/evenings and not hot afternoons.

2.)With the exception of yesterday the lunches this week were banging. Today's was yakisoba (daisuki! - I love it!), Japanese sweet potatoes baked with more crunchy sweetness on the outside and black sesame, and fruit cocktail. Mmmm-mm!

3.) Wednesday at LMS, although I missed my teacher who was out sick, I had fun as the Substitute Teacher, and enjoyed the company of the kids who are starting to talk to me more. The 3nensei's anyway.

4.) Today I was at GS, and the kids were awesome, the classes weren't too bad, lunch was slammin' and I got to ride my bike. On the way home I made it about as far as I thought I would back up the hill, got home, threw on some running shorts and hit the "trail" (read: street). Ran into a couple girls on the way, and had a decent run for having just rode my bike up the hill.

5.) A negative point for today: had a mukade in the sink while doing dishes. Unfortunately for him, after a couple attempts at crawling out, he died a slow death in the drain. Not including the giant mukade I watched also die a slow death (in spite of my splitting his middle causing gut gushage, and chopping at his "neck" and smashing at his head with a trowel. It may have been the ants that eventually did him in.) and the little guy I found on the wall outside my front door last night (ended up smeared across my doorstep, under my shoe.) I'm up to 16 indoor mukade. Bahdumdump.

6.) On a happier note, please enjoy the following images of students' art and writing. Kawaii!