Kay's Terrace Photo Blog

June bride

2009-06-23T15:17:00.002+09:00

This is a bouquet present from my daughter who got married this month.

ad ASSISI, Bella Natura!

2008-09-13T02:45:00.003+09:00

The weather was fine.
The panoramic view was fantastic everywhere in Assisi.
Faceva bel tempo e veramente la bella natura!

From Sardegna

2008-09-11T23:47:00.002+09:00

Summer vacation

2008-08-14T23:32:00.004+09:00

Long time no see, no hear!!!
For the first time for months I am writing this. (lol)
This week I went to Lake Kawaguchi in Yamanashi Prefecture to refresh myself. I love to see the beautiful shape of Mt.Fuji. I got up quite early one morning, at 3 to be exact, to get on the 3:30 bus to the fifth point of Mt. Fuji (halfway up the mountain) and saw the first light of the sunrise there. It was cool!!

aquilegia

2008-04-29T16:51:00.002+09:00

I have been busy pruning trees and weeding in my garden today. While I was taking a coffee break, I took a photo of aquilegia. I love its interesting shape.

Well I have to be back to my work in the garden now!

The Jane Austen book club

2008-04-21T21:22:00.003+09:00

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to see at least a movie or two and to read a couple of novels a month. So far, however, it has been difficult to keep it up. Time is limited and ----, well there are lots of excuses I can think of. As a matter of fact, it is I who determine how to use time effectively.

I said to myself, “Don't give up. I could manage to make time any way.” Luckily I was able to go out and see the movie"The Jane Austen Book Club” today.

It was about five women and one man who attended the club to read Jane Austen’s six novels. While talking about the characters in the novels, they were accepting their lives and relations with their families and friends. It was quite interesting and worth seeing especially for women.

official website in Japanese
official website in English

Renaissance?

2008-04-19T23:35:00.002+09:00

After the rainy and stormy days, the sky finally cleared up today.

To my delight the dogwoods in my garden are producing flowers this spring for the first time in many years. For years I have had repetition of disappointments as they have not blossomed at all. So it is a kind of dogwoods’ renaissance year. Let me celebrate it with a sparkling wine!

Azalea is also blooming now.

Bocca della Verita'

2008-04-12T23:54:00.006+09:00

While we were in Shuzenji, we went to Niji-no-Sato (namely Rainbow Country) park. Though there are no such exciting theme park rides as in urbane amusement parks, we enjoyed the natural beauty in the well-tended landscapes. It is divided mainly into three areas: Japanese Garden, Canadian Village and English Village.

Between Canadian and English villages there are locomotive train services. All the rails and lovely locomotives (both diesel and steam) were imported from a British company, Romny.

I do not know why, but there was “Bocca della Verita’” (Mouth of Truth) in the English Village! It is a fortune-teller vending machine. Well, well, even when you are not in Rome, do as Romans do??? (lol) Insert a 100yen coin and place your left palm in the mouth for 20 seconds, and then a printed out fortune paper for you rolls out. Thank heavens! It told me my future would be a very bright one.

Shuzenji

2008-04-10T09:01:00.002+09:00

On April 6, 7 and 8, I visited Shuzenji and Toi on Izu peninsula with my mother. Shuzenji has been a renowned spa spot since Kobo-Daishi found it in 807. We felt easy and relaxed to see cherry blossoms still blooming on the mountains in the small quiet town.

I took the photos below at Shuzenji-Temple.

Spring?

2008-03-31T23:32:00.007+09:00

Cherry blossoms are beautiful these days. Spring may be here, but the winter is still hanging on. It was raining and really chilly today. The cold days this winter feel gloomy. This is a photo of magnolia and dogwood trees I took in February in my garden.

I took this one a couple of days ago from a different angle. It is a magnolia bud with dogwood twigs and buds in the background. It is delightful to look up the blue sky. The phrase I recall is “The sky is the limit.”

Do places we live in determine how happy we are? I sure do not like the extreme weather and rather prefer warmer places to frigid areas. Surprisingly the people in Iceland are said to be content and happy and the 5 happiest places in the world are: Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Iceland and Finland. In all those countries the winter is relatively severe! There is a book titled “The Geography of Bliss.” Seems to be interesting. Its paperback edition is available in July. I have ordered it at Amazon.

"Sashiko" kitchen cloth

2008-02-08T00:18:00.000+09:00

Here is a kitchen cloth of “Sashiko” stitches I made.
It is a fun and comforting to keep on stitching simple patterns without thinking anything. As a matter of fact, I was actually thinking of various trivial things while stitching. (lol)
As “sashiko” is a Japanese traditional stitch, I thought it is not well known outside Japan. To my surprise, however, I found several books on “Sashiko” which are written in English and published overseas. “Sashiko” is sort of quilting Japanese style!

"sashiko" books at Amazon

Snowing

2008-01-24T00:16:00.000+09:00

Boo-hoo-hoo! It was snowing almost all day yesterday.
Too chilly to tolerate this freezing cold.
I got bit desperate and murmured
Let it snow!
Let it snow!
Let it snow!

This is a calendar I have recently received.
From January through December there are lovely pictures of elephants that the elementary school students in Thailand had drawn. These heartwarming pictures really make me feel happy. Thanks a lot.

Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2008

2008-01-23T00:04:00.000+09:00

The day before yesterday I went to see the Tokyo International Quilt Festival now being held at Tokyo Dome. There was a huge turnout and it was very crowded.

I was mesmerized by the hues and elaborate finesses of quilt handiworks.

Below is the Quilt Grand Prix winning work

In addition to the exhibition there are lots of shop booths with various fabrics and materials and I enjoyed shopping, too.

In contrast to the air of excitement of the festival, it was shivering cold outside. The gulls on the riverbank near the Suidobashi railway station seemed to be tolerating freezing cold.
Special thanks to Yoko-san for explaining quilt works and helping me select fabrics and materials.

Remains of autum foliage

2007-12-01T23:47:00.000+09:00

Illuminated Hiyoshi-taisha shrine in Ohtu, Shiga-pref.

Garden in Shiga-in temple. Shiga-in is one of the 54 temples at the foot of Mt.Hiei where senior monks who have finished their hard career at the mountain top Enryakuji-temple spend their old age.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

2007-11-18T23:39:00.000+09:00

Though bit cloudy, the sunrise was amazing.

Angkor Wat

2007-11-11T21:52:00.001+09:00

Early November I went to Cambodia to see the temples of Angkor. I took a flight from Bangkok’s new international Airport to Siem Reap. Well, I know November is the beginning of the dry season in Cambodia, which means a tourism season sets in. I had to wait in line for about 2 hours, incredibly long 2 HOURS to get a ticket at the transit check in counter of the Bangkok Airways! If you are unlucky, there are travel agents’clerks who have a huge bundle of passports before you. The flight was mere 40 minutes!

However, forget the trifling matters and the frustration!
Angkor Wat was overwhelmingly beautiful with its magnificence.
Unfortunately I could not climb to the highest third level gallery as the all of the steep steps to it were closed and prohibited to enter because there was a victim who fell off the steps in mid October.

another day

2007-10-26T08:34:00.000+09:00

I saw the huge burning red sun rising in the east while I was walking early in the morning. Sun-kissed trees in a park were beautiful.

pots

2007-10-21T19:32:00.000+09:00

There was a tableware bargain sales at a shopping center near my house. At the first glance of a certain teapot, it gave me a sense of marvelous stability and I fell in love with it. The price was reasonable 1,600 yen and I bought it immediately. I also bought a soy sauce pot. They are both lovely wares, aren’t they?

Walking

2007-10-20T10:07:00.001+09:00

Early morning walking exercise

2007-10-17T08:48:00.000+09:00

Too hot to walk, lower back pain, knee pain, getting up early is hard and yada yada yada!? Quite a few excuses I have made, but no more! I have resumed early morning walking exercise. The breeze I feel on my cheeks is cooler these days.

Photos are:
Full of persimmons
Hillside park on the way

Ise Shrine

2007-10-16T11:40:00.000+09:00

I went to Ise shrine and traveled though Ise-Toba district last week. The shrine was so crowded that it was really hard even to walk for my mother who uses a walking stick. Luckily, however, a wheelchair with a battery was available at the entrance. We rent it and she sat comfortably on it, which helped her and me very much.
The photo is a blissful moment of the sunset seen from the Toba observatory. The sun came out of the clouds and the mists among the mountains underneath made me feel serenity of the nature.

Autumn

2007-10-10T19:49:00.000+09:00

I know it is a transitional time from summer to autumn. Things are bit mixed up, which is not unusual though. So am I. To my surprise, I found spring flower Malus halliana(Kaido in Japanese) and autumn flower orange osmanthus are blooming side by side in my garden.

The moon tonight and new prime minister

2007-09-25T22:09:00.000+09:00

The full moon tonight.
I took this photo from my room.

The new prime minister Fukuda foamed his cabinet today. Whether he shows strong leadership to lead Japan onto the right track is yet to be seen.

dessert

2007-09-22T16:14:00.000+09:00

September is my daughter's birthday month and so I often make desserts. This is a panna cotta. Though making and eating desserts is fun, what concerns me most is getting on weight with calorie-rich sweets.

Veggies

2007-09-20T22:09:00.000+09:00

One of my friends seems to be into the gardening these days. She sent me some veggies from her garden with a message card. I cooked Nikujaga or simmered beef and potatoes. It was yummy.

September

2007-09-20T00:11:00.000+09:00

Morning glories are still colorful in my garden.
They are vine plants.
This type, however, is different.
It does not climb.
It does not creep.
It remains short in almost the same height.
Isn't it funny??

inside mornig glory

2007-08-30T21:09:00.000+09:00

There was an ant inside.
Shooting a snap up-close is really interesting.
I feel as if I also have been an ant.

Kikyo Morning Glory again!

2007-08-24T22:59:00.000+09:00

A glorious moment of a short-lived flower.

Morning Glory

2007-08-22T00:05:00.000+09:00

It is delightful to greet this little kikyo bell flower morning glory.

Tough it withers by evening, a new one blooms next morning to replace it.

Trip to Kawaguchiko-lake

2007-08-20T00:12:00.000+09:00

From August 11th through 13th,
I went to Kawaguchiko-lake at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

Mt. Fuji before the dawn on 12th.

Hiroshima

2007-08-08T22:43:00.000+09:00

It has been very hot these days.
When the humidity is high, we feel much hotter than an actual thermometer mercury indicates.

AT this time of hot summer, lots of people remember and think of what happened to Hiroshima 62 years ago.
I recently read this MANGA called “City in evening calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms.”
Long-lasting physical, mental and psychological burden on the atomic bomb survivors and their families are illustrated modestly in everyday lives.

With the aging of the survivors, true horror of atomic bombing seems to be gradually fading in consciousness. Horror of atomic bomb and the atrocities Japanese military had done. These facts should be passed on from generations to generation despite the controversies over how to teach history at schools in Japan.

In the evening sunshine

2007-08-07T17:00:00.000+09:00

I bought hibiscus on impulse when I passed by a florist's near my house. I think it is a best flower in summer. It is shining golden with the setting sun.

33 degrees celius

2007-07-27T23:27:00.000+09:00

It was very hot today and carnations are blazing in the sunshine.

Tangled remains of Clematis.

More About Naruto Whirlpool

2007-07-12T21:49:00.000+09:00

This is a photo of OhNaruto Bridge I took from the Hotel room. Even from far you can notice the difference in the sea level in the area just under the bridge. Please read Naruto Whirlpool (Wikipedia in English), if you want to know the mechanism why whirlpools are generated.

I took a boat to see them, but you can see them from above. There is an observatory corridor and rooms on the girder of the bridge. You see the people there also watching us and waving their hands to us.

You can see whirlpools from the bridge (in English)
from the bridge (in Japanese)
Please click on the photos for larger views.

A Giraffe

2007-07-06T23:04:00.000+09:00

One of my friends asked me,

“Why not join us to go to see a giraffe?”
I said, “Well well, giraffe??? You mean to go to a zoo?”
She laughed and said, “No, not to a zoo, but to Ginza!”

So, we met at Ginza and first went to
DALLOYAU Boutique Ginza
to have lunch. Food there was good and the price was quite reasonable. Then we went to see a real-size giraffe. It was made of lots of pieces of natural wood. Please look at the photos I took with my cellular phone.

It was created by her friend’s son and is being displayed on the 5th Floor of
Swatch Boutique Ginza.
With time, the giraffe’s body wood will change its color and become to look more like a real one. Let's watch novel design Swatches tick down regularly and the giraffe change its color naturally. (lol)

Kobe & NARUTO Whirlpool

2007-07-04T16:16:00.000+09:00

I went to Kobe last weekend to attend the reunion for the first anniversary of my paternal side uncle’s death. I adore this kind of family reunions, because people who attend know each other quite well and care for the deceased. With various experiences, we all have become compassionate and are able to give valuable and heart-felt pieces of advice to each other. I also got together for dinner with my maternal cousins. It was pleasant to see them and talk about our old days of childhood.

The evening view of Kobe reminded me of a song:
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there I do not sleep,
I am a thousand winds that blow,

Well, my uncle might have been a thousand winds and done us a big favor by blowing away the bad weather the weather forecast had said. From Kobe we took a highway express bus to the southern tip of Awaji Island to see NARUTO WHIRLPOOL. We enjoyed the trip.

Lovery Occupants

2007-06-29T09:59:00.000+09:00

The lawn of my garden is now totally occupied with these plants.
It is Spiranthes sinensis var. amoena and we call it “Nejibana” in Japanese.

A cluster of small pinkish flowers blooming in a spiral way is very lovely. In fact, they are so charming that I hesitate to mow the lawn, but I prefer a beautifully manicured lawn to looking at nejibanas. Well, I do not want to dilly-dally for so long. I will mow the lawn this evening!! Promise!!!

Bean Salad

2007-06-22T08:33:00.000+09:00

This is a recipe I found in the dining video of The New York Times. It is simple and easy. Just toss boiled Japanese Edamame with sliced onion, rice vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and sprinkle thin strips of Nori on the top and done! It is stylish. I think you like it with wine. How about with beer? No doubt you would like to take just plain boiled Edamame with beer! Anyway, cheers!!

Early Morning Walk

2007-06-20T09:02:00.001+09:00

A doggy I met this morning sat still on the street for a while. I knew how he felt. He did not want to go back home yet.

Hollyhocks at the side of the road.

The Annunciation

2007-06-14T22:56:00.000+09:00

The day before yesterday, I went to see Leonard da Vinci’s “The Annunciation” now on exhibition at Tokyo National Museum. Uh-oh, I had to queue up for thirty minutes to enter the museum. Furthermore, even inside, I had to proceed at very slow pace until I finally came in front of the picture. I was very happy then, but frankly speaking I was quite frustrated at the same time. Though I wanted to take time to look it up close, the frequent call “Please don’t stand still. Move forward,” urged me to go reluctantly forward.

“The Annunciation” is a beautiful and intriguing masterpiece. Geometrically pruned trees on the left and the blurred scenery far beyond are impressive. The delicate facial expressions of Maria and Archangel Gabriel seemed to imply some deeper meanings. Seeing this picture, I always come to think of something great in the nature and what science can achieve, and also of Intelligent Design and cloning.

Fireworks??

2007-06-11T21:01:00.000+09:00

This is another kind of hydrangea called "Sumida-no-Hanabi."

It means fireworks at Sumida. I do not know why it is called this way, but it looks like really fireworks set off in the sky.

Medical breakthrough

2007-06-10T15:01:00.000+09:00

I often gravitate toward this kind of images and so I bought this issue. Featured are brain mapping, gene therapy for PD using adeno-associated virus as a transporter, hybrid medicine to bridge the blood-brain barrier and so forth and so forth. How much they will benefit patients and human beings in the future is all-important. They seem to be safe and promising.

Petunia

2007-06-09T14:02:00.000+09:00

Raindrops on petunia.

Hydrangea

2007-06-08T00:41:00.000+09:00

It is pleasant to watch the hue of hydrangea intensify day by day. The rainy season may begin soon !!!!!

raindrops

2007-05-18T09:25:00.001+09:00

I was annoyed by the capricious weather yesterday, but pleased with the beautiful sunshine after the rain.

Raindrops on rhodohypoxis.

Two additional photos of Mt. Fuji

2007-05-12T02:12:00.000+09:00

Click on the photos below for larger view.
Depending on your internet connection condition,

it may take several minutes to download them.

Carnations

2007-05-11T17:08:00.000+09:00

As if to tell me Mother's Day is just around the corner,

carnations are beginning to bloom in my garden.

Happy Mother's Day!

Trip to Nagasaki

2007-05-04T22:43:00.000+09:00

I made a short trip to Shimabara and Nagasaki with my mother. The flight was quite smooth.

This is a snapshot of Mt.Fuji from the plane.

Before the trip, mom was quite concerned about the weather, as she has a strangely biased idea that Nagasaki is a rainy region as is sung in a Japanese Enka ballad, “In Nagasaki, it was raining again today.” On top of that, my niece who is a self-proclaimed rain-bringer joined us to travel with, that had multiplied mom’s worry. It was cloudy and it rained during the nights, but I couldn’t complain about it. We enjoyed the trip anyway.

Please look at some of the photos from the trip.

Bonjour Paris!

2007-04-24T13:37:00.000+09:00

I was quite overwhelmed by the book titled “Bonjour! PARIS,” (written in Japanese.)
With her father’s transference to Paris, a three-year old girl began to live as a petit Parisian in 1939.
This is a real story of her long and severe journey back home and her life afterwards. She loved Paris, but the situation in Europe was gradually getting too volatile to lead a normal life. The Nazis’ power began to overshadow the Continent.

Evacuation within France to avoid Nazis’ attack was inevitably followed by escape to Germany in the wake of Normandy Landings, due to Japan's military alliance with Germany. She stayed in Zuckow, 100 km north of Berlin with her family and her friends and their families. Their eight-month long evacuated life in Zuckow castle came to a sudden end when the castle and its estates were confiscated by Nazi to be used as a citadel to fight against the invading USSR armies. After staying in Linde mountain retreat for a while, their real journey began. They crossed devastated Berlin from west to east to go to Warsaw, then to Moscow followed by trans-Siberian crossing to Manchuria where they lived for almost an year until the very end of the World War Second.

Packed into a boat to Senzaki and packed again into a train, they finally arrived at Tokyo to find the landscape much more devastated than Berlin. It must have been an extremely hard and difficult journey for a nine-year old girl to endure. She must have witnessed lots of cruel aspects of the wars everywhere. Tears often came out of my eyes while reading it, but I am deeply impressed by the fact that she and her family had stayed strong and flexible all the way through.

In 1990s and 2000s, she had made several trips back home again, these times back to France and after the demise of Berlin Wall, to Zuckow and Linde in Germany. She had tried to confirm her trail and to find out the fates of the people she knew. She had clarified the facts of the past experiences.

The 20th Century might well be defined as a century of World Wars and the Cold War. It is difficult to visualize what the 21st Century will be like, but as long as we are willing to support those who are in need of help, especially children stricken by wars, struggles and poverty, the world would be a somewhat better place. Some portion of this book's sales will go to a school for deaf and mute students. What’s a wonderful assistance!

Flower pictures

2007-04-09T14:58:00.000+09:00

It was the unified local elections day yesterday.
After I finished voting,
I took some photos in the park near the polling place.
Cherry blossoms were still beautiful.

Close-up.

Kerria japonica were also blooming.

A Prairie Home Companion

2007-04-06T23:35:00.000+09:00

As intolerable noise from the roadwork just in front of my house seemed to continue all day long today, I went out to see a movie. “A Prairie Home Companion” Story depicting the people of a radio variety show both on stage and backstage on its very last day. It was an enjoyable and memorable movie. The lyric of the song sung toward the end went like this:

Come and sit by my side if you love me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
But remember the Red River Valley
And the cowboy who loved you so true

I recognized in no time that I knew the song, but I could not remember when and where I first heard it. I tried hard to remember on my way back home. It is a really nostalgic and old song. I began to think that it might have been sung in a film “The Grapes of Wrath” by Steinbeck. I googled it after I came home. I was right. Remembering the song made me retrospective. Oh! Am I getting old like the people in the show!

Ciabatta bread and Kaiser bread to go with pot-au-feu for dinner tasted somewhat nostaligic and good tonight.

http://www.aprairiehomecompanionmovie.com/

Cherry Blossom Tunnel

2007-04-01T19:13:00.000+09:00

Wow, green light to go through Cherry blossom tunnel!

Though the weather forecast last evening was "mostly cloudy with occasional showers of blossoms"(lol), many people were out there taking photos with their cellular phones or cameras.

2007-03-31T09:26:00.000+09:00

Malus halliana, or "kaido" in Japanese, in my garden.

They are really fabulous and it is a joy to see them bloom about this time of the year.

Mt. Fuji

2007-03-14T02:52:00.000+09:00

This is a photo I took when I went to Jogashima, at the tip of Miura peninsula.