I don’t have a drum set at home. My practice at home until my next lesson consists of mentally visualizing the sheet music and practicing in my head. I also practice “air drumming”—imagining nine drums in front of me and practicing with my drumsticks in the air. I only actually get to play the drums during my 30-minute private lessons, which I have twice a month. So far, I’ve only had 14 actual drumming sessions. It’s stimulating for me! (Michiko)
This is the 14th Yamaha drum lesson at Fujisawa Yurindo. I practiced changing the rhythm with each hand, and also worked on playing the bass drum with my right foot, which requires a lot of movement. In contrast to yesterday, which felt like early autumn, today is again hot and humid, like summer. Maintaining good health by adjusting to the changing rhythms of the weather is quite a challenge. (Michiko)
A pleasant afternoon with Baba-san. Baba-san brought me kobu-cured horse mackerel. Her husband made it. I will enjoy eating it for dinner tonight. As a thank you, I played a piece of piano music on the piano, something suitable for autumn. (Michiko)
I tried expressing my disappointment through Japanese calligraphy. An autumn night… but when I woke up, it was still a summer morning. Yesterday was cool, so I thought autumn had finally arrived. But when I woke up this morning, it was still summer. What a disappointment! (Michiko)
I have four old fountain pens. The two on the right—the blue one and the one with the silver floral pattern—I’ve used since I was in junior high school and university, respectively. The two on the left belonged to my husband. I’m going to take them to the stationery store at Yurindo to see if they can be repaired. If they can be repaired nicely, I’ll post another photo. I haven’t used a fountain pen in decades, but if I can use these again, I think I might enjoy writing with them again (Michiko)
It was my monthly appointment with my Primary Care Physician. Since the waiting time was long, I did some stretching in the waiting room chair. To prevent my hip joints from stiffening, I also did the leg-shaking exercise that the orthopedic surgeon had taught me recently. Thanks to that, I was able to walk briskly to the examination room when my name was called. First, my blood pressure was measured. Usually, the doctor would say, “Good!” But today, it was a little high. The doctor said, “Well, that’s okay,” with a disappointed tone. Me: “While waiting, I did the leg-shaking exercise. Maybe I did too much.” “Next, my weight was measured. I stepped on the scale with confidence. I had lost 2 kilograms in one month. The doctor said, “Oh, you’ve lost 2 kilograms!” I said, “Yay!” and made my triumphant pose. “How many more kilograms should I lose?” I asked. “Well, that’s about right.”, the doctor replied. “Yes, in moderation,” I said. “in moderation,” the doctor echoed. We exchanged a glance as if it were a prearranged signal, and then I left the examination room. After that, feeling relaxed, I had lunch at a soba noodle restaurant. (Michiko)
I made another recipe today. I boiled sweet potato chips and carrots. The ingredients are sweet potato chips, carrots, ginger, and water. I sprinkled cinnamon on top. (Michiko’s Randam Recipe)
Sanma (pacific saury) and komatsuna dish is ready. I’m making breakfast. I bought fresh, boneless saury yesterday. I fried the saury in olive oil, sprinkled boiled komatsuna with sesame seeds, and mixed them in a frying pan. Pacific saury off the coast of Hokkaido and Aomori Prefecture. (Michiko’s Randam Recipe)
I made simmered flounder. It’s my lunch today. The ingredients are flounder, ginger, carrots, and green peppers. The seasonings are balsamic vinegar, sugar beet oligosaccharides, tomato ketchup, sesame seeds, and water. The flounder’s bones were so hard I couldn’t cut it in half. My kitchen knife is ceramic, so I didn’t cut my fingers. (Michiko’s Randam Recipe)
ChanomiTalk 