One thing I love about Japan are the many public holidays that are scattered around the year. That there is very little proper vacation I am not so fond of however, so when there was a chance in September to have a long weekend, we thought it was a good idea to do a little […]
Even though it has been a very hot summer, we have been trying to do a lot of fun’s things during this year’s summer holiday. Since 35 degrees and sun is not well suited for outdoor play in the park, we have explored fun activities appropriate for a hot summer. Thus we have visited the
When typhoon number 10 of this year, or Shanshan as it is called, approached Kyushu the other day, the anticipated trajectory would put us close to its path and as the typhoon grew in strength, businesses and the city government prepared for its arrival. And so did we. Many shops and medical clinics contacted its
Every now and then, my son and I try our hand on cooking something new. Japanese gyoza dumplings are a favorite of my son’s. We normally buy frozen vegetable and minced meat gyoza at the grocery store. They are pre-made so we only need to fry them, but there is something about making things from
What do you want to do today, we asked our son last Sunday. It is summer holiday and we thought we were going to do something special, a little family excursion to our son’s liking. He did not hesitate – I want to go to Fukuoka tower, he said. Fukuoka Tower is located by the
Giving gifts to say thank you is a seasonal thing in Japan, new year season and summer being the two periods where most of the gift-giving occur. Companies can send customers gifts, patients can send a gift to for example a doctor or dentist who has been particularly helpful to them, friends and relatives can
After rain. Comes more rain – that is how I have experienced summer so far this year. Sure, there have been a few days or hours of sun in between the persistent showers, but the last month has really given us a lot of precipitation. And nature has loved it – the grass is growing visibly day
It is adorable to see how love and nursing instincts express themselves in the behavior of a little toddler. While we have ample opportunities to experience everyday love, the additional feelings that come out when mom or dad is feeling under the weather are so cute in the way they show up. Not long ago
After months of waking up and still half asleep making a perfectly beautiful omelette for my son, I felt like quite the omelette master. Break an egg, add some milk and spices and stir while the frying pan with some rapeseed oil is getting warm, pour the mix into the pan, lower the temperature, wait
We live in a part of the world where seismic activity and volcanos are part of life. We live in a house where dinosaur-books and water-play is a common feature in everyday activities. We are a family where we use three languages in our conversations. Unsurprisingly, this all gets mixed, and sometimes in the cutest
Like the previous two years, come end of May, our son got a really bad cold. But unlike the time when he turned two and three, this year on his fourth birthday he had recovered enough to both go back to his kindergarten and to have a birthday party with grandma. He has been talking
Before going to sleep, I set my alarm at 7.15 to make sure we will have enough time for all the morning preparations needed for a little boy to go to kindergarten. In fairness I would not really have to set the alarm since I almost every morning wake up before it goes off, wake