This cat kills me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03kZSHR2U-A&feature=relmfu

What is it about boxes that make cats crazy?  If you like this video there are many with Maru in them on Youtube.  If you have a cat does he or she also like boxes?

If you have a chance to study English with this teacher....DON'T!

Hi, everyone found this on youtube.  Some of you may have seen this originally on TV, but I think it is funny enough to post again.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S8JeCS3P6w  If you watch it, let me know what you think of this teacher.  Should I copy his methods?

Meloday Gardot is back!

Melody Gardot, the singer from my hometown that I introduced to you last year, is back with a new bossa nova inspired album.  While I haven't heard the whole album, this is the video and first single released off of it.  Sounds pretty good to me!  Filmed on location in Brazil.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6X9uq05H74&ob=av2e

Open an Izakaya in your garden (or maybe 3 or 4)!

All last week I watched as my marigolds were slowly being eaten down to stems.  This surprised me as I had planted them around my tomatoes, basil and shiso to keep other garden pests away.  While those plants seemed fine, something obviously was eating my marigolds to death.  A little research on the internet found that it was slugs (なめくじ） that were the culprits.  It seems while marigolds repel many harmful insects, slugs find them to be utterly delicious!  So I decided to open an izakaya.  Yes, that's right, actually 4 of them in my garden.  I found 4 small, shallow dishes (you can use jar lids or flower pot bottoms too) put them in the ground so the edges were at ground level.  Then I filled them with the cheapest はっぽうしゅ　I could find.  This morning they each have quite a few drowned slugs and pill bugs (まるむし) in them.  I'll let them go tonight again and then empty them and refill them before tomorrow night.  I also found out you can use non-alcoholic beer (even cheaper!) as the slugs are attracted to the yeast and sugars.   
3 June 12
Have been using non alcoholic beer with the same success as regular beer.  Even found a 99 yen imported one at the local supermarket that is all I am using now!  Hope to be slug free in another week or so.  

Shiso Pesto for a happy and flavorful summer!

Some people in the afternoon class and I were talking about this, and with summer fast approaching and the shiso growing, here is the recipe for shiso pesto.  Once you have all the ingredients, it takes only minutes to make and tastes amazing!  I find that while it is good the first day, it seems to get better the longer the flavors have time to meld together.  Oh, almost forgot to give credit, the recipe is from Miyoko Nishimoto-Schinner's Japanese Cooking, Contemporary and Traditional.  It's a vegan Japanese cookbook that has helped me immensely!

about 100 shiso leaves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil (this is an American cup, so you may need to add a little more if using a Japanese cup)
2 to 3 cloves of garlic (depending on your taste)
1/2 cup of pine nuts (see not above about olive oil)
2 to 3 tablespoons mild miso (I've used all types and it has always turned out good)
2 teaspoons umeboshi paste

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, you can leave it a little chunkier if you like it that way.  Toss the pesto with hot pasta.  The amount is according to your taste.  I start with about a tablespoon or 2 to an individual bowl of pasta, and then taste to decide if I want to add more.  Also this pesto is excellent on tofu, if you want a new twist on your hiya-yakko!  Hope you try and enjoy!  If you do let us know how it turned out for you.

Who Knows Where The Time Goes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9kC7YKbV2I&feature=related One of my favorite songs by Sandy Denny, but this version is by the wonderful, and incredibly missed Eva Cassidy.  I couldn't find an Eva Cassidy version with lyrics, so here they are:

Across the evening sky,all the birds are leaving
Oh but then you know, it was time for them to go
By the winter fire, I will still be dreaming
I do not count the time
for who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?
Sad,deserted shore
your fickle friends are leaving
oh, but then you know it was time for them to go
But I will still be here
I have no thought of leaving
I do not count the time
for who knows where the time goes?
I know I'm not alone
while my love is near me
I know that its so until its time to go
All the storms in winter and the birds in spring again

Yes, where does the time go?  I can't believe nearly a month has passed.  I hope you are all finding ways to stay cool and comfortable in the heat.  The heat and humidity have also been pretty bad here, and it is only in the last week that we have actually had some nice weather to go out and enjoy.  Then over the last two days  we have had torrential downpours and flooding in some areas.  Some places nearby got almost 18 cm of rain in one day!  But at least it is cool and comfortable now.
My trip didn't start off too well as shortly after returning I hurt my back and was spending most of my time lying down.  It was a good chance to do some reading, but not exactly how I planned to spend the beginning of my time off.  Then my brother and his family came in, and with my mother we all went to Washington DC for a few days of sightseeing.  It was nice, but a little lack in planning by my brother made things tense at times, and I think it was a little hard on my mother who can't really walk all day in the heat anymore.  After returning to New Jersey, I came down with a bad head cold that again had me mostly in bed for 4 days.  I consoled myself by thinking that at least I could rest and didn't have to cancel classes or force myself to go to work.  I recovered and then hurt my back again!  Can you believe my luck this summer?
The update on the house is better, but still not as far along as I had hoped.  The first bids from the builders came in and ranged from $520,000 to over $600,000!  I called the architect and told him it was WAY too much and that I couldn't afford that much.  Since then I have been looking at other builders and think I have found one I like and who can do the job in phases and for less.  The only problem with him is that he cannot start until October!  So it is back to negotiations with the bank this week for a loan and then meetings again with the architect and builder.  It is now pouring rain again, and so I think I will head to the cool basement and
exercise so I don't turn back into a fat American!

Rikai-chan!

Here is rikai,  http://www.rikai.com/perl/HomePage.pl?Language=Ja  The instructions are in Japanese and it shows you how you can read English websites.  Just by touching a word you don't know, a small window opens gives you the Japanese translation.  Saves lots of time having to look in a dictionary.  Hope you find it useful in your English studies!