１２月３０日（土曜日）２０１７
今朝は町内の皆さんが出て、恒例の表通りのしめ縄飾りをしました。通りの両側に縄が張られ、そこに御幣（ごへい）と呼ばれる神事の白い紙と藁（わら）を等間隔に交互に挟んでいきます。家の両側には葉のついた青竹も立てられました。門前町の商店街が用意した「笑門 戌」と書かれた絵馬も玄関上に飾りました。それから今日、名古屋からお見えになった二度目のお客様に可愛い干支の置物もいただいたのでカウンターに飾りました。一気にお正月が近づいた感じです。It is an annual social custom day to put a sacred Shinto rope along the front street for the new year by all the neighbouring people. When I was out in the street this morning, there was already a rope of straw along the street and five sheets of white paper distributed called Gohei which is used in Shinto ceremony. I pushed and inserted the Gohei and straw alternately in equal distances. We set up a fresh bamboo tree at the side of each house. I also put a small wooden plaque on the upper part of the entrance on which Kanji character, Shoomon (lit. good fortune and happiness will come) and next zodiac, dog were written. A little cute dog ornament was placed on the counter inside my cafe which a customer from Nagoya gave to me today. From those decorations,I feel that the new year is almost here.
１２月２８日（木曜日）２０１７
なかなかブログが書けませんでした。少し遅い報告ですが、日曜朝から二泊三日で東京へ行ってきました。帰りの新幹線は早朝にも関わらず自由席は満席状態。仕事の方が殆どでした。関東は上天気。新幹線の中から美しい富士山が見えました。昔、アメリカ暮らしの長い日本人の年配の方が、一時帰国して新幹線から富士山を見ると思わず手を合せたくなるとおっしゃっていたのを思い出しました。同感です。本当に富士山は日本の心。その優しく透き通った富士の姿に惹かれながら 私は自分自身を生かし続けてくれる全てのものに感謝しました。I had been feeling bad about not having time to write my blog. It is a bit of a late report but I went to Tokyo over the Christmas weekend. On the way back home, it was almost full of passengers in the Shinkansen (Bullet train) even though it was early morning.The weather was perfect in Kanto area. I could see the beautiful Mt. Fuji from the window of the Shinkansen. I recall a lady who had been living in the US for several decades saying that she wanted to put her hands together to pray when she saw Mt.Fuji from the Shinkansen. I agree with her. Mt. Fuji symbolizes the sprit of the Japanese people. Being enchanted by the Mt. Fuji which was so gentle and clear, I thanked everything which makes me alive.
１２月１８日（月曜日）２０１７
寒い朝でした。神社は寒さよけなのか御簾が下りていましたが、これぐらいでは吹きさらしの拝殿は防寒にはならないだろうと思い、平安時代の貴族の暮しに思いを馳せました。森を抜けての山々の景色は素晴らしいものでした。遠く霊山（りょうぜん）は真っ白に輝き、近くの杉坂山、桃原（もばら）あたりも薄ら雪化粧でした。山があまりに美しいので、今日はいつもとは違う方向に歩いて写真を何枚も撮りました。It was a chilly morning. Probably to protect against the cold, the bamboo blind was down at the area of worship and the cloister. However, the area is too open to protect from the cold. I sympathized with the people who lived in the Heian period in such severe conditions. Passing through the wood of shrine, I was amazed by the mountain scenery. Ryoozen mountain which I could see in the distance was shining white. Sugisaka and Mobara area were also thinly covered with snow. Since those mountains were so beautiful, today I walked a different way than usual and took many photos of those mountains.
１２月１７日（日曜日）２０１７
手術後すっかりお見かけしなくなったので体調が悪いのではと心配していたT.Kさんがしばらくぶりにカフェにお出でになり、ほっとしました。その手には切り花が見えました。ガザニアというそうで、テーブルの上の花瓶用、残りは土に差しておくと根が生えて繁殖する強い花だと教えてくださいました。調べるとガザニアは和名が勲章菊（クンショウギク）。その花が勲章のように鮮やかだからだそうです。それから、観音竹（カンノンチク）とアネモネの鉢植えも一緒に持ってきて下さいました。観音竹というので竹科の植物かと思って調べたらヤシ科でした。沖縄の観音山という寺院に生えていたことからその名前がついたとか。アネモネは花を咲かせるのは来年の春ですが、今の時期、外に出しておく緑があったほうがいいだろうとのお心遣い。ありがたい限りです。Mr. T.K came to my cafe today. Since It had been a while after his operation in hospital, I had been worried about his health condition. I was relieved by his appearance. He brought a bunch of cut flowers of gazania. He said some of them were decoration for small tables and the rest of the gazania should be planted in the soil. The Japanese name of gazania is Kunshoo-giku (decoration-mum) because the flower is just like a bright decoration. Mr.T.K also brought pots of Kan-non chiku (Rhapis excelsa) and anemone. Since Kan-non chiku has the Kanji character of "竹（bamboo)" in its name, I thought it is a family of bamboo, but according to online information it is a palm family of plants. It was found in the area of the temple named Kan-non yama (The goddess of Mercy mountain) in Okinawa, so people named it " Kan-non chiku". Anemone will bloom in the spring but Mr. T.K brought this because a green color is needed for the outside of the entrance of the cafe. I appreciate his thoughtfulness.
１２月１４日（木曜日）２０１７
昨日、ちらちらと舞っているものを見ましたが、夜になって外を見たら薄ら白くなっていました。初雪です。今朝明るくなるのを待ってこの冬初めての雪景色を眺めました。モノトーンの世界。裏山が美しかったです。Yesterday, I saw snowflakes were falling and when I looked outside at night, trees were covered with a thin layer of snow. It was the first snow of this winter. After waiting for the daybreak this morning, I looked over at the snowscape from the window upstairs. It was monotone beautiful world.
１２月１２日（火曜日）２０１７
冷え込みが一段と低い一日の始まりで、日中も風の冷たさがカフェの中からも分かるほどでした。S.Kさんからいただいた時はつぼみだった侘助（わびすけ）が花を咲かせました。侘助とは椿の名前で茶人笠原侘助が好んだからそのように言うそうです。深い緑の葉を背景に咲いた一重の白い椿の花は凛とした美しさを放っています。The day started with very chilly temperature and in the daytime even from inside the house I could easily guess how cold the wind was. A camellia from Ms. S.K has opened which was just a bud when it first came. The camellia is called "Wabisuke". It is the name of a master of tea ceremony, Wabisuke Kasahara, and he loved to put it in a pot when he did the tea ceremony. The single-petaled white flower against the green camellia leaves is blooming gracefully.
１２月９日（土曜日）２０１７
北風の舞う冷え込みの厳しい毎日です。お客様がカフェにいらして最初のおもてなしはほっとできる温かさでしょう。でもエアコンを３台つけても温度は今イチ上がらず。この冬は石油ストーブも仲間入りです。「カイヅカイブキ」の枝をいただいたので、ずいぶん前にSKさんに床の間に生けていただき、いらなくなった枝がもったいないので庭の南天と合わせてクリスマス飾りを作ってみました。日本も西洋も緑の葉と赤い実の組み合わせは神聖で祝福の象徴ですね。These days have been cold with a chilly north wind. It must be a welcoming service on such a cold day to provide comfortable warmth in the cafe. Even upon turning on three heaters, the room temperature did not rise much, so I bought an oil heater this winter. Since a customer gave me three branches of Juniperus chinensis "Kaizuka", I asked Ms. S.K to arrange them at the alcove. Using some unnecessary branches I made two Christmas ornaments with some Nandina domestica. The combination of green leaves and red fruit is a symbol of holiness and blessing in both Japan and western countries.
１２月４日（月曜日）２０１７
師走に突入して早４日目。日の出時刻が彦根で６時４８分で日の入りは１６時４３分。朝の散歩も７時をかなり過ぎていました。上天気ですが冷え込んでいたので、マフラー、帽子、手袋、それにサングラス。神社へのお参りにはお賽銭とハンカチが必要。そしてカメラをポケットに。多賀大社の屋根には霜が降りていました。一昨日は遠くの霊山のてっぺんが白く、手前の山々の紅葉と併せてそれはきれいでしたが、今朝はもう雪は見られませんでした。それでも静かな朝の山々は美しかったです。うちの近くまで戻ってくると朝日を受けて見事な赤い葉っぱが太田川の上で光っていました。多賀大社では殆ど散っていたのに日向神社に入ると大きな紅葉の木が何ともやさしく枝を広げていました。秋がまだそこに残っていました。It is already the fourth day in December. Today's sunrise time in Hikone was 6:48 and sunset time was 16:43. I went for a morning walk around 7:30. It was a clear but cold morning, so I needed scarf, knitted hat, gloves and sunglasses. I also brought an offering of money for Taga-taisha, handkerchief and camera in the pocket. There was frost on the roof of the shrine. The day before yesterday, I saw the snow on the top of Ryoozen mountain. Although the snow disappeared today, the mountains were quiet and beautiful this morning, too. I was amazed by the tree beside the small river near my house. It was a completely deep orange color and shining by the sun. In the small shrine named Hyuuga-jinjya, I saw a big Japanese maple tree with leaves which were elegantly colored. I found the remaining signs of fall there.
１１月２８日（火曜日）２０１７
日曜日にカフェをS.Kさんにお任せして群馬県の上州富岡へ行ってきました。近くに２０１４年に世界遺産に登録された富岡製糸場があり、外からちょっとだけ見学しました。東京で一泊して家に帰ってきたら、何と桃原ごぼうの頂き物が置いてありました。桃原ごぼうは多賀町で廃村の危機にある標高３５０mの桃原集落で３年ほど前から復活栽培が行なわれています。かつては「多賀ごぼう」と呼ばれ京都の料亭などに年末の正月料理として使われていた高級食材です。去年は私も収穫のお手伝いをさせていただきましたが、赤い粘土質の土に埋まったごぼうを途中で折らずに掘り起こすのは至難の技でした。中が真っ白で香りが良くそのままでも食べられるほど筋もなくシャキシャキとした食感です。その貴重な高級ごぼうを手伝ってもいない私がいただくなんて勿体無く有り難い限りです。今夜は鮭の糟汁に少し入れて美味しくいただきました。Last Sunday, I asked Ms. SK to take care of my cafe and went to Jyooshuu Tomioka in Gunma. There is a Tomioka Silk Mill near where I visited which gained World Heritage status in 2014. After staying Sunday night in Tokyo, I came back to home to find a package of Mobara Goboo (Mobara burdock). It was a gift from a friend. Mobara Goboo has started being planted again since a couple years ago in the Mobara area which is 350 meters altitude and in danger of becoming a ghost village now. The goboo root was called as "Taga-goboo" and shipped to Kyoto until several decades ago. Many high ranked Japanese restaurants bought them and prepared a New Year's special dish for the customers. I helped the harvest last year which is very hard because we have to dig up the root in a clayish ground. You definitely need a special technique to dig it up if you want to take a whole root. Mobara Goboo is beautifully white inside. It smells and tastes so good! I am so lucky to get it even though I didn't do anything to help the harvest this year.
１１月２３日（木曜日）２０１７
普段は静かに眠っていますが、時々張り切って動き回るものがうちに います。お掃除ロボット、ルンバ君です。実は掃除機をかけるのが好きではない私の悩みを察してか、高校時代の友人たちが贈ってくれた便利な機械です。今日は二階の寝室を彼に任して外から帰ってきたら、いつもは出発点に戻っているはずのルンバ君がいません。「ルンちゃん！どこにいるの？ルンちゃん！」とベッドの下を覗き込みましたが彼の姿がありません。おかしい。部屋は閉め切ってあるのでいないはずはありません。今度は懐中電燈でもう一度ベッドの下をよく照らしたら、一番奥の隅にルンちゃんは止まっていました。暗いところでおうちに帰れずに引っかかっていたルンバ君が可哀想でした。I have a "pet" at home which is usually quietly sleeping but sometimes moves around actively. It is a vacuum cleaning robot, Roomba. I have to confess that I don't like to vacuum very much. My high school friends sympathized with me, and they gave me this convenient machine for celebrating the opening of my café. Today I set the Roomba in my bedroom upstairs. After a while when I came back from outside and took a look there, he was not back in the starting location. "Hello Room! Where are you? Hello!" I called to him and looked under the bed but he was not there. He should have been there because there was no way he could escape the room. I searched under the bed with a flashlight again, and then I found my Roomba stuck in the rear corner. I felt sorry for him as he had to stay in such a dark place and could not get back to his home. My poor dear Roomba.
１１月２２日（水曜日）２０１７
少し前になりますがご近所のお菓子屋さん（風月堂）から大きな柚子をいただきました。鬼柚子（又は獅子柚子）というそうです。持ってきて下さった時はあまりの大きさにびっくりしました。ユズの名前がついますが調べてみたら実は柚子とは別種でザボンやブンタンの仲間だそうです。冷たい空気の中でしっかり頑張ってこんな立派な実をつけました。A few days ago I received a huge Yuzu (Citrus junos) from a woman from a Japanese sweet shop near my cafe. It is called "Oni yuzu" ( demons yuzu). I was surprised at the size of the fruit. According to the web information, it has the name "Citron" but it belongs to pomelo. I am impressed by it as it finally came to grow to such a huge size in this cold air.
１１月２０日（月曜日）２０１７
１８、１９日の週末はJapan Coffee Festival 2017 for workshop-cafe in TAGAというイベントが絵馬通りで行なわれました。空き家を借りたり、テントを張ったりして焙煎コーヒーの試飲販売でした。多くの若い人、家族連れで賑わっていましたが、「出展」の意味がよく分からず、我がカフェ「多賀あさひや」はマグカップを片手に歩く多くの若者たちを眺めるだけの２日間でした。それにしても冬本番の寒さながら、イベントに来ていた人達の元気なことには驚きました。そんな中、半年振りに顔を見せてくださった長野塩尻からのご夫婦。尾道へのご旅行の途中、春に多賀に寄り道をして偶然カフェにおいでくださった方達です。昨日は風知草（フウチソウ）と長野のリンゴをお土産にお持ち下さいました。サクサクの甘酸っぱいフジ、美味しくいただいて元気がでました。During the weekend of 18th and 19th, "Japan Coffee Festival 2017 for workshop-cafe in TAGA" was held on the front road, Ema Doori. Using vacant houses or pitching tents, they sold their original coffee and beans. Many young people and families came and enjoyed the event. Since I didn't get the meaning of "running a booth", I didn't make a "booth". Most of the people just passed by my cafe which was so unfortunate. Anyhow it looked like people were enjoying the event even though it was windy winter weather. By the way, I had a happy surprise yesterday. A couple from Shiojiri in Nagano stopped by my cafe. It has been half a year since I met them this spring when they were heading to Onomichi. They parked their car at Taga Service Area by the highway and came down to Taga. They brought a pot of Fuuchisoo (Hakonechioa macra) and fresh apples for me. Their visit cheered me up and I thank them for their warm gifts.
１１月１４日（火曜日）２０１７
しばらく良いお天気が続いて七五三参りの家族の微笑ましい光景が多賀大社やカフェ「多賀あさひや」でも見られましたが、今日は朝から雨で通りを歩く人の姿もありません。暖房なしではいられない１１月半ばのこのごろです。先日、毎週１、２度お手伝いいただいているS.K さんがドウダンツツジの枝を持ってきて下さいました。山に入って靴をどろんこにさせながら枝を切って下さったのでしょう。有り難いです。ツツジの名前がついているので、春に咲かせるのはピンクのよくある花を想像して調べてみたら、白い小さな提灯のような花でした。秋は紅葉した枝が華やかです。緑の中に白く咲いているのは椿の花。床の間が秋の彩りで賑やかです。It had been fine weather for a couple of days until yesterday, when we saw many pleasant scenes of families with Shichi-Go-San at Taga-taisha and in my cafe. It is a rainy day today and there are hardly any visitors in the front road. I definitely need a heater these days in the middle of November. The other day, Ms. S.K who helps me one or two times a week brought branches Doodan-tsutsuji (Enklanthus campanulatus) for me. She must have had a hard time cutting the branches in the mountainside getting mud on her shoes. I thank her for her effort. Since it has "tsutsuji" on its name, I thought that it is similar to the flower tsutsuji (azalea) which we see in the spring, but it is a small white one like a lily and is different from what I had imagined. The branches turn to red in the fall and they are so beautiful. The white flower in the green is camellia. The alcove looks gorgeous with these fall colors.
１１月９日（木曜日）２０１７
晴天ながら風の強い一日でした。久しぶりに朝の散歩に出ました。神社やお寺、山々の紅葉はこれからますます深くなっていくのでしょうが、多賀大社も控えめながら品の良い紅葉が見られます。境内の菊花展を見て、亡き父もこのような大菊を毎年趣味で育てて品評会にも出していたのを懐かしく思い出しました。春に楽しませてもらった田んぼ道の桜の木は枯れ葉になってもまだ枝についていました。季節の移り変わりがくり返す中でゆっくりと年月が経っていくことを実感します。Although it was a clear sky, today was very windy. I went out for a morning walk for the first time in a while. The autumn foliage in this area has started and in a couple of weeks the colors will be much deeper at the shrine, temple and mountains. It is not glamorous but we are able to enjoy the elegant fall colours at Taga taisha. There is a display of chrysanthemum at the shrine and I recall my father who grew big flowers of chrysanthemum as his hobby and often exhibited them into an exhibition fair. The cherry blossom trees which I enjoyed the beautiful pink flowers in the spring have dry leaves now and still stick to the branches. With the repeating cycles of the seasonal changes, I feel that the years are slowly passing by.
１１月３日（金曜日）２０１７
雨が多く台風のおまけまでついた１０月が終ってまずは穏やかなお天気の１１月の滑り出しです。床の間のしつらえを少し新しくして気分を変えてみました。１１月は「霜月」。「霜が降りる月」とのことです。暖房を少しつけてはまた消してという日々になりました。季語を抜き出してみると「時雨（しぐれ）」「山茶花（さざんか）」など風情のあるものから「七五三」「大根」など微笑ましいものまでたくさんあります。多賀大社は七五三参りで晴れ着を着た子供たちとその家族で賑わっています。After October which had many rainy days and a typhoon, November has started with gorgeous clear days. I changed the arrangement of the alcove a little. In Japanese, November is called "Shimotsuki" in a classic way. It means "a month which has frost". A heater is sometime needed but not always these days. I picked a couple of seasonal words for Haiku poems. "Shigure (drizzling rain in late autumn)","Sazanka (camellia)" which sounds elegant. Some words are cute such as "Shich-go- san (celebration of child's third, fifth and seventh years)' and "Daikon (radish). We could see many dressed up kids and their families at Taga-shrine because of Shichi-go-san. We enjoy the festive mood.
１０月２７日（金曜日）２０１７
イギリスにいる娘が今朝短いメールとYoutubeのサイトを送ってくれました。２０年前までアメリカで放映されていた就学前の子供たち用に制作されたテレビ番組です。https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BZlyxS37Kk 番組の名前は"Mister Rodgers' Neighborhood（ロジャースさんの近所）1968-2001"。私もアメリカにいた時に何度か見たことがある懐かしいものでした。送られてきたビデオを観るのは初めてでしたが、ゲストのジェフという５歳の男の子が凄いなと驚くと同時に両親や医師など周りの方々の確固たる信念を感じました。フレッド・ロジャースが「僕たちは悲しい時にどうやって自分なりに向き合うか見つけなきゃいけないね」とジェフに語りかけるところが印象的です。これほど上質な番組は日本にはまだありません。This morning I received a short email and a website link from my daughter who is in England now. It is a TV program in the US called "Mister Rodgers' Neighborhood (1968-2001)". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BZlyxS37Kk I saw the program several times when I was in the US but the one which she sent was the first time for me to watch. The little five year old boy is amazingly strong. I was also very moved by the people who were supporting him such as his parents and doctors although they did not appear on TV. Mr. Rodgers says to Jeff "We have to discover our own ways of doing things when we are feeling blue." I was impressed by his words. I have never watched such a high quality TV program in Japan before.
１０月２３日（月曜日）２０１７
日曜日の夜は大型台風の影響を受けての酷い雨。ラジオで衆議院選挙の結果報告を途切れ途切れに聞きながら近畿各地の河川の水位が上がっているとの緊迫した報道が頻繁に入っていました。その中に芹川、彦根、甲良などの名前もあり心配でした。一夜明けて雨が止んでいたので散歩の足を延ばして芹川まで行ってみました。まだかなり強い風の中、芹川を見るとすごい濁流で水位もそれほど下がっていずに恐ろしいほどでした。けれど北の空はすでに 明るく、そこに虹がかかっていました。Yesterday, Sunday night, it rained heavily as an effect of the big typhoon. On the radio while I was listening to the report of the Lower House election which was held yesterday, a warning or official advice to evacuate from flooding of the river often came in suddenly and cut the program. This morning, since the rain was up, I went to see Serigawa which is the river which runs through our region. Standing in the heavy wind, still amid the typhoon, I saw the river. The level of the water was still high and the stream was rough and muddy. It was scary. Then, I turned and looked at the northern sky. The arch of the rainbow was over there.
１０月２２日（日曜日）２０１７
土曜日の午後、雨の中を京都からのお客様があり、お帰りになる際に「多賀あさひや」と書いた小さな徳利を手渡してくださいました。骨董好きで 買い求めてお宅に置いていらしたものらしいです。それは間違いなく昔我が家で売っていた徳利でした。中には延命酒が入っていました。徳利は沢山残っていますが小さいもので我が家の屋号が入ったものは初めて見ました。「御しめ縄 かけて祈らむ いと長き よはひを守る 多賀の社に」 何代か前に家を出ていったものが再び戻ってきました。不思議な巡り合わせです。On rainy last Saturday afternoon, there was a guest who came to my cafe from Kyoto, and he handed in an old little sake bottle written Taga Asahiya. He had bought and kept it in his home because he likes antique collection. It is certainly the one which was sold at the original Taga Asahiya run by my great grandmother or grandmother from 80 to 100 years ago. It was a container of Sake called "long life sake". Many little sake bottles are still in my house but it was the first time for me to look at one with the shop's name. On the bottle there are the words "Hanging the sacred rope, let's pray at the Taga Shrine which gives us long life." It left my shop with someone a couple of generations ago and came back to the original place now. It is a really fortunate chance.
１０月１９日（木曜日）２０１７
昨日は久しぶりにお天気でした。午後、スケッチ画家の松居清恵さんがお仲間とお越しくださいました。お見えになる少し前に何と「多賀あさひや」の外観をスケッチしてくださって、それを私にプレゼントして下さいました。嬉しい贈り物です! 数ヶ月前から工事をしていた前の参道は以前とすっかり様子が変わりました。神社への参拝の道としては落ち着きのない赤い街灯やボラードと呼ばれるポールが立ち並ぶこの道を私が好きではないことを知って松居さんは家の前の赤い三本のボラードを外して描いて下さっていました。Yesterday was a fine day after many long rainy days. In the afternoon Mr. Kiyoshige Matsui who is a sketch artist came to my cafe with his sketch friends. Surprisingly he gave me his work which was drawn outside of my cafe! He drew it yesterday just before his arrival. What a wonderful gift it is! There was long-term construction of the front street and it changed to a completely new and different one from before. Actually I don't like this new road because it doesn't seem appropriate as the front path to the Taga Shrine and many Japanese-style houses like my cafe along the street. You will see many red bollards and streetlights which were newly set on the street, and three bollards are also set in front of my cafe. On the sketch, however, they do not appear. I appreciate Mr. Matsui's thoughtfulness.
１０月１７日（火曜日）２０１７
T.Kさんが持ってきてくださって２ヶ月にもなるのにまだ毎日きれいな紫の花を咲かせている野牡丹（ノボタン）。毎朝鉢の周りに落ちた花びらを拾いつつ、また別の花が咲いているのが嬉しいです。３日前にS.Kさんが秋の草木をたくさん持ってきて下さいました。まず、「大文字草（ダイモンジソウ）」。白い花の形がまさに「大」の字と同じです。次は「錦木（ニシキギ）」。秋の山間（やまあい）で葉っぱが真っ赤になるそうです。茎が平たく乾いていて別名「カミソリの木」と言われる所以が分かります。その次は「ウメモドキ」活き活きした緑の葉に赤い実がたくさんついていましたが、花瓶に入れたら翌日上手に水が上がらなくなっていて残念。ウメモドキに「ゴメンナサイ」と謝っています。最後は「フジバカマ」。これは秋の七草の一つで紫の優しい野草です。雨まじりのお天気で急に寒くなったこの頃。通りも家の中もしんとしている時、秋の草木たちは結構賑やかにおしゃべりしているのかも知れませんね。Purple flowers of Nobotan (Glory bush) are still blooming every day since Mr. T.K brought them for the cafe about two months ago. Each flower opens only for one day and every morning. I pick the petals which had fallen around the flower pot, but I still enjoy finding other new flowers appear. Ms. S.K brought autumn branches and plants to me three days ago. First of all, it is called "Daimonji-soo (Rock foil)" and the shape of the little white flower looks very much like the kanji character "大 (dai)". Next is "Nishikigi (Euonymus alatus)". According to Ms. S.K, the leaves turn to red in the mountain and it is so beautiful in autumn. It is also called "razor tree" because the branch is dry and flat. Next one with red berries is "Umemodoki (Japanese winterberry)". It came with beautiful fresh green leaves but they were not able to draw up water from the next day which made me feel very bad. The last one is "Fuji-bakama (Thoroughwort)". It is one of the seven autumn herbs. It has been rainy and cold these days. While it is very quiet both on the street and inside the house, these autumn plants might be talking to each other actively.
１０月１４日（土曜日）２０１７
いつも通る田舎の散歩道。そこに必ず目に入る看板があります。マタイ伝からの言葉でしょうか。自身を省みさせる重い看板です。During my morning walk, a sign always comes into my sight. "People stand in front of God on the last day." They are words from the Bible and it makes me reflect on myself.
１０月８日（日曜日）２０１７
床の間のしつらえを新しくしました。時期が違っていれば恥ずかしいなと思いながら、私には全く解読不可能な古い軸を掛け、S.Kさんが持ってきてくださった秋明菊（シュウメイギク）それに紅葉の舞扇をアクセントに置いてみました。日々深まり行く秋。穏やかな十月でありますように。I newly arranged the alcove. Because the hanging scroll is very old, I can not read the words at all, and am ashamed to admit that I do not know if it fits this season. Nevertheless, I decided to choose it. The flower is Shuumeigiku (Anemono hupehensis) which Ms. S.K brought from her garden. I also put a red maple leaf fan for the fall. It's been getting more autumn-like day by day. May it be a peaceful October!
１０月４日（水曜日）２０１７
今日は中秋の名月（十五夜）です。先日、アメリカから帰る飛行機の窓にまん丸で白く光っているものが見えるので何かと思ったら月でした。何時間も何時間も私は美しいお月様と一緒に旅を続けました。それは初めてのとても不思議な感覚で幸福な時間でした。今夜はお月様が顔を出してくださるかどうか分からないけれど、取りあえず子供の頃を思い出してお月見の支度をしてみました。去年お世話になったご近所のお宅の柿の実を許可を頂いたので採らせていただき、朝、Hさんが持ってきて下さった栗も一緒にお供えしました。秋の味覚一杯。素敵なお月見の縁側になりました。Tonight is the harvest moon (full moon). A couple of days ago when I was on the plane from the US to Japan, I saw a round white shining object from the window beside me. It was the moon and I ended up staying with it for hours and hours. I felt very strange about it and It was a happy time which I had never experienced before. I am not sure if I will be able to see the clear full moon tonight, but I prepared by setting up for viewing today's special moon recalling my childhood days when my grandmother did the same for this occasion. I picked some persimmons from the tree in my neighbor's garden since I got permission from the owner who kindly let me stay at her house last year while my house was being remodelled. I got some beautiful chestnuts from Mrs. H this morning. I offered these autumn fruits and nuts as well as dumpling and sake. I am glad for this gorgeous preparation for full moon viewing tonight.
１０月２日（月曜日）２０１７
先日シカゴの空港で「農家の冷蔵庫（Famer's Fridge)」という自動販売機を見つけました。色々新鮮な野菜がチキンや海老などと組み合わせてぎっしり瓶に詰まっていて、好きなのを選んでクレジットカードで買うのです。特徴は全てオーガニック（無農薬）でカロリー表示はもちろん内容が詳しく紹介されていることです。生の野菜がきれいに層になって瓶に入っているのにびっくり。しばらく見ていると、飛行機の乗務員が次々にやってきて慣れた手つきで買っていきました。サラダは大体１０ドル前後（１０００円ぐらい）。私はパイナップルとチアシードをココナツミルクで和えたスナック（$3.60)を試しに買ってみました。アメリカならではの体験で面白かったです。The other day, I found a vending machine named "Farmer's Fridge" at Chicago O'Hare Airport. You will see clear bottles with various fresh vegetables that are piled up in layers with chicken, shrimp or others. You will choose your favorite and buy with a credit card. The vegetables are all organic and you will see the calories and other detailed information of each bottle. It surprised me because the fresh vegetables are very artistically layered and stuffed in the bottle. While I was curiously looking and standing by the machine, crew members came and made their selections quickly and easily as if they were very familiar with the machine. The price of the salad was around $10. I tried a snack of "Pineapple coconut Chia" ($3.60). It was fun to try this American vending machine.
