20 April 2007

Grocery Shopping!


Here for your reading amazement is a thrilling and chilling tale of my journey....to the grocery store!!!!

This morning I went shopping at the Gyomu Super (near Sanda Bowl) and got really, really cheap udon again! Only ¥18 per pack! (That's $0.15 to you folks back in the States.) I also got some Yuzu tea (above), which I've been wanting to try for a while, and some frozen veggie croquettes, which I love but am too lazy to figure out how to make myself. The only thing I was a little disappointed about was that they didn't have any Tofu-Hamburger mix. I figured all supermarkets had it, but I guess not. They didn't have any at the Kirindo where I stopped on the way back either! WTF! I did pick up some sweet orange-flavored Calpis there, though, so I guess it's OK.

Thus ends the saga of my trip to Gyomu Super.

Thank you...

Goog Afternooner.

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16 April 2007

Welcome to My Humble Abode

As requested by my mom, I'm posting a virtual tour of my new house. This is part one: from the front gate to the front door, including all the yards! I hope you enjoy it!

This is my house as seen from the street, it has a garage and a front gate and a kind of manky-looking sign out front. Having the sign re-done is on my to-do list, but there's a bunch of other junk we have to do first.



From there we go to the front gate, which has a cute little welcome wreath on it. This wreath was rather cute and inoffensive, so I left it up, but there were a bunch of other little 'welcome' planter-signs stuck in the flower beds and whatnot that were just too cutesy for me; so I chucked 'em.



As you enter the gate, you are greeted by this 'Maneki Neko' (lit. 'beckoning cat', which beckons good luck and prosperity into your home or business) which was given to me by Non-chan and Mr. Non-chan. Thanks guys!



After saying 'Hello!' to the cat (his name is Nekotarou, by the way) it's just a hop skip and a jump up the stairs. All along the stairs are some lovely plants that the previous tenants put in, including a spectacular rosemary bush.



There are also some lovely little flowers (My mom will probably know what kind they are) that were a gift from one of the students.



At the top of the stairs you'll find yourself in the side-yard, which is a jungle of trees and bushes and flowers and weeds that hasn't been tended to in a dog's age. I plan to do something about it in the summer, but for now I'm just letting it grow wild.



Here's another view of the side-yard, including a weird little statue from god-knows-where. It kind of reminds me of those Moai things on Easter Island though...



To your left as you reach the top of the stairs is a little concrete terrace which forms the roof of the garage. Currently it's home to some gross and stagnating tubs of potted plants, but I intend to get some patio furniture and a little grill and turn it into a summer barbecue space once I have the time and the money. (Which means it'll probably be next summer rather than this summer.)



Next, we turn to the right and into the front yard. The front yard isn't as badly overgrown as the side yard, thanks to some students who have apparently helped with the gardening from time to time, but it still won't be winning any prizes.



Though as a whole it's pretty weedy and gross there are a few bright spots in the front yard, such as this rosemary:



This tulip:



And these white flowers (again I'm guessing my mom proabably knows what they are, they remind me of lily-of-the valley, but they seem a bit big for that...)



Next, we move around to the side of the house, where there is basically nothing, except this door. I'm not really sure why this door is here, and currently you can't even open it, because it's blocked from the inside by a big kitchen cabinet, a microwave and a toaster oven...



Which brings us to the back of the house, which was apparently used as a dumping ground for old bicycles. There are currently two useless bicycles back here with flat tires and missing airvalves, as well as a rusted old clothes-pole and a plastic kiddy-chair...



As we continue around the back of the house, we come upon this strange plant. I rather like this plant, and I'm tempted to try re-planting it somewhere where it'll be more visible.



This brings us full circle, back to the side of the house and the front door, Yeah!



Don't forget to join me again next time when we enter the house (A.K.A. 'The Den of Coolness Mark 2') for the grand tour!

Goog afternooner!

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