Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Random Good Things

I had a really bad day at work in the end of September. I stuck my head in Sylvia's office and unloaded and then stormed off. I spent the evening running around, frustated and cranky and generally unhappy. When I got home, I found flowers stuck in the gate of my yard--from Sylvia. How sweet was that? Sylvia is a wonderful co-worker and a great friend. She is funny and smart and sweet and loving and goes "Ha. ha. ha." when she laughs. Sylvia is a nice shade of brown, too.

I made a fundoshi (tradional japanese wrap-around underwear, like a loincloth) for Chris. I will not post a picture of it. It was a practice run on how to sew narrow, rolled hems, a skill I would need to sew a table runner. I figured out how to sew the hems and made a runner for Sylvia's new table. The runner has fancy beaded ends. The fundoshi did not, but I wish I had beaded it!
The runner is being modeled by my table, but the runner flatters Sly's table, too.

I recently did some grocery shopping at the Japanese supermarket. Bontan Candy is back in season. It is a gummy candy, flavored with Yuzu, a kind of citrus fruit. The best thing about Bontan Candy is that you can eat the wrapper, which is made of cellulose (plant fiber). The candy went away in the summer, probably due to the fact humidity would melt the wrappers. I love Bontan. Last fall, I bought boxes and boxes. Chris almost died laughing at me, because I stuffed two whole boxes worth of Bontans in my mouth because I liked the crinkly sound the edible wrappers made. And I kept saying "I'm eating the wrappers! I am eating the wrappers! Because I can!" Another good reason to eat the wrappers is that the wrappers don't peel off well.



Here is a dozen Japanese eggs. How many are in a dozen? That's right, ten! They are lovely speckled brown eggs. And the expiration date is printed on the eggs, which is extremely cool.

Mochi is pounded rice. It is made into an assortment of treats, some savoury and some sweet. Here is a pretty set of mochi, for fall time. They are little works of art. Even the little disposable container is pretty. I originally picked up the mochi because of the shape of the treats, but I noticed the manufacturer's label is a nice Fall scene with a Bashi (bridge) and Maeda (Maple) leaves. One mochi is shaped like a kaki or persimmon, and has a crunchy bit of cookie for the stem. The dark mochi is coffee flavored and has sesame on the outside to make it fancy. The greenish one has bits of sugar crystals, to look like dew on autumn grass. Almost too pretty to eat, but not quite, since this is the second package I've bought, as I ate the first one.

They sure look good don't they? I think I will go have one right now, with a nice cup of Ocha (tea).

1 comment:

Syl said...

Anything for you Jodi - Love ya, Syl