Furoshiki

This is the traditional Japanese way to wrap a gift. In formal situations, we use a wrapping cloth called a furoshiki like this.
When you hand a present, you should unwrap it in front of the person who you are giving it to. If you give a present without unwrapping, the person, who gets it, will get the impression that you are demanding a return gift using the furoshiki.
This custom is becoming outdated. I think elderly people who are eighty and over follow it.
I think this because my father-in-law, who is eighty nine, follows this custom, but my parents, who are in their seventies, don't know about it.
　

Public bathhouse

This is a public bathhouse. There used to be a lot of public bathhouses in Japan, but now the number of bathhouses has decreased significantly, because most households have their own bathtubs. If you are interested in taking a public bath, I recommend that you go to hot springs. There are common manners between public bathes and hot springs.
Undress. Before you oak yourself in a bathtub, you need to wash yourself or shower. Do not use a towel in the tub. Do not swim in the tub. Unfortunately,if you have a tattoo,you won't be permitted to use those facilities because people consider you might be a gangster. 　

七草粥

This is porridge called nanakusagayu. To eat nanakusagayu on January 7 is an old Japanese custom. Nana means seven, kusa means greens and gayu means porridge, so this porridge has seven kinds of greens in it. Usually these greens are seldom sold at supermarkets because they are not so tasty.
People in Japan usually have big meals during New year's holidays and it might make our stomachs upset. Porridge is easy to digest, so supermarkets start to sell these seven greens around January 5. I haven't eaten it yet this year, but I will, because I've gained two kilograms since last Christmas!　

Zoni

This is zoni, soup containing mochi rice cake. Zoni is my favorite food. This zoni has some rice cake, naruto, which is boiled fish paste, and mitsuba, which is a kind of flavory leaves in it. You can see something yellow on the top. It is the peel of yuzu which is citrus used to improve the taste of food.
We eat zoni on New Year's Day but there are many kinds of zoni in Japan. I've never eaten this type of zoni. I use kamaboko not naruto. I also use komatsuna, which is called Shogotsuna on New Year's day, but I use neither mitsuba nor yuzu. Moreover. I use square rice cakes not round ones.

Parking ticket

This photo reminds me of happenings about the Road Traffic Law.
Today I'll write about one event. A few years ago, my father and I visited a temple. It had its own carpark, but there was no parking space. So my father parked his car just in front of the temple. We were in the temple only several minutes to pray. When I was walking back toward our car, I found something yellow on the windshield. I told my father what I saw but he couldn't believe his ears. He picked up and stared at the yellow thing. He was totally baffled. He had known that drivers parking in this area would be ticketed.

In Nagoya

Today I didn't have any lessons, so I visited my parents, who live in Nagoya, in the afternoon.
I stayed for several hours and talked about my husband.
After the conversation, I left there and went to a hotel to stay in.
In advance, I booked a hotel room to stay with my daughter ,who works at a company in Nagoya.
We both checked in around 6:30 pm.



Xyz

Pneumonia

My husband has had pneumonia since the week before last , and I have to nurse him day and night.  He awakens every two hours because he's suffering from pain and calls me for help, like a baby. Tonight, I will take care of him all night, like a night shift, but I am already sleepy.  

Somebody  help me!

I think it's time to write my English diary. Thank you for reserving my writing ,24 hours ,365 days!  Fruitful English is convenient for us all. 

I'll recommend it to everyone who wants to talk to someone at night to send messages or assignments to Fruitful! 

It's very helpful! 

The Sponge Bob cartoonist

Yesterday, I found out on the news that "The Sponge Bob" cartoonist died from ALS. According to the news, he announced that he had ALS last year. It had been only one year since he announced his diagnosis. I'm terribly shocked at the news.
Sponge Bob is still popular among young children. It was one of my son's favorite characters; moreover, my husband also has ALS. It's been six years since we were told he had it. He can't walk or stand. He needs help to sit up and to lie on the bed, like a baby. He needs help even to turn over in bed. However, he still earns for and feeds his family, including me.

Happy events.

Yesterday, March 20, was my son's birthday and his college graduation ceremony. It was so wonderful that we could celebrate these happy events on the same day. In April he is transferring from the college to a famous national university. He already passed the entrance examination last August, so we have been eagerly awaiting this day.

The university is in my hometown and it is well-known there, so we are very proud of my son. I used to tell him if he could enter this university, my dream would come true. My dream really has come true! There is nothing I want anymore. I have gotten everything I wanted so far.

Next week we go to the university to complete registration. The day of entrance formalities is March 28, and it is also my daughter's birthday, so my son and daughter and I will have dinner at a nice restaurant to celebrate these happy events that evening. The next day we'll visit my parents and have a wonderful time.

Before that, we should visit my husband's family grave and the temple as supporters because this is the vernal equinoctial week.
My father-in-law, my children and I will do that today.

Hard to deal with

I would like to write about a person who is hard for me to deal with.
She is a polite person, but has too much confidence. She is cautious, so she usually doesn't do anything wrong. She hardly apologizes, but often justifies what she does or doesn't do. I know she is busy, and I sometimes offer to help her. She almost always declines my offer. I think her weak point is not asking favors of people.
She used to be one of my neighbors. We will never see each other