2014.7.3

I took a day off to take my father to the hospital.  He needed to visit three different departments of two different hospitals.  So we were very busy.  At the first hospital I have happened to see my students whom I taught when they were junior high school students.  I was so glad to see them become adults and have decent jobs.  It took about 2 hours and a half at the first hospital and I drove to the next for an hour or so.
After the second hospital, we went to eat lunch at my favorite crab restaurant.  The menu was different from the one we went to last time.  We enjoyed delicious course dishes.  This is one of our pleasures when we go to the hospital in Yokosuka.
Japanese crab course dinner consists of many small dishes and looks very beautiful.　I hope you have a chance to taste them someday.
 

2014.7.2

It was cloudy but became very hot today.

Today is hangesho (半夏生), one of shichijyuniko (七十二候), 72 seasons.  One season is a third of nijyushisekki (二十四節季), 24 solar terms.  Hangesho literally means half summer live.  There is a plant called Hangesho around this time and its leaves are half white and half green.
They say there is a custom in Kinki (近畿) area that they eat octopus on this day wishing the rice seeding will make roots like octopus.  Therefore some supermarkets have special sales for octopus today.

2014.7.1

Another month has started.  July is shichigatsu (七月), seventh month and its old name is fumizuki (文月) or fuzuki (文月).  Fumizuki literally means letter month.

It was cloudy.

I wanted to get up earlier to visit the shrine, but I could not.  Last night a Japanese tennis player, Kei Nishikori (錦織　圭) won the game at the Wimbledon.  Since there is time difference between Japan and Wimbledon, we tend to be sleepless.  Now he is playing at the 4th round which is the best in Japanese Men''s history.