this week-

Ｉ　really don't want to post this on top nosh since it isn't worth twopence; all made with similar ingredients, obentos and a few late night dinners, using up larder- one just sees how much I tend to plate things beforehand, and as we all eat at different times and different things- there are masses of ones looking a bit like the other but not quite. This week it's been a bit of more on the Japanese side but not quite- it changes always.

2 quick lunch with pork chops, cottage cheese
salad and the LOVELY sause I talked about with Cremini mushrooms, wine and peas etc featured on later picture with spaghetti; usable on anything practically, really yummy

3 kiddies dinner today; bacon,cheese and onion smiley rice cake (leo loves these) with Yasai no nimono- ito konyaku, shiitake, bamboo shoots, beef done in sesame, garlic and soy-mirin-bit'o cornstarch stuff, carrots of course

4 One of Mako's favorite spaghetti (notice they are always straight, this is not my choosing) maybe not for westerners- Mentaiko - spuicy cod roe (or ovum as they so nicely put it in the dictionary) butter, touch of mayonnaise, Kobucha (tea made from Konbu, seaweed) extract of mussels, touch cream, salt pepper, touch soy sauce, touch Dashi (fish stock powder) - topped with Nori and shiso leaves. Now you would think the combination was disgusting- actually it's delicious. As side
Swiss chard with garlic and bacon, leftover chipolte sausage.


Sorry, have to go now- have to cut this short- kiddies.anyway it's not worth it, more of a diary than anyone wanting to make it. xoxos

April 28th

The Story of Kanjis and Crystals

By Leo Hirose

"No mummy, don't be scared, you see, this isn't a scary picture. OK, Let me tell you the story.

Once upon a time, because all stories start with once upon a time, there lived a great scientist
called Leo Hirose. And he came up with an idea. This is the picture of the North Pole, and that is why it is dark- not
scary dark, it's just dark, because it is often dark at the North Pole. Here there is clear and clean water that comes deep deep down under the earth, and here in the picture is a factory- it's special. This special factory can transform the clean
waters into Kanji inside a special place hidden inside, I can't tell you how because it is a secret- but these kanjis are not ... aren't known to people yet, they are different from anything anyone has ever seen. They are made out of the water just like...just like the time we played with wax from the candle, you know how it changes when you put it on your finger when it's wet and then it isn't? That's how they change, in sub..subs... form. The lights you see here like lightening, this is not lightening, it's a special mag..nekit force, like the Maglev train, people call them the Northern lights but it's actually different. I shoot out a special beam from a super duper telescope I ... that is he, the scientist- made, and together they make a bit force, and shine down into the factory, into.. you see just before the conveyor belts? That is where it comes together, and then they form with a computer special kanjis. Now the Kanjis go down the belt, but the... stuff, the bits you know, that are left over, they are special crystals- ALL kinds of colours and shapes, and are VERY very beautiful. These crystals I can shape but they are special so they don't need to be shaped a lot, and they get shipped by trains and boats and cars ALL over the world, to... well everybody, like princesses, kings, but also just all people, do you know why? Because all my crystals are cheap- they cost just 1 dollar! That's because I want everyone to have some, but I still need a bit to buy all the things, the materi.... the things to make the factory. No mummy, I don't actually LIVE there- I live in LA, because I need to read all the books and know about more things, but I visit sometimes and see that everything is going just well, give the names to the kanjis and I get to travel on all my favorite trains. So that was the story of that picture, did you like it?


As narrated by, my coments and questions cut out of course. He asked me to write it down, so here'tis.

Now I have to go and give him a haircut! He's been super good today. XOXOXOXO S

Just the rest and Jogathon,Nea helping with the lunch and exhausted after the hot day in bed- they now sleep together in the bunk bed, it's so comfy!

April 25-26

OK so as quick as possible- just have to say thank you to Vens for the present again-WE TRIED OUT the FONDUE set- at last, eevry weekend it's been bad weather till now (or sunshine in England)- must admit that in the end I made it a whole lot too adult-tasting for the kids, I think a bit too much Gruyere and wine- but for us excellent! UNFORTUNATELY Mako said I was 0 at pre-calculating events (humph, well so were you man)
I didn't think of buying gel for the burner so with two hungry wailing kids we decided to use candles instead- not too strong, but the hot water was quite enough to serve us for the 20 minutes in which we gobbled everything down in.
AND had a chocolate one with bananas and strawberries afterwards- as Leo is so nicely demonstrating. I did the unfortunate thing of drinking two small glasses of champagne though- bad mistake, always have a splitting headache the next day from that. Sunday- Train museum, took us almost 2 hours to get there (you always end up doing what your kids want to do, I could think of a few more amusing things to go to- still) it was much more of a success than I thought, play-as-much-as-you want the whole day, and rode (for the first time) on a real steam engine, (Nea was rather frightened) apparently one that had been used on the film Changeling with Jolie woman, I think I saw it but can't remember. Then I had the unbelievable luck to meet the Mayor of the place (everyone seems to take an interest in where I7m from, can't think why since LA is made out of foreigners ) and he took Leo for a ONCE in a lifetime TURN THE TURN TABLE! It was fantastic, they usually only let you look at it but he took the chains off and actually pushed it around with the said Mayor for (at first I thought he was a weirdo when he said I'm the Mayor of Paradise, actually he'd said Perris which was the place we were in) a whole turn, wow did he have the time of his life. Needless to say Nea found all this rather boring and was squealing to get out of the place, not to mention in the Valleys it's around 15 degrees hotter than it is here- stifling. Lots to do still today so better get out of this blog- Leo did excellently at school and a good 5 days without accidents so I'd better give him a nice afternoon, Lots of love all around XOXOXO
(Oh and I have to add that I got hit on by a Finnish-Irish guy in Ross Dress for Less on Saturday at 9am, always very comforting to have said at that time of morning that one is beautiful and may I take you out to dinner- I retorted that wow I must be meeting all the Fins over here these days, thanks, you've made my day but unless you're willing to buy me a house with a jacuzzi and pay collage bills and hospital bills for two kids I'm afraid you're not worth bothering about- thank the lord he left me alone after that) always nice to feel that others can actually sometimes take you as a woman still out and about and not just a left over mop from last night's vomit- I told Mako very sneekishly who looked very unperturbed and just commented " Oh well I guess there are all sorts of manics out there"- after which I hit him in the shin of course XOXOX