Kento’s first camp

Written by: adekun on 14 October, 2008 3:33 pm - Filed under: blog — No Comments »

The three of us, along with my sister-in-law went camping over on the Shimane peninsula. Instead of bringing smaller tents, we hired a spacious six man tent. I guess all along the coastline it can get pretty windy. The afternoon we arrived was no exception. One of the many jobs I was tasked with was erecting the tent with a set of Japanese instructions. The two pregnant females looked on while Kento ran off with the mallet and the flysheet turned into a parasail.
With darkness soon approaching, the next challenge was to turn an assortment of mismatched foods into an agreeable dinner, in a gale. I pictured myself being on the set of Ready Steady Cook. (continue reading…)

Tags: japan, kento, off the beaten track, travel

Mischief

Written by: adekun on 11 September, 2008 4:44 pm - Filed under: blog — 6 Comments »

We have been enjoying the better weather. Kento has had a couple of trips further abroad. One of the less beneficial trips was to the waterfoul park; you have to pay to see them and I didn’t have more than a few coins! Instead, together we explored on the bike until one of us fell asleep.
For sometime now, the day usually begins with an eye poke around six o’clock. This follows hours of Ritsue’s backside brass section (an audible pregnancy ailment).
Kento can now fully undress himself, usually at the wrong moment. He puts in a good effort when trying to dress himself. His latest fashion is a pair of underwear worn as a toga.

Tags: kento

Kento no ni sai no tanjōbi

Written by: adekun on 23 August, 2008 10:49 am - Filed under: blog — No Comments »

Today is Kento’s second birthday. After opening his cards and gifts we went for an early bike ride. Over the past month he’s really started talking. At times putting three words together. It was nice to come back from work the other week to find him against the window calling “Daddy”.

Tags: kento

Girls day out in Sakaiminato

Written by: adekun on 13 August, 2008 9:32 pm - Filed under: blog — 2 Comments »

Since the girls outnumber the boys I thought the title fitting. They were in charge too. Along with most of the Yoshihara and Gion families, we took the train to Sakaiminato. Both carriages were full of tourists with their cameras, no doubt from neighbouring prefectures. Perhaps a majority were those returning from the big cities to visit their families during the obon (お盆) holiday. It was hot, 36 °C and super-humid. As the girls turned yet a darker shade of brown, I turned a brighter shade of lobster. We managed a circuit of most of the statues before a lunch of onigiri and kakigori.

Tags: japan, kento

Garden imp

Written by: adekun on 11 August, 2008 9:26 pm - Filed under: blog — 3 Comments »

I’ve been meaning to post some photos of Kento taken before the summer vegetables went in. He’s quite adept at sticking on a pair of shoes and going for an amble.

We are now down to the last bunch of white onions. If they were bigger we could have looked forward to onion soup. Below, Kento managed to pull a couple of the tiniest by himself - and a smile.

Tags: garden, kento, onions

I say tomato, you say MA-TA-TO!

Written by: adekun on 19 July, 2008 4:02 pm - Filed under: blog — 2 Comments »

After stuffing the plastic spoons from the outdoor dinner service between the cupboard doors, Kento got his hat on for some tomato picking. Although he still isn’t talking much, there are frequent outbursts in English, Japanese and his own special language. I can spend a good while going through each syllable of tomato which he repeats each time. Soon as I say tomato he says MA-TA-TO! He seems to manage some of the more challenging words. Perhaps he is showing his own preference?

Tags: kento

Okayish onions

Written by: adekun on 30 June, 2008 6:53 am - Filed under: blog — 1 Comment »

Over the past month the small and sometimes misshapen onions have been harvested. Early on, those that had bolted were taken a used in curries and soup. There were quite a few of these; I think the cold may have stressed them. Kento heaved several out in the manner rather like in the story of the Giant Turnip. A little out of character Ritsue, spent the majority of two days weeding. With the onions gone the garden had the appearance of a chemist’s dimple tray. I practised tying a few red onions up, leaving me with purple fingers and what looked like a bunch of giant grapes.

Tags: garden, kento, onions, weeds