under the flaming sun

I went shopping at a nearby supermarket
at half past 10 in the morning.

I walked under the flaming sun.
I felt comfortable with sweating all over.
I'm thankful to be getting stronger year by year.
I remember there was a summer
when I was too ill to go out in the summer heat..

I saw flowers by the roadside.
They were calm and serious.
They were enjoying the flaming sun.
They were dancing in the cool wind.

some of my favorite pictures I took in Niigata

I always miss the sea and the river in Niigata City.

It takes only 10 minutes to walk to the beach from my house
in Niigata. It used to be called Kobari-hama but I found
it is now called Aoyama-kaigan.

The river which flows through the city of Niigata is the River
Shinano. A new building, Toki Messe, was completed.

Niigata, my hometown, is changing.

(at Aoyama-kaigan,on August 4--it was such a lovely day.)




(the River Shinano)

a nice day

Ms Y in Niigata came to Tokyo to see her daughter.
Today I met her at Tokyo Station.

First we enjoyed walking, talking and eating in Ginza.
At noon the Ginza Chuo Dori became a vehicle-free promenade.

Tables and chairs were placed in the middle of the road.
Everybody looked happy. We enjoyed strolling through Ginza.

Then we went to Shinjuku Gyoen, a vast open park with beautiful
old trees and a few ponds.

We enjoyed a cool, soft wind blowing through the summer grove.
There was a large green house. We saw a lot of exotic plants
from around the world.

I really had a nice day.

busy days are over

I have been very busy since I came back to Tokyo.

I took my daughter and my granddaughter to one day bus trip.
We enjoyed picking blueberries. We enjoyed gathering lavenders.
We enjoyed the fresh air on the Takamine highlands in Shinshu,
which had a wonderful outlook.

My daughter bought two DVD racks and a floor-to-ceiling adjustable
shelf by mail order. They were do-it-yourself kits and she
assembled parts into three shelves. I was surprised that she did
it all by herself. She wanted to finish everything before
visiting her parents-in-law in Kyushu.

koharu felt lonely, because her brother had gone to Kyushu and
her mother was too busy from morning till night. I often visited
her and played with her. We played in the nearby parks.

koharu and her parents are flying to Kyushu tomorrow. I'm sure
koharu's brother and their grandparents are looking forward to
meeting them.

outlook from Takamine highlands, 2000 meters high

niigata, my hometown

I came back to Tokyo yesterday.

When I arrived at my home in the suburbs of Niigata City,
my neighbors welcomed me saying, "You are so lucky, karin-san.
It had been raining very hard just before you got home."

I went to my native place Tochio, which was absorbed into Nagaoka City in January, and visited my parents' grave.

I went to Yoshida, which was absorbed into Tsubame City in March, and visited my husband's grave. I put their favorite flowers and food on their graves.

I told them not to worry about me. I told them that I was all
right, because I did survive everything with the greatest
difficulty. I asked them to wait for my returning to them.

I had very busy days in Niigata, meeting my neighbors and some
of my good old friends. Eight nights and nine days stay in Niigata was too short for me to do all I had wanted to do.

I had a most agreeable time in Niigata.

(only 10 minutes' walk to this beach from my house--on July 30)


(the Kariyada-gawa River in Tochio )