Category: Slice of Life

Girls Night

, , Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Girls Night
"Acai Bowl Boy" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO400
 “Acai Bowl Boy” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！Hi, how’s it going?

Tonight was Girls Night at our house in which my wife and her girlfriends got together for a potluck and late-night chatting. In fact, it’s about 11:30pm now, and they are still going strong downstairs!

It’s nice for me and the boys because we get to eat the delicious food and tonight was no different, with karaage (Japanese fried chicken), noodle salad, prosciutto and cheeses, etc. It was all so good! And then coffee and dessert was great as well… a nice light cheesecake. Mmmmm!

While the ladies hung out in the dining room eating, drinking, and chatting, Koa, a friend’s daughter Kaya, and I watched several episodes of Parks and Recreation, which is a super-funny show. We enjoyed it a lot!

Tonight’s photo is of Koa enjoying an acai bowl… He really loves it. In fact, this was his dessert. 😄

So, a great Friday evening, and a wonderful start to the weekend!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Dinner and Dorama

, , Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Dinner and Dorama
"Chicken & Rice" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/80 sec, ISO3200
 “Chicken & Rice” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！

Tonight’s photo is of a delicious dinner that Mariko made for us. It’s an Asian (maybe Thai) style rice, with chicken and three different sauces. One was fish-sauce-based, the other was oyster-sauce-based, and the last one was ginger-based. I couldn’t decide which one I liked best because they were all yummy. ☺️ 🍴

After dinner, I watched the first two episodes of a Japanese dorama called “Omukae Death” (お迎えデス). It stars one of my favorite actresses, Tao Tsuchiya (土屋太鳳). She and the other main character are able to see ghosts, and their part time job is to help these spirits resolve their issues which are preventing them from moving to the afterlife.

So far, I’d say it’s just average, but I’ll keep watching in hopes that it gets better. Plus I don’t mind any show that has Tao Tsuchiya starring in it! ❤️

It’s a good time to start watching this season’s doramas because they are all wrapping up in Japan, which means I can start binge watching them now, and by the time I get towards the end of the series, the finale episodes should all be finished. 😆

Well, we made it to Friday!

おやすみなさい！ – バロン Barron Fujimoto

Cage Work

, , Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Cage Work
"At the Cages" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/15 sec, ISO800
 “At the Cages” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！

Well, the weather is heating up around here. ☀️ I received an email from the electric company asking us to try not to use lots of energy between the hours of 2pm and 6pm. They recommend setting the thermostat to 80° F and not to use appliances. I guess setting the thermostat to use less energy is a good thing at all times, right?

Today’s photo is of my son Koa at the batting cages. This session, he did great, and was hitting the balls much better than last time. It was funny because the batting cage facility was crowded with high school girls practicing their softball batting. I think Koa was trying to concentrate more because of the female presence! He usually goofs around more, but tonight he was more serious and the results were that he was able to connect a lot more consistently. One of the softball coaches actually told Koa that he had a good swing!

For the photo I used a slower shutter speed of 1/15 second so I could show some of the motion instead of just freezing the action. The shutter clicked right after he hit the ball, and you can see the white streak of the ball shooting up towards center field.

I hope you had a nice Wednesday!

おやすみなさい！ – B Barron Fujimoto

トトロトトロ。。。🎶🌱🌪️

, Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on トトロトトロ。。。🎶🌱🌪️
"トトロトトロ。。。🎶🌱🌪️" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/45 sec, ISO3200
 “トトロトトロ。。。🎶🌱🌪️” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！Hello, how’s it going?

Today’s photo is of… Totoro! Do I even need to say what these little creatures are? I feel like everyone knows them… well, if not, they should. 😃

I first saw My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) in maybe 1989 with my girlfriend. She was from Hong Kong, so we watched the Cantonese version, with English subtitles. I remember distinctly that the when the blue totoro was being chase by Mei, it made the sound “tsee-tsee-tsah, tsee-tsee-tsah!”. I thought it was strange when I saw the Japanese version that it didn’t make that sound. 😕

But anyways, it’s such a great movie… I still enjoy watching it because the summer feeling is so nice… the sounds of the insects, and keeping the house open to the outside. I miss summers in Japan so much! 🎐

Speaking of summer, just one more week until it officially begins. Woohoo! My favorite season.

Well, I hope you have a good rest of the evening! (or nice day, wherever you happen to be)

おやすみなさい！ – B Barron Fujimoto

Sunday Downtime

, , Slice of LifeLeave a Comment on Sunday Downtime
"Sunday Downtime" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO800
 “Sunday Downtime” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！Hello, how’s it going?

Today was a relaxing day, although I did do a couple of DIY tasks (cutting some wood for a shelf, and fixing a toilet), but what was the best part of today was watching TV! In particular, by chance, there was a television program on called “Kyo、burari” which is sort of like a walking tour of Kyoto neighborhoods. Today’s episode was around Kyoto University and they visited a small boarding house apartment for students. It reminded me of my first apartment when I lived in Japan.

It’s funny, but because the episode took place in summer and I moved into the apartment at the same time, I felt memories coming back to me that had been long forgotten. The sound of the cicadas, the look of that old, small apartment room, filled me with a natsukashii (nostalgic) feeling. Also, because the tv program is sort of a walk around the city, the transition to the empty apartment was something that I experienced firsthand. When I lived in that apartment, I didn’t want to stay inside… I spent most of my time out in the city, walking around and exploring.

So, it was really nice to watch the show today and relive some of those feelings. And it was very unexpected to see that show, because it’s not scheduled on our TV Japan programming, but for some reason the previous show was cut short and they had to fill the time with another program.

Today’s photo is of our family room, and you can see Koa and Anko on the sofa,and the tv showing a different Japanese program. That was our Sunday!

Anyways, I hope you had a nice weekend!

おやすみなさい！

– バロン Barron Fujimoto