seasonally sweets

These are sweets  for the tea ceremony.

I bought them in Kyoto last week.

Every summer,we have a festival called "Gozan no Okuribi" and the sweets are designed to look like this festival.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gozan_no_Okuribi

baby coming

This is my first time taking maternity photos. 

The mother and child were very close and this shot was so heartwarming.

I wish her a safe delivery and a happy and healthy baby!

a big sky,a big lake

Here is Lake Biwa in Shiga prefecture.
There was a big sky,a big lake and I felt so refreshed.
I love this place!

HOTTEST!!

What an extremely hot day!!
The temperature rose to 37 degree Celsius in Tokyo....
But it was perfect weather to dry the laundry!

reuse

I came back to Kyoto, my hometown, and I found many mother's Kimono.

These are so beautiful and colorful,but unfortunatelly, she hasn't worn those for 30 years.

I picked up several Kimono and am going to use those for my tea lessons!

make it inside!

My mother visited "Katsura Imperial Villa" near my house.
This garden is under the Imperial Household Agency's control and only foreigners and Japanese chosen by lottery can visit there.
So she was so lucky!
I hope to visit this place someday!

a welcome rain!

It rained for the first time this summer during the day.
It has become cool!
I can't wait to get away from the summer heat.

look cool

I had a tea lesson today.

I wore a Japanese summer kimono ("Yukata").

It looks cool but actually I was so hot... 

It is important in a tea ceremony to make feel cool around me.

"The Borrowers"

I went to see the movie,"Karigurashi no Aliettie", with my friend.

This film is produced by Studio Ghibli.

It was a heartwarming and pictures were so beautiful!!

I read that the story is based on an American novel "The Borrowers".

http://www.karigurashi.jp/index.html

tinkling tinkling

It was clear and sunny today.

I found a wind-bell.

Tinkling sound makes me cool! 

essential

Today was busy day.
I had three appointments with clients.
During this hot season, I always have Japanese paper fans.
These are essential items for me!

festival season

It was really hot and humid today.

I found a setting for a festival near my office.

I'm excited to see these paper lanterns at this time of the year!

beat the summer heat

Today I ate grilled eels after work.

The Soy sauce smell increased my appetite!

Eel is nourishing food in Japan.

We eat Eel to beat the summer heat!

summery class

Today,I had a Japanese tea ceremony class.
I've taken this class once a week for 4 months.

I felt summer from tea bowl(Crab picture,bright blue) and flowers(morning glory)!

My teacher always set these seasonal tools.

I look forward to every lesson!