In Japan, May the 5
th is a national holiday, celebrating boy's growth. We have several other national holidays during this week. Because of so many holidays close together, it is called "Golden Week". On this occasion, my family gathered and had a picnic. It is one of customs to check the height of kids on May the 5
th according to a Japanese nursery song. Well, an old ex-young boy and my niece were comparing their heights by standing back to back. This old ex-young boy was fearing that he might have been beaten by my niece who recently has been growing quite rapidly. If you see close enough, you might recognize this former young boy's heels are slightly up. Or, is it a wrong judgement?
今年のゴールデンウィークの5/4に私の家族は皆集まってピクニックをしました。思いがけず沢山集まって楽しかったです。すると、♪柱の傷はおととしの～を思い出させるようなことを姪とかつての「男の子」はやっておりました。ひょっとして、負けるのではないかと、この元少年君はドキッとしたようです。姪っ子の背丈がここ最近ぐっと伸びてきたからです。ようく写真を見ると、かつての少年君のかかとがほんの僅か上がっているような気がしますが..... 気のせいでしょうか。
This is a warrior's helmet which is displayed for May the 5
th to celebrate a boy's healthy growth. This set of decorations was inherited from one family to another within my relatives this year. I put this photo up to record memories of my sister and her son, the former owning family of the helmet.
この兜、私の母が妹の息子のため買ったそうです。私は、全く知りませんでしたので、写真で始めて拝見させてもらいました。今回、私の別の甥っ子の子供が二人とも男の子なので、その子達に兜を上げることにしました。この写真は記念のために撮ったものですが、記録に残す為ブログに載せることにしました。
This book, "Glucide Off for Health" has been my eye-opener. I was diagnosed as having "Non-alcoholic fatty liver" last July. As a remedy, my doctor advised me to exercise a lot. However, I daily jog a mile. I play tennis whenever I can. I was shocked. This book gave me a good hint.
I bought an iPad mini in Jan. 2013. I think Apple should have released this size of iPad much earlier. I had been waiting for a long time for the size of iPad to become smaller and lighter. I was using an iPod touch instead. I was so happy to obtain such a handy iPad.
We were able to spend time together for ten months out of 12 last year. That is the longest span of days we have shared our lives. The only time we were not together was when I was in Japan to wait for my interview to obtain a permanent visa to the States. 
I bought a blood pressure monitor which can be connected to an I-phone or an I-Pod and all results are automatically recorded on each equipment. I bought it for MyD's birthday present. After the birthday, I opened the package and tried to check myself to see if it works ok or not. Shocked! More than it worked, the figure I got was extraordinary. My blood pressure seldom went up more than 130 in my life. However, the reading said like 158, or 187 etc. I thought it was something strange. I used our old one. The figure was as bad as the one I had just checked. Ever since then, I am using the equipment more often than MyD does. Although it was meant for a birthday gift to MyD, in a way, it worked out well. It helped me to realize the criticality of my blood pressure..JPG)
When we have some gadgets that help us a lot, we will feel ultra happiness. My electronic dictionary is one of them. Today, computers and other products alike have all sorts of functions including a dictionary. Without having a dictionary, we are supposed to get by in reading foreign languages on the screen. However, having an electronic dictionary is much more convenient. Dictionaries on the computer require changing screens back and forth and do not always provide proper translation. I did bring a book version of a dictionary from Japan and tried to use it. Unfortunately, I can no longer use it in my daily life. It is just too bulky and too time consuming in use. I love the gadget. I have to write about the happiness of having a nice gadget.
