Ume Hanami in the back yard in the Jacuzzi

It's that time of year again. After the plum we wait for the magnolias to bloom and then boom! The cherry trees launch their attack on the blue tent covering us. They win for a week, but then we're back to the same old captivity...

Here's an interesting stone carving of Avalokitesvara

You usually see her on a lotus pedastal, but here it's some kind of bird.

Fish Tacos Tonight!

We couldn't find any tacos between Shimo Uma and Ito, so we bought genmai paper at Aoki in Ito. It's made from brown rice and a host of additives, but used in replacement for flour or rice paper for harumaki. It very tasty and served the purpose of wrapping bbq'd kinmeidai or my prawn/okra stir fry with pineapple/persimmon salsa and chopped new onion.

It must have been pretty appetizing judging from the smile on Naomi's face!