Obi Belt for Kimono

Granma gave me an obi which is pretty much a belt for wearing kimono with shrimp design on it, and I'm so in love with it!

It used to be her late older sister's, and this great aunt of mine was what we call in Japan a kidouraku, written as 着(ki=clothing)道楽(douraku=hobby, leisure), people who like to collect different colors and designs of kimonos.

Granma always says that I'm very much like her elder sister, and that she would have loved to have known me more had I been born earlier. I don't know much about her, but seeing all her unique and possibly back then "strange" items, I can imagine what fun person she must have been.

I can wear the kimono itself by myself, but I can't seem to get the obi right. Even when it looks right, after walking around for a couple of hours they start to make me truly appreciate the haori which is an equivalent of a cardigan worn over the kimono, covering the back of the obi.

Speaking of which, I recently learnt that haori, the kimono cardigan which is pretty much a short kimono, used to be allowed only for males because it was part of the army's uniform. It was the geishas who broke the rule, made the kimono cardigan out of all kinds of fancy fabric, and made women all over Japan want one themselves. I like them for that.

I suppose the maikos and geishas were the only working-as-well-as-earning females in Japan, so they had much freedom unlike the rest of the women who were expected to follow the rules and commands of their father and then husband. (Although, strictly speaking, maikos were a property of their "house"s because their "house" bought them all the most luxurious kimonos and obis to prepare them for work each day, but I won't go into the details.). This is not such a bad thing, because just as much as they did not have the freedom to do as they will, if they did something punishable they also did not have to take responsibility themselves. It would dishonor the family's name a lot though.

Of course it's better if the society didn't set rules based on the concept that women are stupid, but then, for whatever the reason if women are as a result protected, it's nice in its own way I think.

The universal movement of women being treated as equal to men is strange to me. Women and men are never the same. We are made to be different, and made to be good and better at what we can do that the other was not designed to do. I think that true equality can not be achieved by leveling numbers.

Anyways R, enough of my sideways rant, I can't wait to see your beautiful pale skin in one of the pink kimonos that doesn't quite look right on my tan :D

H

The Little green Men

This is what I wanted to link to the "Room Wear" post, and how I wanted it to look because I myself do not generally click on just a link with no images to show what to expect on the other side of the link.



God I love these Aliens!



H

Eclair

I love eclairs. I think they're called nigurche in Bulgaria. Here in Japan it's eclea. They're an elongated version of cream puffs with chocolate grazing at the top. Mmm, I could use another one of those! Although I can't have them often as they always have custard in them which inevitably always has egg in it. But I have zaditen at the mo' and I. Just. Had. One!

I like icings in general, especially the ones made with real cream. I also like sour cream. And butter. I guess I like fat, to put it boldly. And sadly, I look like it.

I wish I had taken a photo of the eclair I just had, but since I didn't I will google image something. Ah,

this one looks mmmmm!

But you know R, like you mentioned, other people have access to this blog too so maybe if there's much access I will delete the photos from google in the posts in the future.

Speaking of cream, I think that yoghurts with at least 3% fat are so much tastier than say 1.5 or 2%. I love how in BG you could choose from so many different varieties. There are some that are much more like sour cream than yoghurt too because they're very very thick, and those with blueberries are my absolute favorite!

I miss you, R. Can't wait to visit you and to have you visit me!

H

Hinamatsuri

3rd of March is a "Princess Day" in Japan where people celebrate their daughters.

We recently lost a family member so we didn't do the whole decoration and stuff but we did have what's called chirashi zushi which literally means scattered sushi (in JP, when there is something in front of sushi it becomes xx zushi with z).

 

 

Those yellow things are called kinshi, literally golden strings, but at our place, because I can't eat the egg whites, they're some kind of a pancake just for the color.

 

I really like these with avocados but we lack the shrimp, salmon roe, sea urchins and most of all Granpa this time.

 

I wish we had pictured the cakes we had after this. They were special Hina matsuri edition cakes and super cute!

 

I wish you will join us someday soon, R.

 

 

H

March is my favorite month

March is special in a way that spring is coming and everyone gets to wear arm candy ,Ha?
Martenici ,made of white and red wool  are worn in many forms. The two most seen are the wrist braids ,or Pijo and Penda pinned on a sweater . Pijo and Penda are the yarn doll like boy and girl .That have probably been introduced later in history as part of the tradition ,to illustrate a more fun type of  story for the kids. Similar to what H says about the names of Kiki and Lala ,I too have no idea of which one is which .....

As a child it seemed to be some kind of a competition popular among kids ,to gather as much arm candy as possible of Martenici ,then compare with other children and brag about it ...

It seems to me I have seen one and the same behavior when it comes to Arab women when they show off the arm length  golden bracelets they own ,of course in a more subtle manner .Another example is when kids at school after the Aid holiday would compare they're relatives generosity and affection by mentioning how much money they have been given during that religious event of  .All in all the Aid being not so bad considering the custom of  wearing one's best new clothes ,drinking coffee and eating chocolates or date pastry ...sign me in for the chocolate. Since I never seemed to be remotely average when it came to grading my self with classmates, for received affections from uncles and aunts .
Needles to say I have a scares number of relatives in Bulgaria so I don't get much arm candy either ...

Got too of point ,and the post being about March and Martenici...

I was surprised that ,when I completely spaced out on this national tradition ,my foreign colleagues didn't  ,they brought martenichki to class ,and everyone could pick their liking  ...here is my pick ;

Wearing a stack of martenici on the wrist ! wearing a stack of wool  for a whole month !!!
H I have an idea of what you are thinking .As we all know H washes  even newly purchased clothing  and I understand why ,have you've been to a clothing store where people's stains of makeup ,foundation,bodily odors and what not is on the fabric ???...
When woolen martinici get wet ,for instance after a shower or washing the dishes ,they start to itch a bit .I often see little children after weeks of typical children's activities and playing outside ,without removing the martenici  or replacing them ;with a grayish stack of wool on their hands ....Oh well one is not supposed to remove them ... I say this in a "HA HA " way, not in a "March Grinch " way..

The Origin ,is a legend , which is so long I wouldn't want to dwell on . Here is a link instead , to a post on the whole story ...http://martenici.silvipavlova.com/news/55-martenicis-legend

Today  a symbol of  health and transition to spring ...the most romantic part of it all is that at the first sight of  of a returning flock from south or hardly a white stork towards the end of the month ; tying the martenica on a blossoming branch will make the wish you made upon wearing  it ,come true....And I say hardly seeing a stork because these creature will rarely be seen in the big city .

As a child I saw one in while roaming the streets of my grandma's village .I loved doing that ,just wandering, talking to the domestic animals on the streets ,giving them names and throwing berries to the donkeys by the road so they can have a taste of something other than grass for a change ...

R

In pajamas

It's a cold rainy day ,here in Bulgaria . I adore winter days , they contribute to the perfect indoor ,  wearing pajamas and reading our blog atmosphere .On such occasion as this Sunday I usually prepare with enthusiasm for the time I am going to spend soacking on a couch .

Here is my recipe for rainy days ,a chicken broth soup ,with Calamata and garlic homemade pesto bruschetta . H I can't wait till we try it together and play with the olive pesto ingredients ...

For a home wear ,favourite pair of pajamas and a warm sweater , fox socks  preferably for that extra cuteness ,and knitted pair of  traditional Bulgarian home footwear "Terlichki" . Here are the terlichki I wore this winter ...

Indoor entertainment will include a bit of imagination ,if the imagination generator is too worked up from the week .Opt for an episode or many of Adventure Time . Here is what Finn and Jake do in their rainy day in
 " rainy day daydream" episode .

Finally what is a day on the couch without dosing off into a sweet nap ....

R

Room Wear

What do you wear at home?

Do you have clothes specifically purchased for wearing at home? Or do you wear what you feel is too old and worn for wearing in public at home?

I guess it really depends on what you wear outside to being with. When I wore jeans, polo or a tee and a GAP hoodie, whatever that got worn out became a lounge wear. When I was little and wore blouses, blazers, skirts and oxfords, I had the pajamas for sleeping in, casual dresses and sporty clothes for living in, and those for school. Now I have some of everything.

Recently, I usually wear at home things I purchased specifically for home, and they're generally what I'm too old for being seen in. Most of my favorites are Sanrio character printed items, some are WB, Disney and others from children's books. 

My two wash-as-a-delicate favorites are Le Petit Prince pj pants from Oysho and Keroppi sweater <3

I had so many Hello Kitty clothes but I recently discovered those got thrown away while I was abroad. To my shock. And surprise. And disappointment. But they said they figured I would have grown out of it by now, and I'm ok with simply buying more.

I must say, though, that the recent trend of Hello Kitty is not my taste. How could I describe it, they're noisy looking. Way too vivid, colorful, pop and... gangsta? I guess I'm just too old to understand and appreciate the design.

I'm taking my time behaving my age. Ever since I arrived in Japan, every relative I meet mentions how I should really consider settling down soon as I'm a "good age" for it. I know they are worried about me and my never ending immaturity, but if aging properly makes me as boring as they are, no thanks, at least for now.

Yesterday I got Toy Story's Alien (Little green Men) printed top, and it got mom laughing and then annoyed. She asked me what I liked about it, and I asked her if she has seen the movie. Her answer was no, so I told her that anyone who's seen the movie will love his ooooh. I always wash new clothing before I wear it because I don't consider them clean when they're new, and I've put the Alein in the washing machine but I caught mom hand washing it for me. I guess she gets the adorableness now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atUUjSLMSiM#t=52

H