It's hard to believe that it will be Thanksgiving soon!! I hung out the turkey windsock at the beginning of the month, it looks cute! \(^o^)/
昨日、フィギュアスケート(日本開催のＮＨＫ杯)を夫婦で見ました。
はっきり言って、技術的なことや採点のことは分かりません。
ただ、印象に残る選手が一人いました。
ロシア人、アリョーナ・レオノワ選手です。
本当にフィギュアスケートが好きなんだなって、思わせてくれる笑顔が絶えない選手です。
私の中では、彼女がMVPですが、ロシアで報道されてんのかな。。。3行記事にさえなってなきゃいいんでけど。
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We watched the NHK Trophy figure skating competition in Japan yesterday.
I don't know about skating techniques and scoring in detail.
But I found a player who made a wonderful impression.
She is "Alena Leonova(Алёна Игоревна Леонова)" who is Russian.
It seems that she loves figure skating from the bottom of her heart and she is a non-stop smiling player.
She is MVP for me but I wonder if Russian media reports her news. How about it?
I hope that her news is important in Russia.
I hope that many countries continue to give her a playing chance.
Oh, and her 19th birthday comes soon. С днем рождения ,Алёна !(Happy Birthday,Alena!)
Well you know that I'm a Kimmie Meissner fan, but she pulled out of the Grand Prix series because of a knee injury, so I'm disappointed. Hopefully she isn't out for the whole season. (x_x);
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長い休暇を取れるのはこれが最後と思い行ってきました。
I decided to travel to PA because I can't take a long holiday after I find a new job.
Well I was surprised towards the end of September when Gaku mentioned going back to visit my family again! We checked the plane ticket prices, and they were really cheap!! We asked my parents, and they got all excited, so we bought the tickets on 9/24, and away we went! :-D
1日目(10月１４日) :
サラは、疲れていたようです。飛行機の中では、イヤホンをプラグにささずに「音量が上がらない！」
と言うかと思えば、空港では、上りのエスカレーターで、下りようとしていました。
そういえば、サラのお父さんから、飛行機に乗るときのアドバイスを頂きました。
「飛行機を軽くするために、乗る前にはトイレを済ませてから乗るように。」
とのこと。ともかく、無事、ビーバーに到着しました。
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Day 1 (14/Oct)
It seemed like Sarah was tired. And on the airplane, she said "I can't turn up the volume！", but I found that she didn't plug in the earphones!
And in the airport, she tried to step down on the UP escalator.
We got advice from Sarah's dad before we got on the plane:
"Go to the restroom before you get on the plane, because it'll make the plane lighter."
Of course, I love them so much.
Anyway, we arrived at Beaver safely.
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2日目（１０月１５日） 雨： 気温５℃ 夜
７時に起床しましたが、まだ真っ暗です。再来週の日曜日からサマータイムが終了し、時計が１時間戻ることです。
家でのんびりとビンゴをしました。最初の番号が呼ばれや「ビンゴ！」と絶叫する、三つ編の女の子がいても、笑ってすませ、しんしんと夜はふけていきました。
サラは、久しぶりに会った姪とお姉さんと、夜まで、ガールズトークに花を咲かせていたようです。
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Day 2 (15/Oct) Rain: 5 degrees C (About 41 degrees F) Night
We woke up at about 7AM but it was still very dark.
Daylight Saving Time finishes on the Sunday after next and the time will be 1 hour earlier.
We had a relaxing time playing Bingo.
As soon as the first Number was called, a braided-haired girl shouted out "BINGO!", but we passed it with a laugh. And the night went on.
It seemed that Sarah was happy to become "GOSSIP GIRL" with her niece and sister who she hadn't seen for a while until this evening.
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3日目（１０月１６日） 雨時々雪： 気温２℃ 朝
アーミッシュがいるというフリーマーケットに行きました。アーミッシュの作った、クッキーとヌードルを購入しました。
アーミッシュは、写真を撮られるのを嫌うとのことでしたが、サラが遠くから男性のアーミッシュの後姿を隠し撮りしました。ごめんなさい。
高速道路を走っていると見える、紅葉がとてもきれいでした。
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Day 3 (16/Oct) Rain with a little snow: 2 degrees C (About 36 degrees F) Morning
We went shopping at a flea-market where there were Amish people. We bought cookies and noodles made by the Amish.
We knew that they don't like their pictures taken, but Sarah took a spy photo of Amish guys from behind from a long distance. Sorry.
We noticed that the autumn colors are very beautiful when we rode along the highway.
We went to Rogers Sale in Ohio. They have just about everything out there, plus I wanted Gaku to see the Amish.
I bought 3 wooden shelves, and I'm painting them green right now to put in the kitchen.
And I couldn't believe it was snowing a little in the morning! It's only the middle of October!! :-0
4日目（１０月１７日） 曇：
凍えるほど寒い夜に、アイスクリームを食べに家族で出かけました。
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Day 4 (17/Oct) Cloudy
We went to eat icecream with the family at freezing cold night.
It was another really cold day again. We mostly stayed inside, but my Dad helped fix up the shelves that we bought. He put a nice edge on them, Gaku sanded them, and I tried to stay warm. :-P
We played dominoes in the afternoon, and at night we went to Dairy Queen, because I'm addicted to the Cookie Dough Blizzard. :-D
５日目（１０月１８日） 晴：
2ドルで風速78マイルを体験してきました。
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Day 5 (18/Oct) Fine
I experienced the wind speed of 78mph for $2.
We went to the mall today. I bought a few things, and Gaku tried out this Hurricane machine. Afterwards, we went to King's Family Restaurant and then back home. Some of my sisters and other family came over to visit and watch the Steelers play football.
I hate football, so Gaku, Allie (niece), and I went for a walk to look at cows nearby. :-P
6日目（１０月１９日） ～ ８日目（１０月２１日）
ナイアガラの滝へ家族4人で出かけました。
サラが北野武らしき人を見かけたので、サインでも、もらおうと思いましたが、中国語を話していたのでやめました。
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Day 6 (19/Oct) - Day 8 (21/Oct)
We went to Niagara Falls with Sarah's parents and us.
Sarah found a man who looked like Takeshi Kitano(Japanese famous movie director) and I wanted to get his signature, but I gave up because he was speaking Chinese.
Thank you for long driving, Dad & Mom.
We had a fun time at Niagara Falls! I was really worried about how the weather would be, but it was warmer there than Pennsylvania!
We booked the hotel reservations online along with the Adventure Passes for the Canadian side, and everything worked out perfect!
We left at 8 a.m. and got there around 1 p.m., so it took about 5 hours. We ate lunch at Denny's on the American side, and then watched the "Legends of Adventure" movie. (It had headsets in other languages, so Gaku could listen in Japanese!)
Then we crossed the border bridge into Canada, checked into the hotel, and took a nap before we went up to the Skylon Tower at night.
We got up early and ate breakfast at Perkin's right by the hotel, and walked to the first two attractions, Journey Behind the Falls and Niagara's Fury.
Then we rode on the People Mover bus to the Maid of the Mist.
The last part of the Pass was the White Water Walk down by the rapids.
We rode the Incline Railway which brought us pretty close to our hotel, and we ordered a pizza and relaxed for the night.
We ate at Perkin's once again in the morning, and then headed off for Beaver around 11 a.m. We got home around 5 p.m. :-)
９日目（１０月２２日） 晴：
「水は冷たいか？」これは、「赤いダイヤ」という小説の一節で、ある相場師が海水の温度で今年はどのような季節になるかを予想し、小豆の収穫を予想する場面です。庭の落ち葉を掃除していると、これと少し似た話をサラのお父さんから聞きました。
庭に多く見られる黒と茶色の毛虫がいるのですが、この毛虫の色で今年の冬がどのようになるか予想できるらしいのです。
毛虫の頭と尻尾の黒色の長さを比較して、頭の黒色が尻尾の黒色より長いと冬の「初め」が厳しくなり、逆に、尻尾の黒色が頭の黒色より長いと冬の「終わり」が厳しくなるとのことです。
今日見つけた毛虫は、頭の黒色が尻尾の黒色より長いので、冬の初め、つまり１１月と１２月が厳しい冬になるようです。
ただ、ウィキペディアによると、茶色が黒よりが多いと穏かな冬となり、逆に黒が茶色より多いと厳しい冬となるという言い伝えがあると紹介されていました。
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Day 9 (22/Oct) Fine:
"Is the water cold ?" This is a line from a novel - "Akai Daiya(Red Diamond)"- and this is a scene where the commodity speculator predicts the type of season from the temperature of seawater, and then he can predict the red bean yield.
When we raked leaves in the yard, I heard an interesting story from Sarah's father a bit like this story.
There are many woolly brown and black caterpillars in the yard and we can predict the harshness of this winter by the color of the worm. As we compare the black length of the head to the tail, if the black length of the head is longer than the tail, the "Beginning" of winter will be bad, and on the other hand, if the black length of the tail is longer than the head, the "End" of winter will be bad. So the caterpillars that we found today have the longer black part on the head rather than on the tail.
That's why the start of this winter, -November/December- will be worse than the end of winter.
On the other hand, Wikipedia said "If it has more brown than black, it means a fair winter, but more black than brown means a harsh winter," as a folklore.
We went to the post office in the morning and sent 2 postcards to Gaku's parents and sister, and then we bought desserts from McDonald's and ate them on a bench near the river in Beaver.
Then we went to WalMart. Their pumpkins were only $4, but they weren't very nice.
And I did some craft shopping at Pat Catan's and got clay, paints, and some other things.
The weather was nice today, and Missy came over and we all raked leaves together and had a fun time!
１０日目（１０月２３日） 雨：
ハロウィン用のオレンジ色のかぼちゃを買いに出かけました。抱えるほど大きなかぼちゃでも4ドルから14ドル(約360円～1260円)でした。
かぼちゃに彫刻されるのを生で見たのは初めてです。かぼちゃの中って空洞なんですね。
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Day 10 (23/Oct) Rain:
We went shopping to buy orange pumpkins for Halloween.
They are from $4 to $14 even though it is as big as both arms put together.
I saw pumpkins being carved for the first time in my life.
Now I know that the inside of a pumpkin is empty.
Today was rainy, but my parents, Missy, and us went shopping for a pumpkin.
I decided to buy one at Brady's Run Market even though it's a little more expensive.
Now it normally takes me around 2 hours to choose my pumpkin, but it only took about 45 minutes this time. I think that's record timing for me. :-P
There wasn't anybody else at the store, so we had the place to ourselves. Some of the pictures of us look so serious just picking out a pumpkin!
So we decided on one finally for $7.99, and I named him "Bumpy."
We stopped and ate lunch nearby my house, and then got started on carving!
Missy finished her pumpkin really fast, and I finished about an hour later. (-_-;;
They both turned out really good and spooky!!
１１日目（１０月２４日） 曇：
やっと鹿が庭に来てくれました。秋は食べ物が多いせいか、動物が庭まで餌を食べに来ることは少ないようです。
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Day 11 (24/Oct) Cloudy:
Eventually a deer came to our yard. It seems that there are only a few animals that come to eat food from our yard because there is a lot of food in the woods now.
My parents and us played Chinese Checkers in the morning. In the afternoon Missy and her husband Bill came over and we played Bingo and dominoes. Missy and Gaku carved the little pumpkin together.
１２日目（１０月２５日） 晴：
サラのお姉さんの誕生日パーティに参加しました。その後、夕方は、庭でホットドッグやスモア（焼きマシュマロ）を作って終わりました。
サラが写真のように一つの木に3種類の葉をつける木があると教えてくれました。このことは、小学校の先生が教えてくれたそうです。
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Day 12 (25/Oct) Ｆｉｎｅ:
We went to Sarah's sister Kim's birthday party. Afterwards, we enjoyed hot dogs and s'mores in the yard in the evening.
Sarah told me that one tree has three kinds of leaves like in the photo.
She said that she was told this by an elementary school teacher.
My oldest sister Kim will turn 50 on November 2nd! She had her birthday party early because she has to work out of town on her birthday. We had a fun time visiting, and then we enjoyed sitting around the fire at night-time.
１３日目（１０月２６日） 晴：
七面鳥を生まれて初めて食べました。さっぱりとしていて、美味しかったです。（自分は、飲み込んだ後に吐くほどにまずいものでなければ、何でも美味しく感じられるくらい舌が鈍いので、鶏肉との違いがあまりよくわかりませんでした。）夜は、サラのかつてのボーリングクラブの仲間とボーリングをしました。 写真には写っているはずの人-ルーク-が写っていません。彼は、昨年の10月に21歳の若さで亡くなりました。ご冥福をお祈りします。
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Day 13 (26/Oct) Fine:
I ate turkey meat for the first time in my life. I thought that it was refreshing and had a very good taste. We went bowling with Sarah's old bowling teammate in the evening.
This photo doesn't show one teammate - Luke - who was supposed to be shown.
He passed away at the young age of 21 years old last October.
We went bowling at Sheffield Lanes with Justin (one of my old teammates). Elena had to work, but she works at the bowling alley so it was good to see her!
Gaku bowled an 84, Dad bowled a 91, and I bowled a 157, 86, & 100.
We went to Dairy Queen again afterwards, and of course I got a cookie dough blizzard. :-P
１４日目（１０月２７日） 曇：
サラのお父さんの妹夫婦と会い、掃いては降ってくる枯葉の掃除をして終わりました。
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Day 14 (27/Oct) Cloudy:
Sarah's father's sister and her husband came over to visit, and Sarah's father and I raked endless falling leaves.
Dad let Gaku try out the leaf vacuum, it looked like he had fun. :-)
Buta-chan and Zou-chan visited with friends. :-P
１５日目（１０月２８日） 雨 ：気温１３℃ 昼
明日の早朝、日本に帰国するための準備をしました。無事帰国できますように。
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Day 15 (28/Oct) Rain: 13 degrees C (About 55 degrees F) Noon
We got ready for going back to Japan in the early morning tomorrow.
May we go back to Japan safely.
Thank you for letting us stay and caring for us, Dad & Mom.
My parents and us ate lunch at my cousin's restaurant, Brady's Run Grille.
Missy and Allie visited for a little while one last time, and then we got ready for bed early.
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Day 16 (10/29)
We woke up at 1:45 a.m., and left for the airport at 3:45 a.m.
Our Pittsburgh plane left for New Jersey at 6:17 a.m. At the New Jersey airport, there was a little bird that we threw chip crumbs to. :-P
We arrived back in Japan at 2:10 p.m. (Japan time) on Friday.
その他自分用覚え書：
為替：1ドル=90.70円
ビックマック：3ドル15セント（約285.70円）
ガソリンスタンドのレギュラーガソリン：１ガロン=2.69ドル（1リットル=約64．46円。米国１ガロン=3.785リットル）
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Memo
$1 = 90.70Yen
Big Mac:$3.15
Gasoline: 1 US gallon = $2.69 (1 liter = $0.71)
I made ghost pancakes the other morning for breakfast, I think they turned out pretty cute! :-P
I've been working on a new statue recently, and I finished it today! It's Pennywise, from Stephen King's IT.
Clowns really scare me, but I LOVE this statue. I think it turned out pretty good!! :-D
On Monday, we went to The National Art Center in Roppongi to see Gaku's mother's newest painting. We had a fun time visiting with each other, and afterward we had lunch at Denny's. \(^o^)/
It's a few days late, but Happy October! o(^_^)o
I put out the Halloween pumpkin windsock today. This is my favorite holiday, so I love it! :-D
CD付の英語の本をブックオフで買ってきて、CDを聞いてみたら、オペラのCDだった。
I bought an English learning book with a CD at a used bookstore, but when I listened to the CD, it was Opera music. No way!
Gaku had bought the book earlier this week, but hadn't checked the CD until this morning, so we were surprised when some Italian opera guy started singing!!
We took the book back today and got a full refund. Poor Gaku-chan. (-_-)
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We haven't been up to too much lately. (^_^;
We found some new ice-cream at the store that was shaped like Dinosaur Eggs, so Gaku wanted to try it. I thought it looked kind of funny. :-P
Today we're going to pack our lunch and eat it at a river nearby, so that will be fun! :-D
平日、近くの清水公園に行ってきました。仕事を始めたらこんなにのんびりできないだろうな。と思いつつ、がらがらの公園を散歩してきました。
We went to Shimizu Park near our house on a weekday. I thought that I wouldn't be able to take time to relax when I start working again. So we took a walk through the empty park today.
