Pepper & Collie

Autumn is the season Collie likes best. He loves how leaves change colors in this season.

I wonder what he is doing now. Are the leaves starting to change colors in Michigan already?

And Pepper?     He is a dog. Collie has a unique dog at his mother's home.

Collie is walking Pepper in October Michigan

I thought I knew the pureness of your heart, but I truly realized the beauty ever since I left Michigan.

As Pepper has complete trust in you, I learned how generous and kindhearted you are. I am sorry...

I was immature. I've said several things which hurt you. Every time you generously forgave me.

I wish your happiness from my heart.    I am struggling. I am still learning.    But please know....

In any day and age, I was just honestly loving you.       I miss you guys, Pepper & Collie.  Rose

I show you my economy class dinner & breakfast of Delta Airlines from Detroit to Tokyo

It is as the above title says. I use Delta Airlines when I fly to Detroit.

I love it when they begin to serve drinks & snacks after takeoff for a destination. This is the moment I really feel my vacation has started! A glass of sparking wine, or white wine is a toast for me to start a trip, free from the pressure of daily work.

This time, I'll show you my meals of economy class from Detroit to Tokyo.  Firstly, dinner!

I am satisfied with a lasagna-like hot dish. A shrimp cocktail, adding another delight of taste to the whole meal. A simple salad gets flavorful with dressing...

Layered pasta is rich in fillings. I ordered white wine from free drinks. I'm enjoying plenty wine in a plastic cup♡

It is a waste to eat before you get on an airplane. You should be hungry to enjoy these food supplied by Delta Airlines!

Once you paste butter-flavored margarine (trans fat 0) on a round pretzel, it will be a dessert which also goes with wine♪

When we got close to Tokyo, breakfast was served.

Eggs, potatoes, and a sausage are an energetic start of the day. Fresh fruits are making a morning even fresh. I already miss the United States...

Isn't it great to start a day with a smooth sparkling wine if it's once in a while!?  Sparkling wine is free, too😍  There is a chocolate after a meal♪

So... I am totally happy with Delta meals.

I'd love to have a chance to relax there again..... or flying in business class by some possibility!?

Sushi Rolls come to my mind when I hear my mother's cooking. What about yours?

When you hear "your mother's cooking", what does come to your mind?

As for me, it is sushi rolls. My mother is very good at making sushi rolls and she makes it quickly. Sliced and arranged sushi rolls are beautiful on the big plate. Moreover, it is delicious!

It is rolled food made by wrapping rice and fillings with dried seaweed by hand, using makisu (a bamboo mat).

What's good about hand-made sushi is that ingredients are somewhat arranged. Compared to buying in stores, sushi rice is seasoned lightly with less vinegar, sugar and salt. It is healthy, and I do like this mild taste.

I brought pork cutlets, chicken cutlets and croquettes etc. I bought them at the long-established local store on the way to my parents' home.

A lot of foods on the table. The event was held to eat hand-made sushi rolls, and pork cutlets popular among locals. My mother's sushi rolls are popular among my family, also guests who visit their place.

Today, I introduced food on the table at a small home party in Japan, to you.

What is the favorite dish made by your mother?  :)

How about long-selling milk soap as a gift from Japan?

Japanese men and women of all ages know Cow Soap, that is also familiar to me. In spite that it's of good quality, a cake of soap is only less than $1! It is not all natural, however, I suppose being 100% natural is not always necessary.

It contains milk powder. Cow Beaty Soap is suitable for washing your face as well as your body.

 

■Red one provides gently moist finish of washing with excellent creamy lather and rose scent.
■Blue one provides fresh feeling finish of washing with excellent soft lather and jasmine scent.

Everlasting gentleness is something never changes.  ■ is from 1928〜, and ■ is 1942〜

I use blue one regularly♪ Jasmine scent is really refreshing when it lathers well...

How about Japanese milk soap as the gift from Japan?
Red & Blue box won the GOOD DESIGN LONG LIFE DESIGN AWARD 2016!

the very first snow flowers of the year ＊with lylics＊

Ah... Snow Flowers...!

I found a snow flowers on the car window. Though I had seen snow during my stay in Michigan, it was the first I saw the shape of flowers made of snow this year.

The time is approaching when we must leave for Detroit International Airport.

I saw the very first snow flowers of the year when I left Michigan in the morning. It was January 5th, 2019.

The coffee shop is quietly standing on the corner in an airport lounge. It looks solitary, but has a point since it seems to provide every kind of drink & light meal which satisfy our need. 

I appreciated that there was still a Christmas tree. 

Mixed feelings of calmness while spending time with Collie and loneliness for leaving Michigan soon.

The time has come, and I realize I can't touch you anymore. My gentle Collie... As your figure is getting dim, I always feel my soul is breaking.    Nevertheless －

Say...departure is a new start.

Wherever I am, my heart is there for you....in Michigan, for me, which is pure like a fresh snow.           

Love always, Rose

Ｓｎｏｗ  Ｆｌｏｗｅｒｓ  Mika Nakashima   〜Hayley sings a Japanese song〜

Together hand in hand we walked through evening gloom  

Long shadows on the pavement, cast from the sunset sky  

If only this would last until the end of time

And if this is forever I swear that I could cry

The northern wind starts to blow
And the smell of winter's in the air
As we take each step upon the ground
The season of love grows near

❄️ We could share the very first snow flowers of the year

in your arms where I belong

Watch as the city turns from grey to white
The day turns into night
Love that floats like wayward clouds, that's not what we're about

Sure and strong is my love for you
❄︎ And it comes from the bottom of my heart

With you by my side, to catch me when I fall

I can cast my fears aside; feel twice as tall

If only this would last, this smile upon my face 

And if this is forever, you're my saving grace

The nights were so cold without you
And the days were always short on light
Now a fire's warming me through
And suddenly this upturned world is feeling right
Repeat ❄️

If there comes a time when you have lost your way

I'll turn myself into a star to guide you through
If ever you find tears upon your face
I will be there, always be there for you

Repeat ❄️　   Except ❄︎

The city turns from grey to white
The day turns into night

We could share the very first snow flowers of the year
in your arms where I belong
Cold winds from the North blow
The sky casts its last glow
But you and I are standing strong

Detroit night view & warm dinner at home

Detroit River in the twilight...☆

We left Detroit for home. I wish I could be here just a few more moments to admire the wonderful view, but we should get going since I will have to get back to Japan tomorrow.

What I wanted to eat for the last dinner was, not at the restaurant which has a good reputation, but at Collie's home.

Sigh... A woman who says "Really~!? Can you take me to that gorgeous restaurant?  I'm so excited! Thank you!!!" － must be a good example to be chased after and admired by a man. I am the opposite.

I wanted to taste this delicious rich cheese that increases its deep taste day by day, with a homemade style baguette toasted crisply on the top side.

We sautéed frozen meal...😅  We shared Japanese beer which I brought from Japan💞

Ooh!!! I almost forgot taking Chicken Caesar salad out of a fridge! I made it at the last minute👌

I really don't like wasting food.  I am just who I am.


😸Collie was curious to know what's in the box given by a lady in Detroit....  So I opened it.

Wow🎵  It is a chocolate💕

Some filling of the chocolate is pistachio cream, you know, that yellowish green one. Collie took a bite and looked inside..

Collie "ＷＡ！ｓａｂｉ～～～"   ^^♪


（・・）


Rose "N-no no, it is pistachio, not wasabi."                 Note: wasabi = Japanese horseradish


Collie "Ｗａ！！ｓａｂｉ～～～"   ^^♪♪


（－－）. . . . .


So... a gift to me from a lady in Detroit became our dessert.

Of course Collie knows wasabi is different from pistachio. He is just being playful.

I enjoy going to a fancy restaurant, but also love this kind of meal at home.  I just hope I can still be attractive for a man. Can I...? 💧

Let's go to see a lady in Detroit！

Collie "Can I treat them to dinner?"

Once we were invited to the couple's house and had a blast there. So he told an idea in return for their hearty hospitality.

While I was in Michigan, we told her the available days if we'd get together somewhere, but it seemed they couldn't make it. It is no wonder those days were not good for them because everybody is busy with family or other events during New Year holidays.

Finished a tour at CAPUCHIN IN DETROIT, Collie sent a text to a lady in Detroit to see whether she'd have a time to meet up for just a little bit after work. It was her first work day of the year.

Detroit River in the evening. The further side of the river is Windsor, Canada.

It is not our will to surprise people so often. Therefore, it was the first and last attempt.
We got a reply from her. She said she'd see us after work. Sweet!

We hung out in the metropolitan areas of Detroit until the time when we could see her.

She showed up and we talked for a while. Wearing fashionable clothes, she looked brilliantly happy. She talked about a coming festival here, though it was after I went back to Japan unfortunately.

She will go to the fitness club with her husband this night. Collie told her that he was thinking about a restaurant with them, but Rose said no because she wanted to finish eating leftovers at home...

Collie took a picture of me & a lady in Detroit against an awesome spectacle. Sorry, it is a half of the picture because I don't get approval to upload her side. But imagine how great the whole picture is! I definitely love it and it became a precious memory of mine.

Thank you Collie for making a chance to see her, thank you for paying honor to my friend...
Thank you Lady in Detroit for accepting our sudden visit and showing us your joyful smile...

"Bring back this to Japan." She handed me a package in a paper bag when we said bye. Then, she left for her husband's office.  


Collie said to me later, "I won't come to the festival. "


(●－－●)


Thank you Collie. It's sad if you alone come to the festival in Detroit. If you come, I want to come with you.


+  +  +


Afterwards, she was back in Japan temporalily this summer. If I could see her in person, there would have been something I'd like to talk with. But she didn't contact me.


Rose, she wants to spend her valuable time with her family and friends in Japan. Don't bother her life.

You have the power to create your life. Believe the infinite power within you.


Yes, Lord.

I think it turned out to be the best.  I face loneliness in Japan.

Time flies.

The world is constantly changing.

However  －

This scene, I saw again and again

This magnificent scene in Detroit

That is imprinted in my memory and remains in me.                

On the day of a tempest in Tokyo region, Rose

CALL TO DETROIT － St.Bonaventure Monastery, Capuchin

The last day in Michigan  Jan.4th, 2019

We came to Detroit. There are quite a few historic Catholic Churches.
I shot one of those churches. The repair equipment looks like a cross.

"I haven't yet shown you a church that operates soup kitchens in Detroit." Collie said something which means like that. He hasn't visited the place neither.
Whole activity is here: Capuchin Franciscan Province of St.Joseph

St.Bonaventure Monastery. Our valuable time to visit a place we are both interested in together.

"What a marvelously different society we'd have if we'd all keep in mind Jesus' assurance:

"What you did to the least of my brethren you did for me." "

A mid-point between Montana and New York was needed for the missionary work of Capuchin Franciscan Province of St.Joseph. 

Detroit was chosen. 

Father Bonaventure purchased a piece of land along the Detroit River in 1883. St.Bonaventure Monastery started slowly with a small group of eight Capuchins.

One of the Capuchins, calm and gentle Father Solanus believed,

Every prayer is answered in God's own way.

Solanus wrote "a plan for holiness" as he needed to purify his heart to prepare for lifelong service to God. 

One of them is  -  "Ask, and it shall be given to you."

Barney heard Mary say, "Go to Detroit." in Milwaukee. He believed that Blessed Mother was telling him to join the Capuchins in Detroit, and he wanted to obey.

When he arrived at the doors of St.Bonaventure's on the snowy Christmas Eve of 1896, he fell fast asleep, feeling fatigue, the intense cold, and concerned that he might have a terrible mistake. 

He was awakened early by the chants of the priest and brothers as they began their Christmas celebration. 

At once, he felt a peace; he was certain that this was where he belonged.

+ + +

Solanus is buried in St.Bonaventure's Monastery Church in Detroit.

In 1995, Pope John Paul II bestowed on him the title of "Venerable", one step before sainthood. 

In honor of great experience and

 with respect for the deceased whose life was dedicated to God,

Rose

Being with you takes me on a magical trip.

Did you know?  I love you just the way you are.

Let's get through everything together.  It'll be fine...

Let's be happy together！

hanging out at meijer and what I found this time

Meijer is an American supermarket throughout the Midwest. Which headquarters is in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I like the atmosphere of Meijer. Somehow, I feel the image of the store is feminine.

It makes me smile to see FUJI, a variety of apples developed in Japan😊  Happy to know Japanese apples are popular around the US.

These white big ones are...SPANISH CHEESE?  I'd love to taste it sometime. It is more of now than sometime!  I didn't buy it because I had to go back to Japan next day...😭

💙STOP Wishing  START Doing💙       💜POSITVE MIND  POSITIVE VIBES  POSITIVE LIFE💜

Wow, meijer has charming mugs!  You can make a fresh start every time you drink with this mug☆

It sounds pretty good :  "whiter teeth in 2 weeks!"  "LUMINOUS WHITE"  "Safe for Enamel"
I want to try this...someday.  It is sad that I say sometime, or someday, but it cannot be helped😢

Colgate stands out with products focused on ENAMEL HEALTH, and Sensitive Teeth.  Hmm..these are important concepts, too.

Buying a toothpaste is a good idea because I can feel close to America when I see/use it in Japan.

Later, I ordered Aveeno through iHerb. Now I have it at my apartment in Japan. It is one of the simple skin care products loved by Americans I got to know on this trip.

Did you know there is a meijer edition of Aveeno?  It is more reasonable than original Aveeno. It is interesting!


So...I hope you enjoyed my meijer tour😀   I'm thankful for an ordinary day like this💕💚

Please have a lovely day today, Rose

The amazing morning glow in October photographed by Collie

The amazing morning glow in Michigan

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.

Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. 

Give your best anyway.

Mother Teresa

The best memory of SAINT JOSEPH, elegant Syrah from France.

When it comes to wine, I usually choose wines from Southern France.

In terms of a variety of red wine, my preference is Syrah❤︎

I was blown away by a mellow Syrah, SAINT JOSEPH!  The elegant taste was strongly impressed on my memory.

In Catholic worship, Our Lady means Maria. She is the Holy Mother of Jesus Christ.
St.Joseph is Maria's husband.

SAINT JOSEPH derives from that one of the vineyard of Cotes du Rhone Nord was possessed by Jesuits. The spicy, delicate taste drove me crazy...

 

Les Copanis de Dominique Bouchet 

Ginza MS Building B1, Ginza 5-1-8, Tokyo, Japan

Excellent taste of food and wine.  I think this is a nice thing to do every once in a while.

(And yes, I do enjoy reasonable, yet fine wines from Southern France at home!)

Does it already feel like Autumn is coming at your country?  What kind of wine do you feel like drinking this crisp fall?

Hope you have a wonderful day♪

Rose