Fish Tuesday ― 2024/02/27
I don't know why, but recently the fish section in local retail stores has started to focus on fish on Tuesdays.
My local AEON is selling fresh fish a lot more at relatively accessible prices on Tuesdays. Last week I bought four fat sardines from Toyama for 98 yen each and a locally caught (what we call) Arakabu for 498 yen, both of which were exceptionally fresh and nice compared to my recent purchases.
Meanwhile, at Iwataya you can get 2 packs of department store quality (I don't mean sashimi quality, though) small cuts for 1,080 yen every Tuesday. But the variety tends to be quite limited to marlin tuna, red sea bream, Japanese Spanish mackerel (complicated...what we call Sawara)and Norwegian salmon. I usually end up with the salmon and mackerel.
Daimaru also do a special fish sale on Mondays and Tuesdays where whole fish are sold at a 20% discount. However, as there is no list price when it comes to fresh fish, I am a bit suspicious of the prices, to be honest. But the quality and variety of the fish is, in my opinion, the best of these three. Only if the queues at the checkouts were not punishingly long and the shop assistants a little more attentive!
Grown Up ― 2024/02/20
What a surprise! A few weeks ago, I found myself no longer getting furious when happy families get into my sight.
In fact, I found such scenes heartwarming. I used to avoid going to AEON or other places that attract "proper" looking people, such as young families with small children and people with friends, because I felt an indescribable anger and urge to disturb their seemingly peaceful lives.
But now I can see them without negative emotion, or even feel something warm from them.
Does this mean that I have matured enough to celebrate other people's happiness? or that I got too old to keep the energy to get mad at the happiness of complete strangers?
Today's Cats ― 2024/02/16
They were in a good mood today, just like the last time I saw them.
At the back garden of a hotel.
Near the library.
Head Meat ― 2024/02/13
998 yen at Iwataya
Top of the head (just above the eyes) of tuna. A little more expensive than the trimmings I usually buy. Although most tuna websites say this is a rare part and tastes goog.
Actually, it was fatty, tender and juicy. But I can't say it tasted fantastic.
Or rather, it left somewhat sickening aftertaste. I prefer mackerel, to be honest. My husband and I agreed, which is rare for us, that it was not for us. Because it was not fresh enough? it was it too much for us? or tuna itself has this unpleasant taste but we didn't notice it because we always had too little?
Signs of Spring ― 2024/02/12
Spring is actually approaching. I have found some evidence while I was taking a walk this morning.
Blooming daffodils.
And the hazy air. This image was not the result of camera shake, nor was it a mirage.
I don't know why; no yellow sand or PM2.5 or falling pollen were forecasted, but this morning the sky was yellowish and smoggy. Buildings in the distance looked blurry.
just in case:
Today's Cats ― 2024/02/12
Mike chan!
We seem to have got to know each other a little better.
Too Lucky to Be True ― 2024/02/11
Let me show you how lucky I have been in these two months! If you are the jealous type, you might want to skip this post altogether. If I were you, I definitely would.
Since the beginning of 2024, I have been unexpectedly fortunate with prizes and awards.
First, I won a 2000-yen Amazon gift card in a small translation competition.
And then, without my knowledge, I won a 10000-yen shopping voucher in a lottery organized by a local drugstore.
The lottery was quite exclusive: only those who received a New Year's card from the store AND brought it into the store AND bought something within a certain period. So the odds were much higher than any other lottery anyone could enter.
As a glass-half-empty kind of person, I began to worry that I had used up this year's luck in these pleasantly surprising events. And what about this year's tax return?
Today's Cat ― 2024/02/10
A rare type.
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