On Saturday I spent the entire day at home puttering around the house. The plan was to take care of my errands and do some baking, and I got both done pretty early on, so I had time to catch up on Lost and Survivor. The baking was this recipe, and it turned out quite well. I made two pies, cherry and peach, and of the two the peach was better. The cherry still needed a little more sugar, and there was altogether too much juice in both, but pretty good for a first try.
Saturday evening I went over to Junpu, which is the teppanyaki place next to Red Spanky that is owned by the same lady (Miyuki). She was working over at Junpu, and there were enough customers to keep her and the three part time workers busy. I had garlic Caesar salad, Thailand-style shrimp and chile saute, and some edamame beans to go with my beer. I was just about finished with dinner and saw that she had deer meat on the menu, which is pretty unusual in Japan. Turns out a friend of hers is a hunter and gave her about half a deer to sell at the restaurant. I ordered some served in a yakiniku style, and it was really good. It has been a long time since I’ve eaten deer.
I chatted for a while with Miyuki and we talked about business this days (February and March are the slowest of the year for her stores) and about the other foreigners in the neighborhood. She really enjoys talking with the two workers over at a local kids English school, and she had some interesting insights into the contrast of their behavior. One likes to study Japanese, and the other is more interested in the dirty words.
After Junpu I headed over to Red Spanky for some drinks while I waited for Kuniko to get back. The gang was all there, and we talked about their recent trip to Vietnam. They even brought back some omiyage for me – a tin of salted pork and some fake Calvin Klein underwear. Excellent choice of omiyage – I love that kind of stuff. Finally after a few hours of drinking at Red Spanky, Kuniko showed up (a little drunk) and we walked home (a little drunk) together. Good times.
Sunday was Valentine’s Day, and that meant sleeping in, doing just about nothing, and eating too much. We did take a two hour hike to the grocery store way north of here, and perhaps that would offset some of the calories taken in later. Kuniko made hamburg for me, topped with cheese cut into the shape of hearts, and served with veggies on the side (also cut into heart shapes). After dinner she presented me with some dark chocolates, and not one but two wristwatches. Turns out she wasn’t sure which one to get so she got both, and now I have a cool watch for casual and for work. Monday I’ll go in to Daimaru in Kobe and get it adjusted to my size.
We had a very good Valentine’s Day, and I couldn’t resist urging Kuniko to open her birthday present on Sunday. I got her a new Nintendo DS, and a new game that she had been craving – Dragon’s Quest VI. Since we had so much free time on Sunday it was give her something fun to do. I think it was a big hit – hopefully she’ll continue to enjoy it.
