August
Entrt#628. 8/28/2026.
While my excitement level is still high, I put pictures of highlights from today's cycling event in Cincinnati.
Details coming up soon. My husband and I joined with our friends (paraplegic connection). We biked together about 35 miles. It was hot at the end.
Entry#627. 8/28/2026.
Some random topics here.
1. My hummingbirds are still here. This year, I observed something new about them. I think I have had "3" of them here. It's a record for my household. I'm quite happy. (I know most of you have more big numbers of them, right?). I noticed one was bigger than another. I guessed the smaller one was a male. It was fun.
I guess their "departure time" should be soon.
2. I've read about the postal office news. It was a new release of the new design of US forever stamps. Did you see them? It's a series of "Squirrels in the snow". I love them so far. I have to buy some in September.
3. I prefer having more "autumn"-ish weather in this time of year. Weather forecast says it will still be hot. But I love cool morning very much. Finished mowing and almost finished "cleaning sidings" (almost). So I wanted to admire by myself my accomplishments for today = I took some photos of my property. Funny. I feel so satisfied. I am such a nerd.
Entry#626. 8/21/2026.
We moved in the United States for the first time in 2001(!), it was Kansas, it was Manhattan, it was 1-bedroom apartment and almost everything was new to us (I mean about “how to live” stuffs). Washer and dryer room was located separately (coin operated machines). We learned about a water-heater and a dishwasher. If something wrong happened, apartment maintenance guy came to the rescue right away. Yes, we became good friends immediately. We didn’t need to mow. Even the apartment complex had an outdoor pool for everyone. I kind of liked living there in 1 bedroom apartment. You might laugh.
With those experiences, we moved to here, Oxford, OH in 2008. This time, we were as a homeowner(!) (the very first time beginner one for our lives).
From that day, we have learned more and more about house maintenance, water-softener, gas water-heater, air conditioning system, roofs, gutters, washer-dryer, mowing, sewage problem and so on.
I still don’t want to try solving problems with plumbing and electrical systems. Before my husband’s injury, my husband and son have done several repairs together as their DIY (Do It Yourself) projects. I liked watching them figuring out those things.
They built a new mailbox post from scratch (?!).
It was 2016. Whoa, it was now 10 years ago.
Speaking of “plumbing”, bathroom upstairs had a plumbing issue. Water kept dripping all day long and it wouldn’t stop. So I had to have plumbers.
I wonder a lot about "how much I should know about house plumbing". How much do you know about it?
It was a very rare case though this time. I’ve known them very well now, like “I cannot live without them”, like that much. They fixed it and I was very excited about it. I was just happy.
Then after several times’ use, my kitchen ceiling got water leaking (the place right under upstairs bathroom shower). I had to go back to open the new panel to see inside. Anyway it had to be fixed, and it’s fixed now.
So..... tell me "how much I should know about plumbing"??
P.S. I really hate seeing water leaks in my house because I've had terrible experience many times already. Nightmare to me.....
I am still grateful for having my plumbers in town, you know.
8/19/2026.
Happy another new school year!!
8/19/2026.
A question of the day: About handcycle chains length. Have you thought about it? How much longer is it than regular bicycles' chain?
It is obviously longer than bicycle chain. I cannot tell the exact proper chain length. (Well, I'm still an amateur.) To me, I could compare my husband's handcycle vs my road bike, with my own way. I roll a pedal and count the number for a whole round of chains. (Does it sound make sense?)
My bike: 2 full circles
Handcycle: 3 and 1/2 circles
It is good to know to me.
Entry#625. 8/15/2026.
If you are curious about my husband's research, here is a brand-new website he made recently.
https://sites.google.com/view/tomoyasulab/home
I always love seeing the page "Research in pictures". https://sites.google.com/view/tomoyasulab/research-in-pictures
A proud wife is here.
Entry#624. 8/15/2026.
I have one son who is 24 years old. He is a quite interesting guy (I guess I can say that). As I wrote before, he does juggle, monocycle, Chinese yo-yo, yo-yo, stilts, besides sports: rock climbing, ski, cycling... so on.
He sometimes surprises us. This time was not exceptional. He traveled to Las Vegas with his close friends to attend a conference (!?). He had a fun time with them.
He mentioned that he competed a contest/challenge and he WON the first place!!
https://defcon.org/html/defcon-34/dc-34-contests.html#orga_41462
Oh, whoa, wow! What?
I needed to search and learn about something new. It's called "Lockpicking". Have you heard of it?
8/11/2026.
Did you notice there was a "sports, races, trips" top-page that you can re-read them? Just so you know.Here is the link. (A photo below is just a screenshot.) Even to me, it is really good to revisit our old events seeing old photos. There are new findings there.
Entry#623. 8/10/2026.
My parents live in Sapporo, Japan. They are still doing well for their age. My father was born in 1941. My mother was born in 1944. Age 85 and 82. They don’t drive anymore. They use public transportation (bus, subway, train). My father walks to a grocery store for 20 minutes (one way) almost everyday. They do gardening to grow vegetables and flowers. They used to babysit their two granddaughters often. (They still do.)
My father gave up a computer when it was broken. Now both of them are iPhone users. They check Facebook often. They cannot post anything on their pages by themselves, though.
I admire them a lot. They try to follow the latest technology to connect with families and people. At age 85 and 82, that’s an amazing thing they do.
I used to use Skype service to make a call on a landline, to call them. (You might wonder “I should use FaceTime.” Yes, you are right about it. We did it several times before.)
Somehow, we both like to talk on a landline phone. Skype service was ended. I’ve not tried to call on a landline since. It’s been a while. Then I found another service finally.
We talked on a landline phone. They sounded well. I was relieved.
Then my father told me something for the first time. “As you know, I and your mother don’t air travel in these days. We cannot travel to the USA anymore. We just can’t. You figure out to come visit us, will you?”
Then he added this. “A landline phone call is the best, you know? You make a call on a landline every week, will you?”
He surprised me because he never said these stuffs to me directly before.
I will do that. I will.
It reminded me of the importance of understanding “what they want to do and what they want”. Because I’m far away from them, we need landline communication very much.
Recently I found this song and I'm loving it. Do you know this song?
I know this song is a love song. But I love some parts of the song thinking of my parents + myself.
It's nice to hear you say "hello"And "how are things with you?I love you"
StrangeHow a phone call can change your dayTake you awayAwayFrom the feeling of being aloneBless the telephone
It's nice, the way you say my nameNot very fast or slow, just soft and lowThe same as when you tell me how you feelI feel the same way, too.
Next time I call them, I will say "Dad" "Mom" as many as I can.
8/09/2026.
Biking lately.
Entry#622. 8/09/2026.
Thinking back on Handcycle Crit race “Grand River Shootout” in Grand Rapids, do you think there was nothing bad happened this time around us?
I have had several bad feeling moments at some races before. For example like this:
Entry#462. 9/24/2025. Behind the scenes of AFM 2025.
I wrote “it was all my fault” at that time.
This time, it was a front tire of handcycle. We knew there were two bad surface areas and we were ready to replace a tire. (We got a brand new tire beforehand.) We agreed that it could wait until Crit races were over. So I let it be.
After the raining race Day 1 was over, I had to check and examine his handcycle conditions. I noticed that that bad surface sections got worse more than before the race day, because of the rainy wet sandy road conditions.
So we had to replace it in the hotel room. I was relieved that we had everything with us in our van. Wheeew.
You know? Rear tires were good to go. That part takes priority over any other matters to myself. It is that much important to me. You might laugh. You might want to check on a story on 9/24/2025.
Entry#621. 8/07/2026.
Finally it is posted now. All about Handcycle Crit race in Grand Rapids. Click here.
I need to add this, too. I brought my road bike with me alongside my husband's handcycle (and wheelchair). You know? In case of any chance to ride with my husband somewhere sometime. Are you giggling? And we were able to pedal the day before Crit race Day 1, before rain clouds came in the town. I was happy.
Entry#620. 8/07/2026.
Did you read Miami University Stories series "Through the Lens"? One of them is about Shikoku, Japan. My husband's grandparents lived in Matsuyama, Shikoku. My husband had many good memories with them.
https://stories.miamioh.edu/an-unforgettable-journey
"Miami University student spends summer walking 870 miles on pilgrimage to 108 Buddhist temples in Japan".
We know the writer of this story, we are good friends. My husband shared stories about his grandmother who has done "Shikoku henro" many times, with the writer friend.
He looked so proud of his grandmother and he was happy to share stories of her.
"The Shikoku Pilgrimage, also called the “Shikoku henro (四国遍路)” or the “88 pilgrimage,” is a historic Buddhist route, established over 1,200 years ago."
Entry#619. 8/06/2026.
I have several favorite picture-books in English (I do Japanese ones as well). I have favorite authors, yes, I do.
Chris Van Allsburg is one of them. In fact, I have “The Sweetest Fig” in my house. Do you know the story? I love his drawings/illustrations very much. (Jumanji is also his masterpiece.).
When we visited Grand Rapids for attending Grand River Shootout Crit race last weekend, one of handcyclists (Mr. Pierre Camy) took us to the ice cream shop after the race (Day 2). He lives in the city, he is a local and he (of course) knows everything about his neighborhood town. He explained about the shop which got our attention very much.
This ice cream shop “Jersey Junction” (established in 1963. 10 years before I was born) was funded by mother of Chris VA.
https://www.jerseyjunction.com/history
Did you know that there is a great connection between Movie “Polar Express” and “Grand Rapids”? I don’t know. Now we know thanks to Mr. Camy.
Now I would get happier when I read books by Chris Van Allsburg, it would always remind me of Grand Rapids. So fun. I’m liking Grand Rapids more and more.
Can you guess which flavor we ate? We asked the shop lady which is the signature flavor. We had "Michigan Pot Hole"(!) It was great. It was HUGE.
Entry#618. 8/06/2026.
I finally met Johnson family farm's owner, Mr. Johnson. (You need to find wasp-stories.) He is also the president of BCBA (Butler County Beekeepers Association). It sounds like he is an expert on honeybees and honey (beekeeping and more). He mentioned about a upcoming event at Farmer's Market in this town. He is going to demonstrate "how to extract/harvest honey" using his "spinner"(!) Do you know how to? Did you know how to?
I had to search YouTube videos about it. It is really interesting. It is wonderful to learn about beekeeping. I'm really grateful that I met him in person.
Now I have to visit at his demonstration time at farmer's market. Will you go?
8/05/2026.
Today's my surprise lilies.
Entry#617. 8/04/2026 “Yellow Jacket wasps’ nest”
It started like this.
I started hearing some high pitched dripping noise by the window in the dining room. I checked if there were any leaks. I didn’t find anything. I felt so weird, though. See red arrows in a photo below? That area.
Several weeks (I assume) passed.
I started hearing slightly buzzing sounds from the same section. This time I got very uncomfortable because something was obviously wrong. It was definitely “inside” widow panel.
I went outside and checked the area of opposite side where I heard noise. Then I saw some bee activity around the exterior window panels. I saw bees went inside a tiny hole. See a blue arrow downside one in a photo above? There was a hole(!)
It looked obvious there was a wasp nest inside my bay-window corner gap. I was kind of freaking out. I had no idea what to do. I reached out to Butler County Beekeepers Association. It turned out that was a good call indeed.
https://www.butlercountybeekeepers.org/
The BCBA president, Mr. Johnson himself came over to my house and took care of the wasp nest! I learned a lot from him.
Here is a video that Mr. Johnson took it for me. They were really making a nest there, in there!
We all smiled, thanks to Mr. Johnson!
After this procedure, my husband and I traveled to Grand Rapids. After we came back home, we noticed there was an underground Yellow Jacket wasps' nest at the dead stump nearby my back patio.
I asked Mr. Johnson about it, if we just could leave it or not. He came over right away and took care of it. Amazing! According to his experience, it was a middle size hive and three layers were built.
The bright side of this story. You need to re-read my old story on 7/07/2022. I wrote about Haskap jam! That jam was made at the Johnson Farm. See? Johnson!! Yes, it was his farm. I finally met the farm owner who is making Haskap jams (harvest fresh Haskap berries in his farm).
I am grateful for the connection we made this time really. I LOVE their Haskap jam very much.
8/03/2026.
I put photos of yellow jacket wasps' nest at the end of last month. It got an additional story happening....
Because my husband noticed an underground wasp nest (he saw them come and go from the window inside). We goggled about "what underground nest looks like". Found several videos.
I froze. Imagine there was an underground wasp nest right there nearby my back porch and it would get huge??! No way.
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