August
Go to the next month.
8/30/2025.
I sometimes just jump. Do you?
Entry#450. 8/30/2025.
I have two kinds of milkweed in my garden. This year, there were too many milkweed bugs and aphids. I just saw a couple of Monarch caterpillars but they were gone quickly. It was sad. So I gave up to see chrysalis and adult monarch butterfly this season.
Meanwhile I bought butterfly weed from a local nursery and planted it. Because I wanted it since my sweet friend in Olsburg, Kansas, had had gorgeous butterfly weed in her garden.
It’s been growing in my garden for its first summer.
Then guess what? Two days ago, I noticed two good-size monarch caterpillars on butterfly bush! Next day, there were 3 nice-size and 1 tiny-size of them. They made me smile huge. Hopefully they can make it to adult stage and fly away. I worry a bit since the temperature in the morning gets cooler and cooler in this week. Can I see the chrysalis? I do hope so.
Entry#449. 8/29/2025.
You have to laugh this time. It’s a really funny story today. I wrote before that “it is hard to be a home owner” to me personally in many ways. Since I have almost none of knowledge about house management/maintenance/everything, I always have many questions about anything inside/outside of house. I am gradually learning a little bit. I am still embarrassed all the time.
This time, here, the square thing on the siding wall.
I haven’t paid attention to this thing at all until very recently. Once I noticed it, I wondered “What is that?”.
It was a really good timing that I had two fabulous guys to check my house (I asked them to come see several detail parts of my house). Then I asked them about that square thing.
It is a wall vent, of course, with a cover. (It is obvious to anyone, isn’t it?)
And the most embarrassing part was my next question “But how does the air come out?”
I’m pretty sure that my two guys thought “what is she asking?”
The answer is “When the air vent inside is on.”
Like these photos.
At least, I now know about this thing. Did you have a good laugh?
Entry#448. 8/28/2025.
Our son is lucky enough that he has several great friends (seems like soulmates) that he keeps in touch with right now. Thanks to them, he was able to do some road trips to visit them. He’s been enjoying that very much. It sounds really nice that he picks his next destinations depending on the cities where his friends live.
I’m jealous of how flexible he is.
And I’m grateful that he has kept some good bondings with his friends.
(You would laugh. These days, I often imagine that our son would be invited to his friends’ weddings as one of their groomsmen. Hope it happens soon, because that sounds just wonderful.)
One of his friends published the book recently. To be exact, his grandmother is the author of the book. He translated/edited her book (in Chinese) into an English edition.
The note from Amazon page:
This book is an excellent resource for those who would like to learn about modern Chinese history from a new perspective, and is now available in English, thanks to my grandson Shr-Hua.
The highlight of the week was our son’s showing off of the book he purchased! Yes, he ordered that his friend’s book from the Amazon and it arrived here.
I’m amazed and impressed all about this book. Additionally it’s called a self-published book (!). That is really new to me. If you are in Oxford, you know him and his family. Check the Amazon site, you would like to see it.
The photo below. Our son visited Helena, Montana. This book's editor is the person next to our son.
8/26/2025.
I am 51 years old now and I now realized that “Being over 50 years old is a new realization”. Funny? At the annual physical checkup with my physician, she handed me over a list of immunization which she recommended.
Tdap
RSV
Pneumonia
Shingles
Flu shot
Covid
Every time my doctor says “Now you are over 50”, it makes me think “Being over 50 years old is a big deal indeed.”
I went to get vaccines without any deep thought. They say “You can get several vaccines at the same time if you want.” So I did. It was a bad idea though. My body system hasn’t reacted much to any vaccine before. So I was confident, thinking I should be okay.
Well, my body system reacted to vaccines anyway. Then can you guess what I was thinking? “Oh no, I cannot go biking with my husband, oh no.”
Vaccinations worked at least at this point, I assume. That’s good. But I learned I should get a vaccine one at a time. That would be better next time. Getting old is tough, but I think I get used to it bit by bit.
One day after the vaccination, I tried to bike with my husband. I was relieved very much that I was myself. Phew. I was glad that I was able to pedal almost as usual.
Entry#447. 8/24/2025.
There are several types of handcycle for people with disabilities (or I’d say for adaptive people).
There is an adaptive mountain bike = an off-road handcycle. These types are for mountain bike courses or gravel roads or trails in the woods areas.
It is different from a road race handcycle.
My husband was lucky enough to try to ride on several adaptive mountain handcycles several times in these past years, thanks to the Bridge adaptive sports and rec & Catalyst Sports.
He wanted to try to ride on it because he wanted to feel the difference and learn how to manage maneuverability on off-roads. Plus he wanted to learn how to use e-assist settings for this machine.
In general, in the Mountain Bike (MTB) world, of course, they compete a lot (to able bodied cyclists). That means there are competitive adaptive MTB athletes in the world (I assume).
However my husband isn’t interested in competing MTB races for now. It is surely totally different from handcycle road races.
He is still interested in riding on these adaptive mountain handcycles because some of them could take him to some woods/nature/hiking-trails. He wants to seek out that opportunity with knowledge about off-road handcycles.
(Do you remember about Quinn Brett? She is one of my hero-paraplegics.)
Quinn Brett said before (on the interview), her passion for off-road-handcycling stems from a desire to explore, not necessarily compete.
This quote fits my husband very much.
She mentioned also “I more so enjoy exploring the earth with friends and going at our own pace.” This sounds so much like my husband.
I get loving her more and more.
The Bridge adaptive sports and rec has been growing very much in these years. We are grateful and happy for them.
They purchased the brand new off-road style handcycle with e-assist. (It looks more casual than popular off-road handcycles.) It was an exciting news indeed.
Then my husband asked the director “Can I try to ride on that off-road handcycle with you in one of MTB trails?” The director himself is a real MTB rider. So he knows several real MTB trails around Cincinnati area very much. The only problem is “Is the trail wide enough for the off-road handcycle?” If it’s not, we just cannot go through (even we cannot turn around).
Well, it happened! The director picked the MTB trail for them and brought the off-road handcycle for my husband. (Pumped up. Checked the e-assist setting.) He got into the machine. Here they went!!
We all learned something new this time, again. It was really good tryouts. The main thing I learned personally was “fitting is the most importance”. This handcycle is a bit bigger for my husband. He fell sideways once(!) It was hard to put him back on the seat because of the size problem. Anyway he was back on the seat. I was relieved in the woods. (You know me. I was scared.)
The director said “I’m pretty sure he is the very first handcyclist in this trail ever.” We passed several MTB riders on the course. They were curious about him, I can say that.
After we finished and arrived at the parking lot, one person came to us to say several words. It was so nice to have a conversation about handcycles + MTB. Some of MTB riders checked on us saying “Was it wide enough for you?" We satisfied with the experience this time with our beloved MTB-rider-director.
We couldn’t have done this without him.
(You might wonder about me. Did I ride Mountain Bike with them on the course? The answer is no. I need to write about it later. I made you curious more, didn’t I?).
"Just get out there and explore the nature!" I think this quote would be our motto in our lives. And for this motto, my husband needs to get his own off-road handcycle somehow someday in future. Someday.........
It's not that easy though. It is extremely ridiculously expensive.
Note: FYI. The trail was here. https://www.trailforks.com/region/mitchell-memorial-forest/
8/24/2025.
I love taking jumping-photos. Do you? I was so loving it before, I often asked people/friends to jump for me to take photos. Sounds silly.
When I was being around Cross Country runners, I asked them, too. (Well, bellow, this is for a good luck to THS/TMS XC runners in this season 2025 fall!)
Randomly my mind wants to do it by myself. It's been a while since I did it last time. So I asked my husband to take photos of me lately. Yes, of course, it was at the half point of long ride with my husband.
I am age 51. How often do age 51 people jump like these? Do they do it in Japan? I wonder.
I highly recommend it (=taking photos of you jumping). Because it's really fun more than you expect. Let me know how you like it.
Entrt#446. 8/22/2025
Sometimes you might wonder about us here in Oxford, Ohio. You might have questions like these below?
Why you moved to the States?
What brought you here?
How long have you lived in the States?
Additionally you might wonder about me?
Did you get a college degree?
What did you do for work in Japan?
What do you do for work right now?
Well, I need to dig out some old analog/printed photos for you because there were not many digital photos of us around 2001. Someday I could show them to you (if I still kept them here.)
I’m looking back about us just because I saw my friend’s social media post about her daughter (#3, she has 4 incredible daughters), she moved to Lithuania with her boyfriend(!).
The news surprised me and made me curious. Of course, that news made me happy and cheerful.
I had to look up about the country “Lithuania”, both in English and in Japanese. There are many info about it to read. So exciting for her and her new chapter/ adventure/life in the foreign country. I feel bad though because I don’t have any knowledge about this country, Lithuania. I am bad.
Then it made me rethink about my old memories around 2001, I am thinking back right now. Funny, it’s a long time ago now. No wonder our son is 23 years old.
Why you moved to the States?
It was the time he found a Postdoc job at Kansas State University at the Denell lab, in 2001. The “key” was “using triboliums (red flour beetles) as a model insect for his research. It was Manhattan, KS. Our very first hometown in the State.
What brought you here?
Here = Oxford, Ohio. He got a job at Miami University. He started his own lab using several insects including triboliums.
How long have you lived in the States?
Since 2001. So 24 years passed. This fall semester would be the beginning of our 25th year of US life.
Did you get a college degree?
Yes. I met my husband in the same lab at the college in Japan. I could say I was a science person. (I have only a bachelor degree.)
What did you do for work in Japan?
I was a sales rep for the pharmaceutical company. I was an assistant for salesmen of department stores.
What do you do for work right now?
I’m an on-call caregiver (may I say that?).
Now back to “Lithuania” where my friend’s daughter moved to from Ohio. How much do you know about the country; Lithuania?? I could learn more about it through her new life and her new adventure. That’d be so awesome and fun. I’ll send cheers to her from here. Good luck!!
I'm reading these links below.
https://www.enjoytravel.com/en/travel-news/interesting-facts/interesting-facts-lithuaniahttps://www.hotbot.com/answers/what-is-lithuania-known-for
Entry#445. 8/22/2025.
Most of the time, I feel I wanted to be a tall woman, not a tiny 4’11” person. Especially in these 4 years, I wished I could be taller. So that I could carry my husband at any transition occasion from his wheelchair to anywhere. But I am still tiny.
Well, I still can be useful with this tiny size. Can you guess when and what for?
He has a frontwheel that is his must-item for his wheelchair life. (Do you remember?) He used it in Chicago.
Here are old posts related to Frontwheel.
11/23/2022
1/25/2024 and Entry#348(1/07/2024)
This special useful gadget has a small size tire (a thick one). I need to pump it up also, just like other wheel stuffs (wheelchair and handcycles). However it is a bit tricky and hard to attach a pump head to it just because the space is too narrow and tight.
I barely make it to screw it in and out each time. See the photos? Like this situation, I feel I’m grateful for my tiny hands and fingers. Funny? Otherwise, I don’t think my husband and son can do it. How do you think?
8/21/2025.
I've been thinking about my writing, my blog and "how to maintain it" + "how far this goes". My daily life just goes by quicker than before, somehow. All is good. It was exciting yesterday. Next up; the story about it.
8/20/2025.
When another fawn surprised you in the garden by the house window in the late August, you would wonder if it would be possible? Because you thought deer parenting time was almost over by now.
8/17/2025.
How often do you go to the trail in your area? For walking or biking or running/jogging. Do you see mile markers at the trail? Maybe just simple painted numbers on the ground paved surface? Have you seen other types of mile markers? When I found a stone mile markers in the bike trail in Richmond, Indiana, I was excited. It was different and it looked so cool. I love finding something different during cycling. If you find unique mile markers in your area, let me know.
Entry#444. 8/16/2025.
I attended our town’s “Ox Chalks the walks” event this year. It was my very first participation. I couldn’t have checked their events before. I felt bad about it. So I was excited and very happy to be there with other participants and our professional chalk artist in town. Like I posted before, I made chalk-messages on the sidewalks several times. It was not “making art” at all, it was simply “making messages with chalks”. See the difference? I am not a real artist, real painter, real drawing artist at all. But as you know, I love mimicking/pretending to be an artist/dancer/singer.
Instead of “drawing” something, writing “letters” was easier to myself. So I did. It was fun to me to make messages colorful with chalks.
Before I attended this Chalk event, I had to research about “how to draw chalk arts on the sidewalk?” on YouTube. I thought I could get some good tips and tricks from social media. Then guess what I found out?
I was totally wrong about chalk drawing from the beginning! I was. It was a bit shocking.
According to this video, this chalk artist, “using water” is the key. I didn’t know that.
So I used this method this time at the event. Well, it worked at some point. Not entirely though. Because it was too hot and too sunshiny on the event day, brushing with water on the ground surface dried up in seconds. But I did it anyway. I felt better with that method.
It was a good experiment indeed.
After all, we just scribble/doodle with chalks on the sidewalk with free imagination without water is fun. That is all.
P.S. Fun game(?!) Can you find me in this newspaper page? It's our fabulous local newspaper in town. https://www.oxfreepress.com/oxford-community-arts-center-hosts-ox-chalks-the-walks/
Photos: my old messages.
8/16/2025.
I am 51 yeas old. Will be 52 in October. My social media page feeds have several commercials about Menopause. Then I need to read/learn about it because I am that age. It is interesting and educational indeed. And I feel it is important to know about it. Isn't it?
Have you thought about the different tips for Menopause between US and Japan. In fact, there are some. I need to ask my Japanese friends about it sometime.
In these days, when we do cycling in bike trails, we often see some people walking wearing weighted vests. Have you seen them? I am guessing it is getting very popular? I found a video (I love this family very much. They are quite famous.) How do you like it?
Well, I guess I should try it sometime (or regularly?). I have eye floaters now and I admit my aging process. Still learning something new would be fun. Yes?
Entry#443. 8/15/2025.
It’s been 4 years since my husband became a paraplegic. It’s been over 2 years since he started riding his racer-type handcycle. (It was in May 2023.) (It’s been over 3 and a half years since he started riding a handcycle. The very first encounter was Nov 2021.)
We have been cycling a lot since. We go to many places, both bike trails and roads. At bike trails, we pass people walking. They express their impressions vividly when they see my husband pedaling his handcycle. It’s quite fun to watch their reactions. Especially young children.
Most of the time, they say “Whoa!” “What is that?” “Look, daddy.”
The interesting part is that they don’t know the word of “handcycle” or “handbike” at all, most of the time. Here, my friends (readers of my blog) can say “it’s a handcycle” when you see it in public in your town, can’t you?
Therefore we got used to their reactions not-knowing a handcycle.
Then guess what?
It was another pedaling day for us on one of our favorite trails. Right after we finished a long ride, my husband was about to transfer to his wheelchair from a handcycle. We heard young lady’s voice of “Excuse me. I have a question.”
She passed us once and then biked back to our place to greet us. She was on her road bike with clipless cycling shoes carrying her tiny cute daughter on her back bike seat.
She continued to talk. “As I see, you are riding a handcycle.” See? That phrase surprised us a lot. Can you believe it? My eyes were wide open, expecting more surprise words from her mouth.
You can guess how much I was curious about herself. (A lot.)
And of course, my husband was simply happier seeing the lady who recognized his bike as a handcycle.
Fast forward to the conclusion, she was a former Paralympic bobsled coach (a present college track coach). She “recruited” my husband to try para-bobsled in NY state just because there are not so many para-bobsled athletes in the States, even in the world. She saw my husband and wanted to say this opportunity to him right away, in case there might be a chance to get his attention into para-bobsled world. So she did!!
What a wonderful and brave action she did. Don’t you think? I was grateful and impressed about her. We didn’t get the detail info about herself at all. (I should have asked her more.)
I do believe it is her (here from an internet info).
It shocked me though. Wait. Is she the Olympian, isn’t she?
The fact we bumped into each other on the bike trail in Corwin, Ohio, near Xenia, is super special and very meaningful (to us). What a coincidence. I do hope we could see her again somehow someday somewhere…..
Now I’m searching and learning about para-bobsled and the city “Lake Placid”. Do you know this city?
https://www.lakeplacid.com/accessible
https://mtvanhoevenberg.com/todo/bobsled-experience/
I need to write more about it on another entry. We never forget this precious coincidence.
8/11/2025.
My Surprise Lilies update. Somehow someone bit off the bottom of stalks of Surprise Lilies (2 of them). Do you know who did it?
I finally did the thing I was curious about. Yes, I attended this fun event! What do you think?
The highlight of the event! My wonderful artist friend was the demonstrator of the chalk art. And bonus = my husband was able to wheel there to see her masterpiece.
Entry#441. 8/08/2025.
One of my favorite handcycle races is coming up in September. (My two most favorites are AFM
On the course, he has several cyclists around him, (not only one, not one-on-one). Some of them remember my husband, even though he doesn’t greet all of them in person to see their faces.
Also thanks to Strava app, my husband could connect with some cyclists from AFM races.
With all connection sources, my husband got invited to a AFM Marathon training group ride. 3 cyclists were waiting for him to arrive in Tipp City.
They are members of DCC (Dayton Cycling Club).
Well, I was there also anyway. I was not so sure that I was able to ride with their pace. I was super nervous.
On the other hand, my husband was so excited and so ready to try this training ride with their fast pace. To be honest, it was his very first real training on the road to pedal 26.2 mile with his maximum power. I got tons of thinking on my mind during this training session. To me, it was the hardest ride ever. I couldn’t catch them. I was dropped from them at some points.
Usually I try to take photos on my bike carefully. However I couldn’t take any just because I had to focus on pedaling. It was that much seriousness going on.
Funny part was it looked easy rides to other 3 cyclists(!). What is the difference between me and them???
After all, my husband had a great ride with them, learning a lot about the trainings and preparation for the race.
To me, I did see the reality this time. I cannot be his training buddy, you know?
I feel happy for him that he has leveled up his handcycle speed/power/cadence since he started. From this level, he needs to think about his training system, coaches and so on.
It’s new realization to me. Well, our son says “Why don’t you just stick with him. So that you could be a faster cyclist. Right?”
Well, that could be true. However I’m not the one who compete races. That’s my husband. So we need to think some solutions in future, I guess.
What do you think?
Entry#440. 8/07/2025.
I was a shelver(page) at the local public library once. I loved it very much being there with librarians, circulation desk crews, other shelvers and a custodian. Things I learned from them were precious and very essential indeed.
The wonderful part is the fact we (old or present members) still connect with each other somehow. Isn’t that wonderful?
Please re-read these posts from 2022. Entry#34. (4/26/2022) and 12/04/2022. You can see real our connections in my stories.
I visited the library today because they had a celebration party for the lady (assistant manager) on her retirement.
I worked with her for a short period. At that time, I got the impression of her from her knowledge and her fashion. Especially cute heels(!). It’s been a while but I still remember about it. Then I found a perfect card just for her. I modified it a bit.
When I saw the desert table made by our former librarian + present baker, as you can guess, my eyes were twinkling and my voice got louder. The theme was “High heels” indeed. What a coincidence. I had to show off my card to my friends as well. (I surely overacted there. Oops.)
It was a wonderful visit. Happy retirement!!
See the high heel cookies? And cupcakes with high heel decorations??
And here! This is she. Look at her heels! I was smiling a lot there.
8/07/2025.
SURPRISE! How are your Surprise lilies doing now? I have a couple more coming up(out).
Entry#439. 8/07/2025.
When you find a box of cards+envelopes set which attracts you by the front title, you take that box and examine it carefully. Yes, you do?? I found one box, that front title was “HAVE A LITTLE PUN”. Now it’s your cue to laugh. As an English learner, PUN is a bit hard/tricky to get it (even to use/create it by myself). I never got it right a while ago (especially never “right away”). PUN is popular, isn’t it? I’m still learning. I know there is “Dad joke”. Then my husband reminded me that there was “Dad joke” in Japan, オヤジ ギャグ (Oyaji gyagu) in Japanese. (Yes, I know that. I used to laugh a lot about them.) Now I wonder, so there is no “Mom joke” at all? Why not? Seems all moms in the world never say any jokes at all??? Interesting. Speaking of PUN, the card I found at the book store was quite good to me. I read it aloud at the store and giggled out loud in public. My husband laughed at me, of course. I loved it that much really.
Which ones are my favorites?
"You're so coo." and "Gopher it."
How about you?
Note: Wait. This title "Have a little Pun" is from "Have a little Fun"???
Entry#438. 8/05/2025.
I was a choir girl at an elementary school and a high school. (I was in a brass band at a middle school, played the flute.) After I moved to the States and learned the US music education system, I awed a lot noticing the difference between US and Japan. (Don’t tell. Sheesh. I love US system more than Japanese system, somehow.)
I learned how to play the piano when I was a child and I know how to read music as well. However I don’t remember any piano pieces and cannot play without a music sheet, not at all. How sad it is.
Well, I do remember several songs I did sing in choir groups. That’s a relief (whew, my brain seems still okay for that part).
As I wrote about my mother and her sister, they are members of a community choir group in my hometown, Sapporo, Japan. I’m happy for them that they have kept singing for a long time, just for fun. I think they are both soprano. (I was an alto.)
In these days, I’ve been enjoying to ask my mother “Which songs do you sing in this month at the choir time?”
There are always 2 or 3 songs that I still remember from my era. Can you believe it? It’s so fun. I could hum in my house, thinking of my mother and her sister.
This month, August, they have several pieces with End of summer themes. One of them is なつのおもいで (夏の思い出) Natsu no Omoide = Memories of Summer.
Here is a description of this song.
“NATSU NO OMOIDE (Memories of Summer): This ballad was first broadcasted on NHK Radio in June 1949. It enjoyed nationwide popularity and brought fame to the Marshes of Oze. Lyrics are by Shoko Erna and music by Yoshinao Nakada. It is now included in the teaching material for the second year of Junior High School.”
I loved this song. And, yes, I still do remember it.
Then I got the feeling “Awwww, I wish I could be there right away with her. So that I could join her choir group to sing it along. That’d be so much fun.” In these days, I often get these kinds of feelings. If only I was there, I could do some art/craft stuffs with her, she could teach me her new style or tricks.”
It’s a sad part that we live far away from each other…. But I want to keep asking her about her singing more and more.
Here is a video of this song.
This time, I discovered something really interesting. You would love it. It’s related to this song and Japanese (old) postal stamps. See? You got curious?
I even didn’t know that there were Japanese stamp series with “music sheets with lyrics”(!). Do you have any in the States? Or in Europe?? Australia? Africa?
It was a long ago. I’m amazed and impressed about them. I want it if it’s still available to purchase it. Would you like them?
Entry#437. 8/03/2025.
Have you heard of the race named “Frogman Race”?
https://speedysneakers.com/events/loveland-frogman-race/
I’ve not heard about it. I was surprised to hear about the details. Our friend said “It’s a triathlon race.” Okay.
She said “3 of us attend. We kayak(!), bike and run.” Wait. What? KAYAK??
The website says
“The triathlon is comprised of: 5 Mile Canoe/Kayak, 8 Mile Bike, and a 5K Run.”
She made my husband and me curious more. That sounds so interesting. I’ve never imagined this combination of triathlon. Whoa.
I want to send a cheer to them definitely in September. Just because we’ve gotten their helps and support through the Bridge adaptive sports and rec programs. The Bridge wouldn’t exist without them literally (I mean it).
Here are photos of three determined powerful ladies. Cannot wait to hear about how they finish the frogman race.
Note: You know? I don’t think I can attend this race. I am a bad kayaker. Hmmm.
8/02/2025.
It was a wonderful lunch, meeting new friends.
Entry#436. 8/01/2025.
Sometimes I just want to call my mother in Japan and I do call her. Because of the difference of the time zone (time lag), it always happens at my midnight time = my mother's noon time. Funny. Then we always keep chatting over one hour. As you can guess, my father by my mother in their dining room always worries about that too long phone call. We talked on the phone last night. I needed it very much.
I ask her "Please send a photo of two of you to me. The latest both of you." many times. She laughs. Hopefully she will do it soon.
Note: Their wedding anniversary will come up in September. It will be their 53rd anniversary. Hurray.
8/01/2025.
August is here (?!). The new semester will start soon before you know it. (Whoa). How does your garden look like now? I'm collecting larkspur seeds and ready for spreading them on the ground for the next year. Before that, I need to get more topsoil and mulch. You are maybe laughing now. But I need to go to the local nursery soon.
Then I wonder. I have a question, you might have an answer. Fireflies. Do you know when they stop blinking ?? Until this year, I haven't cared much about that fact. But now I'm wondering. Their lights are fading now in my yards. How about yours?
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