Flamingo Friday...Water Shots...and more of The Hammer Man...yummm...

Greetings all! I do hope that this finds you doing well and looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend. Here at the Kuroiwa House...we are pretty tuckered. Tonight was the final night of the Obon Festival and we found ourselves amongst the throngs of people all clamoring to get a good view of the parade of shorobune...or "spirit boats"...that families built to honor their loved ones who passed away this last year. It was hot. It was noisy. It was very very crowded. We had a wonderful, sweaty time!!!

I'm trying to put together some pictures that will give you a good idea as to what it is like here in Nagasaki during this season....will have those ready in a day or two.

The K-Man and I were talking and both agreed that if someone really wanted to come and visit Nagasaki and get the whole "Japanese" feel of what it is like here....then this season is one of the best. Yes, it's hot and sweaty...but...there are thousands of people out there...sweating and enjoying it with everyone else!!!

Oh..and by the way...we didn't have "official" earplugs but...cotton rolled up and stuffed in your ears works just fine!!! Plus....it made it much easier to ignore Issei and Koji's seemingly constant pleas for something to drink!!! ("My throat is so dry, I really can't breathe." was the winner from Issei...but you have to also imagine the body language to really feel the moment...seriously...picture hand-- palm up-- on the forehead and a total "Woe is me" kind of pose!!!)

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Flamingo Friday

These little beauties were gifts from a good friend...actually, I think she had them and the boys wanted them and they were reeeeaaalllly good at convincing her to give them to us. The boys are really good at finding a "soft spot" and then working it until they get what they want!!!

I love these flamingos.....they are such bendable, twistable, fun.

One, I keep on the paper towel holder in the kitchen....

....the other has a special place in the car.
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And....here are some of the photos from our day at the river...and then....the sea. (Sorry, but...no cameras aloud in the onsen...they frown upon that.)

Oh...and by the way...there will be none of "those kind of shots" of Debbie....you know the kind...I will not post any kind of photos like that.....unless/until large quantities of money have been deposited into a PayPal account. I'm not sleazy but...for the right amount of yen (or American dollars) I could possibly be persuaded .

(Right now, I'm wondering if anyone is actually thinking I would do that?!?!?! teehee!)

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Okay....and finally...in honor of My Man Koji, the Hammer Dude (who is in 2nd place in his group, so far in the Olympics), I wanted to let you see one of the TV commercials he did a while back. It's for some cup-of-noodles....oh and by the way....men, in Japanese, means "noodles" (think raMEN, soMEN....)
If anything, this proves that he does have a sense of humor...a quality that ranks pretty damn high in my book!!!
(Either he has a good sense of humor or he will do pretty much anything for a big hunk of yen...whichever...either one works for me!!! Possibly something he and I have in common!?!?!))

*If you can't see the video...go to http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd0gLXYZ-aw and watch it!!! It's good for a giggle!!!