ensoku

Today i picked up Lanka Lulu and we went to One World Market and Pastry House Hippo (why is their website in Japanese only when their locations are in Novi and Chicago only? i know it's a Japanese bakery but come on), then took our purchases to Hines Park and had a little picnic. Laura Lulu had her suki na Ramune (which i've never seen in Japan, isn't that strange?), and i had tea (which i have enjoyed many times both in Japan and elsewhere) and wished i had another. To eat we had potato salad (so japonaise), fried chicken, and california rolls. Plus i ate the curry pan (pictured on the right) i'd bought at the hippo house.

Now for dessert! Lanka Lulu had tiramisu (for which i conveniently had a little plastic spoon in my purse, with Peko-chan on it. It came with the pudding and i've been carrying them around since i visited Tomo in Hikone last month), and i had "fruit custard" or something like that, which was actually a cake, with a custard layer and a nice creamy frosting, and fruit on top. Very cute. And delicious!

Our picnic spot was behind the hill where Hannah and i once sat and played with our cameras and notebooks. At that time, the grass was short, like a lawn, but now it is quite long -- like a meadow. And that is what it is. But to get there -- we went a different way, rather than just walking down Hines Drive -- was the most fun part. Oniichan we should walk there next time instead of through the disc golf course. It was just a short trail, but through the woods, and came out behind the hill. I like how these two phone photos Laura Lulu took look all fuzzy and dreamlike. I suppose that's the nature of phone cameras (mine too; my mom has my real camera with her in Germany and i miss it more than i expected!) but it's fun in these foresty pictures.

We left the park and stopped in Northville. Lanka Lulu was considering buying bread, so we went to Great Harvest and i took my photo with the baker and let him hold my BABY parasol. A woman with half a dozen small children came back (we went through the back) about this time and the kids for some reason all stood around and stared at me as we did this. It's kind of too bad none of them ended up in the photo, actually. I'm really not sure what was so interesting.

We tried bread (i was given the last two slices of "Michigan Herb," and one of them is still in my purse) and, after deciding against buying any, walked around the block to a cafe i have never been to partially because of something to do with an uncle or a cousin. At least that's my perception, or invention. Anyway we got iced tea and sat outside. They had two tables in the front which was the drawing factor, the absolute maximum for my dream cafe of Tokyo; but we ended up sitting in the alley, where there were two more tables. The drawing factor here was the shade and distance from passerby.

I came home and wrote out checks for Gramma's bills. One was a day past due, oops!! Now, outside my window a boy keeps saying "all my chicken and all my french fries," or perhaps "i want chicken and i want french fries." I just thought of making dinner, though it's 7:30 already. Perhaps... pierogies and salad? Perhaps just salad. And i've been meaning to cook the edamame in the freezer for sooooooo long, i wonder if they're even still going to taste good? I guess i won't know till i cook them.

Now that it's cooled off i'd like to take my computer out on the porch, since Gramma's in for the night probably (the TVs on at least), but there isn't a plug out there. Perhaps when i find a job and catch up on bills and have a new dress (i'm so bad), i might buy myself a new battery. Will they even still sell batteries compatible with my cute PC? I bought it in 2004.