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【Story Challenge 】 No.2 Lil Bottles' Adventure

Japanese version↓↓↓

https://osamposampo.hatenablog.com/entry/2021/05/28/101947

 

Lil Bottle Rose and Lil Bottle Lavender are best friends.

They love to play with Aya and Chii, the little sisters who are genius at creating fun games.

It’ raining outside.

Rose and Lavender are looking at the raindrops trickling down the window.

f:id:osamposampo:20210813153603j:image

Leaves of the tree in the  garden are bowing low with heavy rain.

In the dining room, Aya and Chii are discussing how to make clothes for Lil Bottle Rose and Lil Bottle Lavender.

They picked some pretty patches from the sewing box and laid them on the table.

Rose and Lavender stood by them on the table.

They watched the girls and the rain, and the girls again, and then they noticed something in the sewing box.

 

“Look! What’s that? It’s pretty”

, said Rose.

In the sewing box

was a small square cushion with colored pearls on it, white, yellow, green...

“There it is♪”

Chii said and picked the white pearl and pulled it out. 

 

It shone!

 

It was a saber with pearl grip.

It was so beautiful.

Lil Bottles gasped.

f:id:osamposampo:20210813153625j:image

 

Chii pinned the edge of a pretty cloth with the saber.

“Keep it like this with the marking pin and sew from this end to that end. If we thread the ribbon, we can make a pretty cape.”

, explained Aya.

The girls began.

Rose and Lavender looked at each other and smiled.

With a cape

And

A pearl grip saber…

 

It’s ADVENTURE time!

 

It must be exciting.

They can fly in the air if the little girls hold them up.  

 As they were becoming dreamy, pearls in the sewing box came in sight again.

“I like that one.”

Rose pointed to the shiny white pearl.

“I Like that one.”

Lavender pointed to the shiny yellow one.

They couldn’t resist it and went closer to the sewing box.

They pulled out the pearls like Chii did.

 

I’t shone!

 

how beautiful it is!

Rose and Lavender walked to the window with the saber in their hands. 

Raindrops are trickling down the window.

“Wouldn’t it be fun if we can pierce the raindrops with this?”

“Let’s try."

So, off they went  into the rainy garden.

“Ooooooooh!”

“Heeeeeeey!”

They tried very hard,

but they couldn’t make it.

“Oh well, I thought it would be pretty to see crystal drops pierced through, but never mind.”

They looked up at the big tree in the garden.

They have seen it many times but now that they have a closer look, it looks even bigger.

“If we can get up to that branch, maybe we can see Aya and Chii in the house.”

“Let’s do that!”

 Rose and Lavender hurried to the tree.

It looked even more bigger.

Rose took hold of the saber with both hands. 

 

It shone!

 

Rose stung the saber on the tree trunk

and clung to the pearl grip,

then bounced as the needle went up and down.

“Look Lavender! We can jump up to that branch bouncing like this.”

Lavender followed.

 Rose and Lavender bounced up and down for a moment and then,

 

with a

 

"Ready,Go”

 

Jumped up onto the branch.

They landed just where they wanted.

From up on the branch, they could see the little girls in the house!

“We can see them!”

“Hurray!”

Meanwhile, the little girls were so busy making the cape that they didn’t notice Rose and Lavender were gone.

They finally finished.

It was a very pretty cape.

When they were putting things away,

they realized that two pins were missing.

Mother had always told them to count pins and needles after using them.

It can be very dangerous, she says.

“Lil Bottle is missing, too.”

Aya checked under the table.

Chii checked under the chair cushion.

 They wondered

and when they turned their heads to the window,

 

there they were,

 

looking at the girls,

from a tree.

“How did you get there!”

They were amazed.

 When they saw the shining pins on the tree trunk, they understood. 

 

 “Let’s go, we have to save them.”

 The girls ran to get their umbrella.

 Rose and Lavender

didn’t know how to get off the tree.

Chii held the umbrella so that Aya won’t get wet,

and Aya tiptoed with her hands up, like a bowl.

Rose and Lavender jumped into Aya’s palms.

“What a brave bottle you are. I’ll dry you with towel when we get inside. You can put on your cape and your saber. Tell us all about your adventure.”

, said Aya.

“Use the saber only when you’re playing, ok? It can be very dangerous, you know. I understand how you feel, it’s so pretty.”

, said Chii. She pulled out the pins from the tree. She didn’t forget to stroke the trunk gently, it must have hurt…

Rose and Lavender were very happy.

Where will they go next?

 

story by Nao♪

No.3↓↓↓

https://osamposampo393.hateblo.jp/entry/2021/08/19/161309

 

#adventure

 

【Gardening Challenge】Day 7 On Mother's Day

On Thanks Mother's Day in May this year

 

I gathered flowers from my garden

and made a little bouquet as a present for my mother.

 

It was a small one, but it was colorful.

I was proud of myself that I raised so many flowers.

 

Red rose, white rose, pale purple rose ,orange  gerbera,yellow gerbera,lavender,and mint leaves♪

 

I was happy that I could give something pretty that I have made.

She deserves the best.

I was happy that I could share a little time with her.  

I was happy to see her smile♪

#thanksmothersday #bouquet #rose #presents #gerbera #happy #英語日記

 

 

 

【Story Challenge 】No.1 Lil Bottles' New Home

 

Japanese version↓↓↓

https://osamposampo.hatenablog.com/entry/2020/08/26/103645

 

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The sky is clear and blue.

The lake is big and blue.

Summer breeze is sweeping over the big lake,

and you can see the waves rippling.

 

From the window of a little shop just by the lake,

all you can see is clear blue

of the sky and the lake.

The little shop is nice and comfortable.

 

Wooden shelves are set on the cream colored walls. On the shelves are musical boxes, snowdomes, small clocks, and wooden squirrels and rabbits and many other more.

On a shelf close to the window, a bunch of “little bottles” with their pink round caps nest together.

The round caps have each a bow with different colors.

It’s very small,

you can just about see those pink caps if a small child holds the bottle.

The Lil Bottle with lavender bow whispered to Lil  Bottle with rose red  bow. 

 

“Look, here they come."

 

f:id:osamposampo:20210812194455j:image

A white car came from far along the road,

and stopped in front of the shop.

Two little girls popped out from the car, one in pale blue dress, the other in pale yellow.

They came into the shop hands in hands.

They went straight to the shelf by the window, and one said,

 

 “Here it is!  It’s still there!”

The bigger girl tiptoed and  took the “Lil Bottle”  Rose.

 

 “ Me, too. I want the one with the lavender bow.”

The little girl asked her sister to take one.

The bigger girl is Aya.

The little girl is Chii.

They were spending the summer holidays by the big lake with their grandparents.  Grandma said they can choose something they like for a souvenir.

They wanted the little bottle they saw in the shop by the lake.

 

 Lil Bottle Rose and Lil Bottle Lavender

were neatly packed in pretty paper bags, and into the car they went.

 

f:id:osamposampo:20210812210235j:image

 

 “I’m nervous…”

 “Me,too..." 

 Lil Bottle Rose and Lil Bottle Lavender are on their way to the little girls’  home,

 their new home.

 

It’s midnight.

 

In the nursery the star shaped light is gently showing toys and pieces scattered on the girls’ writing desks.

There, on the desk  

Lil Bottle Rose and Lil Bottle Lavender

were standing straight,

Rose on Aya’s and

Lavender on Chii’s desk.

The two desks were on far sides of the room.

The girls were sleeping on the bed between them.

 

f:id:osamposampo:20210812195927j:image

 

The girls are together all the time.

Lil Bottles were still very nervous so they woke up all night.

It’s morning...

After breakfast, Aya and Chii brought the Lil Bottles downstairs.

 “ What are we going to do today, Aya?”

, asked Chii.

“ We are going to do  The  Blending.”

The girls put some water in their Lil Bottles

and then some more from the room fragrance spray bottle.

 “ What a nice smell!”

The Lil Bottles were astonished at first,

and then became dreamy.

 “ We are the lovely perfumes...."

The Perfume-Lil Bottles

felt like princess and sat up very straight, with their heads high.

The girls held the bottles in their hands and sang and danced around.

That Night

The Lil Bottles were back on the girls’ desks, washed and dried.

They gazed at the sleeping girls.

“ Oh, wasn’t that fun today? ”

“Sure it was!”

They were talking in whisper.

The next day...

This time Chii said

“ Let’s play faries”

“Ok”

The girls brought origami papers and color pencils and tissue box on the dining table.

They made fairy wings with tissue papers and stuck it on the back of  

Lil  Bottle Rose  and Lil Bottle Lavender.

Placing Rose on a blue origami sheet,

Aya said,

 “Mine is fairy of the Lake”

Chii put hers on some leaves from the garden

and said,

“Mine is fairy of the leaves”

With their fluffy wings,

the Lil Bottles felt as if they could fly.

That night...

The Lil Bottles  were talking excitedly  as they gazed at the sleeping girls, almost falling off the edge of the bed.

 “I really think this house is magical, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes!  What will happen tomorrow?”

The Lil Bottles sighed a very  contented sigh,

and they were sure they could sleep very well that night. 

 

It’s a very sunny morning.

The girls decided to go to a park nearby.

They took their favorite bag,

and in it they put handkerchief and tissues

and

of course their Lil Bottle Rose and Lavender.

The park is just aross the street.

They headed for the swing.

Aya stood on it and swung.

Chii sat and started to swing, very hard.

 

" Oh!"

Chii fell off and rolled over.

"It hurts, my hands, my knees!"

She was about to burst into tears.

Aya came right away and took out her Lil Bottle Rose.

 

Rose got it.

" Here I come! I'm the sanitizer fairy!"

,cried she.

"Here I come!  I'm the medicine fairy!"

, cried Lavender.

They knew they only had water in them

but they did their best to sooth her pain.

"See, the little bottles did a good job.It doesn't hurt any more, does it?"

, said Aya.

" It's gone! "

, Chii replied in surprise.

She wasn't  crying.

Rose and Lavender did a little hurray *\(^o^)/*

That night....

" What shall we be tomorrow?"

"What shall we do tomorrow, I'm so excited."

Rose and Lavender talked about their dreams as they gazed at the sleeping girls.

 

Story by Nao♪

picture No.1 by

MARUMOCHI   from "creator's apartment"

 

 

No.2 ↓↓↓

https://osamposampo393.hateblo.jp/entry/2021/08/13/153723

 

【Learning】 Airport piano Station piano Street piano♪

There's a TV show in Japan focusing on pianos set in airports, stations, and on streets around the world.

My family love watching it. 

The scenery, the music,  and the stories the players tell us  ...it's wonderful.

My children and I enjoy playing piano and the the girls learn  pieces  they like quickly,

but I could never play without a music score.

 

As I was seeing people on TV playing and enjoying music,

 

I began to think what  fun it would be if I could do that when I come across a street piano somewhere.

 

Only few months have passed since I began thinking about it,  

 

and  now I have five pieces of music that I can play off by heart.  I can't believe it myself but I did it!

 

I haven't come across any street pianos anywhere yet,

 

but here's what I'm enjoying now: 

 

when talking on video calls with my parents

we pretend that it's an airport piano,

we do the interview things, too.

 

It's fun for both of us and I'm happy to see my parents smile and feel the bond, although we can't see each other as often as before because of the Corona virus restrictions.

 

Is it right to say in this case

"Where there's a will, there's a way" ?

 

Thank you for reading!

 

# piano

#newchallenge

#family

#stayhome

 

 

 

【Gardening Challenge】Day3 Gourds 瓢箪 ヒョウタン

Several years ago,

I tried to grow gourds(ヒョウタン or 瓢箪, pronounced HYOTAN in Japanese)

 in my garden.

 

They are the ones that grow water bottle shaped or bowl shaped fruits.

 

I was planning to make some water bottles with those gourds.

I thought it  would be nice to use them, for fun.

 

It didn't work out well. My gourds were too small.

 

Gourds have been grown by mankind  from ancient times.

It goes back about ten thousand years.

It is known that gourds came to Japan about 9600 years ago, in the Jomon era.

 

The famous warrior TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi in the 16th century used this gourd design for his family crest .

 

As I'm writing this now, my desire to grow gourds are rising again.

Maybe I'll give it a try again next season.

 

Thank you for reading

 

#gardening

#gourds

#Japan

#英語日記

#langtwt

#千生りびょうたん

 

【Gardening Challenge】Day 2 Joyful giving is my reason for gardening

The first flowers

that I took care of by myself, apart from morning glories in my elementary school,

were  the sweet peas.

 

They were lovely.

 

I was growing them in my apartment.

The only window facing south was the small one in the  kitchen.

I set my pots of baby sweet peas by the window, and watched them grow.

 

When they began to bloom, I brought it to my father and mother in law as a small gift.

 

They loved it and put it in a vase and placed it by the TV shelf and  praised me for doing a good job.  

 

I was so happy that I remember this clearly after so many years....almost two decades.

 

At the heart of things, I think that growing flowers and giving them to my loved ones  is the motive for my gardening passion.

 

Thank you for reading

 Story by Nao♪