My new bike got here!

I had ordered a bike shop to replace the frame of my bike from "Klein" to "Anchor". The new bike came on last Sunday!

The Klein's frame is made from aluminum, so it is a little bit bold to keep its strength. I had wanted a thinner frame bike because I thought that it looks better.

The new frame is made from chromium molybdenum steel that is said to keep strength with thinner pipe. The frame maker is "Anchor" that is a well-known company, Bridgestone's bland name for bike.

I have not yet ridden this bike for a long ride, I am looking forward to riding it next Sunday.

"Ashinaga-bachi"

Several days ago, I found "Ashinaga-bachi no su"（アシナガバチの巣）, paper wasp's nest in my house's garden when I got rid of weeds. It had very good size, so I took this photo.

Paper wasp is said a kind of "Eki-chu"（益虫） in Japan because it catches caterpillars in fields to eat them. In this case, "Eki" means "beneficial" and "chu" means "insect".

P.S. I have learned this word "paper wasp" just when I would write this article. But, in this case, I think that the Japanese word "Ashinaga-bachi" gets its feature better than the English.

"Chewing-gum"

Last Thursday, I came across this article in Asahi newspaper. I thought it was a little bit interesting. We often can see this type of headline using "word play".

In this case, the chairman told the mayor not to chew gum during the mayor's speech. In Japanese, "議長は市長に対して「答弁中は（チュウイン）ガムをかまないように」と注意した"(gichou-wa-shichou-ni-taishite-toubenchu-wa-gamu-wo-kamanaiyouni-to-chuui-shita). The writer used this headline because both word's pronunciation are similar.

”Higan-bana”

Yesterday, I found these "Higan-bana"（彼岸花） in the neighborhood. "Higan-bana" is a representative flower in this season, but it is a little bit earlier than usual, I think. We often see the flower near a rice paddy.

In my Japanese-English dictionary, "Higan" is translated into "the equinoctial week". In this period, most people in Japan visit their family grave to honor their ancestors.

P.S. There is a song named "Man-jyu-sya-ka"（曼珠紗華）. "Momoe Yamaguchi"（山口百恵）" sung it and "Man-jyu-sya-ka" is another name of "Higan-bana".

Jero sings "Kiku-masamune"

When I heard his this song on a TV program, I was a lttle impressed that he is a very talented "Enka-kasyu"（演歌歌手）. How dou you feel from it?

Kiva

I have loaned $50 to small entrepreneurs in developing countries through "Kiva". $26.04 has been repaid, and I withdrew $15 from it. This time, I decided to buy a wristband and a lanyard by using it and I received them on this Monday.

I have learned about "Kiva" through the VOA Special English. It is a very good way to support people in developing countries, I think.

a stranger's visit

Last night, my daughter found a bat in my house before going to bed. I captured it and released it out of my house.

I was sorry that I had not taken a movie of a bat circling in a room.

"Ikebana"

IMG_2665.JPG, originally uploaded by bikenglish.

A group of women at my work office have a self-learning class for "Ikebana"（生け花）, flower arrangement, every Thursday. It is a good way to enjoy every day life, I think.

I will continue to add photos of "Ikebana" to my "photostream".