Five on a Friday

Miss Scarlett is still pretty unwell so we are heading off to the doctor when she wakes up. This gives me just enough time to do a quick five things I have loved this week.

Blossom:  Living in Singapore the weather is pretty similar year round and we have none of the usual seasonal changes of a temperate climate. I really enjoyed seeing the earliest blossom of the season while we were in Japan. 

I took this photo at a beautiful garden in Tachikawa - a suburb of Tokyo. Seeing bulbs and blossom in flower made me so happy.

Soba: Yes the good old buckwheat noodles. Not as popular as their trendier udon and ramen brethren but their nutty taste and firmer texture gets me every time. I ate two amazing meals of soba while I was in Japan. The second one on an island, high on a hill in a traditional tatami style restaurant with views of Mt Fuji is a memory I will treasure. 

 I just love the presentation of food in Japan. Everything looks as good as it tastes. The soba here was served with tempura vegetables and tiny fish. The little plate came with shizo leaves and spring onions to add to the noodles. There are chilli flakes inside the little red bottle. It was quite a cold day and the steaming savoury broth was just what I needed.

Family and Friends: We do not get to see Tet's brother and his partner as often as we would like. It is always fun catching up with Shinya and Mirei. Scarlett is utterly in love with Uncle Shinya. She is definitely missing him.

This photo was taken when Shinya and Mirei first arrived at our hotel. Yes both those enormous bags were full of presents... we were very spoilt!

An Adaptable Daughter:  I love the fact that Scarlett is never phased by travel. She loves being in new places and absorbs new experiences like a little sponge. She happily played with Japanese children even though they could not really communicate. She was even greeting them with a friendly "Konnichiwa" even though we never told her that meant hello.

She really enjoyed bouncing on the trampoline with other children. It was a great trampoline with uneven surfaces. It was really challenging to get to the top.

Pamol : I think this is called Tylenol in the US. Monkey has been rocking a serious fever the last day and a bit and I am super grateful to have medicine that keeps her comfortable as much as possible.

So that pretty much covers the things I am grateful for currently. I had better go and ring the doctor and get an appointment for Miss S.

What are you grateful for this beautiful day?