My favorite fruit is the humble apple. I’m from Washington, so this favoritism was inevitable. Washington is famous for its apples, and with good reason. They’re delicious, and there are many local orchards.

I remember one orchard down the street my childhood home. Families would go to the orchard, pick apples, and squeeze the juice out of them to make cider. I never did this myself, although I did volunteer to help the orchard’s staff run the event once. It seemed like a lot of fun, and of course delicious. I hope I can make my own cider myself one day. That would be cool. And I do love apple cider.

Another favorite apple treat of mine is the caramel apple. We usually have those around Halloween. Caramel is already quite delicious, but for caramel apples you kick things up a notch by pouring the caramel over a big, juicy apple and then rolling it in candy! It’s sugar on a stick, and it is divine. Admittedly, the caramel apples I usually get a hold of are usually so large that they’re actually rather challenging to eat, but the sweet deliciousness is well worth all the effort and minor jaw pain.

My mother also makes apple streudel a lot. It’s basically a deconstructed apple pie. You’ve got a crunchy, buttery oatmeal topping over heavily seasoned and cooked apples. Personally, I could eat that crust all day, but I’m not such a big fan of the apple portion of the dish, surprisingly. I love fresh apples: crisp and cool. Apple streudel’s apples are cooked, so they’re soft and warm. It’s not my favorite. My feelings are the same with regards to apple pie, as well. Lots of people love apple pie and apple streudel, though, and I can’t say I don’t understand why, even if the texture of cooked apple isn’t my personal favorite.

But why am I yammering on about apples and apple dishes? The reason is quite simple.

I love apples. I can buy apples very easily and cheaply in America, of many different colors and sizes. I can also buy apples in Japan, but there’s a lot less variety. I can’t really argue with the quality– the few apples I’ve bought here have all been crisp, juicy, and delicious– but the size is a bit daunting. They’re overlarge, even by my American standards, and I struggle to eat even half of these delicious giants. The last thing I want to do is waste such delicious (and expensive) food, so I buy them very rarely. Recently, however, I’ve taken to occasionally picking up a package of pre-sliced apple. The portion size of the packaged slices is much more reasonable, and I can enjoy it without fear of waste. I’ve been buying a lot of apple slices recently, and they remind me fondly of home and those delicious apple products of Washington.

Peak apple season is coming up. Maybe I’ll try to make something this year!

さてタイトルの英語はいったいどういう言葉でしょうか？

答えは、鍾乳洞です！

ちなみにLimstoneだけだと石灰岩を表します。

先日、郡上市にある美山鍾乳洞というところへ足を運んできました。

この日もとても暑い日でしたが山の中の鍾乳洞はクーラーがかかっていると錯覚を起こさせるくらいに涼しかったです。

ぐんぐんと中を進むとたくさんの階段が現れ上り下りの連続でまさに冒険をしているような気分で上の子は大はしゃぎでした。

下の女の子はというと初めての洞窟にドキドキで抱っこの時が多かったのでこちらとしては一つのハードなトレーニングでした。

とてもいい経験になったので、近辺にある違う鍾乳洞にもそのうち行ってみたいと思いました。

みなさんはブドウは好きですか。

わたしは、ブドウがとても好きです。いろんな種類がありますね。

デラウエアはじめ、巨峰、ピオーネ、ナガノパープル、アレキサンドリア

シャインマスカット。

夏になると、長良川沿いで売っているブドウを箱で買うと

たくさん味わえて本当にハッピーです。

今年は、ふるさと納税で、シャインマスカットを

頼んでみたのですが、てつづきに手間取りまだ送ってこないのです。

急がないと食べそびれてしまいますね！

最近は、変なお菓子を食べず、健康的に、くだものや、野菜スティックを

食べようかと思っている私です。

季節の食べ物と秋らしさを楽しみましょう～

Due to the global coronavirus pandemic and all of the travel restrictions, I, like so many other expats in Japan, was unable to go back home this summer.  It was our plan to go home during summer vacation to see family and friends, but we’ll have to wait until next year (if we’re lucky!).  I don’t usually get homesick, but missing this opportunity really made me think about home and everything I miss.

First and foremost, I miss people.  I don’t get to see my friends and familly much, and even though we can video chat and message each other, it’s not the same.  I really want to see everyone.

Second, I miss the city of Chicago.  There are so many fun things to do in the summer back home.  I miss going to baseball games, going to big parks, shopping, and so much more.

Finally, one of the things I miss the most is the food!  I talk about this a lot, but Chicago is well-known for its food.  The number one food that I miss is pizza.  Chicago really does have the best pizza in the world.  

It’s a shame that we weren’t able to go home this summer, but hopefully coronavirus gets better all over the world and we can get back to traveling in 2021.  For now, though, I have pictures like this one (with two former Hello!s teachers) to remind me of home.