This week has been rainy, as if we are back in the rainy season again.
それでもこなつの散歩は欠かせないのでレインコート着せて歩き始めた。
However, Konatsu’s walks are indispensable, so I put on her raincoat and started walking.
雨の中だけど尻尾は上がっているからイヤじゃないんだよね。
It’s raining, but she doesn’t hate it because her tail is up.
しばらく歩いたらマー君に会った。こなつのと同じような色合いのレインコートだね。
After walking for a while, we met Maron. It’s a raincoat of the same shade as Konatsu’s. Konatsu and Maron would try to play with each other if they could see each other, but it is impossible in this rain today.
雨が止む気配は全く無いし､､､
There’s no sign of the rain stopping at all, and…
こなつも「もう帰ろうよ」という顔してるので家に帰りましょう！
Konatsu has a “let’s go home” look on her face, so let’s go home!
家に着いたらこんなに嬉しそうな顔になっている(笑)
She looks so happy when she gets home, lol.
頭までびしょ濡れ｡｡｡
She was soaking wet to the head.
ちゃんと拭いてね！という顔だ。
Wipe it off properly! That’s the look on her face.
At the nursing home in Shichirigahama where my mother resides, visitation has been suspended since last year due to the Covid-19 disaster and only online visitation has been available, but face-to-face visitation resumed this month.
早速面会の手続きして行ってきました。
I immediately arranged a visitation and went with my wife.
入居者が普段生活しているスペースには入れず、面会専用の部屋で15分という決まり。
The rule is that residents are not allowed to enter the space where they normally live, but in a room dedicated to visiting for 15 minutes.
8か月ぶりの面会だが特に変わりなく元気そうだった。
I visited my mother for the first time in eight months, and she seemed to be in good health with no particular change.
It is like this for 15 minutes. This Shichirigahama Home is located on a hill near the sea, so it has a nice view, and the atmosphere of the staff people seems to be cheerful and comfortable. I think it would be good for me to move in here in the future.
Meanwhile Konatsu was waiting in the car. It would have been nice if Konatsu could have joined us, but unfortunately they wouldn’t let the doggie inside, so my mother had to put up with the pictures.
And when you eat it with this nut sauce, it is very tasty. And I drank a little too much and ended up going to the concert the next day somewhat hungover.
ここは相模原の「杜のホールはしもと」、我が家から車で約1時間半。
This is “Morino Hall Hashimoto” in Sagamihara, about an hour and a half drive from our house.
この二人のコンサートで、人気者の二人だから全席売り切れの超満員。
It was a concert of these two, and since they are both so popular, all the seats were sold out and the place was packed.
I did not know the name of the composer of the first piece, Nadia Boulanger, but according to Ms. Miyata’s explanation, she was Piazzolla’s teacher and was the one who recommended Piazzolla to write tango. And Frank’s cello sonata, which I was looking for, was also very good. After listening to such good music, my hangover was completely gone and I was full of energy by nightfall!
I come to Gunma several times a month for work, and Gunma is a very hot place in summer. This time, the temperature was lower due to a typhoon, so it was nice and comfortable.
The scenery is tranquil, typical of a provincial town. There is a school called Tomioka Jitsugyo High School right in front of the hotel where I am staying, and in one corner of the school there is a practice field for the baseball team. I went to take a look in the morning on my walk.
The ground was well equipped, so I checked out what kind of team they were, and found out that in recent years they have been playing games with an alliance of six neighboring schools due to a lack of members. Even so, the team won two games this spring, which is quite impressive.
こんなスコアボードがあり、後ろに回ってみると､､､
There’s a scoreboard like this, and when I go around back…
It was a gift from all the parents; 14 years ago they could probably still compete as a single team. Somehow, I felt compelled to support this combined team in this summer’s tournament.
昨夜、こなつママに電話したらこなつが夕飯を食べないと心配していた。今朝は元気かな？
I called my wife last night and she was worried about Konatsu not eating dinner. How is she this morning?
This time we are in the cheapest seats on the back side of the stage. I’ve heard this kind of seating in other halls before, but the wind instruments sound louder and the balance is not so good.
This was the Cologne-Gerzenich Orchestra’s first visit to Japan, and I had never even heard of them, but as soon as they started playing, I knew this was a great orchestra.
これはNHK交響楽団との共演のYoutube。第3楽章です
This is a Youtube of the performance with NHK Symphony Orchestra. 3rd Mov.
I have not written about Shichirigahama for a while, so this morning I went there with my camera. It’s getting hotter these days, so everyone is coming in for a walk earlier and…
5時半過ぎに着いた時には散歩は終わりかけていた。
The walk was almost over when I arrived shortly after 5:30.
Konatsu does not play with everyone and just watches from afar. Until a few years ago, Konatsu loved to run around with everyone, but I wonder if it is because she is getting older. Recently, Konatsu’s decline has become apparent in various situations, and I am concerned, but I hope that time will continue to pass slowly as it has in the past, and that we will still have many more memories to make in the future.
別れ際にみんなの写真を撮ることができました。
I was able to take a picture of everyone when we parted.
ボーダーコリーのハウル君。こなつは彼とは仲良しです。
Howl, a Border Collie. Konatsu is good friends with him.
黒ラブのボビーと白ラブのヒナちゃん
Bobby, a black lab, and Hina, a white lab.
フラットコーテッドレトリバーのバンバン君と黒ラブのポルトレス君
Bam Bam, a flat-coated retriever, and Portress, a black lab.
こういう状況になるとこなつは中に入って行けず、遠巻きに見ているだけ。
In a situation like this, Konatsu could not go inside and just watched from a distance.
足を洗っているアンズちゃん。朝露に濡れて足が汚れちゃうんだよね！
Anzu washing her feet. Her feet get so dirty from all the morning dew!
Now in Japan, there is a “prefectural discount” to support the tourism industry, which has been slowed by COVID-19. This is a system in which the national and prefectural governments provide subsidies to allow users to travel at a discount. We took full advantage of it again this time and went to Atami Izusan – Shizunami Coast.
初日は東急ハーベストの熱海伊豆山です。
The first day is at Tokyu Harvest Club Atami Izusan.
今回の旅行ではここ伊豆山は経由地みたいなもので、メインイベントは2日目にこなつママと娘が行くFantasy on Ice 2022 というフィギュアスケートのショー。会場は静岡県のエコパアリーナ、3年前のラグビーW杯の日本vsアイルランドで大盛り上がりしたあの場所です。
The main event is the Fantasy on Ice 2022 figure skating show that my wife and daughter are going to on the second day of the trip. The venue is the Ecopa Arena in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the Japan vs. Ireland Rugby World Cup game was held three years ago.
二人がショーを見に行っている間、私とこなつは東急ハーベスト静波海岸で過ごす。それが2日目。
While they went to see the show, I and Konatsu spent time at Tokyu Harvest Shizunami Beach. That was the second day.
There is only one room that allows dogs to stay with you, and dogs are not allowed to walk inside the hotel. Therefore, Konatsu is carried around in a cart.
こなつはカートに乗ったことが無いので何だか落ち着かない様子でした(笑)
Konatsu had never ridden in a cart before, so she seemed somewhat uncomfortable (lol).
Recently, the number of accesses to my blog has been increasing, especially from abroad. The table below shows the number of accesses by country for the past month. While I am surprised to see more accesses from overseas than from within Japan, I’m happy to see so many visitors.
Tomorrow is the summer solstice. I don’t know if it has anything to do with it, but it seems to be hot all over Japan today. I am here in Gunma for work, and it is as hot as midsummer here. Most dog breeds seem to be sensitive to heat, and Konatsu is also very sensitive to heat. This summer is going to be hotter than usual, too, which will be hard on Konatsu, who is very old.
この動画は先日の旅行のときのもの。この元気さで夏を乗り切りたいものです。
This video is from a recent trip. We hope Konatsu will survive the summer with this energy.
We were so hungry we forgot to take a picture of the bread and ate it. (lol) Next we headed to Bakery & Table Sweets Izu, another bread and sweets shop!
ここは熱川に近い山の上にある「伊豆ホテル リゾート＆スパ」の敷地内に2年前にオープンした店です。
This shop opened two years ago on the grounds of the Izu Hotel Resort & Spa, located on top of a mountain near Atogawa.
テラス席は眺めが良い。
The terrace seats have a nice view.
こんな感じですが、遠くに伊豆七島の利島と新島がうっすらと見えている。
It looks like this, and Toshima and Niijima of the Izu Islands are faintly visible in the distance.
What’s more, under the chairs on this terrace is a footbath. Amazing! We bought bread and side dishes for dinner here and at Le Fillage, and decided to spend the evening in our room at Harvest.
これが夕飯の様子
Dinner was like this.
こうして3日目が終わり、翌朝目が覚めると､､､
And so the third day ended, and the next morning we woke up to…
辺り一面すごい霧で50m先くらいまでしか見えません。
It was so foggy all around that I could only see about 50 meters ahead.
The temperature was 12 degrees Celsius, as cold as winter, but Konatsu seemed to feel good in the cold and was running around the dog park in good spirits.
This is the end of our Amagi trip. Konatsu seems to be a little tired because of the unusual days, but her appetite has recovered and she has been fine since we got home.
Konatsu was walking around as energetically as usual on the second morning and running around more than usual in the dog park. What was that state she was in until yesterday? I felt like.
And this is the road before the parking lot. I got out of the car and set up my camera, but the deer did not even try to run away, and I was able to take this picture. After this, we decided to go to “PIXY” in Izu-kogen for lunch.
ここは犬も店内に入れるカフェです。
This is a cafe where dogs are allowed inside.
この日は日曜日でしたが、ランチタイムの店内にはお客さんが居なくて私達だけだった。
It was Sunday and we were the only customers in the restaurant at lunch time. So we were able to spend a very relaxing time.
We had been taken to this cafe by Anzu’s owner, and we liked it so much that we came back several times after that, and this time we came back to eat there again.
I had the afternoon tea set. Scones, sandwiches, chocolate cake, all delicious! And after this, the last meal of the day was dinner in our room with a reservation for the hotel’s take-out menu.
It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the seafood consisted of one prawn tempura, two amago tempuras (amago is a type of trout that is more refreshing than trout), and the rest were vegetable tempuras. This Tempra rice box was super tasty!
ママのは和食弁当。どちらもコスパ十分でとても良かった！ ～3日目に続く～
My wife’s was a Japanese bento. Both were very nice, cosy enough!
We went to Amagi Kogen for 4 days and 3 nights. The itinerary for this trip had been set long in advance, but two days before we left, Konatsu suddenly stopped eating and seemed to have no energy, and we were in a situation where we were not sure if we could go on the trip.
After much hesitation, I took Konatsu to the veterinary clinic on the morning of the trip to have her examined. The results showed that she had a slight fever (dogs’ body temperatures range from 38.0 to 38.5 °C, and Konatsu’s was 38.7 °C that day), but nothing to worry about, and her stomach was only slightly rumbling. Konatsu was given an injection to improve her stomach condition and prescribed medicine, and the veterinarian diagnosed that “She should be fine to go on the trip. So I decided to go on a trip.
そんなこんなで東急ハーベスト天城高原に到着。
And so we arrived at Tokyu Harvest Club Amagi Kogen.
In one corner of the area, there is a doggy lodge where you can stay with your dog. It was almost 1,000 meters above sea level, and the temperature was 17 degrees Celsius when we arrived. I didn’t think it would be this cold, so I didn’t bring any winter clothes…
Well, Konatsu was completely fine at night, probably thanks to the injection at the hospital in the morning, and her appetite was restored and she ate her supper as usual, which was a relief for us! Thanks to the doctor at the veterinary hospital!
The way back, the man pulling the rickshaw who came from the other side was also telling the passengers about Yoritomo. “Yoritomo is going to die in two weeks,” he said. I laughed when I heard him spoiling a story.
そろそろ紫陽花が咲く季節。鎌倉はますます観光客で溢れそう。
It is almost the season for hydrangeas to bloom. Kamakura is going to be overflowing with more and more tourists.
When I get closer to Konatsu, who was shampooed three days ago, I can still smell the good smell of shampoo. Furthermore, she has just had her tartar removed, so she has almost no bad breath.
Konatsu is having his tartar removal done without anesthesia. The veterinarian recommends it because it is risky for her to have general anesthesia due to her age. Konatsu doesn’t like hospitals, but once she is on the table, she is a very easy patient for the veterinarian to deal with.
Aren’t those teeth beautiful! Konatsu goes to the veterinary clinic every three months because too much tartar makes it impossible to perform the procedure without anesthesia.
This is an antibiotic syrup. After tartar removal, the gums are slightly damaged, so this is given to prevent inflammation of the gums. But Konatsu doesn’t like it and won’t take it, so we have a lot of the ones we’ve had so far. What a problem…
The Kanto region entered the rainy season a few days ago, and we have been having rainy and cloudy days. I hope the rainy season will end soon because it is hard to take a walk when it keeps raining, but it will probably be like this for another month.
写真撮らなかったけど歯もピカピカです！
Didn’t take a picture, but her teeth are shiny too!
It’s such a beautiful day today, but it’s supposed to rain hard all day tomorrow. I’m looking forward to watching the Japan vs. Brazil soccer game tomorrow, but the condition of the field is going to be bad…
I don’t know what happened, but the page for creating posts on this blog has changed from yesterday, and it is very difficult to work. But that aside, my daughter came to my house last night. Naturally Konatsu was happy to see her, but her joy was short-lived, as she left for Nagoya early this morning.
My daughter loves figure skating and today she is going to Nagoya to see an ice show. She sent me the above photo via LINE a little after noon. She just stopped by our house as a relay base.
This is a shot when we went out for supper shopping and a walk with Konatsu. This is in front of the Shonan Monorail Nishi-Kamakura station.
鎌倉や北鎌倉は有名だけど、西鎌倉はこんな場所。つまり湘南モノレールのやや江ノ島寄りに位置している。
Kamakura and North Kamakura are famous, but Nishikamakura is such a place. In other words, it is located slightly closer to Enoshima on the Shonan Monorail.
その駅前にスーパー「スズキヤ」があり、今日はここで夕飯の食材のお買物です。
There is a supermarket “Suzuki ya” in front of the station, and this is where we will be shopping for ingredients for dinner today.
The hydrangeas in my garden have begun to change color. Why is it said that Kamakura is famous for hydrangea? I looked it up and found that “Kamakura is surrounded on three sides by mountains, and because of the fragile soil, hydrangeas were chosen as a countermeasure to prevent soil erosion by keeping their roots firmly planted in the ground, and also to prevent them from becoming large trees”.
We have hydrangeas in our garden and they are beginning to bloom. I had never been interested in hydrangeas in our garden before, but when I took pictures of them, it seemed that there were many different types.
上から2番目以外は色の違いだけなのかもしれないが､､､
Except for the second from the top, maybe it’s just the color difference, but…
I have always said that Konatsu’s goal is to be 20 years old, but lately I have been feeling a little less confident about that. People often tell me that she still looks young, but it is clear that her movements are becoming slower and slower.
