A long weekend

After the holidays it's hard to go back to work but workers in Japan were rewarded for completing their first full week of the year, as yesterday was a public holiday! It was Coming of Age Day, where all the young people who turned 20 in the past year celebrated becoming an adult in the eyes of the law. All around Japan 20 year-olds dressed up in kimonos or suits and attended ceremonies held at town halls. Actually a lot of places, including here, did it the week before instead, so that all the young people who have left their home towns for work or study could take part in the ceremony while they were at home for the New Year holidays.

We headed out to the electrical store on Saturday morning and H bought a laptop. I wonder what it says about us, that we were able to go down to having only one car quite easily, but that we now feel the need to have 2 computers? Now that I'm using the Internet more, with my blog and shop, H has a rival for evening computer time and decided we needed another one. He started preparing the ground a while ago by beginning to refer to the existing computer as 'Diane's', thus ensuring that the nice new one will be 'his'....

Sunday's main event was a trip to the cinema for H and I - yes, sticking to my New Year Resolution! H's mum came over and looked after K while we had a quick brunch out and then saw Avatar. I did enjoy it (even only in 2D), but at the same time it was rather depressing as what happens in that film, despite being complete science fiction, is really very comparable to what goes on in our own world.

Yesterday I was involved in a local festival (more on that in another post) and then I went out for dinner in Matsue, leaving the boys at home. There were several people I hadn't seen since before K was born, including the guest of honour who had just returned from almost 5 years in Thailand and is now off to live in Toyama. Hello and goodbye again! I also chatted with a lovely lady who is taking care of her 3 year old grand-daughter full-time while her daughter is away at university. As well as playing mum to that little one, she often helps out with her other daughter's children who live nearby - 4 of them, the oldest one still only 7 years old! Suddenly I feel less guilty about the one-work-day-a-week and occasional-trip-to-the-cinema babysitting demands I make on my mother-in-law...