My day off

Our school festival was Saturday & a work day for me, so today I got comp time. Risa didn't have to work until the afternoon so she & I met up in the rainy morning to go to a big strawberry farm. It's the very end of the season (I promise) and today we could pick & eat as many as we liked without charge (or we could pay to bring a flat home with us--we opted for the free all-you-can-eat).

We arrived at the crowded muddy parking lot just as the rain stopped & got instructions on where to pick. With 2 solid hours before Risa had to leave for work, we were totally prepared to eat berries for that entire time. We ambitiously started eating, oohing and ahhhing over the yummy red deliciousness.

About 30 minutes later we both slowed down and said, "Onaka ippai!" My stomach's full!

We decided we'd had enough strawberries & went to her aunt & uncle's garden to check on the raspberries (we were full of strawberries, but somehow fit in a few raspberries) ;) Gorgeous hydrangeas dotted the country scene of freshly planted rice fields. After a cup of hot tea for me & coffee for Risa at her house, she dropped me off at the station, where I caught a bus home, and she left for work. I ran a few errands and then went rock climbing (yes, I'm addicted).

Tomorrow it's back to school, where my kids will be exhausted from the culture festival, and looking toward summer vacation. Final exams are just 4 weeks away. Ah, my heart constricts at the thought; I know time is going to fly.