It has been getting warmer since April has arrived.

Last winter was so cold. We experienced -28 Celsius (-18.4 F) and I really felt like I would die if I stayed outside for more than 10 minutes. I feel so grateful for the warmer weather that we finally have and especially that we don’t need a thick jackets when we go outside. We have been enjoying playing badminton and frisbee at the park these days.

I have been thinking about what designs of Nerikiri Wagashi I should make for my last lesson with my teacher, Antomo-sensei. One of the reasons why I wanted to take lessons from her was that she will give me advice and support on the process to make your own designs of Nerikiri Wagashi.

Everywhere I go, I want to continue making Wagashi, and I would like to be able to share my Wagashi with gratitude and happiness. I want to use Wagashi to send messages, like sending a letter to people I will meet all over the world.

I have several themes for my Nerikiri desings, for example, it could be about Shenyang where we are living, about China, about my family, and so on. I don’t have a clear image of what I want to make yet. Since we moved to Shenyang last summer, our family has overcome many difficulties and also been able to enjoy this new life because we help and support each other. Thank you to my children who understand our life as an expat family, and of course, because my husband and I are working so hard together as a couple too. I haven’t decided yet what will be my designs of Nerikiri Wagashi. Taking a moment to look back, remembering our memories and experiences these days, I feel like is a very important process.

I will leave here some pictures of our memories from the recent past.

And this will be the end of my blog for this week!

The sky from my flight from South Korea to Shenyang, China via USA last summer.

This was our first time grocery shopping after arriving in Shenyang.

We visited “Kumamon Port” in my hometown in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto when we visited for a short while.

Family day trip to Forbidden City(Mukden Palace), Shenyang.

First time tasting jasmine tea and osmanthus tea.

Guilin Trip: We tried rice noodles, which is one of their special products!

We visited a village of the Yao ethnic minority last October while in Guilin.

The women in this tribe only cut their hair once in their lifetime, around the age of 18. They keep that cut hair wrapped with their remaining hair for the rest of their life.

Longji rice terrace, also known as the “Dragon’s Backbone”. These beautiful rice terraces were built by ethnic minorities, the Yao and Zhuang tribes, about 670 years ago.

Sun and Moon Pagodas, which were originally built during the Tang dynasty (618 to 907). We took this picture from the Moon pagoda. I always think when I heard “Tang dynasity” about when sugar was brought to Japan by a Japanese envoy to China during the Tang Dynasty.

So nostalgic remembering my grandma when I saw these Chinese cabbages outside lined up like this. My grandma used to do this in our vegetable garden.

I was so happy to see the leaves changing colors during the short fall in Shenyang.

This is my favorite cafe in town. You can buy flowers at this cafe as well!

Waiting for a taxi in the cold weather last winter!

Thank you for reading my blog!