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November 30th. Too hot and too dry.I made vegetable soup topped with mochi for my breakfast.
I made seaweed chicken and vegetable soup and scrambled eggs for my evening meal. I also had natto.
It's getting cold. When I turn on the air conditioner, Miya-O sticks his head in the vent. I warned her because I thought her head was getting too hot and too dry.
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November 29th. Self catering.I made vegetable soup, slice tomato and lettuce, granola yogurt. I had them with cafe au lait and a nikuman for my breakfast.
I made soup with a few kinds of vegetable and chicken, and grilled Ganmodoki for my evening meal.
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November 28th. Make my own meals.I had vegetable and chicken soup , toasted French bread, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I had toasted bread topped with salted radish leaves and mozzarella cheese, granola yogurt, grilled ganmodoki, tomato lettuce salad, vegetable and chicken soup, and cafe au lait for my lunch.
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November 27th. I took the photos with a bubble bokeh lens.I had grilled vegetables, coleslaw salad, ham and cheese toast, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I went to Tsukuba city, just like yesterday. I ate Ten-Seiro at my favorite soba restaurant Kimura. After that, I walked around Doho Park. At 4 pm, I went to the 12th floor of my Tsukuba residence building with a great view of Mt.Tsukuba. I wanted to take pictures of the view from there with my Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat 1:6.8 f=13.5cm, which produces bubble bokeh. The 20 minutes before and after sunset are said to be the golden time. Even within that time, the best shot only lasts for a few minutes, so it's difficult to take a photo with the right intention.
I made vegetable and chicken soup for my evening meal.
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November 26th. The fourth Tuesday.I went to eat soba at my favorite Tsukuba City soba restaurant "Kimura". But it was closed because it was their regular off. I had forgotten that they were also closed on the fourth Tuesday of every month. So I bought a pack of Sukeroku sushi at the Kasumi store in the Iias Tsukuba shopping mall.
Then, I went to Mt. Hokyo, where I had lunch and took some photos of the stone pagoda that were vestiges of the temple, and mountain streams. At the foot of Mt. Hokyo there are three ruins of Buddhist temples that were built during the Kamakura period（1260s）.
I own a residence in Tsukuba City, but it is currently vacant, so I check the mail, ventilation, etc. every three months. When I go there, I take pictures of Mt.Tsukuba because I can see it well from the 12th floor. This time also served as a test for Asahi Opt,Co, Super-Takumar 1:3.5/135 No,1745114. The 20 minutes before and after sunset are known as the golden time. This is because it's the best time to take in the scenery and take photos.
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November 25th. Old cameras for 500 yen each.I made and eat sauce yakisoba with a full of vegetables, sunnyside egg, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I baked graham bread using my electric bread maker.
I had chicken and vegetable soup, pickled Nagaimo, and cafe au lait for my evening meal.
A few days ago, I won two twin-lensｅｓ reflex cameras and four old cameras on Yahoo! Auctions. The cost was about 3,000 yen including tax and shipping. Miya-O and I checked these out together. This time I won the auction and got 6 very valuable items for 500 yen each.
After our evening meal, Miya-O chan and I checked at the cameras that had arrived. Each camera cost 500 yen. All of the items I received were worth more than that.
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November 24th. The sound quality is poor.I had coleslaw salad with sliced tomatoes, spinach omelette, grilled Atsuage, simmered burdock and konnyaku, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I took a few photos of some small items on the table to test out my old lens.
The picture quality of the REGZA 50-inch is fine, but the sound quality is poor compared to Sharp's 55-inch LCD TV. It is too weak to play music content, so I decided to listen to the sound using an external SANSUI amplifier and YAMAHA speakers. I bought this audio system 40 years ago and they are still in good condition.
I had a coleslaw salad with sliced tomatoes, a spinach omelette, steamed broccoli, pork curry rice, and white wine for my evening meal.
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November 23th. REGZA 50-inch LCD TV.I had sliced tomatoes, coleslaw salad, boiled konjyaku and burdock root, Asari gohan, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I sharpened my kitchen knives. In my case, when I can no longer cut tomatoes properly with a kitchen knife, I sharpen it.
I added tofu and natto to the breakfast menu for my evening meal.
Miyao often sunbathes here in the morning.
A new LCD TV has arrived. REGZA 50-inch Airplay Internet video compatible 4K E350M series LCD50E350M Smart TV 2023 model. I bought it on Amazon for 71,000 yen including tax. My wife recommended a 50-inch TV. The picture quality is good but the sound quality is poor. I will to play it through my large Yamaha speakers through my external Sansui amplifier.
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November 22th. the Photo KANO Club.After breakfast, I went to Chikusei City, arrived at 10am, and attended the monthly meeting of the Photo KANO Club.
I had coleslaw salad, sliced tomatoes, tofu with salted radish leaves pickles, vegetable soup, and Asari Gohan for my evening meal.
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November 21th. On the way back to my home from Ueda.In the morning, my wife went to her yoga class and I took photos at Ueda Castle Ruins Park. I have never been to Ueda at this time of year before. This was my first time enjoying autumn in Ueda.
We had soba together for our lunch at Katanaya. After that, I returned to Iwai with my cat.
On the way back to my home from Ueda, I took a short break at the Kanra parking area and refueled at the Shobu service area.
I made a mistake and went straight through the Tsurugashima Junction. I had to make a U-turn at the Kawagoe Interchange and go back. It was twilight time, so it may have been difficult to see the landmarks. I must have been spacing out at that point. Next time, even though I was familiar with the road, I thought I should turn on the navigation system.
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November 20th. Ueda Castle Ruins Park in autumn..My wife went out with her friend. I organized the photos I had taken yesterday befor went out. I had mori soba at my favorite soba restaurant Katanaya. After that, I took photos in Ueda city here and there and Ueda Castle Ruins Park. I was tired from yesterday's mountain climbing. My muscles hurt.
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November 19th. Taroyama 太郎山。Taroyama is written in three kanji characters as Ta-ro-san, but it is called Taroyama by locals. Mt.Taroyama is the nearest Mountain from my son's residence in Ueda, and it is 1,164m high. I can see it every where every time. I always wanted to climb it.
It was a beautiful day so my wife and I climbed Mt.Taroyama. It took 30 minutes on foot to the trailhead from my son's residence. It was about a 2km uphill climb. We started climbing at 9:40 from the trailhead and reached the summit in about 3 hours. The elevation difference is about the same as climbing Mt.Tsukuba. The view from the top was amazing. I could see Ueda City, and snow falling on the tall mountains in the distance. The autumn leaves on the nearby mountains were beautiful.
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November 18th. Ueda in autumn.I woke up at 4am feeling great and decided to go to Ueda.
My cat and I arrived in Ueda around 9am. My wife was running, so I took photos at Jisso-in Temple in Sanada until noon.
At 12:30 pm, I met my wife and went to a bakery in Aoki Village. We bought some bread. We ate it in the parking lot of a temple on a hill in Aoki Village, looking at the autumn leaves mountains view.
Then, we bought some groceries at Kokubu Marche (a JA direct store) and returned to my son's residence.
My wife cooked dinner and I went to Ueda Castle Ruins Park to take photos.
We had temaki sushi (salmon, marinated mackerel, tamagoyaki, cucumber) for our dinner.
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November 17th. ROSS.LONDON PATENT 6IN XPRES 1:4.5 .I took photos of the Komainus(guardian lion statues) of Katori Shrine. It located near Expo Memorial Park Station. There are three old Zelkova trees. The shrine is said to have been founded over 1,000 years ago. I took the photos with ROSS.LONDON PATENT 6 IN XPRES 1:4.5 No.93050, which is thought to have been produced in the 1920s. Then, I also took some photos at Expo Memorial Park. This lens is the same symmetric doublet as the Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat 1:6.8 f=13.5cm, so I expected it to produce a similar bokeh, but I was wrong. The Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat 1:6.8 f=10.5cm in the left image is the same symmetric doublet as the Aplanat f=13.5cm, so I expected it to produce a similar bokeh, but I was wrong. I thought that it's not the lens composition that creates the bokehe, but the individuality of the lens. Starting at 6pm, I went to our usual izakaya and had a birthday party with seven of my junior high school classmates, two of whom had birthdays this month. My wife has finished knitting her sweater. It took her about two months to finish it. |
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November 16th. Schedules, paper and iphone.I had lettuces salad, vegitables soup, grild Ganmodoki, and cafe au leit for my breakfast.
All day long, I organized accounting slips and entered data. Miao-chan got in the way as usual. She set down between the monitor and me.
I had lettuce and tomato salad, grilled salmon, Asari gohan, and vegetable soup for my evening meal.
I used to buy the schedule paper for my Bible-sized planner for 1800 yen every year, which I had stopped using because it was too expensive. However for me, it's sometimes difficult to manage my schedule on my iphone. I'm reluctant to throw the paper planner I've been using for 40 years.
I've revived my paper planner. I'm going to use it in combination with the planner on my iphone. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, so they need to complement each other.
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November 15th. I saw my doctor.I had toasted bread with Parmigiano Reggiano and mozzarella cheese, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I got 3 free lettuces from my yunger brother.
I saw my doctor and had blood tests, electrocardiography, chest X-ray and urine test. This was a routine check-up every 3 months and he said there were no abnormal findings. He also prescribed the three medications for 56 days as usual.
I ended up bidding on about 13 old junk cameras in Yahoo auction. The total cost was 16,280 yen. That's 1,253 yen per camera. It was a bit too expensive. They weren't worth so much.
I want to buy a new camera bag with a large capacity. It costs about 35,000 yen. But I can't find one that is as convenient as I want.
So I made an inner box for my large day bag I already have using small cardboard boxes, paper milk packagings and adhesive tape. I'll try using this for a while.
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November 14th. My LCD TV was broken.I had Asari gohan Onigiri wrapped in seaweed, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, boiled eggs, granola yogurt, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
In the morning, I pruned the rose bush that was tangled up in the fence. It took quite a while. I let Miya-O play outside for a bit.
I bought a Sharp 55-inch LCD TV AQUOS 4T-C55CL1 4K tuner built-in Android TV Medalist S1 installed 2020 model from Amazon March 13, 2022. But It out of order from two days before. I've only had it for 2 years and 8 months. How fragile. It stopped working completely. Repairs would cost more than 50,000 yen. Probably. So I decided to buy a new one.
It costs more than 2,500 yen to dispose of a TV, so I always disassemble it myself, separate it by material, and dispose of it as household waste. I crush the plastic and put it away as combustible waste, and the LCD glass as hazardous glass. I sell the steel to a dealer my yunger brother does business with. I keep the electronic components in stock to use for spare parts. It can also be sold.
I went to Yamada Denki Techland Bando Iwai store to look for a LCD TV. I asked the salesperson about the latest trends and best-selling items.
I made Oden for my evening meal.
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November 13th. Get in the way.I had boiled tofu with salted radish leaves, stewed konjyaku and vegetables, lettuce and coleslaw salad, and cafe au lait for my breakfast .
In the morning, I did a little pruning of the rose bushes.
All afternoon long, I organized accounting slips and entered data. Miao-chan got in the way as usual. She set down between the monitor and me.
I had stewed vegetables, beef bowl topped with egg, steamed broccoli, lettuce, coleslaw salad, and apple for my evening meal.
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November 12th. self catering.I had vegetable salad, grilled Atsuage, granola yogurt, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I made and had coleslaw salad, cucumber with wakame seaweed vinegar, steamed broccoli, fried squid, vegetable tofu soup, and Asari Gohan for my evening meal.
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November 11th. Marunouchi Twilight.I wake up late. Yesterday, my younger brother delivered a lot of free vegetables to me, so I made a vegetable soup and vegetable salad for breakfast.
I went to Akihabara Tokyo to eat Jangara Ramen in the afternoon. Previously, the Zenbuiri(a boell with all the toppings included) was 1,050 yen, but now it is over 1,900 yen. I chose Kakuniku and Ajitama instead of Zenbuiri. It was still delicious. The main store of Jangara Ramen was as busy as ever, but more than half the customers were foreigners, and some of the staff speak English.
After that, I went to Marunouchi and waited for the sunset. My second purpose in coming to Tokyo today was to take pictures of the twilight in Marunouchi with my Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat 1:6.8 f=13.5cm. I was able to get some good shots that achieved my purpose.
I made baked eggplant, onion, shimeji mushroom and cheese, steamed tofu and broccoli, daikon leaves with yuzu salt, and cucumber and seaweed vinegar for my evening meal. I also had tost and beer.
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November 10th. the Masakado Marathon.I had yesterday's leftover stewed tomatoes, vinegared cucumber and wakame seaweed, granola yogurt, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
Ｔhe Masakado Marathon day, but I didn't participate. My wife didn't participate either.
My wife's knee has been a bit bad lately. When she was younger, she hurt it and had surgery. Apparently as she gets older, it puts more strain on the knee. To be on the safe side, she decided not to participate.
As for me, I'm not participating simply because I don't train enough. As I've gotten older, I've lost interest in running. It seems like it would be bad for my health, though.
It's been a long time since I watched the race from outside. It's probably been 20 years since 2004.
This afternoon, two fighter jets flew over my house from the east, made a figure eight circle, then flew off to the south. They were flying low, about twice the height of a power line tower. It looked like they were dogfighting. I saw a similar flight at the same time yesterday. Combat training, I guess.
I made and ate soup with lots of vegetables and Asari gohan for my evening meal.
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November 9th. YouTube day.I made soup with gyoza, egg, and vegetables for my breakfast.
I made onions, carrots, macaroni, and tomatoes stewed, and granola yogurt for my evening meal.
Cleaning, laundry and YouTube day.
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November 8th. Mt.Hokyo.I got up early. I slept enough yesterday, so I woke up around 4am this morning. I left my house at 4:30 after taking care of my cat and finishing my breakfast.
I approached the summit of Mt. Hokyo from the back door. The back door is the route from the Omote Tsukuba Skyline. I parked my FJ on a wide shoulder of the road. It was a 1200m walk with an elevation difference of about 100m. It's quick access to the summit, so I call the back door to Mt. Hokyo.
I arrived at the top of Mt. Hokyo at around 5:45. Sunrise was at 6:06. I waited for the sunrise while taking pictures of the night views of Tsuchiura and Tsukuba cities. I took pictures of the sunrise for about 10 minutes and then left.
I drove to the parking lot at Oda Rest Area on Mt.Hokyo, parked my car and took some photos of the stone Buddhas at the remains of a temple at the base of Mt.Hokyo.
I got back my home around 1pm, had lunch and then took a nap with my cat.
I developed and edited the photos of Mt. Hokyo.
I made egg and vegetable soup for my evening meal.
It was a day that I thoroughly enjoyed Mt. Hokyo.
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November 7th. Probably a cold.My headache went away, but my throat was really sore. I had a really bad cough. I was able to eat. I was just relaxing and watching YouTube today. I went to bed early.
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November 6th. I am looking for another Ernemann lens.I woke up late. I have a headache and a sore throat. Maybe it's because I walked through a crowd the day before yesterday.
The bokeh of the Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat 1:6.8 f=13.5cm was amazing, so I started looking for another Ernemann lens on Yahoo! Auctions and bid on a cheap item. When I browse Yahoo! Auctions, I want this and that. It's hard to keep peace of my mind. In the end, I checked a few items that caught my eyes.
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November 5th. Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat .Yesterday, I discovered that taking pictures of the twilight with Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat on the Marunouchi Tokyo produces the unique bokeh. It is called soap bubble bokeh. It is a spherical bokeh with clear edges. I think this lens produces the sharpest bokeh of any lens I own.
I already had another Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat with a focal length of 10.5 cm. I thought I'd try shooting twilight with it. I'm hoping it will create a bubble bokeh.
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November 4th. Marunouchi Amazing.I went to see the Terence Conran exhibition at the Tokyo Station Gallery with my wife. He was a British designer and an art producer. He entered the Japanese market in the 1980s and opened the Habita in partnership with Seibu Department Store. I was influenced by him through the Habita when I built my own office in 1984. When my wife and I got married in 1986, he influenced us even more in the builting our lifestyle. It reminded me of the past and made me feel nostalgic.
We had lunch together at a sandwich shop on the basement floor of the Marunouchi Building. Afterwards, my wife went window shopping in Ginza, and I went to the Japan Camera Museum in Hanzomon.
I walked from Tokyo Station around the outer perimeter of the Imperial Palace in a clockwise direction. The distance was 3.5 km, uphill. I walked slowly, taking photos, but I worked up a lot of sweat.
The Japan Camera Museum was small but had a lot of interesting exhibits. I've wanted to go for a few years now. it was great. I'll probably go again. My wife called me at around 4 pm and I walked back to Tokyo Station.
On my way back to Tokyo Station, I happened to look through my viewfinder towards Marunouchi at the intersection of Miyuki-dori and Hibiya-doriand a dazzling image of soap bubble bokhes appeared. Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat 1:6.8 f=13.5cm No,35699 made good bokhes.
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November 3rd. the anniversary of my mother's death. My wife made all in a daily meals, so I was happy. I supported it a little, washing dishes.
Today was the anniversary of my mother's death, so my wife and I walked to her temple. We offered flowers and incense and prayed.
None of my family members, including me, ever forget the anniversary of my mother's death. Maybe it's because it was Culture Day, a national holiday. But no one, including me, remembers the anniversary of my father's death. It's February 1st, so it's easy to remember. Hawever usually, around March, someone suddenly starts asking, "When was it? Oyaji's death anniversary?", and then they realize it's long since passed.
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November 2nd. Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat 1:6.8 f=13.5cm No,35699.This camera is a 9x12cm handheld camera, HEAG II Ser. II (serial no. 774907), sold by Ernemann in 1911.
I got it on Yahoo! Auctions on July 4, 2022 for about 6,000 yen. The body had mold and rust, but the lens surface was very clean. I extracted Ernemann Detektiv Aplanat 1:6.8 f=13.5cm No, 35699 from it. It consists of 4 elements in 2 groups. It is thought to be a symmetrical doublet, with two lenses of the same shape, made by bonding a convex and concave lens, symmetrically arranged with an aperture. The nameplate "Detektiv" means to find the facts, but it probably means that it was miniaturized to take evidence photographs.
I also installed an M42 screw mount, which I plan to use to attach it to a digital camera via a bellows.
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November 1st. Coppun Cafe. I waked up late. Therefore, my cat also got up late.
I sprayed the selective herbicide MCPP on my lawn in the morning .
The roses have been eaten by insects and almost all of their leaves have disappeared. I also sprayed insecticide SumiSon.
My wife arrived at Shimizu Kouen Station at 3:40 pm. I went to pick her up at 3:30 as planned.
For dinner, We went to our favorite Thai curry restaurant Coppun Cafe in Moriya.
