Cold!

Unfortunately, I have a cold.
Sunday was the sore throat.
Monday was the killer runny nose.
Today...getting better! I've been using everything in my reach to get rid of it...ginger, tea, honey, no milk, lot's of water and...sleep! I got ten hours yesterday, incredible.

Work has been a little difficult the past couple days, but Sunday was fun and easy.
Every month there is a farmer's market in Kikuchi. Yamaaimura farm (this farm) sells vegetables and eggs from the truck. Everyone there sells from their mini trucks and vans. We went and first we received a piece of paper that had five different kanji and katakana. At various locations on the street (the farmer's market took place along one street that was blocked off for the morning) there were tables with stamps that matched the symbols on the paper so once you filled it, you got a prize!

There were all kinds of booths. Non-profit organizations, people selling tea, meals, BBQ, plants, vegetables, crafts, live fish...all kinds of things! It was fun seeing all the different booths. We got to Yamaaimura's spot, they had the happy sign that was hand painted by four different WWOOFers a while ago. Katsu was there along with a woman who helps plant in the spring. The first time we passed there was a crowd of women picking out vegetables. Three different bags of vegetables for 200 yen! So cheap! I guess that's kind of the point of the market though...
After we completed stamping our papers we went to the tent to get our prize, boxes of tissues. Yeah! Then Muto-san bought me a fish on a stick for a snack and I hung out a bit at the Yamaaimura booth. Katsu's wife and dropped of Hana, their daughter, so Katsu was holding her. She is so cute! She just looked around, wide eyed, wondering. Muto-san had gone off to get something but when he came back he held Hana for a few minutes, but she started crying almost right away. I guess it is still only Mom and Dad:)

After the market was over Muto-san took me to an Italian restaurant that his friend owns. He told me the waiter was half Japanese. We asked him what his other half is and he is half French! His sister was also working, they were broth very beautiful people. I talked to the sister a moment, they both speak French, Japanese and English. Wow...jealous! The food was great, spaghetti and salad and a beautiful little dessert with a dollop of vanilla ice cream (made using Yamaiimura eggs!), a mini cookie, a little jelly and a mini cake all placed delicately on the little plate. He got a pizza to go for Hiro and Hitomi.
We stopped at  Non-Profit Organization office base that was in Muto-san's old elementary school. There we got to sit in on a little class. The students were giving a presentation on how farmers were all of an older generation and the younger generation wasn't really moving to take its place and the dilemma of that and what if Kikuchi increased in population ...I think...I wasn't really sure but that was my interpretation.
Before I left Muto-san's friend who was working there gave me a little loaf of bread as a gift, they were selling them, but he gave it to me for free! We had it for breakfast the next morning.
When we got back to the farm I got a guitar from the barn (he had told me there was one lying around). I managed, somehow, to tune it and then kind of learned Cat Stevens' Trouble, which is a great song. But the strings were kind of far from the finger board (or whatever you call it on a guitar, the neck?) so my finger tips became raw rather quickly. But it was fun to make music...I miss my violin!:(

The next day was runny nose day. I started out the day by learning to drive the little, slow green truck. Then I went around raking and collecting up what Hiro had weed whacked the day before. I put it in the truck. Then I managed to go up the hill a little, back up into a space under a tree where they dump all the grasses and weeds, and I dumped the weeds there myself! The truck was easy to drive and slow, but I was happy that I didn't roll down the hill or tip over on the bumpy road...Then in the afternoon Muto-san asked if I wanted to go into the mountains again. So we went to where the Shitake are. There Hiro was digging post holes to stick the logs that we had brought the time before. Katsu was cutting one end into a point. Muto-san then gave me the post hole digger and I had to do it. Since I'm weak it wasn't all that easy, and by the third hole or so Hitomi probably sensed I was suffering a little and told me to come with her to collect mushrooms. She told Hiro to take over and he looked really bummed. After we collected the mushrooms, though, I came back and took over again and he used the sledge hammer to push the stakes a little farther into the ground. I don't know how long they had been there before us, but by the end, I know I was exhausted. Hiro and Katsu looked pretty worn out. I went to bed early that night.

This morning Hitomi offered me some herbal medicine. You mix it with water and drink one pack after each meal. I was very grateful, anything is good!It came out in little brown pellets, very tiny, and didn't really dissolve. And it was strange because it was at first bitter with a strangely sweet after taste. She had warned me, though, that it was hard to drink:)

 After the eggs today Muto-san said I had a new project. We pulled out the crate of kaki (persimmons) that i had harvested the week before and he showed me how I should peel it. So...I spent quite a while peeling Kaki, probably a couple hours and maybe 60 kaki..maybe 50. At home, I never peel anything. When I came to Japan a month ago I was very bad at peeling. But, by the time I finished the crate of persimmons...I think I became an expert on peeling persimmons. They will hang them in the plastic dome for two months since they need sunlight, cold air and dry location. Around New Years they will be a delicious, chewy and sweet treat!

After that I finished gathering the cut weeds.
My cold was a lot better today, I'm glad! Tomorrow should be even better!

Hiro goes to Open Badminton every week, Muto-san said I should go but when I asked Hiro if the people are good, he said yes! I don't know the rules really and I"m definitely not good...just for fun. He said there were beginners too...maybe I'll go watch first...

Sounds fun though, badminton...