Today is Friday the 13th! In addition to being a popular horror movie series, in Western culture it is considered unlucky when the 13th day of the month aligns with a Friday. This usually only happens once or twice a year, but when it does it is said that many strange and unlucky things will occur.

While most people only ‘pretend’ to be fearful of the day, according to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in North Carolina, USA, many people actually are: “It’s been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on [Friday the 13th] because people will not fly or do business they would normally do,” said founder Donald Dossey in an interview with National Geographic.

Another study found that in the UK, traffic accidents on Friday the 13th happened much more frequently compared to when the 13th falls on another day of the week. While this is probably only a coincidence, maybe be a little extra careful today just in case!

こんにちは、今日もアミックブログを訪れていただきありがとうございます

新しい命が芽吹く春

日本では、入学式・入社式など新生活がスタートする新たな月ですが、
海外では4月のイメージが日本とはちょっと違います

アメリカでは、新学期は9月スタートです。
4月はというと、春休み（Spring break）が終わり、学期が終わる5月に向けて学生たちはソワソワしています

もちろん天気が暖かくなり”April showers bring May flowers”などと言って、希望に満ちている表現もあります

逆に、”April is the cruelest month”という有名な表現もあります

４月は再生と希望の月と考えられているけど、全てが思い通りにいく訳ではありませんよね。

手に入らないものが目の前にあり、それが私たちを悩ませるということが「残酷」と表現されているのは興味深いですね

ともあれ、春といえば・・・タケノコ

タケノコ林に入り、下をジー―っと凝視して見渡してみると↓こんな感じでニョキっと顔を出しております！

これを見つけた時の嬉しさは格別

これは氷山の一角、傷つけないようにタケノコを周りから囲むように掘っていきます。

ある程度出てきたら、根っこ近くでグサッと一撃、掘り起こします。

タケノコはアクがあるので、米ぬかを絞った水に入れて沸騰させ一晩置いておけば完成

その時期に取れる食材を食べて元気に過ごしましょうね

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If you have been in Japan long enough, you would have come across these Meiji`s two iconic chocolate snacks – Kinoko No Yama (mushroom mountain) and Takenoko No Sato (bamboo shoot village). For decades they have competed against each other as to which is more popular. Chocolate is my weakness and both are tasty, but if I had to choose, it would be Takenoko No Sato. The texture of the biscuit really goes well with the chocolate coating.
Funnily enough, there is currently a “Kinoko no Yama Takenoko no Sato People’s General Election” being held to determine which one of the two is most favored.
How about you? Which do you like better?

After a few bouts of cold and rainy weather, it seems like Spring sunshine is finally here to stay! I rode my bicycle to work today–something that I only do once a week. I usually don’t look forward to my weekly bike ride, but it’s much more enjoyable when the weather is beautiful! I forgot the simple, child-like pleasure that can come out of riding a bicycle on a nice day. The wind was fragrant with the scent of newly bloomed flowers. The sun was warm on my shoulders as I zoomed across the Matsuyama countryside. I hope that I can go on longer bike rides in the future. Maybe I will ride all the way across the Nishiseto Expressway this summer!

Springtime is coming and I can’t wait! The weather gets milder and of course we wait for the green buds to bloom into beautiful cherry blossoms. However, I do feel for people who suffer from hay fever. Unfortunately for some, symptoms have already begun and so I see signs on products in supermarkets and drugstores promoting goods that will help alleviate these terrible symptoms.

Luckily for me, I am not a hay fever sufferer. Every year around cherry blossom time, we get up early on a weekend to find a spot along Ishite River and a have a barbecue. I especially love sitting or lying under a tree, watching the wind blowing cherry blossom petals against a clear blue sky.