Otto's blog

Loaded Lime Tree

Oct

10

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This year my lime tree is loaded (満載) with fruit. I think I will use them to make lemon delicious pudding: https://en.bloguru.com/otto/98690/recipe-lemon-delicious-pudding

I wish I was loaded (= rich)...

Seki Knife Festival

Oct

8

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On Sunday I went to the Seki City knife festival for the first time. Of course there were a lot of stalls selling various kinds of knives, but there were also food stalls between the knife stalls, which was a little strange to me; Kitchen knives... Outdoor knives... Candy apples... Gardening tools... Kitchen knives... Choco-bananas... Folding knives... Samurai swords... Shaved Ice... etc. It was hard for me to look at knives because my kids kept begging (願う) me to buy food that they could see.

Anyway, it was pretty interesting, & we had a good time. I recommend going.

Vocabulary:
- fold: 畳む, 折る Folding knife: 折りたたみナイフ, Folding bike: 折りたたみ自転車

Scarecrow

Oct

5

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What do you think of this scarecrow? Are you scared? I guess it`s a little scary, but it`s also pretty funny. Sometimes I feel like this when I wake up.

scare: 脅かす crow: 烏 scarecrow: 鳥威し
scared: 怖じる
scary: 怖い

Recycled Wood Collection Frame

Sep

14

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I sold a few things at our school craft event last Saturday - frames, puzzles, display cases. I sold this frame to my workmate, James. The original price was ¥2,400. James said he liked it. I told him to make an offer. He said, "¥1,500?"
I said, "Okay!"

Well haggled (値切る), James.

He said he would use it to display some small stones & other objects that he has.

Grammar:
- He said... OK
- He told me... OK
- He said me... WRONG

1972 Nissan Cedric GL

Aug

28

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I took (連れて行った) my kids to the local Book Off to buy plastic train rails. They wanted to take (持っていく) their toys home quickly & play with them, but I told them to wait while I took (取った) a photo of this car in the car yard next-door. If you want to take a look at this car yourself, take Route 22 from Gifu to Ichinomiya. It`s on the right after you cross Route 151.

Shell Collection Display Case

Aug

23

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I made this display case for my shell collection. No, not seashells (貝殻) - these are shotgun shells! I found some on the beach & a couple in the forest. I think they look good displayed like this. If you would like to see (& buy?) this case & my other recycled wood creations, please come to Gifu Teragoya`s craft event on September 1.

Shall I give you a link to the details? Okay. Here you are:
https://jp.bloguru.com/teragoya-gifu/331353/2018-08-21

Vocabulary:
- shell: 殻, 砲丸, 甲殻, etc.
- shall I...? shall we...? = ましょうか?
- shall you/he/she/they...? WRONG

Kakamigahara Air & Space Museum

Aug

23

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If you`ve never been to the air & space museum in Kakamigahara, or haven`t been there recently, you should go. It re-opened in March this year, after one & a half years of renovation. There are a lot of interesting planes & displays, but the new star attraction is an Army Type 3 'Hien' (flying swallow) fighter. It`s the only one left (= 残ている) in the world.

There is also a nice playground outside, next to soft green grass for tired fathers to take a nap on while their kids play...

Grammar:
- I`ve never been to ___ = 私は ___ に行った事がない
- I haven`t been to ___ recently = 私は最近 ___ に行かない
- I haven`t been to ___ yet = 私は ___ に行ったことがない
- I`ve never been to ___ recently: WRONG
- I`ve never been to ___ yet: WRONG

Dangerous Car

Aug

9

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When I was leaving* Hakuba Green Sports Park in Hakuba, Nagano, I saw this Toyota Hilux. It has several cool features, e.g. (= for example) a retro paintjob, a fire extinguisher on the roof, a tailgate loader on the back, & a 'danger' sign on the front. If I bought this car, I would leave** all those features on it.

Vocabulary:
- * leave (過去形: left) = 出る
- ** leave (過去形: left) = 置く

Teragoya Fan, by a Teragoya Fan

Jul

18

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Thank you Teragoya student & fan, Naoki, for designing our new 'uchiwa' fans. They look awesome (=great)! We will give them to current (今の) students & local (地元の) businesses. The design features fireworks (花火), Kinka Mountain, Gifu castle, Nagara Bridge, & the "The Bohme English Academy since 1998." Yes - we have been in business for 20 years!

The Case of the Crooked Display Case

Jul

4

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I finished making this golf ball display case for our September craft event. Maybe you can notice that it`s not perfectly straight, but that`s not my fault (所為). It`s because the recycled wood I used for it wasn`t straight.

Do you believe me?

There is an English proverb (諺), 'A bad workman always blames his tools.' However, I don`t need to blame my tools when I use recycled wood, because I can blame the crooked (歪) wood instead. It`s a convenient excuse (言い訳).