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Hot Carpet

The boys love the hot carpet.


We got this when we lived in Osaka, but it's been sitting in the closet since we moved back to Sendai over four years ago. Before Osamu was born.

Autumn in Sendai is amazing in the early afternoon when the sun is out and it's 14 degrees. The mornings and evenings are pretty cold, though, so sitting on a heated carpet in the living room makes you feel real cozy.


And winter is approaching, snow and all.

Even as I write this I'm just back from a late night walk and sitting in the living room on the hot carpet. The boys love it in the morning because it feels good to reclaim that warmth from their beds while playing on the floor. Eri loves it because she's sensitive to the cold. I love it because it just feels nice and we don't need to turn on the air conditioner.

After soccer club this morning I took the boys to one of our favorite parks, Grande 21 in Rifu. We stopped off to get some onigiri and other lunch stuff, and then the shenanigans began. The playground there is amazing. They have the best slides.

The boys had their favorite onigiri. Jukusei sujiko. When we're at the park they rarely want to stop playing to do something practical like eating, but after soccer and all the excitement eventually they both came to me and said they were hungry. They gulped down their rice ball lunch and were back at it, like race cars at a pit stop.


I found a treat for myself as well. Konyaku with hot mustard. It's a delicacy of neighboring Yamagata Prefecture. I ate them standing up as I watched the boys.




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