From summer to fall, this year has been filled with unusual weather experiences. The autumn, so brief that it felt like it went from spring to summer to winter, passed in the blink of an eye.
Such reflections marked the month of November in 2023.
Broccoli Harvest and Mizusawa Kannon
After the rice harvest, Grandma’s field, where broccoli shipments begin, became the focus.
As a tradition, a visit to Mizusawa Kannon, located near the famous Ikaho Onsen in Gunma Prefecture, with Grandma and her two sisters, accompanied by the Second Son and 2-1, was successfully completed this year as well (laughs).
Soba Making and Autumn Leaves
Following the October attempt at soba making, the Second Son took on the challenge again in November. Learning from the previous failure, and with November being the birthday month, the Second Son requested a noodle-cutting knife as a gift from his wife.
Successfully cutting soba within his own acceptable range brought relief. It was a realization of the importance of tools, echoing the sentiment that tools indeed matter.
This month was a bustling one, with a week of business trips and concerns about Grandma’s health, among other things. Much like the fleeting autumn, the Second Son felt that time rushed by, leaving an impression of a month in a hurry.
