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Otto's blog

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じゃあ...s and Bottles

8月
27日
スレッド
じゃあ...s and Bot...
An old house in my neighbourhood (近所) was demolished (潰れ) recently. My son and I looked around the site and we found some ceramic insulators (ガイシ) and some jars & bottles. The tall one on the left at the back is a milk bottle, the clear one on the right is Yakult, the clear, short one at the front on the left is for ink, and the small, dark blue one is for eye drops. I`m not sure about the others. Do you know?

Grammar:
- ON the left/right
- AT the front/back
- IN the middle/centre
#趣味

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You`re the One That He Wants

8月
25日
スレッド
You`re the One That He Wants
In class, we were studying the word 'one' as a pronoun (代名詞), so I brought three neckties, & had my student choose one for me to wear.

Me: Which one should I wear?
S: The red one.
Me: on...?
S: The red check (チェック) one on the left.
Me: Why not the others?
S: I like the green one with white dots too, but the red one is best.
Me: Okay, I`ll wear the red one.

And I did.

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バナナの穴は...?

8月
18日
スレッド
バナナの穴は...?
After 4 months, my banana plant is too big for my biggest pot, so I chose a well-drained place in my garden, dug a hole, & transferred it. Phew - it was draining work on a hot, humid day.

I hope it grows well.

Vocabulary:
drain = 流す, 干す, 抜く
draining = しんどい
brain drain = 頭脳流出
#園芸

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Medal-Worthy Mullets

8月
6日
スレッド
Medal-Worthy Mullets
Have you seen these two Australian athletes? They both have a hairstyle called a 'mullet'. It`s embarrassing, but also funny. This hairstyle was kind of popular in the 80`s, but not now.

There is also a kind of fish called a mullet (ぼら) but that`s not the origin of the haircut`s name.

Grammar:
- a ___ called '____' = 「＿＿」という＿＿
e.g. - a shop called Muji = 「むじ」という店
- a beach called Suishohama = 「水晶浜」という浜

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Black (Raspberry) Label Jam

8月
5日
スレッド
Black (Raspberry) Label Jam
This year I made colorful labels for my homemade black raspberry jam. I got my daughter to design & color the background, and I had my sons do the writing. I scanned the original label, then printed out multiple copies, in different sizes.

By the way, our school is having an Instagram English recipe contest. Teacher James will cook the winning recipe, so if you want to get him to cook your dish, please enter! I submitted my jam recipe. Details here:

https://teragoya.net/james-cuisine-presents-英語レシピコンテストのお知らせ/

Grammar:
- I got + 誰か + to + 動詞
- I had + 誰か + 動詞
= 私は誰かに動詞-てもらった / もらいました。
#レシピ

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Olympics Update

7月
29日
スレッド
Olympics Update
Have you been watching the Olympics? Japan has been performing well in various events such as softball, soccer, and table-tennis. I especially enjoyed the table-tennis mixed doubles final. Of course I was pleased that Japan got the gold medal. Have you ever been awarded a gold medal? I got one for swimming when I was in elementary school.

Grammar:
- Have you been ___ing = __していましたか
- Have you (ever) been + 過去分詞 = ___された事はありますか (受動態)
- WRONG: 'Have you been watched the Olympics?'
#スポーツ

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Cupboard Keyboard

7月
16日
スレッド
Cupboard Keyboard
On Tuesday my keyboard started playing up (狂う), so I for the time being (とりあえず) I replaced it with an old one (20 years?) that I found in a storage room. Today a new keyboard arrived, so I returned the old one to the cupboard (戸棚 / 食器棚) in the storage room. It`s big, heavy, and the keys were hard to see & use, but it got me out of a tight spot.

Vocabulary
- 'be in a tight spot' = be in a difficult situation
- 'get + 誰か + out of a tight spot' = save someone from a difficult situation

Pronunciation
- 'cupboard' = カバッド (not カップボード)

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Sri Racha Sauce Source

7月
15日
スレッド
Sri Racha Sauce Source
Do you know SriRacha sauce? This factory was recently built near Hashima Costco, so on Monday, after shopping at Costco, I popped in to buy a bottle of sauce from a vending machine outside the factory.

So, what does 'Sri Racha' mean? Well, 'Sri Racha' is the name of a coastal town about 2 hours from Bangkok, in Thailand. This kind of sauce was first made there. When I lived in Thailand about 20 years ago, I visited Sri Racha several times to fish, swim, & explore.

Grammar:
OK: I`ve been there.
OK: When I was young/lived in Tokyo, I went there.
WRONG: When I was young/lived in Tokyo, I`ve been there.
#グルメ

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Chicken Dinner

7月
14日
スレッド
Chicken Dinner
In summer I catch crayfish (ザリガニ) near my house and feed them to my pet chicken. She loves them. In some countries such as Sweden, Finland, & France, people eat crayfish, but most Japanese aren`t prepared to eat them. Why not? もったいない! What a waste! How about you? Would you be prepared to eat one?

Grammar:
prepare + 名詞 (object) e.g. 'Prepare clothes'
prepare for + 名詞 (event) e.g. 'Prepare for an interview`
prepare to + 動詞 (future action) e.g. 'Prepare to meet the boss'
be prepared to + 動詞 (action you are willing to do) e.g. 'I`m prepared to give a discount'
#動物

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Shall we Eat Shells?

7月
13日
スレッド
Shall we Eat Shells?
I found this unusual pasta at a Liquor Mountain store. I`ve seen small shell-shaped pasta before, but not large ones like this. I asked my kids*, "Shall we try them?" and they said, "Yeh!!!"

As you can see, they are similar in size & appearance to golden apple snails (スクミリンゴガイ), which are common in waterways around here.

* Yes, I took my 3 kids to Liquor Mountain with me. Am I a bad father...?

Pronunciation:
- 'shell' と 'shall' は同じ発音です
#グルメ #動物

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