Month: February 2019

Learning to play bridge from scratch – Lesson 4

Hello 🌻

Today, we learnt how to open a bid of 1 of a suit. Yes, another session for the bidding!

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We open the bid with 1 of a suit when the cards are

  1. Unbalanced or
  2. Balanced but too strong (15-19 High Card Point)

To know what “Balanced Cards” mean, refer to my Lesson 2 blog https://samuraihinata.home.blog/2019/02/14/learning-to-play-bridge-from-scratch-lesson-2/

We also learnt how to decide which suite to open

  1. Always open your longest suite first (quality of each card doesn’t matter)
  2. When there are 2 suites of equal length (4-4, 5-5 & 6-6), open the higher ranking. (ranking goes: ♠️♥️♦️& ♣️)
  3. However if ♠️ & ♥️ are in 4-4, open with 1❤️
  4. With 3 suits of equal length, open the suit below the singleton

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Apparently, we just need to memorise these rules for now & they will make sense at later point.

If a hand is more than 20+points, then you are too strong to open with a bid of 1 of a suite. This will be taught in a later lesson.

It is starting to get a little complicated, but quite exciting😉

Can’t wait for my next lesson.

My happy samurai life in London💫

Spring is here🌸　Let’s wear a blouse

Hello🌻

Spring is here in London!! Well, for now…

Today, I decided to ditch my winter jumper and wore a blouse.

This is my spring purchase from Shein UK. https://www.shein.co.uk/Leopard-Print-Ruffle-Trim-Top-p-636981-cat-1733.html

What I love about this blouse❤️

  1. Softness of the fabric
  2. Shape of the sleeves
  3. Combination of the leopard pattern & ruffle trim collar
  4. No need to iron (very important!)

The jacket is from J Crew. I’m sure it is over 5years old.

I love the gold buttons.

Jeans are old too. Must be around 6 – 7 years old. I got them from Prada outlet store. I will need a new pair though😅

If wearing heels are too uncomfortable… trainers. Brown Hogan may be a bit too autumn like 🍁

White adidas is more suitable for this season. I love the gold lines on the side.

The bag is always the same one …. from banana republic. The one & only😉

The spring is here💫

Hinata

Can Casoda remove Seborrheic Keratosis?

Hello🌻

I decided to try removing my seborrheic Keratosis using “casoda”

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I started getting some brown spots on my skin, both on my face & the body😢 Considering my age (around 50), maybe it is not surprising, but I want to do something about it.

I asked a skin specialist about it & I was told…

“This is a skin growth, not spots. It often happens in older adult”

I googled in Japanese and it said exactly the same thing. They actually call it “old people’s skin growth💦” Very direct name compared to “older adult”

There are several treatment options such as laser or freezing with liquid nitrogen. Whatever it is, sounds scary…..

I decided to try a natural treatment at home first. When I googled in Japanese, many people recommended using Casoda.

It is basically made of Caster Oil & Bicarbonate of soda. You just need to mix them (2:1 portion of caster oil & bicarbonate). So I bought, a bottle of caster oil.

Bicarbonate of Soda that I had in my kitchen.

All you need to do is to put a bit of the mixture on your keratosis & put a band aid over it. They recommend to do it after a bath at night before going to bed. Continue doing it for 2-3 weeks, and keratosis falls off, apparently.

Really??? That easy??? I’m not really sure about it, but I’ve got nothing to lose, so I’m going to try it😉

I’m too scared to do it on my face, so I’ll try on the one on my tummy (sorry for the photo – not very pretty, but you can see the brown keratosis).

I wonder what is going to happen, but I’ll give you an update…

My samurai life in London💫

Hinata

Let’s massage your grumpy children

Hello🌻

I have two teenage children (actually one is not quite but almost a teenager), and communicating with them can be a real challenge. They are moody & grumpy💢 It is so annoying, really.

I don’t know how a wise mother deal with this problem, but for me food & massage can be a real saviour😉 There are some dishes that my children really love so that can get them to smile. The only problem is that I can’t keep feeding them the same thing or I don’t always have the time to cook.

What alway woks is giving them a massage though☀️ Just a simple 5 minutes head or hand massage or even foot massage as long as they had a good bath & don’t smell. I love getting a massage myself, so I started giving my children a quick massage once in a while when they were about 9-10 years old. I call it a massage, but it basically is just rubbing with a bit of pressure, nothing professional.

My children love it💖 On average, I give them a massage once a week. I offer it to them right before they go to bed. They always always say “yes!” to that no matter how grumpy or tired they are, and it is such a great way to communicate with them. We sometimes talk or we don’t but it really doesn’t matter. I can tell that they are so relaxed and happy by the end of it.

I’m so glad that I started doing it when they are a bit younger so that they don’t feel weird about their mum touching their head, feet etc. It is quite natural for them. It is great especially for my daughter as her study pressure has increased this year, and I feel like I have a tool to help her rather than to annoy her all the time💦 I’m not sure if my son will still let me touch his head in 1-2 years time, but I intend to keep going as long as he is happy.

Trying have a conversation with a teenager is hard, so don’t bother, just give them a quick massage🌈 They might give you a smile at the end.

My happy samurai life in London💫

Hinata

Fortnum&Mason made me laugh

Hello🌻

I bought some macaroons & teas from F&M yesterday…

& found this crazy thing. I had to buy it!!

Asparagus shaped chocolate. What is this‼️

They were displayed in the Easter Eggs section. Why is that??? Does asparagus have something to do with the Easter???

They are so weird, but I could not resist. Too weird to ignore. So I bought them.

£17/bag. Way to expensive💦 but I wanted it.

The label says “Hand painted asparagus”. Is it really???

My husband’s birthday is next month, so I decided to give it to him for his birthday. I wonder if he will like it😉 Even if he doesn’t, he is too English to say what he really thinks so I’m sure he will pretend to like it at least – so no problem. I just won’t tell him the price.

Fortnum & Mason made me 😆 I guess that is not a bad thing.

My happy samurai life in London💫

Hinata

The best Macaroons in London is Fortnum&Mason💕

Hello🌻

It was another beautiful day in London so I went wondering around the town with the children☀️

We first went to Ippudo in Charing Cross for Ramen noodle. Their Tonkotsu Ramen is so good – feels like I’m back in Japan. But it cost three times as much as Japan💦 Oh well, this is London for you.

We strolled up to Piccadilly Circus and went to Fortnum & Mason. I love love love F&M❤️ Yes, Japanese loves that shop.

Today, we were after their macaroons (or macarons??? I never know which is correct). I love the box too.

There are other famous macaroons shops like Laduree from Paris, but I personally think F&M ones are the best!! Prices are similar (F&M may be just slightly cheaper…)

Nobody ever really talk about the macaroons from F&M, and I always wondered why?? F&M counter has macaroons & chocolates, and they are both really really good✨

They have regular flavours like chocolate & pistachio, but that’s a bit boring… Slightly unusual ones are so much better & more fun.

Our family favourite is Creme Brulee flavour. Its sweetness is just right and creamy… soooo good💖

My personal favourite is Earl Grey flavour. I love the colour green with gold flakes on top. F&M is famous for its teas after all😉

They have interesting flavours like apple 🍏 They are always introducing new seasonal flavours which is fun!

Today, we got a box of 12.

It cost £22, so not cheap…. that’s why I don’t buy them so often.

But whenever I buy them, my family goes “Wow‼️” so I get them once every few months. We all love it.

We are going to have them tonight🌈

My happy samurai life in London💫

Hinata

I love Freddie’s Flowers💕 Iris this week

Hello🌻

I got my Freddie’s Flowers. It has got Iris this week – so so beautiful.

In Japan, Iris blooms in late May to June, and there are some special Iris gardens. I remember my mum used to make a trip to see the Iris garden in Izukougen, 1 hour west of Tokyo by the bullet train 🚅

I love love love ❤️Freddie’s Flowers. My kitchen suddenly becomes spring no matter what the weather is like outside.

The only problem is that I really need to improve my flower arrangement skill 😉

The roses from the Valentine’s Day 🌹are coming to the end…. I still want to enjoy them so I cut them short and put them in the glass.

Some of the petals have changed the colour, but they sill look ok from far away😀

My happy Samurai life in London 💫

Hinata

My sexy, soft & luxurious silk night dress 😉

Hello🌻

I love wearing silk at night in bed. It feels so lovely & definitely better for the skin.

I’ve been wanting to get a new nightdress for the summer as my bedroom gets so so hot.

I found a lovely nightdress from the online shop called “The Luxe Company” I’ve debated for a while as it is not so cheap….but it was on sale… I couldn’t resist!!

I received it today & I LOVE it ❤️

The silk feels so soft and the colour is lovely.

I can’t wait for the summer to come☀️

My samurai life in London💫

Learning to play bridge from scratch Lesson3

Hello🌻

I went for my 3rd bridge lesson. So much fun💕

I learnt about the strategy as a declarer – it really made me think a lot! We were still playing only No Trumps.

As soon as your dummy put down the cards, you need to

  1. Establish how many sure tricks you can get
  2. How many extra tricks you need to meet your target

We learnt 3 basic techniques to get extra tricks.

  1. Play the Honour from the Short Holding First
  2. Length is strength
  3. Don’t rush. You may have to sacrifice some tricks to set up extra tricks.

It was such an interesting lesson!

My samurai life in London💫

Hinata

Toshimaen – the best amusement park to go with small children in Tokyo 🇯🇵

Hello 🌻

I love Japan🇯🇵

I have been living in London for 20+ years (omg), and both my children are born here. But I take them back to Tokyo every year to see the family – they absolutely love going there💕

I take them to many different places there, but one of their favourite places has been Toshimaen, the amusement park in Tokyo🎢 Now they are teenagers, they have grown out of this place, but when they were small, they loved going there.

This amusement park has been around for 40+ years. The rides are pretty standard especially for older kids, but they are fabulous for small children!!

If you go there during the Japanese school term time, the place is absolutely empty, and you can ride anything you want without queuing. Fabulous!! Also avoid the weekend too. Japanese summer term normally starts around 8th April, so I recommend you go there after. If you don’t mind the queue, you can go there during the cherry blossom season🌸 You can enjoy the beautiful blossom while your children enjoy the rides.

Toshimaen doesn’t even have a website in English. It is such a local place. I don’t know what the trip adviser reviews say about this place, but if your child’s height is above 110cm, there are many rides that they will be able to go on.

Japan has so many wonderful places to visit, and I’m sure that the amusement park is the last thing on your list. But if you go there with small children, what can you do??? You have no choice but to entertain them. If they are bored of cultural sites, try Toshimaen😉

My happy samurai visit to Tokyo💫

Hinata