pouring refreshing cups of cold brew green tea with some sweets for the folks who were busy at work out in the orchard up in the mountains...
we took the shinkansen super express train up to nagano to join my family for the weekend. at the heart of a big time apple growing region, the mountainous towns and villages were all covered in leafy apple trees - and looking over them from the top of a hill was quite something. weather wasn't perfect, but still very pretty. and the chilly mountain air only made us appreciate the onsen hot spring afterwords even more - not to mention the huge dinner and a seemingly countless bottles of booze that followed.
we cooked and devoured big platefuls of mountain vegetable tempura for dinner, and emptied a large potful of miso soup in the morning, both along with home-grown rice and lots of other home-cooked dishes. I had almost forgotten what it was like to have a large table full of food, all shared by a large (extended) family, sitting elbow to elbow. it seems to make even the simplest meal the most delicious, doesn't it?
overall, we didn't do too much (certainly I didn't) but just chilled - but it's not every day that all of us gather, and that made it a very special weekend for us. the pretty view of the lush green mountains was a bonus. it was a weekend that i wished it didn't end.
well it did, unfortunately, but here's hoping the new week will be a wonderful one for all of us. have a good one! -cx
