the big harvest.

I have a week left of summer vacation. How bittersweet it is.

Last weekend, my little brother and I spent the weekend with my grandparents. Visiting them is always so precious and I always have a great time. My time was spent mostly relaxing, but also just enjoying their company. Also, my grandma makes the best food. On the downside, I gain probably 10 pounds because we are fed so much, but its all from love. 

A while back, my older brother who traveled from farm to farm in Canada, started a vegetable garden in my grandparent's backyard. And now, being summer, it was harvest time! What happened to a lot of the vegetables was that he had planted so many seeds that the density of the growing vegetables was too high, making many very small vegetables. Anyhow, we were able to harvest some very small, unproductive corn, many great fat carrots, a bit of broccoli, lots of red potatoes, some unripe green tomatoes (which we were hoping to fry), and lot of small beets. It was so much fun working out in the garden, and I really loved it. If I ever live in a house of my own, that is one thing I will have. Gardens are also fantastic, as you are sustaining your own food supply right from your very own ground. Sometimes I dream of living on a completely self sustainable farm.

Some of the large and fat harvested carrots! Success!

Harvested, washed, and cut.

My grandma found this before I came to visit, but it was growing in the garden! It's a giannnnt zucchini! I feel like you could put two eyes and a mouth in it and call it Larry (I know he is a cucumber, but Larry looks good as a zucchini too),

The next day after our harvest,  we took a trip to the L.A. National History Museum right by USC. It was a great museum and I always love seeing animals and insects, even though many were stuffed. 

A butterfly in the museum's new butterfly sanctuary.

DINOSAAAAAURS! This was the museum's newest exhibit that just opened in mid-July that attracted many of the visitors. It was an exhibit dedicated to the dinosaurs. I have decided that my favorite dinosaur is the triceratops or one that lives in the water.

Now, this is for all you biology nerds. I thought that this was really entertaining. The latin name is Gorilla gorilla gorilla. So, the genus is Gorilla and the species is gorilla gorilla. 

We happened to be in LA on the same day of the 3rd annual Tanabata Festival in Japanese Town. The whole festival was just such a great experience. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the parade that was in the evening, but I certainly got a taste of the festival. Many people were raising money for the earthquake/tsunami victims of Japan. There were people dressed as samurais and warriors, anime characters of all kinds, cute characters, and there were also people dressed in the traditional kimono. It was cool being there, knowing that I am Japanese and that I do have an ancestral connection to this heritage and culture. Almost everything about the Japanese culture fascinates me. And of course the food is amazing.

People write wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to bamboo. During a certain time, (this festival perhaps?) the bamboo is burned, which burns the wishes with it. When this happen, it is thought that the wishes will all come true.

Some of the funniest ones were about getting boyfriends or getting someone to like them and silly things like that. Others were quite serious and very meaningful.

Don't you just want to hug him to death?

Characters asking for donations. I like the guy on the right the best.

And so, after my time with my grandparents I came back home. My older brother and his girlfriend came down from Berkeley the next day, and so my family has been spending time with him. 

Today, I dropped off my three boxes I am shipping to Whitman at the post office! And I am getting all ready to go!

And so, my adventures continue into the last week that I am here. Tomorrow, I go visit my other grandma for lunch and then I'm going to see the movie The Help with her. Saturday, sadly, is a funeral for my papa's cousin who recently passed away from cancer that had infected her liver. It is very sad, as she was very young and left behind a young daughter. I never liked funerals, but it is a part of life. Tuesday, my best friend is coming home from Germany and I will spend the day with her! I am sooo looking forward to it. And that is all for my plans so far. Hopefully I will make it to the beach before I leave.