Not Exactly Bento is running a contest for a free bento lunch set. One can never have too many! Come on, you know you want one too.
Yes, with this blog post I get my name in the hat again. 
Can you blame me? The box is green. My favorite color!!!
Latest Bookmooch Haul
Here’s a quick pick of the latest bookmooch books… from Japan! Sam and I are working on reading and translating but it is really slow going. Most of the time we’re using jisho.org. Though that at times led to some interesting words. O_o At one point we dug up a Japanese children’s song because we remembered a word used in the book was in there too.
Still not sure what we’re reading but the majority of it is in Hiragana so the point is we CAN read it. Comprehension will come later, right…?
It is fun trying to read them even if I don’t know what I’m saying.
Oyasuminasai! ( I wish, I’m pulling a late nighter to get my butt back into gear organizing our lessons) I’d write that in hiragana but the WP interface muffed it when I tried. Grrrrrr!
by Sam Martin
There are times where one may see
That the land of dragons and Fay are true.
There are some who are gifted with the ability to see
These beautiful creatures of Fay.
You’ll see why.
There are sprites in meadows,
There are dragons at sea.
There are great deities of the wind and the sky,
These are some majestic creatures
Of some decree.
Don’t you agree?
So if you can see these wonderful creatures,
Just remember that,
There is Fay everywhere.
And then you will see
The beauty and majesty
Of the child’s imagination.
~~~~~~~~~
Sam just decided to write a poem the other day. 
I’m finally getting around to posting it today.
Mardi's first parade
Despite frigid temps, Mardi made his first appearance in this year’s T/F parade. It was great!
There were some equipment failures… the velcro that secured the sleeve to the mobile hand came loose. It was so cold that even duct tape didn’t stick the sleeve to the hand. And almost at the end of the route, the belt Sam wore (to take most of the weight of the puppet) just slipped down around his knees. Doh! We were able to get off the street and out of the way of the phenomenal drum line. (They were seriously amazing!) There Bob came to the rescue and held Mardi aloft while Sam finished the parade waving the hand. There at the end, Sam was interviewed by the Columbia Tribune and asked if he’d participate again next year. His answer was a resounding YES! (he is even quoted about halfway down the page).
Definitely a big success. Mardi will be getting some upgrades before his second performance, such as a harness/back pack system for the main operator, a second shoulder to support the mobile arm and sleeve. He would have had an enormous green bow tie but the weight was too much for the velcro at the neck.
Yep. He’ll be out again in a month or two. Don’t know the specifics yet. I’m thinking Mardi needs his own Facebook page, no? 
I think one of those pet cams would be da bomb! ‘Specially if it could be live during a parade. LOL! (yeah, I had fun too)
Next week we’re back to more mundane studies. Ancient India, Latin, Japanese, and Art & Music appreciation to name a few.
Mind you the week will be far from boring! Sam will compete in his first Karate tournament on Saturday. So I anticipate a bit more umph from his daily practice.
Off to bed with me NOW!