July 4th weekend

Had a pleasant 4th of July weekend, a holiday which goes completely unnoticed around here, I might add. I went to a Mexican restaurant, which is quite rare here. The margarita would definitely not make it at the Rio, but as I ordered a large, halfway through I didn't care. After dinner, we went to Dotumburi, the neon capital around here and just enjoyed the commotion and lights. On Sunday, I went to play tennis with an informal group I meet on Sundays. There were only 3 of us, so after borrowing an extra player from another group to play a set, we left. The father and daughter pair I was playing with invited me to have lunch at their house. This was a first for me, and I had a delightful time. They eat on a low table sitting on cushions. Apparently, summer lunches in Japan consist mainly of cold noodles and a sauce to dip them in. We had somen (new to me) and udon noodles, a tasty dipping liquid and salad. I was told that you are expected to make loud slurping noises when you eat the noodles. One of the sons was visiting for the weekend, and he told me about an interesting festival in a town nearby. Think I'll check it out in August. Finished off the weekend with a haircut and a yoga class. Life is good.