my new penpal

I seem to have a new メル友 (penpal) these days. Hiro's mom, Hideko-san, really loves having a cellphone and often uses to to e-mail her friends and now, me! So I have to write back in Japanese...a short few sentences which easily takes an hour to write. Now I know how my poor students feel when they have to write me.

This is a picture of her darling Yorkshire Terrier, 小夏ちゃん (Ko-natsu), which means small summer in English. I affectionately call her Ko-Ko-Nuts, but I am not sure her owner, Hideko, likes it... Konatsu is more reliable than any electronic alarm clock - but I suppose not everyone is keen on being woken up by slimy affectionate kisses...er, that is, from a dog!