Scarecrow watching and shopping

This time it is definitely not my fault that I haven't updated for a while.... it is definitely Nathan and Megan's fault. More about that later!
First of all... congratulations Ruthie - you were indeed correct. The contents of the mystery bag given to me very secretly was in fact a packet of 10 eggs - just what I really needed considering we had given away 60 that week. I can see how some of you may have been thrown off track by the secret nature of the bag, and to be honest it threw me off a bit too - perhaps they are really "special" eggs that are only allowed to be given to the Emperor. I wouldn't know - I still haven't opened them! Anyway, Ruthie - you win the prize so I'll get your address off Katie and get something to you as soon as I can. Thanks for playing....
Back to why I blame Nathan and Megan for my absence. Firstly they lent me the 5th series of a New Zealand drama/comedy called Outrageous Fortune. Far too many episodes on one DVD and all that end with scenes where you really just need to watch one more episode to see what happens.
Secondly they forced me to take them to Fukuoka to go shopping at the big warehouse shop, Costco in the weekend. Fortunately my 2 weeks of no shopping were over so I could fill up the trolley - despite not "needing" anything! The two weeks of no shopping passed very quickly and if it weren't for the trip to Fukuoka I probably could have continued on for at least another week or two. There were only 2 times the no-shopping rule was broken - once to buy some 4 slices of ham and 2 mini hamburgers for the children's bento for their school outing and once when my husband forced me to agree to allow him to buy hamburgers from a shop one and a half hours away to bring home for dinner.
On the way to Fukuoka we stopped at the scarecrows in Yamakuni. This year that had done a wonderful job again and it was difficult to see who were the real scarecrows and who were the tourists! There are more than 500 scarecrows dotted around the place and the display is on till the end of November for anyone passing through. Lots of fun and no commercialisation!
On Saturday I joined in the "panicking population" and the minute my son got a fever over 38 degrees my husband rushed him off to the hospital to be checked for swine flu. Although no one at their school is infected yet, the schools in the surrounding towns all seem to be closed as a precaution etc. Fortunately the test was negative and he was back and ready for action on Sunday. To be honest it would almost be a relief if they did get it and then we could stop worrying, but I just don't want to be the first in the school.... My husband took note of my comments in the past about Japanese medicine and when the doctor asked if he would like powder or tablets for my 6 year old son he quickly replied tablets (knowing how much I hate the powder). The only problem is that the powder actually tastes okay and the kids can take it by themselves. The tablets taste absolutely disgusting and the kids can't swallow them... So a trip to the convenience store to buy some lollies to practice swallowing with and some crushing them up with some jam resulted in a little success, but then the bag of tablets being conveniently lost.... next time I wonder if he will offer to take the kids to the doctor or not!