I had a pretty good day by most accounts. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day after a week's worth of rainy ones. A truly lovely day and a perfect day for making good on a long standing threat.

Ever since I matched together the pieces of this one particular kimono ensemble and knew I would be coming to the US to visit with friends and family, I had threatened my friend Shannon that I would take her out to a Japanese dinner and that I would get all dressed up. (Since I know how to do so theoretically if not completely in practice.)

I don't think she believed me. And the dinner kept getting pushed back this week due to bad weather or an accompanying friend not wishing to do Japanese. But as I said - today was the perfect day to go through with my threat. So it was that by the time she called me at the end of her work day and showed up at the house twenty minutes later, I was almost done dressing in complete traditional Japanese attire. I had even put my hair up, which isn't something I'd done before. Ever.

As we were about to step into the restaurant, she laughed and wondered what the people there would be thinking about me, playing dress up. I think she was embarassed. (O ye of little faith.) I laughed as well and jokingly said that maybe they would think I was visiting from Japan. I didn't actually believe that for one second but I got more then one bow from the waitstaff (after a moment or two of gawking.) And as we were led to our hibachi table, one of the women began to speak directly to me in Japanese! (I apologized of course and explained that I do not know more then a smattering of words.)

But then, of all things, a few minutes later another woman came out of the woodwork and started to poke and prod me! She even took a look at the sleeve of my underkimono which sits inside the main layer's sleeve. I was half-expecting her to check my teeth! In the end, I didn't mind getting such an inspection however, since I guess it meant that my dressing job had been worth a closer look. I think she very much liked my choice of kimono and obi.

Dinner itself was quite nice (not as good as the Buzz Bar in York, I hasten to add) and I finished it off by having a third glass of plum wine for dessert. I was wonderfully fuzzy by the time it came to leave the restaurant and I got the impression that the waiters who had tended to me thought it was cute how much I had had to drink. Which I guess it was. That and my riceball bag hanging from my hands before me instead of something more traditional.