Tea with Kiriyo

I went for a walk, but as I passed 98 yr old Kiriyo’s farm, she spotted me from her garden. I went to say konichiwa and didn’t leave for over an hour. First I helped her hang out her washing and then she dug up some potatoes for me. She insisted on me going inside for “ocha”. It took a long time. The table had to be cleared, the teapot found and cleaned and lots of photos to be looked at. She also searched for food, in spite of my efforts to stop her. 

Although our verbal communication is poor - languages and her hearing problem- there is so much affection between us. We both laugh in the the same language. She showed me a published book that had her own photo and two pages of writing about her, but I don’t know what it said. Toshiko has told me that she is a well educated lady. 

I came home with a bag of freshly dug potatoes and a large onion. What did I give her? A smile... a hug... and she thanked me for the chat!