Lost and found (or stolen and given)

I love long weekends and seemingly meaningless public holidays (today was Marine day - the ocean kind and not the American Military kind). Quite a lot of us had spent the weekend hanging out in Hagi. The weather for the most part was lovely and we have just enjoyed a great week of blue skies (hot though). Today it decided to rain!!!

I had decided to drive home through Tsuwano with Kat and Loz (another "one last time" moment). We were a happy, though tired, bunch during the drive over, but some of us began to wane as the rain began to fall (no names Loz)...

Our first stop was at a paper mill. Kat and I bought some lovely paper products and at this point, it began to rain really hard.

Next stop was the main shopping strip. Loz immediately bought an umbrella. She spent a whole 500 yen on it This is a lot for an umbrella. You can easily buy one for 100 yen. We continued shopping, me with my umbrella from home, Loz happily under her new pink umbrella and Kat with a towel over her head.

We stopped at a busy souvenir shop and left our umbrellas in the receptacle outside. We shopped and drank and chatted for about 40 minutes. The crowds shuffled in and out of the shop. Eventually we got up to go and brave the weather some more. At the door way, Loz let out a gasp of dismay... NO UMBRELLA. Someone had taken her brand new, baby pink, 500 yen umbrella. I think she almost began to cry but insted stormed back into the store. She returned a short while later, sporting a kiddy sized blue umbrella that had cost her a further 500 yen. She was fuming!!!

Off we went, me with my umbrella from home, Loz fuming under her new blue umbrella and Kat with a towel over her head.

Not long after, we were walking along the side of the main road when a car kind of swerved and pulled up right in front of me. I figured the driver was a foreigner who knew us or someone from our area. I bent down and stared at the stranger in the driver seat. She beckoned me over and rolled down the window. She cheerfully spoke to me and handed me an umbrella. She had noticed that Kat was umbrellaless and GAVE Kat her own. She drove off and left the three of us speechless. Suddenly, we erupted into laughter. Here was Loz on her second bought umbrella for the day and Kat gets given one by a stranger. It was really funny. You just never know what will happen in this place... I love it.