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Sunday, December 29, 2013

December 30 2013 Goodbye 2013!

Well Christmas has come and gone for another year. Really with all the travel and things going on in the family, December kind of flew by in a blur. None the less, Gary and I managed to have a nice if slightly subdued Christmas this year full of chocolates and tasty treats! We didn't plan a chocolate Christmas but that's just how things worked out this year and I'm not complaining!
                                           


We were also surprised to receive a surprise gift from our friend Yasuyo.                             


I'm going to do my On To Food segment first this post:
We started Christmas morning with our "stockings" (actually lindt chocolate bags since we hadn't purchased stockings), some mikan (tangerines) and for breakfast, warm brie,crusty bread and strawberries!  A delicious latte on the side of course!

Later in the day I made us a few snacks. Some quiche, bbq wings, pumpkin/sage soup, more bread and grape juice!
 I was tired of cooking by then and we were full, so I made the rest of the planned goodies the next day.
Home made crab cakes, stuffed mushrooms and asparagus with cream cheese wrapped in prosciutto. It was my first ever attempt at crab cakes and they turned out good!

On Christmas eve we went and looked at a potential church building. It's the curved, mirrored building on the left, 3rd floor.



While we were inside Gary turns around and yells,"look!" I have to admit the view was great!


This was our actual first viewing of Mt. Fuji since we moved here, but the day was perfectly clear and the building in the right spot! We really liked the building and have put in an application to rent it, of course Japan has several steps in any rental procedure so it's too soon to tell if we'll get it or not, but either way, it was worth the view!

Now , all the Christmas decorations are down, everything comes down on the 26th here, and the New Years decorations are up!


 New Year's is a very big celebration here and many stores will be closed from Jan. 1st to the 3rd.  I'm definitely looking forward to what the new year has in store for us! Happy New Year to all of you as well!!!!



In some sad news, we received word that our old dog Luke died  suddenly. He was left in the States with some good friends who took good care of him.

RIP Luke



Monday, December 23, 2013

December 23rd 2013 Happy Birthday Emperor!

Happy Birthday Emperor Akihito! Today is a national holiday celebrated by all of Japan as the reigning emperors' birthday. 
 Emperor Akihito turns 80 years old today. In celebration the gates to the Imperial palace are opened so the general public may enter to wish the emperor birthday greetings.  He appears on the palace balcony to acknowledge the public, and then people wave Japanese flags and the imperial family wave back. Maybe next year I'll try to make it there to see the festivity! The gates to the Imperial Palace are only opened to the public twice a year, for the emperor's birthday and on January 2nd.   

Since today was a national holiday and also just a couple days before Christmas, the stores were all incredibly busy when I went shopping in Kichijoji today.  Gary and I hopped the Mu bus and then split up for a bit to do a little last minute shopping. While out, I ran into the sweet potato guy who was cooking hot sweet potatoes in a large clay pot! 
 
The potatoes are hung along the inside of the lower pot until cooked and then he sets the cooked ones in the top part of the pot waiting for sale. It's fun to see the old fashioned mixed in with the big city modernity sometimes!
While I was out I saw this interesting cafĂ©... I wonder if I need a cat to get in?
 
Later, Gary and I met up at the Lindt Chocolate Store for a cup of hot chocolate! We also bought a few chocolates while we were there!
 
 
 
Afterwards, we hit Kaldi Coffee store and bought some import goodies for Christmas day!
When we came home we decorated the little Christmas tree that Gary's cousin Penny had gifted us while we were in Kentucky. It's a tiny little tree but I think it turned out nicely, and afterwards we can eat the ornaments! (Yes, those are Lindt chocolates)
 
 
 
And just for fun!
 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

December 18th 2013 To Kentucky and Back Again



All the last minute preparations seen to...which can be a bit more complicated when leaving a foreign country,(you should have seen the charades at the post office as I tried to arrange to have our mail held), Gary and I headed to the airport for our trip back to the States for his Dad's funeral. We hauled our suitcases out front and waved down a cab to take us to Kichijoji station where we caught a bus to take us the 2 hours to Narita airport.  (No greyhound on the side of these buses...we get a regular Japanese dog!)

While waiting to board our flight we saw a beautiful sunset. The picture doesn't do it justice as it was so pretty and orange!

Our flight went smoothly, it was nice as we had an empty seat between us and were cramped at all! We arrived in Chicago to the usual Chicago flight delays etc. Fortunately, our flight to Louisville was only slightly delayed instead of being canceled as some flights were. We arrived in the evening so after a short visit with the family went straight to bed! 
The visit was kept busy with funeral and burial services in two different cities on different days and all went pretty well despite the uncooperative weather.  Gary preached his Dad's burial service at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery. His father was buried with military honors and it was very nicely done.



The next week we spent in Owensboro with Gary's mom. He helped her get some billing and banking business and social security stuff taken care of before we left.
We also managed to squeeze in some family visits and some good food including the famous Ky. smoked turkey. We bought a turkey and dropped it off to be quick smoked at famous Ol' Hickory pit bbq! A couple of days later we picked it up and it was delicous! Gary also picked up some ky. style bbq mutton shoulder that was SO good! I've never encountered any bbq quite so good! The mutton is cooked for 12 hours at temperatures in the high 200's while being mopped with a mixture of water,worcestershire sauce,vinegar,lemon juice,salt and pepper. It results in a totally differnt type of bbq than anything found anywhere else in the States!   


I was of course thrilled to get to see our youngest son for a couple of days as he flew in from Denver for the funeral. 

Then it was time to come home to Japan. We boarded our flight in Louisville on Monday morning and with time changes etc. we arrived here Tuesday night. The flight back wasn't near as nice as the previous one, unfortunately, but we survived and were very happy to shower and collapse into our own bed! 
Thanks to everyone for the kind thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.