-
Here’s a year-end writing
Here’s a year-end writing exercise for you. In 25 words exactly, describe your year. It’s harder than you might think. I’ve managed this: Spent seven weeks on holiday in Maui, China, mainland US. Wrote lots, taught many, earned little. Saw the inside of my head. Didn’t do enough.
-
Now through January 3rd
Now through January 3rd is holiday time. We’ll clean house and prepare auspicious foods for toshigama, the year gods, between now and Monday. Then we can kick back and enjoy the luxury of idleness for the first three days of the new year. Except I think it won’t work out quite like that in our…
-
Good grief, we have
Good grief, we have four coffee making devices. In addition to the standard electric drip maker I use to make our morning brew, we have a stovetop moka pot, an espresso maker, and a siphon pot. We also have a french press packed away in storage in the States. We like coffee. And lately we’ve…
-
The end of year
The end of year cleaning frenzy has begun. Everyone in Tokyo is tidying house before the new year begins. A friend once commented that the only time his kitchen was grease free was on the last day of the year when his wife finished the annual house cleaning. The shops have every variety cleaning and…
-
Despite my aversion to
Despite my aversion to Christmas, I really love the day after. Growing up in my family, we vied for the coveted spot on the sofa to read all of the new books we’d just acquired from our literary friend, Santa. We called it Couch Day. This year, it’s Bed Day for me. I’ve tucked up…
-
Berate me as Scrooge
Berate me as Scrooge or the Grinch, but holidays make me cringe. Even at a remove of 10,000 kilometers, there is pressure to follow traditions that don’t apply here in Japan. I recall even more pressure to conform in the States, but maybe it was mitigated through commiseration –sharing the stories of cookie-baking marathons, rounds…
-
We walked from the
We walked from the Sun to Pluto this afternoon with Katie. Most people would have thought we were just walking down a street, but anyone who observed closely would have seen we were pacing off the astronomical units between planets and laying down planets to scale. Earth is a peppercorn; Jupiter is a chestnut; the…
-
The turkey is thawing
The turkey is thawing in the living room. This is not, as you might imagine, a health hazard because the living room is only slightly above freezing. Freezing cold rooms in wintertime are a normal feature of Japanese homes. Rooms are heated individually, not centrally and every room has a door so that you can…
-
I found a turkey.
I found a turkey. Frozen. Priced at 3800 yen; the store didn’t even an attempt to pricing it by weight, but it works out to about $3 per pound, I think. Soon it will be thawing in my refrigerator waiting for Christmas dinner. This will be the first traditional holiday meal I’ve cooked in many…
-
Yuki, yuki, yuki. (That’s
Yuki, yuki, yuki. (That’s ‘you-key,’ the word for snow, not ‘yucky.’) The weather report says 70% chance of snow today and a high of 5 degrees (that’s 41 F). This is unusual for December–the weather is usually clear and mildly chilly until mid-January. Then we get some rain but rarely snow. I’ll bundle up in…
Archives