Update
Hi Everyone! I hope you all had a nice Christmas and New Years despite everything. I haven't updated since our dinner with friends on the 20th so that's 12 days worth of news I will try to cover here.
I had two days of work before I started winter break on the 24th. Tues the 22nd I had a day off so I took that day to go shopping at the nearby mall. Christmas and Birthday presents are really hard for me unless I have some sort of idea to begin with. I ended up window shopping a lot. Audrey had told me she would like some wireless earphones and some character key chains so I got those no problem. I also saw a hair iron that I thought she might enjoy using since she is bothered by the curly nature of her bangs. Alex had already asked me for a book (A history of France written by Gregorius Episcopus Turonensis in Latin and translated into Japanese) so I had already ordered that from Amazon. Julian wanted a trench coat and I couldn't find a good one at all until I went to a "vintage" shop with stuff from overseas. Thankfully the size fit and it actually looks better on him than I imagined. Later on, on Christmas eve, I visited the electronics shop again to buy a coffee maker for hubby. He had suggested it before and I had blown him off saying it would take up space we needed, but we now have at least three people in the family drinking coffee so I thought it might be useful. We are all enjoying it now :) This year, all the kids knew that Santa was yours truly. Although I referred to the presents as "from Santa" I was quite open about asking them what they wanted, and they were forthcoming as well. I was just reminded of that Christmas when Audrey did her stake out in the living room to catch Santa in the act (she didn't LOL). A precious memory just as this Christmas will be.
On the 25th, MIL came over for dinner. I baked a chicken this time, with some lasagna. I was surprised to find that the chicken took as long to cook as the turkey even though it was less than 1/3 the size. It may have been because of the adjustment in oven temp. I brined it like I did the turkey and it turned out very juicy and full of flavor. We had a nice time.
The next few days were uneventful except for that I had to go to the classroom for a few hours every day to make the video for the participants of the Christmas Presentation. I'm still not finished with that. I've been watching the next season of Outlander and enjoying it. Each ep is rather long so I don't feel the strong urge to binge and finish it quickly as with others. I noticed Sabrina is out too. That's one I will not be able to stop watching once I start so I will probably tackle that after I've finished with Outlander. That reminds me I really want to watch Witcher now. I hope it comes back soon too. I read some more of Roni Loren's books and enjoyed those. I also watched almost all of It's a Wonderful Life - for the first time - on Youtube. I know it is one of those Christmas movies many people watch and it is referenced in SPN as well so I decided it was high time to check it out. It was divided up into sections and I couldn't find them all but it was a very cute film and I will definitely try to watch it all when I have the chance. I also watched favorite scenes from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Youtube. Alex was humming a similar tune and I got a hankering for it.
On the 29th, MIL fell and broke her hip pretty badly. She is now in the hospital awaiting her operation on the 5th.
On the 30th, hubby and I went for our annual end-of-the-year date. We went to eat at the aged beef restaurant as we did last year, then to a LOVEHO for some private time. It was a nice time. We had a lively conversation which I tried my best to steer away from politics LOL
Yesterday, I made the usual New Years vege "stew" called Chikuzen-ni and the red rice Sekihan. I also made some New Years soup called Ozoni. We had ordered other New Years food (Osechi) from the usual delivery service - actually MIL and hubby had forgotten to order until later and we were on the waiting list but there was a cancellation after Christmas. I suppose some family decided against getting together for New Years because of COVID. We all wrote MIL little notes and hubby took them to her. Of course we are not allowed to see her because of COVID. Fortunately she has her phone and can call us. She gave us a call in the evening and we were able to talk with her a bit too. After hubby delivered our messages to MIL, we ate and drank for several hours and had a typical New Years but without company - a first for us. It was rather lonely but also reminded me that future years may hopefully be shared with a slowly growing family... well after that period when having all five of us together seems special in itself because they are all independent and have their own homes LOL. I guess it is a normal progression of life.
I had the urge to watch another old favorite (movie) so I bought myself the Sound of Music on Amazon Prime (only 5 dollars or so and totally worth it imo) and watched it while cooking and after the dinner. My mom and I used to sing those songs together when I was young and I love them all. I also remember the story by heart so I could enjoy it on in the background. Rewatching it now, though, I see a lot more of the romance plot element. It was funny to notice similarities to the books I've been reading. (Capt. Von Trapp is a Dominant OMG LOL!!) I also looked up the actual story of the Von Trapps and it was interesting to study up on the actual historical facts and how it was changed for the screen.
I also made another two batches of stollen because I had lemon and orange peel left. That will tie me over for breakfast for a few weeks or can be used as gifts in the new year. They turned out better than the first batches according to hubby - maybe because I used bread flour? or soaked the fruits in rum for longer?
I start work on the 5th and still need to finish the video and do some cleaning at the classrooms so I will be busy the next couple of days!
Thank you to all of you who sent cards! casey28, julchen11, sillie82, somer, yeuxdebleu, dizzojay♥♥♥
Looking back on the last year, our family and business have really been through a lot. It was nice to get Alex back from Belgium in March but it was pretty tough financially until September when we were able to reopen the school. Alex enters his 4th year this April but hubby is pushing him to take however more years he needs to get a teaching degree so he has an advantage when job searching. Julian seems to be doing great without any worry on our part. Audrey... I hope she gets the hang of JH studies and gets her grades up in her second year! She has been spending a lot of time on the phone with friends recently and has told me the last two nights she didn't need me to cuddle with so that's a bit lonely but as it should be. My relationship with hubby is a bit better and I hope we can work together on that in the future. He is still on the rant with regard to politics and conspiracies and maybe he is crazy but I'm happy he has found something to be passionate about at least. I will be working on some story ideas - biography and fiction - and maybe a couple of textbooks this year. My time with Hana is simply peaceful and good. I feel like we are understanding each other more as the months and years go by and, our time outside (which I know I wouldn't have without her) gives me the chance to enjoy the seasons fully as they go by. I don't know what is waiting for us in the next year but I just hope that MIL will keep up her good cheer and get out of the hospital without further memory issues and that my mom will also stay healthy until the day we can meet again.
Some pics!
The Turkey of the 20th lasted us for around a week. First as above with left over potatoes and of course sandwiches, then as vege soup with leftover bones, then there was still leftover soup so I made stew with that for variety as below.
The chicken... That tube is ketchup.... not very pretty LOL
Lasagna and some messy dishes LOL This year we forgot to take family photos during this dinner. We were hoping to take some with MIL at New Years so that is another thing we were disappointed about.
Apple pie for dessert. I made it with Fuji apples and it was a bit too sweet imo. The Granny Smith apple pie I made in fall was much better. I also realized after I closed it up that I should have added some raisins and nuts inside the pie for a more Christmas-y taste. I put some on top but of course the raisins got burnt to coal and I had to take them off. The nuts look ok though.
Aged beef was awesome!
Ume plum blossoms are already in bloom. This pic was from December. Usually they are seen in January so this was rather early and surprising.
Mt Fuji on my walk with Hana on the 31st. On the same day, there were some posts on a facebook comm saying how there was less snow on Mt Fuji this year. I feel winter temps are definitely on the rise here in Tokyo. I hardly have the opportunity to wear my woolen sweaters.
The celebratory red rice Sekihan. MIL loves this rice as do I and I feel sad that she could not have some for New Years this year.
Sake with gold shavings :D
