And here we go again!
One more try at repairing my favorite jeans (okay, I have two pairs of jeans here, and one of them is new. It's a truth universally acknowledged that as soon as you buy a new pair of jeans, the other pair, no matter how much you hated it before, automatically becomes your favorite pair). Damn things have holes in inappropriate locations - and it pains me to admit it, but Mr. Linzer was right. You should not do yoga in jeans. It damages their structural integrity. And I already mended them once, but since I'm a clever girl, I waited too long and now the hole is ginormous.
So, yeah. It's Christmas, one hour before noon, and I am mending jeans. After having cleaned my room and done laundry. I would be disappointed if this wasn't the way my Christmases usually go, on account of them having this weird habit of dawning all bright and clear and crisp. Perfect laundry days. It's just not Christmas unless there's a good breeze blowing through and your fingers are freezing off.
Bugger, lost my needle.
Got up early-ish this morning, and had a lovely and appropriate and semi-traditional breakfast of varied cheeses, gingerbread and whipped cream, and Swedish Tea Ring (that's the traditional part, although to be fair we usually eat a lot of chocolate and cookies too, so the gingerbread is pretty much with it) which is also known as Scandinavian Coffee Cake in the Joy of Cooking, and which it is primarily traditional to screw up terribly. Usually it sets the fire alarm off. This time, I may or may not have double all the small ingredients - salt, sugar, cardamom. However, it was definitely edible, so probably not. I think? It's possible I have a cold coming on. But it's not here yet!
Last night, we went to the ikebana lesson. I was invited on account of it was Christmas Eve and I shouldn't be all Sad and Alone. Which is cool, it was fun, even though I didn't get to make my own this time. Instead, I sat between Mama Fumie and this really cool lady who let me fix one a broken branch in her arrangement. Wire obeys my every whim! Which is why I made a little wire-flower arrangement. The sensei was very pleased. But that's back to front.
First, presents! Mama Fumie gave me a watch, which is quite lovely. Now I have two watches and a broken one! I'm all watched up. Mama's package arrived, to much rejoicing - the gingersnaps were a bit of a surprise, being quite hard, and the book and dog cakes were a big success. I think I failed at explaining the chocolate, will try again.And we had gingerbread before we left. We packed up half of one of the gingerbread cakes and some of the earl gray truffles as a present for the sensei and his mum. Mama Fumie and Shizuka quite liked their presents. The hat turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.
And then we went there, and it was really cold, and had more cake. And then did the arrangements, and had dinner (ridiculously good, but I think the sensei's mum runs a restaurant, so), and more cake. Then the sensei passed around a number of things for us to look at - apparently he collects things. One of these items was a 100 yen object that looked like a teakettle but only had an opening for a mouth and an opening shaped like a flower in the bottom. The mouth was a snapping turtle, apparently (Thank you, Genki II - that word actually came in handy). And a big chunk of jade as large as - perhaps four or five of my fists. Okay, I have small hands. But that's still really big! They were all very nice, and much impressed with how much my Japanese has improved. Seriously, though, COLD. That guy was right when he said Nagoya never really dries out - it seems dry, but the air is much colder than it has any right to be.
It's a bit weird, of course, since after all there was no present unwrapping this morning, and everyone is out and about. All in all, though, not a bad day. I am going to grab my knitting here in a bit and go out to the river. It's a nice walk.
So, yeah. It's Christmas, one hour before noon, and I am mending jeans. After having cleaned my room and done laundry. I would be disappointed if this wasn't the way my Christmases usually go, on account of them having this weird habit of dawning all bright and clear and crisp. Perfect laundry days. It's just not Christmas unless there's a good breeze blowing through and your fingers are freezing off.
Bugger, lost my needle.
Got up early-ish this morning, and had a lovely and appropriate and semi-traditional breakfast of varied cheeses, gingerbread and whipped cream, and Swedish Tea Ring (that's the traditional part, although to be fair we usually eat a lot of chocolate and cookies too, so the gingerbread is pretty much with it) which is also known as Scandinavian Coffee Cake in the Joy of Cooking, and which it is primarily traditional to screw up terribly. Usually it sets the fire alarm off. This time, I may or may not have double all the small ingredients - salt, sugar, cardamom. However, it was definitely edible, so probably not. I think? It's possible I have a cold coming on. But it's not here yet!
Last night, we went to the ikebana lesson. I was invited on account of it was Christmas Eve and I shouldn't be all Sad and Alone. Which is cool, it was fun, even though I didn't get to make my own this time. Instead, I sat between Mama Fumie and this really cool lady who let me fix one a broken branch in her arrangement. Wire obeys my every whim! Which is why I made a little wire-flower arrangement. The sensei was very pleased. But that's back to front.
First, presents! Mama Fumie gave me a watch, which is quite lovely. Now I have two watches and a broken one! I'm all watched up. Mama's package arrived, to much rejoicing - the gingersnaps were a bit of a surprise, being quite hard, and the book and dog cakes were a big success. I think I failed at explaining the chocolate, will try again.And we had gingerbread before we left. We packed up half of one of the gingerbread cakes and some of the earl gray truffles as a present for the sensei and his mum. Mama Fumie and Shizuka quite liked their presents. The hat turned out quite well, if I do say so myself.
And then we went there, and it was really cold, and had more cake. And then did the arrangements, and had dinner (ridiculously good, but I think the sensei's mum runs a restaurant, so), and more cake. Then the sensei passed around a number of things for us to look at - apparently he collects things. One of these items was a 100 yen object that looked like a teakettle but only had an opening for a mouth and an opening shaped like a flower in the bottom. The mouth was a snapping turtle, apparently (Thank you, Genki II - that word actually came in handy). And a big chunk of jade as large as - perhaps four or five of my fists. Okay, I have small hands. But that's still really big! They were all very nice, and much impressed with how much my Japanese has improved. Seriously, though, COLD. That guy was right when he said Nagoya never really dries out - it seems dry, but the air is much colder than it has any right to be.
It's a bit weird, of course, since after all there was no present unwrapping this morning, and everyone is out and about. All in all, though, not a bad day. I am going to grab my knitting here in a bit and go out to the river. It's a nice walk.