A warm cozy Christmas

The abundance of presents under the Christmas tree is a treat for the eyes. I feel as in Chinese New Year, where prosperity comes in red packets "angpows", here the presents denote a prosperous year ahead. Prosperity comes not only in wealth, but health and happiness, to me, which are more important aspects of life.

The red-rose Christmas tree in my parents in law's house stands on a table and towers high, nearly reaching the ceiling. If you look carefully, you can see the edible Christmas tree cookies coated with chocolate hanging on the tree. I find this an amusing practice, but nevertheless welcoming indeed. You can pluck your own food from the tree.

The melting pot of berries sponge cake made by my mother in law was very tasty and made me more hungry for more. I had second helpings, more than hubby.

The table being prepared for dinner. We had gourmetten, where everyone cooks their own food from a choice of different types of meet and vegetables on the rectangular grill on the table.

My sister-in-law made orange smoked chicken as a starter. It had a refreshing taste to it and what's more, you get the goodness of orange in it.

All the food being cooked on the grill.

Par of my parents in law's miniature Christmas village.

Christmas decoration on the sill above the fireplace.

This Christmas was warm, cozy and relaxing. After a brunch of which I outdid hubby by having duck noodles while he had cornflakes, we left for my parents in law's house. We all had berries sponge cake for tea while opening our presents by playing a game of rolling six on any one of three dices. It was fun and added an element of impatience to the game. You see, I was very curious to get all my presents and to see the joy on the face of others when they opened theirs. It is childish no doubt, but what is life if you do not put yourself all out?

Hubby and I also went out for a run to test my sports band, given by hubby.

After that, dinner was prepared. We had gourmetten and it was very tasty and fulfilling to the belly. After dinner, we watched The Santa Clause I and The Santa Clause II which was shown back to back. In fact the third installment was also shown but it was getting quite late by then, so my father-in-law taped it to watch it tomorrow.

We had an enjoyable Christmas celebration with family. Although this year, oma "hubby's grandmother" is not with us, her memories stay. I wore a necklace with heart beads which once belonged to her, chosen from  her collection of jewelry; and now I have it as my own.

Pre-Christmas Dinner

 This year, we had the same concept of dinner as of last year, where we had quick-oven cooked meals for our Christmas eve dinner. Here you can see creamy cheese potatoes with pork fillet.

We also had chicken kerrie (not curry - I found that kerrie is not as spicy as curry).

Our meal combined with salad greens. It was a tasty meal which we enjoyed a lot.

A Fireplace in a Farmhouse

From December 14th to 16th, hubby and I made a weekend trip with friends to Wapserveen in Drenthe. As with last year, this is the same place where we spent time socializing and reuniting with friends, some of which we only meet once a year at this annual gathering called the "Pingjum"; its name derived from the name of the place of the first gathering of the same group of friends some twenty years ago.

Over the years, the list of friends changed, but the core group who initiated this gathering remained the same. This I feel is remarkable indeed and has withstood the test of time. At every gathering, the official flag of friendship is placed on a pole outside the house where the gathering is held.

This year, what caught my attention the most was the fireplace, in which hubby had taken time to tend to. It takes patience to start a fire, and even more to get it fiery and volatile. The farmhouse lacks heating downstairs, so this old-fashioned fireplace comes in handy.

Here I enclose photos of the different stages of the fireplace. Hubby and one of his friends tended to the fire; both speaking only occasionally; eyes gazing at the fire. They found it a soothing activity which required patience and skill.

I too felt relaxed looking at the fire. I never thought before that fireplace gazing could have a therapeutic effect.

Philadelphia Chicken with Pasta

Hubby made this meal for lunch this afternoon.

He combined it with cheese and spinach pasta. It was delicious!

O Christmas Tree

On Saturday, the sun had started shining again, but my mini snowman stood firm in the icy snow.

On the same day, we bought a Noordman Christmas tree at the Ranzijn Garden Center for 16,95 Euros, along with a battery lit snowman and penguin. I like to say that hubby is the snowman as he is always warm while I am the penguin with the flushed cheeks. We only put minimal decorations on Friday as we were quite tired by the time we reached home due to our walk in the dunes through heavy snow.

Today, I got out our mini Christmas town and started decorating the house with it.

As with last year, our Gingerbread man and woman hangs on the Christmas tree. Today (Sunday), hubby and I did the decorating proper.

Christmas tree lighted up.

Christmas flower - one of my favourite lights.

The tree in full light.

Ceiling lights which were a present from hubby's parents. Hubby did creative work by decorating the lights with a garland and Christmas balls.

All in all, we had fun decorating the house with Christmas stuff and of course, the Christmas tree :)

The First Snow

On December 4th, 2012 on a Monday morning, I had taken the tulip bulbs indoors. It was also the first day of hail. Two days later on Wednesday, it started to snow. On Friday and Saturday, the snow was at its thickest. On Friday, I made my first mini snowman at the balcony.

On Friday, we took the opportunity to go for a walk in the Dune Reserves in Bergen. I had checked the forecast and it predicted by weeks end the snow would be gone. I wanted to make a snowman.

And make a snowman we did. Initially it was almost as tall as hubby but then the second and third layers did not balance properly on the base, so we got a snowman reduced two thirds in size. It was fun nonetheless. We were cold as it was snowing right in our faces but we had fun. The weather is unpredictable. True enough, by Saturday, there was rain which washed lots of the snow away. By Sunday, all the snow was gone and melted. The temperature also rose. Now it is about 6'C.

                                                                                  Despite all the snow, fresh grass still grew on the balcony.

Initially I was surprised to find out late autumn that tulip bulbs were sprouting in the garden on the balcony. I took them in upon the first hail. Now they are growing taller every day. I am keeping my fingers crossed that tulips will actually bloom this winter against all odds. One can only hope, no? Hubby said even if it did not bloom, it was a miracle enough that they did sprout from all the cold.

 The snow was about five centimeters thick in the dunes. Here are my boot prints.

Saw a lone leaf hanging by its stem ad-midst all bare branches.

 Our snowman in the dunes.

It was just a head shorter than I was. It was our biggest snowman to date.

The lake at the dunes was already frozen. We did not dare walk on it though should the ice melt.



The snow came and left after staying on for two full days. I'm glad to have witnessed the lovely change in landscape. Who knows, it might snow again soon.

Things i like about Japan

 

Japan is known for their mini bar. This narrow alley has at least 15 bar mini bars although it appear to be one quiet alley, once you stepped into one of these bars, the ambience transforms. U got to experience them!

 

-This is one good looking shrine with a thousand over orange pillars spread over 2km-

 

-Ramen is a must eat in Kyoto. With their unique ordering system, i.e via a vending machine as shown below , it was a refreshing and eye-opening experience to me-

-Just click away, your noodles will arrive piping hot shortly-

-I love these red leaves...such a beauty-

 

If you like things modern and ancient, then Japan is a great place to explore. The people are extremely helpful and polite. The place is spotlessly clean that you even find koi fish swimming in their drains. One thing i dislike about Japan is everything is expensive there. For eg:- a thick slice of toast bread with a glass of milk (picture below) is 450 yen, equivalent to rm18.

 

 

 

-Not sure what species is this fish. Found in a drain in Shirakawago. Look at the crystal clear water. A big contrast to what we find in Kuala Lumpur's drains...*hehe*-

 

 

-One of Osaka's famous dining street, Shin Sei Kei. We ordered sashimi, a lemon whisky and some snacks at one their casual dining place (pics as below)-

 

 

-Sashimi, raw salmon fish. Not the freshiest i've tasted-

 

-Love their sashimo. Plump, juicy and full of roes inside their bloated stomache. Delish!-

Well, besides food, Japan is unique in their art and culture too. We were lucky enough to sight geishas & maikos on our 1st day there.

-They look like a clay model to me, "unreal" as they appeared and dissapeared really quick. Just enough time for me to snap a picture or two-

 

If i ever return to Japan, i hope to visit Tokyo, their capital and Hokkaido!

The trip was a smooth sailing one for hubby and i in that 8 days but i must admit i didn't think the scenery were great. It was just okay and did not take my breath away. So if you were a person who loves picture perfect landscape, can forget Japan. That's it about my Japan trip. Hope you enjoy the pictures and illustrations.

 

Sept & Oct In A Go (Part 2)

 

We also have beef & chicken satay for our Mid-Autumn party! :-))

 

Of all the toppings, i love the apples one the most. There's pineapple, peach, peanut butter, choc hazelnut and cream cheese. My least favourite is the peanut butter topping...very cloying.

-This is one of the 1st to finish. Rock melon with sweet juice grapes. YUM-

-We have 6 mini Japanese lanterns as well to create the Mid-Autumn ambience. :-D-

 

 

After the Mid-Autumn Party, come October where hubby and i travelled to Kyoto, Takayama & Osaka in which i will write in another post.

 

Well, the title "Sept &Oct in a Go" is sure apt with the content in a zoom zoom kind of Go...

 

Sayonaro! See ya in my next post on Nihon hai.