On December 30th, Nozomi & I went to her parents' house to help with preparations for the traditional New Years Day meal. I can't say that I really helped THAT much, but it was interesting to try to make one of the special dishes. Konbu-maki (fish wrapped in seaweed and tied with gourd fiber strings). On the way home, there was a little snow falling. It was just enough to make a beautiful dusting of white on the ground before it melted.
Today (January 1st) we returned for lunch. We ate many kinds of traditional foods arranged in stacking lacquerware boxes (osechi). Before eating we took family pictures and after lunch Nozomi, her mother and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. (I'm using the word “neighborhood” a little loosely: her parents' house is in a rural area, and there are only two or three houses within a five-minute walk.) We were looking for kiji (pheasant), which is common in this area, but didn't see any. We did see a large heron (sagi) fairly close, and a few cranes (tsuru) on the other side of the rice fields.
I'm thankful for another calm, relaxing vacation day!
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