Whirlwind December

Christmas always seems to sneak up on me, but this year perhaps more so than usual. The weather in Tokyo was very mild for December with temperatures in the mid-50's. On sunny days it was pleasant to be outside. It barely seemed like Christmastime, let alone winter. Other things too led our Christmas spirit astray - lack of decorations in our house and lack of Christmas cookies to name a couple. Before I knew it, it was the middle of the month and I had very little shopping completed. Ah, it all worked out in the end, even if I did grab a few gifts in the airport mall an hour before our flight.

Besides the shopping and general stresses of getting ready to make a huge flight, I decided we should have a dessert party. I really miss baking cookies. I've been baking Christmas cookies since I was 3 years old! My little Tokyo oven just doesn't allow for it. But, there are a few things I can bake without any trouble. On the 17th some of our friends gathered with us for sweets and coffee and tea. It was a nice, relatively low-key event.

Our Honda-paid-for-home-leave was two weeks long, but it went by in a blink. We spent the first week in Ohio. There were definitely some difficult times for myself and my family as this was our first Christmas without Jason. It was a blessing to see the rest of the family and some of our friends. During our second week while in Virginia, the weather brought almost spring-like temperatures. We barely needed jackets! Carolyn watched Addison New Year's Eve while Ian and I had a nice dinner together. What a treat that was! It was wonderful to gather with our family in that part of the country too.

I created a slide show of our December happenings. It's a long one! And I trimmed a lot! Hope you enjoy!

Oh yes! I must not forget to mention the new addition to the American Eateries in the sidebar. I found a Cold Stone Creamery while I was Christmas shopping last month!