Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to my blogger friends

here and there throughout the world

Thank you for coming to my blog
and sharing ideas and concerns of life with me.

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These small holy family dolls are one my treasures. I got them when I was 9 or 10 year-old (oh how many years ago!) at a Christmas bazaar at church. Yes, I still keep them! I remember the day before the bazaar I peeked into the room with my friends where parents were busy setting up all the handmade items on the tables for the bazaar. Then I found this holy family dolls and I was just carried away with them. I asked my mother for an allowance for in advance and the next morning I just ran to the church on time for the bazaar and got dolls in the triangle box. Gee, that's one of my happy memories of my childhood.

Have some "senbei"!

These are the most popular Japanese confectionery. They are "senbei", which made from glutinous rice and wheat flour. The dough is stretched thinly into circles or squares of about a coater-size in general, but in fact in varieties of shapes and sizes. Then, they are put into molds and baked.

They are flavored with soy sauce, salt or sugar and some are applied or mixed with sesame, beans or soybean paste. Some are wrapped in seaweed as well.

I love the one seared maple leaves and ginkgo leave in the picture. These are made from wheat flour mixed with sugar and eggs. Slightly sweet. Mmmmm I love them. This old senbei confectionery shop downtown Nagoya changes their seared stamps on "senbei " in every four season. Isn't it fun?

"Senbei" are snacks that go really well with green tea. It cerntaily provides a nice tea time in a family.

Christmas table setting in an old Japanese house

(click a image for more photos)

On the way back home after I drove my husband to his office in the morning, an idea of having a fun just came up in my mind. I've known there are some little but nice museums which are used to be ones private residence near his office. The one I visited is the museum that was once a residence of a Japanese ceramics exporter who made his fortune in the middle of the 19th century.
Japanese- and Western-style buildings are preserved on a large block of land, plus two storehouses—one in the west and the other in the east—a tea room, and a garden. The other day I visited here, they displayed the Christmas dinner table settings in the Japanese -style rooms. It was a good combination of the western and the eastern different culture.