Christmas is fast approaching, and we are in the throes of preparation. There is a wreath on the door (small), a poinsettia on the table (thirsty) and a tree - decorated and lit. Okay, throes? That's about it, besides the baking. The nanaimo bars were amazing... and they are gone. And no, I didn't eat them all (it was Steve) - we gave at least half the pan away. Other baked goods that weathered well in our small oven-microwave are jam diagonals (a Christmas must) and a new recipe, "Spiced Fruitcake Bars". I made them without the fruit, and feel that this is real gingerbread - in a square. They are very good - I suggest you try... YUM. There is more baking to come - sugar cookies and hmmm... I think that's it. The pantry needs to be stocked for the next few weeks - wait, make that six weeks - the FAB FOUR are coming, and we need treats and goodies. At least that, is my excuse.
gingerbread - yum.
Steve rolling out those jammy-Ds, and getting right into it...The week has been busy. I'm running with the running group twice a week (I'm happy to say that running for an hour isn't that bad anymore...), coaching mama-san volleyball every Tuesday morning, volunteering Tuesday and Friday afternoons and ... this week, I worked! I had one day of subbing work, where I filled in and taught four classes. The first class - oooooh how I wish someone could have taken pictures - was a thirty-minute lesson for kiddies at a day care, ages 6 months to three years old. There were FIFTY of them. Fifty. We played games and sang songs and sang songs and I felt like a bit of a sappy saccharine cheeseball, but it actually wasn't that bad. And in the end, at the at end of the class after the goodbye song and a few high pitched bye bye's ("byebye! byebye!"with super smiley bright-eye face, waving), the whole lot of them mob-rush-hugged me. It was all of those things in one: mob of teeny little people, running at me all at once for hugs. If they had been adults or dogs, I would have been trampled, for sure. It was really sweet and only a little scary for about three seconds... some of them wanted hugs others just wanted to say byebye up close and others just kind of joined the mad rush. One climbed up into my lap and another one - clad with a very boogery nose - just stood there. It was at that moment that I reminded myself to wash my hands immediately after class.
Steve left this morning for Takamatsu, the biggest city on the island of Shikoku. Of Japan's four main islands, Shikoku is the smallest and least populous, and there wasn't much info on Wikipedia. But there was this (and more) on Wikitravel (which I've never really checked out):
Shikoku (四国) is an oft-forgotten island in Japan. The smallest of Japan's Big Four, it lies to the south of Honshu. The island is thought of as a rural backwater, with few must-see attractions, but a visit there can wash away those doubts; the mountainous inner regions offer some good hiking and a glimpse of the elusive Real Japan. It is also the home of the 88 Temple Pilgrimage of the Shingon sect of Buddhism.
Sounds cool. Too bad there will be no time for pilgrimages and no energy for walking - F. C. Tokyo has two big games, Saturday and Sunday, and they're looking for their first win. As Steve says, no worries - maybe they're like the Leafs: slow to start but ready to rally. Let's hope it happens this weekend... woot!
Finally! With our wheels - I LOVE having a bike! On our way back from mama-san volleyball - I'm not sure why I was so cold, but... 
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