my valentine's day

japanese valentine's day is very different from english or american.
traditionally, girls give chocolates to boys in japan.
but now friends and co-workers exchange chocolates.
so really it is chocolate day

these are some interesting chocolates that were given to my father.
aren't they cool??

my first ski in a long time

last sunday, i went skiing at zao.

it was my first time skiing in six years and my first time to ski at night.
it was so cold that my friend was frozen but i was ok.
maybe it because i'm younger than her.
it was fun but i want to ski better next time.
at night time, there are only a few people so it was easy to ski.
i don't like crowded places so it was a pretty good night.

my warm winter

this winter is much warmer than usual.

the snow has melted too early.

the snow monsters have melted too. (the snow monsters are trees covered with sow and ice.)

those are getting smaller and smaller.

i'm afraid that i won't be able to see them in the future and one of yamagata's beatiful features will be lost...my garden is brown now because there are no snow anywhere.

my new year

this is "kagamimochi" which is a large and round rice cake offered to the gods.

we will eat it on the eleventh of january called "kagamibiraki" .
my holiday was relaxing.

i went to my grandparents's house.

i ate soba, watched tv and slept.

my new year's resolution is to find a lot of good books.

my christmas cake

this was my first time to eat english christmas cake.
it was harder than japanese one.
and there wasn't any cream, there was brandy in it instead.
the first bite surpried me, because japanese cakes are usually light and fluffy.
but it was delicious!!

my snowman

it snowed heavily last night.

my garden is covered with snow in only one night.

i think snow is beautiful but i don't want to go outside.

today,i made a snowman in the garden.

i hadn't made a snowman for a long time.

it was fun, but it was cold.

chocolate coated marzipan sweets were so good !!
i want to eat another variation, like walnuts in the marzipan.

my kotatsu

this is a kotatsu.
it's a low table with a heater underneath and a blanket to keep the warmth in.
in winter, we sit with our legs under the table to keep warm.
it is great but it makes me sleepy.


it's becoming cold.
so we need this one.