New Year Wishes

For the new year we went to our neighborhood shrine, as is tradition. 2018 is the year of the dog, so we took Toby with us! Several people brought their dogs out and took them up to the shrine with them to ring the bells. We had sake and amazake, and bought a little trinket that we never had before called omamori. They are sold at shrines and temples at the new year and come in many styles with many different purposes. The most common style is a cloth envelope secured with rope that has an invocation written on a piece of paper inside. These are kept throughout the year and used as an amulet to either protect the person or give them luck in something. Normally, they are for specific aspects of life; for instance you can get one to help you start a new career, or to excel on academic tests, to protect you or a loved one while traveling in a car, or to increase your luck in conceiving a child that year.

Some of them are generic amulets that are not for any specific purpose, but that you can attach your own wish to. Omamori are usually attached and worn on backpacks, belts, purses, cell phones, bikes, car mirrors, basically anywhere that can help the amulet do its magick. The more torn and weathered the omamori gets, the better it's working as it's seen that the amulet is taking life's beatings for you instead of you bearing the bad luck. When the next new year comes, you take your used omamori back to the shrine or temple you bought it from, return it, and buy a new one. The new one will offer fresh protection for the new year, and the old ones are burned by the elders of the sacred area they are returned to.

We got a generic omamori at our shrine. I actually didn't know that you are to never open them - if you loosen the rope and open the pouch, the power inside will escape. Well, I had no idea and was curious, so when we got home, I immediately opened it. Woops! haha Since it's a generic one, the only thing inside was a piece of paper that said (in Kanji) "Morisaki Shrine Charm." The Kanji on the outside of the pouch shown above says "omamori." We would like to keep ours instead of taking it back to the shrine next year. It will be a great reminder of our lovely Japanese neighborhood!

Gulls of the Bay

Just some brown-headed gulls enjoying the view, plus a gull tile I found in the sidewalk.

Christmas Coke

I'd always heard about the coke bottles that turn into ribbons, so I got one to test it out. There is a piece of the wrapper that you pull and it makes the whole thing bunch up into a bow. Festive!

Christmas Time Again!

We had such a great Christmas. Although we could not be with our family, we had each other and little Toby, and our home was warm and filled with love. Santa was pretty good to us this year! Our little tree was overflowing with gifts! We also spent a day with our friends and built gingerbread houses! They baked and made the gingerbread from scratch! This was our first time ever making a house from scratch - we had always used the kits you buy at the store. It was a lot of fun and they turned out pretty cute!
We had friends from Tokyo down for dinner on Christmas eve; I made turkey with all the trimmings, plus cookies and buckeye balls. On Christmas day, we headed over to another friend's house for brunch, and then later that night we went to yet another friend's house for a Christmas ham dinner. It was a great time! Although the holidays have passed, we are still getting Christmas cards in the mail!
2017 was a fast, crazy year, and we are totally ready for 2018! We have some good, solid goals for this year, and we can't wait to make them happen!

Maker's Mark sweater and scarf on the tree

Tiny Car

Smart cars became popular, but Japan has an even smaller one on their roads. I occasionally see these cars zipping around, and only one person can sit in them!

As long as they have beer......

..... who cares?

Large Bottle

Cool restaurant! I love the snowman on top!