Cookie Exchange

This morning we had a Christmas cookie exchange with parents from Roo's school. When I originally suggested the idea at a class parent meeting, I was surprised to see blank faces. Apparently, the cookie exchange concept is distinctively American. Today I was happy to host eight willing participants from various countries, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Argentina, and of course Japan. We now have an array of cookies to enjoy!

Skidmark

On the way home from school yesterday, it dawned on Roo that in the movie Transformers, there is no autobot that takes the form of a 3 wheel scooter like he rides to and from school. Working out the details on the scooter ride home , as soon as he walked in the door, he went to work drawing his creation. "Skidmark" is an autobot that transforms into a scooter. "Prentend he has an engine". He looks like this:Hmmm... maybe I should submit this idea to Spielberg? With a passion that borders on obsession, Roo is fascinated by Transformers. He's perfected Megatrons cry of agony at the end when he calls for help from "Staaaaar Screeeeaaaaam". I'll admit I'm relieved we've moved on from Max & Ruby. And, after all, Optimus Prime is not such a bad role model of leadership. At least that's what I tell myself.

Christmas is coming

Our tree is up and around town things are decorated with Santa and "Happy Christmas". Grocers display flyer for ordering Christmas cakes, and everyday Roo mentions his Christmas list. For now, the idea of Santa is fathomable. Because minds switch abruptly on December 26th from Christmas to New Year celebrations, the season starts even earlier than what I remember at home.

Baji Koen

WRITTEN BY RYAN

After a nice lunch out together as a family, Roo and I headed by train to Baji Koen (Horse Park) in Setagaya. Baji Koen served as the site for equestrian events during the 1964 Olympic Games. It provides a significant amount of green space with relative proximity to the city. Roo got to see many thoroughbreds. It was interesting to watch as the riders seemed to be the ones learning, not the horses.In addition to a standard horse track, Baji Koen has extensive "cross country" grounds, where the horses jump over fixed barriers, water hazards and drop-off's (Roo referred to them as cliff's). The park also has about 7 playgrounds spread around the grounds. We went back and forth between the playgrounds and racing on the horse paths and over the cliff's.

You can see this video of Roo making flying leaps into a sandbox. This went on for about 20 minutes.

After a hard afternoon of playing and chasing, we went to the Starbucks across the street (yes - the greenery is not surprisingly very close to the conveniences of the city). Roo enjoyed a churro (like a Mexican sugar donut--not very popular here but seen now and then) while I sipped a hot chocolate to break the chill of a late fall afternoon. On the bus ride back home, Roo saw one of his teachers from school - - again demonstrating a city as big as Tokyo sometimes isn't that big at all.

Book Review: The Middle Place

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan is a memoir about a young mother’s journey with breast cancer that coincides with her father’s journey with bladder cancer. A father she very much depends on to validate all that she is or does. Even more so, it’s a story about what she calls “the middle place”, the time when parenthood and childhood overlap. While I can’t relate much to this notion of a “middle place”, there are words in this book that parallel the life of any mother with young children. Sentiment aside, the main reason to read this book is because it IS funny. Regardless of whether you find her antics enduring or childish, she has wit. She takes you back to “Guess” jeans and “Jessie’s Girl” right up to “bioflavonoids” and “Harold and the Purple Crayon”. Most likely I’ll read her next book, Lift, due out early next year.

Mesclun

The mesclun is growing! Yearning for that fresh from the garden taste, I decided to give container gardening a go. I was waiting for cooler weather to start this project, although not quite this cool. I should have planted the seeds in October for a November harvest, but what can I say, I got busy. Better late than never. Relieved and a bit surprised they germinated, now I focus on protecting these delicate plants until they reach four inches high. Mesclun, described as a mixture of baby salad greens, is well suited for container gardening, requiring only 3 inches of soil to grow. The lettuces and brassicas that make up the mesclun mix are a fan of cool-weather. In addition to achieving freshness, I'm hoping to avoid the high priced highly preserved bagged varieties available in the supermarket. If this works, I may expand my "garden" in the spring with a few cherry tomato, herb, or bean plants.

Happy Thanksgiving

With help from these two women, Michelle and Kristy, we served an American Thanksgiving lunch to twelve parents from Roo's school as part of a series of "Ladies Lunches" to raise money for a charity in the Philippines. Despite rising early to stuff and start the bird, the "it's finished" pop up pin on the sixteen pounder was stubborn and we got a late start. By the time we ate, everyone was good and hungry. Thankfully, when it was time to eat, everyone seemed to enjoy the food.

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Turkey with stuffing and gravy

Mashed potatoes

Candied yams

Green Bean Casserole

Assorted dinner roles

Pickles

Cranberries

Norwegian rice

Pumpkin pie

I was happy the Swedes in the group authenticated what I grew up calling "Norwegian Rice". Michelle's test runs last week paid off as she produced a delightful pie. And Kristy put to good use in the green bean casserole a portion of the FOUR POUNDS of French's fried onions I accidentally ordered from America.

After the guests departed I headed off to school to share the leftovers with the teachers, and read a book titled "The Pilgrims First Thanksgiving" to Roo's class. Absentmindedly, I forgot to save some food for my husband, so poor Ryan only got pie tonight when he came home from work. I've promised to repeat a few of his favorites (turkey, gravy, candied yams, Norwegian rice) this weekend. Since he's not feeling so hot tonight, it's probably not a bad thing. I just happen to have an extra turkey (smaller) in the freezer. Maybe we'll even put American football on.