Only if we’re lucky…
(This is the least of our worries!)
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You know you want to almost touch it…
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Neat!
Nevertheless… all together now: This. Is. NOT. A. Hologram.
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Rapidly spinning blades? WTF? It is the marriage of a Lite-Brite and a wood chipper
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My wife made a package of goodies for each of our delivery folks and spent about a week haunting the living room watching for them so she could deliver them in person. We do sort of work them to death, so she wanted to do something nice. She is a professional baker, so when she does something nice, someone get diabetes!
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Tipping during the holidays is always a challenge. Still, it’s never as bad as the situation in my favorite carol from Sing Along With MAD. It’s called “The Apartment Dweller’s Yuletide Lament.” 
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Angry Snowmans
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Happy Epiphany / Three Kings Day to all those who celebrate today! A final feast, and King cake are on my list… 
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Reminds me of my Catholic grandfather, who would move the 3 kings around the living room until the day of the epiphany, when they’d arrive at the nativity! Miss you Pop-Pop!
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This is exactly what my grandma did. And you better not put baby Jesus in the crib or nativity scene before Christmas Eve.
Our daughter will actually kidnap baby Jesus if she sees him before Christmas Eve. Sometimes she hides him, other times she wraps him up and gives him back as a gift.
I taught her well, she’s the best kid I could ask for.
My wife knows today as Little Christmas, I have to wait until at least today before I even think about taking down the outside lights.
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Today, I went back to the shrine now that it is less crowded (but still bringing in streams of people making their first pilgrimage of the year).
I got my omikuji fortune for the year. You shake a box full of sticks with numbers written on them and then turn the box upside down and take the first stick to come out of a small hole. You then exchange the stick for a fortune with the corresponding number.
I have great fortune (though it is actually luckier to get misfortune for New Year’s because then you have used up all of your bad luck for the year). It also predicts how things will go for me in many areas of life from love to business dealings.
It is traditional to fold and tie your fortune on the shrine grounds after reading it, as shown here.
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Today is January 10, which is known as Toka Ebisu (literally, “the tenth day of Ebisu”). Ebisu is the god of wealth, luck and merchants, so Toka Ebisu is a really big deal in Western Japan (Osaka has always been a city of merchants).
And for the first time in three years, we have a proper festival (see below) this time around. This is a five minute walk from my house. Note: It’s a three day festival, and some of these pictures are from yesterday.
These are offerings to Ebisu. In addition to money (it’s lucky if your money lands on the fish), typical offerings include large tuna, beer and sake, fresh fruits and vegetables, rice and other consumables (if you are familiar with Ebisu Beer, you know that Ebisu likes to eat).
You can also buy these ceremonial offerings.
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Some interesting sounding Lunar new year recipes
Anyone here have a favorite? Or a fav Lunar New Year food?
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Sesame balls, of course! But also, I really like the symbolism of the extra long noodles.
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Lobster Delight and pork dumplings are my faves. Here’s more on food and traditions:
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