Since the planned trip was cancelled, so, we decided to have a drinking party…
ビール・日本酒・ワインがテーブルに並び、これはビールを飲み終え日本酒に移るところ。
Beer, sake, and wine were lined up on the table, and this is when we finished the beer and moved on to the sake.
ワタシも食べたい！とアピールすると､､､
Konatsu said, “I want some too! I want some too!
出てくるんだよねえ、こなつ用の刺身が
Sashimi for Konatsu!
このあとも沢山いただきました！ ここからは我々のオツマミです。
Konatsu had plenty more after that! The following is our meal.
焼いただけの下仁田ネギ。皮1枚を剥いて食べると中はトロトロで旨い。
Shimonita leeks, just grilled. When you peel off the skin and eat it, the inside is tender and delicious. It’s hard to describe the food from here on out, so you’ll just have to guess from the pictures.
刺身の盛り合わせ
蛇腹ポテトと言うらしいが、モスラみたい､､､(笑)
大根と蕗のとう味噌
御殿場のミートプロ鈴木の馬刺し
ワタシ、まだまだイケるんですけど､､､ お手して催促(笑)
I can eat more… Konatsu said.
結局もらえちゃうんだよねえ｡｡｡
Then, this is what happens in the end.
ドライいちじくFigLogと生ハムとチーズのサラダ
ブロッコリーの唐揚げ（ニンニクとめんつゆに浸して揚げる）
蒟蒻白和え 菜の花白和え
ウィンナーとピーマンの炒め物
たくさん食べて満足顔のこなつ。
Konatsu looks satisfied after eating a lot.
最後にとらやの赤飯大福、これも美味しい！
Finally, Daifuku for dessert! Daifuku is a rice cake stuffed with red bean paste.
これはもらえないと悟ったこなつは諦めて寝る態勢。楽しい飲み会でした。
Konatsu, realizing that she would not get it, gave up and went to bed. It was a fun night.
For all the fun I had been looking forward to, New Year’s Days passed by without me doing anything. It was a good thing that Konatsu seemed to be having more fun than usual, with friends coming to visit and my daughter coming to visit.
Yesterday, my daughter and I trimmed Konatsu’s hair. We couldn’t do it as well as a professional trimmer, but I think we got a reasonably clean cut. By the way, this New Year’s Day, we had a lot of GosetsusHI that we bought and my wife made, so there is still a lot of Osechi left after the three days of the New Year.
残ったお刺身は昆布締めにして食べたが、昆布の旨味が浸み込んでこれまたイイ感じ。
I ate the leftover sashimi by kombu-sandwiched flounder sashimi , which is also good because the flavor of the kombu soaks into the sashimi!
煮物もまだまだ沢山ある。
There are still a lot of simmered dishes.
まだまだこんなもんじゃない｡｡｡
This is not all…
特にお正月感がある訳ではないが、おでん
It is not particularly New Year’s feeling, but oden
玉子料理あれこれに栗きんとん。まだまだ終わりじゃない､､､
egg dishes, and chestnut kinton (sweetened sweetened chestnuts).
最後は日替わりのお雑煮。初日の御節の他にこんなに料理があったら、そりゃなかなか食べきれないよなぁ。
Since there are so many dishes besides the first day’s Osechi, it’s hard to finish all of them, isn’t it?
On New Year’s morning, I went out to walk Konatsu as usual, but as soon as I left home, the roads were jammed.
湘南海岸は初日の出を拝みに来るスポットだから県外ナンバーの車がやたらと多い。
Shonan coast is a spot where people come to see the first sunrise of the year, so there are a lot of cars with license plates from outside of the prefecture.
This is the railroad crossing in front of Kamakura High School Station, famous for the “Slam Dunk” movie. It usually takes me 5 minutes to get here, but today it took me more than 20 minutes.
R134もちっとも進まない｡｡｡
R134 is not going any faster…
日の出の時間が迫り、振り返ると富士山がピンク色に染まって見えていた。
As sunrise time approached, I looked back and saw Mt. Fuji turning pink.
日の出を待つ人々が海岸に大勢見える。良く見ると砂浜は人で溢れている。
Many people can be seen on the beach waiting for the sunrise. The beach was full of people.
私もギリギリ日の出に間に合い、この写真が撮れた。
I was just in time to catch the sunrise, and was able to take this photo.
更には、江ノ電の窓の中に上る初日の出が撮れた！
I was also able to take a photo of the first sunrise in the window of the train!
そして、いつもの七里ヶ浜の広場に移動して
Then we moved to the usual park at Shichirigahama…
アンズちゃん、今年も宜しくね！
Anne, I wish you all the best this year!
ハウル君も宜しくね！
Howl, you too!
そして家に戻って、新年祝いの膳。今年も稲村ケ崎「虹」の御節です。
Back at home, we had a New Year’s celebration breakfast “Osechi” “Osechi” are traditional foods which are eaten by a lot of Japanese on New Year’s Day. It includes many kinds of Japanese traditional foods, and they are packed together in “Jubako”, which is a special box that resembles bento boxes.
11月に金沢に行ったときにお正月用に買っておいた御神酒
sacred sake
こなつも我々も健康で幸せに過ごせる1年でありますように！
May this be a year of health and happiness for Konatsu and for us all!
The year is almost over. Yesterday, we were going to have a drinking party at our house with our neighbor’s friends, and as we were preparing, Konatsu sniffed the first whiff of something…
かなり早い時間から外の様子を見に行ったり､､､
She went to look out the window from quite early in the afternoon…
「まだ来ないのかなぁ」と玄関まで降りて行ったりしていた。
She went down to the front door and wondered if they were coming yet.
そして夕方に飲み会スタート。乾杯はちょっと珍しいベルギービール！
Then we started drinking in the evening. A toast with some rare Belgian beer!
このあと、こなつママの料理や友人が持ってきてくれた料理が次々と出てきて､､､
After this, dishes that my wife cooked and friends brought were served one after another…
Today, we invited our friends to a home party at our house. It was the day of the World Cup soccer match between Japan and Costa Rica, so we planned to enjoy the party while watching the live TV broadcast.
我々が準備をしているのを見て、こなつは今夜は誰かが来るようだということを感じ取り､､､
When Konatsu saw us getting ready, she sensed that someone was coming tonight,
so she went down to the front door and waited. When they don’t arrive, she sometimes goes to the window on the stairs to see what is going on outside. I am impressed by Konatsu’s ability to sense things at times like this.
やがて皆さん到着し宴会スタートです！
Soon everyone arrives and the party begins!
おお、何だか前菜から気合が入っているねえ！
Oh, my wife’s cooking is really enthusiastic right from the appetizer!
漬物の盛り合わせ
Assorted Japanese pickles
里芋の煮物、カボスの風味付けで里芋の美味しさが引き立っている。
Taro simmered with kabosu (a type of citrus fruit), the flavor of the taro is enhanced by the kabosu.
As the party progressed and we were feeling tipsy and comfortable, the game kicked off. I was watching the game thinking that there was no way they could lose…
The day before this, I went to Gunma on a business trip and bought some Shimonita leeks from the production area. It is an ingredient that feels like winter as it is just entering its season.
近所の魚屋に頼んでおいた刺身。これが出てくるとこなつのアピールが始まる！
Sashimi I ordered from a local fishmonger. As soon as this appears on the table, Konatsu’s appeal begins!
それ、ワタシの分もあるよね！と鋭い視線(笑) こなつ用には別のお刺身を用意してある。
You have some for me, too, right? she looked at me sharply (lol). I have prepared other sashimi for Konatsu.
こなつの至福のひとときなのだ
It is a moment of happiness for Konatsu!
3種類のコロッケ コンビーフ、鮭、コーン
Three kinds of Korokke, which is like a Japanese croquette.
In the 26th minute of the second half of the match, Ito was knocked down and it looked like a penalty kick, but it was just outside the area. The free kick was not scored, Japan lost a goal right after this! I was so stunned that I did not take any pictures of the food after the game. The result of the game was not so good…
