yamaonna

well, its about a month and a half till Christmas is here, so shopping for cards, pressies and decorations have commenced.  Its very difficult to find presents for family and friends when you live overseas, primarily because you don’t have a good idea of what that person would like, being somewhat out of touch with their lives.  But I’m making an effort this year.  And starting in November is early for me.

One of the biggest annoyances about Christmas and Japan for me is Christmas cards.  Yes, you can buy cards, and I’ve already bought a few for my family and close friends, but you can’t find sets of cards.  I don’t mind spending $5 on a fancy card for my parents, but I certainly can’t afford to do that for everyone.  It seems my only solution is eBay, possibly Ikea (but I’m not going to travel and hour to buy cards…), or get my mother to send me a pack.

Last year I sent New Year Cards to everyone, which is the Japanese tradition, and I will do that this year too, however only to people who celebrate New Year (and I don’t mean celebrate as in go out and get drunk and be crazy, I mean as a religious(?) holiday) and family.  I like New Year’s cards, they are fun, you can make your own, but if I had thought about it earlier, maybe I could have made my own Christmas cards too.  Something to keep in mind for next year.

Last night I also decided to have a go at making Coconut Egg Custard (http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/sangkaya.html).  I’ve been on a bit of a food experimentation phase (soup, curry, soup, stew – gotta love winter foods). Unfortunately I didn’t have the right number of eggs, and the custard wouldn’t set.  But it’s still very sweet, and I think it will do as a sauce for a plain pound cake.  I’ll have to try again when I next time I buy coconut milk for curry (it’s only a matter of time).