私はクリスマスの日に午前6:３０時に起きました.
ストッキングの中にオレンジとあめをいれりました。
Blogを読みました。
8:30時にアレキセとシャンドンはおきました。
クリスマスの音楽を聞いて、フルーツケーキを食べて、プレゼントを開けました。
私はアレキセに MacOS 10.2 をもらいました。（よかったわね。）
アレキセにスリッパを上げました。（彼の足はとても寒いです。）
アレキセはシャンドンにコンピュータをあげました。
二人でこれを作りました。本当。写真を見て下さい。
9:30時にクリスマスディナーを作りました。
こんどしちめんちょうは小さかったです。
焼きするは三時間だけです。
午後三時にたべました。
六時から八時まで友だちを会いました。
クリスマスの日わ楽しかったですよ。
Generally Speaking
I got up at 6:30 on Christmas Day. I filled the stockings with oranges and candy. I read y'all's blogs. At 8:30, ajm and S. got up. We opened our presents while listening to Christmas music and eating fruitcake. I received MacOS 10.2 from ajm. (Yeah!) I gave Alex some house slippers. (His feet are always cold.) He gave his son a computer which they built themselves.
At 9:30, I began making Christmas dinner. This time (as opposed to at Thanksgiving) the turkey was small (only 8 pounds). So it took only three hours to roast. At 3:00, we ate dinner. In the evening, from about 6 to 8, we visited some friends. It was a very nice Christmas Day.
質問とコメント
1. Wow. This was a long entry for me, but I had lots of time today, because we are just eating leftovers and relaxing. Also, this is one of the sentence patterns we had in school: "Daily Activities". So I hope it was easier to understand than my entries normally are.
2. Almost all the other presents that "Santa" brought (that is, that we gave ourselves) were books, DVDs, or CDs. One of my favorite movies of all time, Roman Holiday just came out on DVD (I've been waiting and waiting for it). I also got The 7th Voyage of Sinbad which fascinated me as a child in 1963. The special effects (by Ray Harryhausen) were amazing in its day and are more still interesting to me than most of CGI effects in 2002. The movie is pretty corny, but I get very nostalgic watching it.
3. Christmas dinner included turkey, dressing (my great-grandmother's recipe), cranberry sauce (homemade--not that nasty stuff from a can), baked vegetables, potatoes, and gravy. To drink, champagne. And, of course, desserts.
4. We don't have a separate dining room, so we eat in the kitchen. I don't set a very "elegant" table. I don't even have a tablecloth! My nicest dishes are from Japan. And, yes, we served the dressing using rice paddles and put candies and cookies in Japanese tiered bento.
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明日はクリスマスの買い物の最終の日です。
買い物がちょっと好きじゃない。
オンラインショッピングがもいいですよ。
私たちは少しだけプレゼントが欲しい。
クリスマスツリーの下に驚きがありません。
ゆうゆうのまつりが好きです。
Generally Speaking
Tomorrow is the last Christmas shopping day. I don't really like shopping. These days we buy almost everything online. We don't really want much. There are no surprises under the Christmas tree. We prefer a calm and quiet holiday.
小さいクリスマスツリー
質問とコメント
1. This is one of those entries that I hope to be able to explain better next year...if my Japanese improves!
2. Almost everyone I know drives themselves crazy buying presents at Christmas. I hate that. No one seems happy. They're all stressed out. I tell my friends, "My gift to you is that you don't have to buy a gift for me. Spend the time and money on yourself."
3. Anyway, for years it was only the two of us, me and my son. Now it is just me and ajm (and sometimes his son or my son). None of us need much of anything. So what we usually do is buy some "family" present. For example, this year we are buying a turntable so that we can listen to our old LPs from the 1970s and 1980s.
4. As for smaller presents, anything that we've wanted since Halloween, we buy ourselves and wrap up to save for Christmas. Or we go online together at amazon.com and pick out a set dollar amount each of books, CDs, and DVDs. Under this system, almost all of our gifts are from "Santa".
5. I suppose this doesn't sound very romantic, but it certainly saves on stress and disappointment. We have enough as it is. It's more fun to do things together than to buy things for each other.
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Pardon me for writing in English today, but I'm still laughing too hard about my last mistake with the "outdated machine". And I wanted to share this story with you.
Two years ago my mother entered a contest that the newspaper (The Las Vegas Review-Journal) had for the best Christmas memory. Her story won first place. She wrote a story from her childhood. Her family was very poor and they had never had a Christmas tree. My grandmother decided to make one out of, guess what?, an old green umbrella.
I hope you enjoy my mother's story: The Umbrella Tree
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オーシテンは有名なクリスマスの旧機一つがあります。
クリスマスツリーは電気を組み立てました。
このクリスマスツリーがジルカーパルコのなかにあります。
とても高い。(155 feet or 47.244 meters)
ツリーの下に子供がスピンしています。楽しいです。
Generally Speaking
Austin has one famous Christmas tradition. A Christmas tree constructed out of lightbulbs. This tree is in Zilker Park. It is very tall (155 feet). Children like to spin underneath the tree. (Adults, too!) It's fun.
質問とコメント
1. The tree is made up of 39 strands of lights. Some people say it's the tallest tree in America. Others disagree.
2. In the park, you can walk toward the tree down the mile-long "Trail of Lights". Different business create a variety of holiday scenes. None are very religious. There are a lot of Disney and other cartoon characters. The displays are sort of old-fashioned--from the 1960s. For many years, they seemed outdated, but now they just seem nostalgically retro.
3. Near the tree is a huge pit (about 20x20 feet and 8 feet deep) where yule fire is burning. Huge trees that the park department cut when they were damaged in storms are used as yule logs.
4. Zilker Park has a miniature train (that children can ride on). During the Yule Fest, the train is decorated with "boughs of holly" and Santa Claus is the engineer.
5. I took this photo two years ago when Alex's Mom and son were visiting. I used it to make our Christmas cards last year. In the foreground, is one of the scenes from the Trail of Lights. In the background, about 1/2 a mile away is the Zilker Tree.
This year's trail is a mile-long display of 38 lighted scenes and also features the Zilker Tree ﾑ 39 strands of multicolored lights cascading from a 155-foot tall Moonlight Tower.Permalink.
母の出身はニューメキシコです。
ニューメキシコはアメリカの中にです。
でも文化はアメリカとメキシコの混交です。
母のクリスマス料理はニューメキシコから生じる。
小さいビスケット(biscochitos)とにくまんじゅう(empanaditas)が好きです。
この写真は empanaditas です。
What I'm Trying to Say
My mother is from New Mexico. New Mexico is part of the United States. However, the culture is a mix of American and Mexican. My mother's Christmas foods come from (originate in) New Mexico. I like biscochitos and empanaditas. Here is a photo of the empanaditas I baked last night.
質問とコメント
1. In doing a little research on biscochito (also spelled bizcochito), I discovered that in 1989 it was made thhe official cookie of the state of New Mexico. Here is some additional history.
The baking of biscochitos is one of the hallmarks of the start of the Christmas season and will usually coincide with the beginning of Advent. In New Mexico this custom and the familial solidarity and celebration it represents preceded the arrival of the automobile, the railroad, and the Christmas tree.
Wow. I didn't know the biscochito was such an important part of my heritage until I tried to explain it to you.
2. In the last few years, empanadas (half-moon pies with a filling, usually a savory meat or vegetable) have become very popular in Austin. You can go to specialty empanada restaurants. Our family recipe is like a Mexican version of mince meat: a combination of beef, pork, applesauce, currants, and spices.
3. Both of these desserts have Spanish names. The "itos" or "itas" means "little". So biscochito means "little biscuit" (in the British sense of cookie). I'm not sure what empanada means, but I'd guess it means "inside the bread" (pan).
4. People from New Mexico (at least of my mother's generation) spend a lot of time explaining that New Mexico is a state, and not part of Mexico. New Mexico became the 47th state on January 6, 1912 (when my grandmother was 3 years old).
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私はふだん怠け者のハウスウィフです。
でもクリスマスの前で大掃除する。
古いものが外。新しいものが家。
繕う。
窓と床を洗い清める。
見て。窓の外に見ることができる。
Generally Speaking
Typically, I'm a rather lax housewife (that is, I'm not very diligent in carrying out my housewifely chores). But before Christmas, I like to thoroughly clean the house. "Out with the old; in with the new." (My mother always says this and I feel the same way. To make room for all the new things received as Christmas presents, I must get rid of the old, broken, and unused things.) I also make small repairs: mend, fix, and tidy up all the things I've neglected throughout the year. I wash windows and floors. Look! You can actually see out the window!
質問とコメント
This is the view from our bedroom window. It's at the front of the house and overlooks the street. I've planted a rose garden in the front. Roses are blooming now, in December. See how green it still is. We haven't had a freeze yet. In fact, the last few days the temperatures have been in the 70s F (about 22C).
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Sorry, but this is going to have to be in English. I don't want any fruitcake disasters out there. This recipe is for 1/2 of the amount of my own recipe. This will make 2 large loafs or 4 small loafs.
This recipe is not extremely exact. I try different dried fruits each year. The cake is mostly filled with raisins though. Therefore it is not as colorful (or sticky) as some fruitcakes. I also try different spices.
- In a very large bowl, mix the following fruits and sprinkle a little flour over them so that they don't stick together:
* 1 bag or box (about 500 grams) of dark raisins
* 1 bag or box (about 500 grams) golden raisins
* 1 bag or box (about 500 grams) currants
* any other dried fruit you like (about 500 grams): I use dried pineapple chunks, dried cherries, date pieces, dried persimmon, a small amount of candied orange peel or lemon peel, a little candied ginger
* 1 bag (about 250 grams) of chopped walnuts
* 1 or 2 jars of maraschino cherries, drained and cut in half (optional) - In a second bowl, beat 5 large eggs until smooth and thick.
- In a third large bowl, mix 2 sticks of butter (225 grams) and 1 cup (240 ml) of brown sugar together until smooth.
- Pour the eggs into the butter mixture and mix together until smooth.
- Mix the following spices into the batter:
* 2.5 ml ground cinnamon
* 2.5 ml ground nutmeg
* 1.25 ml salt
* 2.5 ml ground ginger (if you like it)
* 1.25 ml ground cloves (if you like it--expensive in Japan, though and not necessary) - Measure out 2 cups (470 ml) of unsifted white (or unbleached) flour and 1 cup (240 ml) of brandy.
- Beat some of the flour into the batter, and then half the brandy, then more flour, and then the rest of the brandy. Mix the batter until smooth.
- Taste. Does it need a little more cinnamon? Perhaps some nutmeg. You decide.
- Pour batter over the fruit mixture. Blend well. (A rice paddle is useful at this point to make sure that there are no dry pockets of fruit.)
- Grease and flour baking pans. (In my mother's day, she also lined her pans with wax paper. If you do that normally when you bake cakes, follow the same procedure. I have heavy-duty non-stick pans, and I just grease and flour them; I don't need to use wax paper.)
- Spoon the batter equally among the pans. Shake the pans to level out the batter and remove any air pockets.
- Bake at a medium oven temperature (325F 160C). This temperature is a little lower than you use for regular cakes. Because the batter is dense, it will take longer to cook than a normal cake and you must cook it at a lower temperature to cook all the way through. The length of time to cook will depend on the type of pan. It is usually about 45 minutes to an hour. You will smell it. When the top is golden brown and begins to crack, it is ready.
- Let cool. Remove from pans.
- Dampen (not soaking wet!) cheese cloth with brandy. Wrap around each cake and store in a tin or Tupperware or wrap with aluminium foil.
- A week later, check. If the cheesecloth is dry, moisten it again.
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どんあクリスマス料理が大好きですか。
家族はフルーツケーキが一番好きです。
代表的なアメリカ人はフルーツケーキがきらいです。
アメリカのフルーツケッキがおいしくないです。
ときから私は十四年でしたフルーツケーキを作る。
でんとうてきなイギリスのフルーツケーキです。
ブランデーにしみます。
ほんとにとてもおいしですよ。
Generally Speaking
What is your favorite Christmas food? In our house, it's fruitcake. Typically Americans don't like fruitcake. American fruitcake tastes terrible.
I've made fruitcake every year since I was 14. I make a traditional English fruitcake. It's soaked in brandy. It really is delicious.
質問とコメント
1. In America, there are many jokes about fruitcake. It is often given as a present, but no one likes it. The joke is that the person who receives it, saves it and gives it to someone else next Christmas.
2. American fruitcake that you buy at the supermarket is pretty nasty stuff. It contains artificially-colored glazed fruit that is bright red and green. It is sort of sticky and sort of gummy and doesn't taste real.
3. My fruitcake is a traditional English fruitcake. It is made with many kinds of dried fruit and walnuts. I do use maraschino cherries...but that is the only artificially-flavored ingredient.
4. Since I was 14 years old, I've made fruitcake every year. Usually I make it on the Friday after Thanksgiving. When I lived in Japan, I made half a recipe and baked it in tiny Japanese cake pans in a a tiny Japanese oven. I used dried persimmons as one of the fruits.
5. After baking, I wrap the fruitcakes in brandy-soaked cheese cloth. They soak in brandy for one month.
6. Because my husband is English, he has no qualms about eating fruitcake.
Ingredients
* 4 pounds of dried fruit (mostly raisins, all kinds; dates, dried cherries, dried pineapple, currants, whatever you like) * zest of one orange (grated orange peel) * 2 jars of maraschino cherries (drained) * walnuts or pecans * 10 eggs * 1 pound of butter * 1 cup brown sugar * 2 cups brandy * 4 cups flour * 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, * 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp gingerPermalink.
今アメリカにクリスマス時期を祝います。
でもクリスマス時期ありません。
Advent時期です。
Adventのいみはラテン語で「とうちゃくする」です。
クリスマスの四週間前にAdvent時期です。
Advent時期は時にクリスマスのじゅんびします。
Generally Speaking
In America, we are celebrating the Christmas season. But, traditionally, this is not the Christmas season. It is the season of Advent. Advent comes from the Latin word "arrival". The four weeks before Christmas is the Advent season. Advent is the time to prepare for Christmas.
質問とコメント
1. Although America prides itself on the separation of Church and State, in reality, it is a Christian country and it is basically Protestant. Where I live, in the South, the most prevalent religion is Southern Baptist. So as a Catholic, my view is in the minority.
2. In the Catholic church, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. It is a period of prayer and fasting, a time of preparation. This follows the pre-Christian celebrations of the solstice. In the weeks before the solstice, the days grew colder and darker. It was a period of want. After the solstice, as the days grow longer. we celebrate the return of the sun and the coming of spring.
3. When I was growing up, in the 1960s, the beginning of the Christmas season in America was the Friday after Thanksgiving. The stores began playing Christmas music and putting out decorations. Commercials for Christmas gifts flooded the newspapers and television. This timing was parallel to Advent and seemed appropriate to me. Over the years, this commercial aspect of Christmas begins earlier and earlier. I used to be surprised when I'd see Christmas items for sale directly after Halloween (October 31st). Now some stores put out Christmas items in September!
4. No wonder that by December 26th, Americans are so sick of Christmas that they toss out the Christmas tree and take down the lights. I celebrate Christmas my own way--which I will share with you throughout this month.
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勉強しっていますのかわりにことをしました
- いまのカーテンを洗いました。
- 日本の映画「たんぽぽ」を見ました。
- ホムパージをウップダートしました。
- 私の庭に花を写真しました。
- 洗濯をしました。
- 三冊本を読みました。
- 手紙を書きました。
- 台所の床を洗いました。
- 冬の着物が包みを取って出来ました。
Generally Speaking
Things I did instead of studying.
- Washed the living room curtains.
- Watched the Japanese movie "Tampopo".
- Redesigned the "nipponDAZE" homepage.
- Took photographs of the flowers in my garden.
- Did the laundry.
- Read three books (all novels).
- Wrote a letter.
- Washed and waxed the kitchen floor.
- Unpacked the winter clothes. (Or more casually--Got out the winter clothes.)
質問とコメント
1. I'm bored and frustrated and tired of studying.
2. The house is a mess.
3. It's cold and rainy.
4. I miss Alex (who's in Seattle) and Joseph (who's in Chicago).
5. The holidays are upon us and I want to write about that. But I don't have the words. I can say, "The book is on the table." though. That's a long way from being able to talk about the various ways to celebrate Christmas and growing up Catholic in a Protestant nation. I'll give it a try, though...tomorrow.
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住宅は下町の近くにあります。
大学はうちから車で五分ぐらいです。バスで二十五分ぐらいです。徒歩で同じ。
としょかんと銀行とレストランも車で五分ぐらいです。
近所はスーパーがありません。
スーパーは車で二十分ぐらいです。
夫の仕事は車で三十分ぐらいです。
オーシテンは地下鉄がありません。
車だけだ。
Generally Speaking
My house is near downtown. School is only a 5 minute drive away. By bus, it takes 25 minutes. I can walk home in about the same time.
The library, the bank, and many restaurants are all within a 5 minute drive. However, there is no supermarket in my neighborhood. The supermarket (where I shop) is about a 20 minute drive. My husband's work is about a 30 minute drive away. Austin doesn't have a subway. A car's the only way to go.
質問とコメント
1. Sorry for the boring report, but I'm supposed to be studying for the three tests coming up in my Japanese class. This is one of the sentence patterns on the test. So I decided to use the blog to practice it. But it's not very useful for describing American cities.
2. When I moved to Japan, it was a big adjustment to describe distances in terms of time, rather than miles. But in many ways it was easier than trying to convert to kilometers.
3. The reason that this example doesn't translate well into my experience of America is because the automobile is the primary mode of transportation. How fast it takes to get someplace, depends a lot on traffic, the time of day, and the driver.
4. My situation is unusual because I live close to downtown. My neighborhood is more "mixed use" than a typical American suburb. There are office buildings, restaurants, bars, boutiques, theaters, and parks within walking distance. However, to shop at the supermarket, the DIY store, or the mall, we have to drive to the suburbs. I consider a 20 minute drive reasonable.
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