Day 15 - New Year

Here’s the thing. I know I said I’d write every day for a year. That was the challenge. But honestly?  I’m finding it tricky to keep up. I’m new to this blogging business. (I’m new to this whole ‘laptop’ business, to be honest)

I’ve been going to bed at stupid o’clock every night, trying to write, proof read and perfect the blog post for the next morning. I’ve been writing about how I love to read, how I hate technology because it prevents people living their lives, how I enjoy exercising, how families need to spend quality time together… and I feel like a massive fraud. Exquisitely ironic.

Hubby asked me why I felt the need to write EVERY day, and I don’t know…except I said I would. I’ve always been guilty of starting things and not finishing them properly. This is my character in a nutshell. I create a standard for myself, ensure it’s too high to meet, and then berate myself if I crash and burn. Why would I keep doing that?

So, no blog post today. It’s a special day today anyway – we are celebrating New Year (the old calendar New Year). My mother is going to make an amazing feast called ‘osechi’. It’s presented in beautiful lacquer ware boxes, and every dish will be a work of art. There will be a delicious sweet alcohol served in flat, earthenware cups for toasting the New Year. There will be pounded rice cakes called ‘mochi’ – usually rolled into balls and served in a clear soup, or fashioned into a display, often topped with a winter ‘mikan’ (satsuma). Many of the plates, tableware and dressings are coloured red, as red is an auspicious colour, and welcomes good fortune into the home.
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Hopefully, I’ll have some pictures to post tomorrow so you can see ‘osechi’ for yourself. Or it might be Monday, if I give myself another day off… J
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