From one holiday to the next

On Friday night, I had a party with a few friends.

A stuffing party!!

In the Sease family, it's tradition to make a double batch of the buttery goodness the night before Thanksgiving, and then eat it that night by the bowlful, as if it were popcorn. :)

I love stuffing and stuffing parties, so I thought it'd be fun to have people over the night before Thanksgiving dinner and share stuffing with them.

Takenori on bread duty.

Harriet and Tomo (a new friend) in charge of cutting the onion and bok choy (instead of celery).

Dinner at Julian's house the next night was fantastic, with about 25 friends there, and lots of amazing food, including a delicious turkey--a rare treat in Japan--ordered and prepared by Oliver.

A few Japanese friends came too, including Masa Takahashi, one of the English teachers I work with at Okawame Jr. High...

I was so glad that he could come!

With Thanksgiving over now, I've already transitioned into Christmas! I spent this afternoon listening to Christmas music and putting up decorations in my apartment. :)

Actually, I was kind of already in the Christmas mood before Thanksgiving since:

#1 It snowed last week!

#2 If it's going to be this cold, I might as well be getting excited about Christmas. Right?

#3 We sang "Silent Night" in one of my classes the other day, straight from the textbook!

and #4 I put up a Christmas-themed bulletin board at Misaki Jr. High on Thursday...

I was taking a photo of my finished product when Eiki jumped in the picture.

Well, that's all for now.

I'm signing off. And singing off: La la la la la, la la la la. :)