2012年12月28日金曜日 - 
Tony - Christmas in Canada
This year my family will have two big holiday celebrations. Christmas in Canada and Japanese New Year. We had Christmas at my parent's house near Vancouver and it was great! My son, Max, is only eleven months old so it was his first Christmas. He loved the colored lights and brightly wrapped gifts but his favorite thing was the Christmas tree at his grandparents' house.
My most cherished and eagerly anticipated part of Christmas is the roast turkey dinner. My mother is an amazing cook and this year she made all of our favorites. Roast turkey with apple, sage and rosemary stuffing. Roast potatoes AND mashed potatoes! Cranberry sauce and gravy! It was so good that we almost didn't have enough room for dessert; my aunt's homemade apple pie. Some years she bakes pecan pie, other years it is pumpkin, but this year it was apple. Apple pie is one of my all time favorite foods, so it was fun to give Max his first taste, and he loved it! Smart kid!
It was hard to say goodbye, but we packed up our things and flew back to Osaka. To our surprise it was colder in Osaka than it was in Vancouver! It was freezing when we got off the plane! Brrrrr!!
My wife and I have a New Year tradition of ordering a different style of osechi-ryoori every year. Last year we had a very conventional one, which was great because we all love datemaki – sweet rolled omelet. This year my wife chose a Chinese food themed osechi-ryoori. I don't know what to expect, but it should be great! It will be a perfect New Year's Eve if my family is healthy and we can enjoy "Kōhaku Uta Gassen" together.
Happy Holidays!
Tony
cherished =大事にしている
eagerly anticipated = 待ち望んでいる
stuffing =詰め物
cranberry sauce = クランベリーソース
pecan =ペカンナッツ
...is one of my all time favorite ～=お気に入りの～の一つです
packed up = 荷造りした
freezing = 凍えるほど寒い
Brrrrr!! =ブルブルブル!!
tradition =長年の習慣
conventional =お決まりの
themed =テーマにした