Season's Greetings!!!

We hope everyone has a very happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous new year! I had a good Christmas this year and got a lot of presents! Mama and papa bought me a few shirts and sweaters, and my aunt in Canada sent me a stuffed animal toy to play with. I love the toy and wouldn't let anyone touch it for the first hour I had it until I broke it in. Anytime papa came near my new toy, I growled at him and then ran away. After all, what's mine is mine...and what's not mine is still mine :-)

I plan to get a lot of sleep over the holidays and spend time with my friends!!!

Papa is off work for 2 weeks now and he promised to take me for long walks and also to dog runs to play with other dogs.

2 days ago, mama's parents came over for turkey. They really like turkey but it is not really a popular dish in Japan. The turkey was 3.5 kg and was almost as big as me. In fact, I was worried that papa would make a mistake and I would end up in the oven.

Last evening, mama and papa went to visit their friends who just bought a new condo nearby. They said the place was really nice (on the 12th floor) and a lot of the furniture was new and looked great. As for me, well, as you can see, I just chilled at home and caught up on my sleep...

Papa has a new hobby. He has started making his own tsukemono. Actually, nukazuke to be exact. It's only been a few days but papa seems very excited about it. He got the nukadoko from his mother-in-law and has already made pickled carrots. Because the nukadoko is new, the carrots were very salty so papa has to adjust the timing. Today he added more carrots and some cucumber. Tomorrow he is planning on adding eggplant and cabbage. I don't think mama believes that papa can take care of the nukadoko because it has to be cared for daily by mixing it to oxygenate the base and keep the nuka-bed ‘live’, meaning that it contains a culture of active single-celled organisms, mostly lactobacilli and yeast. If papa doesn't care for it daily then the nuka-bed can go bad and get moldy.

Here is a fashion show featuring...ME!!!

Sporting a casual velor jacket embroidered with a skull featuring the words "Bone Eater"...

Wearing a knit sweater to keep me warm on those cold Tokyo winter days...

Looking cool in a gangsta style hoodie...hey, you lookin' at me??? I said HEY, YOU LOOKIN' AT ME???