The result of e-trade

 Evening sky

Tomorrow is the last day of stock market in this year.
The price of the stocks are high these days.
Though I had lost about 10 percent of my money,I managed to regain it today.
I'm happy a little.

Making money by e-trade was difficult for me, but I'll continue trading stocks and I wish I could do better next year.

By the way,the interest rate of savings is very low now.
So it is said the number of private investors has increased.
This trend will be continue next year.

Self-responsibility is indispensable for trading stocks.
We should keep this fact deeply in mind !

 

Proverb 69

 Let sleeping dogs lie.

If we poke the thicket, the snake may come out.
So we shouldn't clarify everything if there is a doubt that should be
concealed.

But we want to know the truth all the more when they want to conceal something bad.

What are you looking at ?

 I took my dog for a walk as usual though it was very cold.

My dog John is very fine these days.
He seems to prefer cold weather to hot one.
And he never goes into his doghouse even at night.
He is always outside.

He wanted to be at this field longer, but I hurried to my house as it was very cold. 

 

 

 

Special product

This Japanese-style confection  is  'Fu-ji-to ma-n-jyu-u.'

It is a sweet bean paste covered with a film of rice cake.
It is like 'O-te ma-n-jyu' which is also one of the famous confections in Okayama.
Different from 'O-te ma-n-jyu', they use film that contains 'a-ma-za-ke' and the bun is a special product of Genji and Heike's old battlefield of Fu-ji-to.

I was presented this one by a guest to my house the other day.
It is very delicious with a cup of Japanese green tea.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas

 

   Merry Christmas to you !

 

Ｔhe winter solstice;(to-u-ji).

　It is the winter solstice today.

The daytime is the shortest in the year.
But from tomorrow, the day will be longer and longer day by day though the temperature will be lower till the end of February.
We have a custom of eating pumpkin and taking a hot citron bath today.
We will be able to lead a healthy life by doing so.

When I woke up this morning, it was snowing and it kept snowing till before noon.

According to the weather forecast, the dense mass of cold air from the North Pole has been above Japan island. 

It has been snowing all over Japan these days and it's very cold !

 

Proverb 68

Pine tree

 It is a wise father that knows his own child.

Every parent usually loves their child very much and can't understand the real talent of the child.
We apt to evaluate our child too much.

According to this proverb, we should evaluate our child as he really is.
But it is very difficult.

 

 

Persimmon tree and rice field

  It's snowed heavily at many district all over Japan.

It's very very cold these days and strong cold wind blew from the north last night. 
So the air today was very clear.

All the leaves of this tree fell to the ground and we took all the fruits.

This is the rural scenery nowadays.

 

 

New Year's card

Poinsettia

I was busy printing out New Year's cards of my husband, my mother in-law and me in the afternoon.
I had designed the card a few days ago, so I only had to print it out.
I thought it would finish soon, but I couldn't.
Color ink had run out before printing.
So I asked my husband to go to buy it.
After that, though printing on one side went well, I had trouble when printing on the side of address and name.
The trouble happened when the machine took the card into the machine.

But I managed to finish it.

If we write all the cards by hand, we need much time.

But thanks to a computer and a printing machine, we can make many nice cards very easily.  

 

 

 

Cold morning

 

These are the pictures taken yesterday morning.

Water in the stone-pot is frozen and I saw frost on the leaves.

 

Proverb 67

Sasanqua

 

 Honesty is the best policy.

 

The Diet summoned some men about the counterfeit problem of earthquake-proof strength today.
Now some men are being questioned by the Diet members and
they are broadcasting the questions and  answers  on TV.

I want to present them this very words !

 

Cold day !

It's a very cold day today.

The wind blowing from the north is very cold.
I saw tiny snow flakes falling about 11 o'clock in the morning.

It's the first time that I saw snow this early winter.

 
I feel the coming of Christmas and a New Year from this cold weather!

 

 

 

Nandin and Flower cabbage

 Nandin;(Heavenly bamboo)

 

Taking a　walk　in　the　evening， I　saw　this nandin; (sacred bamboo)  at the yard of my neighborhood  and these　flower cabbages；’Ha-bo-ta-n'　in　another　neighbor’s　vegetable　field．

 

We　use　these　plants　for　the flower　arrangement　on new year's day．
For Nandin is a lucky plant because the Japanese name 'Na-n-te-n' means' that it will change problems to good luck.
And we associate the shape of  the flower cabbage with the sunrise on new year's day.

 

 

 

Proverb 66

 

 Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home.

Even if we aren't rich and the house isn't nice at all, our house is the best place.
The reason is that there is love and peace in it.  

Black soybean 2

Shizusan is drying these black soybeans.
They are being spread on the sheet called 'Mu-shi-ro' that is made of rice-plants.
My dead father in-law made them using a knitting machine long ago.

I will cook these dried soybeans for 'Special New Year's food' too.
I hear they are good for our health, especially for lady !