今年もこの季節が来たのかと実感した瞬間。地元の和菓子屋の前で見るこの昭和な光景にいつも幸せにさせてくれる。見れば見るほどにおかしい。心の中で笑いをこらえてフルフルと震える自分がおる。冷蔵庫に入っているアップルパイも中々のインパクトですが、和菓子屋の店頭に（しかもカオスな店構えに）ギュウギュウに並べてあるいちごのショウトケーキには毎年ヤられる。

Tis the Christmas season has arrived! Christmas didn’t really hit me until I passed by our local Wagashi (Japanese sweet) shop this morning. Yes in the midst of the chaotic store front, strawberry shortcake all tightly displayed out on the road side. Yes it’s cold enough to leave it out there but every year I pass by this, this truly Showa era-ish display makes me smile…(Not to mention that the spelling of Shortcake (in Japanese) is also pronounced wrong lol)

しかもね、いちごの葉っぱを落とさずにそのまま生クリームにinしちゃうところが山手のシャレ乙な所では見れない光景ですわ。そして、くださいなとおばちゃんに言うと素手で上から鷲掴みに取る感じもツボです。でもでも、今年はちゃんとした箱に入れてくれたよ〜、昨年は紙袋でぶっっ飛んだ！！つぶさん用にそろり、そろりと持ち帰った事も良い思い出。あぁ〜メリ〜クリスマス〜や〜〜。

What really hits me hard is that the strawberries are always sunk in the whipped cream with the leaf on. And what makes it even funny is that when I asked for it, the old lady comes out and grab the cake from the top bare handed LOL… OK, this year is better, she neatly put the cake in a small box but last year, she put these in a thin paper bag and I had to be really careful not to crush them.. Love, love, love these downtown vibes so much. Merry Christmas ya all. Enjoy the festive season.

おまけ＊我が家のクリスマスディスプレイ。毎年最小限に飾ってます。毎年ほぼ同じ物を飾ってますが、今年はプーケットの海で拾った珊瑚も添えました。夏の素敵な思い出です。

Bonus*This is our little Christmas corner in our house. I try too keep it as simple as possible. It’s always the same items on display every season but this year I added a coral we picked up at a beach in Phuket. Reminder of our lovely vacay in Thailand this year.