New week - yet 2nd week of the month.
Work was work... no surprise and nothing for today. Hahaha.
Well, peace around me still.



My dessert is still coming from yesterday's Atelier Kohta.
Not only big strawberry dessert plate... but cake last night...
And then, financier.



This is great, too. Enjoyed this much with a cup of coffee.
Perfect after supper tonight.

Big task tonight other than finishing such sweets... shoe shining!



Before...



After finished shining... can you see the difference???
I cannot tell too much.



In details... still seems to be the same. No change...
Aren't they???

Though, it was a quite exercise for me. Lots of work by hand!!!
My right shoulder is now quite sore. Really.
Could be a big pain by tomorrow... will see.

Big and heavy snow is finally gone!
It dumped quite large amount of snow... accumulation of 30 cm or even more!
1st thing to do for the day is nothing but snow shoveling.

Yeah, have to dig my Alfa Romeo out of snow!!!







Took me several hours to finish the job!
Heavier work than anticipated. Really.
As a result, that became the only activity for the day! Hahaha.

Snow remains everywhere and not good idea to drive on the street for sure.
Particularly, my Alfa Romeo wears only normal tires. Hahaha.



No more Japanese beer? Instead, "King of Beer" came along with supper.
Though, shocking moment.
It didn't have any taste!

I am so used to Japanese beer for a long time and didn't tastee any American one for years.
Compared to Japanese one, Budweiser tastes like nothing.
Too bad that I won't go for Budweiser again.



Fancy supper came after. Good stuff, really.
Good exercise from snow shoveling and fantastic supper.
No complaints. Hahaha.

It were my memory of old time... back in Atlanta.
Big snow storm really hit and I recall that we experienced power blackout, etc.
I even went to (literally) rescue a friend of mine who got stuck inside the house without heat.

Perfect resemblance today.
Big snow hit Tokyo area... the biggest in 40 years or so!
Unbelievable, really.

In the morning, MoonFlower had to go to salon for hair cut.
Snow already started falling then...
I had no choice but drive down to the station to drop her off.

She promised that she would pick up a taxi on the way back.

Hahaha... it was not enough... No taxis around. All out of business today, I bet.
Lots of media, from yesterday, warned the public not to go out today.
Not many people on the street. Except her!

Therefore, I had to drive back to pick her up at the station one more time.
A bit scary drive on snow... not heavy yet then.





Those photos were taken right after bringing her home. Right after the noon.
Snow was light then... but no longer thereafter.
Snow became much heavier and just like storm.

Around 8:20pm, power blackout hit the house... more than several times.
On and off... 4 times.
Then 5th time... it became real blackout... didn't come back on soon like previous cases.



Thank God, I had enough sources of lights... not only flash light... but iPad mini. 2 of them actually.
Turned radio app on my iPhone and it was okay.
Only the problem was the heat... out of heat for several hours!!!

Finally, the power came back on around 10:20pm or so.
Yeah, still alive!

Worst thing of all is that we decided to cancel the trip to onsen or hot spring in Atami tomorrow.
There is a cancellation fee (50% of the charge) entailed... oh boy!
But no choice...

Went to Tokyo Dome - not for baseball.
The season hash't come here yet! Hahaha.
It was Tableware Festival. Yeah, it is absolutely MoonFlower's favorite.

I just followed her.



Actually, we went in from "unusual" entrance. Just happened to get inside by accident.
Of course, we bought tickets for entrance. No sneak-in, I mean.

















What did MF buy?
Actually, none. That is a HUGE surprise, isn't it?
I guess, current collection is somewhat satisfactory... at least for time being!

Well, maybe big shopping in next Festival then.

Showed up to Ueno - kind unusual place for me to show up.
For what purpose?
Came to see a little play which friend Amy did play a role. Cool.





"Theoretical Love" is the title of play.
It was a great contrast highlighted in the play - different between how man / woman thinks.
I loved that show. Pretty cool.

Amy played some lady in old period. Saw her to act in play for the 1st time.
She did great.
I just cannot imagine that I myself would do such... acting.

Dinner was with MoonFlower at Italian restaurant nearby.









Not big dinner... too much.

Monthly event - for family gathering, drove down to Chiba in the morning.
Later than planned... well, I was LATE.
Leaving the house late and driving Alfa Romeo into mildly-congested traffic. Hahaha. True, though.

Overall, MoonFlower and I arrived her mother's place one and a half hour later!
Typical? We're always slow and not punctual???

Anyway, went to cemetery for prayer. Of course, we cleaned that place up right before.

Then made a stop-by at Italian restaurant for lunch.



Very fresh salad... MUST for me to eat before anything else for each meal.



Pasta as entree. Too much garlic... which I usually stay away... but didn't today.
Too much carbohydrate. Yeah, I should be careful about this, shouldn't I?



Maybe this post is not making sense too much. Let me explain.
After meal, we went DIY shop for shopping.
For laundry hanger - price w/o tax is 815 yen or about 8 dollars.

With tax 5% (current until end of March), 855 yen
With tax 8 % (April and beyond), 880 yen

Yeah, Japan is facing the consumption tax increase from 5 to 8% by 3%.
Big impact, huh.
Now driving housewives crazy about what to buy before to save more. Big problem.

On top of that, we look at another increase by 2% within 2 years!!!
Are we sure that Japan's economy --- growth currently perceived is really sustainable?
I doubt about it.



Another carbohydrate for supper! Too much? Or just right?
Well, at least I walked the dog for energy consumption.



Main dish was crab!!!
Another year-end celebration were just around the corner!!!
Good stuff.

I will slow down a bit tomorrow for sure.

Still Tuesday night? Gotta be kidding!
It seems to be already like Thursday night… I wish!!!

Lots of hectic issues around… I have to set whole new processes of some business activities.
Many people are to be involved and I have to clarify how that flow should go with good reason / logics.
Sounds like consulting work, doesn’t it? It surely is.



Why I have such photos? They are being sent to me with simple question:
Which dial (face) is better?
It was from a friend of mine. He’s wondering which one he really should go for it.

Interesting question. Does my opinion matter? Hahaha. Probably not.
He should have known the own answer, already. Just wanted to validate his choice then.
That is my wild guess, anyway.

Though, I vote for white dial in this case.
Black seems a bit more elegance than the other and he wants to put it on even while he is away from the business.
Yeah, I bet that white is better off in this case.

What kind of watch is this? Good question.
It is Jaeger-Lecoultre. Big watch brand it is!
The model is called Reverso. Fancy watch!

Actually another friend of mine does own this and it is white dial. Cool stuff.
Hmm, two friends of mine will have same watch over their wrists soon?
Gosh, I cannot be behind! I should go for it? Probably not. Hahaha.

Well, will see how soon he can make up his mind for next watch…
And he really goes for Jaeger-Lecoultre or changes his mind at last minute…
I bet that he won’t change the watch… but would take more time than anticipated.

Part of this shopping process is the momentum, right?
He’d better enjoy as much!
I have gone through that with so much pleasure!