Being able to see this beauty every working day, when the weather is fine, is absolutely one great blessing to be thankful for.
I’m afraid my phone camera didn’t give the place justice though.
I actually turn speechless when I get up from my seat and look up and see everything bathed in gold and surrounded by the blue sea. Absolutely beautiful.
Spent the day with one of my bestfriends, Maj. The friendship, the laughter, the good talk over good food and good scenery leaves much to be thankful for (not to mention the really beautiful, glittering gift!! – thank you Maj!). I’m really happy that even when we only get to see each other every other month or so, the deep friendship and respect is always there. Thankful. 🙂
Thankful for hubs as well to have prodded me to go shopping since I’m in Tokyo anyways. Mottainai daw. And thankful for Maj to oblige and accompany me even when she’s not really into shopping. 🙂
After good food (will feature it later in goodfoodhunt.wordpress.com), before heading to Harajuku for some shopping, we dropped by Maj’s favorite koen (garden). So glad that she shared this scenic place, Koishikawa koen (小石川こえん).
Our only regret though was that we both forgot to bring our cameras with us. Hence, we had to make do with our iPhones. I’m quite satisfied with some, but then again, I don’t claim to be a photography enthusiast/expert. 🙂 Still, I’m sharing some here, unedited.
Autumn colors on water.
And of course, there’s nothing like koyou with the perfectly blue sky as the backdrop.
As with most sizable Japanese gardens, Koishikawa also sells the traditional green tea and wagashi (和菓子). Wagashi is the traditional red beans sweets which is usually paired with green tea and comes in über pretty designs. Agree? This one even have a dash of gold on the sakura leaf.
We ended the day shopping in Harajuku. And Harajuku being Harajuku, there were lots of people on cosplay. To quote Maj, this shot was just perfect to cap a great day.
Thanks Maj! Till next bonding time! 🙂
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Was about to go to sleep but I just had to share this. Today’s reading is about waiting for God’s perfect timing. It brought a smile on my face as thankfully I muttered, “God’s perfect timing is sleeping right here beside me”. 🙂
Had an interesting evening. We went to Shimbashi for bounenkai (忘年会) with people who graduated from same high school as Atsushi. Interesting because attendees were of different generations and different walks of life – oldest being retirees and us being youngest, one worked in the World Health Organization and one a dentist etc etc. Thankful because Atsushi was so proud of me that he brought me with him to the gathering. We were the only husband and wife there. Thankful because they all welcomed me and thought very highly of me. And proud because they all told me how kind Atsushi is. 🙂
Thankful as well for this yummy strawberries that one woman alumni gave me and Atsushi.
A backgrounder: Bounenkai is the Japanese equivalent of Christmas party or thanksgiving party, held usually around December with the intent of gathering round to celebrate the year that was.
Thank you Patchi. I guess I was really touched because what you just did is one of my “language of love” for receiving.
Yet even with my language of love being different, your gift was just so pretty in that Atsushi and I were simply speechless and can only exclaim “WOW” as we turn every page. Definitely this is one of the most amazing cards we’ve ever received.
And of course, it will not end this Christmas. And yes, indeed we are thankful for the friendship. 🙂
Hubs and I sort of count our blessings everyday as we talk about how our day went as we walk our way home.
This is indeed a very good idea! And one that we should do everyday of our lives. Back when I was doing the wedding preps, I specially count my blessings when something disappointing happened. By doing that, I forget about the bad thing but just focus on the good one.
Today, I guess I should be counting my blessings because there are a couple of things that were a bit of a let down – one of which was i was late on our project meeting because I forgot it was today. 🙁 I didn’t turn on the reminder function.
But I shouldn’t dwell on it. Let’s focus on the blessings:
– thankful for Atsushi
– thankful for the great conversations we are having
– thankful that the client approved my proposed design change within a much shorter time than my boss expected
– found a way to solve my recent headache with a deliverable
I should remember those. And not the misses.
And oh, one of today’s verses:
Psalm 118:1 Give thanks to the Lord who is good.
Indeed! 🙂