Happy New Year!

And here are a few reasons why this New Year is so happy for me:

I have my very own copies of Stella's cook books! We were at her house for dinner on Christmas Day and she handed me a present from dear Minori-san, telling me that I had to open it straight away, and I quite literally jumped for joy as I tore back the paper :-D

We have added to our family! Bingo is a 7 month old toy poodle, and a new best friend for the kids. He is the biggest softie and is coping with our family very well! He loves the kotatsu...

What's not to like about a kotatsu? Oh, and our house is much warmer than it was last year, even though it is freezing outside! K sealed off all the draughts and you wouldn't believe the difference. Will I still be feeling warm in February? Dunno, but one thing that is making me especially happy at the moment is the fact that I now have our flights booked for a visit to the UK in March, so that alone is enough to help me get through the coldest months!

I am happy to see that the New Year decorations hang around much longer than the Christmas decorations did (they get taken down on Christmas Eve here, to make way for the New Year goodies).

2011 is the year of the rabbit. And M loves rabbits. Especially Miffy :-)

Here's to a very, very happy year! xxx

She's potty

Rather chilly here this morning, so have been playing with M to keep warm. Played peek-a-boo under the kotatsu:




Even she decided that it was too cold to strip off for the potty (I don't know who told her that all clothes need removing when going about her business), and she came up with her own version of a heated potty:



Yes, she's tucked under the kotatsu. Very clever, or at least I think so :-)