First (& last?) snow of the winter

It was snowing here for about an hour today:
The snow was trying to stay on the ground, but couldn't. It could stay on my coat though:
It's only the 4th time I've seen snow in Hamamatsu, so it might also be the last time we see snow this winter.

p.s. Happy New Year!

Christmas lunch and dinner

Ayako and I had a quiet Christmas together. Ayako was busy making a 'Japanese Christmas" lunch, which included a vegetable Christmas tree made from mashed potatoes, broccoli, and star-shaped carrots:
The Bûche de Noël Yule log for dessert was delicious:
We had a western-style Christmas dinner (although having ham instead of turkey):
Merry Christmas everyone!

End-of-year parties

The end-of-year parties are in full swing now. I went to a couple over the weekend, although only took photos at one of them. Like last year, we visited a party thrown by a fellow Aichi University professor, Angus, seen here:
The party was thrown at an old house with many rooms and even a sunken hearth in one room, which we cooked sweet potatoes on.
There were a number of professors as well as students there. It was nice seeing some 4th-year students in a relaxed atmosphere since they have now finished writing their graduation papers.