Festive foliage

So I'm stuck in Japan for the festive season...

I really did think I was going to get home to Ireland, and it was looking all systems go there for quite a while, and then work intervened. But as it turns out, I'm probably getting a lot more soul-replenishing rest here than if I had been stuck on some airport floor for the holidays (which would have been a distinct possibility with the snow-tastic weather going down in Europe at the moment).

But as I was saying to my friend on the phone yesterday, I am trying to be all about the positives. One thing this forced stay in Japan has afforded me is freedom from jet lag. My recovery time from a trip back home is usually about two weeks!

And I'm saving a tonne of money because it's really expensive to travel during the holiday season. I'm hoping to make it home now at some off-peak time for a fraction of the price.

Moreover, being in Tokyo at this time of year has given me the chance to see the lovely Kadomatsu (門 松 - Japanese New Year decorations put up at the entrances to buildings to welcome ancestral spirits back to their homes) up and about around town.


On December 25, all the Christmassy stuff comes down, and these things get put up, and on balance, it's not a bad trade off.

While on a horticultural theme, I wanted to show you my poinsettia, Poncy.




This guy came to live with me over three weeks ago. I thought it was going to be another case of my infamous fingers of death, as he really struggled for the first few days. But now that I look at the time delay (a photo each weekend) apart from a loss of bulk, he really is not doing that badly.

Plants are so bloody expensive in Japan that I fully intended this poinsettia to see me through to Christmas 2011. Happily, that may no longer be such a far-fetched aspiration.