Moxie and Mojo go in for their annual vet check-up. At this point, they weigh a combined total of about 30 pounds, making for a heavy load to carry down the block to the vet. They’re both a little skittish in the vet’s examination room, and prefer to stay inside their carriers. Both get a clean bill of health.
Jan takes the Japanese Language Proficiency Test for the first time since 2019. The test was cancelled for several years because of COVID, and last year there was such pent-up demand that he couldn’t get a spot!
Jan takes the test to get an objective measure of his Japanese progress. Today he takes the hardest level of the test for the second time — maybe he’ll pass this time? The test is some three and a half hours long, with a short break in the middle. Consuming a bunch of sugary energy goop during the break helps replenish calories, and he manages to finish the test without feeling completely exhausted.
Test results come out in February.
Liya has a fun time in her Invertebrates class today. The class is studying a mollusks, and the professor has invited a manager of Yale’s biological specimen collections to bring in a set of interesting mollusks to show. One of these is a large charonia tritonis, or Triton’s Horn shell. The collections manager explains that he’s cleaned it, and he invites anyone to come try blowing the horn.
Liya is game to try; no one else is. She spends a while blowing into it, and all she can produce are loud breathing sounds. Finally another student comes over, explains that she plays the saxophone, and gives it a try. This student gets a nice, clear sound on the second try. She explains to Liya how to do it. Liya tries it again, and is eventually able to make a warbley note.
The collections manager is delighted that someone’s actually tried blowing the horn — every time he brings it, no one wants to even try.
Angela takes Jan to Sushi Suzuki to celebrate his birthday. Last year, Bree and Jan had been surprised that a new restaurant was going into an out-of-the-way storefront off an alley in our neighborhood. They were doubly surprised to hear that the new place was going to be a high-end sushi restaurant.
The restaurant opened earlier this year, but this is the first time we’ve had a chance to check it out. It’s hard to get a table! We have to settle for a table the day after Jan’s birthday. The sushi turns out to be amazing. We also split a nice sake pairing, and even the split pours are far too much, but at least we only have to walk a couple of blocks to get home.
Our friends Dan and Ted invite us to a Christmas dinner at the Seattle Yacht Club. When we get out of the car, Jan notices a group of four people getting out of a nearby car — including two men in tuxedos. Are we underdressed for the party? No, they’re a troupe of Christmas carolers.
Our cat Mojo bullies his brother Moxie, with the result that Moxie is a twitchy, nervous wreck afraid of everything.
Today Bree’s sitting at the dining room table when she sees Mojo start to bother Moxie. To stop the fight before it escalates, she throws her table napkin at Mojo. The napkin hits Mojo in the head — but Moxie is the one who goes running in terror. Mojo just sits there, nonplussed.
Liya has our longtime family friend Katherine over, and Katherine’s sister Kaila stops by too. A third friend, Ariella, rounds out a small reunion. (Top row: Evan, Ariella, Kaila; bottom row: Katherine, Liya, Bree)
We visit the Seattle Art Museum to see two exhibits: a new collection of Alexander Calder sculptures, and a show focusing on Hokusai woodblock prints. Liya’s friend, Rada, had been meaning to see the shows as well so joins us for the visit.
We drive down to the church in Buckley for a Christmas Eve fondue dinner in the manse, followed by the church’s candlelight service.
Merry Christmas! Jan brings Lyn over in the morning to spend the day with us. When Evan eventually surfaces around 11:00 am, we open presents. Evan’s gifts to everyone are crocheted bees he made with little Santa hats.
Jan gives Evan a “Ribs” (рёбра) album: a bootleg record from the Soviet era, when people printed banned recordings on leftover x-ray film. The x-ray of a hand is etched with the song “Wind Cries Mary” by Jimi Hendrix.
Angela’s gift to Jan is his own restored desk lamp that had mysteriously stopped working months ago. A local repair shop was able to make it as good as new. The cats will be particularly delighted by this gift — they like to sit under the lamp’s warm incandescent bulbs. Since Jan’s been making do with an LED desk lamp, they’ve still been sitting under it, but are presumably confused about why it doesn’t warm them up.
Chris’ gift to our family is a pan for making Dutch poffertjes: puffy little silver dollar-sized pancakes. They’re yummy.
We make a Chinese hot pot for dinner.
Mojo wishes everyone a Merry Christmas too.
In the late evening, Angela, Evan, and Liya leave for a two week trip to Taiwan.
Angela, Evan, and Liya visit the Hualien Cultural Center, where they have a chance to make traditional wooden spoons. Evan etches his spoon with 匙, the kanji character for “spoon”. Liya opts for surrealism by etching her spoon with 叉: “fork”.
View from the hotel in Taidong