Merry Christmas 2016
(Even Santa’s health conscious this year.)
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Ho Ho Ho~! Merry Christmas ~!!
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I hope this message finds you well? Where are you? What are you doing today?
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Guess what? I’m currently in Hamburg! And I’m so happy! It was a bit of an effort to get here but it just feels like it’s exactly what I needed. Y’know, since a while ago, I had been regarding this winter trip as a goal/ milestone, because it coincided with my end date for the chemotherapy treatment I’ve been having, & so it’s a relief & a proud moment to say this: “Here I am!”
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In Germany they celebrate Christmas on the 24th, so yesterday, from late afternoon, we were at Mr.D’s sisters for the party. His mum gave me the biggest bear hug – she always does. She’s a sweet lady, she sings a birthday song in German over the telephone on my birthday, every single year.
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For Christmas dinner, Mr.D’s macrobiotic sister S baked ‘saibling’ fish stuffed with vegetables. Wholegrain rice, brussel sprouts & German red cabbage on the side. Very healthy Christmas dinner don’t you think?! :) Well, then again, the dessert was a naughty tiramisu made by his sister N, & there were lots of chocolate covered marzipan to nibble on throughout the evening, so not completely!
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Wherever you are this Christmas, have a wonderful day!
T xxxxx
I am really glad that you had such a lovely Christmas, dear Tamami!
That dinner sounds really healthy indeed :)
Ours was too, a simple chicken soup as I am still recuperating from a cold but I love chicken soups so no complaints.
Have a great week!
Comment by Cynthia - December 26, 2016 6:26 am
Hi Cynthia!!!!
Oh no, got a cold? Colds at this time of year is difficult to get rid of no? Sounds as though you’re listening to your body and treating it kind with nutritious soup! :)
I’ve also been making soup this year, it’s such a fab easy way to consume lots of vegetables isn’t it?! I usually start by sweating mirepoix and then chuck in a big load of veg, stock. Boil for 20 minutes then blitz. The other week I made butternut squash, carrots and ginger soup. It was creamy with a bit of zing! :)
Get well soon~!
Comment by Tamami - December 26, 2016 8:12 am
I have followed your blog for quite a while, but because of some personal reasons which I will not trouble you with at this time, I haven’t been aware of your illness till this morning. I am so sorry to hear of your illness and hope that you come through your chemotherapy and other medications successfully. I will be thinking of you from now on. Best of luck, sincerely Jeannette.
Comment by Jeannette - December 31, 2016 8:18 pm
Dear Jeannette
Thank you for your kind thoughts! I really appreciate that you are leaving such supportive message on here. :) I hope this reply finds you and your loved ones well? I sincerely wish you all the best for the year 2017! Thinking of you also, Tamami xx
Comment by Tamami - January 1, 2017 1:01 pm
Happy New Year Tamani,
Hope to pop down and see you in the next month or so.
Love to D, I and S,
Nikkixxx
Comment by nikki ruck - January 2, 2017 8:59 am
Happy new year to you too Nikki~!!!!!
Yup, I will really look forward to seeing you soon then! There’s so much to catch up about! :) t xxx I hope you & your lovely family had a fab Xmas! xxx
Comment by Tamami - January 2, 2017 8:32 pm
Ack, I meant to wish you a merry Christmas, but got behind on everything during the holidays. I’m so glad that you had a lovely holiday with your family in Germany. And such a thoughtful dinner your sister-in-law made for you!
I hope you continue to feel better. Wishing you all the best in 2017! ã‚ã‘ã¾ã—ã¦ãŠã‚ã§ã¨ã†ã”ã–ã„ã¾ã™ã€ ãŸã¾ã¿ã•ã‚“ï¼
Comment by Yoshiko Yeto - January 4, 2017 2:25 am
Glad you had a joyous Christmas! A happy new year as well. I hope your treatments go well.
Comment by Jonquil - January 4, 2017 10:57 am
Yoshiko san! :)
ã‚ã‘ã¾ã—ã¦ãŠã‚ã§ã¨ã†ã”ã–ã„ã¾ã™ï¼:)
Yes, the trip to Germany was really nice, half of the time there, we were at our friend Mr.A’s house in the forest, & had a very detoxifying time! :)
By the way, your avocado toast with the Japanese twist on your instagram sounds wonderful! I’m eating avocado on toast a lot these days for breakfast, so I’ll give your version a try! Ponzu dressing sounds good too, I pour homemade turmeric vinegar on mine! :) xx
Comment by Tamami - January 4, 2017 12:21 pm
Happy new year to you too Jonquil! :)
I hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas break and have been able to spend some quality time with loved ones!
The treatment is going well, I’m back on it already, yesterday was a Herceptin, & just now, I just finished the CT scan for them to mark my breasts with tattoo (!) so they can accurately beam radiotherapy! My first tat! It’s as rock and roll as this experience gets! Ha!
Comment by Tamami - January 4, 2017 12:22 pm
Sounds like such a peaceful, idyllic Christmas with family and friends – so conducive to healing!
Your turmeric vinegar sounds great, especially with avocado toast!
Wishing you an abundance of happiness, wellness, love, and creative fulfillment in the New Year, Tamami-san.
Comment by Yoshiko Yeto - January 5, 2017 2:13 am
Yoshiko san :)
The turmeric vinegar is indeed really good, it’s super charged with the healing goodness of raw turmeric, and I boost the benefits even more by opting for super healthy apple cider vinegar with mother! :) I use it all the time for dressing the salad, or whenever I need vinegar in the recipe! I’ll post the recipe one day! :). xx Btw, if you know of any avocado recipes that children might like, let me know? They wouldn’t touch the stuff…! :(
Comment by Tamami - January 5, 2017 12:39 pm
Yes, I’d love to see your turmeric vinegar recipe on the website someday! I don’t have an avocado recipe per se, but I think you’d probably be able to sneak it into a smoothie. I often put spinach and/or kale in my smoothies, and I can’t detect it at all. I would think the key is to balance it out with fruit that they love, say bananas, mango, etc. Hopefully this works for your kids!
Comment by Yoshiko Yeto - January 6, 2017 2:24 am
Hello Tamami-san,
Let me start by excusing myself for posting so late. I discovered your posts, illness after very long and went back to read everything from the start.
Can I please say that you have handled everything in the BEST, MOST POSITIVE way possible and you are even more adorable than before. It is a pleasure to read every single post.
Your christmas in Hamburg sounds like my ideal Christmas/get away. It feels so good to have such hearty, healthy and satisfying meals isnt it? You feel great the next day morning instead of reeling from all the fatty unnecessary things eaten the evening before. I wish you the BEST of everything in the world. And please please keep writing.
Love you lots from Toulouse
Comment by Swati - January 6, 2017 9:00 am
ã‚ã‚ŠãŒã¨ã†Yoshiko san.
Sneaking avo in smoothies with fruit! Great idea! They’ll probably like the creamy texture. I’ll give it a go! I just quickly googled and I found some great combinations too! Cheers! And have a brill day! xx
Comment by Tamami - January 6, 2017 11:29 am
Dear Swati!
It’s so lovely to hear from you-!!!! Thanx for checking in! That’s sweet of you to read back on my posts about the cancer. :) You must’ve been surprised to see so many posts in such a short space of time? Lol, very unlike me, no? This blog is so sporadically updated, like, it could have a six month gap between posts, or in 2013 I posted 5 times only…! But now that I have stopped working, I like to write more here – it’s my window to the outside world that is not just about being a mum come cancer patient. Obviously won’t be as frequent as those bloggers that post recipes every 2-3 days (I take way long to write…), but yup, I will definitely keep writing! ;-) I kept this blog up for 10 years plus now, so you never know, it’s probably for life! So I hope to hear from you for many many years to come too! :)
T xx
Comment by Tamami - January 6, 2017 11:33 am
Just saw your comment re. avocados. My friend mixes avocados with bananas and some coco to make a kind of coco-banana cream. Not sure if your kids will buy it (mine would sniff out anything unusual and reject it) but thought I would mention it. Good luck with your ongoing treatment. I hope the new year marks a fresh start and the worst of it is now behind you in old get-outta-town 2016. xxx
Comment by zoe - January 6, 2017 12:37 pm
Hi Zoe!
Lol, lol, “get-outta-town 2016”!!! Love that! Thanx for putting a smile on me! :) :) :) The avo/ banana/choco combo sounds like a winner! But I totally ditto what you say about kids sniffing out anything different…! The chocolate colour should hide the avo colour & I’m gonna try tell porkie pies saying the creaminess is from the banana… Worth a try. xx Cheers Zoe, and I wish you lots of joy & laughter in this new year! xx
Comment by Tamami - January 6, 2017 12:55 pm
Hi Tamami
Thank you for pointing out your blog, it is so beautifully written and really engaging.
You are doing so well. It was so lovely to see you today. I really enjoyed it.
Much Love
Em x
Comment by Emma W - January 9, 2017 7:51 pm
Hi Emma!
I’m so glad you like the blog! :)
And it really was so nice having breakfast with you! Must do it again soon! :) :) :)
T xx
Comment by Tamami - January 10, 2017 8:41 am