A Moment of Peace on a Friday Night
The long New Year's holiday is over, and the first week of work has come to an end.
In the past, I used to feel incredibly depressed after a long break, but in recent years that hasn't been the case, and I've been able to get back into work mode quite smoothly.
I've been able to get back into work mode quite smoothly.
That said, to reward myself for successfully getting through the first week of work, I bought some sweets and spent a rewarding time enjoying them with a cup of coffee.
I bought a sweet called 'Yukichigo' that was displayed at my local drugstore.
It's a treat made of strawberries and whipped cream wrapped in gyuhi (a type of mochi), and the moment it enters your mouth, the gyuhi melts, the sweetness of the whipped cream spreads throughout, and finally, the acidity of the strawberry leaves your mouth feeling refreshed—it was the ultimate sweet.
I brewed my coffee a little stronger than usual, and it was a wonderful moment.
I truly respect the person who came up with this sweet.
I was looking at the packaging and noticed the unfamiliar kanji '求肥' (gyuhi). When I looked it up, it seems that the thin outer layer, gyuhi, is sometimes written as '求肥'. I had always thought it was '牛皮' (cow skin), so I felt embarrassed thinking I had been wrong all this time!! But it turns out that the '求肥' spelling isn't wrong either.
It seems that in the past, it had a dark color due to the ingredients, so '牛皮' was the original spelling. However, when it was introduced from abroad, because eating beef was prohibited in Japan at the time, they adopted the spelling '求肥' instead.
I learned something new today, haha.
Changing the subject entirely, I noticed a picture that looked like a playing card design displayed at a shop I happened to stop by today.
It had 'LA ROUE DE FORTUNE' written on it, and since it looked like a playing card design, I was a bit curious and looked it up; it was a tarot card design.
It's the Wheel of Fortune, and it seems to be a card that represents opportunity and change.
Early in the new year, I encountered an auspicious card, discovered a delicious sweet, and successfully made it through the first week of work—it was a very good day.
I felt once again that I want to savor this year at this pace.
2026 is going to be the best year ever!!!!
