１月６日（月曜日）２０２５
　新年が明けての数日間はお天気がよかったこともあってか大勢のお客様のご来店がありました。お手伝いのかたの数を増やしたのと私自身が奥の台所に引っ込む手間をなるべく省けるように段取りを改善したつもりでしたが、家族や友達どうしが一気にお見えになると、結構すごいことになります。それでも、機転が効いてよく動いてくださる頼もしい助っ人の皆さんのお陰で我がカフェは大きな問題を起こすことなくお正月を乗り切ることができました。私はもっぱら作るほうに徹し、注文を間違えないよう集中し、パニックにならないようまずは落ち着くことを心がけていました。


　さて、今日は今年初めての定休日。気分は一安心ですが、明日のランチやお弁当用の買い出しがあります。しかし外は雨。それでも雪でないのが幸いと、お昼前に意を決して完全防備で出かけました。滋賀のデパートが出している年賀はがきの抽選クジで当たった３０％、２０％割引の買い物をするのも楽しみで途中のショッピングモールへ立ち寄りました。私が欲しかったのは日常の靴とカフェで履くサンダル。それに、少し上質のカーディガンかセーター。靴とサンダルは取り敢えず買いましたが、気に入ったウールのセーター類がありません。明るい綺麗な色を探すのですが、どこを見てもベージュやオフホワイト、またはブラウン系の色合いばかり。去年はまだあったように思うのですが、今年は割引券があっても買いたいものがないのです。似合う似合わないは別として、気分によって赤系、青系、黄色系のものが着たいのですが、選択肢がなく結局洋服の買い物は諦めました。


Since the first few days of 2025 were sunny, we had many customers in the cafe. I asked two ladies to help and that helped me better prepare what was ordered compared to last year. However, when we had a family group of 13 members, or a party of five or six at once, it was a chaotic situation. Nevertheless, the two amazing ladies handled it very well and we could overcome it without any problem.
I, myself, tried to concentrate on making what the customer ordered and to not panic at any point.

Well, it was the first day off in the new year. I was relieved for the day but actually I needed to go to the store to get meat and vegetables for a lunch reservation and take out dinner for the following days. It was raining but much better than the snow day. Just before noon, I decided to go out by bicycle with rain pants, jacket and cap. On the way to the supermarket, I stopped by a shopping center. I had some winning numbers on the New Year's lottery card which could get me two 30% off tickets, and two 20% off tickets, so I wanted to do some shopping.
I wanted to buy shoes, mules and a nice sweater or cardigan. I got the first two items but couldn't find my favorite colored outfit. I looked around the area but eventually I gave up on buying a sweater which made me a little disappointed.

１２月３１日（火曜日）２０２４
　大晦日の日、カフェには遠方から多賀大社参拝の方が多くお立ち寄りくださいました。新年は参拝するのに列を作って順番を待つのに比べれば年末はゆっくりお参りできるので、毎年この時期と決めていらっしゃる方も多いようです。私自身もお正月は余裕がないのですが、年末はお客様とちょっとしたお話ができるのも何よりと思っています。


　さて、去年は夜中１２時近くに多賀大社に行って大勢の若者たちのカウントダウンのような参拝におどろいたのですが、今年は８時すぎに一年のお礼参りに神社へ向かいました。何と私が行った時は境内は私一人。拝殿に近づくにつれて後ろから何人かが歩いてこられました。この一年、無事に過ごせたことを感謝し、家族を含め周りの皆の平安を祈りました。途中、長く離れましたが、こうした立派な神社のそばに再び帰って日々過ごしていられるのは幸運なことだと思いました。


On the last day of the year, many people who visited Taga Taisha stopped by the cafe and most of them were from outside of Shiga. They chose this day to visit the shrine rather than on the new year because they avoid the crowds who come for the first visit to the shrine. Since I have no time to talk to the customers on the first couple days of the new year because it is too busy for me, I am glad to have time to talk to them before the end of the year.

Well, I visited the shrine at around 8 p.m. to give my year-end thanks. Last year, I visited at just before the midnight and I was very surprised because it was very crowded with younger people and they did the way of praying like a countdown at Times Square in NY. In other words, they waited in front of the worship hall and when they hard the drum which let people know the new year, they started throwing the money to the shrine and prayed. I had never seen such a way of praying at a shrine and it was not the Japanese way. So I went to the shrine much earlier, at around 8 p.m. this time. When I got to the shrine, nobody except me was there. I thanked God that I was able to spend the year safely and prayed for peace and health for my family and people around me. Although I was away from my native town for many years, I came back and have been living in a place near such a grand shrine. I feel lucky about this.