First, some good news about our economy that defies the belief of the voting public, for   62% disapprove of President Joe Biden's job dealing with the economy .  Well: Wall Street  capped its eighth straight winning week with a quiet finish Friday, following reports showing inflation on the way down and the economy potentially on the way up. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to sit less than 1% below its record set nearly two years ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 18 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite edged 0.2% higher. On Friday, December 13, the Dow closed above 37,000 for the first time, an all-time record .  On Tuesday, the Dow closed at 37,542, now the all-time high.  The next day the  Dow reached 37,633 , closing Friday at 37,393.   On January 5, 2022, it almost reached 36,953, which was the all-time high until this month . The next three days will be devoted to Christmas, non-traditional, but hopefully memorable.  Most of us have grown up with Christma

  A frenchie wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving, which is not celebrated in Japan with a turkey meal.  However, more and more families do get together to express some thanks.  With Japanese food.  However,  Kentucky Fried Chicken has become a Christmas tradition here . In 1970 Takeshi Okawara opened the first KFC outlet in Nagoya. In his fourth year, he launched a Kentucky for Christmas (KFC) campaign. My Old Kentucky Home  complemented party barrels of chicken in gatherings, This practice has so much taken over that unless you advance order KFC days ahead of time, you will be left in the lurch. Looks like I'll now need to fit-in a KFC meal before I leave Japan. Our Japan train trip has shifted from lazy and disappointing to wow.  Part of the reason has to do with the two Sheraton hotels in Hiroshima and Kagoshima, which are excellent.  We also are eating a lot better because of these hotel breakfast and executive club.  Plus we actually had an outing, a fabulous one to the Hiroshima