August 29, 2026

Saturday - Rainy and cooler, clear at night

Well, today was a nice day! I woke up before my alarm this morning and made a trip downstairs. I decided that F and K wouldn’t be leaving for 20 minutes so I could risk a trip down. I came back upstairs and checked something on my computer and then went back to bed. I snoozed for a while and finally F came upstairs around 10:30, just about the time I was planning to get up!

I went downstairs after 11am and took a shower. I so prefer showering in the daytime. When I came upstairs to get dressed, F asked if I’d like to go to a place in Kushibiki that we went to years ago. I said sure and a few minutes later we went off. However, when we got to the place…it wasn’t open. Sigh. I did suggest that he phone the place from the house but, hubby doesn’t like to do that. Instead, he ended up driving into the mountains and we went to a roadside restaurant. We’ve been there before and the food is actually quite decent. 

It was busy when we arrived and it was hard to find a parking spot. We went in and looked at the menuboard and then ordered. F found us a seat near the window and we waited for our food. It was very nice to be honest. We really liked it. I had Shonai Pork tonkatsu and F had a tempura donburi. The food was pretty good.

We drove back to Tsuruoka and went to Komeda Coffee. We had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated, not bad really. We both had decaf iced coffee and a piece of cake, but F had planned to have regular iced coffee, he just ordered it wrong!

After our lovely coffee break, we did a little shopping. First up was a trip to Yamaya for me to buy some more tea. That branch sells big boxes of rooibos tea, which is what I drink during the day mostly. After that, we drove over to MaxValu and went in. We bought some bentos for dinner for all of us. We all got a chicken bento and I picked up some chicken tenders with ume and then some juice for K. 

We came back to the house and then relaxed for a bit. F came upstairs around the same time that his mother came back, I wasn’t sure why. Of course he was trying to relax when she arrived. I spent time on my computer and enjoyed myself. 

F wanted to heat up the bentos around 5:30, but I told him it was too early. During the week we eat at 7:00pm, but on the weekend he wants his mother to eat really early. If we had to leave early I would understand, but we didn’t. We went downstairs around 6pm and I heated up the bentos. We ate while F watched women’s volleyball on TV. I do not like volleyball. I have flashbacks to how terrible I was at volleyball in gym class. Urgh. I am too short and my fingers kept getting sprained from trying to set the ball. 

I washed the bento boxes and our glasses after dinner, then went upstairs to relax for a bit. I changed my clothes and a few minutes later F came up and said it was time to go. 

We drove over to Mikawa and bought our tickets. We also found out that our cards had expired, so we renewed them. We had a few minutes before our film so we went downstairs and went to Seria, the hundred yen shop. F got himself a saké cup and I got a couple of types of letter sets. They are nice!

Then, we went back up to the cinema and bought our drinks and popcorn for the movie. We went into the cinema and then I noticed that we forgot to get oshibori (wet wipes) for our fingers as the popcorn is very greasy. F went out to the lobby to get some and came back with a huge handful. I laughed at him and asked him how many he brought. He thought 4…I counted and there were at least 15! I just thought it was funny!

We saw The Dog Stars (in Japan it was Lone Survivor) with Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin. It was okay, but I didn’t love it. I do have to say that Jacob Elordi is rather attractive! One of his movies, Wuthering Heights is on WOWOW tomorrow night and I will be recording it! 

After the movie we drove back to Tsuruoka and went to a drugstore! There are a few that stay open until midnight. F wanted a couple of things and I ended up buying some cereal (the drugstore actually sells All-Bran but my grocery store doesn’t!). We paid and then came back to the house.

F did a few things downstairs and then went upstairs, I went up a couple of minutes later. I went on my computer and watched a few videos. I also logged my movie on Letterbox’d and got started on my other end of day things. 

So, that’s about it for today. It was a really nice day and we drove out of town, had some good food and didn’t drive each other crazy, so that was great. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

August 28, 2026

Friday - Cooler and sunny, humid

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I got up, went downstairs and then came back to the room. I spent a few minutes on my computer then I sorted my laundry for later. I did go back to bed and slept more than watched videos today. 

I dragged myself up later on and got up. I dressed and went downstairs with my laundry basket. I started the laundry and then grabbed my breakfast and took it upstairs. 

I ate and then it was time to go downstairs again for my clean laundry. I started the second load and brought the first up to hang to dry. Repeat about 40 minutes later with the second load.

I had a quiet afternoon. I went downstairs a little before 3 to get my lunch. Today I had a bagel instead of bread and it was a nice change of pace. I came up to the room again and watched a show called Ponies on WOWOW. The bad thing about that is that some of the show is in Russian, subtitled in Japanese! I got a few of the words, but it was difficult. I enjoyed the show, but something was a bit odd. The major stars were British, but it was supposedly about Americans in Russia. Hmmm. 

After lunch I watched the news and then F called a little later. He said he was on his way back. I went downstairs to get ready for making dinner. 

Tonight it was pasta with sliced chicken and salad. F brought back some pickles and we had them too. It was fine.  After dinner, I cleared the table and then used the washroom. I came back to F doing the dishes. Now, I know that he was trying to be nice, but we have such different ways of doing the dishes and tonight I really wanted to listen to my podcast so I was a tad annoyed.  I dried some of his dishes and then after he stormed off, I rewashed a bunch of the dishes my way and put them away. 

I just went upstairs when I was finished. I didn’t say goodnight to anyone. I watched some videos on my computer and finished the novel I was reading, Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.  F came upstairs while I was reading. We did talk a little so things were okay! I decided to watch the last episode of Ride or Die and it was good. I enjoyed that series. After that, I watched the last episode of season 3 of Ted Lasso. I can finally start the new season. Yay!

And that’s about it. I turned off the TV and spent some time doing my end of day things. 

I’m not exactly sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. I’ve requested that we go to a movie tomorrow but if we don’t it’ll be okay. Maybe. 

Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

August 27, 2026

Thursday - Cooler, rainy and muggy

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I got up a few minutes later. It was nice…the room was coolish. F had left the door open so the air was coming in and it wasn’t hot. 

I went downstairs, came back to the room and checked my email and also did something on my computer. I went back to bed for mostly snoozing and a little bit of video watching!

I dragged myself out of bed a bit late today and went downstairs for my breakfast. I brought it back up to the room and ate. I watched some videos and then decided I really should finish my column today. 

I reviewed it, changed it a bit and then I gathered some pictures for it as well. It was a bit late so I had to go downstairs and get my lunch. Today I ended up watching an episode of a show called Modern Love. It was about a woman whose doorman would approve or disapprove each of her dates. It was cute. I’ll probably watch more. It’s a group of short episodes.

I watched the news and then a bit after that I sent off my column. As always I’m wondering if it is good enough or if I will get blowback from something I’ve written, but hopefully not!

F called to say he was on his way back to the house. I went downstairs and started washing dishes. F came back a few minutes after I finished that. We had a nice reunion!

He went upstairs and I got on with dinner. Tonight we had premade burgers with French fries, salad, mini-tomatoes, and steamed okra. It was nice I think. All of the food disappeared tonight so there were no leftovers for my lunch tomorrow. That’s a bit sad. 

I called F down a little after 7 and we all ate. Dinner was good, but not great. 

I did the dishes afterwards except I didn’t wash my air fryer. I used a liner and it is still pretty clean inside. 

I went upstairs and changed my clothes to go to the grocery store. F took his sweet time but we still had lots of time. When we arrived at the grocery store I thought he was going to stay in the car, but he came in. He wasn’t as annoying today as he usually is, but he keeps putting crap that I wouldn’t buy in the basket, like chips and ramen. We got our stuff and then checked out. 

We came straight back to the house and F was already trying to unpack the groceries before I got in the room.  He really annoys me when he does that. I want to grab all the veggie stuff to put in the veggie crisper, not something for the freezer and the veggie crisper at the same time. He has made such a mess of unpacking that I’d rather he just leave it for me. Weaponized Incompetence basically. I’m not really as grumpy as I sound, I just get annoyed when he doesn’t do things my way…plus he puts things where I can’t find them so that isn’t helpful!

I came upstairs and watched a bit of YouTube before F came upstairs. I added my earphones when he came. At 11pm I watched The Rookie which was okay, but not a great one. 

And that’s about it for my day. I only used the air conditioner for a couple of hours today as it was so much cooler than usual. It was humid, so that’s why I used it. 

Tomorrow I’m not sure what I’ll get up to. I’ll probably do some laundry and hopefully try to make a hair appointment for next week. Come back later if you like and read all about my day. Until tomorrow….

August 26, 2026

Wednesday - Hot, Sunny, Muggy

I woke up late this morning and got the news that Dolly Parton had died yesterday and as I get ready for bed I found out that Tim Curry died today. What the heck is happening?

As I was saying, I woke up late this morning. I had forgotten to set my alarm last night and overslept today. It was annoying as I was hoping to attend an online meeting at 10 am. Then, when I came back to the room and was in the process of getting dressed, I had an avalanche happen. I have a lot of clothes piled up and many of them decided to fall down. Sigh. I had to pick them up and repile them. 

Then, I went back to bed for a nap. I thought that I might get up for the second half of the meeting but I overslept through that too. Sigh. 

I got up finally, dressed and then went downstairs. I grabbed my breakfast and I also checked the mail. I got a couple of postcards today and brought them all upstairs. I ate breakfast and then a few minutes later I registered my postcards.

I did work on my column a little and re-wrote a few sentences so that it flowed better. I will try and send it in either tomorrow or Friday. 

I had a quiet afternoon, I went downstairs later and got my lunch. I brought it upstairs and then put on something from Apple TV called Calls. Today’s call was about a robbery and an affair and it had Pedro Pascal as one of the callers. I enjoyed it and it was a different way to spend lunchtime.

I watched the news and then went downstairs after I got a call from F. He was already in Tsuruoka!

I went downstairs and started in the kitchen. I washed the dishes and F came in. He had said he’d buy ice cream, but didn’t. So, he went out again and bought us some!

I got busy for dinner. Tonight we had the pork stirfry with konbu and chikuwa, rice, baby leaf salad, pickled cucumbers, mini-tomatoes and some kabocha salad. I prepared most of it, except for the kabocha salad. I got dinner on the table fairly close to 7pm and we ate. It was nice! 

While I was preparing dinner, F got a delivery of his new fish tank. I missed the first delivery so I called and had it redelivered tonight. He set it up while I was preparing although he didn’t put the fish into it before dinner.

After the main part of dinner I cleared the table, boxed up the leftovers for my lunch (I had plated lunch for K before dinner) and then got out the ice cream. We all enjoyed it. 

I did the dishes and it wasn’t too bad, there was just a lot of dishes to do. Only one pan, so that was good. 

I started to do the garbage after dinner and F gave me a hand with some of it. The bag was full and I left it in the genkan for him to take out. I went upstairs when I finished. 

I went downstairs again after 10 to take my shower. I came back to the room a little late and watched Grey’s Anatomy. It was an okay one tonight. At the end it looks like Jo is going into labour. 

I had a quiet late night so far. I’ve been watching YouTube and one of my favourite vloggers announced that she’s having a baby in December. I’m glad for her as she seems happy, but I’m a bit sad as I’ve enjoyed her content over the last couple of years. 

Anyway, I have to get to bed soon. I’m tired and it’s been a heck of a sad day. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

August 25, 2026

Tuesday - Hot, humid and muggy

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I got up a few minutes later and went downstairs. When I came back to the room I sorted my laundry and then went back to bed for a snooze and some videos. I got up a while later, dressed and went downstairs. 

I started my laundry, checked the mail, got two postcards and only one was from Postcrossing! I started marinating the meat for dinner and then I went back upstairs with my yogurt serving.

I did two loads of laundry today and hung them up in the room. I watched a few videos on FB and then decided that I would work on my column. I think I finished it. I listened to my computer reading it and I got a surprise. For some reason, the computer used my voice! I had recorded some sentences when I first got my computer and today the computer spoke to me in my voice. It was a bit freaky, and a bit emotionless, but cool.

I haven’t sent in my column but I think I’m okay with that. I have until next week, but I’ll probably send it in the next couple of days.

F texted me later in the day to say that he is having problems with his phone. I suggested looking at it when he came back to the house, but we never got around to it!

I went downstairs to get my lunch and brought it upstairs as usually. I ended up being late to start a show so I finished up the weird English/Scandinavian detective show I was watching. Glad it’s over!

F called around 5:30 and said he was on his way back. I got changed, grabbed my dishes and went downstairs to start in the kitchen. Today I had suggested to K that she use the AC twice, but she refused. I was going to use the AC for me while cooking in the kitchen. 

F came back a few minutes after I started. He told me that his Fish Tank is going to arrive tomorrow. Okay? I guess that I’m supposed to bring it into the house if I hear the delivery man…but I rarely hear them while I’m upstairs. 

Today I did quite a lot of cooking from scratch! Well, sort of cooking! We had coro-coro steak, tuna and corn salad, pickled cucumbers, mini-tomatoes and a cholegi style salad. And rice of course. Dinner was nice!

After dinner I did the dishes and put everything away. When I finished I told F I was going to get ready and went upstairs to change. A few minutes I was ready to leave, but F wasn’t!

Finally, we went to the grocery store and F let me go in by myself. I’m so glad! I got quite a few things that we needed and nothing that we didn’t!

We made a quick trip to the drugstore. We needed something to kill the flies in our garbage can, so we got that there. F also got himself some adult beverages too. 

Back at the house, I put the food away and then headed upstairs. At 11pm I watched Law & Order and it was actually a good one for a change! It had a real conundrum at the core. 

And that’s about it for now. I’ve been doing my end of day things and I’m about ready to shut down my computer and get to bed. 

Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

August 24, 2026

Monday - Hot and Sunny, muggy

I woke up before my alarm this morning. The bedroom door was open, which is what F does when he thinks the hallway is cooler than the room itself. He might be right when he leaves…but later it isn’t.

I slept on until my alarm went and then I got up and went downstairs. I came back to the room and basically went back to bed for my usual snoozing and videos. I dragged myself out of bed a little earlier than usual and got dressed. I went downstairs to get my breakfast and check the mail. 

I came back to the room and had my breakfast. I watched a bit too much YouTube today, but finally did take a break and I worked on my column. I did some editing and then I wrote about the movie that I watched on Friday evening. I’m nearly done! My subject has been very prolific so there is a lot of movies to write about!

I went downstairs near 3pm to get my lunch. I brought it up to the room and today decided to watch an episode of Lie To Me. I was very surprised that one of the actors in the episode was Chadwick Boseman. He was really good in it but the episode was a little icky. 

F texted me around 5pm to say that he wanted to go to the big hardware store to buy a new fish tank. He’d had to move his tank so the workers could install the new Air Conditioner. Unfortunately, when he tried to move the tank back and refill it, he noticed that the bottom was completely smashed. We don’t know what happened. I told him it was fine, but I was worried he would have to pay too much.

I went downstairs around 6pm and started in the kitchen by recycling some bottles. I washed dishes and a few minutes later F came back. He didn’t buy anything, he’s thinking to order it online. I’m a bit worried about it getting smashed on the way here but that’s up to him. Honestly, I don’t like tropical fish and F got fish the last time I went to Canada so they were a done deal when I came back. I don’t do anything with them at all. 

I was busy in the kitchen tonight. We had teriyaki chicken and some cucumber pickle, mini-tomatoes, steamed spicy cabbage and a salad. It was nice. We also had rice of course.

After dinner I did the dishes and listened to my movie podcast. It was good as usual. When I finished, I went upstairs and relaxed on my computer for a while. After 10 I went downstairs and took a shower, then came back upstairs to the room. I watched an episode of Ride or Die and it was good, if a bit sad. I have one episode left. 

Since midnight I’ve been working on my end of day stuff and getting ready to go to bed. It was an okay day. Tomorrow I have an exciting day of laundry, cooking dinner, buying groceries and maybe, just maybe finishing my column! 

Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

August 23, 2026

 Sunday - Hot and Sunny, muggy

I woke up a bit late this morning and went downstairs. F was in the kitchen getting things ready for K’s brunch. I went back upstairs and went to bed for a bit longer. 

Around 11:15 or so, F came upstairs and asked if I wanted to go for lunch. Since we had to be back around 1pm we needed something fast so I suggested a gyudon place. F was okay with that but wanted to go to Yoshinoya which is across the city! Eye roll. I got up and dressed quickly, then we were on our way. 

While we were driving, F got a call from the installers. They said that they could come now but F told them that 1:00 would be better for us. I was surprised he said that! 

At Yoshinoya we found a table and ordered. F had a simple gyudon, I had kara-age on rice with a salad and miso soup. It was fine, I didn’t mind it. Then we headed back to the house with a quick stop at a drugstore to get some drinks for the installers.

Back at the house I gave F a hand with doing some of the last minute cleaning in the kitchen and living room. I was wearing black pants and ended up knocking down some cobwebs. That wasn’t brilliant! We had to move stuff out of the way as they were going to install a new plug for the air conditioner and do something with the fuse box in the kitchen, so the way had to be clear. 

When they arrived I told F that I was going to go upstairs. It was so hot downstairs and I couldn’t help with anything anyway, so I would rather stay cool and out of the way!

They were done before 3 I think and I went downstairs and put a few things away. F and I sat in the living room for a few minutes and enjoyed the cool air. 

I went back upstairs, F came a bit later and went to bed. He had a nap. I spent time on my computer and then decided that I too would take a nap. F got up around 6 I think to make something for his mother’s dinner, I got up a few minutes later I think. 

When F came back I asked about our dinner and I said a little sheepishly that I didn’t want to have any rice. I would be okay with going to either a family restaurant or a place that had udon. Since I wanted to go to a certain store afterwards, we decided to go to Nagomi. 

We were able to get a table and I had the meat soup with cold udon, F had the tempura-don and udon set. We both were happy with our meals. It was a bit sad for him as he’d left his phone at the house. 

After dinner we drove to PAL. I went to Daiso to look for something I’d seen last week. I wanted to get an oil sprayer. They had a thing that held oil and you could either pour it out, or spray it. It was perfect for my air fryer. Unfortunately I didn’t buy it the first time I saw it and this week it was gone. I guess it didn’t sell as their goods in that section were all moved and changed. F even asked a store clerk but they didn’t have them now. Boo!

I bought a few things and then went out to the car. F drove us over to the grocery store and I went in. I bought a lot of stuff that we needed for meals for the next two days. Hopefully things I bought will be good enough. 

We had to gas up the car after the shopping. F had let it get down to 13km left to drive. He’s supremely silly in my opinion, but I didn’t nag him this time.

We came back to the house and I put away the groceries and then came upstairs again. I decided to watch a movie that I had recorded recently and watched A Big Bold Beautiful Journey with Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie. I liked it, but I’m not sure everyone would. It was a little slow but a beautiful looking film. 

I turned off the TV when the movie was over and F went to bed around that time. He’s really tired tonight and does seem to be sleeping now. 

Tomorrow I hope to work on my column and maybe get it close to finishing. It is due September 1st and I’d like it to be done by the coming weekend. 

Come back later if you like and hear about my day. Will I manage not to knock the power out when I cook dinner tomorrow night? Fingers crossed!

Until tomorrow….