September 22, 2018

Saturday - Cloudy and rainy

An okay day.

I went to bed much too late last night. That was part of the problem. I knew that.  I was terribly tired when F woke me up this morning to say that he was going out with his mother.  

I got up at 9 am and took care of a personal chore, then answered the door when his aunt stopped by with some sweet potatoes for us.  She just stopped by for a moment.  

F and his mother came back around 11 and then I took a short nap.  We got up and F and I left for Sakata.

A couple of weeks ago, F contacted the woman that made our new mugs and my lovely cereal bowl.  We thought we could just mail order replacements, but she asked us to come and see her at a craft fair in Sakata this weekend. We went to see it and had a great time.  We wandered around looking at crafts. There were many things that I would love to buy, but I don’t live the lifestyle that would use them.  There was some gorgeous yarn too, but the cones were 5000 yen and I didn’t have any plan in mind for it, so I just didn’t want to take the chance.  I bought a pair of earrings for a Christmas present and then we went to the woman’s stall. F got himself a new mug and I got a new bowl.  She gave us a freebie of a little milk jug, which was nice.  My old bowl is still usable, but it is cracked so I don’t want to use it in the microwave.

We found a booth selling Malaysian food and we bought some.  We got nasi goreng, a noodle dish, and some chicken skewers.  We got seats inside and had a good meal.  We both liked the nasi goreng better than the noodles. 

We came back towards Sakata but made a few stops for drinks and then some kabocha tarts.  F tried to buy nashi but they had run out for the day. 

F pulled in to a side road to take a picture of the rice fields, so I did too.

We stopped in at a cafe a friend had recommended and had a lovely cup chiffon cake and a drink each. They sold some herb teas too, so I got some lemongrass tea to take back to the house.  

We drove back to Tsuruoka and picked up a bento for F’s mother.  F asked me where I wanted to eat and I said that I didn’t. I was stuffed from lunch and the cake. He said he was still full too.

We ended up taking a long, long nap tonight. I got up around 9 pm and used my computer for a while, F dozed on until 10:30 when I woke him up. He started to undress to go to bed, I suggested that he get redressed so we could go for dinner!

We went to Cocos and had a pretty good meal. I had a new dish, Spicy Carib Chicken which came with spicy rice and chicken and a few vegetables. We added on drink bar too. Yum.  F had a Japanese style dinner of fried oysters and he said he liked it too. 

We came back to the house and I’ve been watching a bit of telly and vegging ever since. I’m going to try and go to bed a little earlier tonight than last night, but I’m not sure if I’ll manage.  

Come back later if you dare and find out what our Sunday is like. Until tomorrow….

September 21, 2018

Friday - Cloudy then rainy at night.

An okay day.

Today was pretty much like every other day I’ve had this week.  I watched a few things off the DVR, but notably, I watched Saving Mr Banks with Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks.  Emma was fabulous as usual, really liked Paul Giamatti in this one too.  

Lunch was a little different today. I had a curry pack that I got at the grocery store instead of my usual sandwiches.  I had a little bread pudding for dessert and also set some out for K if she wanted it.  

I did 3 Postcrossing cards today and enjoyed getting them ready. I’ve had a few cards go through recently but haven’t received any in ages.  I’ll probably get swamped with them next week or something!

This evening K made her own dinner and we went out. I was hoping for a simple one, but we went to Foodever.  The fish place was closed tonight so I was forced to have gapao rice.  Oh, poor me.  I really like it a lot so I was quite happy really. 

After dinner, F and I went straight to the Internet Cafe and got massaging chairs. Yay us.  I watched Castle but fell asleep on it…ack.  I was going to do some YouTubing afterwards but discovered that Predators was on a terrestrial station, so watched that again instead.  I love that film!  So cool.  

We came back to the house and I took a quick shower, then F did too.  We barely spoke tonight. I was a tad annoyed with him at the Internet Cafe.  I told him we had about 13 minutes left then when I went back to his cubicle 11 minutes later, he was still watching TV and relaxing.  I really shouldn’t care that much. He pays for it, so if he wants to pay extra I should let him I suppose.  I couldn’t even get his attention at first.  I knocked on the door, I opened the door and said his name a few times, and finally had to shake his arm before he acknowledged me. Not a big deal really, but maybe he relaxed too much?

Well, I’m off to bed. I’m very sleepy and I haven’t too many ideas about what we’ll get up to tomorrow.  Come back later and find out. Until tomorrow….

September 20, 2018

Thursday - Warmish and cloudy

A good day.

I woke up early this morning.  F followed me downstairs and took out the garbage. That surprised me a lot. He was actually a few minutes too early, but he said the gomi station was full anyway.

After a bit more sleep I got up again. F was gone, off to work.  

I had a quiet morning. I did a couple of loads of laundry and had my breakfast. Normal stuff. In the afternoon, I made a bread pudding in my slow cooker. I used a new to me recipe and liked it. It was quite easy. 

I saw K a bit more today as I was downstairs quite often.  She didn’t seem to be feeling that well.  I asked if she’d like some tea at 4 pm and she waved me off.  

F was late tonight.  He got back well after 6 pm.  We discussed what to do. I wanted to get stuff from the store for my lunch tomorrow and see if there was anything good for tonight. I even offered to make pasta but wasn’t encouraged.  K didn’t want to eat she said, so it was just F and I.  We went to the store and F found something for himself quickly. I had a lot less luck.  Everything had fish in it and I didn’t want that.  I found one bento without fish and what should I see in F’s hand?  Raw fish that he would make into sashimi. Bleck.  

We came back to the house and I took the bread pudding out of the slow cooker. I gave us each some and split an ice cream three ways. F plated the sashimi and we went into the living room to eat.  My bento was okay, although I wouldn’t have it again.  The bread pudding was a hit.  I had cut down the amount of sugar in it, so it wasn’t too sweet.  Yay me. 

I ate and managed to choke down the sashimi after I ate my bento.  I wasn’t too pleased about it. I’d just talked to F about this kind of thing a few days ago. It’s pretty sad when you have to eat something or put up with pouty, whiny man for days on end. 

I ended up washing the dishes again because someone lost himself in the washroom.  I had them nearly done, including my slow cooker when F showed up to save the day and finish washing the dishes.  Nope.  I suggested that he dry the dishes instead.  I’m sure that is what he wanted me to do, dry all the dishes I had just washed.  

I went upstairs and after a bit, he did too.  After some time I asked about going out again.  We went to McDonald’s by way of the grocery store. For a change, we didn’t buy anything.  We got rid of our styrofoam trays as they were taking over in the house. We stayed at McDonald’s for a while and then came back to the house.

We had a quiet evening really.  F took a shower and I watched a couple of TV programs.  The usual.

I’m not sure what I’ll get up to tomorrow.  You might want to come back later and find out, if you dare!  Until tomorrow….

September 19, 2018

Wednesday - Sunny and warm

A good day. 

It was nice to have a quiet day again, it feels like it has been a while since I did.  I got up before 8, watched the news and made the bed, the usual.  F popped in for a couple of minutes bearing drinks but left soon after.  

I had a quiet day and basically didn’t see K at all today. Our paths never crossed and I didn’t seek her out.  

F was a bit late tonight, but nothing terrible.  We decided to go to the onsen tonight since they are closed tomorrow.  We got K a bento at the grocery store and I picked up a few things from the store for me too.  I had worn my “house” glasses to the store, so when we arrived at the house, I helped unpack the groceries, then ran upstairs to put my glasses in my room.  

When F and I arrived at our restaurant, Coco Ichibanya, I couldn’t find my usual glasses.  They are always in my purse but weren’t today. Ack.  I managed to avoid reading the menu and picked something to eat.  We ate, and F was sweet enough to say he’d take me back to the house before going to the onsen to find my glasses.  

We made a quick run to the house and I looked for my outside-the-house glasses. I couldn’t find them at all.  I took my house glasses with me so I could at least read.  

We went to the onsen and I read a bit of the Journal. I didn’t really connect to the topic, sad to say.  Oh well.  

F came out just before the onsen closed, we grabbed quick drinks and then left.  On the way back to the house we got a few things at a convenience store.

At the house I got busy.  I took my stuff downstairs so that I could take a shower. I also did up the garbage for tomorrow’s pick up.  When I finished that, I took my sponge and some cleaner into the toilet room and cleaned the little sink where F and K wash their hands.  It had looked awful before I got there.  I took a shower and also did a few touch-ups in the shower.  Hurray for me.  And, I found my glasses!  Last night I had heard a little "clunk" as the case fell to the floor. I had no idea where they were until I remembered the sound late last night.  Yayl

I came back upstairs and watched The Blacklist which was great of course.  I even chatted a little with my sister. 

And that’s about it.  Tomorrow I hope to do a little cooking and I’ll see what else I have time for. Come back and find out what I get up to. Until tomorrow….

September 18, 2018

Tuesday - Sunny and warm

A good day.

F was up quite early this morning, he went to the doctor as his neck was bothering him again. I got up a bit late for my usual day, but really not terribly late. I made the bed, had breakfast and tea and watched some of my telly.

F came back a bit after 12 I think.  We went to the store to get his mother a bento for lunch and then we went out.  

We went to karaoke in the big place downtown. They have a special there where you can have lunch and free time karaoke and drink bar, so we took advantage of that. I had a pasta dish that was pretty decent, F had a Japanese rice dish that he said was okay, but probably didn’t meet his standards.  We sang a lot, drank a lot of soft drinks and generally had a good time. I did a couple of Aretha Franklin songs, a bit of Prince, some Elle King and some of my usual stuff.  F sang his usual Carpenters/Beatles songs and a few Japanese ones too.  

We stayed quite a bit later than I thought we would but it was quite nice.  Around 6 we checked out and went over to the grocery store for a bento for K’s dinner.  We’d had a last minute snack at the karaoke box, so weren’t hungry.  

We came back to the house and F gave his mother the bento.  I made some guacamole with two of the ripe avocados and put it in the fridge to meld.  I came upstairs and later so did F.  

We were okay for a while and then we had the guacamole, tortilla chips and salsa as well.  The guac was really good today. For the first time in ages, both avocados were really good and really ripe. Hurray. There weren’t any leftovers.

I watched a bit of telly and then came over to my computer. F snoozed a bit before finally going to sleep.  

It’s a little sad in a way.  F is back to work tomorrow. I think he’s had a good weekend, but as I told him, next weekend is a long weekend too.  I’m also sad as I left for Canada last year on this day. I don’t have any plans to go back as of yet this year. Sigh. I really would like to go to Canada. Maybe if I win the lottery?!

Not sure what I’ll get up to tomorrow. Come back and see. Until tomorrow….

September 17, 2018

Monday - Cloudy and then rainy

A good day.

F and I slept in quite late this morning. We went to bed really late last night so it made sense.  F finally got up and made breakfast for his mother, I had my cereal and made the bed up here.

F and I had a concert to go to, so we got dressed and went out to get a bento for K’s dinner tonight.  We found her a nice one and F added on a few other things with it.  We delivered it and then drove off.

We hadn’t had lunch yet and F said there was time so I suggested Mos Burgers. However, when we got there, the drive-through was crowded and the rain was full on.  We continued the drive to Sakata and went to McDonald's in the mall.  We each had a burger. F’s was a set, and I just had a burger and iced tea. I shared F’s French Fries though.  

We got to the concert hall in Sakata just after it opened. It was a beautiful building. I was impressed that the seats weren’t too small for me and that the ladies washroom had 20 or 30 stalls for women.  It’s always my beef when I have to use the washroom and there are only 3 available for 100 women to use.  Smart thinking whoever designed it.

The concert was quite good.  I did fall asleep a little during the first piece, but I had been falling asleep in the car just before it.  At intermission, after I used the washroom, F waved me over. He’d bought me some coffee which I wanted but didn’t want, if you know what I mean.  It was good though.

We went back in and enjoyed the rest of the concert. There was a Tsuruoka Baritone who did a couple of songs and was good, and some great music from Ghibli films.

When we left the concert hall, F suggested dinner. He found a place on his phone and we went there. It was a kind of izakaya, but the food was good and it wasn’t too busy.  We had 4 dishes, some eggplant, tofu, chicken wings and some garlic fried rice.  It was nice.

We drove back to Tsuruoka and I asked F if we could go to Yamaya so I could get some tea for myself. He said it was fine, so off we went.  I did get a couple of kinds of tea, and also some pasta sauce.  F got some cup ramen things. 

We came back to the house and watched a movie off the DVR.  I let F pick this time since I picked the last time.  He picked Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and it was fun.  We’d been watching this for 20 minutes when I realized that F had started it in the slow mode.  I wasn’t sure and then I thought it was really funny after I figured it out. 

F fell asleep soon after the movie finished and I watched Project Runway.  It was quite good and I really liked the fashion show. For a change, I agreed with the winning designer!

And that’s about it for the day.  F is off work tomorrow too, and I hope we get up to something fun. Come back later and find out. Until tomorrow….

September 16, 2018

Sunday - Cloudy and then rainy

A nice day!

We had a good day today. We visited the new posh hotel in Tsuruoka for our lunch - my old favourite Cafe Irodori has moved into Suiden Terrasse. We walked around the lobby a bit today. It’s very nice, but still a bit too new.  

We had a look around Hard Off and I bought the DVD of Sense and Sensibility.  F did the thing where he offered to buy it for me and then spent so much time trying to see if he had an app or a stamp card for the shop that I just paid for it myself. He gave me back the money a couple of minutes later.

We had coffee in Aurora and then picked up a freshly made bento for K’s dinner.  We took it back to the house and I changed my shirt to something nice. I saw that F was planning to wear a sweatshirt and asked if he could wear a shirt instead.  He obligingly changed for me. 

We went to Bistrot des Ponts where we had a lovely meal. We both chose roast duck as our main dish, but had a couple of kinds of fish, some soup and afterwards dessert too. It was a lovely meal.  

Marinated fish and salad

Kabocha soup and crusty bun. F had rice instead. Mine was better!

Salmon and mushrooms sauteed

Roasted duck with mashed potato and vegetables.

Tarte Tatin, yoghurt ice cream and coffee

Afterwards, I wasn’t sure what F wanted to do so I asked him. He suggested seeing a movie but the only things playing were things we’d already seen. He wanted to go to something again, so we went to the mall.  We had the choice of Ocean’s 8 or Mission Impossible.  F chose Ocean’s 8 and I was completely fine with that.  

As we were a bit early we walked around the mall. We tried out some space-age massaging chairs in the mall. They were 200 yen for 10 minutes and were supposed to make you feel like you were weightless.  They did recline so much that our heads were down and our legs were up. It was actually quite nice.  

We looked around the mall a little. I have to get birthday and Christmas presents sorted out soon. I saw a few things that might do, so that was good.

We went in to see the movie and had a good time. The theatre had more people in it than I thought it would for a Sunday night.  

After the movie, we came back to the house.  I took a shower and much later F did too.  We’re both still up, although it is very late…after 3:30 am. Yikes.  

Tomorrow we have a trip to Sakata to see a concert and I’m not sure what else. There is a faint chance that I’ll miss posting tomorrow night, but you never know.  

Come back later and see what I get up to. Until tomorrow….