March 20, 2019

Wednesday - Warm and Sunny

I had a short morning at the house today. I got up and watched the news and then ER. I went down for breakfast which was two pieces of toast today. We didn’t go out last night to get yogurt for me so I couldn’t have cereal. 

I watched The Mentalist at 10:30 and while it was on I started to get ready for my outing. I got properly dressed and around 11:45 I left the house. I didn’t see K at all this morning.

I caught the bus to the station and then looked through Foodever. My favourite place was closed today, so I skipped eating there. I walked up to the post office and did a little business there. After that, I went to the mall and put my backpack and winter coat in a locker. It was so warm today, I really didn’t need a warm coat.

I had a yummy lunch at Pizza Hut Express. After that, I did a little walkthrough of the mall. I bought some water at 2:45 and then headed over to my hairstylist. 

We got started fairly quickly and she did her usual terrific job. I chose a style that is really short this time, so I keep searching the back of my neck for my hair! I like it so am pleased.

When my hair was looking the way my stylist wanted I was done. I walked back to the mall and did a little window shopping. I hacked through the hundred yen shop and bought a few things. I checked out the DVD shop but didn’t buy anything although I am sorely tempted by The Grand Budapest Hotel’s DVD.  I love that film. 

I had a nice ice cream at Baskin Robbins before having an iced tea at Doutor. F called me while I was reading and I invited him to join me. He did.

We got K some food and then went to Foodever for ourselves. We both went to the Donburi place and I had chicken and mushroom tempura on rice. F  had kaki-age on rice. After dinner, we talked to the cooks at both open restaurants to see about vegetarian food. A friend is coming in a few weeks and is a vegetarian. We’re wondering where she can eat. One place was okay with doing substitutions, the other is going to play around with them to see if it’ll work.

We picked up some kerosene and then went back to the house to give K her food. F and I went upstairs and wondered about the rest of the evening. I had a little think and said that if we left immediately we could go to the cinema and see I Feel Pretty again since we both wanted to see it.  F agreed and soon we sped off.  There were 3 people in the cinema tonight, but F and I enjoyed ourselves a lot. I liked it just about as much. There were a few scenes where I laughed out loud and a few where I winced a lot.  It was fun.

On the way back to the house, F suggested going to a Korean Restaurant/Izakaya. I was fine with it but did say that I thought it was a bit late. It was. They were closing soon. We looked at another couple of places and even though tomorrow is a holiday, they were all closing before 11 pm.  Insanely early. 

We picked up some munchies at the convenience store and came back to the house. We ate our food and then F fell asleep on the bed. I watched a little telly and then started doing things on computers that needed doing.

I’m virtually asleep at my computer now, so I’m going to end this now.  Come back later if you want and see if I blogged about my day. Until tomorrow….

March 19, 2019

Tuesday - Sunny and warmish

My alarm woke me up this morning and it was a good thing it did as F was still sleeping. I’d turned on his alarm before bed, but I think he’d hit snooze one too many times. He did get to work on time happily.

I had my usual sort of morning today. I watched my shows, had breakfast and did some laundry. I watched a bit of the stuff off the DVR and then went downstairs to make my lunch.  I got out the soup and decided that I’d ask K if she’d like some. I got it heated up and then asked if I could give her some. She said yes, so I took it and a slice of buttered toast into her living room for her. She, in turn, invited me to eat my soup with her. I was a tad glad about that as I wasn’t sure how I’d get it upstairs without spilling. We had a nice lunch together. I usually eat more, so afterwards I took my salad upstairs and had that. I did all the dishes of course too. 

In the afternoon I decided to write a couple of postcards for Postcrossing. I haven’t been making myself send any for ages. I just did two, but some are better than none!

F came back around 5:45 and was tired. He’d stayed up much too late last night. I told him I wasn’t cooking and he suggested going to Kintaro Sushi with his mother. It was a good idea, so off we went. We had a nice meal there and then came back to the house.

F had promised that we’d go out later but when he got into bed fully clothed I had my doubts. Sure enough, at 9 pm when I went to see how he was doing, he didn’t want to go out. I said it was okay and then he said he’d go. I told him it wasn’t necessary so I took my shower. He got up for a bit but has gone back to bed.

I watched a bit of TV and picked a couple of hairstyles that I like from Pinterest. I’m off downtown tomorrow to get my hair cut. I even managed to explain to K about it earlier! 

That’s really about it for me for now.  Come back later and see how things go when I go shopping and beautifying myself! Until tomorrow….

March 18, 2019

Monday - Sunny and warmish

I got up this morning under a bit of protest! I really didn’t want to get up at all. I finally did, then did my usual things of watching the news and ER. I even had some decaf coffee before breakfast for a change. 

I got three Postcrossing cards in the mail today, all from Germany. One woman sent me a card with a picture of her grandson on it eating spaghetti. Apparently, she’d read on my profile that I wanted cards with food on them, but not the bit where I asked for no children. Sigh.

After my morning drama finished, I went downstairs and worked on my soup. I got a lot done and soon it was bubbling away in my slow cooker. Today I just made a straight vegetable soup, no meat at all. 

I had a quiet afternoon. I was late doing things as I had been in the kitchen making soup. 

F had some baddish news today. He’s going to be transferred to another office in the area. He’s worked there before and it was horrible for him, so he’s not a happy camper. I’m really sad for him. 

I had a bit of a late start to dinner tonight. I went downstairs around 6:00 pm and started peeling potatoes for dinner. I also prepared the chicken for dinner too. F came back in the middle of the prep and spent time with his mother. I finally got things done. We had tandoori chicken from the toaster oven, anchovy potatoes and vegetable soup. It went over fairly well. F wanted rice or noodles, but I sort of explained to him that we rarely have potatoes and rice together.  F and I had two bowls of soup and we all seemed to agree that it was good. I should be able to have some for lunch tomorrow too. Yay. I’ll probably share with K if she’ll have it. 

I washed the dishes and was going to dry them too when F came in. I got him to dry the dishes and put away his dishes from the weekend. Hurray for that.  He wanted to go out, I wanted to go to the Internet Cafe for a massaging chair. He also wanted to go to the onsen so we did a bit of both. We went to the onsen and he took a bath, then we went to the Internet Cafe for a couple of hours. We left early tonight as F has to work tomorrow. 

We came back to the house and I did up the plastic garbage for tomorrow. F nicely filled up the kerosene in the heater for me as I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to lift it tomorrow. My hip and sometimes back have been quite bad today. I tried taking a Tylenol in the evening which helped, but when it wore off the pain seemed even worse.

We had a quiet evening in. I watched So You Think You Can Dance and enjoyed it, F was on his phone again. 

That’s about it for me. I probably will do some laundry tomorrow and I’ll see what else I can get up to. Come back later and I’ll tell you all about my day. Until tomorrow….

March 17, 2019

Sunday - Muggy and a bit rainy

I woke up fairly early today because F was getting up to go to the onsen with his mother. I got up too and then after they left I took care of a couple of personal things. I had a whole whack of messages on my phone to deal with too, so I did. After that, I went back to bed for a bit and fell asleep again.

I woke up after 1pm because of the noise that F and K made when they came in. F came upstairs and I found out that he’d had a small lunch with K, but would go out for lunch with me. I came up with a couple of possible places and then we decided on the Grand El Sun. We got there and noticed that their lunch service finished at 2 pm…which was 5 minutes earlier. However, one of the waitresses told us it was okay as they’d seen us coming! I had their pasta special lunch which was great. It was pasta in a spinach and ham garlicky sauce. It was great. It came with a lovely salad, bread and a few appetizers, a small dessert and a drink. F had a vegetable curry which he really enjoyed. 

When we finished lunch we popped over to S-Mall to see if we could see the menu for the restaurant in the hotel. I wanted to be able to post the evening dishes for my mini-con. It wasn’t posted yet, so we went through to the hotel, but still no joy. F ended up holding the sign that they hadn’t flipped over yet so that I could get a good look at it!

We picked up some kerosene for the house next and then a few groceries. We delivered them to the house and then spent some time upstairs. F was thinking about getting his hair cut, but seemed too attached to the videos on his phone. I went downstairs to wait for him and it took a while. He’d said two minutes, but it was much longer.

He dropped me off at S-Mall and then went off to get his hair cut. I went upstairs and checked out the hundred yen shop. I got a few things for a new hobby I’m thinking of taking up (I know, another one, right?!) I looked in another shop, then went downstairs and as I was on the escalator, I saw F walk by. Just then my phone rang…

We decided to go and have dinner but weren’t sure where. I ended up suggesting Jiro, the place near my first apartment and F liked that idea. I was worried as they serve a lot of meat, but he said it was okay for him. He had our usual pork with garlic onions and I had beef stew with buttered rice. Mine was good.  

We came back to the house after dinner and I did a little work in the kitchen. I’m thinking about making soup in my slow cooker for tomorrow, so I peeled a couple of potatoes and a carrot or two. I left them in the fridge overnight. Then, I prepared the garbage for going out tomorrow. It’s not a hard job, just not a fun one. 

That done, I came upstairs again and F and I watched an episode of Castle Rock. I watched and did a few rows of knitting. I took a shower after that. 

When I came back, I finally persuaded F to move a couple of movies to DVD for us. Unfortunately, however he did them, he put them on two separate dvds instead of one like I had asked him to. I think he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I think he needs to make a list and then record the list, like on iTunes but he’s never done that and has no idea what I’m talking about. He is probably right, but it doesn’t make sense to me!

And that’s about it for me. I’m tired and I’d like to go to bed soon, so I’ll end this. I should be back tomorrow for another oh so interesting update! Until tomorrow….

March 16, 2019

Saturday - Muggy, but also sunny and warmish

We both slept in a bit this morning, I finally got up before 11, F got up a few minutes later.  He went downstairs to make brunch for his mother, I computer surfed.

F was very sweet this morning, he brought up a couple of pieces of toast for us. Unfortunately, he’d spread them with my Mango Chutney, rather than my Pineapple and Mango JAM.  Silly husband.  It tasted pretty good anyway, but I did laugh at him for doing it. He doesn’t understand that Chutney is eaten as a pickle…

We went out for lunch to Sukaze. I’ve been trying to get him to go there for a while. I like the place much more than he does, not sure why he doesn’t like it. We both had the same dish today, fish in a white sauce. It came with gorgeous soup, a lovely salad and bread or rice and coffee and a mini-dessert.  It was great! 

After lunch, we went to the Chido Museum to see the Hina Matsuri displays. There were some lovely doll sets. We also saw some art that was created by the family who owns the Museum…they were the local “Lairds” of the area. Of course, we stopped by to see the garden. I’ve recently found out that the Garden has two Michelin Stars. At least I think it does!

A sleepy duck

From the museum, we headed over to the sushi delivery place to make an order. F has another overnight party next week so we ordered in some nice bentos for K and I. We don’t have to pay for them until they arrive, but they look good. K and I had them before and I really enjoyed the food.

Then, we went to Foodever’s coffee shop area and had coffee or iced tea and a pastry. We sat for a while and played with our phones. We had a really nice pastry, it was “Framboise with rose”. It was cheaper than some of their cakes. They look amazing though.

Around 6 I made F shake a leg. We were planning to go to a 7:50 pm movie and still had to get dinner for us and K and then get to the cinema. I suggested bentos since we had had an expensive lunch today. F liked that idea, so off we went. 

We picked up three bentos, two with tempura for F and I, and one with chirashi sushi for K. I suggested some gyoza too since everyone likes them. We went back to the house and F got things on the table quickly. I helped a little, but he did most of the work today. Dinner was nice. F was watching some fishing show, so I did the dishes when I finished and then came upstairs to register the postcard I received today from Bulgaria. 

We sneaked out of the house and got to the cinema just in time. We bought our tickets and then some drinks and popcorn and went to see Captain Marvel. I really liked it. I wasn’t sure what I’d think of it, but I enjoyed it a lot. It was lovely to see Phil Coulson (one of my favourite Agent of Shield characters), even though I prefer the slightly older and more weathered version on the TV show, and seeing a younger Samuel L. Jackson was cute too. It was fun, I had a good time, I laughed a lot and liked the more feminine take on the superhero genre. I still liked Wonder Woman more, but I really enjoyed this.

After the movie, we drove back to the house via the long way. F took a detour saying he wanted some ramen. I told him I’d come and watch him eat, but he didn’t stop anywhere. When we got to the house I started up my waterpot and he was trying to get water before it was ready, for his instant ramen. 

Then, he went to bed!

I’m still up. I’m in a bit of pain these days as my sciatica has come back. It’s switched sides this time, but getting up and the first few steps are really painful. I’m trying to move more and get up more often, but it’s hard to remember. I may have to set my alarms to remind me to move more. 

And that was it for my day. It went rather well and I enjoyed it. I really hope that Sunday is good too. Fingers crossed. Come back later if you will and see what happens. Until tomorrow….

March 15, 2019

Beware the Ides of March!  Friday - Sunny and warm

I got up early this morning and checked the heater. It was nearly out of kerosene, just running on fumes really. I turned it on and hoped for the best. There was enough to heat the room for an hour so that was good. I watched the news, then went downstairs to do a few things. I cut some bread for K to have, I filled up the heater’s kerosene tank and put the now empty plastic tank in the genkan to go out to the garage and I got my breakfast ready. I went upstairs to get dressed and watch ER. It was a good one today. These ones are all about Abby and Luka, Neela and Michael.  

I did a bit of posting on my mini-convention. I posted info about restaurants and asked people to say if they’d come with us or not. I have to make reservations soon and I need numbers. 

My friend came to pick me up around 11:30 and we went off to Pisolino. We spent a couple of hours there and had a decent if not terrific meal. I had pasta and it was okay, but not great.

After lunch, she had to run a couple of errands so I came along for the ride. We went to a hundred yen shop in Voice and I only bought a couple of things.  She had to pick something up at the men’s clothing store there and after that, we decided to have a quick Starbucks since we’ve not been to the one in Tsuruoka together!  All too soon she had to go back to her city to take care of her family and we hugged goodbye.  

I did a little window shopping in a drugstore, then walked towards the mall. I decided to detour to my hairdresser to see if I could make an appointment for next week. She looked tired and busy when I arrived, so didn’t ask for a cut today.

I walked to S-Mall and spent a little time in the hundred yen shop there, plus a quick visit to the music/DVD shop. I found a DVD that F might like on for not too much so maybe one day if he’s good he’ll get it. Ha! I went down to Doutor and had an ice tea. I was just going to start sipping it when F called to say he was finished work. 

He joined me in the mall and I bought him a coffee with my card…and a couple of cookies for us! We used the wifi there a little, chatted a little, and caught up with the world and the terrible shooting in Christchurch. I hadn’t known anything about it as it hadn’t made the international news that I watch yet. (It’s behind us by at least a day I’d say.)

F wanted to go to the hundred yen shop, so we went upstairs. He got a few things and then I picked up one more thing. We drove back to the house then.  

We took K out for dinner to the Kushibiki restaurant that we like. We didn’t share parts of our meal this time. K had chahan, I had the egg/black fungus/meat stir-fry done as a set meal, and F had his favourite yakisoba. The food was good and we enjoyed it. 

We came back to the house and dropped K off. F wanted to go to a drugstore, so off we went. At the first one, I didn’t find what he needed, so we tried another and got it. I picked up a few things as did F. We came back to the house after that.

Back at the house, I watched some TV and relaxed, as did F.  He’s off sleeping now and I need to get some sleep soon too.

No idea what we’ll get up to tomorrow although I hope to go and see Captain Marvel. That would be really fun. Come back later if you dare and see what I get up to. Until tomorrow….

March 14, 2019

Happy Pi Day! Thursday - Rainy and cold

F woke me up this morning. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt and thinking that it was an accident, but it was annoying since I had 10 minutes of dream time left!  After he left, I set up to watch the Foreign News. I tend to snooze during the non-English ones. I snoozed through half of the US news today though…had to hit rewind on the DVR and watch it again. 

I went downstairs to get my breakfast and do laundry around 10:30. I was late for everything today. F had asked that I cut the bread we bought at Gyomu Supa, so I cut a few slices. K came into the kitchen while I did that and I told her to please have some bread. 

I did two loads of laundry and hung them up in my room. With the heater on most of the day, they got fairly dry.  Yay.  I did no Postcrossings again today, although I did register a card that arrived. Sigh. In the afternoon I watched a bit of stuff off the DVR and then had lunch. I did my dishes a bit late, but it wasn’t a problem. 

I got a call from F around 5:15 and I thought he would say he was on his way back to the house. Nope. He was still in a town a couple of hours away. He said that he’d hopefully be back around 7:30, but I should go ahead and make dinner. Except, HE was supposed to make dinner tonight. It was nabe night and that’s his job!  He asked that I make it for his mother and me and I said I’d try.

I went downstairs around 6:30 and started on the nabe. I cut veggies, piled them in the nabe and put the tofu in too. I even cut the meat into smaller pieces. It was all a bit white in colour so I washed and sliced up a carrot very thinly for the colour. I set the table and put the nabe out on the little “conro” and started to cook the nabe.  As I was doing that, F called to say he was finished work and was on his way back to the house. 

When F arrived, the nabe had just finished cooking. He had great timing.  The nabe went rather well and we all liked it. We’d used a bought soup this time, a sesame-flavoured one, and it was really good. I made F keep a bit of the nabe for his mother’s lunch tomorrow since I won’t be around and there’s not much else. K is going to have it tomorrow with rice I think.  

I cleared the table and did the dishes. I knew F needed some downtime so I didn’t mind. Besides, there wasn’t that many. I’d done a lot before I cooked the nabe.  

F and I went out to Starbucks tonight for a little rest and relaxation. I had a tea latte and F had a decaf cappuccino. I didn’t know that Starbucks made them! We had a nice time there. F had given me some chocolate last night before bed, so when I had a good excuse to walk by the counter I bought him a couple of things for his White Day present. He got some instant coffee for weekends, a chocolate bar and a chocolate waffle thing.  The clerk offered to wrap them, so I accepted. I took them with me when I left and then gave him the goodies when we got to the house. He was pleased.

I took a shower and afterwards watched Killing Eve. I love that show. It is so twisty and turny. While I watched it I scanned some flyers and my incoming postcards. Yay!

That’s about it for my day. Tomorrow, I’m having lunch with a friend. I may try and get my hair cut afterwards or just chill out at the mall. We shall see. Come back later and find out what I get up to. Until tomorrow….