August 28, 2016

Sunday - Warm and Sunny

A really good day!

We went to bed terribly late last night. It was getting light when we did.  When I first woke up, F was sitting in the living room.  He wasn’t able to sleep. He never really did get much sleep last night.

I slumbered on, and dragged myself out of bed a little before noon.  F had gone out and visited his mother and then come back, all while I snoozed.  He showered while I got dressed.

We had a fairly cheap and cheerful lunch at Kintaro Sushi and enjoyed ourselves there.  We both wore the new shoes that we bought a few weeks ago.  I’ve been having foot problems and these new shoes have proper cushioning inside. I was worried they’d be uncomfortable, but they were fabulous!

After lunch, we visited an electronics shop for F to get a new mouse.  He picked one out, and then spent a bit of time looking at and pricing cameras.  I kept telling him to try using them, to see if he could fit his fingers on the buttons.  Nothing is more annoying than missing a shot because your finger is too big for the buttons.  I also suggested him buying a spare battery for the camera he gets.  I did that with mine and I have never regretted it.  If my battery gets low, I just swap it out and I’m good to go.  My batteries are rechargeable ones, if it isn’t obvious. 

We had iced drinks in a little cafe near the electronics shop and read a local magazine about some new restaurants in the area.  When we were finished in the cafe, I bought some postcards and some herbal tea there. 

F also had the idea to visit one of the places mentioned in the local magazine, so we drove off.  It was in the middle of nowhere, but we went and bought some cake…the last two pieces they had!  We drove off again.  This time on our way back into Tsuruoka, F asked if I’d like to go to the Komagihara spa again.  I like getting vegetables there, so said yes.  It’s completely changed now.  They have gutted the old shopping area, and moved it over to the restaurant area.  We wandered around, but there wasn’t much left, just a bit of asparagus, so I got a bunch.  I was thirsty again, so suggested getting some drinks.  

F ordered us two iced coffees and when I put them down on the table, I accidentally knocked mine over.  Oh goodness!  There was coffee everywhere.  What there wasn’t was staff to help us.  Luckily, there was a cloth on another table so F grabbed that, and cleaned up most of the mess.  Honestly, all we really needed was another cloth or some sympathy from a staff member, but they had magically vanished.  F was sweet enough to give me half of his drink and we drank and then left.  I was quite surprised that no one seemed to notice our problem. 

We dropped off the cake, mouse, and asparagus at home and then drove off to Sakata.  We wanted to go and see the Tamasudarenotaki Falls.  They are lit up in August and are quite spectacular.  We drove off, listening to tunes on my iPod and have a good time.  We got to the parking area near the falls and there wasn’t anyone there.  We thought we might be early since it was still just before dark.  

We crossed the road and walked up the trail to the waterfall.  We could still see the falls quite well as it wasn’t quite dark yet.  F said that they probably waited until it was dark to turn on the lights.  We waited, I practiced my taking photos in the dark.  

This is a handheld shot of
Tamasudarenotaki Falls.

I have no idea what I photographed here...probably water droplets from the falls,
 but it is sort of cool I think!

All of a sudden I noticed him checking something on his phone and then he said they only light up the falls between August 10th and 18th, and oh yeah, what was today’s date?  It was the 28th today, so we were ten days too late! 

It wasn’t really possible for me to be angry with him today.  We’d been having a great time and it was a genuine mistake, so I just laughed.  We walked back to the car and drove into Sakata.  

We tried to find a nice but not too expensive place to eat in Sakata but Siri wasn’t co-operating with me.  Instead, we parked near City Hall and walked back towards the pedestrian streets.  I was in a pretty good mood and didn’t mind too much what I had.  We passed a place that F had gone to a year ago for a party with friends and he said it was good.  We went there.  

It was a nice place.  We sat at the counter and had some yakitori and salad, plus some omelette too.  We both had oolong tea to drink, me because it’s my favourite, F because he was driving.

When we left, I suggested hitting up the Starbucks because I never get to go there.  It’s not in a convenient place for people without cars.   We drove over and went in.  I had a soy latte and F had some tea…what a turnaround!  It used to be me that always had tea.  

After that, we drove back to Tsuruoka and went to the grocery store.  I got a few things for dinner tomorrow and Tuesday night, and then we came home.  

I did a couple of rows of crochet during The Mentalist and we had some tea and the cake from Kushibiki.  It was nice, but I’m not sure I’d bother again.  It was chiffon cake, which isn’t my favourite anyway. 

F went to bed a bit after midnight and I’ll try and get there soon too.  It really was a surprisingly nice day today.  

Come back later and find out how Monday goes.  I have a lot of writing to do, will it get done?  Until tomorrow….