April 27, 2026

Monday - Rainy and cooler

I went to bed a little early last night. I woke up before my alarm and made my trip downstairs. I came back up to the room and then went back to bed. I slept for a while, watched a few videos and then got up.

I went downstairs again and grabbed my breakfast and brought it upstairs to the room. I ate my breakfast and then decided that I should really do a bit of laundry. I washed some of my pants. I haven’t washed my trousers in ages. I found a pair that I’ve been looking for so yay, and I washed the things I’ve been wearing a lot lately. They are now hanging up in our room now. I hope they dry before the holiday on Wednesday…or at least one of them  does. 

I had a quiet afternoon, just watched some YouTube and did a couple of rounds of my loom knitting. I’ll be changing the colours next time I knit.

I had lunch around 3 pm and watched the final episode in the first season of Departure. It was quite exciting. I think I’ll maybe watch the next season as I’m not planning to fly anywhere just now. I followed that up with the news and then after 5 pm F called to say he was on his way back. I went downstairs a little later and made dinner. Tonight I was a busy beaver. I made toaster oven chicken again, made a spicy tuna and cucumber salad and washed a baby leaf lettuce salad for us. We had the above plus some potato salad and rice. It was actually quite nice. 

I did the dishes and it didn’t take too long tonight. I listened to my podcasts and then went and said goodnight to K and F. I had done up the garbage too. Next week there isn’t garbage for the first three days of the week, so it’s important to get as much out this week as possible. 

I went upstairs and watched some YouTube videos and then after 10 pm I started watching stuff off the Fire Stick. I watched another episode of Evil and then I watched a new one on Apple TV, Margo’s Got Money Troubles. It was labeled a comedy but I’m not sure it was. In the first episode she got pregnant while at college and decided to keep the baby. Margo was Elle Fanning and she was good…half naked at times too, and Michelle Pfeiffer  as her mother. She didn’t get naked. Pfeiffer’s husband was the creator of the show so…. I’ll reserve judgement and see how the next episode goes. I’m not big on “baby” shows, but I like Elle Fanning.

I turned off the TV before midnight and went back to YouTube and doing my end of day stuff. I’ll try and get myself off to bed early again. 

I’ll probably do a bit more laundry tomorrow. I also have to do some prep for tomorrow’s dinner. If I can get a couple of postcards written, that would be good too. 

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

April 26, 2026

Sunday - Warm and Sunny

I went to bed a little late last night and slept in a bit this morning. However, I woke up when F came back in the room or something. I went downstairs and then tried to go back to sleep for a while. F suggested that we go for breakfast to Komeda. I didn’t want to and then I thought,“why not?” 

I got up, dressed and a few minutes later we left the house. We got into the restaurant on time, but we weren’t seated for a few minutes. The waitress told us that we could still get our free breakfast, so we ordered it. F got a bun with adzuki beans, I got a half piece of toast and egg salad. It was okay. 

After our breakfast, we decided to go and have lunch! Breakfast was small. We tossed around a few ideas and then ended up at Tenkane again. We both had the same thing, the mixed bento box style thing. It was okay.

We went back to the house after lunch and spent an hour or so. I didn’t want to go out to Ikoiinomura while it was really hot and sunny. 

We drove up to Ikoiinomura and managed to find a parking space. We went and had a look at the tulips. It was still busy, but the flowers were pretty. There was a band playing and I realized at one point that they were doing “Can’t Help Falling In Love” in a sort of punk version. It reminded me of the Lick The Tins version from the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack. I finally got a glimpse of the band and noticed that they were Buddhist monks! Yup, there were three of them and they were rocking out!

Yes, these are tulips!

An assortment of tulips

Two of the three monks rocking out!

F and I bought some “long Potatoes” which were like formed French Fries and shared them. We watched the band for a while and then left. We went for a ride along the coast for a bit and then came back to Tsuruoka. We made a pit stop at a couple of drugstores, one for a toilet break, another for “stuff”! After the second drugstore, we went to the grocery store and picked up food for the next couple of days and tonight’s dinner. F didn’t want to eat out. I gotta say, I was a bit disappointed in that, but I guess I understand.

We came back to the house. I went upstairs and chilled with some YouTube. F called me downstairs a bit later. I really didn’t want to go and join “the family” but I did. F had made some miso soup with pork and daikon. It was decent, but I’d already had miso soup today and I didn’t want more. 

We had bought bentos at the grocery store so F heated up his and his mother’s, I heated up mine. I got a kara-age one, F and K had salmon. The soup was better than the bento, but I didn’t love it. 

I went upstairs after dinner and told F that I would join a Zoom meeting. I did that and it was fine. My women’s group happened to have a Zoom Meeting tonight. There weren’t too many people there, but it was nice to talk to other people who actually listened! There were a couple of people who almost had a fight, but I still enjoyed the meeting. I got to talk about movies a tad so that made me happy too.

I left the meeting around 10:30 and spent a few minutes with F. He was sitting by himself on the bed deep into videos on his phone. He did seem a little happy to see me!

I decided that tonight I’d watch an episode of Breaking Bad. I’ve never seen it before and of course I’ve heard about it a lot. I liked the first episode so I’ll probably watch a bit more before I decide if I’ll watch the whole series.

And that was it. Since midnight I’ve been watching YouTube and trying to do my usual end of day things. 

Tomorrow, F is back at work and I’ll be cooking dinner. I’m not sure what else I’ll get up to as well. If you’d like, come back later and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 25, 2026

Saturday - Sunny but not too warm

I woke up this morning when my alarm went. F and K were still here. F came into the room as I was going downstairs. He was looking for his keys but couldn’t find them. I asked if he wanted his spare set and I ended up giving them to him. I know where they are because I’m the keeper of the keys!

He left and I came back upstairs and tried to sleep a bit longer. F came upstairs later and we talked about what to do for lunch. We decided that we’d go out to Sakata for Thai food. I got up, dressed and checked my email quickly. However, F fell asleep! I let him snooze for a while and then I went downstairs. F woke up when I came back in the room, so we got up and left then.

We drove out to Sakata and parked at City Hall. We walked over to the restaurant and went upstairs. I had today’s special which was Gapao rice but the rice and the meat were already mixed. I liked it. F had their version of Pad Thai. He didn’t like it and found it too sweet for him. 

We left the restaurant and I nearly fell at the bottom of the steps as they are very uneven. I saved myself in time though. 

We were droving back through Sakata and I suggested that we go to the mall and have a doughnut at Mr Donut. F liked that idea so we did that. I had a decaf cafe au lait, he had the regular one. 

We went back after our drink and got doughnuts to take back to Tsuruoka with us. The original plan was one just for K, but F talked me into another one for each of us!

In Tsuruoka, F wanted to go straight to the house even though I suggested picking up something for his mother’s dinner. At the house, he went in the house and I didn’t.

I went in the garage and looked for the solar lights that we had out a couple of years ago. I couldn’t find them! Instead I decided to go upstairs and get down my fan for the room. It’s starting to feel a lot warmer during the day. I saw F inside and told him about the solar lights so he went looking for them. He found them and we spent a few minutes putting them up in the yard. he put a bunch along the road, which I didn’t really care about. I wanted them so that I can see my way to the car at night. 

I went upstairs and watched some YouTube for a while. K came back from Day Service and I noticed the time was getting later and later. F finally came up and asked what I wanted to do for dinner. He had all Japanese food ideas for dinner which might be good for him but not for me. I suggested a few restaurants but he turned up his nose at them. Then he said he’d go to the grocery store to get him and his mother some food. That really annoyed me if I’m honest. What about me? Am I not allowed to eat?

He said I could come with him to the store (gee, thanks) so I did. We over to the PAL shopping center and got some food. I picked up a chicken namban breast and then I left F and went to get my coffee creamers and some frozen pasta for myself. I told F that I didn’t want rice tonight and he wasn’t best pleased with me. For the love of whatever, I don’t like Japanese rice. I think it has no taste and it is certainly empty calories. 

On the way to the grocery store, F was playing music on his phone. It was a tiktok or something and then somehow segued into a baby crying. Yuck. On the way back to the house I was struck with a nasty headache right behind my left eye. When I got back to the house I tried to help unpack the groceries but F got weird again. I put my food away and told him I had a headache. I went upstairs, changed into my pyjamas and went to bed for a while. I don’t think I fell asleep. F came into the room after a while and turned the light on so I covered my head with the covers and stayed in bed. 

I got up around 9 and went downstairs. I heated up my dinner and brought it upstairs to eat. It was good. 

Around 10pm I went downstairs and took a shower. I came back upstairs and watched FBI and also ate my doughnut! 

After my show finished, I turned off the TV and started watching YouTube again. I’ve been catching up with some of my favourite vloggers. F went to bed and is hopefully sleeping. I’m not sure why he got so grumpy, but he’ll be fine. He doesn’t stay upset too long usually.

And that’s about it for me. I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. We should get some groceries and I hope that we’ll go to the drugstore and do a few other things that we need to do. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 24, 2026

 Friday - Cool but sunny

I woke up this morning a few minutes before my alarm. I made a trip downstairs then came back upstairs and sorted out my laundry for later. Then, I went back to bed, watched a few videos and fell asleep on them. I ended up oversleeping, but did finally drag myself out of bed.  I got dressed and then went downstairs with my laundry. I had thought to make more oatmeal today, but K was up and in the living room so I chose not to. I also got a couple of postcards in the mail today.

I came upstairs and ate my breakfast. I had to go down a couple of times to get my laundry, but all in all, I had a quiet afternoon. 

I did go downstairs a little early today to get my lunch. When I came back up to the room I watched another episode of Departure. It turns out that Christopher Plummer wasn’t a good guy in this. Sigh. 

F called me a bit after 5 and said that he was going shopping before he came back to the house. I went downstairs and got started on dinner. I did my usual pasta dinner, so we had salad, garlic mayo spaghetti and sliced duck breast. It was quite popular. Both K and I had seconds of pasta, F didn’t. It was unusual for K to have seconds so she must have liked it!

I did the dishes afterwards and then talked to F afterwards. Golden Week is coming up and I suggested that we take turns cooking in the evening that are national holidays. Either cook, or get special meals from the grocery store. I know that going out to eat on holidays, even though we go to relatively inexpensive places, does add up. He said he thought it was a good idea. I just don’t want to get “gifted” with doing all the meal planning, cleaning up and everything else for all three days. Mind you, F isn’t the greatest cook…he thinks he is, but he really isn’t. 

We had a quiet evening. I came upstairs first and watched some YouTube. Then, I decided I’d watch a bit of TV. I watched an episode of Evil and then an episode of The Boys. That was wild. F made a quick trip to a conbini to pay a bill and buy a few snacks for us! I didn’t even know he’d left, he didn’t mention it before he left. 

Since midnight I’ve been doing my end of day stuff and catching up on my YouTube watching. I’m not sure what we’re going to get up to tomorrow. We might go and do some shopping, Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 23, 2026

Thursday - Cooler and very windy

I woke up when my alarm went off this morning. F had left and I hadn’t heard him at all. Ear plugs are wonderful things! I went downstairs, came back to the room and went back to bed for a bit. I watched a few videos on my phone and snoozed too. 

I dragged myself out of bed later and dressed. I went downstairs and made breakfast. Today I made myself some porridge and it was very nice. I need to do it more, I know it is very healthy.

I came upstairs to eat breakfast. I also had received a letter from my bestie today so I wrote her a letter back. It was a really long one! I hope I don’t need to add more postage to the envelope.

I had a quiet afternoon. I did watch a show from the History Channel about a heist at a museum. It was hosted by Pierce Brosnan which I thought was funny. 

Around 3 I went downstairs and made my lunch. I brought it upstairs to the room to eat and watched an episode of The Great British Sewing Bee. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it. 

I didn’t hear from F tonight so I went downstairs around quarter to 6 to start getting dinner ready. I did the dishes and had even finished them before I heard from F. He’d had to go to Yamagata city again. 

F came back to the house at 6:45 so I started cooking after that. Tonight we had ginger pork that was pre-marinated, salad, spicy steamed cabbage and mushrooms, steamed veggies and rice. I think dinner was quite good and most of the foods disappeared. Yay me.

I did the dishes afterwards and listened to a couple of podcasts. I made some rooibos tea for tomorrow’s dinner as well. I hope I’m not the only person drinking it.

I went upstairs when I finished in the kitchen and relaxed for a while. After 10:20 I went downstairs and took a shower. When I came back up to the room, F was sleeping and the lights were dimmed. I turned on my light in my side of the room and then watched The Rainmaker. It was quite a good episode again. I’m quite enjoying this show too.

And that’s about it. Since midnight I’ve turned to YouTube and my end of day things. I also updated my Goodreads list as I just finished another book. It wasn’t a good one. My next one looks like it’ll be a bit smutty. I hope it’s fun at least!

Well, that’s about it for me for today. Tomorrow I’ll have to do some laundry and get ready for the weekend. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 22, 2026

Wednesday - Windy and cooler

I woke up before my first alarm and made a trip downstairs. I came back upstairs to the room and didn’t sort out my clothes like usual. I just went back to bed and slept and watched videos. I got up a bit later and was in the midst of getting dressed when I heard K yelling for me. There was mail for me. I threw on the rest of my clothes and went downstairs. I got two postcards in the mail today. Woot.

I had a quiet day at the house today. I had my breakfast and registered my cards. I just had a lovely quiet afternoon that I really needed.

F had texted me that he is going to take off another day in a couple of weeks to get the results of the MRI that he booked a couple of days. 

I had lunch around 3 and today watched another episode of Lie To Me. It was quite good. I wanted something a bit lighter than the airplane drama. 

I went downstairs around 5:45 and got started on dinner. Really, I just did the dishes at first. F came back a bit after 6 pm and then I took a break and finished the book I was reading. 

Tonight’s meal was salt lemon chicken done in the toaster oven, frozen vegetables, salad, potato salad and some flavoured rice that F made. It was quite good and I got it on the table very close to 7pm so yay me. 

After dinner, I cleared the table, and then did the dishes. I got them all done and then started on the garbage. I did the stuff in the kitchen and the bathroom, then went into the living room. F helped me by gathering some of his mother’s garbage, but I did some of it too. He seemed a bit testy with me. 

After I finished the garbage downstairs I went upstairs to change. I got ready and then I went downstairs. F and I got in the car and drove to Mina Shopping Area. 

I went into the building and did the shopping for the next couple of days. I’m glad about that. I picked up something for F’s and K’s breakfasts and then I checked out and gave F his change.

We came back to the house via the Post Office for a minute to drop off my postcards that I wrote today. Back at the house I unpacked the groceries and F set up the rice cooker. 

I came upstairs, put on my pjs and then relaxed with a bit of YouTube. At 11pm I turned on the TV and watched The Irrational again tonight. It was about a horse that killed someone. 

I watched the Music Break and then turned off the TV. I got stuck into more YouTube and doing my end of day things. I’m about done now and I should try to get myself off to bed. 

I’m not sure what I’ll get up to tomorrow. Come back later if you like and hear about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 21, 2026

Tuesday - Colder and rainy early on, sunny but cool in the afternoon.

Oh, I forgot to say that yesterday F and I went to the Police Station and checked if the money I found in December was claimed or not. It hadn’t been, so we were able to get it. It isn’t much, but I can put that thousand yen (roughly 10 dollars) to good use!

I woke up a bit late this morning. My alarm went off, but I didn’t really wake up. I finally dragged myself out of bed and downstairs. 

I did do my usual snooze and videofest, and then got up later and dressed. I took my laundry downstairs and started the first load of two. I also brought my breakfast upstairs and had that.

I really had a quiet day today. I received a couple of postcards today from Indonesia and the US, both were quite cool.

Lunch was around 3 pm and I watched another episode of Departure while I ate. It’s a cool show and I’m enjoying it.

F called after 5 pm to say he was on his way back to the house so a bit later I went downstairs and got started on dinner. Tonight it was hamburgers and fries with salad and potato salad. I thought they were good, but K thought her burger was bigger than the one I gave F so she tried to swap burgers with him. If she’d waited until I was out of the room and just switched plates with him, she might have got away with it, but she didn’t. I told F when he came in the room and he made her swap it back!

I did the dishes after dinner as usual and then sat in the kitchen for a couple of minutes until my podcast ended. I went upstairs and relaxed with some YouTube until the new Law & Order show started. It was okay. I haven’t really watched a lot of Law & Order so I’m not sure which version this is. 

Since midnight I’ve been working on my end of day things and blogging. F is still up quite late and he snidely told me he’d be up until 3 as he couldn’t sleep until then. I think he’s hinting that I wake him up when I go to bed. I try not to, but he won’t do any of the things I do to stay asleep. I wear an eye mask and earplugs and I sleep quite well. I’m not sure why he won’t do that. I hope this isn’t going to start a new round of him whining about me going to bed late. 

Anyway, I had better end this here or I’ll be the one whining. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day….until tomorrow….