December 27, 2025

 Saturday - Snowy and cold

I went to bed very late last night and I slept very well. I did wake up when my alarm went off, but not at all before. I’ve just changed my earplugs and they are much better at blocking noises than the last ones I had. 

I went downstairs for a few minutes and then came back to bed. I fell asleep again until F came in the room. He got back into bed and we had a bit of a snuggle for a couple of hours. Finally he suggested going for lunch in Sakata which was fine with me. 

I got up and dressed, we drove to Sakata. Today’s lunch was at the little Thai restaurant there. I had gapao rice and it was good, F had a version of fried rice. We made a couple of pitstops, one at City Hall for F, one at a drugstore for me. We also did a little shopping there too.

We came back to the house and F stayed downstairs and I went upstairs. I watched a few videos and then after 5 F came upstairs and asked about dinner. He wanted to get bentos or something simple like that, except he wanted to make rice. If he makes rice, it means that it is actually harder to find things to eat at the store, so I suggested that he not make rice yet. He’d already started washing it though so I think he’s going to make it for K’s breakfast tomorrow or something.

We drove over to Izmo near our old apartment and did some shopping. F was in charge as he’s planning on making….something…sometime. There is no rhyme or reason to his shopping. We did get some bentos and since they looked small, we picked up a couple of additional side dishes. I got some bread for myself in case I have to make my own lunches over the next few days. No worries if I do, I just want to have the ingredients. Finally we came back to the house.

It was about 6:30 so I went upstairs to relax for a while. I didn’t hear anything from F so I went downstairs around 7pm. I asked for a clean glass from the cupboard and told F that I didn’t care if him and his mother had to use their dirty glasses from last night. I’m in the kitchen washing dishes every weeknight and neither of them EVER bring their empty glasses to the kitchen for me to wash. I get really tired of that nonsense. F stormed off. Sigh.

I ended up heating up K’s bento and mine too. We had one of the side dishes too. We ate our bentos, but F didn’t come down. After we finished, I went back to the kitchen and washed my glass again, plus the bento boxes. 

While I was doing that, F came down again and heated up his bento. He didn’t seem mad anymore. 

I went upstairs and relaxed for a bit. After 10:30 I went downstairs and took a shower. When I finished, I texted F and asked if he’d like the yakitori we bought. He said yes. About the same time, he came downstairs with the kerosene tank from our heater as it was empty. He filled that up and I did the yakitori. 

I brought the food upstairs and F and I had a late snack. It was quite nice. I decided to watch an episode of The Great British Sewing Bee on TV and enjoyed that. I turned off the TV and got stuck into my internet stuff. 

And that’s about it. F seems to be a bit less grumpy now. He’s sleeping away. I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. I’m hoping that we might go to a movie, but I’m okay if he doesn’t want to go too. It’s a film I’d like to see.

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

December 26, 2025

Friday - Cold, wet and snowy

I went to bed a little early last night. I knew I’d have an early morning today, and I did. Well, early for me! I woke up before 8 am, went downstairs and then came back upstairs to the room and got dressed. I had a quick breakfast and then I headed out to the bus stop around 9:20. I got there on time, but the bus didn’t!

It came a few minutes late and I got on. It was quite busy today. I got off the bus at City Hall and walked back to the Museum. I waited there for my friends. It turns out that they were on the same bus line, but rode the other loop. If I had taken the later bus I would have been on the same minibus!

We met up and toured through the museum. I think they enjoyed it and we saw most of the exhibits. I took them to the back of the buildings to see the garden and there was a heron there today! Too cool!

We finished the museum a bit early and had an hour before our lunch reservations. They called the restaurant and asked if we could go in early and they said we could, but weren’t sure if we’d be served in a timely fashion! We took a taxi over to S-Mall and from there walked to the restaurant. 

We had a lovely meal at the restaurant. They do Japanese/French fusion food and the meal was delicious. We had Yamabushi Pork which came with fried potatoes, bread and a salad. The first course was a pickle flight that was delicious. We got a drink and dessert afterwards too. 

I walked my friends back to the station area. They were deciding between a shuttle bus to their hotel or a city bus. The weather was horrible at that time. We all went into a souvenir shop and they picked up a few things. I walked them over to the station and then left them.

As I was walking back to the mall I went around one side of the big hotel building there. The wind was crazy and it blew my hat off. The lovely new hat that I spent two weeks knitting. It went into the road. Luckily no one was coming, but as I got closer to it, the wind caught it again. The wind blew the hat back all the way to the Koban, so about half a block! Ack. I did get it and it was none the worse for wear happily. I was glad no cars came by and ran it over. 

I made it to the mall and went to Doutor. I had a decaf latte and it was very nice. Then, I decided I’d just take the next bus back to the house. It turned out to be one going the long way round. I got on it at 3:05 and I was back to the house within about half an hour.

At the house, K hadn’t been up. She hadn’t had anything to eat, she had two plates of food for her in the fridge. Didn’t touch them at all. 

I went upstairs, turned on the heater and made myself some cocoa and then some tea. Yay. 

F texted me about the bears….maybe more attacks and the Yamagata is going to change the bear warning status or something. I told him I was at the house.

He called around 5:30 and I went downstairs to get a start on dinner. Tonight I did my usual Friday night pasta and then put out some of the leftovers from last night. They needed to be eaten so better sooner than later!

We had a good meal I think and we finished off the cake too. I used both china plates and paper plates so I did have dishes to do afterwards, but not so many. I’m okay with that!

After dinner I came upstairs and F followed a little later. We spent a few minutes together chatting and then I went over to my computer. I ended up falling asleep and F came over to wake me up!

I decided to start watching Plur1bus on Apple TV. I watched the first episode and I’m not sure what I think. I may need another episode or two to decide if I’ll continue. 

It’s late now and I’ve been blogging and watching YouTube for the last few hours. I should go. I have no idea what F and I will get up to tomorrow. Come back later and find out. Until tomorrow! 

December 25, 2025

Thursday - Cloudy and a bit damp

F went to bed last night just after midnight. I was surprised as we usually open our presents then. I asked him if he’d like to do it then and he said yes. He got up and we exchanged presents. I knew what I was getting since he bought me stuff at Tendo Mall, but he didn’t know what I gave him. Happily, both things I got him (pyjama bottoms and a sweatshirt) fit. I made a bag for him full of snacks and his favourite ramen and some chocolate coins. He was quite touched and had to have some ramen right away!

Last night I used a new set of earplugs when I went to bed and I couldn’t hear anything. It was rather nice! I’m surprised I woke up when my alarm went off to be honest. I did my usual thing of going downstairs and then coming back to the room and going to bed again. I did fall asleep and then overslept a bit, but I really didn’t mind too much. It’s Christmas. It was my gift to myself!

I woke up later, dressed and went downstairs to get breakfast. I brought it upstairs to eat. I had a quiet time but I did get four or five more nengajo written so I was happy about that. I’ve written one to everyone on my list so yay.

I grabbed my lunch a bit late and watched an episode of Matlock today. It was good, but I didn’t pay as much attention to it as I should have. Oh well.

I went downstairs to start dinner prep a little bit after 5 pm. I didn’t even hear F call me! I had to make two trips downstairs as I had too much to carry and it wasn’t safe. 

Today I did my usual “Nibbles Buffet” and it was very nice. I did some veggies and a dip, some cold meats, lots of crackers, some cheese, some oysters and a few canapés. I had a Christmas tablecloth and some napkins. I used paper plates today because I really didn’t want to spend my time in the kitchen washing dishes after dinner. It was a good call! We drank some sparkling grape juice which was nice as well. I said to F that his mother probably thought it was wine but he didn’t think so. However, at the end of our meal, when I offered her more, she said she didn’t want anymore alcohol. F had to try to tell her it wasn’t wine, it was juice!

Nibbles buffet

After we had our fill of the main course, F brought out his cake. He’d gone to a nice bakery and it was a nice cake. I’d still rather have a fruit cake, but it was good! He cut it and was such an old lady about the whole thing. He likes to try and make sure that each piece is perfect and measures things out. Oh well. It was his cake and it was expensive! We got a chocolate one this year and it was fine. 

F's Christmas Cake

We ate our cake and then I cleared the table again. I washed the few dishes that there were, mostly cutlery and sharp knives. When I finished, I asked F if he’d run me to the post office to mail my nengajo. He obliged me. I didn’t bother getting changed.

When we got to the post office it was closed, so I had to put them in the post box outside. They had one side marked off for nengajo so I put them in there. Yay. Done. 

We just came back to the house. I came upstairs and relaxed for a bit before going downstairs to take a shower. 

After that, I came back upstairs and spent some time on my computer. 

I have to get myself to bed because I have an early morning tomorrow. I’m meeting friends at the Chido museum tomorrow, early! We’re going to have lunch a bit later downtown so I’m not sure how we’ll get from the museum to downtown, but we’ll work it out. 

I hope you had a Merry Christmas today and that you have a lovely day if Christmas isn’t something you celebrate. Happy holidays!

Until tomorrow….

December 24, 2025

 Wednesday - Sunny and clear

Today was a pretty good day, all told. I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I got up, went downstairs and then I came back upstairs to the room. I sorted my laundry and then I went back to bed. I ended up oversleeping but I didn’t mind too much. I didn’t have too many plans. 

I got up, dressed and then took my laundry downstairs. I ended up doing two loads of laundry today and hung them up in the room. I wrote a couple more nengajo but didn’t finish them yet. Sigh. I had wanted to get them done before Christmas day but I didn’t.

I had lunch a little late, somewhere after 3 pm. I went downstairs to make it and then brought it back to the room to eat. I thought about watching the news and decided I really didn’t care about that. I watched another episode of Lie To Me. I think I like the show, but I’m not sure yet!

F called a bit after 5 and said he was on his way to the house. I went downstairs and then I got started on dinner before he arrived. Tonight I made coro-coro steak, I air fried half an onion that was leftover in the fridge, we had potato salad and regular salad, plus some steamed broccoli. Dinner got pretty good reviews and was nice, even if I say that myself. Oh, and we had dessert too. I had bought some Orange Cake when I was in Tendo and we had that with a bit of ice cream. It was a good end to the meal.

I did the dishes afterwards and it took longer than I would have thought. Between the dishes and then the garbage, it was 9:30 when I finished. Sigh. Rather than go to Mina which closes at 10pm, I suggested that we go to MaxValu.

I changed my clothes and we went out, F and I. We drove with a bit of a detour to MaxValu and bought some groceries for lunches and dinners. F wanted to buy some snacks so we got something for each of us, then for his mother. After that, we went to the check out. On the way, F picked up a big bag of potato chips. I was a tad surprised. 

He rang up the groceries (in the evening it is self-checkout) and when he got to the big bag of chips I was rather surprised. It was over ¥400 yen! F didn’t think it was that expensive or he wouldn’t have picked up the bag. F paid and we came back to the car and went to the house.

At the house we unpacked the groceries and then came upstairs. F opened his big bag of chips and split them with me. There weren’t that many chips really. Also, they were supposed to taste like dadacha-mame but I didn’t think they did. F did however. 

I watched today’s episode of Wild Cards and it was cute. It was about a reality TV show where there was a murder. The actors are quite good looking and it’s a Canadian show, although in this second series they don’t really talk about being in Canada or Vancouver anymore. Bit sad that.

And that’s about it for my day. It’s Christmas Eve so I’d like to wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas if you celebrate or a Happy Holiday to you if you don’t. 

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

December 23, 2025

Tuesday - Warmish and sunny

Today turned out rather well, so that’s good isn’t it?

I got up this morning before my alarm. I went downstairs and then came back upstairs. I set my alarm for not the usual times and went back to bed for a snooze. I did slightly oversleep, but I had already set out my clothes for the day, so I got dressed quickly. I went downstairs and made my breakfast and brought it up to the room to eat.

I left the house a little late so I did a fast-walk to the bus stop. I still had to wait a couple of minutes but that was fine. I rode the little local bus to S-Mall. I had debated getting out at the Train Station stop, to have a meal there, but decided not to do that.

At the mall, I got off the bus and went in. I did a little shopping in the Daiso and picked up some “stocking stuffer” type things for F. After that, I went downstairs and got him a few things in the grocery store. I should say that I also got myself a few things in both places too!

I decided to have lunch next so I looked at the Pizza Hut menu and decided that I could probably have their carbonara pizza as it didn’t appear to have tomato sauce on it. I ordered it and when it arrived it didn’t have tomato. Yay. It was quite nice but didn’t really seem as filling as the other dish I usually get. Still, it was fine. I haven’t had a regular pizza in ages.

Carbonara pizza...no tomato sauce. Yay.

Since I had a little bit of time before my bus I decided I’d have an ice cream so I went to the Baskin-Robbins and ordered. I had the Mariage de Chocolat and Jamoca Almond Fudge, just a small double. I ate it quickly and then headed to the bus station.

I had a couple of minutes in the station, but then my bus came and I got on. The bus was quiet and there were only a few people on it. I got off at my stop and walked back to the house. I was back around 3 pm. 

I saw K when I arrived and said hello but it was a bit like she didn’t see me or know who I was. I knew she couldn’t hear me, but I thought she might say hello or something. Nope. 

I went upstairs after I set the heater to come on at 5 pm. I spent the next couple of hours relaxing on my computer. I also watched an episode of The Good Fight. I rather enjoyed it. Michael Sheen is just enjoying himself in his role. He’s so opposite the character he was in Good Omens.

F didn’t call me until I was downstairs tonight. He’d forgotten he said. I went into the kitchen and started to make things ready for dinner. F arrived a little bit after that. We had a good reunion and then he turned on the heater in the living room and then went upstairs to change. 

Tonight I made a stir-fry but with chicken instead of pork. It was quite nice, but the chicken wasn’t sliced the way I thought it was. I think they’d tried to slice it, but hadn’t gone all the way through. I had to try and slice it while it was in the frypan!

Dinner tonight got good reviews. F liked the chicken stir-fry so yay. I liked it too. We all had seconds of it. We also had salad and potato salad. K and F had rice. I didn’t fancy second day rice and honestly, I can live quite nicely without rice! 

I did the dishes and afterwards I headed upstairs and relaxed. I watched some YouTube and wrote a couple of nengajo. I’d like to get them in the mail soon so I need to finish right away. 

At 11 pm I watched FBI: Most Wanted and it was an interesting episode. The guy that they were chasing was innocent of the crime he was accused of committing. Also, one of the FBI members is thinking about leaving so that’s news.

F headed off to bed and I went back to my computer. I’m about done for now. 

Tomorrow I have to do some laundry and we’ll hopefully got out after dinner and pick up a few little things for Christmas dinner and then Boxing Day’s dinner. I’m hoping it’ll be leftovers but who knows?

So, that’s it for me. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

December 22, 2025

Monday - Clear with some sleet in the afternoon

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I didn’t know where I was for a minute! I think I was deep in a dream at the time. I went downstairs and then came back upstairs and went back to bed for a bit. I intended to watch a few videos as normal but I must have fallen asleep quickly and only woke up when my alarm blared for a few minutes. 

I dragged myself out of bed, dressed and went downstairs. I made my breakfast and brought it upstairs to eat. I made sure that K had eaten her breakfast…she had….

I had a quiet morning and afternoon. I wrote a few nengajo and when it was time I went downstairs and made my lunch. I brought it back up to the room and today watched another episode of Lie to Me. I thought it was good, but I’m not sure if I’ll keep watching. 

F called after 5:15 and I asked him if he’d made rice. He hadn’t. We got into a bit of a fight about rice making on the phone. It is silly really. I don’t make rice because I don’t want to eat it. I only eat it to be polite, but I dislike plain white rice. I really miss western style rice. It tastes so much better to me. 

Anyway, I went downstairs and got started on the dishes. When F came back he did set up the rice cooker and then sat in the living room and did nothing as usual. I got stuck into dinner. Tonight I did Toaster Oven chicken, with a hot cabbage dish, and salad. I decided to make another dish and checked out Google for ideas. I ended up making a scrambled eggs with onions and tuna and cheese. F  liked it and actually said so! That’s unusual. 

I did the dishes after dinner and listened to my podcasts. When I was finished I went upstairs to change. 

F and I went to the grocery store and cashed in some of his points from his point card. Then, we went shopping. We got a lot of nice cold meat for our Christmas meal and some pate, a few veggies and a little bit of cheese. We also got stuff for the next two day’s dinners.

We came back to the house and I put away the groceries. I went upstairs and F stayed downstairs to do something with his fishes. Upstairs, I relaxed for a couple of minutes and then went downstairs to take a shower. 

After the shower I went upstairs and decided to watch another episode of Lazarus. I think it was the last episode of the season. I hope there’s more, but who knows. 

F came upstairs and went to bed after a while. I had a quiet evening after I turned off the TV, but remembered around 1 am that I forgot to do up the plastic garbage for tomorrow. Oops. I went downstairs and put a few things in the bag and put it in the genkan. I hope F will take it with him when he leaves in the morning.

And that’s it. Tomorrow I’m thinking I might go downtown for a little while. It depends if I can drag myself out of the house in time to catch a bus. 

That’s about it for me. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….