August 9, 2026

Sunday - Hot and Sunny

I woke up this morning around 10 I think. F was still in bed and was talking about maybe getting up to feed his mother. He did get up, and he turned on the AC for me. It was around 30 degrees in the room already.  

I snoozed longer and then got up and went downstairs. I came back to the room and started to get dressed. A few minutes later, F came into the room and wanted to get going. We had decided to go to Yuza to get some nashi. Off we drove. We did need to have lunch along the way. I Google-Mapped places and one place kept coming up….Bistrot des Pointes in Mikawa. I said that to F and that it was just an idea. It’s an awesome restaurant, but not exactly cheap. However, we decided to try it. 

We were able to get a table which was lovely of them. They were planning to close early today…we were before their last order at least. We had their special lunch. It came with pumpkin soup, a main with a bun or rice and a cup of tea or coffee. We could have added on a dessert too, but decided not to do that. F had a steak for his main and I had beef cheek stew. Mine was amazing. It was so good. We both had bread today and tea as well. We really enjoyed our lunch and it was a bit hard to leave the restaurant afterwards. We didn’t want to go.

We paid and left. It was one of the nicest meals I’ve had in ages 

We drove off to Yuza and found the area that sells nashi. F had received a post card from them a couple of weeks ago reminding him about nashi being for sale. We drove up the road really slowly, but no one was selling any. We passed some trees with a lot of fruit on them and a place selling peaches, but no nashi! 

We turned the car around and made our way out of the area. F stopped at a place where he saw a man, and the guy said that nashi would be on sale in a couple of weeks, not right now! Argh!

We drove back to Sakata. We made a stop at my friend’s house and dropped off a mini-care package. I hadn’t been planning to ring the doorbell but her car was there, so I knew she was home. She was napping so I felt bad about waking her up, but we haven’t seen each other in ages. We had a quick chat at the door and then I went back to the car. 

F made a quick stop at the end of the road to mail a letter to my friend in Canada and then we started driving back to Tsuruoka. We did make a pit stop along the way and bought some drinks for the road. It is so hot and humid we need to rehydrate!

We came back to the house and relaxed for a while.  F and I had planned to take his mother out for dinner tonight to give her a break from the heat. I suggested that F make a reservation and that’s what he did. He couldn’t get the time he wanted, he could only get 7:30. Oh well. 

I relaxed, watched some YouTube and then a bit before 7 got redressed for going out. We all got in the car and drove over to Kappa Sushi. We were early so we had to wait for a while, but it wasn’t too bad. 

F and I ordered stuff when we were seated. I ordered some onion rings for everyone and a bucket of fries for K and I. She ate most of them! We had some okay sushi but K finished long before F and I did. However, I don’t think we over-ordered like we have done in the past. 

When we finished, we paid and left. We drove K back to the house and left her, then the two of us went to the gas station to fill up the car. F took it down to the point he could only drive 46 more kilometres. I can’t get him to stop playing gas chicken. 

Then, we drove over to Mina shopping area and bought our groceries. F came in with me and I wish that he hadn’t! It’s not that he’s a bad guy, it’s just that he gets in my way all the time! I’m doing the shopping, yet he put himself and the buggy next to the foods. Then he wouldn’t let me get in front of him to actually look at the food! It was very frustrating for me. I picked up food for tomorrow night. I’m having to make dinner for the three of us without any way to keep cool so I’m a little upset! 

We paid for the food and then came back to the house. I put the stuff away. I actually had to ask F NOT to put the food out on the table as it was too far away from where I was because of course, F was in the way again! 

I went upstairs and then decided to watch a movie off the DVR. I chose Constantine. It’s been years since I saw it and boy was it dark! Keanu did look good, but there were a lot of dark themes in the film. Still, I’ve heard rumours that there is going to be a sequel so I thought I’d rewatch it. Dark. Dark!

I’m now watching YouTube and doing my blogging. Tomorrow I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to. I’m hoping to start thinking about my column and do some laundry! 

And….that’s it for my day. It actually was a good day. I’m glad that we took K out, I’m glad I saw my friend and I’m glad that we had a gorgeous lunch! Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

 

August 8, 2026

 Saturday - Hot and Sunny

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I have it set to go on after F and K leave the house. They were still here. They left a few minutes later, I was already downstairs when they left.

I went back to bed and snoozed for a bit. After that, I got up and decided to take a shower. I took my towels downstairs and took a shower. F was sitting in the living room and it was so hot there. He asked me about lunch and I told him I was going to take a shower first!

I did take my shower and then we talked about where to go. I suggested the nice restaurant in Fujishima and he liked that idea. I told him I’d need a few minutes to get dressed and then it would take us a few minutes to get there. We had to drive there after all. 

We arrived at the restaurant in good time and went in. Today we had a good meal. I had their basic ginger pork, F had the fish meal and he liked it too. While we were eating, I suggested that we go and look at some electric shops after lunch to price out a new air conditioner. F thought that was a good idea. 

We headed out to the first of two electric shops. Air conditioners are so expensive and we’d also have to pay for our old one being taken away and recycled. I’ve heard that it can be hard to get the AC as well as plastics are not easy to get lately.

We didn’t buy one today, but F picked up something called a cooler which is supposed to make the room cooler…but apparently doesn’t!

We came back to the house with the cooler and F stayed downstairs to set it up. I went upstairs to turn on the AC and enjoy the coolness!

F came upstairs right about the time that K was supposed to return. I’m not sure what is up with that. He went back downstairs and then came up again. 

After a while, F decided to make dinner for K and did. Then, it was our turn. F suggested that we go to Nagomi which was fine. It’s a good place and we haven’t gone in ages. It’s a Japanese noodle place, but I do like it. So, we went there and had our meal. I had cold noodles with duck in hot soup. I dipped the noodles into the soup. It was very good.  F had tempura on rice and he liked his too. 

We paid and left, and then headed over to the nearby Daiso. I went in while F went looking for a washroom! I got a few things and then F joined me and I got a few more things. 

We left the shop just before it closed and then came back to the house via the grocery store. We got some ice cream and snacks, things we probably didn’t need!

Back at the house, K was still up so F gave her some ice cream he’d bought for her before and we went upstairs. We talked about the Perseid Meteor shower which is happening around now. We decided that we’d go out tonight a bit later and see if we could see anything.

I ate my ice cream and so did F. We relaxed, he snoozed a bit. I watched FBI at 11pm and then when it was over, F asked if I’d like to go out and see if we could see any shooting stars. Of course I said yes. 

We were outside for about 15 minutes or so. It was cooler outside as there was a bit of wind. It was nice. We each saw a shooting star, so that was cool. Supposedly, later on in the morning we would be able to see more, but we won’t go out again tonight I think!

F went back to bed and I continued to work at my computer. I finished the letter that I wrote on Thursday to my friend and then wrote a note to someone else. 

Tomorrow, I’m not exactly sure what we’ll get up to. We talked about going out of town to get some fruit from the farm that grows it, after that, we may do something else, we’ll see. I also suggested to F that we take K out for dinner too, just to give her a break from the heat. However, tomorrow should be a little bit cooler as it is forecast rain. 

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

August 7, 2026

Friday - Hot and Sunny

I woke up around my usual time this morning and went downstairs. I came back upstairs and basically went back to bed for a few minutes to relax and snooze. F came up a bit later and then went out to do his business. I snoozed longer but did get up later on. I got up and was starting to dress when F came back!

We talked about lunch and I suggested F’s favourite fish place or his eel restaurant. F suggested something else. It’s not a place I like, but we haven’t been there in a while so I didn’t mind too much. 

We went to Tenkane and had an okay lunch there. We both had the same thing, a mix of tempura and sashimi with some other little things too. It was nice. 

After lunch we decided that we’d go to the Art Forum which was very close to the restaurant. We parked in their parking space and went in. We saw an exhibition on Toulouse-Lautrec and the Belle Epoque. It was great. We spent quite a bit of time at the art museum and really enjoyed ourselves. The art was great. 

When we finished at the Art Forum, we went to the Shonai Bank. Why?  I found some US Traveller’s Cheques from years ago and thought I should try and cash them in since I’ll never go there again. We did make a quick stop at a convenience store for something to drink. It was so hot outside. 

We went into the bank, took our number and then waited. And waited. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to cash in my traveller’s cheques. I think they don’t deal with them anymore. I have to send them in to a company to be cashed in and then deposited to my account!  Oh well, not today. 

After the bank, we picked up a little something for K’s late lunch and then went back to the house. F gave his mother the bento and then we went upstairs to relax for a while. 

I watched the news and some YouTube. F disappeared for a while and then came up and told me he’d made dinner for his mother. I told him it was surprising because we had planned to get bentos for all of us. Oh well!

For our dinner, F suggested going to a place on the outskirts of Tsuruoka, we haven’t been there in ages. It was fine with me. We hadn’t been there in ages because F didn’t like it! We drove out to the restaurant and then got seated at a counter. F had a hamburger set meal and I had the yakiniku set meal. We both enjoyed our meals.

We came back to the city after our meal and decided to go and have coffee at Komeda. We were in the coffee shop for a bit over an hour I think. 

We stopped into MaxValu for something for K’s breakfast and a few snacks for us, and then went back to the house. 

F soon after went to bed, I decided to watch some TV. I watched another episode of Ride or Die and then the finale of Margo’s Got Money Troubles. I have really enjoyed this show and I hope that they give us more of it!

So, that’s about it. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube and doing my end of day stuff. Tomorrow K goes to her Day Service and I’m not sure what we’ll get up to. I hope that we get to enjoy ourselves and hopefully manage to stay cool. 

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

August 6, 2026

Thursday - Hot and Sunny

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I got up and went downstairs. I came back up to the room and sorted my laundry. When I was downstairs, I noticed that someone was doing laundry. I assumed (correctly it turned out) that it was F who started it before he left for work. 

I went back to bed and had a snooze and some videos. I dragged myself out of bed later and went downstairs with my laundry (after getting dressed of course). I took F’s stuff out of the washing machine, dumped it into the basket in the room and put the first of my two loads in. I grabbed my breakfast yogurt and took it upstairs. 

I had breakfast and did my laundry. It was so hot downstairs I was worried about K. I had my AC on in the room all day. 

When I went downstairs later in the day to make my lunch I gave K a glass of mugi-cha. I worry that she might not have been drinking enough. I took my lunch upstairs and watched an episode of Elsbeth today. I wasn’t in the mood for something serious. 

F called me after 5:30 and said he was on his way back. I went downstairs fairly soon after that. I did the dishes and got started on the food prep. Tonight I made tacos with tortillas. They turned out rather well and we all had a few. F and I had three each, K had two. We also had some cucumber pickle and some tomatoes. Well, the others did!

After dinner I did the dishes and by the end I was covered in sweat. It was horrible. I got everything cleaned up and put away, then told F I was going upstairs to relax. I turned on the AC upstairs, put on my casual clothes and relaxed on the bed for a while. F came up a little later and asked if I wanted to go out. I decided not to. I was relaxing! We had a nice few minutes and then I got up and came over to my computer. 

At 11pm I watched The Rookie and it was a good one. I’ve been rather impressed with the show this year, it’s like they aren’t coasting their storylines. 

And that’s about it for tonight. I suggested earlier to F that tomorrow night instead of me making dinner in a hot kitchen we get bentos in instead. It’s supposed to be hotter tomorrow than today so I don’t want to spend an hour or more in the kitchen doing prep and clean up. He agreed that it was an okay idea, so that’s good. 

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

August 5, 2026

Wednesday - Hot and Sunny

I woke up when F was getting up this morning. I fell back asleep almost immediately so that was good. I woke up finally when my alarm went off. I didn’t get up until the second alarm went off though.

I went downstairs and then came back to the room. I sorted out my clothes and then went back to bed. I watched videos and overslept a little. I slept a little later than yesterday, but it was fine.

I went downstairs, got my breakfast and brought it back upstairs. I ate and then relaxed for a while. I decided to write a couple of postcards later on. I’m sending to Europe. I’m happy as they usually arrive faster than ones to North America or other parts of Asia. 

I went downstairs and grabbed my lunch. I brought it upstairs to eat and today I watched an episode of Matlock. I like the characters, but the show is losing me a little. 

F showed up while I was watching my show. He took some time off work today to go to see his doctor. He changed clothes and then left to go out.

F got back a bit before 6pm. I went downstairs to work on dinner. It was hot in the kitchen. Sigh.

Tonight’s dinner was chicken drumsticks with rice, salad, cucumber pickle, and some gobo salad. K and F also got some mini-tomatoes, so that was good for them.

I got dinner on the table a little late, but not very! I had to wait on the chicken to be cooked. Dinner was good I think. F didn’t eat all of his chicken, but apart from that he did well. 

On one of his trips to the house today F brought some ice cream so we had dessert as well today. Yay for that. 

I went back into the kitchen and got stuck into the dishes. They went…no big deal. After they were finished I started on the burnable garbage. I got most of it done. I did ask F to go to his mother’s room and bring her garbage out. I don’t think she’d like me going in there!

When I finished with that I came upstairs and did my bedroom garbage. I left the bag for F to put his stuff in too. 

I relaxed for a bit and then went downstairs and took a shower tonight. It was nice, but I had to refill my shampoo bottle today. 

I went back upstairs and watched tonight’s Grey’s Anatomy. It was okay. I’m not really sure where things are going to go with the characters, but it is okay. 

I’ve been doing my end of day things and watching/catching up with my internet stuff. It’s been interesting. I’m presently looking at someone’s haul from an internet store. It’s sort of making me want to go shopping, but I rarely do that. 

Tomorrow I should do my weekly laundry as F is planning to take Friday off and I’ll probably miss my Friday laundry date! It’s not a date, it’s just a thing that needs to get done. I need to wash some towels for a change. 

Oh, that reminds me. K tried to do laundry today but didn’t set the machine correctly. She set it so it was trying to take water out of the bath…the machine has a hose to do that, but there is no water in the bath, and she didn’t move the hose at all. The machine was making a little noise, but wasn’t washing her clothes. I stopped it and reset it for her. I hope it worked. I didn’t snoop inside the machine so I didn’t check if she put any soap inside. It’s the second time I’ve seen that she’s messed up the machine. It’s sad to think that she’s probably lost how to wash her clothes. I’ll have to let the social worker know later in the month. 

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

August 4, 2026

Tuesday - Warm and sunny

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I got up, went downstairs and then came back to the bedroom. It was hot in the room so I turned on the AC for an hour and watched a few videos. I fell asleep again, but woke up quite a bit earlier than normal. I got up and dressed then. 

I went downstairs to get my breakfast stuff and then came back to the room. I had my breakfast and then spent some time on my computer. I had a quiet afternoon if I’m honest. It was nice. I backed up my computer and printed out a recipe that I was planning to make for dinner.

While I was eating my lunch, I watched an episode of Evil. I just decided to watch it today. It was quite a good one, but there are only 3 more episodes in the series so I wonder if they’ll end things properly or if it’ll be a cliffhanger?

F called me a little early today and said he was on his way back. I watched a video for 20 minutes and then went downstairs to start dinner.

Tonight after I did the dishes, I got started on the rest of dinner. I made some more cucumber sticks, and then I started the main dish. Tonight I made Buta Kimchi or stir-fried pork with kimchi. I measured things, I prepped some onion, and got ready. When the time came, I started cooking. 

I got things on the table really close to 7pm and called F downstairs. He came a little later and we ate. There wasn’t enough rice for us, F had said there was, but he forgot how crunchy the ends are on the second day. The buta kimchi was good, but a little salty I thought. F thought it had too much sauce, but it didn’t really!

After dinner I did the dishes and listened to parts of three podcasts! I listened to the news from Canada, then finished up Kermode and Mayo’s Take. I only listened to a few minutes of Flickering Dreams but it was fun so far. Tomorrow….

I went upstairs to change and then watched as F did his hunt for his wallet. How can that man lose something so important? He did finally find it…in the car. Ack. 

We drove over to the grocery store and I went in. I bought stuff for dinner for the next couple of days and breakfasts for K and F. I hope things go well with that! I came back to the car and we drove back to the house. 

I asked F to make rice for tomorrow night and then I put the groceries away. I came upstairs and chilled out in front of my computer. At 11pm I watched Law & Order. It was fine, no big deal. After midnight I started doing my end of day things. 

I went downstairs and realized that I didn’t really need the AC on as it was cooler outside than in our room. I turned it off and opened the window. Fair enough, it isn’t too humid tonight so we might as well cool things down naturally. 

I’m not sure what I’ll get up to tomorrow. I’d like to maybe write a postcard or two as I have to get thinking about my column soon. Ack. I need a topic since the Journal theme isn’t really movie friendly. 

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