March 23, 2025

Sunday - Sunny and warmish, with a cool wind.

Well, today should have been a good day, and in some ways it was, but overall, it wasn’t.

I did sleep in this morning. As ever, F had no plans for his day off, so I couldn’t be bothered to get up early. He came into the room as I was dressing and asked if I’d like to go for lunch. I would, so I asked where he wanted to go. He named a restaurant that isn’t open for lunch on the weekend. I told him it was closed but as usual he didn’t believe me. Why? I’m not making this stuff up. I said I’d go there if it was open. A few minutes later, we went off. 

We got near the restaurant and of course, I was right. It wasn’t open. Then, F named another place…not open. He suggested another one which was open, but had a sign on the door saying they were full. He suggested another place and we got into a thing where I was trying to figure out what he meant but he couldn’t describe it properly. He said that we’d been there recently. Well, one that I would have gone to was closed, and the other one was one that I wouldn’t go to. 

He got tired of trying to go anywhere and said he’d just go back to the house. I asked him to take me to S-Mall first and he refused. In fact, he stopped the car and made me get out. He drove off and left me on a street that was miles away from where I wanted to go.

I walked to the Main Post Office and took some money out of my account. Then, I caught a bus from the nearby bus stop to the Mall. 

I went into the mall and then into the hotel. I thought I’d eat lunch there. However, the weekly lunch was already finished for the day and I didn’t feel like eating any of the other foods on the menu.  

I ended up at Pizza Hut again and I had the Hut Melts with a drink from the grocery store. I ate and read my book on my phone. After that, I did a little shopping. I got something for my friend and I surfed the hundred yen shop. They’ve put in self-checkout machines here too. Sigh. I don’t like those. 

I did some shopping at Jupiter, the import shop. I got some tea, some cocoa, and some rhubarb compote that was on sale. Woot. I could maybe make some rhubarb pastries if I feel like it!

I decided that I would have some ice cream as well so I went to Baskin Robbins and ordered some. It was good. I had two kinds, Crunch Peanuts & Chocolate and Love Potion 31. They went well together. I didn’t like the Crunch Peanuts one as much as I thought I would. 

I had decided to catch the second last bus back to the house since I didn’t hear from F. I went over to the bus station and waited a few minutes. I was the only passenger on the bus and I’m sure the driver thought I wouldn’t get off! I did though. I walked back to the house and let myself in.

I went upstairs and there was F lying in bed. I made a face and went through to my half of the room. I went on my computer and did my usual things there. I did a couple of rounds of my sweater tonight too. It’s still not quite big enough!

F asked me after 7 if I wanted some fried rice that he was going to make and of course I said no. I didn’t get an apology from him, as usual. I decided that in a way, I had a much better day because I didn’t spend it with him. He’d be wanting to come back to the room and sleep all day. It’s okay once in a while, but he’s doing it a bit too often in my opinion. 

When it seemed like he was going to get back into bed later I asked him if we could go for groceries. He said no. I asked him if he’d already been and he said no. I suggested that it was fine with me if he wanted his mother to starve tomorrow, I’d just go out and not come back for a couple of days. He decided it was okay to go.

We got to the grocery store and he handed me some money and I went in. I did some shopping for all of us and some food for the next couple of nights. I’m still debating going off for a day or two, but realistically I probably won’t. 

I came back to the house and I put away the groceries. I also fed myself because I did buy food for myself tonight. When I finished I came up to the room, gave F his sandwiches for breakfast and then went back to my computer and put my headphones on. 

I was planning to watch The Day of the Jackal, but I noticed that the Oscars broadcast would expire in a few days so decided to watch that instead. It is fun…it’s still going as I write this! I may not be able to go to bed if it doesn’t stop soon. I kid, but it is a bit long.

So, F is in bed snoring away. I’ll probably get to bed a little early but you never know. I’m not feeling bountiful to my husband at the moment. We’ll see how Monday goes. 

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

March 22, 2025

Saturday - Sunny and warm

I didn’t want to get up this morning as I had stayed up late last night, but I had to get ready to go to the dentist. I got up, dressed myself and waited for F to be ready to go. Unfortunately, I realized that he was changing the tires on the car, making the change from snow tires to summer tires. We had discussed leaving the house at 10 am last night, but F was still changing tires at 10:10 am. I finally had to ask him if he was nearly ready to go. I think he’d forgotten all about my appointment. 

To be fair, he was nearly finished so he put his tools away and grabbed his jacket. Off we went to the dentist. I got worked on for about an hour I think. They did a lot of drilling and freezing and the dentist wasn’t too happy with me when I said I hadn’t eaten this morning. Umm…I like to eat later, but whatever! She finally finished with me and then we paid and made an appointment for next time. My mouth was quite frozen for a while, but it did come back to normal fairly soon. (I had asked for extra freezing as I have a high tolerance for pain killers and a low tolerance for pain! She didn’t believe me I think.)

F drove us to the gas station where he filled up the car and then wanted to go for lunch. I suggested going to Nagomi. He was happy with that idea and we went there.

I had cold udon with a hot soup to dip it in, F had the lunch special of udon and a keisen-don. His looked good, mine was nice.

Then, F wanted to come back to the house and I didn’t. He was tired as he’d been up early. I wasn’t too happy, but agreed to go back too. On the way there we stopped at a small bakery and bought some stuff for later. 

At the house, I plugged in my water pot and soon we had some hot water. We each had a hot drink and a croissant. They were lovely! F went to bed and slept a bit, I stayed up for a while but finally went to bed around 3. I set an alarm for myself for a bit after 4. When it went off, F was awake so I suggested he go downstairs to wait for his mother. He did that and I set a shorter alarm for myself. I slept for a bit longer and then dragged myself out of bed after 5 pm. 

F fed his mother and then wondered about us. It was a tad late for the one restaurant he wanted to go to, so I suggested another one with similar food. We decided we’d go a little later.   We also shared a pastry from the bakery with olives and anchovies and it was amazing!

A bit after 7:30 we left the house. We drove to Coco Ichibanya and went in. I had the handmade chicken cutlet on curry with vegetables, and F had their special curry with ginger. He said his was good, mine definitely was.

Next up we drove to the Aeon Mall in Mikawa and went to see Snow White. It’s quite a controversial movie for various reasons, but it was okay. I wouldn’t say it was my favourite version of the story at all, but I thought Rachel Zegler was really good. 

After the movie we came back to Tsuruoka. On the way back I tried to go over some of the controversies with F, but I’m not sure if he listened!

We had a very quiet time when we got back. F went to bed quite soon as he was tired, and I’m still up hours later of course. 

I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. We’ll have to do the usual grocery shopping but I hope we’ll be able to have a little bit of fun. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, come back later if you like and hear all about what I get up to. Until tomorrow…. 

March 21, 2025

Friday - Sunny and warmish

I woke up this morning and really didn’t want to get up, but I did! Of course, I went back to bed a few minutes later for a later snooze. 

I got up later, had breakfast and decided not to do laundry. Oh well. I had a quiet afternoon. I didn’t even see or hear K much at all. I did a little crochet and I watched a lot of YouTube which was fine.

Over lunch, I watched another episode of The Walking Dead. It was another good episode. This season is just rocking it. I’m quite glad. I’m about a week behind on the show though. It’s okay. I just don’t want all the videos to pile up on my DVR. 

F called a bit late tonight. He had worked very hard today so he was tired. He said he’d stop at the store on the way back to the house. I went downstairs to start dinner. 

Tonight I made pasta with a new sauce from the store, salad and bacon slices. I sautéd the bacon. I also heated up some leftovers from yesterday that F had bought in my air fryer. We had a nice dinner and there weren’t many leftovers at all. 

I did the dishes and then went upstairs to relax. I spent about an hour on my computer before F came up to the room. I went downstairs soon after to take a shower. When I came back to the room, F was already asleep! I tried talking to him, but he was asleep and didn’t answer. 

I had a quiet evening. Tonight I watched an episode of The Great British Sewing Bee and I enjoyed that. I should have watched Severance or Gotham, but I didn’t. I did need something fun and I appreciated it. 

And that’s it. Tomorrow morning I have a dental appointment. I’m not sure what we’ll get up to for the rest of the day. K has her Day Service and we’ll have to see how F feels before we make other plans for the day. 

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

March 20, 2025

Thursday - Rainy, cloudy and cool

I went to bed quite late last night so I slept in this morning. However, I did wake up before my alarm went off, so that was good! I went downstairs, came back and tried to sleep a little longer and then just decided to get up anyway.

I spent time at my computer and then F came upstairs and asked about lunch. I suggested a couple of places including the restaurant in Kushibiki. F liked that one, so off we went. 

We were lucky and were able to get in and get a table. There was a bigger group ahead of us, but they were waiting for a bigger table than we got. We just got a table for two. I had mapo-dofu on yakisoba, F had ramen with mapo-dofu. Both of our dishes were less spicy than last time. That was a good thing. I enjoyed my lunch a lot and I think F liked his too.

Sadly, F wasn’t feeling well, so we came back to the house. I came upstairs and spent time on my computer. F came upstairs and took a nap for a while.  A bit after 3 he asked me if I’d like to go to the Chido Museum to renew my membership. I said sure!

We drove off to the museum and went in. F paid for the membership and left the card with them to do the renewal while we looked at the exhibits. We spent a bit of time looking at the Hina dolls and they were very cool. We visited the garden as usual and it was beautiful, but a bit wet. Then, we went into the farmer’s house and had a little look around. We didn’t go upstairs as my knees were protesting today.

After our time at the museum, I offered to buy F a drink in S-Mall. We drove off to the mall and got a good parking space. I looked at socks on the way in, but didn’t buy any. We went to the coffee shop and F had a coffee and I had a cocoa. Mine was lovely, but I needed a water afterwards. 

After our drinks, we left the mall and then went to Izmo, our old grocery store. We did a little grocery shopping. We got a bento for K, and some things for tomorrow’s dinners, lunches and breakfasts. We came back to the house and then F gave his mother her bento. 

A little later, F and I went out for our dinner. He suggested Udon Ichi and I was okay with it. I knew that his stomach was acting up again so I thought it might be a good idea for him to have a simple meal. 

Well, we got there and it was still open. We went in and ordered. I had the niku udon (meat udon) and F had udon and tempura on rice. I don’t know if tempura is good for upset stomachs! The food was good, but as usual, both F and I spent time on our individual phones. I finally suggested to F that we leave as we were the last customers and I thought they’d like to close down the restaurant!  We paid and left.

We came back to the house and upstairs. I relaxed with my computer for a while and then watched DOC at 11 pm. It was good.

I did quite a lot of crochet today. I didn’t do any yesterday. I did find one bad thing. I looked up the yarn that I’ve been using and it seems that they don’t sell the same colours anymore. Oops. What I might do is buy a contrasting or complementary group of colours. I’ll have to see. I’ll have to wait until I get this half of the sweater done. 

Anyway, F stayed up late trying to make plans for the visitors that we’re expecting in May. However, I had to keep telling him that some of his food choices wouldn’t work. Sigh. 

Anyway, that’s about it for me. I should try and do a bit of laundry tomorrow and I’ll be cooking dinner again, so I could be busy. 

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

March 19, 2025

Wednesday - Rainy and cold

I went to bed a little early last night, I was in bed about half an hour earlier than usual. Unfortunately, F woke up a bit later and went downstairs. I was just about asleep before than so I woke up again. This morning, I woke up around 6:30. I had to go downstairs and of course, I woke up F in the process. Sigh. 

I went back to bed and fell asleep again. My alarm went off a couple of hours later and it took a while before I could drag myself out of bed. I realized that I had to get in gear as I planned to catch a bus at 10:30.  I dressed myself, and even had a quick breakfast. I had a lunch sandwich with marmalade in it. 

I got ready, filled my pocket with the house keys and my Suica Card and phone. I went downstairs and checked what K had to eat in the kitchen. I had made her a plate as usual last night, but I added the leftover stir-fry from another night so if we were late and she was hungry, she had some options. 

I left the house and walked to the bus stop. The bus was a couple of minutes late, but nothing too egregious. There was a little bit of drizzle outside so I was glad the bus wasn’t too late. It was surprisingly busy on the bus. I got off at the station today and went to the regular bus stop. A few minutes later I got on the bus to the Aeon Mall in Mikawa.

When the bus arrived I did a little bit of “window shopping”. I looked for something for my friend’s birthday present and earmarked a couple of things that I liked for later. I went along the mall to the post office and made a small deposit to my post office account. From there, I went to the cinema and bought my ticket for later. I was rather amazed to see that my film was going to be in the big cinema. Woot. 

I went back to the food court in Aeon and went to McDonald's. I had a double cheeseburger and fries and a caffeineless tea. It was good, especially the cheeseburger. I got them to keep ketchup off it, so they had to make it fresh for me! (A little trick a friend told me years ago to get a fresh one, plus now that I’m allergic to tomatoes, a handy thing indeed!)

After I finished lunch, I hustled myself back to the cinema (on the far side of the mall), bought my popcorn and drink and went to see Wicked again! And….it was even better this time. I know I’m crazy, but I really enjoyed it. I’m not sure which actress impressed me more, but I thought the music was wonderful again. 

After the movie, I went back to Aeon and bought a couple of things for my friend and a pair of socks for me. I also went to the grocery store and picked up a few snacks for myself for the next few days. I got things that I can’t get at my usual grocery store.

I was expecting F to be finished work after 5. He’d had to drive to Yamagata City today so was a bit late. When he called me I asked if he’d rather meet at Doutors or Mr Donut and he chose the doughnuts! Now that we don’t have a Mr Donut in Tsuruoka, it seems a huge treat just to have one and some coffee there!

I walked to the entrance of the mall and saw F park the car. I waited for him to come into the mall and we went over to Mr Donut. We each got a doughnut and a cup of cafe au lait.  Then, we got refills on the coffee! After a lot of phone time on both our parts, I suggested that we get going as K was by herself at the house and we were later than usual. 

We went over to the grocery store and bought bentos for tonight. I got a grilled chicken one, F got an assortment of stuff and he chose a keisen-don for K. We also got some gobo salad and some potato salad. We checked out and then drove back to Tsuruoka.

At the house, K seemed happy to see us. She was up for a change too, so that was good. F heated up two of the bentos and made us some miso soup. We had a little feast. K was very pleased with her meal and honestly, so was I. 

After we ate, I went into the kitchen and washed the dishes and glasses and the bento boxes too. Tomorrow is a holiday so I couldn’t do the garbage prep that I usually do, but I changed the drain net and the corner box liner. Yay me. 

I went upstairs and relaxed for a while. F didn’t come upstairs for a long time. He was watching a baseball game I think. Close to 11pm I went downstairs and took a shower. When I came back to the room, I watched one of the news programmes that I recorded during the day. It was the usual news. 

And that’s it for my day. I showed F my purchases and I watched some YouTube videos. It’s been a nice evening. Tomorrow is a national holiday so F is off work. I’m not sure what we’re going to get up to, come back a bit later and find out!

Until tomorrow….

March 18, 2025

Tuesday - Colder and a bit damp.

I got to bed a bit early last night and I don’t think F woke up at all, so that was good. However, he woke me up when he got up and got ready for work. I was a tad annoyed, but fair is fair I guess. I pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep!

I got up a bit later today. I woke up when my alarm went off, but got up a bit later. I went downstairs and then did the going back to bed thing. I slept a bit and was quite late getting up. I dressed and went downstairs and made my breakfast. I brought it upstairs to eat. 

I had a quiet morning/afternoon. I went downstairs and did a load of laundry. I had to take F’s clothes out of the washing machine as he had started a wash before he left for work today. I dumped his clothes in the basket in the bathroom. 

Around 3 I went downstairs to make my lunch. I brought it upstairs and then I watched an episode of The Walking Dead. It was a good one with lots of developments in different groups of people.

F called after 5pm to say he was on his way back. I went downstairs and he arrived back just after I did. I got started on dinner. Tonight I did chicken wings with salad and kimchi on the table. I also made a scrambled egg with nila recipe that I found online. It was quite good. Dinner was nice.

I did the dishes and then F and I went out to the grocery store. I didn’t get anything for dinner for tomorrow night. I’m planning to go to the mall and I thought I’d buy something there for dinner. Wish me luck with that!

We bought a few groceries and then came back to the house. We put away the groceries and then came upstairs. I made popcorn just before 11pm and then watched FBI: Most Wanted. It was the last episode of the season I think. It was okay. 

And that’s about it for my day. Today I only did a little bit of crochet, but it’s okay. I’ve just started to repeat the colours from the beginning. I’m still in love with it!

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

March 17, 2025

Monday - Rainy, cloudy and cool

Last night, F wouldn’t go to bed. In fact, I was in bed before he was.  We had a bit of a fight about it and I went to sleep and ignored him. I woke up early and had to go downstairs. It was a bit funny in a way. I had to go downstairs, and then F and then K came out of her room.  I fell back asleep, but I think F might have got up, I’m not sure. 

I woke up again when F’s alarm clock rang. He had already left the house so I turned it off and went back to sleep for a while. I slept a bit late and went downstairs after 9 and then had a longer snooze. I finally got up later and got dressed.

I had my breakfast and watched the news. Today I did a bit of crochet on my hexagon cardi and added about 3 colours to it. I love it so far. I will have to get more yarn, I’m just not sure how much I’ll have to get. 

In the afternoon I washed the mattress cover from when we changed the bed a couple of days ago. I set the washing machine to dry as well so that it wouldn’t be so heavy hanging up in my room.

Over lunch, I watched another episode of The Walking Dead. It was good today. Season 11 is quite cool so far. I’m still worried that someone is going to die, but hopefully not. 

F called after 5 and said he was on the way. I went downstairs and got a bit of a start on dinner. F came back and we had a nice reunion. He went upstairs and I got on with it. 

Tonight’s dinner was a pork-vegetable stir-fry. I did get a veggie mix from the store, but I added a few veggies too. I cut up the necessary veggies and the meat too. I stir-fried them and called F downstairs for dinner. 

We had a nice dinner, but I’m the only one that had seconds. I could have had more too!

I did the dishes afterwards. It didn’t take too long as we only had a couple of dishes tonight. I put out a bag of plastic garbage for F to take out in the morning. I also checked in with him and suggested that he look at the sliding kitchen door. It has started to stick when I open it. He got to work! I went upstairs, turned on the heater, and watched some YouTube videos while doing more crochet. 

After 10, I took a shower and then came back to the room. I spent some time writing an email and then put on Mythic Quest. It was quite a good one. 

F went to bed before midnight and he seems to be sleeping now. He was really tired I think. I hope he doesn’t wake up when I go to bed. 

I’m not sure what I’ll get up to tomorrow. Hopefully, it’ll be fun. Come back a bit later and find out! Until tomorrow….