April 10, 2021

Saturday - Sunny but cool

Today wasn’t a great day at all. I’m rather ticked off about it. F wouldn’t make any plans yesterday which is always a mistake for us. I didn’t have anything that I needed today either so we were a bit aimless today.

I got up late, F made brunch for his mother and then came back up to bed. I was all dressed up in a cute outfit and was ready to go for lunch, but F went to bed. Instead of talking about where to go, he decided not to go anywhere. I get that he wasn’t feeling well, but I wanted to eat something. 

I grabbed my very late breakfast and then had that in my half of the room. I closed the doors and ate breakfast. I was quite annoyed for a while, but I had some tea and then started to feel sad for F. I opened the door, offered him some tea and a TimTam and we started talking again. Whew! 

He suggested going to the Aquarium. I thought it was a good idea, in fact, I had thought about going there for our lunch, but that didn’t work out.

We drove to the Aquarium and had a pretty good time going through the place. I took tons of photos, which reminds me that I should have posted some today! Oops. The Aquarium wasn’t too busy today, but people would either not move, or would get too close. I hate that! The octopus was quiet today and didn’t move much so that was rather sad. I didn’t take any pictures of it.

We had a nice time there and then left. We drove into Tsuruoka and had a drink at the Doutors in the big tourist area. We had to sit in the food court area to drink our drinks.  

When we were done, F started driving and I didn’t know where he was planning on going. He was going to go to the house. Hmm. I didn’t mind if he was getting medicine, but he wasn’t. I told him I was hungry and he told me that I should have told him. I thought it would be obvious since I had only eaten breakfast and not much else, but, I did what he said and I said “I’m hungry, I need something to eat!”

We ended up going to his favourite fish restaurant. In the evening they are more of an izakaya, which was sad because they didn’t have set meals.  F had a mountain of fish donburi and I had grilled tuna cheeks and an onigiri. They were good, at least the tuna was. 

We picked up a few things at a grocery store, mostly for K’s dinner, but I also got a little bit of fried chicken. 

We came back to the house and I put away the groceries, F gave his mother food and we came upstairs. 

We had a quiet evening and didn’t do very much at all. I watched a show at 11pm and did a little crochet. It went swimmingly until I found a knot in the yarn. Grr!

It’s now really late and I need to get this blog done so I can get to bed. Or something!  Come back later if you will and hear all about my Sunday. Until tomorrow….

April 9, 2021

Friday - Sunny but cold. Snow has been forecast!

I woke F up by accident when I went to bed last night. He wasn’t upset but said he might not fall asleep again.  He did but woke up early.  This morning, he didn’t go to work. He texted them and said that he is taking off the morning to go to the doctor.  And then, he did!

I had my usual morning at the house. I watched the news and then grabbed my breakfast and ate it. F had called on his way back to ask if I wanted to go out for breakfast but I said no.  He came back and made something for his mother, his own brunch and then he went to work. 

I had a fairly good afternoon. I watched some YouTube and did some crochet. When the time came, I went downstairs and made my lunch. I also gave K a plate that I made last night for her.  I’m so nice!

I went upstairs, watched another episode of The Walking Dead. Yay, nobody died this episode either.  I need to get more of it off the DVR. 

I went down to the kitchen around 5:45 to get a start on dinner. Tonight I was doing a fairly easy one, pasta with sautéed shrimp, and salad. I had to defrost the shrimp too and wash the lettuce. No big deal really. F came back while I was getting things ready, so I could cook the actual spaghetti. 

Dinner was very well received and most of it got eaten up! I had bought a container of mini-tomatoes that was full. I’d washed them and so many of them disappeared! I didn’t have any, F only had a couple…K really likes them.

After dinner, I cleared the table and started doing the dishes. F came to “help” but immediately started using the wrong sponge and got quite shirty when I asked him to use the correct one. He got angry, so I told him that I would do the dishes. 

I did. I listened to a couple of podcasts and then when I was done, I went upstairs. F didn’t seem to be angry so I suggested going out for a coffee or staying in and watching a movie. He didn’t want to watch a film, so said that he’d go for coffee.

We ended up at Komeda Coffee and had our coffee with some dessert. We both had the same thing, decaf coffee with the custard cake. It was nice.  The coffee shop was very quiet tonight, which is a good thing for us. 

We left a few minutes before the coffee shop closed and came back to the house.  I took a shower fairly soon and then watched a little YouTube. I thought F had gone to bed, but around 2 we had quite a good chat for a while. He’s sleeping now I think.

And that was my day. I have no idea what we’ll get up to this weekend. We might run a few errands or we might get some rest. I have no idea. Come back later and find out! Until tomorrow…. 

April 8, 2021

Thursday - Sunny but a little muggy, rain at night

I woke up this morning and F had already left for work. I went downstairs and then came back up. I put the news on and half-watched, half-dozed through it. I snoozed on a bit but did manage to get myself up and sorted before yesterday’s time. Woot!

I did a couple of loads of laundry today and hung them up in my room. I watched the news from early on and a little bit of YouTube. 

I grabbed lunch and also gave K some of yesterday’s leftovers. She seemed quite happy to get them. I brought my lunch upstairs and when the video I was watching finished I watched an episode of The Walking Dead and hurray, nobody died!

F texted me around 5 pm tonight and said that he would try and go to his doctor. A little later he called and said that his doctor was closed but he had to work late anyway. He wouldn’t be back until 7 at the earliest, but probably 8 pm.

I went downstairs and started getting ready for dinner. Tonight it was chicken nuggets with a homemade honey-mustard sauce, steamed vegetables, salad, beets and anchovy potatoes. I was a bit busy getting things ready, but eventually, it all got done. F wasn’t back yet though. I decided to go ahead with dinner. I tried to explain to K that F was still working and should be back around 8 pm. It was around 7 at this time. 

We had a nice meal and we really enjoyed it. K really seemed to like it!  We finished and I took our plates out to the kitchen. I was just going to start the dishes when F called to say he was coming back. 

I made him a plate of food and when he came back, he took it to the living room and had dinner. I got on with the dishes.  I reminded him that we should go and get a few things for dinner tomorrow. I finished the dishes and then let F know that I could leave soon. 

I went upstairs and changed my clothes. We went out and drove to Mina, not our usual store. We picked up a few groceries and then checked out. We had a pretty good time. F was being silly! I would go down one aisle looking for him with an armful of stuff and he’d run off to another aisle. 

At the house again we put away the groceries and came upstairs. F went to bed fairly soon, I watched the last episode of Blindspot. It was actually quite good and they made the ending one of those…   “but did it really happen?” things…which I quite liked in the context of the show. 

I did a bit of crochet during the show and then put it away when the show finished. It’s coming along. Yay me.

And that’s about it. Today was a little quiet, but at least I did get laundry done and cooked dinner. Yay me. 

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

April 7, 2021

 Wednesday - Sunny with a little rain at night

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off, but managed to snooze a little longer. I went downstairs then came back to the room. I tried to watch the news but it was too late. I dozed on and off for a while, before finally getting up. 

I had another quiet morning and then afternoon. I gave K the food I’d saved for her lunch and took my own lunch upstairs. 

I managed to watch an episode of The Walking Dead today and whew, no one died. The last two episodes were hard to watch. Maybe I can watch a couple more episodes soon?!

When F called me I went downstairs and started on dinner. I was busy for a while. Tonight I washed lettuce for a salad, I cut up some beets, I set the table and I also made a stir-fry sauce for the main dish. I had bought some frozen squid and shrimp for dinner tonight, so I defrosted them. When the time came, I stir-fried the seafood mixture, then added in the veggies. I put the sauce over it all and let it cook a little longer. 

When I called F down I mentioned that the kitchen door was sticking. Of course, he had to try to fix it immediately when I really wanted him to sit down and eat!  He didn’t eat much of the stir-fry and he said he didn’t like the sauce. Well, thanks for that. I guess that honesty is a good thing, but the way he said it was rather hurtful.

I got to do all the dishes again, listening to podcasts tonight. K came in with the canister that F uses for his kimchee and asked me to wash it. I was rather annoyed with her for that. Dammit, wash it yourself. By the time I finished the dishes I had cooled down and decided I’d try and do it. However, it wasn’t empty yet, so I left it!

I went upstairs and F was already up there. We decided that we’d go out right away so I changed and we left. His mother stopped us and asked us to get her some cough drops.  We went to the drugstore first, got the cough drops and a few other things, then hit up the gas station for some kerosene for the house. 

We came back to the house and I put away some of the food things I bought while F put away the kerosene.  I went upstairs and then he came up later too. I got the garbage ready to go out, left the bag for him to put his stuff in it and went down to do the kitchen garbage and then take a shower.  I went to the washroom first and when I was done, I went into the kitchen and there was F making ramen. That annoyed me a lot. He was in my way AND he didn’t eat my lovely dinner. He did get out of my way which was a good thing! 

Garbage done, I took my shower.  I turned down the hot water and came upstairs. I watched Shameless and it was a tad odd tonight. F fell asleep quite early. He’s had a headache for the last few days, so it is probably a good thing. 

So that was it for my day. I’m not as upset with F as I sound. He’s a lovely guy but we haven’t been connecting well this week. I’m still thinking about the position I’ve been offered and how I feel about it. 

Anyway, come back later if you will and hear all the scuttlebutt. Until tomorrow….

April 6, 2021

Tuesday - Overcast then sunny and warm

I woke up early again this morning, but I was able to get back to sleep afterwards. F was also not noisy for a change so I was able to sleep.  I got up a bit later and then just as I was going to watch the news from early on, I got a phone call. 

A person representing the place that I’m hoping to work next month contacted me to see if I could meet up with her and discuss some of the terms of the organization. We arranged to meet over at Komagihara Park around 1 pm.

For the rest of the morning, I had my breakfast, sorted out something to wear later on and watched the news. 

Around 12:45 I said goodbye to K and walked over to the park.  At 1:00pm I met the person and we decided to go over to Cafe Studio Cinq.  We went in and had some tea while we had a discussion. Sad to say, it didn’t go as well as I hoped. The problem is that I’m not willing to work for free. Did I say problem? It’s not my problem! I’m not willing to work for peanuts.

She was nice enough to drive me back to the house and then she had to go. I came in the house, changed my clothes and grabbed my lunch. I gave K some lunch too. 

During the afternoon I watched a movie that I had recorded on the weekend. It was called Juliet, Naked and it was quite cute. It starred Ethan Hawke, Chris O’Dowd and Rose Byrne. O’Dowd and Byrne were a couple, but not a wildly successful one. He was a huge fan of a little-known rock singer, who ended up contacting his girlfriend. It was a bit odd but also funny. 

I watched the 4 pm news and then when F called I went down and started on dinner. Tonight I was making quite a good one. Earlier I had marinated some pork in a garlic soy sauce. I sautéed that, and made some potatoes au gratin, and also a kabocha and tuna salad. We had that with salad. F and K had some of her miso soup. I refused to have any since it had been sitting out on the stove for two nights. I’d get sick most likely. It isn’t cold enough now to do that kind of thing.

Dinner was actually pretty great. I liked my gratin potatoes, the kabocha was good and the pork was okay.  

I got to do the dishes afterwards. I listened to a couple of podcasts and then had a chat with F. I reminded him that we had to get groceries tonight.  He wasn’t feeling well again but agreed to go.

I changed my clothes to go out and then we went off to MaxValu. I got some stuff to make a stirfry tomorrow night and also some other things for Thursday and possibly Friday. 

We came back to the house and I put things away. F was doing something in the kitchen so I came upstairs and put on my pyjamas. I decided to fill up the kerosene tank in the heater. It was a little cold tonight. The only problem, there isn’t much kerosene. F told me there were two little tanks of it in the cupboard, but one was empty and the other was only half full. He did offer to go out and get more tonight, but I told him not to bother. Hopefully, we can get some tomorrow.

And that’s about it. I had planned to watch some TV but unfortunately, it was all repeats of shows I had watched on Saturday. I ended up on YouTube and F went to bed and slept. I’m really glad as he isn’t feeling that great.

So that’s it for me. Tomorrow I’m making dinner again and I’m not sure what else I’ll get up to during the day. Come back later if you want and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 5, 2021

Monday - Muggy then sunny

Today didn’t get off to a good start. I woke up before 7, made a trip downstairs. When I came back, F was getting up and had the light on. I tried to go back to sleep, but F is not exactly quiet in the morning. Last night before he went to bed, F had ramen. At 2:30 in the morning, he made himself ramen. In fact, I went to bed before he did. I was not impressed by him bringing stinky ramen to our room that late!

So, F left, but less than 5 minutes later he was back again. He didn’t have his keys. I suggested using his spare key, but he said he didn’t know where that was. Oh, good grief. I went downstairs to see if he’d left them in the kitchen last night, but I didn’t find them. 

I came back upstairs and he did find his keys, probably in yesterday’s clothes! He left and I stayed awake for a few minutes and then went back to sleep. I had changed my alarm when I went back to sleep and I ended up oversleeping again. Sigh.

I had a real problem today feeling motivated to do anything. I was tired and just feeling a bit off. Luckily I didn’t have anything that I desperately needed to do today. 

Around 5:30 I went downstairs to start on dinner. I made chicken but kind of took it a little too easy for the rest of the meal. I had planned to make some steamed carrots but talked myself out of it. We ended up having steamed mushrooms, salad, mustard chicken, pickles, mini tomatoes, rice for F and K and couscous for me.  It was quite good.

When I was doing the dishes I finished up Pride and Prejudice. I listened to a couple of podcasts too.  I’ll miss P&P. I’ve downloaded a version of Persuasion so hopefully, I’ll start that too. I feel like I need some Literature in my life again!

The evening was terribly quiet. F went to bed quite early and has been sleeping for ages. I watched The Good Wife at 11 pm which I enjoyed. I did a bit of crochet again tonight and got a couple of rows done which makes me happy!

Really, that is it for the day. I have a few things I want to do tomorrow like update my movie page and cook dinner, but apart from that, I’m not sure what I’ll do. Feel free to come back and see later on. Until tomorrow….

April 4, 2021

Sunday - Cloudy and then rainy

I woke up this morning before my alarm, which really surprised me. F went downstairs to make food for his mother and I got up and eventually got dressed. When he came back upstairs we talked about where to go for our lunch. Since he had an appointment at 1:30 we decided to just go to Futaba up the road. We did and had a nice lunch. I didn’t have the cheapish lunch I usually have, I had the pork lunch and it was good. F had ginger pork. 

After lunch, we stopped near Tsuruoka Park and looked at the cherry blossoms. I was really surprised that the blossoms were out. F told me they were out a few days ago, it surprised me a lot. Usually, they come out just before Golden Week here. The trees looked lovely and the crowds weren’t big at all. 

Looking at the Chido Museum across the moat through the Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossoms! I always forget how beautiful they are!

We went back to the car and drove off. F let me off at the mall and I went inside. I didn’t do a lot in the time I was there, but I did walk around a lot. I visited the hundred yen shop and the grocery store but ended up in the coffee shop of course. I stayed there until F came back. He got himself a drink and I got him to get me another one too. We stayed there for a while. 

After we finished our drinks we went out to the car and went to the grocery store. I picked up some groceries for the next couple of days. When we finished there, we went to Gyomu Super and I picked up a few more things. We got some frozen things and some things that will make my cooking life a little easier over the next few weeks. I hope!  I’m not really able to get to Costco for the next couple of weeks or months because of the pandemic, so Gyomu will have to do!

We came back to the house and I put the groceries away. We went upstairs for a little bit and relaxed. Around 6:30 I suggested to F that we might want to think about dinner.  I suggested a couple of places, one of which was Kula Sushi. He made a reservation for it and we went off to the restaurant a little later.

Dinner was okay. It wasn’t the greatest quality sushi, but I like the fun things they offer. Recently I’ve had their cheddar cheese tempura on rice and today I liked their salmon with basil sauce. That was good. 

We came back to the house after our meal and went our separate ways. I took a shower later on and F and I had a quiet evening in. 

That’s about it for today. It was a long day, but a good one. It was nice to get out in the park and see the lovely flowers, and it was nice to get some shopping done too. 

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