March 9, 2026

 Monday - Cool, windy, but sunny

I woke up when my alarm went off this morning. I went downstairs and thought that F was in the washroom! He doesn’t wear slippers so there was no sign outside the door that he was in the toilet except for the fan being on. I decided to give him a minute and then knocked on the door and “helloed?!”him a couple of times. Not in there. He was in the shower!

I went back upstairs and went back to bed for a bit. I decided that if I got up at 9:30 I’d have enough time to get ready to go out. I snoozed for a bit, at 9:30 I decided I needed another 15 minutes so I snoozed longer. Well, 25 minutes later I got up. Yikes. I had to leave in 25-30 minutes. I got dressed and then found my backpack, went downstairs and left the house. I locked the door and walked to the bus stop. 

F was off at his doctor’s office so he couldn’t give me a ride to the cinema. No worries. I got to the area quickly and then went to the post office first. I bought some stamps and cashed in my “winning” nengajo. I got a set of stamps, I only matched two numbers.

I walked down to the nearby drugstore and bought a few things for myself there. I didn’t get anything too exciting. I got a drink for the cinema. I walked back to the cinema and bought my ticket. It was quite busy considering how crowded the cinema was. I couldn’t get an aisle seat, so I ended up sitting in the middle of a row, but not next to anyone. I saw a woman I knew slightly, another foreigner and it ended up that I was sitting in the same row as her. We smiled and nodded. The movie? Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. It was lovely! I enjoyed it a lot. Of course I was verklempt at the end and I may have had to wipe my eyes a few times! 

After the movie I left the cinema and went to the door of the building. I texted F to say I was finished and he could pick me up if he wanted. I also ate the sandwich that I had bought to eat before the movie. I couldn’t eat it in the cinema because it was so crowded and I didn’t want to annoy people. 

F picked me up a few minutes later. As I hadn’t eaten too much at all that day, I suggested going to an Indian restaurant, so off we went. We were the only customers as it was a bit late. I had the keema curry in a spinach sauce meal, F had some chicken wings as he wasn’t too hungry. We left a bit late, after I’d finished eating. F was really hard to get moving. I kept trying to move him, as they were technically closed, but he didn’t want to leave. I was annoyed!

We went to Gyomu Supa next and bought a few things. They didn’t have any baby cheese, their potato salad wasn’t going to last long enough for us, but we got a lot of other things so that was nice.

We brought our food back to the house and put it away. Some of it needed to go in the freezer. F stayed downstairs, I went upstairs and relaxed. I watched the news sort of. Around 6 F wanted to go to the grocery store. He was making dinner tonight, so needed ingredients. I needed food for tomorrow and Wednesday.

We bought our groceries and I hope got enough stuff for all of us. I’m going to do tacos tomorrow night. They won’t be authentic but so what. We’ll enjoy them anyway.

F prepared dinner. Tonight he made a nabe and it was fine. It wasn’t my favourite soup, but thankfully it wasn’t the usual boring soup he uses as a base. He also cleaned up afterwards so it was nice I didn’t have to do anything. Yay for me!

I went upstairs to relax and watch YouTube. I came downstairs around 10:20 to take a shower. F went upstairs around the same time. When I came back upstairs I decided to watch something on the TV and put on an episode of Elsbeth. It was quite good, Ioan Gruffudd was on it. He saw a murder in New York from Scotland using a video portal in his town. It was cool, if a bit unbelievable. 

And that’s about it. Tomorrow I’ll have to try and do some laundry again. I’ll check out the cinema listings tomorrow and decide if I’ll go to the cinema again this week or next week. I’d like to see Wicked: For Good again. I also need to get my bestie another birthday present so I’d really like to go and do some shopping! A trip to the mall may be just what I need!

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

March 8, 2026

 Sunday - Snowy, Cold, Wintery

I woke up before 9 this morning, went downstairs and then ended up going back to bed. I slept longer, F came in the room but didn’t say anything. He went downstairs so I got up a few minutes later, dressed and went to talk to him. 

We planned to go to lunch at a restaurant near City Hall, but when we got there, they weren’t open! We tried another place, the butcher’s shop near my dentist’s office. We got in after a long wait outside. We paid and then were seated later. I had chicken Nanban and F had the roast beef donburi. I had a lot of food, I didn’t expect so much. I liked the lunch today, it was better than the last time we went. One interesting thing was that we saw one of F’s nieces and her family at the restaurant!

After lunch, we went to the Chido Museum and went to the Hina Doll exhibition. Who did we see at the museum? Yes, you guessed it, F’s niece again! It was funny. The dolls were cool and interesting to see. We went into another building that was called “Nostalgia” and it had items from the last century on show. They had a room set up that you could take pictures in and some games as well. It was rather well done. 

We did a quick run-through of the garden and the went back to the car. F suggested going to Komeda so that’s what we did. We had a cup of coffee each and then left around 4 pm.

We went to J. Marui, the cheap bento grocery store and picked up some food for dinner. F got himself and his mother some sushi and I got a salad and some sliced chicken. F picked up other things for food for his mother tomorrow too.

We came back to the house. I went upstairs, and F stayed downstairs with his mother. When he came up later he told me that he’d already eaten with his mother. I wasn’t too happy about that. I thought he should have invited me to join them. 

Around 6:30pm I got my food and came back up to the room and ate. The sliced chicken was surprisingly nice! When I finished eating it was about time to leave so I took my garbage downstairs and washed it. We left for Mikawa and made fairly good time even though the weather wasn’t too good.

We arrived, went into the cinema and I bought the tickets while F went to the washroom! I got the tickets and then we joined up in the concession line. I needed to use the washroom so I went into the cinema and F stayed in line and bought the popcorn. He got into the theatre before the movie started. We went to see Wicked: For Good. It was good, darker than the first one, but I really enjoyed it. I don’t know if it’ll be one of my favourite films of the year like the first one, but I did like it. F said he liked it too 

After the movie was over, I asked F if we could go over to Don Quihote as I’d like to pick up a couple of things. He said it was okay. I did get myself a charging cord for my cellphone. The one I plug into at night was shorting out on me. It could be my phone, but it could be my cord too. 

We picked up a cord and then got a few other things in the food section. I was looking for cereal, but didn’t find any. I got some cheap pasta sauce, and F picked up a lot of things for himself and his mother. 

We drove back to Tsuruoka and got back just after midnight. I went upstairs, F made himself some noodles of course!

And that…was my day. It was pretty good actually. Tomorrow F is planning to take the day off so he can go and see his doctor. His neck is bothering him again…I think it could be due to the weather change, but he needs some relief. I’m hoping to head off to Machi-kinema tomorrow to see an early movie. I hope I can get myself out of bed to do it.

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

March 7, 2026

Saturday - Rainy, snowy, windy and generally yuck

I got up first time this morning around 8 am. I went downstairs and then came back upstairs and went back to bed. I snoozed then slept for a couple of hours. F came in the room and we had a nice snuggle for a few minutes. He suggested going to Atsumi Onsen for lunch. I was okay with it, but later I suggested going to the place in Oyama.  That’s what we ended up doing.

We had lunch at Saint Amour and today I just had their kara-age lunch. The chef did volunteer to make a non-tomato pasta for me if I wanted, but I just wanted the kara-age. It was really good if I’m honest. We got salad, a pickle, a bowl of rice and three things to season our chicken with. There was also a soup bar with lovely real soup. I had the French Onion soup and it was amazing. F had the same meal as I did. 

After lunch, we drove back into Tsuruoka proper and after a brief pitstop went shopping in Shimamura. It’s a decent clothes store and as I’m looking for something cool for my bestie in Canada’s birthday, we had a look around. I did find her something which F nicely bought for me. I got socks for me too. After our successful shopping, we drove over to S-Mall and took my handbag in to get fixed again. One of the tabs for the handles has broken again. I am kicking myself for not getting them both fixed last year when the other one broke. Anyway, they took my bag, hopefully I’ll get it back in a couple of weeks. In the mean time, I’m using a huge handbag my bestie sent me years ago. It isn’t a backpack style, but I can sling it over my shoulder so that’s good.

I took F to Doutor and bought us each a coffee. His was regular, mine was decaf. We sat and spent time on our phones for a while. We finally left when F complained he was sleepy!

We came back to the house and F stayed downstairs to welcome his mother back…in 45 minutes. I came upstairs to drink tea and relax. I think I had a snooze at my computer for a few minutes too. 

Our plan was to go to the 8:25 show of Wicked: For Good tonight and I was really looking forward to it. I loved Wicked and named it as my favourite film of last year. However, F did that thing where he said he was sick again and didn’t want to see it. He did offer to take me and let me go by myself. I almost took him up on that, but I didn’t know what he’d do with himself at that time of night as the mall is basically closed after 8pm. He’d have to just sit outside in the car for two and a half hours. That would be sad wouldn’t it? I suggested that we go tomorrow instead. There is either a show at 5 something and the one at 8 something again. 

F made dinner for his mother and then came upstairs and we rested for a bit. Finally I suggested that we go out. F said he didn’t want to eat so we went over to Gusto. 

At Gusto we had dinner. I had my favourite pasta with mushrooms and nama ham. I shared a plate of fries with F and we both had drink bar. It was a decent meal and I think we both enjoyed it.

After the meal F wanted to go to the grocery store so we did that. He picked up a few things and I got a couple of spice packets. After we left the store we drove over to the drugstore and went in. 

We bought a few things at the drugstore. I picked up some pasta and pasta sauces which were cheaper than at the grocery store. We came back to the house and put away the groceries.

I came upstairs and relaxed with a bit of YouTube. At 11pm I watched The Hunting Party which was quite good tonight. 

F and I had a bit of a cuddle time and then he went to bed a few minutes later. I’m up for now, but want to get to bed soon as it is really late. 

Well, that’s about it for me. I’m hoping that we do go and see Wicked: For Good. If not, I will be going by myself next week. I do wish that F wasn’t always “sick” or claiming to be sick on the weekends. It takes all the fun out of going to the movies with him. 

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

 

March 6, 2026

Friday - Cool, and cloudy

I woke up this morning after F went to work, but before my alarm. I went downstairs, then came back to the room and went back to sleep for a bit. I woke up a couple of hours later, got dressed and went downstairs. Then, I came back to the room, took off some of my clothes and went back to sleep! I overslept but it was okay in my opinion!

I got up and stayed up then. I went downstairs to get my breakfast and brought it up to the room to eat. I did a load of laundry today and brought it back up to the room to hang up. I also unravelled a bit of my blanket, but there isn’t any of the colour I want for a while. Oh dear!

Around 3 I went downstairs and made my lunch. Today it was quite basic so I just had a bagel served open-style with ham and cheese on it. I watched another episode of The Good Fight. It was another good one and one of the judges on it today was Eric Stoltz. He didn’t have a big part really. 

When my show was over I watched the US news sort of. To be honest, these days it is on, but I’m not paying much attention to it. It feels like the US President’s own show all the time. 

F called me after 5:30 and said he was coming back to the house. I went downstairs a bit later and started getting ready for dinner. Tonight I did my usual pasta dinner. F chose a basil sauce, so that’s what I used. We had that with a sliced duck breast and a salad and you know, dinner was good. I got it on the table about 7 pm, so not too bad really. 

After we ate, I did the dishes and managed to hurt my hand somehow. It feels a bit like I sprained it, but I’m not sure what I did. I’ll try and baby it this weekend. 

I came upstairs when I finished my work and chilled out for a while. I debated watching a movie, but decided not to. I did take a shower at 10:30 and then came back to the bedroom and I watched The Handmaid’s Tale. There are two more episodes which will be broadcast next week so hopefully I’ll be finished watching them soon!

After midnight, F went to bed and I turned off the TV. I’m trying to get things finished up quickly. 

I’m not too sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. I’m hoping that we can go and see Wicked: For Good at Mikawa. K should be off to her day service if all goes well so F and I are free for a couple of hours. Hurray for that.

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

March 5, 2026

Thursday - Colder but sunny

I went to bed after blogging last night. I woke up fairly early, so early that F was still asleep. I went back to sleep and slept through my alarms! I got up finally, went downstairs and then went back to bed where I fell asleep again. I was late waking up, but I did finally. I dressed and went downstairs again. 

I went into the kitchen and decided to make oatmeal again for my breakfast. I managed not to boil it over again. I brought it upstairs to eat. I really enjoyed it.

I had a quiet afternoon but didn’t get a lot of things done. I should have done a few things, but whatever. I went downstairs around 3 to make my lunch and then I brought it upstairs to eat. As usual, I watched an episode of The Good Fight. It was good but ended very strangely, with someone seeming to fall off the building. It was a bit gross. 

F called me around 5:30 to say that he was coming back to the house. I finished up what I was doing on my computer and then changed and went downstairs. I got started on dishes in the kitchen.

F was quite late today. He said there was a lot of traffic, so I was worried. He did arrive finally though. 

Tonight we had garlic chicken, gobo salad, salad and rice. I also served dessert tonight too. We had some frozen blueberries and ice cream. That was very popular! K seemed really happy to have dessert. 

I did the dishes afterwards and they went very quickly. I’m glad about that. I was finished around 8:30, so I let F know and then I went upstairs to change.

We went out to Mina and went grocery shopping. We picked up the eggs I forgot last time, I got some salad and stuff for K’s breakfast and F’s breakfast too. F bought himself some adult beverage and some rice as well so it was rather expensive. 

We came back to the house, put away the groceries and then came upstairs to relax. I watched an episode of The Handmaid’s Tale and then another of Evil. I’m really liking this show but it’s going away at the end of the month. Sigh. 

I started working on my end of day things as usual. I’m mostly done now. I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to tomorrow. I’ll likely do some more laundry and try to get myself ready for the weekend. 

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

March 4, 2026

Wednesday - Cloudy and rainy

I had a bit of a funny thing happen last night before bed. I couldn’t find my remote control to turn off the light in the room I use my computer. Ack. I looked for it, but I was trying to be quiet as F was already asleep. I didn’t find it, so I had to get up again and turn off the light in the room manually.

I woke up a bit early this morning, as in before my alarm. I went downstairs and then came back to the room. I looked for my light remote control and I found it. It had fallen into my garbage can and then later in the day I had thrown out some socks and put them on top of it! My garbage can has a lid on it so it covered the garbage inside it!

I went back to bed for some videos and snoozing time. I dragged myself out of bed a bit later than I’d like. I got dressed and then I went downstairs and grabbed my breakfast. I brought it upstairs to eat. 

During the day I watched some YouTube and also decided to write up a couple of postcards for Postcrossing. Next time I’m in the post office I’ll have to get more stamps so I won’t be able to send more until then. I’m sending to the UK and Belarus. 

During my lunch time I watched another episode of The Good Fight and it was fun. I was surprised to see Jennifer Ehle on the show as a judge! She was my favourite Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. 

F called me at 5:30ish and a little while later I went downstairs to get started on dinner. F was back around the same time that I came downstairs.  

Tonight’s dinner was premade burgers from the store, French Fries, salad and fried eringi. I should have bought more of them as they were so good!

I did the dishes quite quickly after dinner. I was half hoping that I’d be able to join a group meeting online but I couldn’t. Oh well. When I finished the dishes I still had to do the garbage up for the week. I asked F to help me with his mother’s garbage but he was deep into a game on his phone and didn’t want to. He said he would do it later. Okay then. I told him it was okay but I was going upstairs! I did. 

I watched more YouTube and did a little work on my loom knitting. It is going quite well. I need to unravel more of my blanket as I need more yarn in my colours!

I took a shower after 10pm and then came back upstairs and watched The Irrational. Tonight it was all about a train that might crash. It was quite good. 

And, honestly, that is just about it for today. I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to tomorrow. I’ll be making dinner in the evening and hopefully buying some groceries after that. 

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

March 3, 2026

Tuesday - Cooler, cloudy and finally rainy

I woke up early this morning. F was still getting ready when I opened my eyes. He went downstairs to leave and then I got up and noticed that he hadn’t taken his breakfast downstairs with him.  I grabbed it and took it downstairs with me. 

I said goodbye to my hubby and then a little later, went back upstairs and to bed again. I was tired and it was too early for me to stay up. I ended getting up earlier than usual, but not actually early!

I took my laundry downstairs and put in a load of clothes. I grabbed my breakfast and brought it upstairs. I enjoyed my cereal and yogurt, then it was time to bring the laundry back upstairs. I hung it up and relaxed for a while. 

I had a quiet morning and afternoon today. I thought about writing a couple of postcards, but I didn’t. Around lunch time, I went downstairs and put my lunch together. I brought it back upstairs, watched an episode of The Good Fight, which was very good and quite shocking if I’m honest. Alan Cumming was in it again. He was as good as ever. 

After my show I watched the news and did my computer stuff. F called around 5:30 and said that he was on his way back. I went downstairs and got started on dinner. Tonight we had chicken drumsticks in the air fryer with salad and broccoli plus some pickles and rice. I think it was good if I’m honest. The chicken was really nice.

After dinner I did the dishes and got them done fairly early. I went upstairs to change my clothes and then F and I went over to the grocery store. We went in and did a lot of shopping. I got things that were a bit expensive today like olive oil but still managed to come in around budget. We would have been under budget if someone hadn’t bought a couple of cup ramens!

We came back to the house and I put away the groceries. F went into the living room and sat there in the dark. I chatted with him a little and then came upstairs. I watched tonight’s episode of Project Runway and it was okay. After that, I watched tonight’s Resident Alien. It was quite cute in places, odd in others. 

After midnight I watched some YouTube and started doing my usual end of day stuff. F and I had a little snack and then he went off to bed. 

I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to tomorrow. I might have time to write some postcards, we’ll see. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….