October 27, 2026

Tuesday - Cloudy then rainy at night

I woke up around 7:30 this morning, I got up and went downstairs, then came back to bed. F got up a little later and cooked breakfast for his mother.

I slept on, did do another washroom run later on, and snoozed for a long time. The installers arrived around 10am and F took care of everything downstairs. One more person in the bathroom would be many too many!

I got up and dressed and did a few things upstairs. F came up a bit later and said that it was done. He offered to buy me lunch and I was fine with that, but was wondering where to go. He wanted his eel restaurant. I didn’t, but he doesn’t get to go there too often.

I changed, he changed and we went out to the car. We drove to the restaurant, but their parking was full. Instead we chose Arpeggio which is on the same road. However, F acted really strangely. He asked me if he could drive in next to the restaurant. Well, no. The parking area is a bit far, we can’t park closer. Then, he kept making mistakes in his driving and overshot the road. I asked him if he was okay, but he said he wasn’t. Maybe too much cold medicine?

We had a lovely lunch at Arpeggio. F had fish and I had the chicken tenders. However, at the next table there was a jerk who decided to listen to videos on his phone, drowning out the nice jazz that the restaurant usually plays. I asked F if I should play some Lizzo or something a bit out there to make the guy stop. Of course, I didn’t! He did stop a while later, but he was using his phone as a mini-tv for about 20 minutes. Obnoxious!

After our lunch, we went up to the bank. F needed to do something at the bank and since they have comfy chairs in the lobby, I said I’d just go in and wait with him. He was done in about 30 minutes. We decided we’d go for a coffee and ended up going to Doutor in the mall.

We went into the mall and were able to get seated at Doutor right away. I had a decaf hot latte, F had a blend coffee. He also gave me some money for my app to pay so that was nice!

After our drink, we came back to the house. I watched the news upstairs, F relaxed on the bed. He asked me what I wanted to do about dinner, but earlier in the day he had said he wanted me to cook! I told him that I was cooking and he had more resting time!

I went downstairs around 6pm and started on dinner. Tonight I did negi-shio pork (long onion & salt) with roasted cauliflower, salad, and basil cake. It was quite nice honestly. 

I did the dishes which took a while and then let F know that I was finished. I went upstairs to change my clothes and then it was time for F and I to go to the grocery store.

We drove over to Mina to do the shopping and then it started raining really hard. Dear F drove right up to the door for me and gave me some money. I went in and did the shopping. We’re going to have chicken drumsticks and hamburgers this week. It should be good!

We came back to the house and I put away the groceries. F gave me a brief explanation on the washing machine use…fingers crossed I remember it tomorrow. 

We came upstairs and relaxed. At eleven I watched Law & Order. It was okay. I’m not sure I’m going to watch the episode I have on the DVR from last week. It depends how I feel. 

And that’s about it for my day. Tomorrow I’m going to cook dinner and try using the new washing machine. I’ll see if I can fit in finishing the letter to my friend as well. 

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

October 26, 2026

Monday - Rainy and cloudy

I woke up this morning around 6:30 and had to make a trip downstairs. I wasn’t too happy about that. I think my new cup may be a bit too big!

I went back to sleep and then woke up later when my alarm went off. I went downstairs and then came back to bed and went back to sleep for a while…with a few videos added in too. 

I got up later and dressed. I didn’t do laundry like I planned. I decided I didn’t want to spend a whole hour downstairs doing laundry. 

I had a quiet morning and afternoon. I watched some YouTube, I did some of my Monday things and relaxed for a bit. Over my lunchtime I watched another episode of Under Salt Marsh and it was good. 

Around 5:30 F called and said he was on his way back to the house. I changed into my kitchen clothes and then I went downstairs. F came back around the same time.

Tonight I was busy in the kitchen. I made chicken with a herb coating, steamed spicy cabbage, baby leaf salad and rice, with mini-tomatoes for F and K. Dinner was good and I did the dishes and listened to my podcasts. When I finished I went upstairs and  relaxed for a bit with more YouTube. 

A little after 10pm I went downstairs to take my shower. F was still in the living room and said he was going out soon to pay a bill. I reminded him about the garbage needing to go out and then took my shower.

When I came out of the shower, he still hadn’t gone to the store! He asked me if I wanted something so I suggested a snack or something. He left a little while later.

F was busy when he was downstairs too. He moved the washing machine out of the room and cleaned behind it. I had suggested that he do some moving around of his stuff in the bathroom (All of his fish stuff is in there and the room is very small.) I would have helped him move the machine if he had asked me, but he didn’t!

So, anyway, F is off work tomorrow. The washing machine is supposed to arrive in the morning between 10 - noon. 

I watched an episode of Cardinal and it was a bit scary. F came back to the room near the end of my show and was bearing snacks! He got me a bag of spicy chicken chips (which I shared) and some cookies (ditto). 

I turned off the TV and went back to YouTube. I worked on my end of day stuff and when I post this, I’ll be done. 

I’m not sure what we’ll do tomorrow after the washing machine is delivered. Probably some laundry?! I do have to cook dinner. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

October 25, 2026

Sunday - Rainy and cooler

I woke up around 10:30 this morning. I got up a bit later then came back to bed for a while. F got up and made his mother some breakfast, I got up a bit later and dressed. 

F and I talked about where to go for lunch. I was fine for a bit, but F wanted lunch soon. We talked about where to go and I suggested a couple of restaurants in Oyama. F picked the one he liked and we went there. We did have to wait a few minutes, but it was okay. 

We had omrice with chahan inside, and pork on the top with soup. It was really nice, but a bit too big for me! F and I both decided that next time, unless we’re really hungry, we’ll get the smaller version!

This was big!

After our meal we went to K’s Denki and after a lot of conversation decided on a new washing machine. It wasn’t the cheapest (which made me happy!) and it was a Japanese-made one (which made F happy). We’re going to get it delivered on Tuesday. F plans to take the day off so he can be around for them to install it and have the old one taken away. 

We next went to Daiso where I bought a new glass cup for my tea. It’s bigger than my older one, so I’m not sure that is a good thing. It is clear glass and I can use it with my cup warmer so that’s good. While we were looking at the cups, F found a medicine calendar for his mother. Lately, we have the sneaking suspicion that K isn’t taking her medicine properly. We’re hoping that this will help her. F spent some time tonight putting her medicine for the rest of the month in it. 

We came back to the house and relaxed for a bit. F made dinner for K around 6 and then when he finished wanted to leave for our dinner right away. 

I plumped for Gusto and that’s where we went. I’m happy about that because I was riced out and I don’t need to have rice for every meal like dear hubby does! He had chicken with a garlic-soy sauce sauce and rice, I had a burger and fries with the drink bar too. I enjoyed my meal, but F’s phone died during the meal and he wanted to leave before I did. Sigh.

We drove over to Mina and I went in to do the grocery shopping. Before I went in, I said to F that I wouldn’t be able to give extra money if we went over the amount that he gave me to do the shopping. He didn’t pay me back from the last two times I added money in. I’m not even buying junk food (like he does) or things we don’t really need. 

Anyway…We came back to the house and I put away the groceries and then went upstairs. F had a shower before coming upstairs. I decided I’d watch an episode of Carnival Row, which I did. I need to get this series finished as I’ve had it on the back burner for far too long. 

And that’s about it for my day. Tomorrow I’m going to try and do a load of laundry in the machine we have now. It’s a pain in the butt as I’ll have to be there the whole time, but I need some clean shirts!

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

October 24, 2026

Saturday - Cloudy and rainy and cool

I woke up fairly early this morning and went downstairs. Then, I came back to bed and went back to sleep for a while. I got up around 10:30. K was at her Day Service, F was at the doctor’s. I was alone. I decided to get up and take a shower. 

I took my towel downstairs, turned up the water heater and got in the shower. Now, for some reason, I had a premonition that I shouldn’t get soapy until I checked the water temperature. I’m happy I didn’t. The water heater ran out of kerosene about 2 minutes after I got into the water. I heard it sputter and die through the window, so I got out of the shower and towelled off. 

I went back upstairs and got dressed. F came back in a few minutes and I told him about my failed shower attempt! We decided to go out for lunch. I suggested the restaurant in Fujishima, so F called to make a reservation and then we set off. 

We had a lovely lunch there. I had the ginger pork set meal and F had the fish set meal. We left the restaurant with happy tummies and set off back to Tsuruoka. 

We went first to K’s Denki and looked at washing machines. Our washing machine isn’t filling. There’s probably a filter thing going on, but we can’t get spare parts for it. F had tried ordering some on line, but they don’t have it. The company stopped making washing machines as well, so there’s a finite supply of parts. F didn’t really like the prices at that shop, so we headed off to the other big electronic shop, Yamada Denki. 

They had other machines from other companies so we had a look at them. I’m not sure. I asked my women’s group to find out if anyone had any recommendations. I think we should try and get a good one and spend a little more money on it, but it’s difficult to do at the moment. 

We were running out of time, so started back towards the house. F stopped at one place for kerosene and then wanted to get gas for the car, but they were busy. We left that gas station and I thought we were going straight back to the house, but F took us to another gas station to fill up the car. 

We came back to the house just before K came back. I went upstairs to check out my computer and other things and a little later K arrived. 

F came upstairs around 6pm and said that his mother wanted to have her dinner right away. He went off and made her something. He didn’t appear again until after 8pm!

We talked about our dinner and decided that we’d go to Coco Ichibanya. That was his idea and I was fine with it! 

We drove over there and went in. We got a table right away. I ordered the handmade chicken cutlet and curry with a half order of vegetables and a lassi. F ordered the seafood curry with a lassi too. Our meals were good! 

After we ate, we went to a grocery store. I had to hurry F up a bit from the restaurant because the grocery store closed at 10 pm and it was 9:20. We did make it!

At the store, we bought a few things for K and F’s breakfast and maybe lunch tomorrow. I got coffee creamers and F got some food!

We came back to the house. I headed upstairs and F stayed down for a while. I looked at the time and realized I had time to take a shower and I really needed one! 

I went downstairs with my towel again and took a proper shower with actual hot water. Yay!

I came back upstairs and watched The Hunting Party. I like the show, but it seems to be a Criminal Minds wannabe, but it’s a little too light for that. 

Since midnight I’ve been watching YouTube and getting my end of day things done. I’ll be going to bed soon as it is getting late. 

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

October 23, 2026

Friday - Sunny and warmish

I woke up when my alarm went off this morning. I didn’t quite know where I was for a minute! I got up and went downstairs, then came back upstairs. I sorted out some of my laundry and then went back to bed! I watched a video or two and then fell back asleep and woke up a lot later!

I got up, dressed and then went downstairs with one load of laundry. Because our washing machine is having problems, I had to stay with the machine until my load was finished. That meant that my load took about an hour to do and I had to wait on my breakfast until I was done.

When the laundry was actually done, I took it upstairs and hung it up. I had brought my yogurt up with me too, so I had breakfast finally. 

I had a quiet little afternoon. I watched a few Reels on FB and then went downstairs again to get my lunch. I had a light lunch as my breakfast was very recent! While I ate, I watched Wednesday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy. It was quite a good one actually.

I watched the end of the news afterwards and then F called a bit after 5:30. I changed and went downstairs to the kitchen to start on dinner. I’m glad that I had a chance to clean up part of the kitchen last night. There were a lot of things I had to fix tonight. 

I did my usual pasta tonight, so we had spaghetti with cheese cream sauce, sliced duck breast, salad and some pickled beets. It was simple but nice. 

After dinner, I did the dishes and finished up last week’s movie podcast. Yay. I let F know when I was done and then went upstairs.

I watched some YouTube and then decided I really should watch a movie since I’m putting off my shower until tomorrow. I looked at the DVR listing and decided to watch The Bride! It was…okay. I don’t really recommend it because it didn’t hold my attention and got quite weird in places. The cast was really good, and I like supporting women directors, but….

F didn’t come upstairs until the movie had finished. Then, he didn’t even talk to me!  I said hello or how are you to him 3 times and he didn’t respond. He said he didn’t hear me. Sigh. He was okay.

Anyway, that’s about it for my day. I strongly suggested that F go to the doctor tomorrow. He still has a bad cough from last weekend. I think it is time he gets some proper medicine for it. 

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

October 22, 2026

Thursday - Cold and cloudy in Yamagata, Cold in Tsuruoka

Well, I’m back at the house. Why is it that when I came back, I sort of wished that I didn’t come back?

Okay, well, I’m hoping to do this quickly as I’m really tired again and need some sleep. I did get to bed a little earlier last night, so getting up this morning wasn’t as painful as it could be. I went downstairs for breakfast and then came back to the room. I finished packing, got almost everything put away and then had a quick little nap. It was a good idea. 

I left the hotel around 11:00am. That was my check out time. I went over to the station area but it was cold. The rest of the trip I’d been able to just wear my fleecy vest, but today it was windy and I realized that I would need my jacket out of my suitcase. I found a quiet corner and opened my suitcase and took my coat out. Luckily, my coat was easy to get to. I relocked my case and took my suitcase and backpack over to an electronic locker and locked up my stuff. 

Then, I caught a bus to the area of Yamagata that I hadn’t been able to go to yet. I got off the bus and walked back to the Lupicia store and went in. And…I heard angels singing (well, not really) and there was my favourite Christmas tea, finally on sale! Today was the first day!  I bought some Decaf Carol and also picked up one pack of decaf tea of another type. 

I left the store after paying and then walked back to the bus stop and found my bus stop. When the bus came I rode it back to the station. I spent a bit of time wandering around the station building. I had another Rooibos Royal Milk Tea at Tully’s and finished reading my book on my phone. It was really good, but didn’t end quite how I hoped. It was still good though.

I decided that I’d go and have lunch so I went back to Capricchosa for lunch. Today I had their lunch set, so I had steamed chicken and veggies pepperoncino. It was good. I added on the salad and also had drink bar. 

After I finished my meal, it was nearly time to go for my bus. I wasted a little time and then went to get out my suitcase, and my backpack. I bought a small bottle of water and then joined the line to get on the bus. 

When the bus came, I told the driver I had a suitcase and he said something. Turns out someone else had a case too and the driver had told me to put it in the cargo area for myself. Hmm. The other person helped me with my case and I thanked him and “Sumimasen”ed him and got on the bus. I found a seat and got out my iPod. 

I listened to Gowan most of the trip back and then a few songs by Falco. I haven’t listened to albums for a while so it was nice. F did try to phone me when I was on the bus, but I didn’t take his call. I texted him that I was still on the bus. 

Back in Tsuruoka I told the driver I had a suitcase and he basically told me to get it out myself. Okay then. I did, but felt a bit odd about it. Many years ago I got told off very strongly by a bus driver for opening the hold under the bus and putting a suitcase in it. He ranted for a while at me. 

I went to the washroom and got a text from F. I told him I was in the ‘loo, then when I came out, saw him coming in to use the men’s room too. We went to have a drink at Doutor which I paid for as F left his wallet in the car.

Then, F wanted to buy food for dinner but not bentos because he made rice at home. Sigh. We ended up at a grocery store and bought a few side dishes. I told him it wasn’t enough food but he thought it was. 

We drove back to the house and then we went in. I got to carry all of my stuff myself. Oh well.  We put some of the other groceries away and then I put out the food we bought. F and K had rice and we shared the other food. I was right, it wasn’t enough for me, but the others seemed okay. 

I brought some of my stuff upstairs when I came up to replace the dish towel. Yes, of course I got to do the dishes tonight. And clean the stove. Oh, and I also made F turn on the downstairs heater. It was about 16 degrees in the room…that was cold. 

After I finished the dishes I came back upstairs with my suitcase. Unfortunately, when I tried to set up my computer, I yanked on a cord on my desk…turns out it was to my cup heater and my cup fell off it and smashed on the floor. The cup’s handle broke. Darn! I really liked my clear glass cup. 

So, I set up my computer again and I set up my CPAP so it is ready to go when I go to bed. At 11pm I watched DOC. It was okay. I’m not sure how the story will progress. It was okay though.

Well, I’m back. I’m really tired and I want to get to bed soon. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….