October 31, 2026

 Saturday - Sunny in the morning, cloudy and rainy later on

Happy Halloween!

I woke up after 9 am when my alarm went off. I got up and went downstairs. I came back upstairs but didn’t go back to bed! I got dressed, checked the internet a bit, relaxed a little and then at 10 am went downstairs. F was just about ready and we left the house a few minutes later.

We drove over to Sakata so he could check routes for work on Monday.  After he finished, we were going to have lunch. Unfortunately, the place we picked didn’t open until 11:30 and it was barely 11am. We drove around a bit, we found a drugstore and got ourselves drinks, then went back to the restaurant. 

F had a filet pork dish in tomato sauce, I had a beef hamburger that was really nice. Both our dishes came with soup, salad and rice and then coffee. It was quite nice.

We drove out of Sakata and went to Don Quihote on the way back to Tsuruoka. I got myself some cereal and F picked up some snacks and some ramen! They always have his favourite brand of instant ramen by the door.

We came back to Tsuruoka and went to a grocery store so F could get something for K’s dinner. 

We were back to the house around 2:30. I was rather sad if I’m honest! I came upstairs, had some tea and relaxed for a bit. I watched some YouTube and Reels on FB, then F came upstairs around 7pm. 

He’d fed K and he told me that she was complaining about me again. I thought she hadn’t done that in a while. I asked him what she said but he wouldn’t tell me. Sigh. He’s putting it down to her dementia, but the sad fact is that she’s never liked me.

We went out for our dinner and I requested Cocos. But first, we had to go to the main post office to mail a birthday card to my sister. We had forgotten to mail it earlier in the day when we were out.

Cocos have a special dessert for Halloween and I felt like having it since we don’t do anything else for Halloween. F ordered a Japanese set meal which he didn’t like (same as usual), I ordered a chicken with mushroom sauce and veggies which I did like. We both had drink bar and shared a small order of fries that I got for free with my app. We stayed for a while, we both had three drinks which were enjoyable. 

O-Ba-Ke (Ghost) Dessert

We came back to the house and F stayed downstairs with his mother for a while. I watched some YouTube and then at 11pm I watched The Hunting Party again. It was fine. 

So, today was a bit of a mixed bag. One good thing was I took my iPod with us in the car and we got to have my car Karaoke! I was singing along with Gowan’s A Criminal Mind when F asked if I could find him the words for the song so he could try to understand it. Of course, I was only too happy to oblige later in the day. I love Gowan and enjoy his music so I want to spread the love!

Tomorrow we’ll have to get groceries and maybe kerosene for the coming week. Tuesday is a holiday so maybe it’ll work out that some things will be done then too. I’m hoping we might visit the Chido Museum too as we haven’t seen their exhibit yet and I have a membership. 

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

October 30, 2026

Friday - Warm and sunny, then cloudy later on.

Today was pretty good. I wasn’t sure that it would go well, but it did. 

I woke up for the first time around 6:30. F was awake, but was quietly lying in bed playing with his phone. I went downstairs and then came back upstairs a bit later and went back to bed. I fell asleep again but happily woke up when my alarm went off.

I got up around 8:30 and got dressed. I had my quick breakfast, checked my email and FB…and found that Sir Patrick Stewart had died. Oh my goodness. I was a huge fan of him on Star Trek: Next Generation and then of course in the X-Men Movies. He just seemed like a cool guy. My best friend is a huge Trek fan so it was her post on FB that told me. 

I had to move on. I grabbed my stuff, went downstairs and then left the house. I walked to the bus stop where I had to wait for about 10 minutes before the bus came (late of course). It was also quite busy so I had to sit in the back row of the bus. Sadly, many of the people on the bus either had bags on the seat next to them, or they were sitting in the aisle seat and wouldn’t move over!

I got off at my stop, which was the Main Post Office one. I mailed off a letter to my bestie and then went in and used the ATM. Then, I went down the road and went to the big drugstore. I spent some time there looking at goods and buying a few. I got myself some snacks and an onigiri for my second breakfast! I paid and then walked to Machi-ne Kinema. I sat in the lobby outside the cinema for a few minutes and ate my onigiri, then I went in and paid to see The Breakfast Club. 

It’s been a few years since I saw it and a long time since I saw it on a large screen, so honestly, I had such a good time watching the movie. Most of it held up pretty well, but there were a few things that wouldn’t work if the movie was made now. The music, particularly the Simple Minds song holds up well. 

After the movie I checked my phone and found out that I could catch a bus from where I got off in about five minutes. I had to hustle a little, and then the bus was late of course!

At the mall, I got off the bus and went in. The Hotel’s lunch had tomato in the sauce again, so I didn’t go there. I did a little shopping and I bumped into a student from my L’Eikaiwa days. We chatted for a bit and caught up on our lives. I’m so glad she stopped me as the last time we met things didn’t go well. I was arguing with F and was in no mood to talk to the ex-student. I checked that she has my number and suggested getting together for a coffee or tea sometime. Don’t know if it’ll happen, but it would be nice.

I bought myself lunch at Pizza Hut Express then. I had my usual 4 cheese pizza with honey, fries and two chicken nuggets. It’s quite nice really. 

After lunch, I went upstairs and checked out Daiso. I got myself one thing in Daiso, a new container for my baking soda that I use for washing burnt on things. 

I decided that since I’d have about 40 minutes before my bus was due to leave, I’d visit Baskin-Robbins for a Halloween treat. I got a small double of a couple of their special ice creams. They were very nice. 

I went back to the bus station and caught my bus. It wasn’t too busy and I managed to get a seat near the front. I put my backpack on my lap, keeping the seat beside me free if anyone needed it. Strangely, one lady got off the bus and said something to me about my backpack. I didn’t understand what she said, I don’t know if she was telling me off for keeping it on my lap, or suggesting I put it on the seat next to me. Bit odd that.

I got off the bus at my stopped and walked back to the house. I came in and went upstairs. First on my list was making myself a cup of tea, which I did! I also watched the news and visited my favourite time wasting site. 

F called after 5 and a bit later, I went downstairs and started getting ready for dinner. Tonight we had spaghetti with a Japanese sauce with mushrooms and seaweed, salad, bacon and mini-tomatoes for the others. It turned out well. 

We got a delivery before dinner of something F ordered and then a few minutes later we ate. I told F about my day when I could drag his attention away from his home!

After dinner I did the dishes and listened to my movie podcasts. When I finished I went upstairs and relaxed and rested for a while. I went downstairs and took a shower around 10:30 and then came back upstairs. I watched an episode of Ted Lasso which I enjoyed, but wasn’t really funny.

And that’s about it. F wants to go driving tomorrow morning after he takes his mother to the Day Service which is why I took a shower tonight. I hope we’ll have a good day together. I’m also hoping we do something Halloweenie too!

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

October 29, 2026

Thursday - Sunny and warmer

I woke up before my alarm this morning, probably a little after F left for work. I went downstairs and then came back upstairs and went back to bed. I was tired! I did watch a few videos on my phone before I turned it off and went back to sleep.

I dragged myself out of bed much later and dressed. I went downstairs and grabbed my yogurt, then came back upstairs to eat. I relaxed with some videos and basically just had a quiet day. 

I went downstairs early to get my lunch and brought it back up to the room. I watched an episode of Elsbeth today and it was all about wigs! I followed that with the news and then I worked on finishing my letter that I started a couple of days earlier. I got it done and then F called me to say he was on his way back.

I went downstairs before 6pm and F arrived just after that. I was a bit busy tonight, after a while. I did premade burgers from the store, plus a choleggi salad, steamed broccoli and some cheese and bacon macaroni and cheese in a cup. It was quite nice I thought. Oh, and fries. We had fries too. 

After dinner I did the dishes and then let F know that I was done. I went upstairs to change and then we went over to the grocery store. I got a few things and F came in as well. Sigh. He needed his adult beverage and picked up a few things that I would never get like bananas. (I hate bananas.)

We came back to the house and put the groceries away. We both headed upstairs. I made some tea for myself and then at 11pm I watched today’s episodes of DOC. It was quite good in my opinion.

And that’s about it. I want to get myself off to bed soon as I have plans to go out and see a movie in the morning. The problem is that I have to catch a bus at 9:30 so that could be a bit of a problem if I can’t wake up!

Come back later if you like and find out if I do get up and see the movie or not! Until tomorrow…. 

October 28, 2026

Wednesday - Windy in the morning, cooler

I woke up when my alarm went off this morning. I did my usual thing of going downstairs and then coming back up to my bedroom. I sorted out my laundry and decided that I would try to do my shirts first. But later. I went back to bed for some videos and snoozing. 

While I was snoozing, I got a text from F asking if I’d seen his wallet. I got up, turned on the light but I didn’t see it. I texted him back. 

I did get up a bit earlier than I have been lately and took my laundry downstairs. I put it in the machine, added some detergent, pushed some buttons…and nothing happened! I ended up bringing down the manual to see if I could understand it. I did get the load started happily and went back upstairs.

When I came downstairs again I brought down another load of clothes and swapped out the clothes. Unfortunately, my shirts were really, really wet. They are still hanging up in my room and still feel really wet. I might take them back to the machine tomorrow and run them through the spin cycle again. 

I had my breakfast and while my second load was washing relaxed with a few videos. Then, I went downstairs and found that the machine hadn’t spun my clothes at all. When I opened the machine there was a ton of water. I had to reset the machine to run the spin cycle. It worked rather well, but took some extra time. I used that to clean the in-wall sink in the toilet room. It was bad. I don’t use it as F won’t let me put a bottle of soap there, so I figured F or K could clean it. Except they didn’t. 

I hung my clothes upstairs and relaxed for longer. I watched some YouTube and then I went downstairs to grab my lunch. I made my lunch and then I brought it upstairs. I watched an episode of The Great British Bake Off today and it was great. It was Bread week so Paul Hollywood was lording it over everyone. 

After the news, I turned off the TV and got stuck in my computer stuff. F called after 5 to say he was on his way back. 

I went downstairs a bit after F came back. I wasn’t sure if he was back or not. I got started on dinner so I was busy. Tonight we had chicken drumsticks, fried mushrooms, baby leaf salad, and some rice. K and F had some mini-tomatoes. For dessert I heated up the last of the Tai-yaki and we each had one. 

I did the dishes which took a bit of time, and then I started to do up the garbage. I’m not sure that F did allllll the garbage last week when I was away. He didn’t put bags in the right way either. Anyway, there was tons of stuff to get rid of. F gave me a hand with some of the garbage which was nice of him.

When I finished I went upstairs and relaxed for a bit. I went downstairs again to take my shower. When I got in the shower F had left the hose from the old washing machine in there and a basin of water too. I wasn’t that pleased. I tidied them up a bit and then did the shower thing.

I came back upstairs and watched Grey’s Anatomy. It was a bit of a sad one as the character who was dying finally did. There were some other things happening like a new couple which will be interesting to see how it goes. 

And that’s about it for my day. It was quite a good one. Tomorrow I’m not sure what I’ll get up to, but I’m on kitchen duty again at night. I’ll also have to go grocery shopping too. 

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

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….