November 13, 2026

Friday - Sunny and warm

I woke up properly when my alarm went off today. I got up, went downstairs and then came back to the room. I sorted my laundry and then I went back to bed for a while. I watched a few videos until I fell asleep again.

I got up later, dressed and then went downstairs to pick up my breakfast. I started my first load of laundry and then I went back upstairs to eat. I spent the next little while bouncing between eating, watching videos and hanging laundry!

For lunch today I had a bagel with chicken and cheese, and a salad. I don’t often have bagels, but this week I used up my whole bag of bread, which was 8 slices so I needed to take a bagel out of the freezer. It was nice. I ate upstairs and today I watched an episode of Instinct. That was an older show with Alan Cumming as a professor. I don’t know if I’ll keep watching or not. I think I’ve given up on Breaking Bad, at least for now.

I watched the news and a bit after 5:30 F called to say he was on his way back to the house. I went downstairs a bit later and got started on dinner.

tonight I did gnocchi with a cheese sauce, salad, sliced ham and mini-tomatoes for F and K. We also had some butter rolls that I bought last night. 

I did the dishes after dinner and was done fairly early as I didn’t have a lot of things to wash. I let F know that I was done and would change soon. We had decided to go out tonight!

From my Facebook Memories I found that it was eight years since the Starbucks in Tsuruoka opened. I asked F if he’d like to go and have a drink to celebrate. He would! 

We drove over to Starbucks and each had a no or low caffeine drink. I had a Chamomile Tea Latte and F had a decaf Latte. We both enjoyed our drinks. It was also nice to sit on a couch and just relax for a while.

After our drinks I popped into the nearby drugstore to get a prepaid card for Amazon. I want to order something for myself and I don’t want to charge it on my credit card. 

Then, F wanted to get some groceries, so we hopped in the car and drove over to MaxValu. He needed something for K’s breakfast tomorrow. Of course, we picked up quite a few things for ourselves too. 

We came back to the house and relaxed. I decided to postpone my shower to tomorrow and came upstairs. I watched a couple of shows on Apple TV. Tonight I saw Ted Lasso and an episode of The Studio. They were both good.

After midnight I was settling in with some YouTube when I heard K downstairs. Then, I heard her start up the stairs. F was still up so I told him that his mother was coming upstairs. He didn’t really believe me for a minute, but then he did. He went to the door and talked to her. She came up because she heard he had a bad stomach tonight. Thing is, he’s fine. He didn’t have any stomach problems tonight. He told her he was fine and she did go away. Eye roll. What on earth is going on with her? She’s 90 years old, climbing up our stairs is not something that I want her to do. I’m a little more worried about her going DOWN the stairs. 

F has finally just gone to bed and honestly, I should go soon too. I’m a tad tired.

I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. So, please come back later and find out! Until tomorrow….

November 12, 2026

Thursday - Rainy and cool

I woke up after F left this morning, but before my alarm. I made my usual trip downstairs and then came back upstairs and went back to bed. I watched videos for a while before I fell asleep for quite a while. 

I woke up about the same time as yesterday and got up and dressed. I went downstairs to get my breakfast and did that. I came upstairs to the room and relaxed again. I ate breakfast, watched some 

Reels on FB and that was about it!

Later on I went downstairs to get my lunch and I brought it upstairs to eat. Today I decided to watch Freaks & Geeks. It’s quite amazing to see all of these famous people when they were really young. I followed that up with the news, but I can’t say I paid a lot of attention to it. 

F called after 5 to say he was on his way back, so I finished up what I was doing and then went downstairs. I took down the kerosene tank from the heater and my lunch plate so it was a bit awkward!

F arrived while I was on my way downstairs. I filled up the kerosene tank and then went into the kitchen after I washed my hands. 

Tonight I wasn’t too busy in the kitchen. I did premade burgers with fries, salad and a spicy cabbage side. It was quite nice and most of it disappeared!

I did the dishes afterwards and then went upstairs to change. I took the kerosene upstairs with me. F and I went over to the grocery store next and I went in by myself. That was nice! I got food for the next day and then paid and went back to the car. 

F and I went to the nearby drugstore after that to get some toilet paper. I also checked the cost of pasta sauces and they were cheaper than the grocery store. I bought them there. We got some snacks as well and then we paid and left.

F drove us back to the house and we put the groceries away. F went upstairs first and I went up a few minutes later. I relaxed with some YouTube and tea and then I watched DOC. The plot is thickening tonight. Tonight’s show had a lot about Domestic Violence and was a bit scary in places.

And…that’s about it. I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to tomorrow. I think laundry will be one of the things I’ll do! 

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

November 11, 2026

Wednesday - Sunny but cool

I woke up a bit after F left this morning. I went downstairs and then came back to bed. I watched quite a few videos and then fell asleep. 

I did get up a little easier and earlier than usual! I dressed and went downstairs to get my breakfast. I brought it upstairs and ate while watching a few reels on FB. 

I had a quiet morning and early afternoon really. I decided that I’d write a couple of postcards for Postcrossing. I pulled a couple of places in Europe, Czech Republic and Italy. I hope they arrive. I’ve gone one that’s been on its way to Europe for 40 days. I doubt it’ll arrive anymore.

I went downstairs around 2:30 to make my lunch. I brought it back upstairs and just as I set it down on my desk, I heard the doorbell go. F was expecting a package. I flew downstairs and got to the door in time to catch the guy. I got the package and brought it into the house. I texted F and then went back to my lunch. 

Today I watched an episode of Matlock while I ate my lunch. It was quite a good one and I enjoyed it for the most part. After the show ended I watched the news before I turned the TV off. 

F called around 5:30 and we talked for a few minutes. He said that he was on his way back so I went downstairs a while later and got started on dinner. 

Tonight I did chicken drumsticks with rice, salad, kabocha, pickled beets and some sardines! Dinner was good and most things disappeared.

After we ate, I did the dishes and listened to my podcasts. When that was done, I listened to a bit of music and started the garbage. F gave me a hand with his mother’s garbage and I did up the bag and put it in the genkan.

I went upstairs when I finished and then did my garbage up in the room. I left the bag for F to put his stuff in too.

I took a shower after 10:30 and then I made up a bag of popcorn that I got a few months ago. It was really nice, but many of the kernels didn’t pop. 

I came back to the room and watched Grey’s Anatomy. It was an okay episode today. It was mostly about Owen’s mother and Jo’s first day back at work. 

I turned off the TV around midnight and then watched a bit of YouTube. F and I had a chat about Postcrossing and I looked up his old account. It’s still there, but he hasn’t used it in over 10 years. 

That’s about it for the day. Tomorrow I hope to work on a letter to my best friend and maybe my column. I’ve done a rough sketch of my favourite films of the year, now I have to write about them all. It’ll be fun I hope.

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

November 10, 2026

Tuesday - Sunny but cold

I woke up this morning while F was getting ready for work. I managed to stay in bed until he left and then I went downstairs and he came back for something! No worries. 

I came back upstairs and went back to bed. I did sort my laundry first and then watched videos and snoozed for a bit. I put on some ambient music while I slept and it was nice.

When I got up a bit earlier than usual I went downstairs again. I dressed first and then came back to the room and just had to snooze a little longer. I finally dragged myself up again and took my laundry downstairs and started the machine. 

I grabbed my breakfast and took it upstairs to eat. I had a fairly quiet day today. I hung up my laundry and then relaxed. I drank a bottled tea that I had got on the weekend. It was good, but a bit sweet.

I grabbed lunch around 3pm and then watched Saturday’s episode of The Hunting Party. It was okay. I followed that up with the news which was fine. I only half watched it.

I went downstairs to make dinner around 6pm. I tried something new, making crispy tofu. Well, I didn’t get it crispy. Sigh. It was good though. I probably didn’t get it drained enough, but the spices were nice and I made a sweet gochujang sauce and that was delicious as well. 

We also had toaster oven chicken, steamed broccoli and salad, with plain rice. So, dinner was quite good. F and I enjoyed the tofu, but no idea about K!

After dinner I did dishes and then got ready to go and get groceries. For some reason, F came into the store with me tonight. It annoyed me a bit because he didn’t buy anything out of the ordinary. I know he’s allowed to come in the store it is just that I’m not able to keep track of him AND remember what groceries I need to get!

We came back to the house afterwards and I put away the groceries with some interference! We came upstairs after and relaxed. At 10:40 or so, I went downstairs and made some popcorn. I had less than I thought and then I ended up burning some of it. Sigh. Most of it was nice, I did take out some of the worst burnt stuff. 

At 11pm I watched Law & Order and it was okay tonight. They showed one of the police officers family which was cool. 

After midnight I turned off the TV and went online again. I’ve been watching YouTube and doing my end of day things. I’ll be heading to bed in a few minutes. 

That’s about it for me. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow…. 

November 9, 2026

Monday - A bit rainy and cloudy I think. 

I got up this morning before F’s alarm went off. I went downstairs and then went back to bed as F got up for work. Poor thing!

I went back to sleep and slept a bit late for a change. I got up, went downstairs and then snoozed and watched videos. It was great!

I got myself up and dressed. I went downstairs to get my breakfast. I brought it upstairs to add cereal and then I ate. I spent a bit of time watching more videos on Facebook and I backed up my computer too. I got out the towels to take downstairs later and I relaxed a bit. 

I went downstairs a bit before 3 and got my stuff ready. F came back from work around then too. He was supposed to go straight to K’s Doctor, but didn’t have some paper that he needed. He couldn’t find it but went anyway. 

I watched the last episode of Under Salt Marsh. It was okay. I enjoyed the series overall, and didn’t guess whodunnit. That’s okay.

F came back and then of course, found the paper he needed! I watched the news and then went downstairs around 6 pm.

Today I cooked some negi-shio pork (aka onion-salt marinated pork slices) and we had salad and some eggplant pickles with it. F had made some rice when he came back and put in a teriyaki chicken packet so it was very nice. We had a really nice dinner and all the food disappeared. I did put aside stuff for K’s lunch, let’s hope she actually eats it!

I did the dishes and then after I finished that I bagged up the plastic garbage and put it in the genkan for F to take out tomorrow.

I went upstairs and relaxed with some internet and a pistachio latte.  F came up a bit later and then I went downstairs to take a shower. Unfortunately, F was running the hot water too while I was in the shower so it kept getting colder for me. It wasn’t the nicest shower either!

I went upstairs after my shower and then decided to watch the next episode of Bad Sisters. Oh my. It was good and sad and angry-making!

I turned off the TV at midnight and then I got stuck in with YouTube. I did a bit of surfing the net and reading things and then soon I’ll end this and get myself off to bed. 

I’ll likely get up to doing some laundry tomorrow and I have to make dinner and go shopping for groceries too. 

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

November 8, 2026

Sunday - Cloudy and rainy

We slept in a bit this morning. I slept in a lot, F not so much! I got up around 10:30, went downstairs and then went back to bed! F came upstairs around 11 and he went back to bed. I fell asleep for a while and then got up! I went downstairs with some bread and made cheese toast and toast with butter for myself. I brought it upstairs to eat and then F offered to take me out for lunch. I pointed out that I had my toast and I wanted to eat it!

Around 3:30 F suggested going to the coffee shop we went to on Friday. I was okay with it, but didn’t think they had food for me. They had cakes and things and even pizza toast. Which I can’t have, because of my tomato allergy! F also wanted to go to a hardware store to pick something else up afterwards.

We went to the cafe and it was busy. F ordered us some drinks and then he ordered us pizza toast without the tomato sauce. In other words, cheese toast with a bit of onion and bacon. I mean, it was good, but I’d had something very similar at the house already. 

After a while we left the cafe and made a pit stop at a drugstore. I grabbed a couple of things and then we got back on the road. We went to Musashi and F got his part. We also grabbed some tissues for K and some detergent for F. We came back to the house after this and had a little rest. I think F made dinner for his mother.

Around 6:30 we went out for our dinner. I’d asked for China House if it wasn’t too busy. We were able to get one of the three real tables and ordered. F had yakisoba and I had the mapo-tofu set meal. Mine was good, but one of the side dishes was an incredibly spicy stew. I ate the meat out of the bowl, but tried to avoid most of the sauce. 

We went to the grocery store next and I did the shopping. I picked up a few things and crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t be too expensive. Under budget. Whew. 

I went back to the car and gave F his change. We drove back to the house and then I remembered that we needed to buy kerosene and in fact, F had put the empty tanks in the car earlier. We were nearly at the house when we had to reroute and go to the gas station.

F bought the kerosene and then we came back to the house. F put away the fuel and I put away the food. I went upstairs afterwards and F took a shower.

I decided to watch something on the Fire Disk and decided on an episode of Carnival Row. It was good, but man did Prime put a ton of commercials in it. It was like watching “normal” TV. Think I might rethink this Prime nonsense. After that, I watched an episode of Loot on Apple TV…one preview before the show started which I could skip. 

Since midnight I’ve been watching YouTube and doing my end of day stuff. It was a good day, quiet, but kind of nice not to be running around all the time. 

That’s about it for me. F is back to work tomorrow but has to take time off in the afternoon so he’ll be back early. I’ll be back in the kitchen tomorrow night. Sigh. 

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

November 7, 2026

Saturday - Rainy, cloudy with thunder and hail!

Today was a pretty good day. I did wake up fairly early for a Saturday, went downstairs and then came back to the room and went back to bed. F got up a few minutes later and went downstairs to make his mother’s breakfast. 

I slept on until 10:30 or so and then I got up and went downstairs with my towels to take a shower. F was in the living room and he’d had his hair cut. It looks good. It was getting a bit long recently. 

I showered and then we talked about lunch. I didn’t have any ideas so upstairs while I got dressed, I looked at my map app to get some. When F came back up, I suggested a place and he agreed to it.

We went to Jyuraku, a restaurant on the other side of Tsuruoka. They are okay and we don’t go that often. We were seated right away and ordered soon afterwards. F got a type of ramen and I got a yakiniku set meal. Mine was very nice, F wasn’t too happy with his. He said his was too spicy. I also got a text from my friend who wondered if we could get together tonight instead of tomorrow afternoon. I checked with F and he was fine with it. I also invited her to come and see the movie with us tonight too. She was happy to accept!

After lunch, I asked if we could go to another Daiso. I recently bought myself a new glass cup, but it’s too big. I was looking for a smaller one. We went to the Daiso by the Co-Op. We had a good look around and I did find a cup that I like better than the last one I bought. There was nothing wrong with the other one, it is just so big. F picked up a cup for himself for work and we got a magnetic white board for the front of the fridge so we can keep a shopping list going. I’ll see how it goes.

Next up, I bought F a cup of coffee at Doutors. We had a nice time there and relaxed for a while. Then, he wanted to go shopping in the grocery store. We headed over to the store and F bought a few things.

We came back to the house and I came upstairs to relax for a bit.  I did some of my internet stuff early so I could relax later on. My friend texted to give me an ETA so a few minutes early I went downstairs to wait. F was working on dinner for him and K.

My friend arrived and I said a cheerful goodbye to F.  We drove out to Mikawa and went to the Cocos restaurant there. We had a nice meal, well, I did! I had carbonara with a salad and drink bar, but I only had one drink!

Around 8pm we left the restaurant and went over to the mall. We parked and got a text from F saying he was there already. Oops! He was early! We went upstairs and joined up. F took something out to the car and I bought the movie tickets. I was having a hard time and it was really horrible. Why didn’t they put in an English button? It would have made my life much easier!

Tickets bought, we waited a few minutes to get our popcorn and drinks, then went into the cinema. My friend and F went to the theatre first, I went to the loo!

We went to see Verity with Anne Hathaway, Josh Hartnett and Dakota Johnson. It was fun, but kind of dumb too. After the movie, we had to go our separate ways and drive home. 

On the way back to Tsuruoka, F said he was hankering for some yakitori, so we checked out MaxValu to see if we could get him some. They sort of had some. He bought a few snacks for himself, I bought a few snacks for me and also a few non-snack things that I can only get at that grocery store. 

We came back to the house, F heated up some of his stuff and we went upstairs. I ate my big sandwich, F ate his yakitori and then he went to bed. I’m still up but will go to bed soon I think. 

I had a really nice day and it was lovely to see my friend again. It’s been too long. We were supposed to get together in September but I cancelled as I was worried about getting sick and then I did…so it was a good thing overall, but I missed out on seeing her. 

I don’t really know what I’ll get up to tomorrow. I think F has a few things to do and I’ll have to get groceries of course. Come back later if you like and hear how things go. Until tomorrow….