April 4, 2026

 Saturday - Sunny for the first part of the day, then rainy

I woke up this morning around 9 am. I could hear F and his mother downstairs. They hadn’t left yet! I got up to go downstairs and I saw F’s wallet in the room. Oops. I brought it downstairs with me in case he hadn’t left, but by the time I went downstairs they were gone. 

I went back upstairs and went back to bed. F came in a few minutes later on his way to the Eye Doctor. Good! He decided he would go. I tried to sleep, didn’t sleep too much, but got 40 winks or so.

I got up and took my towel and went downstairs to take my shower. I finished rather quickly and then went upstairs to finish getting dressed. 

I was on my computer for a while when F came back. He was bearing baked goods! He’d gone to our favourite little hidden bakery and had bought some croissants and some olive and potato slices/pies. We had our croissants right away with some coffee, mine was decaf. The croissants were so flaky I am still finding crumbs all over!

F wanted to try a restaurant he likes and I didn’t care that much! We went to a little Japanese restaurant and had their sukiyaki lunch special. It was okay. F liked it more than I did. 

After lunch we did a bit of shopping. We went to a bank, then the drugstore. After that, we checked out Yamaya where I picked up some rooibos tea.

On the way back to the house F suggested going to Cafe B-Flat and I was fine with that. We went in and both of us had coffees. I had a cafe latte and F had a Vienna Coffee. It was really nice. We had no evening plans so I didn’t mind having caffeine. We went back to the house next and there we stayed for a bit.

F was downstairs waiting for his mother, I was upstairs on my computer. I relaxed and watched a few videos, same as usual really.

Around 6pm F came back upstairs and took a nap. Around 7 though, he roused himself and went downstairs to make his mother something to eat. He took a long time so I was surprised. It wasn’t until 8pm that he came back upstairs and we talked about our dinner. I suggested a couple of Chinese places and he picked the one across the park. 

We drove over there and sadly the restaurant was already closed. F decided we’d go to one other restaurant, then he changed his mind and headed for another. However, he went the wrong way so we ended up doing quite the drive around. 

We ended up at the Taiwan restaurant and had a good meal. I had the yurinchi chicken again, and we ordered a plate of fried rice to share. F had the yakisoba plate. He didn’t like his noodles, but we both liked the fried rice. We were both really stuffed when we left the restaurant!

I decided to try watching Scarpetta when we got back to the house. I used to read Patricia Cornwell all the time when I first came to Japan. I really liked her but then she went off a bit and I haven’t really gone back to her novels. I put it on and it was….okayish. I’m going to give it at least another episode. I don’t like Jamie Lee Curtis in this, and I generally do like her in stuff. She’s way over the top here. I’ve read a lot of how terrible the show is and I can see it, but I’ll give it another episode or so before I judge it.

I finished up my TV watching tonight with FBI. It was the first episode of the 7th? 8th? season. It was fine, a bit of a scary episode. I turned off the TV afterwards and then got stuck into my end of day stuff. It was a pretty good day all told.

I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to tomorrow. F wants to go and look at Ume flowers if the weather holds. I’ll have to see how I’m doing. I’m having knee troubles so I’m not sure I want to traipse up a hill after F. He never goes straight where he can take a detour!

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

April 3, 2026

Friday - Sunny and warmer

I woke up with my alarm this morning, but it was a surprise when the alarm went off! I got up, went downstairs and then went back to bed. I did sort my laundry first though. I ended up falling asleep and slept quite late. I must have needed it though.

I got up and went downstairs with my laundry basket. I started the laundry and ended up doing two loads of laundry today. I also went into the kitchen and put my yogurt into a bowl and then brought it upstairs to add my cereal. 

I had breakfast while the machine downstairs did its work. I had a quiet afternoon apart from the laundry. 

I went downstairs to make my lunch around 3 and K saw me. Instead of running away like usual she came into the kitchen and basically asked me to give her my lunch. Umm….no! She wanted my bread but I didn’t have any extra. Any other day of the week I could have given her my bread, but today was the last two pieces and I needed them. I gave her the lunch I’d packed for her in the fridge and even heated it up for her so she did get fed. 

I went upstairs and ate, I also watched an episode of The Great British Sewing Bee which was a lot of fun and nice to see again. I’ve been trying to finish my series for so long that I haven’t been able to watch other things.

F called tonight a bit after 5 and said he was on his way via a grocery store. I went downstairs a bit later to start working on dinner. F was feeling much better today and his stomach was okay. I gave him the choice of pasta sauce and he picked my favourite one so I was happy!

Tonight I did my usual pasta with a garlic mayo sauce, salad and bacon that I sautéd. It went over well, and all of the food disappeared. 

I did the dishes after dinner, listened to a couple of podcasts…one was about movies, one was about books. When I finished, I went upstairs and relaxed for a bit. I decided to watch some TV and thought I’d finish up Pluribus. However, I discovered that I’d already seen the last episode! I hadn’t thought it was the last episode - I thought there was ten episodes in the first season, not just nine! Instead, I finished up the second season of Shrinking. It was so good and I was in tears at the end. I love that show so much!

After a quick trip downstairs I decided to watch another episode of Evil. It was good but weird. I’m enjoying it, but I’m really wondering where it is going!

And, that’s about it for my day today. I’ve been working on my knitting loom and I did a little bit today. I’m not sure where I’m going with this but it doesn’t matter really. I have a couple of ideas. 

Tomorrow K goes off to her Day Service so F and I have some free time. I’m not sure what we’ll get up to. F might go to the eye doctor as he’s having troubles with his eyes. It most likely is a spring allergy, but he needs something to treat them too.

 

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

 

April 2, 2026

Thursday - Rainy and cooler

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. I didn’t get up for a couple of minutes but then made my way downstairs. I came back upstairs, put my clothes together for the day and then went back to bed. I was watching a few videos and was just about to turn of my phone so I could have a nap when my phone rang. F was calling to see if he’d left his wallet in the bedroom. I got up, turned on the light and I found it on the floor. He said he’d try and come by soon to pick it up. I decided it would be a bit better for me to get up and be up when he came. I got up, dressed, and started up my waterpot and computer.

F arrived about 30 minutes later. We had a nice reunion but he couldn’t stay. He basically just grabbed his wallet and then went away again. I thought about going back to bed for a nap but never actually did.

During the day today i wrote a couple of postcards today for Postcrossing. They are going to Slovakia and Gemany so I’m hoping they’ll arrive soon. 

I had a quiet afternoon. I had a couple of cups of regular tea, I have this gorgeous stuff from Lupicia, Framboise Chocolat. I don’t drink it often as the caffeine can bother me, but that tea is such a treat. 

I made my lunch around 3 and brought it upstairs to eat. I watched an episode of Lie to Me and it was okay. After 4 pm I watched the news and it was the usual stuff.

I was waiting for F to call, but he didn’t call until 5:45 or so. Luckily I was getting ready to go downstairs anyway. He had to work a little late tonight.

Tonight’s dinner was the pork-seaweed stir-fry that we all like. I added in some cabbage and chikuwa…a solid fish paste.  I also steamed some broccoli and we had these things with rice and a nice salad. 

After dinner, I did the dishes and then we went out for groceries. F wasn’t feeling well tonight so he stayed in the car. I did the shopping by myself. I picked up a few things and then came out to the car. 

On the way back to the house we stopped at the post office so I could mail my postcards. Then, F missed the turn to go back to the house. He took “the long way” back and then we detoured into a drugstore. We picked up a few things and then came back to the house. 

I put the groceries away and then went upstairs. F stayed downstairs for a while. I relaxed with a bit of YouTube and then watched The Rainmaker. I quite like this show so far. 

So, that’s about it for the day so far. Since midnight I’ve been watching YouTube and getting ready to go to bed. 

Tomorrow I’ll likely do a bit of laundry and hopefully  have a good day. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 1, 2026

Wednesday - Cloudy and cool

I think I did wake up when F was getting ready for work. I sneaked a peek at him and then went back to sleep. When my alarm went off later I got up and went downstairs. I came back to the room and then went back to sleep. I did sort out my clothes for later though.

I snoozed a bit and dragged myself out of bed finally. I got dressed and then had a quick breakfast and tried to spend time on my computer until I realized I had to leave right away to catch the bus. I went downstairs and as K was up, tried to tell her I was going out to the post office and I would be back around 5 pm. I’m not sure how much of that she understood!

I walked to the bus stop and checked the time chart. Today a lot of things like buses change and they had changed the bus time. It was now going to come 5 minutes later. That’s good in a way since the bus is almost always 5 minutes late, but I hope it won’t actually go even later!  It showed up on time and I got on. I rode the bus to S-Mall and got off. I went to the bank machine and then looked for a place to eat. I decided not to go to the hotel’s restaurant. I thought I’d try Pizza Hut Express, but grabbed a few things from the grocery store first, including a drink. I went over to Pizza Hut Express and the worker told me that there was a 30 minute wait for orders. I couldn’t wait as I wanted to catch a bus. I went over to the bakery and picked out a few things and ate them in their seating area. 

I caught a bus soon afterwards and at the station 4 foreigners got on the bus with huge suitcases. One of them even boxed me into my seat. Sigh. When I rang the bell, I said to them that I had to get past them so they did rearrange the suitcases so I could pass. I got off at the Sanno Machi stop. I went over to the post office and mailed my parcel to my sister. I even reminded the worker that I needed to fill out an additional form that she had forgotten to give me! I bought some stamps too and then went over to the banking area. I deposited a roll of 10 yen coins and then went on my way. 

I crossed the road and made my way to Machi-ne Kinema, but then realized I needed more food! I was still hungry. I made a quick trip to the drug store and picked up a couple of onigiri and brought them back to the cinema and ate them. 

I bought my ticket then to go and see Bugonia with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. It was a very interesting film. The two main cast members were great but the film overall was quite odd. It was very Yorgos Lanthimos! I’ve seen a few of his films now, and this was another of the out there ones!

When the film ended, I left the cinema and headed back to the drugstore. I picked up a few things for myself, including a few bobby pins for my hair. I headed back to my bus stop and waited for the bus to arrive. When it did, I was surprised to see that I was the only passenger. No one else got on so when I got off, the driver was alone. I hope that doesn’t happen often or they’ll cancel the last bus. 

At the house, I turned on the heater in the kitchen and then went upstairs. I relaxed for about 45 minutes, I had a cup of decaf and then went downstairs to start dinner prep. F arrived at the same time.

I made dinner tonight and it was okay. I’d prepared for a tiring day by buying premade burgers and fries, but I also prepped some eringi mushrooms and some baby leaf lettuce. Dinner was okay, but not amazing, 

I did the dishes after dinner and then had to do the garbage up as well. F gave me a hand with K’s stuff. 

I went upstairs to relax before my shower. I got a text from F saying that there was a special about the Kamo Aquarium on TV so I put it on. It was all in Japanese so I didn’t understand much, but I did enjoy seeing the jellyfish. F came up and watched it too. 

I went to take my shower and then watched The Irrational. It was an episode about magic today and the baddie was the father from The Nanny!

Since midnight I’ve been watching YouTube and doing my end of day stuff. F is still up and it is very late for him. I don’t know how he’s going to be at work tomorrow. 

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

March 31, 2026

Tuesday - Rainy and cloudy

I woke up this morning and there were a very handsome looking man putting on his suit in my room. Yes, it was F and yes I did tell him he looked spiffy. I don’t think he understood! I got up and went downstairs and he left while I was in the washroom. Sigh.

I went back to bed and soon fell asleep. I did end up waking up with my alarms a while later. I got up and dressed, then went downstairs. I took down my laundry and did the first of two loads today. I also set up dinner by marinating the meat in some garlic powder and salt and pepper. 

I had a quiet afternoon apart from the laundry. I went downstairs late to get my lunch. K had been bopping around earlier so I was trying to avoid her. 

I took my lunch upstairs and watched an episode of So Help Me Todd. It’s going off my channel tonight so I don’t think I’ll get to see more of it. I liked it, I thought it was quite charming.

I watched the news and relaxed with some tea. Around 5 pm I heard an odd grinding sort of noise from outside and the power went out. It came back on right away but for the next five minutes it proceeded to flicker on and off. Finally, it went off again. So, I had no power from about 5:05. I unplugged things like my water pot and then went downstairs while I still had some light to see by. I took my emergency flashlight in case I needed it. 

In the kitchen, I started a kettle-full of water on the stove (it’s gas) to heat up and rinsed off my dishes. I sent F a text to let him know about the power outage. He phoned me around 5:30 to say he was on his way. He hadn’t seen my texts. He thought that maybe the breaker had gone off, but it hadn’t. I asked him to check the internet to see if there was some explanation. At about 5:45, the electricity came back on! All by itself. K was up by now and I don’t know if she’d even noticed. I tried texting and calling F but he didn’t get my calls. Sigh. 

After the power came back on, I stopped the kettle as the water heater would work again. I did the dishes and F arrived back at the house. Instead of going upstairs as usual, he plunked himself down in the living room and then started to work on his fish tank. Apparently the cleaning filter had stopped working with the power outage. 

Tonight’s dinner was pretty good. I did coro-coro steak with salad, potato salad, and steamed vegetables. We had some rice as well. It was okay!

I did the dishes after dinner and put them away. I let F know that I was going to go up and change my clothes. He went upstairs too and changed. 

We went to the local grocery store and bought our groceries for the next couple of days. I did most of the shopping, F followed me around with the buggy. We paid and left the store. We came back to the house and I unpacked the groceries.

We came up to the room and I decided to prepare a package for my sister. I had to weigh things and then register the package online. I got things into an envelope and taped it within an inch of its life!

I watched a really funny episode of Resident Alien and then turned off the TV afterwards. F went to bed sometime around then and I think he’s sleeping now. 

Tomorrow I’m planning to go out for lunch and then go to a movie in the afternoon. Hopefully I’ll have time to go to the post office either before or afterward the movie.

So, that’s it for my day. It was a bit odd with us losing power for that time. It rarely happens here in Japan and I’m quite thankful for that.

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

March 30, 2026

Monday - Sunny and warm

I did wake up this morning when F was getting ready for work. I peeked out from under my eye mask, saw the light, and put my covers up over my head!

Next time I woke up because my alarm went off. I got up and went downstairs then came back up to the room. I sorted out my clothes for later and then went back to bed. I watched videos for a few minutes and woke up later when my alarms started going!

I got up and then went downstairs to grab my breakfast. I brought it upstairs and ate a bit later. I watched some YouTube and decided to do some of my mending. I’ve had a couple of pairs of pants rip on me over the last while, so I finally fixed them today. Yay me!

I grabbed my lunch around 3 and had a little thing with K today. I was making my lunch and she decided that I should do some housework while I was there. She wanted me to clean the under-tray of the dish rack. I agree that it is a good thing to do, but I was making my lunch. Impatient woman that she is, she did it and honestly, I just grabbed my toast and went upstairs! F has told me stories about her when he was a kid and she just doesn’t understand that other people have other priorities!

Anyway, I ate my lunch and watched an episode of MobLand. When it was over, I watched the US news and then turned off the TV. F called me after 5 to say he was on his way back so a bit later, I went downstairs. 

Tonight I did toaster oven chicken, plus steamed spicy cabbage and salad. F had made rice last night so we had that as well. It was fairly popular but there were leftovers. Yay for me. After dinner I made some dessert quickly in the kitchen. It was a kind of melon flavoured pudding and it was good. Hurray!

I did the dishes after we finished eating and listened to my podcasts. When I finished I went upstairs and watched more MobLand. I actually finished the series tonight. Whew. Safe. I have a couple of other series that I was enjoying but I won’t be able to finish them which is sad. I also did some loom knitting tonight. I’m not actually sure what I’m making now on my loom, but I’ll figure it out!

Since midnight I’ve been watching mostly YouTube and catching up on my end of day stuff. 

Tomorrow I have an exciting day planned with some laundry and whatever I can find to get up to! 

Oh, I’ll slip in a couple of pictures of my loom knit hat that I made. It’s reversible so you need to see both versions! Sorry it took so long to take the photos!

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