May 2, 2026

Saturday - Windy in the AM, Sunny and warm

I woke up this morning at 8am when my alarm went off. I got up, went downstairs and then came back to the room. I got dressed and spent a little time on my computer. I was waiting to hear from my friend. F was gone, his sister came by around 8:30 to get his mother ready to take to her Day Service. 

My friend had said that she’d be in Tsuruoka around 9 but she was running a bit late. F came back to the house a little after 9 am. My friend came by around 10:30 and we decided to go to Gusto and have a light meal. 

We had a good time at the restaurant and talked a lot. She had pizza, I had pasta and we both had the drink bar. 

All too soon, she had to go so she dropped me off at the house and I went in. I met up with F and after a bit of relaxing time he asked me if I’d like to go and have cake and coffee. I said sure so we went over to Komeda. He had the new caramel crepe cake, I had the cream cheese with nuts and fruit cake. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I told F that I was planning to go and see at least one movie this weekend and asked him if he was interested in coming. He said he was. Last week he made it sound like he wasn’t interested in seeing anything ever again! I checked the schedules of the local cinemas and we could go and see The Devil Wears Prada 2 tonight. 

We went to a grocery store after our drink. F bought food for dinner. I think it was a bit expensive if I’m honest, but…. We came back to the house and I went upstairs, he stayed downstairs and waited for his mother to return. 

Tonight F cooked dinner and did a pretty good job. He made a pork miso soup and some haksai and goma side dish. He grilled some gindara and gave us some salad too. Dinner was nice. We were all sitting at the table watching the news when K started gathering up the dishes and then tried to get me to wash them. Umm…that’s not what we do here. You cook, you wash! F told her off, the news wasn’t even over yet and we were both watching it. 

F took most of the dishes to the kitchen, I helped him with the rest and helped clear the table. He washed the dishes and then I dried them. I did ask him to wipe down the stove afterwards as it was a bit messy. 

We took a little time upstairs to relax and then around 8:30 we left the house. We drove out to Mikawa Mall and went into the cinema. We bought our tickets, some popcorn & drinks and then went to see The Devil Wears Prada 2. 

Now, a little aside. I did not like The Devil Wears Prada. I found the film to be vapid and annoying. I wasn’t planning to bother with the sequel unless F wanted to see it. He liked it, and so did I. It wasn’t the greatest film ever, but I did enjoy it a lot more than the first one!

After the movie we drove back to Tsuruoka. F went to bed almost immediately, I had a few things like blogging to do first! I’m about done now so I’m going to head off to bed. 

I’m not sure what we’re going to get up to tomorrow. The weather in the afternoon may not be great, so we’ll have to see what happens. Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

May 1, 2026

Friday - Cloudy and cooler, rainy at night

I woke up this morning at 6:30. I’m not sure why! F wasn’t in bed, so I figured that he was downstairs and of course he was. He was in the washroom where I wanted to be! Happily for me he came out about the time I got downstairs so things worked out. 

I came back upstairs and went back to sleep. I overslept my alarms, I had planned to wake up for them, but didn’t. I got up an hour later and went downstairs. I came back to the room, sorted my laundry and then went back to bed. I completely overslept again but I didn’t care too much.

I got up, went downstairs with my laundry and put my first load in. I went into the kitchen and made myself some oatmeal and took it upstairs to eat. After I finished eating, my load of laundry was done, so I brought it upstairs to hang up and started my second load. 

I had a quiet afternoon in my room. I watched a bit of YouTube and just chilled basically. Around 2:45 I went downstairs to grab my lunch. I made that and brought it upstairs to eat. Today I decided to watch something happy and fun, so watched the last episode of the seventh season of The Great British Sewing Bee. I really enjoyed that. 

Around 5:30 F phoned to say he was on the way back and did I want him to pick something up? I asked for some new milk…the one in the fridge was from March…yikes. I also asked F to bring something to have with dinner…either a deli thing or dessert or anything. 

I went downstairs around 6pm and started on dinner. Tonight I made spaghetti with bacon and salad. I used a store sauce that we found on sale and it was very good. We all seemed to enjoy it. Oh, and when F came back, he brought some milk and some chips for later for us two and noodles for his mother’s breakfast tomorrow….and he forgot to bring anything else again. He’s done this before and it annoys me a little, but not enough to get too upset about it. 

After dinner, I did the dishes and put them away. I went upstairs and chilled for a bit. I came downstairs after 10 and took a shower. I came back to the room and decided to watch an episode of The Boys. That show! It’s so bizarre, but I like it. 

Since midnight I’ve been watching YouTube and doing my usual end of day things. 

Tomorrow will have a stressful start. F has a doctor’s appointment, his sister will come over and take his mother to her Day Service place and I’m meeting up with a friend in the morning. Ack! 

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

April 30, 2026

Thursday - Clear and a little warmer

I woke up before my alarm today. I made my trip downstairs and then came back to the room. I set up my water pot just in case F did come back (he didn’t). I watched some videos and then fell asleep and woke up some time later. I got up, dressed and went downstairs again. 

I checked the mail and I got another postcard today. I have received a lot more than I have sent at the moment. I went into the kitchen and made my breakfast and took it upstairs. 

I ate breakfast, watched some YouTube and didn’t do any laundry. Oh well. I had a quiet afternoon really. I watched YouTube and drank tea and just relaxed a bit.

I made my lunch around 3 pm and brought my lunch upstairs to eat. I watched another episode of Breaking Bad. It was hilarious today. I’m wondering how this show is going to develop!

After 5:30, F called to say he was on his way back to the house. I changed a few minutes later and went downstairs to the kitchen. Tonight I did the pre-made burgers, fries and salad thing. I also made a cabbage and nira stir-fry that was quite nice. I did the dishes afterwards and listened to a couple of podcasts. I went upstairs with a small bottle of Diet Coke with no caffeine or sugar. 

I relaxed and did some of my loom knitting. I watched an episode of Evil. It was a bit spooky again…aren’t they all though? I watched The Rainmaker after that. I’ve been enjoying this show.

After midnight the TV went off and I started watching some YouTube and doing my end of day things. 

Tomorrow I will have to do laundry and try to get things set up for having F around for 5 days with no plans. Sigh. There are a couple of movies in town so I might take myself off to see a show if F doesn’t want to go. He said he doesn’t but….

Anyway, come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 29, 2026

Wednesday - Cloudy and cool

I woke up around my alarm time. F was still in bed which was nice. He hadn’t forgotten that today is a holiday! I went downstairs and then came back to bed for a while. We had a snuggle and then I fell asleep and F went downstairs to cook for his mother.

I got up much later and went downstairs. I chatted with F and he suggested going for lunch to one of his soba places. I’m not a huge fan of soba, but I thought it was fine. At least he had an idea. I suggested going to the one I like best, with his other choice as a back up. I got dressed, he got dressed and then we headed out in the car.

Well, our first choice was open (first time in ages) but there was no parking available. We decided we’d go to the second choice.  On our way, we passed Stamina Taro, the yakiniku buffet place. It had just finished a renewal and today was the first day of it. He suggested going there. I told him it would be expensive, but we decided to go there anyway. 

It was expensive…about ¥3500 per person, but that included our soft drinks and all the food we could cook and eat for the next 90 minutes. We could and did eat a lot. I didn’t go overboard and didn’t feel too bad when I left. F did eat a bit too much and wasn’t feeling great when we left the restaurant.

We did a quick trip to Yamaya where I got myself some rooibos tea for everyday and some popcorn flavouring. I haven’t tried that one yet. 

We left the store and came back to the house. I relaxed for a few minutes and tried to charge up my phone. Then, F drove me to my hair dresser’s.

I had spent a few minutes last night looking for a good picture and as usual, my stylist delivered. I paid and left. Happily, F was waiting outside for me and I offered to buy him a coffee at Doutor in the mall. We drove over to the mall and went in.

We had a nice and quiet time at Doutor. I had an iced decaf latte, F had a blend coffee. He played on his phone, I read some Threads. Surprisingly, F wanted to go up to Daiso, so we went upstairs and he bought something (new earphones) and I didn’t! I did offer to carry his earphones for him in my purse.

We came back to the house and relaxed for a bit. A little before 7 F made dinner for K. He gave her some eggs and natto on rice I think. I wouldn’t have been happy with that, but it’s okay!

We went out to Gusto for dinner. I had their smash burger and fries, F had chicken with a garlic soy sauce. He complained it was salty. Mine was nice and I enjoyed it. We both had the drink bar. I only had a couple of drinks tonight, so I didn’t overdo it.

We went over to the PAL grocery shop since it was fairly close and I went in and did the shopping. F stayed in the car and I was quite happy about that! It’s so much faster for me to do the shopping alone, plus I don’t buy (too much) stuff we don’t need. I got myself more cocoa, but I did offer to pay F back for it. He said it was okay. Tomorrow night we’ll be having pre-made burgers and fries, plus a side dish or two I hope. 

We came back to the house where I put away the groceries and then went upstairs. F got himself ready for work tomorrow and then came upstairs too. We had a fairly quiet night in. I watched The Irrational at 11pm and then turned off the TV as usual. 

I’m not too sure what I’ll get up to tomorrow. I might do some laundry or I might do a bit of tidying up. We’ll have to see. 

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

April 28, 2026

 Tuesday - Cooler and rainy

I woke up when my alarm went off this morning. I went downstairs and then came back up to the room and sorted my laundry. I went back to bed and watched a few videos and snoozed a little. 

Later, I got up, dressed and took my laundry downstairs. I started it in the machine and then went into the kitchen. I decided that I’d make myself some porridge for breakfast but then remembered that I needed to do some prep for dinner tonight. 

I marinated the meat in a spice mix and cut and hollowed out an onion for an onion boil. It took a few minutes and my laundry was nearly done, but not quite. I finished making my porridge and then took it upstairs. I went downstairs soon afterwards and brought up my now clean laundry. I hung it up in the room.

I had received a postcard again today and registered it, and then I had a quiet afternoon. I watched a bit of YouTube and when it was lunch time, went downstairs and prepared my lunch. I brought it upstairs and watched an episode of Lie To Me. 

I followed that with the news and then F phoned me after 5 to say he was on his way back. I went downstairs and washed my day’s dishes. F came back to the house while I was preparing the cucumber salad. Tonight we had coro-coro steak and onion boil done in the air fryer, Asian cucumber salad, potato salad, salad, and celery pickles. Dinner was quite good and most of it disappeared!

I did dishes afterwards and I listened to my movie podcast and the CBC news. I thought again, as I usually do, how much more balanced Canadian news sounds compared to the US news. 

I finished and said good night to F and to K. I went upstairs, put on my pyjamas and just relaxed for a bit. When F came upstairs I put on my headphones so I wouldn’t disturb him. After 10 I took a shower and then came back upstairs. I watched an episode of Law & Order and then turned off the TV. 

I did my end of day stuff and watched a bunch of YouTube. I’ve also been working on my loom knitting a bit today and have changed colours twice today. I used one very small ball of yarn, so that makes sense. 

Tomorrow is a national holiday and I’m not really sure what we’re going to get up to. This is the start of Golden Week. I have an appointment to get my hair cut tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to that. It’s getting shaggy and unmanageable so hopefully this cut will get me through the summer too. 

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

April 27, 2026

Monday - Rainy and cooler

I went to bed a little early last night. I woke up before my alarm and made my trip downstairs. I came back up to the room and then went back to bed. I slept for a while, watched a few videos and then got up.

I went downstairs again and grabbed my breakfast and brought it upstairs to the room. I ate my breakfast and then decided that I should really do a bit of laundry. I washed some of my pants. I haven’t washed my trousers in ages. I found a pair that I’ve been looking for so yay, and I washed the things I’ve been wearing a lot lately. They are now hanging up in our room now. I hope they dry before the holiday on Wednesday…or at least one of them  does. 

I had a quiet afternoon, just watched some YouTube and did a couple of rounds of my loom knitting. I’ll be changing the colours next time I knit.

I had lunch around 3 pm and watched the final episode in the first season of Departure. It was quite exciting. I think I’ll maybe watch the next season as I’m not planning to fly anywhere just now. I followed that up with the news and then after 5 pm F called to say he was on his way back. I went downstairs a little later and made dinner. Tonight I was a busy beaver. I made toaster oven chicken again, made a spicy tuna and cucumber salad and washed a baby leaf lettuce salad for us. We had the above plus some potato salad and rice. It was actually quite nice. 

I did the dishes and it didn’t take too long tonight. I listened to my podcasts and then went and said goodnight to K and F. I had done up the garbage too. Next week there isn’t garbage for the first three days of the week, so it’s important to get as much out this week as possible. 

I went upstairs and watched some YouTube videos and then after 10 pm I started watching stuff off the Fire Stick. I watched another episode of Evil and then I watched a new one on Apple TV, Margo’s Got Money Troubles. It was labeled a comedy but I’m not sure it was. In the first episode she got pregnant while at college and decided to keep the baby. Margo was Elle Fanning and she was good…half naked at times too, and Michelle Pfeiffer  as her mother. She didn’t get naked. Pfeiffer’s husband was the creator of the show so…. I’ll reserve judgement and see how the next episode goes. I’m not big on “baby” shows, but I like Elle Fanning.

I turned off the TV before midnight and went back to YouTube and doing my end of day stuff. I’ll try and get myself off to bed early again. 

I’ll probably do a bit more laundry tomorrow. I also have to do some prep for tomorrow’s dinner. If I can get a couple of postcards written, that would be good too. 

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

April 26, 2026

Sunday - Warm and Sunny

I went to bed a little late last night and slept in a bit this morning. However, I woke up when F came back in the room or something. I went downstairs and then tried to go back to sleep for a while. F suggested that we go for breakfast to Komeda. I didn’t want to and then I thought,“why not?” 

I got up, dressed and a few minutes later we left the house. We got into the restaurant on time, but we weren’t seated for a few minutes. The waitress told us that we could still get our free breakfast, so we ordered it. F got a bun with adzuki beans, I got a half piece of toast and egg salad. It was okay. 

After our breakfast, we decided to go and have lunch! Breakfast was small. We tossed around a few ideas and then ended up at Tenkane again. We both had the same thing, the mixed bento box style thing. It was okay.

We went back to the house after lunch and spent an hour or so. I didn’t want to go out to Ikoiinomura while it was really hot and sunny. 

We drove up to Ikoiinomura and managed to find a parking space. We went and had a look at the tulips. It was still busy, but the flowers were pretty. There was a band playing and I realized at one point that they were doing “Can’t Help Falling In Love” in a sort of punk version. It reminded me of the Lick The Tins version from the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack. I finally got a glimpse of the band and noticed that they were Buddhist monks! Yup, there were three of them and they were rocking out!

Yes, these are tulips!

An assortment of tulips

Two of the three monks rocking out!

F and I bought some “long Potatoes” which were like formed French Fries and shared them. We watched the band for a while and then left. We went for a ride along the coast for a bit and then came back to Tsuruoka. We made a pit stop at a couple of drugstores, one for a toilet break, another for “stuff”! After the second drugstore, we went to the grocery store and picked up food for the next couple of days and tonight’s dinner. F didn’t want to eat out. I gotta say, I was a bit disappointed in that, but I guess I understand.

We came back to the house. I went upstairs and chilled with some YouTube. F called me downstairs a bit later. I really didn’t want to go and join “the family” but I did. F had made some miso soup with pork and daikon. It was decent, but I’d already had miso soup today and I didn’t want more. 

We had bought bentos at the grocery store so F heated up his and his mother’s, I heated up mine. I got a kara-age one, F and K had salmon. The soup was better than the bento, but I didn’t love it. 

I went upstairs after dinner and told F that I would join a Zoom meeting. I did that and it was fine. My women’s group happened to have a Zoom Meeting tonight. There weren’t too many people there, but it was nice to talk to other people who actually listened! There were a couple of people who almost had a fight, but I still enjoyed the meeting. I got to talk about movies a tad so that made me happy too.

I left the meeting around 10:30 and spent a few minutes with F. He was sitting by himself on the bed deep into videos on his phone. He did seem a little happy to see me!

I decided that tonight I’d watch an episode of Breaking Bad. I’ve never seen it before and of course I’ve heard about it a lot. I liked the first episode so I’ll probably watch a bit more before I decide if I’ll watch the whole series.

And that was it. Since midnight I’ve been watching YouTube and trying to do my usual end of day things. 

Tomorrow, F is back at work and I’ll be cooking dinner. I’m not sure what else I’ll get up to as well. If you’d like, come back later and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….