July 13, 2026

Monday - Rainy and humid

I went to bed a little late last night, and woke up this morning when my alarm went off. F was still in bed, playing on his phone. I went downstairs and then came back to the room. F went downstairs to make breakfast for his mother. I watched a few videos and then fell asleep again. 

I ended up getting up a little before noon. F and I decided that we’d try F’s eel restaurant. We drove over there and they were open today. We parked the car and then went in. Today’s lunch was a katsu-ju which was a coated pork chop in an eggy sauce with some sashimi, miso soup and rice. It was very nice, but I found it a little salty. F didn’t think it was for a change!

After lunch we came back to the house and I came upstairs for a bit. I went downstairs to help F prepare for the meeting and just before 2 pm they arrived. K’s Care Manager (like Social Worker I think) and one of the workers from the Day Service, the place she goes on Saturdays came to talk about K and how she’s doing. It went well I think. F had bought a bag of Baumkuchen, a cake that’s made on a spit. The guests didn’t have any while they were here. After they left, F had one, I had one and K polished off the bag. F forgot to take it off the table. Sigh. I keep trying to remind him that she’ll eat anything that is left out for her, but he forgets, or thinks she won’t. 

We relaxed upstairs for a while. I watched the US news and a lot was about Senator Lindsay Graham’s death. I won’t be crying about his demise. I was a lot more upset that Sam Neill died this weekend. He was a great actor and seemed to have been a good guy from the stories I’ve read.

F made his mother some dinner and then we went out for ours. I had asked for Gusto as I had a bunch of points I wanted to cash in and I wanted a more Western meal experience today. We went to Gusto and I had chicken with a mushroom sauce and F had their 3 item menu. We both had the drink bar and shared a plate of fries. Dinner was quite good.

We finished our meal and then paid the bill. I used a bunch of my points from the restaurant to do it. We took a very roundabout route to the grocery store. F took a wrong turn and then tried to fix it! I LOLed a lot at that.

At Mina, I went into the store alone (yay!) and bought the groceries. I went over budget by 15 yen, which I paid! We’re going to have coro-coro steak tomorrow and then steam shabu-shabu on Wednesday. I hope it’ll be good! Wish me luck. 

We came back to the house and put away the groceries.  F headed upstairs and then I came upstairs a bit later. I watched a bit of YouTube and then decided I had enough time to watch a movie. Tonight for some reason I decided to watch Persuasion, the 2007 version with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones. It was good, not the best movie version, but it was enjoyable. I liked it. 

And that was about it. It was a pretty good day. It’s going to be a bit rainy tomorrow, I hope that means it’ll keep being a bit cooler. 

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

July 12, 2026

Sunday - Rainy and muggy

I woke up before my alarm this morning, went downstairs and then came back to bed. F went downstairs then and made his mother some breakfast. I watched videos for a while on my phone and then went back to sleep. F came back upstairs and then we both did a bit of napping I think. 

I dragged myself out of bed around noon I think. I ended up getting dressed and F suggested going over to Kushibiki and have food at the restaurant there. I was fine with that and even suggested waiting a bit so we’d miss some of the rush. 

When we arrived at the restaurant, we did have to wait for a while. We even let other people go first as we didn’t want to sit on the floor. We were so late that they didn’t have any rice which was fine as both of us were planning on ordering non-rice dishes. I had mabo-yakisoba and it was very nice, F had ramen with mabo. He even liked it, so that was amazing. 

We came back to Tsuruoka and F wanted to go to our favourite bakery. We didn’t expect it to be open, but it was. We got 3 croissants and a cheese olive bread. It was really good. (We ate them later!)

F headed for the house, but honestly, I really didn’t want to go back yet. Instead, we ended up going to Cafe B-Flat. F had a Vienna Coffee and I had a Darjeeling Tea. It was just what I needed. We both relaxed a bit and then came back to the house.

I came upstairs and relaxed. I watched a bit of YouTube and visited my favourite sites on the net. F came up after a bit and relaxed too. We ate our croissants with a cup of coffee each, mine was decaf. Great croissants!

F made his mother dinner and came upstairs to relax a bit more. Around 7 pm we left and went over to Tsukiya for dinner. I had the low-carb gyudon (as in, on tofu not rice) with a salad and some miso soup. F had gyudon and a raw egg, plus miso soup and pickles.

Then, we drove over to Machi-ne Kinema. We did make a brief stop at the drugstore to get something to drink for both of us. I went in the store and bought it. I owed F as he paid for a book delivery fee for a book I received this morning.  

Then, we headed over to the cinema and went to see The Choral with Ralph Fiennes. I think there were only 4 people in the cinema which is too bad as the movie was quite good. It took place during the First World War and the town was trying to build a choral community without a lot of men. They also didn’t want to do any German composers’ work so it was rather difficult for them to find someone’s work they could do. It wasn’t the greatest movie, but it had great music and I enjoyed it.

After the movie, we made a quick trip to MaxValu and picked up some stuff. F got stuff for K’s breakfast, and the meeting tomorrow. Yeah, we’ve got a meeting with K’s social worker and two of the workers from the Day Service she goes to. F is off work because of it. 

I’ll also have to buy some groceries in order to get ready for the rest of the week. 

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

July 11, 2026

Saturday - Rainy and slightly cooler

I woke up this morning at 9 am. I went downstairs to an empty house. I came back upstairs and went back to bed and sleep. F came back in a while later and I think he had a snooze too. Around 11:30 or so we started talking about lunch. F got a bit shirty again when I didn’t immediately like his suggestion. He suggested a place that we went about a month ago…he didn’t like it and I was uncomfortable on the stools….why would we go back?  I wanted Indian food but F announced he didn’t like it. Sigh. He never said that before. 

I got dressed and we started out looking at a local Chinese restaurant but they were closed this weekend. Sigh. We went to the Indian restaurant and had a pretty good meal. They have raised their prices a little, their meals are now over 1000yen and they charge extra for chai. I think the meal was good, I’m not sure about F, I didn’t ask him.

After our meal we went over to Yamaya and bought some tea for me and “fake” beer for F as well. I also got some feta-like cheese too. 

F wanted to go and have a drink at Komeda so we drove over and got a table fairly quickly. I had an iced decaf and F had a huge milk coffee. 

After a while there, we went back to the house. I told F that there was a good chance I was going to go to bed. I spent some time on my computer and then I did go back to bed. I fell asleep and then when F came in the room around 6:30 I was not too pleased that he tried to wake me up!

After a bit, I got up, dressed again and then we started talking about dinner. F suggested going to Kappa Sushi and I was fine with that. We drove over and did have to wait about 20 minutes before we were seated. However, our meal was pretty good. We had some nice sushi and a bit too many deep fried things. Every time we go I ask F not to order too many deep-fried things and every time he does. Okay, I order some of them too, but he keeps getting more. 

We followed up dinner with a quick trip to the grocery store to get something for K’s breakfast. I got some coffee creamers and we also got some ice cream. 

We came back to the house and relaxed. Our ice cream was nice, I watched some YouTube and then I went downstairs and took a shower. I followed that up with FBI which was on TV. It was about arresting a drug dealer. 

Since midnight, I’ve been watching YouTube and trying to relax. I’ve done a few things this evening and I’m about ready to get some sleep. I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. Come back later and find out. 

Until tomorrow…..

July 10, 2026

Friday - Hot (so hot) and sunny

I went to bed a bit late last night. Even though I had been using the air conditioner, I found the room to be hot. When I woke up this morning, it was already over 30 degrees in our room. That’s basically unbearable for me! I went downstairs and then came back to the room. I sorted out my laundry and then went back to bed for a snooze. I snoozed and also watched some videos. I woke up a bit earlier than usual and got up. I dressed and went downstairs. 

I started my laundry, checked the mail (letter from my bestie), and then grabbed my breakfast. I went back upstairs and didn’t actually eat my breakfast yet. My laundry was finished and needed hanging up before I ate. 

I had a quiet afternoon but did text a few people including F.  I decided to write up a postcard, but the person I’m sending to asked that we print out his kanji address and attach it to the card. Problem was, there was no kanji address! I sent him a message but no reply so far. I may have to just send it with the English address.

I went downstairs to get my lunch. While I was there, I noticed that K had finished her juice so I quickly made up some fruit tea and then gave her some when it was ready. I’m worried that she didn’t drink enough. I went upstairs and ate when I finished. I also watched an episode of Matlock. 

After 5, I waited for F to call me and see when he was coming back. He called a bit late and when he did, I told him that his mother was out of juice. He was going shopping anyway, so he said he’d get some for her. 

I changed and went downstair to the kitchen. K didn’t have the AC on, so I closed the rooms up and turned it on. It was very hot in the kitchen. 

Tonight I did my usual pasta dinner, we had spaghetti with a takana or seaweed sauce. It was really nice. We also had some sliced chicken breast, salad and a little leftover potato salad. It was nice.

I cleared the table and got started on the dishes. Tonight K went off to bed and actually wished me goodnight twice! I guess she forgot about the first time. 

When I was finished, I told F that I was done. I took a can of A&W root beer and some ice upstairs with me. I relaxed with my root beer and watched a few videos. Finally, I decided that I’d watch a movie or something. I started watching a Russell Crowe film, but it wasn’t the one I thought it was, so I stopped it. Then, I decided to put on Punch-Drunk Love. 

I watched the movie and it was okay. There was a lot of background noise here so I didn’t hear some of the dialogue. I liked parts of the movie, I wouldn’t say I loved it though. 

I turned off the TV and started doing my end of day things. F was sleeping although he has just woken up. I’m about ready to finish up and go to bed. 

I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. F has to get K ready for her Day Service and then she’ll be away for much of the day. 

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

July 9, 2026

Thursday - Hot and sunny

Well, today was different than I thought it would be, but it was a good day. 

I woke up a bit when F got up, but I didn’t really wake up if that makes sense. I did wake up later when my alarm went off. I got up, went downstairs and then went back to bed for a bit. I was watching videos on my phone in bed when F came in. He’d had to drive someone to a place nearby but was free for a bit. He relaxed for a while and then left. I fell asleep for a little after he left. I finally got up and dressed. I went downstairs and grabbed my breakfast.

I came upstairs to the room and ate. I texted F as I had found his notebook and wanted to let him know. He said he’d come by later to get it.

I had a quiet afternoon of YouTube and just as I was thinking about writing a postcard for Postcrossing, F came back. He had a long time to relax. I went downstairs and grabbed my lunch. I didn’t watch anything on TV during my lunch today. Sigh. I’m getting behind on my shows.

I watched the news and then I relaxed for a bit. I heard from F around 5:30 and I asked him to get me some yogurt for my breakfast. He said he would. I got changed and went downstairs to make dinner.

I was quite busy tonight. I made stir-fried pork with konbu, and we also had salad, potato salad, spicy cabbage, and F and K had mini-tomatoes. F brought me my yogurt and some choco-mint ice cream for dessert which was lovely of him. There were a few things leftover, but I packed them away. We had our dessert and then I went back to do the dishes. I listened to the news and they said that Bonnie Tyler had died. Total Eclipse of the Heart is my go-to signature Karaoke song so I’m rather sad about it. I like a lot of her music.

I finished up the dishes and went upstairs to relax. I watched some YouTube and chilled with the air conditioner on. Today was horribly hot, right from the morning on. 

F came upstairs after a bit, and soon after that, I went downstairs and took a shower. I am a day late if I’m honest. Last night there was just too much going on.

I came upstairs afterwards and watched tonight’s episode of The Rookie. It was quite a good one, lots of things went on. 

F took a late shower and has finally gone to bed. I will get to my bed soon too.

Tomorrow I have an exciting day planned of laundry and hopefully some Postcrossing. I’ll also be doing some kind of pasta tomorrow night too. Wish me luck!

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

July 8, 2026

Wednesday - Hot and sunny, but muggy

Well, today was an odd one, but generally a good day. 

I woke up this morning when my alarm went off. F was still in bed, awake, but in bed. I went downstairs and I saw K bopping around the kitchen looking for food. When I went back to our room, I told F that his mother was looking for food so he got up to make her breakfast.

I went back to bed and slept a bit longer. F came back to the room and basically woke me up. He wanted to go to a restaurant for lunch. I grumped a bit, but did get up eventually. I dressed and then a short time later we left for the restaurant. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open where we get there. F started driving and turned a corner. I pointed out a place that we went ages ago and suggested it. We went there, had a Japanese style lunch and it was good. We had rice with “stuff” in it, some stewed chicken and tofu wrap, rice and a salad. We chose to have ice cream for dessert instead of having coffee. 

After lunch, I suggested going over to S-mall and having a coffee. F liked that idea.

On the way, we passed the main post office and I asked that we stop so I could pick up some stamps for my postcards and letters. F obliged, so that was nice. 

We spent about an hour in Doutor and then I suggested that F go off and get his hair cut. He’s been talking about doing it for days. He liked that idea, couldn’t quite believe that I was looking forward to a bit of time alone in the mall!

F went off, and I did a bit of window shopping and then a little shopping. I toured Plaza and then Daiso. I bought a few things at the latter one, then went to the bookstore next door to check out their stationary! I didn’t buy any. F called me around then and said that he was back in the mall. He came up to the bookstore and he looked at books. I went to look at the DVD store but didn’t buy anything. 

We left the mall, making a quick detour to the bakery to buy us each a treat. F got one for his mother which was nice of him. 

Back at the house, I went upstairs and then relaxed under the air conditioner. It was so hot upstairs, I basically just sat around in my underwear…. 

Around 6 I suggested that F make his mother’s dinner. He had to go out to get something for her. He did, came back and cooked for her. 

Then, it was our turn. F suggested after a bit of back and forth that we try a place near his office. It was supposed to be open until 10 pm or something. We drove there, taking a weird detour that only F understood and of course, they were closed when we got there. Our next idea was a good one. F suggested going for Okonomiyaki. We drove over near the big mall and found that the place was open. Yay. We went in and got a table. We picked two types tonight, one was Seoul, so it was spicy with a bit of kimchi in it, one was something with cheese in it. F cooked that one. It came with a garlic sauce that he was supposed to put on at the end. He did, but he had forgotten about it so when I suggested that he make holes in the okonomiyaki and pour the garlic sauce in. He thought I meant the okonomiyaki sauce. I shake my head sometimes!

Anyway, the food was great and we both enjoyed it. It wasn’t terribly expensive so I’ve asked that we go back again sometime. 

We came back into Tsuruoka and went to MaxValu as it was too late for the regular grocery store. I got some stuff for tomorrow and Friday’s dinners, K’s lunch and some stuff for my lunch. I forgot to buy some yogurt for myself, which is very sad for me. Maybe I can get some later. 

When we got back to the house I unpacked the groceries with a lot of interference from F. I asked him to make rice for tomorrow and to help me with the garbage. He took off and went upstairs. 

For the third week in a row I did the burnable garbage up downstairs. I did not go into K’s room, that was F’s job and since he couldn’t be bothered, neither could I. No, actually, I don’t go in her room. I think she’d freak out a bit if I did. She was in bed, probably asleep. 

I went upstairs and watched my show, The Copenhagen Test. It was a good one tonight and a lot of things happened. I’ve been enjoying this show a lot. 

After midnight I turned off the TV, turned on a bit of YouTube instead. I’ve been doing my end of day stuff with the AC on. F is not happy with the AC as it bothers him. I really think we put the machine on the wrong side of the room. 

Anyway, that’s it for me for today. It was quite a good day except for the ending. I don’t know why F doesn’t help me when I need it. Oh well, he’s back to work tomorrow and I’m glad about that. 

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

July 7, 2026

Tuesday-Hot and Sunny

I woke up this morning as I usually do, with my alarm clock. I did my usual thing of going downstairs and coming back up to the room. Then, I sorted my laundry and prepped a couple of loads. Then, it was back to my bed I went. I snoozed and also watched videos until I actually got up later and dressed.

I got a call from F telling me that we were having problems with our internet and that it was going to go down soon. Oh joy!

I started my laundry and did a couple of loads. During the day I got my two loads done. I also watched Spiderman: Homecoming which was on NHK today. I love Spiderman, especially the Tom Holland versions!

F called to say that he was coming back to the house and had taken off the rest of the day and also tomorrow. Huh?  He wants to sort out the internet situation. 

Before he came back to the house I did let him know that the internet did in fact go down. When F arrived he tried to contact the company but wasn’t able to. 

I watched my movie and then when it was over I went and got my lunch from downstairs. I brought it upstairs and I ate it. F played around with the internet stuff downstairs and got it working for now. 

F wanted to go out and have a drink, I was fine with that, but I needed a few minutes. After I was ready, we went off and had a drink over at Komeda Coffee. That was nice. 

We came back to the house, I changed again and then went downstairs to the kitchen. I cooked dinner again tonight. We had a cholegi salad (Korean style), potato salad, kabocha, ginger pork, fried onions and rice. Dinner was good and most of it disappeared. Yay.

I did the dishes after dinner and then went upstairs to relax. Normally on Tuesdays we go out to the grocery store, but since F is off tomorrow we decided not to do that. 

I watched FBI at 10 pm and then Law & Order at 11pm. Both of them were pretty good. After that, I turned off the TV and then got stuck into some YouTube. 

I’m not sure what’s going to happen tomorrow. We have to get the internet stuff sorted out and we’ll have to do the grocery shopping as well. I hope it’ll be a little cooler tomorrow, but I doubt it. Sigh.

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