April 7, 2026

Tuesday - Muggy and rainy all day

I woke up when my alarm went off this morning. I didn’t hear F this morning, which I’m not mad about! I went downstairs, came back to the room and then sorted out my laundry. Then, back to bed went I. I watched videos and then snoozed for a bit. I got myself up a bit later and went downstairs with my laundry. I did two loads today, no big deal. Sadly, the spot I got on my pink sweater didn’t come out. I may have to run it through the machine again.

I got two letters from my friend today. I had started a letter to her yesterday, so I wrote a couple more pages today and have the letter ready to go out tomorrow. Yay me.

I had a quiet afternoon. I had lunch around 3 pm as usual, I watched an episode of Lie To Me. It was cool as Mahershala Ali was a guest star, as was Megan Follows, Canada’s own Anne of Green Gables (and Matt and Jenny, but maybe no one else remembers that show!)

The news was on afterwards and I can’t say I watched it. It’s PBS so it was decent and quite balanced, but I have heard too much from a very stupid person over the last few years that I can’t pay any more attention to him!

F called around 5:30 to say he was on the way back and I went downstairs soon after to get ready to make dinner. Tonight I made hamburgers from scratch, and added on some broccoli, potato salad and salad. Everything was pretty darn good to be honest and I even got things on the table early. Yay me.

I did the dishes afterwards and then F and I drove to the grocery store and we got something for dinner tomorrow night. It was kind of funny. I suggested to F tonight that since I’m out tomorrow we have pizza for dinner tomorrow night. I told him we can buy some at the grocery store. He had no idea where the pizza in the store was and I told him that it was just inside the door that we usually go in. He didn’t believe me, but he does now!

We did our shopping and then came back to the house where we put things away. I came upstairs and made myself some tea, then decided to watch an episode of Scarpetta. It’s starting to grow on me a little, but I’m still not completely convinced it’s good. 

After Scarpetta finished, I watched tonight’s episode of Resident Alien. It was really funny and wrapped up a major plot line. There’s at least one more episode so I’m not sure what they’re going to do with it. 

And that’s about it for my day. I have to leave the house around 10:30 tomorrow morning, so I have to get to bed! Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….

April 6, 2026

Monday - Sunny in the morning, muggy for the rest of the day.

I woke up early this morning. F was up and was getting ready to go to work. I hoped I could just go back to sleep right away but I woke up enough that I had to get up and go downstairs. Sigh. F was still around when I came back upstairs so I waited a bit and then went back to bed. I didn’t fall asleep until after he left. I did end up getting up earlier than I did yesterday or most days so yay.

I brought my breakfast upstairs and then ate. I started a letter to my bestie and also did my usual Monday stuff like backing up my computer and replacing the towels downstairs. 

I went downstairs around 3 to make my lunch and then I brought it upstairs to eat. I started watching a new show during my lunch, one called Departure. It’s new for me. It’s got Christopher Plummer and Archie Punjabi in it. It’s about a plane going down and the people trying to rescue the passengers and after some time doing a recovery mission. The first episode was quite good. 

F called me around 5:30 and said he was on his way. A bit later I went downstairs to get started on dinner. I did dishes as usual and then when F came back we had a nice chat before he went upstairs to relax. Tonight I did toaster oven chicken with a lemon pepper flavouring, anchovy cabbage, sautéd mushrooms, and baby leaf lettuce. It was actually quite a nice meal but no one seemed to be too hungry. There were enough leftovers for me to have some too, so that is nice. 

I did the dishes after dinner and listened to my usual podcasts. I enjoy listening to Kermode and Mayo and learning about all the movies I’m missing because I live in Japan. Some of them will come, but anything that isn’t in English is a bit hard for me to understand unless they have English subtitles. Sometimes they do which is nice. And I always enjoyed non-English films when I went to see them in Canada, so it’s a little sad that I can’t see any here.

I went upstairs around 9 pm and chilled out with some YouTube. F came upstairs too and he was relaxing too. I took a shower after 10:15 and when I came back to the room I decided to watch episode three of Scarpetta tonight. It was okay. I’m liking the past Scarpetta more than the present. I know that Nicole is a good actress, I just don’t like her. Jamie Lee Curtis is a pain still, but wasn’t quite as bad today. 

The TV went off before midnight and since then I’ve been watching some YouTube and getting ready for my end of day stuff. 

Tomorrow I’ll likely do some laundry and finish my letter to my friend. I’m half planning to go out on Wednesday and go to the big mall. I really enjoyed my outing last week so I’d like another one. F is talking about taking Thursday off so I’m not sure if he’ll want to do anything that day or not.

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

April 5, 2026

Sunday - Cloudy with a light rain all day

Today was unusual, but was a decent day anyway. I slept in quite late, I woke up when my alarm went off. F wasn’t in bed so he’d gone downstairs. I went downstairs and then came back to the bedroom. I went back to bed for a while and tried to sleep, but didn’t. F came up for a while to snuggle.

F suggested that we go to Sakata to go to the port restaurant. He wanted to have a keisen-don and I thought cool, I’d have fish and chips. A while later, after a cup of coffee each and our pastries from yesterday, we drove off to Sakata and the port. We went to the port, found a parking space and walked over to Sakatatanto. And….the Fish and Chips placed was closed. Permanently. Oh NO! I am sad. It was the one reason why I liked coming to that place…I don’t get British Style fish and chips anywhere else so Boo! F had a tuna donburi and I ended up having a salmon donburi. They were good, but I was really looking forward to the fish and chips. Sigh. 

After our meal we had a little spat and F walked off, but happily he didn’t stay mad for long. He was going to drive back to Tsuruoka, but I asked him if we could go nearby and check out the Immigration office. I have to go there in the next couple of months and I was hoping there was a bus stop nearer to the office. Nope. There was one at the ferry port so I could just walk over there. 

We got on the way back to Tsuruoka but stopped at the big Daiso. I love Daiso and I was looking for a few things. I was taking a quick look at the craft corner and all the yarn when my friend that lives in Sakata bumped into me! She had noticed me and came over to say hi. We had a nice chat with her and her daughter for a while before she had to move on. 

I ended up getting some writing paper, some ear plugs and envelopes. F picked up a daikon grater and got me to buy it for him. 

We drove back towards Tsuruoka. We made another stop at the Mall in Mikawa to have some coffee and a doughnut at Mr. Donut. We had a nice time just relaxing for a bit. We eventually drove back to Tsuruoka.

In Tsuruoka we went to the grocery store and picked up groceries! F needed rice, and I needed to buy food for the next few days. We’re going to have chicken and probably hamburgers in the next couple of days. We got a bento for K’s dinner and also stuff for lunches and breakfasts too.

We brought the food back to the house. I unpacked the groceries and put them away, then headed upstairs for a while. I relaxed in front of my computer screen. F gave his mother her bento and then we talked about our dinner. F didn’t want to go to Gusto, so we decided to go to a gyudon shop. We went to the new one in town and both ended up having the same thing, chicken curry. We had different side dishes, but both enjoyed the meal. 

We came back to the house afterwards and I ended upstairs again. I decided to watch the next episode of Scarpetta and it was okay. Less of the sister and more of the investigation, or something. It was slightly less annoying than yesterday’s episode. I followed that up with another episode of Evil. It is getting quite spooky!

And that’s about it for my day. We went to Sakata, saw a good friend, had some decent food and did the shopping. Tomorrow, I don’t really know what I’ll get up to so come back and find out!

Until tomorrow….

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….