July 21, 2019

Sunday - Cloudy and overcast, hot

I went to bed so late this morning that it was starting to get light outside. I slept fairly well, but F woke me up a couple of times. I didn’t really mind too much today. 

He took his mother out around 10:30. They were going to go to the onsen and then to vote.  I took care of a couple of personal things while they were gone and had my breakfast too.

They came back to the house close to 1:00pm.  F and I went for lunch. I had suggested Hyakkenbori, by the University. F was odd today. He started out driving the right way but turned a few minutes later. He was going the wrong way and didn’t turn around for a while.  We got there just before it closed.

The menu had been changed at the restaurant and they were out of chicken so I couldn’t have my favourites.  Instead, I had a Soboru dish with eggplant. It was rather good. F had one with maguro. Basically, our meal was served on rice and we could put it in a bowl and then pour broth over it. It was a bit like ochaisuke, and good.

After the meal, we went to S-Mall for a while. I hit up the 100yen shop and got a few things today too. Then, F and I went downstairs to have coffee.  The coffee shop wasn’t quite as busy as the day before.  I ordered the coffee while F looked for a place to sit.  Something odd happened. A lady had been putting tables and chairs together as she had a group of friends trying to sit together.  F tried to take away one of her tables for us!  I watched this from the line and was a bit upset on her behalf. F backed down and sat nearby.  When I joined him he told me that the woman had stolen his table, but I told him that she was there first and had been putting the tables together for her group.  He was surprised that I was watching and dropped the subject.

F wasn’t feeling too well, so I suggested that we go back to the house and he take a nap. He liked that idea, so off we went.  We got to the house and F did everything but sleep for ages. He was downstairs, he was upstairs, he was eating, he was running around. Finally, he took a nap, but it was getting late and we needed some food for his mother.

We went out and went to Moku-Moku for dinner. Again, F took us on a huge detour for no reason.  Oh, wait, he did have a reason. He was supposed to take something to his sister’s house.  He just dropped it off. We went to Moku-Moku. It’s changed again. About half of the restaurant is blocked off and there seems to be only one staff member.  He seated us at a seat near the drink bar. F sat on one side of the table and I was going to sit on the other, but there was an electric fan set up there.  I wasn’t sure if I should really sit there, so I did. The cord was behind my legs as I sat, and the fan was to my right. I had to squeeze past it as I sat down.  The waiter came over and asked me to unplug the fan, which I did.  He took it away. Maybe he should have done that first?

Our meals were okay though. F had squid ink curry and I had cold pasta with daikon and shabu-shabu pork in a sesame sauce. That was nice, but the pasta felt a little underdone.

We bought a few groceries after dinner then came back to the house. I took a shower and F put on the TV.  

That’s really about that. F was supposed to do something for his community service but didn’t. He always had an excuse. Hrumph! 

I bought fish for dinner. I’m going to try poaching it, I did that once at the old apartment. I hope I can do it here!

Come back later if you dare and see what I get up to on Monday.  Until tomorrow….

July 20, 2019

Saturday - Overcast with showers, humid

F and I had a fairly laidback and relaxed morning today. I got up around 10 I think, and I even had breakfast. That was nice.  

F made his mother brunch and then the two of us went out for lunch. We went to a lunch restaurant that we’ve gone to a few times. We had to go there because F went for lunch during his workweek a few days ago. When he tried to pay, they didn’t have enough change to give him, so they told him to come back later to pay. He was busy most of the other days, and last weekend we were away, so today was the day.  We both had the nigiri lunch today, basically sushi.  It wasn’t too expensive, but it was good.  

During lunch, F got a call to say that my new glasses were ready so after lunch, we went to pick them up.  They are lovely! They are really, really light, I hardly know that I am wearing them. If they didn’t have frames I wouldn’t know!

We went to S-Mall for some coffee and a trip to the hundred yen shop. I got a few things for the house and me, as did F.  We went to Doutors for the wifi and also the drink.  They got our order wrong and as we were walking away, they changed it. Personally, I think it was worse, but whatever!

F wanted to go and get a pen-pal of his a gift, so we went to the shopping area of Tsuruoka, only to find that there was a festival on and we couldn’t get the car near it.  We were a bit sneaky and drove to the cinema and parked there.  We didn’t take very long, so I don’t think we were hurting anyone else.  F got some gifts, then we went to the grocery store for more stuff and a bento for his mother.

We delivered the bento and went out for our dinner. F asked me if I’d like to go to our favourite place in Mikawa and I said sure.  F called them to see if it was okay to show up and they said it was. We drove out to the restaurant and had a lovely meal.  F had roast duck and I had steak. We were both pleased with our meals, although F made me take some of his meat.

On the way back into Tsuruoka, F asked if I’d like to go to Karaoke and I would.  I’d been asking about going all weekend.  The first place we tried had no parking available, but the second place seemed rather empty.  We got in right away and spent the next 3 hours or so singing! Tonight I challenged myself to sing only Canadian singer’s works and I almost managed. I picked a group that wasn’t Canadian, but it is okay. My rules.

We came back to the house and F went to bed almost right away. He’s really tired and had a headache for much of the day.  Tomorrow he has to do his community service bit. He’s been avoiding it all weekend. I knew that, but I really wanted to go to karaoke!

Come back later if you like and see what we get up to on Sunday. Until tomorrow….

July 19, 2019

Friday - Cloudy and humid

F had taken today off work, so when morning came, he didn’t want to get out of bed, so he didn’t. I was up before him if you can believe that!  I got up before 10 am, he was still in bed around 11:30 I think.

For lunch, I suggested a new place for us. One of the concerts at the Aquarium was by a lady who has a new restaurant in Tsuruoka. She’s one of the band members. I suggested to F that we go there. He liked the idea and off we went. 

We found the restaurant, but their parking was a bit more difficult. Still, that done we walked to the restaurant. We were seated after a little delay.  I ended up having a bacon steak, and F had steak-steak. I didn’t expect him to have steak or a big one at that, but he did and seemed to enjoy it.  We even splurged for dessert and coffee. 

We went back to the house for a while. F worked on his community stuff and I scanned a few cards.  Around 3, F announced that he was done and that he wanted to go to the movie theatre.  Okay then!

We bundled into the car and drove to Machi-ne Kinema.  We got our tickets and then went to see The Bookshop.  It was okay. I think there were a few missed opportunities in the screenplay, but I enjoyed it overall.

After the movie, F and I picked up a nice hot bento for K from a shop nearish the theatre.  We dropped it off and then we went to find our dinner. We tried to find a local restaurant and then did, but it wasn’t open.  We went back to our original plan for a fish restaurant.

We had dinner at Okazaki tonight and it was busy.  F and I got into a bit of a spat tonight about where to put my shoes of all things.  The restaurant has just started putting labels in the shoe room and we are supposed to put our shoes in the section that relates to where we will be sitting.  I didn’t know that. F got rude and then upset when I called him off on it.

We had a decent meal there, although F’s food was on the table long before mine was. He had a seafood medley on rice, I had grilled fish. It was all good, but mine was a bit small.

We went over to Starbucks for frappuccino’s and wifi. I tried the new peach one and loved it.  It was a bit too sweet for me though.  F suggested going to karaoke during our drink, but it was late and I knew that F didn’t want to go at all.  

We came back to the house and watched another episode of The Good Doctor from the DVR. Yay us.

I watched a couple of other things later after I took my shower.  

F hasn’t been feeling well today. I’ve been a bit worried about him as he’s always in pain. He isn’t supposed to eat steak, but he did.  Crazy man!

I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow. I only hope that we both enjoy it. Until tomorrow….

July 18, 2019

Thursday - Hot, cloudy and humid

I woke up a little early this morning. I did a washroom run and then went back to bed. I ended up sleeping a bit late, but it was a nice feeling too.  I got up finally, watched the news, then the TV shows I’m into and that was about it for the day!

F called me around noon to say he was taking Friday off. It was nice that he did, but I was a tad worried that he’s frittering away his holidays. 

F called again later to say he was going to be late and he was. He got back to the house around 7 I believe.

It was his turn to cook tonight since he wanted fish. I think I contributed more food to dinner though. I heated up some vegetables and put out a gobo salad.

After dinner, I gave F a hand with the dishes. Today he washed them and I dried them.  No big deal. He wanted to go to the onsen too, but it was their closed day today so not able to go. 

Instead, we came upstairs and I finally booked my airplane tickets to Canada. I’m so excited. I thought I’d need his help, but this time I was able to work it all out myself. Woot.  

We went out to Komeda Coffee tonight for a drink. Halfway through, F asked if I’d like something to eat, so we ended up getting food too. We shared it and it was nice. I had chicken nuggets and F had a curry cutlet sandwich.

We came back to the house after our meal and I watched some TV. F snoozed on the bed after a bit.

And that was that. I just want to complain about the humidity. it is getting worse here. I’m not happy about it.

No idea what I’ll get up to tomorrow, but I can let you know later! Come back if you like and see what I get up to. Until tomorrow….

July 17, 2019

Wednesday - Sunny but muggy

I had a mostly quiet day at the house today. I got up early, watched the news and then some telly. I didn’t see much of K during the day which was fine with me.

I did come up with a bit of a topic for my Journal column. I’ll have to do a bit of research but it should be okay.

F texted me a few times during the day, I texted back. No big deal.  He did text, later on, to say he’d be late today.

I decided to go downstairs around 6:30 and start preparing dinner. I hadn’t heard from F, but thought that K and I should eat.  Of course, just as I was starting to put food out for us, he called to say he was finished work.

Tonight we had a salad with a couple of extras in it, tofu, cucumbers and some pork. I heated up some rice for K and then for F when he arrived.  Dinner was fine I thought, but F was glued to a stupid TV programme. 

I was lucky enough to be able to do the dishes tonight with no help again!  How wonderful for me.  K, to be fair to the old gal, did bring a bunch of dishes to the kitchen for me, but I think that had more to do with her wanting to wipe the table than with helping me out.

After dishes, I went upstairs and F was on his side of the bed trying to sleep. He asked if I wanted to go out and of course said yes.  I asked that we go to McDonald's for some drinks and wifi. I didn’t want to go straight back to the house either. We went to McDonald's and had a drink and a bit of a treat.  

Then we went to the grocery store. Sigh. I was looking for something for dinner for tomorrow, but F was being a jerk. At the end, I asked him to pick what he wanted and he said grilled fish. I told him it was fine if he cooked it. He talked a bit too loudly as he had an earphone in one ear so I asked him to be more quiet and to use his inside voice. He put something in his basket and then stalked off. I got a few things that I needed and we paid.  

I packed the groceries and then a guy tried to come up behind me and take the space I was just leaving.  F did the thing he always does which is trying to get me to move out of the man’s way.  In the first place, I couldn’t see the guy as he was behind me. In the second place, he could have gone either left or right of me, no idea why F got mad at me.  Get mad at the idiot who could only see one place to pack his groceries.  I’m mad at the idiot I married for constantly telling me off rudely for “getting in other people’s way” when they come up behind me.  I’m a big woman, I know that, but if people are behind me, how am I supposed to see them?  And F….he gets in the way constantly. He will stop dead in his tracks if a person crosses his path. He wants them to see how he has been inconvenienced by their “thoughtlessness”. Or whatever. Unfortunately, if you are behind F when he’s overacting, you have to stop too.

Time for a holiday I think. 

Came back to the house and I took a shower. As I was getting ready K was bopping around.  I had a feeling she’d come into the bathroom while I was changing, so I put my robe back on. She did.  I told her I was taking a shower so she toddled off. No privacy here. I’m not allowed it.

I did the garbage up and dumped it in the genkan for F to take it out in the morning. Then I came upstairs and watched Grey’s Anatomy with headphones on.  F is sleeping and has been for a while.  

I get that he is tired, but lately, he’s been distracted and mostly downright rude to me.  Does he really think living here with a grumpy husband is such a fabulous thing?  It isn’t. 

My turn to kvetch.

Anyway, I’ll most likely be here tomorrow. Come back if you dare and hear what I get up to on Thursday. Until tomorrow….

July 16, 2019

Tuesday - Hot and muggy, some rain

I woke up this morning at 7 am to an empty room.  F had left already. I tried to go back to sleep, but it was so hot and stuffy in here that I just couldn’t. I got up, opened the windows and did a little snooze until I did get up.

I had a fairly quiet day today. K was in bed for much of the morning, at least I think she was.  I did a couple of loads of laundry, had breakfast and watched quite a bit of telly off the DVR. 

Around 4 I heard from F that he’d be late tonight. He thought he’d be done around 7. I passed on the message to his mother and then went back upstairs.  Poor thing didn’t get back to the house until well after 8:30.  

The three of us piled into the car and went to Kula Sushi.  It’s not great, but it stays open late and I like their side dishes.  I went off to get water for all of us, but when I came back to the table F told me that he ordered 2 dishes of onion rings for us. I thought it wasn’t enough. His mother LOVES onion rings. I ordered a bowl of fries too. They are a good filler food when you are waiting for other dishes to be delivered.  Then, the two bowls that F ordered arrived. He’d ordered two semi-expensive dishes of french fries, onion rings and chicken nuggets.  And then the bowl of fries that I ordered arrived. Oh my goodness. Of course, if I had known that F had ordered fries, I wouldn’t have ordered any!  He’d made a mistake.  We polished off all three plates after a while. F and I were rather stuffed. We’d had some sushi too and were almost ready to go. Then, K asked for another dish of the fries & rings.  F and I rolled our eyes a bit, but he obliged her.  The dish arrived and of course, after she’d eaten a few, she’d had enough and we had to finish the dish! 

We brought K back to the house and the two of us went off again to get some groceries for dinner tomorrow. We hadn’t bought dinner groceries last night as we planned to do it before cooking tonight. That didn’t happen.

Oh, and my glasses aren’t ready yet. They’d made a mistake on the order so it’ll be another week yet apparently. I was looking forward to getting them!

When we came back to the house, F got into relax mode, I watched a couple of TV shows and then as I’m starting to get sleepy, thought about bed.  Not sure what I’ll get up to tomorrow. I probably should write a bit of my next column, but that would require that I decide on a topic!

Come back a bit later if you feel like it and see what I get up to. Until tomorrow….

July 15, 2019

Monday - Marine Day - Hot and Sunny

It seems like the weather has finally decided that summer is here. We went from cloudy and cooler weather on Sunday to hot and sunny today. It was lovely, but unfortunately, both of us are sporting a bit of a sunburn. Mine isn’t as bad as F’s since I stayed in the shade, used a big floppy hat, and wore sunscreen.  

Anyway…I finally heard from my friend on Sunday that she and her husband and nephew were going to be in Akita on a beach fishing.  Since F wanted to try the type of fishing too, we packed a bag each, loaded up the cooler boxes and left.  Of course, we made sure that K had lots of food so she wouldn’t be hungry. 

F at the beach.

We drove north, my friends drove west, and we managed to find each other.  We had told K that we’d spend the night away, but hadn’t made a hotel reservation yet. I made one on my phone for a hotel in Akita. It sounded so far away, but really it was only 30 minutes away from the beach!

Sunset

The guys went fishing and my friend and I had some lovely chats.  We did a little craftwork together too.  We set up for the meal and when the guys came in from the water’s edge, we had a feast.  We had steak and other meat, some sausages, some grilled veggies and some of my garlic toast. Dinner was great.

F and I left around 10 pm I think and drove to Akita, stopping only to get gas. We checked into our hotel which was fine. It’s a chain I’ve stayed in before. They didn’t ask for my passport, so double woot!

We made a convenience store run, which was easy as there was one just off the hotel lobby. We didn’t have to go outside! We grabbed a few things for our hotel room and went back up. We didn’t turn on the TV at all. F had some noodles and I did some craftwork.  He took a shower and I went to bed. It was only 12:30 or something, but we planned to be up at 6 the next morning to go back to the beach. 

Today, we got up at 6 am. I took a shower and packed up my stuff. We checked out and then drove to the beach. However, halfway there, F decided he needed bait, so we turned around and went back to Akita city and got some. Then, we came back to the beach but stopped in a store for a few things.  

At the beach, my friend and I stayed under a shade-canopy while the guys went fishing. My friend’s husband caught a few of the fish they were trying for, but poor F only caught fugu and didn’t keep them!

Around 12:30 or so, the guys called it quits.  We had been preparing lunch a bit, so we could all eat fairly quickly. We had a lovely lunch together and then we had to go our separate ways.

I slept most of the way back to Tsuruoka. We did stop a few times for ice cream or Baba Heya, but it was terribly hot out today, so necessary.

Baba Heya Ice...sold to us by a woman on the side of the road!

F decided that he wanted to go to the onsen before going back to the house. Although I could have taken a bath, I decided not to. I sat in the lobby and read a little, crocheted a couple of rows and checked my phone apps.

We stopped in Tsuruoka later to buy K a bento, then delivered it.  After we came back to the house we emptied the car and checked the fridge a bit. 

We went for dinner tonight. F wanted fish, but none of the places he wanted to go were open. I had suggested Pisolino earlier and he didn’t want to go, but we ended up there anyway. We had a fairly good meal. F ordered a pizza and I had pasta. We shared a bit and also had the buffet. 

On the way back to the house, we stopped into

the grocery store to get some food for tomorrow. I’m not planning to cook dinner tomorrow as it is much too hot for me to be in the kitchen.  However, we may be able to find something in the grocery store that will be easy to cook and not heat up the joint…fingers crossed anyway.

Come back later and see what I get up to on Tuesday. Until tomorrow….