April 23, 2025

Wednesday - Cloudy and a little rainy in the afternoon.

I went to bed about an hour earlier than usual last night and managed to sleep until almost 7 am. I went downstairs and then tried to go back to bed. F was getting up at the same time so we chatted a little bit. I thought about doing my usual watching videos after he left, but went back to sleep instead.

I woke up when my alarm went off later. I did finally drag myself out of bed. I had an hour before I had to catch the bus, so I got dressed, had a light breakfast and wrote some email. I was a bit freaked out when I finished the last email as it was about leaving time. Yikes. Luckily I had prepared most things so I could just go, but I had to pop back to the room to pick up my phone. Sigh. 

I did a very fast walk to the bus stop and I was only there for a minute or so before I saw the bus. I think that it was the closest I’ve ever been to missing the bus! But, safe! I rode the bus to the station and got off there. I had a ten minute wait for my next bus. It was a regular sized bus and when I tried to get on, my glasses fogged up and I misjudged the step. I ended up catching my ankle on the first step instead of the bottom of the step. Ouch! I managed to get on the bus quickly and tapped in. My poor ankle was so sore, I nearly cried. It didn’t look too bad but over the day I have developed a dark bruise on my shin. 

I got off the bus in Mikawa at the mall…funny thing was I was nearly the only person on the bus for most of the trip. A guy did get on in Mikawa, but it was mostly me for the trip. 

At the mall I decided to hit up the washroom first, then I had lunch at McDonalds. I had the Chicken Tatsuta set using a coupon from my app. It was fine. 

I headed down the mall and made a quick stop at the post office to deposit 50 yen! I’m getting rid of my 1 yen coins little by little! (Very little!) Then, I went to the cinema. I managed to buy my ticket to see Wicked using the new machine and Google Translate. It worked! Then, I got some popcorn and a drink and went to my seat. This was the third time I’ve seen Wicked and it was just as good as the first time. I didn’t cry this time, but I did really enjoy myself. I NEVER thought I’d be a fan of Wicked since I hated the book it was based on, but I enjoyed it again. 

After the film, I walked down the mall and was really sad to see how many empty stores there are. Some of them are filling up with the gatcha-pon machines, but they aren’t stores and I have no interest in them. 

I did a quick tour of the ladies clothing section of the mall but didn’t like anything enough to try on. I looked at the craft corner but didn’t see much I liked. Then, I went to the grocery store and picked up a few things for myself. I also hit up the drugstore area and got more masks for F and I. The brand we like are usually good for us glasses wearers. It didn’t help much this morning, but it could be because it was quite humid outside. 

I was a bit tired and my leg hurt so I decided to have a drink and wait for F to finish work. It was about 30 minutes before he was done. I ended up getting a milk tea with boba and it was rather nice. F called me to see where I was when he was done and then drove over from his office. I saw him drive by and I even saw a great parking spot for him. I hoped he would get it and he did. It was close to the mall entrance. Yay!

He came into the mall and he got himself a milk tea at the same place I did, and then we got some takoyaki and taiyaki. I haven’t had takoyaki in ages so this was a nice treat. The taiyaki was good too.

After our snack, we went to the grocery store and got some bentos for our dinner and a couple of things for K’s lunch tomorrow. F picked up a few other things too and then we checked out using the self-checkout. 

We drove back to Tsuruoka and the house. We went in and F started heating up the bentos right away. I woke K up and got her up, then set the table. We had a nice meal together and I think K looked happy to get all of us together. 

After we finished dinner, I cleared the table and washed the dishes and bento boxes. Then, as always on Wednesday night, I did up the garbage. I left it in the genkan.

I went upstairs and left K and F in the living room. I changed into my PJs and noticed that my ankle has a really dark mark. It hasn’t swelled up which I’m happy about. 

F came upstairs a bit later and said he was going to the store, did I want to go. Well, I was in my pyjamas so the answer was no. He left and was back fairly soon.

I took a shower around 10:30 and then came upstairs and watched The Irrational again. I enjoyed the show, today it was about a kidnapping. I turned off the TV when it was over. 

Today was a good day. I really needed to get out of the house. I probably didn’t need to see Wicked again, but next week it changes to a time when I couldn’t get myself there in time, so this was a good time to see it. I spent a bit of money, but not too much. 

Tomorrow I’m back to chief cook and bottle washer! Probably laundress as well! 

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