Living La Vida Loca In Japan: April 2013

Showing posts with label April 2013. Show all posts

Postcrossing - Incoming

To May 1, 2013

I'm a bit behind in posting these cards for you. It's an interesting and varied batch this time. One of the wonderful things about Postcrossing is that you never know what is going to be inside your mailbox. It's often something that you didn't know you wanted, but is quite perfect for you.

To see the cards in more detail, please click on them. I welcome thoughts and comments below.

This first card comes from the Ukraine. Katya is short and to the point on her card, she just sends greetings and then says, "Having a japanese man- it's so cool. " She wishes me luck, which I do need sometimes!

There's no information about the card, but it looks like a fanciful Gone With the Wind picture. I've still never been able to sit through this movie!

Belgian Greta sends this card from the north of her country and says she lives 2 km from the Netherlands! In fact, she used a Dutch stamp to send the card. She writes that she is married with two adult children and 2 grandchildren. This movie Safe Haven will open soon in Belgium. Her favourite movies are Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Harry Potter. She sends her best wishes.

I like those movies too, and I think Safe Haven just opened in big cities in Japan. It may be a while before it comes here to my city.

Safe Haven

This card was sent by Bianca from the Netherlands. She says she lives in a village in the middle of the country. She sent this card because she wanted to know what my first thought was about this man on the card. He could be an actor, she says, but he is not. He's a docker in the Congo. The photographer made a beautiful black-white portrait series in the harbour. She has seen the series and it remains with her.

She also says that she finds it very brave that I moved to Japan. It must be true love. (Er....not sure about that. Some days I think it was sheer stupidity!)

Human Conditions
Photo by David Damoison

Vika sent this card from Latvia. She wrote that she is originally from another country, but moved to Latvia recently. She said that it is still cold in April, only 8 degrees where she is. I think it was about the same here at that time.

Riga, Powder tower, Riga Castle, Latvian National Opera, Dome Cathedral

Elena writes from Siberia Russia. She says that she studies English and Spanish languages. She wishes me happy postcrossings and all the best for me.

Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900)
View of the Great Peterhof Palace, 1837

The last card today is from Hungary. Aimo writes from Budapest and sends his greetings.

He says that this is the largest cathedral in Hungary, in Esztergom, a small town by the Danube, northwest of ?? (sorry it's unclear to me). He really likes it there. Across the river you can see Slovakia.

Well, there you are, six interesting cards. Do you have a favourite? Have you been to any of the places pictured, or seen any of the movies talked about? I'd love to hear from YOU!

Until next time...

Postcrossing - Incoming to April 24, 2013

To April 24th, 2013

I'm a bit late in getting these group of cards posted, but it has been busy around here. I had a trip away and now it is the big yearly holiday in Japan, Golden Week.

This was a very Black and White grouping, with 4 of the cards being black and white. Have a look, would love to hear comments below. Remember to click on the cards to see a bigger version of them.

Anemone sent this fun card from Finland and wrote that she was becoming a grandmother any day. By now, she probably is!

like father, like son

This is a "1st" card! My first card from Bulgaria. Woot. It was sent by an 8 year old boy (but I think his mother probably wrote it!) who likes playing basketball, football and swimming. He has a younger sister too, she is 1 year old and very cute. He wishes that I will visit his beautiful country one day.

The temperature there at the time of writing was 16 degrees and cloudy. Thank you so much!

Alla sent this card from Russia. She writes that she hopes I enjoy the card about winemaking as it is from France. She travels a lot, but hasn't been to Japan. It is her dream that she hopes will materialize.

She loves movies very much, and can even see 3-5 films a day. She wrote that it was difficult for her to list all the films she likes because there are too many. One she likes is Knocking on Heaven's Door.

Le Vin

Alla used a couple of lovely stamps on the card as well. I love the theatre one but they are both great!

Next up is another Russian card, this time sent by Dzhulema. She writes that this postcard is an illustration by Mika Golts, a famous Russian painter to a fairy tale children's book by Charles Pierrot.

She also writes that her favourite movies are Sovietie from her childhood. She also likes Hollywood black and white movies. She wishes me a happy Postcrossing too.

Thanks for an interesting card!

Nadine sent this card from Germany. She says that she lives in a city near Cologne.

She writes that her favourite movies are Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Her favourite ice-hockey team (Cologne Sharks) are in the finals!

She finishes by wishing me a happy life. Thanks Nadine!

So, there you are, five cool cards and a couple of interesting stamps.

Comments welcome below. Which of these cards do you like best? Until next time!

April 30, 2013

Tuesday - Sunny, with rain in the evening

Today was a good day, but I never left the apartment!

I got up in the morning, watched Ghost Whisperer and had breakfast. I did some computer stuff and just generally faffed around. F invited me for lunch, but I turned him down as I knew I had to get to work. Oh, I did do a couple of loads of laundry.

In the afternoon, I finally buckled down, turned off the TV and finished writing my column. I'm fairly happy with it and am optimistic about it this time. I hope it goes over well.

F came home on time tonight. I was doing the dishes when he came home, so I finished them, and then started to get ready to cook dinner. Tonight we had fresh pasta with a bottled 4 cheese sauce, chicken fingers, and salad. It was all quite nice, except I wasn't sure about the pasta sauce. It wasn't my usual brand and it wasn't as good.

F did the dishes. We were supposed to go to my school but didn't, so I didn't leave the apartment. We watched a bit of a movie, and then I watched Burn Notice and Criminal Minds. It's on 4 times on Tuesday, which is just too much for all that violence! I watched it twice tonight.

That was it. F is taking tomorrow off so he can go to a skin doctor. He's been having a bit of trouble for a while and needs to see someone about his problem. We just hope the doctor is open tomorrow. I'm done! Tomorrow no plans, and I'm kind of happy that way. Night!

April 29, 2013

Monday - Sunny, windy and cool

A good day. Incroyable mais vrai!

I have my spell checker turned on in Text Edit and it did not like me typing French up there.

I got up early this morning, took a shower while F was out running some errands, and then settled in to watch The Ghost Whisperer with him when he returned. It was a repeat, but I watched it anyway.

We went to the Komagi-ga-hara spa for their buffet lunch today. It was not great, but not terrible either. They have fairly decent desserts there. After lunch, we decided to go to karaoke for a bit. We went for a couple of hours. I think of it as practicing for next month! I sang a lot and even tried some older stuff.

We went to get my train tickets for next month, but made a quick run home first to check dates and make sure that I know when I'm staying and when I'm arriving. We got the tickets, and the station clerk was nice enough to give me tickets in English.

We zoomed off to Machi-Kine next to see Lincoln. We were a little early, but only by a few minutes. We got our popcorn and then went in. I liked the film, it was well done and of course Daniel Day-Lewis was excellent as Lincoln. I liked some of the other performances though…Sally Field as his wife, Tommy Lee Jones, even and especially James Spader as a more comic character. I did have a couple of times when I closed my eyes a little longer than I should, but I enjoyed the film. Afterwards F asked me a few questions about Lincoln's life and I pointed out that I didn't know much because I'm not American after all.

We had a good dinner in Sukaze, I had a mixed dinner, F had udon. We were both pleased with our choices. After our meal we came home via the grocery store and the gas station.

At home we relaxed for a bit. F watched his Ultimate Fighting nonsense, and then I watched The Newsroom. It was excellent again.

That basically was my day. It was really nice, and capped off a lovely 3 day weekend. We both relaxed and took things easy, which seemed to be good for both of us!

Tomorrow F is back at work and I will be stuck in front of my computer until my column and report are done. Wish me luck. I must go. Night.

April 28, 2013

Sunday - Clear and sunny, windy

It was very early this morning when I went to bed, the sun was coming up and it looked beautiful outside. I went to bed and told F that I'd like him to wake me at 11am. He did, but I didn't get up until noon! It's Sunday.

We decided after a while to go to Mikawa and see Iron Man 3 at 3:00 pm. Before we left I had some letters that I needed to send out, so we scrambled around and got them done. We planned to have lunch at the mall before the movie, but traffic was really backed up, and we didn't get there early enough. Instead, we each had a hotdog at the theatre and our usual popcorn and drink.

How was the film? It was fun. I really enjoyed it. It was smart and funny and a worthy entry in the Iron Man Series. My one beef with the film is that the fight scenes were cut in such a way that you couldn't really see what was happening.

After the movie, we decided to try to go to the Internet Cafe again for some massaging chair time and then karaoke. Well, we got the chairs and stayed there a long time. I feel so relaxed now. The last time we went I watched a lot of TV, but this time, there wasn't much on. I nearly fell asleep. F and I each had a snack when we were there. We tried to switch to karaoke at the end, but we weren't able to as all the rooms were in use. We thought about going somewhere else, but F had a headache, and it was quite late, so we passed for tonight.

We had a late and pretty good dinner in Marumatsu, then came home. I was a TV hog and watched a few things, but F seemed to watch them too, so maybe okay?

That's about it for today. Tomorrow we may see another movie or go to karaoke, I'm not sure which. I hope the weather holds too. It was a good day today. Got to go. Night!

April 27, 2013

Saturday - Rainy and cold

A good day. I woke and got up on time today. Unfortunately, F was watching TV and since he never gets to watch much TV when I'm around I didn't mention that I wanted to watch a cooking show! I did ask him to let me watch The Gilmore Girls though. He had to run an errand then anyway, so it wasn't a hardship for him!

We had some toast and tea later on, then went to the car dealership. F had to take care of his Shaken or car inspection. We spent a few minutes in the dealership and then went to the next door Cocos for our lunch.

After lunch, we picked up the car, F paid an obscene amount of money for the work done, and we ran an errand and then went home. We ended up taking a very long nap! I got up around 8:30 and F didn't get up until almost 10 pm. We went out for dinner, and had a hard time finding a place. We ended up at Kappa Sushi just before their last order!

We came home and spent a bit of time together. We watched one of the CSI shows and then F went to bed. I'm still up, as usual. I do hope to get to bed soon.

It was quite a nice day really. It was very relaxing, which is something I really needed. We're not sure what we'll do tomorrow, but it'll be fun finding out!

Got to go. Night.

April 26, 2013

Friday - cloudy with specks of rain

A good day.

I slept in a bit, but got up and showered, then came through, had some breakfast and watched my show. I had a quiet little morning at home.

I had lunch and then went off to work. I had a great class with my student and wished her a good vacation at the end. She's off to Italy for Golden Week. Lucky lady.

After a bit of tea, paperwork and dishes, I rode home on my bike. Things went very smoothly. Yay.

I waited at home for ages for F. When he came home he was hot on the trail of some paper that he couldn't find. He searched everywhere. I told him around 8 pm that I needed to eat soon, and he ignored me. Around 9 I had had enough, so I went into the fridge, grabbed the last of the stew and started to warm it up for myself. I was so hungry. At that point he asked what I was doing so I told him. Then he got mad at me and said that he was waiting for me to finish up on my computer to go for dinner. He said that he had said, "Let's go" about an hour ago. I hadn't heard it. I don't know if he had said that or not, but I didn't hear it.

Anyway, we went out to Gusto and had an okay dinner. I had a burger and salad. It was pretty good. When we got in the car at the restaurant, F did another major search of the car. He was looking in the trunk when I thought, why not look in the little cubby hole on the dashboard? Guess what I found...the paper! F was very happy!

We came home again after dinner and I watched a bit of TV. I did a bit of crochet too, which was nice and therapeutic.

So that was my day. It turned out okay. F and I didn't get in a huge fight, but we could have. Glad we didn't. Anyway, I have to sign off. Night!

April 25, 2013

Thursday - Sunny and warmish

A good day. I got up on time, more or less, today. Hurray. I watched my TV, looked on in bemusement when F came home for 5 minutes to pick something up, and ate my breakfast. I had some of F's bread again. He'd made raisin bread last night and it was quite good.

In the afternoon, I did a Postcrossing and then scanned a few cards. I also wrote a card to my niece and nephew for Children's Day, which is coming up soon. I ran my cards over to the post office and then bought a few stamps too. I had nearly run out of stamps as I haven't been buying that many lately.

When I came home I did up the dishes and then waited for F to come home. He was a little late tonight, but not too bad really. The first thing he suggested was going to the park to see the cherry blossoms. It was dark, but we haven't had our hanami this year so I thought it would be nice. We walked to the park and instead of actually walking through the part of the park with the trees, we walked through the kiosks and booths. I'm not sure why we had to do that as we never buy anything. When we went all the way through, F told me it was okay if I bought something. He won't buy stuff because he has a firm conviction that the money ends up in nefarious hands. There were a few things that might have been fun to have, and one stall was selling donairs, which I love. But, we walked past them all.

When we got back to our apartment, we jumped in the car and drove to Cocos for dinner. I had a hamburg steak and some cut steak, F had a salmon donburi. I liked mine, he didn't like his.

We bought a few groceries on the way home, and then at home, F started to make bread. Halfway through he asked me where the salt was, but I had no idea. I think it is probably the same place he left it, but he can't remember. I couldn't find it either, so he went back to the store to get some.

At 11:15 I watched Desperate Housewives, which was rather fun, and did some crochet. My cushion cover-granny square is going rather nicely.

I did manage to get started on my column tonight and have written up a couple of movies already. I have a few other ideas in mind for other things to write about. I also am having a difference of opinion with some of the members who are planning a big event for this area. It's odd, for someone who wasn't too keen on it, I have stronger opinions on it than I thought.

And that's it for me. It was quite a good day. Tomorrow I have an afternoon class and then I'm done for Golden Week. Got to go. Night!

April 24, 2013

Wednesday - rainy

An okay day. I overslept a bit again, but it wasn't a problem today. I got up, had some breakfast and watched a bit of telly. I read the paper and turned F down when he wanted to bring me a bento. Of course I felt guilty afterwards, but…

In the afternoon I started prepping the stew. It took ages to peel and cut up all the veggies, but I finally got them ready and started making it. The stew was simmering away when F finally came home around 7 tonight. In fact, I was putting together the dumpling mix when he came in.

About 25 minutes later I put the stew and dumplings on the table, along with my new sauce. I picked up a bottle of sriracha in Sendai this weekend. First I tried my stew and it was good, and then I added a drop of the stuff. It was hot, but really good too.

F did the dishes amidst a lot of running around, then we went out. We ran an errand at my school, then went to the grocery store. After that, we came home.

I watched Camelot at 10 and did a bit of my hooky. The granny square is going much faster than my ripple did! Funny how that works. After Camelot I taped one show and watched House.

That was pretty much my day. I will have to start my columns soon. I have ideas this time, and also something to report, so I am looking forward to just sitting down and writing the darn thing! I have to get some sleep. Night!

April 23, 2013

Tuesday - Sunny and warm

A good day, but it didn't start that way. I woke up this morning and realized that I had overslept. It wasn't terrible as my class was later on in the day, but I really didn't want to sleep in today!

I got up, showered, and had some toast. I'd made a nice herb bread last night and it was yummy. It was really nice toasted. I watched Ghost Whisperer but I'd seen this one before so I wasn't too interested really.

I went about my day. F came home for lunch, bringing his bento. He'd offered to get me one too, but I just couldn't be bothered with one! He ate and then left again.

Around 2 I had lunch, then washed the dishes and headed to my school around 3 pm. I made really good time today and it was a pleasure to ride my bike today.

I dusted and swept at my school today and got ready for my student. She couldn't come though, and I won't see her until next month unfortunately. I did some work in my school and then biked home around 6:30.

F was home and watching baseball when I arrived, so I wasn't sure if he wanted to go for dinner or not. He finally said it was okay to go, and chose to go to Midori-shokodo. I didn't fight him tonight because I'm tired of saying no. It wasn't great. I was freezing as I sat next to the door, people at the next table were smoking and the food was just blah to me. They serve huge portions there, but in my opinion that's the only thing going for them. To be fair, it wasn't as oily/greasy as I expected, but I have no need to go there again any time soon.

We came back via my school to get something, then hit up the grocery store. I think I'm going to make a stew tomorrow. It's still cold enough that a stew would be nice.

We watched a little bit of TV at home and I even went over to the couch to do a little hooky. That was fun. My next project is a cushion cover. I've done the first part, now I'm on the second side. I hope I finish it soon!

That's it for me. I hope that tomorrow is a better day for me. The weather is supposed to be bad, so maybe I'll just stay home and do some work on my column. Maybe! Got to go. Night!

April 22, 2013

Monday - Sunny and warm, windy

A good day. I got up this morning under protest! I was in Sendai, in our hotel and I was finally sleeping well. Still, checkout was early, so I decided that I had to go for breakfast with F.

We ate, and then met up with our friend and discussed what to do. We decided that we'd drive to the shopping area down town and separate for a bit. F and I went back upstairs to finish gathering our stuff and our friend continued walking with her little one.

We checked out and met up with N. She decided that since her baby was asleep, she'd keep him that way, and would walk to the station area, while F and I would drive the car over there and park, and do some shopping for us. That was the plan, so we went with it. F and I finally found some convenient parking, and then we did our shopping. I got a book and a magazine, plus a lot of postcards. Yay.

We met up with N again, and went back to the station. We had lunch in our favourite gyutan restaurant and little M was very good, for a very long time. After lunch, we walked through the station where I bought gotochi cards for Miyagi and mailed off a card.

We finished up by having a last Starbucks before we hit the road. Because of the shopping we'd done, we didn't have to pay much for parking, so that was nice. We headed out onto the highway, and made good time for home.

Unlike the trip to Sendai, the roads were clear and not busy. There was no snow on the road and as the weather was great we didn't have the same worries we did on the way there. All of us except F (of course!) had mini naps along the way. We came back to our apartment, N and F transferred the baby seat back to his mum's car and they headed off to their home.

F and I relaxed for a while, I checked email and such, and dozed a little at my computer. Around 9 we headed out for dinner. I let F go to his local Chinese restaurant and we found that they had a new set that made me happy. I could have 4 dishes for 1050 yen. Two half portions of main dishes, plus a side and a dessert. That was nice! F had ramen, while I had chicken and a veggie stir-fry.

We came home and I put together a loaf of bread for the morning. I'm making the herb bread again. I added a little more herb this time, so we'll see if it'll work.

That was about it. I finished the scarf that I was (re)making for F on Saturday just before our trip, so I worked on my next UP (unfinished project). As I thought, the size wasn't great, but I think it'll do. And that was that. F went to bed a little while ago, and I'll try and get there soon too.

We had a lovely time. Yesterday when we left Tsuruoka it was pouring here, but practically blizzarding in the mountains. It was horrible. However, due to F's driving and the good highway, we made it to Sendai in time to see meet everyone. I was quite amazed to see that so many buildings I knew have been either knocked down, or completely renovated in Sendai. It's a little shocking!

The five ladies from Tohoku who could come did, and we had a lovely meal in the Indian restaurant. The food was good, the company was better, and it was nice to meet our newer members to the area.

After lunch, some ladies wanted to shop, but sadly M wasn't interested, so we split up. N & I met up with F and went to our hotel. We checked in and then decided that we wouldn't get together in the evening.

F and I walked to the other side of the station and did some shopping. I found the now rebuilt E.Beans and found the Junkudo and their English book section. I picked up 3 books that I "had to have" and will enjoy reading them over the next while. I bought a lot of postcards for postcrossing, and then we finished the night off with a lovely tea latte at Starbucks.

We went back to the hotel and watched Rock of Ages on the in-house movie system. It was fun, but being in a hotel I couldn't blast the music the way it deserved to be! It was quite adult, more than I expected. Tom Cruise was quite good as a Bret Michaels wannabe, and showed that he can sing too. I'd like to see it again because I'm like that, not sure if other people would want to bother.

And that's about it. It was a great trip and we all enjoyed ourselves. Tomorrow I'm back to work and my week begins. Night.

Postcrossing - Incoming

To April 12, 2013

I have 5 lovely cards for you today, from places such as the US and Switzerland. They are all great and quite interesting too. Any thoughts about these cards? Remember to click on the card to see a larger version.

Susanne sent this card from Switzerland and asked why I was living in Japan. She also mentioned that her husband is planning to go to Canada next year for a three week holiday, and that she looks forward to seeing my home country!

Palace Hotel St. Moritz
Emil Cardinaux -1921

This card comes from Lithuania, from a person who sadly didn't sign her name. She said that on the card was Lev' Tolstoy's books "War and Peace". She has promised to read this book this year. She wishes me a great day, and sends greetings from Lithuania.

War and Peace
Author: Ieva Saunoriute

Thomas sent this card from Germany. He lives in a small town called Bayreuth which is the home of the Richard Wagner Opera House. He hopes I like his card. I do!

Ellie sent this card from Boston. She tells me that she frequently walks down this street to get to work. She says that it has great architecture and the buildings are well preserved.

Myrtle Street, Beacon Hill, Boston

This card comes from China. A physics teacher sent it, and she says that she loves cats. She didn't say very much, sadly.

There you are! Some very interesting cards. Which one do you like best?

Until next time!

April 19, 2013

Friday - Rainy, windy and cold

A good day. I woke up late but it was really dark out again. Sigh. I got up, showered, and then settled in to watch The Ghost Whisperer. I had my breakfast during the show too.

F asked if I'd like to go out for lunch today, but I said no. I had to get ready to go right after lunch so I'd rather not. He was fine with that, so we rung off. At my lunch time I had scrambled eggs and sausages. It was nice. After that I washed dishes and left for work.

I made good time to my school. It was terribly windy out there and I think that my legs got a good work out trying to keep pedalling into the wind. I got my school set up quickly, changed my clothes and reviewed my lesson for my student.

She came and we had a great lesson. This student will be travelling soon, so we did a bit of review of travelling English and specifically going through immigration. She's never been abroad before, and even though she isn't going to an English speaking country I hope it'll be useful.

After she left, I took care of my paperwork and then a few other things. I decided to leave before it was quite dark. I left the school, and then biked to the drugstore. I wandered around, got a few things, and left for home.

I didn't stop anywhere else on the way and was home by 6:30. It was cold, but it seemed not quite as cold as earlier.

F had already left for his party, so I had the apartment to myself. That was rather nice! I watched the TV that I wanted to watch, including some programmes that I'd taped. I cooked my own dinner, which was nice and then settled in to a nice quiet time with my computer.

I had a lovely night. F came home around 1 and was very happy from his party. He had a good time and is in a good mood. Yay.

I most likely will not update on Saturday night as I have a very early morning on Sunday. We're off for a night so I'll just have to tell you all about it on Monday night. Don't wait up for me though! I have to go. Night!

April 18, 2013

Thursday - rainy and cold

An okay day.

I got up late again because it was really dark again. It is supposed to be spring darn it…why isn't it sunny? It's almost hanami season too.

I got up, had some breakfast (I wrote breadfast first, and it very nearly was!) and watched most of Celeb Apprentice again, and then The Ghost Whisperer. I never know if I should like that show or not.

I had a quiet morning around the apartment. F didn't phone for lunch so I was a little relieved to be honest. I wrote a couple more post cards and scanned them in the afternoon. I was going to run them to the post office afterwards, but noticed it was really raining outside. Pass!

When F did come home he seemed glad to see me and then we talked about going out for dinner. He actually suggested a place that was okay with me. He wanted a Chinese restaurant, and picked one with pretty decent non ramen food. He went for the ramen, I didn't!

We drove to the restaurant and on the way talked about last night. He was quite reasonable and made quite a bit of sense. I think I got upset about the speed of the car for a couple of things. The road was wet, F drives very aggressively and the car seems to be going faster than it really is, or something like that. I know he's a good driver, but the whole aggression thing really scares me. I told him that I'd never driven with anyone else that scares me as much when they drive. He doesn't believe me, but it is the truth. It could be the car I suppose, but I think it has a lot to do with the Japanese style of driving.

Anysquay, at the restaurant I had sweet and sour pork and stir-fried veggies with a bit of F's ramen topping! I was gifted it. He got some of my food too, so it's not like I ate everything myself.

After our meal, we checked out Yamaya for some imported foods. I got new fish sauce and more tortillas. I know, two totally different cuisines there! We left right at closing too. Our next stop was the drugstore. We didn't buy very much, but on our way into the store I saw an ex-student of mine. We waved and chatted. F asked me afterwards if she was a student at the same time he was, and I told him she was. She was a junior high school student, now she's a teacher in a school in Tsuruoka! We feel old.

We came home via the post office to mail off my cards. At home, we relaxed quite a bit, and F got to watch some TV for a while. I changed the station to Desperate Housewives later. Hubs took his bath and went off to bed. He also set up the bread maker for the morning.

Tomorrow, I'm off to work again, and so is F. He has a party after work too, so I'm not sure if I'll see him before the party or not. I'm debating having dinner out, or making myself something at home. Decisions, decisions! Got to go. Night!

April 17, 2013

Wednesday - Rainy and cloudy

Not a great day.

I got up a tad late, but it was so dark outside and in that it seemed like night. Weather wasn't good at all.

I had some toast and yogurt, watched my shows, basically chilled out until F called to see if he could come home for lunch. I told him it was fine, even though it really wasn't. I asked him to get me a bento too, and he picked up some weird vegetable and pork one that I didn't really like. He did bring some fried chicken too and that was okay. He stayed and then left before 1 to get back to work on time.

I had a quiet afternoon. I washed the dishes, I even vacuumed. I took a nap on the couch. F called around 6:30 to say he'd be late and then he was late. He didn't get home until nearly 8.

We went out for dinner and as we were driving, a car slowed in front of us to turn. I thought we were getting too close and I inhaled noisily, sucking breath you might say. F said it was okay, and I said it wasn't, that I thought he was driving too fast and getting too close. Well, of course, since I dared to question/criticize him I was in the doghouse. We arrived at the restaurant, but instead of parking, he drove up to the door and made to drop me off. I refused to get out of the car.

He drove back to a ramen shop and went inside. I wasn't invited. I sat in the car for about 20 minutes while he stuffed his face. There was an earthquake too, while I was there. I felt the car move and thought it might be a train, but a few seconds later my cell phone's alarm went off.

I wasn't please at F, and complained. I'm not allowed to eat either? So, he took me back to the first restaurant and parked. He went in with me, even though he wouldn't eat or drink anything.

After my dinner we stopped at a convenience store and mailed off some books to a friend in the south of Japan, then F tried to go to the drugstore, but couldn't as it was closed. Then, he went into the grocery store. I couldn't be bothered. I just asked him to buy some butter for us.

The rest of the night at home was fairly quiet. He watched a news program that was interesting and didn't seem to mind when I asked if I could change the station for my stuff.

Anyway, I'm hoping that things will be okay over the next few days as we have a trip coming up and I don't need a cranky husband along for the ride. Tomorrow I have to send off a few postcards and start getting ready for my trip. I have to go. Night.

April 16, 2013

Tuesday - Sunny then muggy, light rain at night

A good day. I woke up and had a shower then some breakfast. I read the paper and had some breakfast. F had made some yummy bread overnight so I had some of that.

I went on line to read blogs and email and heard about the bombings in Boston. What a horrible thing. More information is needed by me before I can understand what is going on there.

I was invited to go for lunch, but I turned down my DH. I just didn't want a bento and I didn't want rice either. I wanted to eat a little later anyway as I had to leave for work. I watched Heartland, which was quite good. I'd seen one of the episodes, but not the other.

After my lunch I biked off. I ran a couple of errands on the way and found out that the new building that is going up near my first apartment in Tsuruoka is a Bikkuri Donkey. I'm a little excited as I like going there sometimes. It's not my favourite restaurant but I do like it.

I got to my school, took care of some business, and set up the water pot and got the heater on. It was nearly time for class and my phone rang. Oh dear. Yes, sadly my student had to cancel again. She really is a busy person. I worked on a project for a while and then sent a message to F and he picked me up.

He did his usual,"What do you want for dinner?" bit to me, but I didn't care. I asked him what he wanted so he said ramen, then noodles or something. I suggested a little Japanese place that has decent food. He said okay. We get there, park, and then he says he really didn't want to go there. Great. I didn't want to go there either, I just thought he might like it. He then said he would have preferred a Chinese restaurant. For Pete's sake. If he'd just said that earlier.

We had a pretty good meal with us not talking to each other. I started a paragraph for my next movie column and F glued his eyes to the TV.

We came home afterwards. We weren't mad anymore really. Just quiet.

F set up the bread maker again and I watched some TV. I also did a bit of crochet at 11 pm. It's going okay I think. I need to count stitches a bit more at this stage I think.

And that was it for my day. F went to bed a bit earlier and I'm still up. Tomorrow I may go out. My bank books have become demagnetized and I'd really love to get them fixed! Come back tomorrow night for my next scintillating report. Night!

April 15, 2013

Monday - Sunny and a bit humid

A good day.

I went to bed extremely late last night, even for me, and so when I woke up this morning before my alarms I wasn't too pleased. I tried to sleep on, but my neighbors were making all sorts of noise outside. I decided to just get up and forget about sleep.

I got up and had the worst hair ever this morning. The phrase, "Billy Idol called and he wants his hair back" came to mind. I tried photographing it, but I couldn't get a good shot!

I had a good but quiet morning today. F had made bread last night and so I ate some of it today. It was really good. I had bread and yogurt. Yum. I watched my shows, did some of my computer stuff and ended up going for lunch with F. It was only Kappa-Sushi, but it was okay, and kind of fun.

In the afternoon I scanned some cards and then took a few to the post office to send off. I also bought the latest Gotochi cards while I was there. I don't really like the new Yamagata one. It's quite ugly. They hadn't put the new cards out in the post office so the lady had to search for them! We had a kind of conversation all the while, which I didn't 100% understand, but sort of did.

I came home again and started dinner. I cleaned, and cut up some mushrooms and zucchini, then sauteed them, and a few pieces of bacon. I worked on making the crust but my first attempt was terrible, so I ate it! It was harumaki (spring roll wrappers) so they were quite nice after baking. I tried again without baking, and then after F came home I worked on the rest of the quiche. It came together fairly well, and we had a nice meal.

Dinner was zucchini, mushroom and bacon quiche with salad, hash browns and cup soup. Yum. F raved about the quiche so I even asked him if I should send over some to his mother tomorrow…and he said yes! Oh my.

We had a quiet evening in. F got to watch a lot of sports tonight. We saw poor Patrick Chan go to pieces in his skating, but also Kevin Reynolds do rather well. He reminds me of a guy I knew from College…he's a bit taller and lankier though!

At 10 I watched NCIS and then at 11 the new show The Newsroom, which I really like. Aaron Sorkin…you're a genius and I love your writing! I did a bit of crochet and finally finished the fifth ball of yarn. That means I also started the final decrease. Yeah! Fingers crossed it goes well.

That's really about it for my day. It was quiet, but I went out, cooked, and just had a good one. Tomorrow I'm off to work, with a few errands to run beforehand. Got to go. Night.

April 14, 2013

Sunday - Cloudy and muggy, rainy at night

Kind of a yuck day, but added bonus muffins!

I went to bed terribly late last night, so I was up terribly late today. I did have a bizarre dream though. I dreamt that I was a JET in Alberta. I was teaching and so was rock star Adam Lambert. He was having a tough time in his hick town, so when I talked to him, he was hiding in an empty (and turned off) old style ice cream cooler that you might see in an old store somewhere. He was sitting in there upset about his life in rural Alberta, and all I wanted to do was go home and take a shower so I could catch a bus back to Edmonton, my old hometown. So odd!

When I finally got up, F was fine for a while, and then he started whining about not being able to go places. He had gone to his Mum's in the morning, he'd had food that he'd made himself, and I really didn't know what he was on about. He knew that I wanted to go to a stationary store and see if I could get a couple of greeting cards. Finally we decided that we'd go to a stationary store and he'd drop me there on the way to his mother's to walk the dog again. Well, we finally got to the store and it was shut. I think it was closed because it was Sunday, not because we were too late. He asked me what I wanted to do, so I told him to either drop me off at a convenient place, or he could drive me to S-Mall and then go. He chose to drop me off.

I walked all over Tsuruoka. I walked down the main shopping street, past the temple and then over to the mall. I had a sandwich and tea in the mall, waited for him to call me. He didn't. Was he still at his mother's?

After my sandwich was done, I walked home. The door was barred and the car was there. I wasn't too pleased. F said he'd just got home, but so what. Didn't care much. He went to bed and pouted for a while before coming back and asking if I wanted dinner. I did, so we went to Jiro at my request. F had risotto which he didn't like because it was tomato-y, I had my usual. Yum.

We hit up the grocery store afterwards. I'm going to make a quiche for dinner tomorrow night. I'm hoping it'll be good. I ran out of tortillas for the crust, so I'm going to use harumaki covers. I hope it works!

F set up the bread maker, but I asked him not to start it yet. I wouldn't be able to make what I wanted to make if F started the machine because it was in the way of the oven. I made muffins. Just bog standard muffins with nothing in them, but they were good. I made four as I only had huge muffin cases. They were shaped more like souffles than muffins, but they tasted pretty good. F liked them too.

He went to bed a little while later. I'm still up, doing a postcrossing and blogging of course.

Tomorrow I might go out if the weather is decent, if not, I'll try and get a headstart on my quiche. Wish me luck with that eh?! Night.