April 30, 2014

Wednesday - Warm and sunny

Bit of a crap day really.

I woke up this morning after F had come back from work.  He took the day off as he was sick.  Happily it wasn't flu, it seems to be a bad cold.

I got up and watched my shows, and then took a break from being in the living room with him.  I went into the bedroom and closed the door.  I was on the bed for a bit, I may have dozed, but it helped for a bit. 

When I came out, he was sleeping on the couch, so I grabbed the flyers that we're supposed to distribute and sorted them out.  Then, I delivered them.  When I came back into the apartment, F was awake, so I suggested he go back to bed.  He did.

I cut up a t-shirt in the afternoon and watched a bit of TV.  F came out while I was doing that. He doesn't have good timing.

A little afterwards I started dinner.  It wasn't complicated, just a bit of sorting out.  I did a steamed chicken breast, boiled new potatoes with a salad.  For added enjoyment I made a couple of sauces for the chicken…really simple ones.  I told F that he could start dinner while I went to the washroom. He said, "I've been waiting."   I came out, F was at the table just sitting there.  I sat down and started helping myself to some food.  He gave me a really nasty look and then I asked him what he meant by, "I've been waiting."  I didn't think that was a particularly nice thing to say to someone who had just spent the last hour plus getting dinner ready without help.  It devolved quickly and he left the table and refused to eat.  I'm not sure why!  Everything was good…I cleared the menu with him the night before.  He's such a prima donna. I know he's sick, but honestly.

I finished eating, then I did the dishes.  I had to wear rubber gloves because I have a sore spot on a finger.  Took me ages.  

I spent most of the night ignoring him as much as possible.  We've spoken, so it hasn't been too awful, but let's just say I'm not as sympathetic as I could be to him.  

That's it for me.  I'm hoping like blazes that he isn't going to stay home tomorrow and that I don't get this dread disease that he has!  No idea what I'll get up to tomorrow.  Wish me luck with the day though.  Night.

Oh, this just in.  Bob Hoskins, the British actor from films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Mrs. Henderson Presents has died from pneumonia.  I always enjoyed watching him perform...he could play jolly and sweet or very mean and dangerous and be utterly believable.  I'll miss him. 

April 29, 2014

Tuesday - Hot and sunny, windy at night

An okay day.

I got up this morning, came through to the living room to watch my shows and found my husband on the couch.  He wasn't feeling well at all.   

I watched my shows and had a little breakfast, he went back to bed, I thought because he wasn't feeling well.  After my show I went in to talk to him but he wanted to go for lunch.  We stripped the bed and went in search of lunch.  We tried his fish restaurant first, but they had finished their lunch service, so we ended up at Cocos.  It was quite good!

After lunch, we took our bedding over to a new place for us, over by Yamaya.  It was a nice laundromat, but it was so hot!  They didn't have air conditioning on but had big windows with no shade so the heat got trapped inside.  We got our laundry done and it wasn't too bad.  There was a strange guy who came in a bit after us though.  He kept talking to himself and didn't seem to know how to do laundry at all!

When we finished the laundry, we visited Yamaya quickly, got a few things and then came home and put the bed back together.  We've taken off the quilts, but it has just been so darn hot lately that I'm roasting in bed with the quilts on.

F was still not feeling good so I suggested going to the Internet Cafe for a while.  I knew a massage would make part of him feel better.  We went over and luckily there was a chair available for him.  I was able to get a massaging chair fairly soon afterwards, so that was nice.  

When three hours was up, we were out of there!  We bought a new thermometer at the drug store for F and also some groceries for tomorrow's dinner at the grocery store.

At home, F perked up a bit, but he still didn't feel very good.  He finally went off to bed but says he might take a day off work if he isn't feeling better. 

Tomorrow I hope to run a few errands in the afternoon and I'd like to do a bit of work on my Convention project.  Wish me luck with that!  I've got to go.  Night!

April 28, 2014

Monday - Cloudy and a bit muggy

An okay day.

I got up at a decent time this morning and decided to take my shower bright and early.  I still had mousse in it from the wedding on Saturday and looking in the mirror, I knew it was time to take care of it.  Billy Idol wanted his hair back!

That done, I got on with my morning. I had breakfast and worked on computer stuff.  F phoned just after 12 to invite me to lunch so I went.  We just had Kappa Sushi and it was okay. It wasn't great, and we had to leave before some of the stuff we ordered arrived…they took a long time.

In the afternoon at home, I continued doing laundry and scanned my two cards.  I ran them both off to the post office and came home quickly.  When I was back, I vacuumed the apartment.  It looked much better afterwards.  I think the maid was hoping the fairies would come in and clean!

F was supposed to go to the doctor tonight, but didn't.  He wasn't in the greatest mood when he came home. He seemed a bit disjointed or something.  

I started dinner fairly soon after he arrived.  Of course I had to clear the table.  I also mentioned to dear hubby that I really appreciated him washing the dishes that I didn't get around to, but I would really suggest that he empty the dish drainer first.  I get tired of wet dishes put on top of dry dishes.  Sigh.  He said he'd try.  Yay!

Anyway, dinner was simple. It was pasta Alfredo with salmon and a side salad.  It was quite nice.  

We had a quiet evening really.  I watched Lost and worked on my T-Shirt Bag, then came back to my computer.  I had originally planned to do some T-shirt cutting, but someone had spread crap all over my previously cleared off table, so I had nowhere to do it. 

That's about it for me for tonight.  I'm a bit worried about tomorrow.  I'm beginning to lose my patience with F. It isn't really fair and things have been going well, but I feel like I am not allowed any  time to myself to do what I want.  Even today, I couldn't eat the lunch I wanted to at home…I had to go out.  

Tomorrow we do have plans to do laundry, then I'm not sure what.  I'd like to keep things low key and cheap! We're going away on the weekend, so I'd love a little more me time first.  Wish me luck with that!  Night.

April 27, 2014

Sunday - Hot and sunny

A nice day.  We both went to bed a bit late last night, but not a big deal.  This morning I slept it, but F was up early of course.

I did get up for a minute or two and turned on my alarm so I wouldn't sleep forever.  It was a good idea because I was up before noon, which put F in a good mood!

We got decided to go to the Komagi spa buffet for lunch today.  It was a little busy, but I thought most of the food there was okay.  F was upset that they didn't have sashimi so wasn't too pleased.  He still ate a lot of food, so I don't know why it mattered.  After lunch we looked at the veggies but didn't buy any. I wanted some of the asparagus, but F wouldn't let me buy it.

After lunch, we headed to the Chido Museum where F renewed his membership.  We went to see the newest art exhibition.  It was "modern" art, sort of cubist if I'm allowed to call it that.  I hated most of it! It was a lot of straight lines and boxes on canvas.  Not my cup of tea.

When we finished in the museum we headed out to Mikawa.  Spiderman was on at 5 and we wanted to be there.  We got to the mall early and then hacked around a bit.  I got a baking tin in the hardware store, and then in Aeon Jusco I got a new purse and F and I got new socks.  We dumped our stuff in the car and went up to the theatre.  I gave F the theatre point cards and went to buy popcorn.  A couple of minutes later he was beside me telling me that I'd given him the wrong cards!  I gave him the ones for the theatre in Tsuruoka, not Mikawa!  Great hilarity resulted. F said the guy didn't look too mad or anything.  Whew.  I gave him the right cards and bought our popcorn.  

We went to see The Amazing Spiderman 2 and it was amazing.  We didn't see it in 3D because our theatre only showed the Japanese version in 3D, but it was great.  I really enjoyed it.  I enjoyed  the film as it was more about Peter Parker than Spiderman.  He's more interesting anyway. Definitely worth seeing.

After the movie we had a drink at Seattle's Best and discussed dinner.  We decided to go for okonomiyaki around the corner from the mall.  We did that, and had a very nice and filling meal.  We decided that even though the okonomiyaki had different ingredients, they tasted very similar! 

When we finished dinner, we headed back to Tsuruoka and got a few things for tomorrow's dinner.  I'm going to do pasta again, this time with salmon instead of shrimp.  I hope it'll be nice, I really do!  

I watched a bit of TV at home, F relaxed on his computer.  He's back to work tomorrow, for one day then off for the Tuesday holiday. 

I'm not exactly sure what I'll get up to tomorrow, hopefully it'll be fun.  I did a couple of postcards up tonight so I'll have to scan and then send them, plus I need to do some laundry for the upcoming holiday.  Wish me luck with it all!  Got to go.  Night.

April 26, 2014

Saturday - Warm and sunny

A good day.

I woke up early this morning, but didn't get up until 9:00am.  I got up, showered, breakfasted, and then F left to take his mum to the wedding hall.  

While he was gone I got dressed and put on my make-up.  I had no idea how difficult it was to put on make-up while wearing glasses.  Good grief! I made more than one goof while I was attempting to do it.  Finally, I was dressed, made up and my hair was good!  I looked rather nice in my new dress.  

F came back and we had a taxi come and get us.  We got out at the Grand El Son and I saw F's sister in the distance so I waved, she waved and I somehow knew things would be okay!  We walked over and we were just in time for the big family photo. After that, we went inside.  

We had a lovely time at the wedding reception.  The food was good.  There weren't too many speeches, and I couldn't understand the ones that were made anyway, so I didn't know if they were boring or not!  F's mother was fine…she actually smiled to see me at first, so that was a surprise.  

F and I came home, opened our presents…I got seki-han (red rice) with some katsuo and a little china candy dish, plus a catalogue where I can pick my own gift, F got a Baumkuchen, a type of cake, and a catalogue. 

Then, we took a nap.  I'd only had a glass of champagne but I was sleepy…I slept for 4 hours, F a little less, but it was still nice.  

For dinner, instead of making things like I had planned/thought we would do, we walked to the local Chinese restaurant and had dinner there. It was okay, not great, but about what I felt like having really.  The lunch at the wedding hall was very nice, so it was okay having low key food tonight.

We came home and I watched a lot of TV!  I'm soaking up the CSI:NY because it'll be ending soon (boo!!! What will I do without my Gary Sinese-A.J. Buckley fix every week?) F has made sounds about going to bed, but hasn't.  He's probably waiting for me. I so wish he wouldn't…but that's another entry in itself that I don't feel like writing.  

Anyway, a good day, despite the painful shoes! Tomorrow I'm not sure what I'll get up to, but it might involve going to see a movie in the late afternoon. I'm just not sure.  Come back and find out what I get up to! Night.

April 25, 2014

Friday - Sunny and nice

A good day.

I'm going to go back a little bit.  In University I had a friend that I was very close to.  We were very different, I liked pop music & even a bit of country, she liked alternative.  After university she met a guy that I didn't get on with and they got married.  She moved around Canada, I moved around the world.  As her family grew, we gradually lost touch and I still feel a tad bereft from the loss of her friendship.  

After the earthquake she got in touch to check on me and we vowed to keep in touch better.  Of course we didn't.  Our lives are so different now and a lot of water has gone under the bridge, that I don't think it would ever be the same.  

Anyway, today is her birthday, and with all my heart, I hope that she has a great day.

______________________________

I woke up a little late this morning, but it wasn't a big deal.  This morning I decided to just stay in my PJs and lounge around, so I did.  I had breakfast, surfed the internet, the usual.  

In the afternoon I scanned the cards that I was sending and then biked them off to the post office.  While I was there I bought a few new stamps for my cards.  I should really get more!  

F was late tonight and didn't come home until 8.  He had to run a couple of errands for his mother.  We went out for dinner and tried to find something that he'd like, but both restaurants that we tried were busy.  We ended up at Cafe Pacific Airy Heights for a quick and decent little meal.  We came home via the drugstore and the grocery store.  I realized that tomorrow night F won't be able to drive so we'll not really be able to go out.  

We had a quiet evening in.  It was really nice.

Tomorrow we are going to a wedding in the early afternoon.  It is one of F's family things and I don't have much hope for it.  I haven't seen his mother in years, and she doesn't like me.  I am hoping that she'll leave me alone, but if she doesn't, I'll leave.  

And that's it really.  I hope to update you on everything tomorrow night. I hope the wedding goes well, and that a good time is had by all.  I hope!  Night.

April 24, 2014

Thursday - Sunny & warm

A busy day!

This morning when I got up I did something radical.  I got dressed right away!  Usually I lounge around the apartment and just enjoy my extended morning.  I did my computer stuff early, ate breakfast a little late, read the paper and watched my telly at the same time.  Then, I got busy.

I did a couple of loads of laundry and hung them up, and while they were in the machine, I took my bedroom apart.  I needed to get into my closet, so I did a bit of furniture moving too.  Anyway, I also scrubbed part of the wall and floor of my room.  I was a busy beaver.  

F called a couple of times, one to say that he wouldn't be late, the other to say that he might be late.  He was late!  

Around 5:30 I started on dinner.  I cut up the veggies, sauteed them to get out the water content, and then began making my quiche.  Tonight I used a recipe for a crustless quiche.  I put it into the oven and then when F did come home after 8pm, it was ready.  The table was set too, so all I had to do was prepare the hashbrowns, which I wasn't sure he would want anyway.  

Dinner was really nice.  We still have half of the quiche, which I'm hoping we'll save until Saturday morning.  We're going to a family thing and I think a good breakfast is definitely in order beforehand.

F did the dishes from our meal, I had done my cooking ones earlier so he didn't have a really tough job, and we settled in to relax.  I watched half of Nurse Jackie and taped the rest, then switched over to watch The Good Wife.  

I am tired!  I really didn't spend much time on my computer at all today, and feel like I had a productive day.  I didn't go out at all, but maybe I will tomorrow if I have time!  I have to go.  Night!

April 23, 2014

Wednesday-Warm and sunny

A good day.

I got up this morning, showered, and then went through to the living room.  F came home from the doctor at nearly the same time.  We chatted, had breakfast and some re-heated tea. I watched my shows…including The Walking Dead today, then F and I went out for lunch.  

I had suggested going out to Cafe Muraoka for lunch, so that's what we did.  We took off our shoes, found a table and sat down. We ordered from their lunch special, I ordered carbonara, F ordered genovase pasta.  We got small salads, and then our lunches arrived.  The weird thing was that just as we were about to eat, the kitchen staff started cleaning in the kitchen with something really chemically smelling.  I thought it might be bleach…I hate the smell of bleach.  F didn't notice it.  

Of course, F took a bite of his pasta and decided that he didn't really like it that much, so we swapped.  I quite like genovase, so I didn't mind.  We had given each other a small plate of our own pasta, so we did get to try them both.  Lunch was nice, but in all honesty, I thought that we didn't get enough for our 1100 yen. We only got pasta and a small salad.  Granted, both the pasta and the salad were great, but most other places would include at least a beverage and maybe even a dessert!

After lunch, we drove around looking for a place to have a tea or coffee. We drove around, and around, and around!  Everything was closed!  We finally found a place that I've been asking F to take me for years and were able to go in.  It was really nice, but not at all what I expected! 

Then, F suggested going to the Internet Cafe. I said it was okay, if we didn't spent the whole day there.  We went home for a bit for me to pick up some stuff, then made a detour through the hundred yen shop for F.  

We went to the Internet Cafe and spent the next 4 hours in their massaging chairs.  It was nice, but when the first three hours were up, F didn't want to go.  After 4 hours, I was ready to leave.  I did some crochet, read a little of a magazine, watched a movie and a bit of TV…and was roasting in my pleather chair.  I enjoyed it, but was ready to go home.  

We had a quick bite of sushi before hitting the grocery store for tomorrow's dinner.  We came home and spent the rest of the night quietly.  It was nice.  I was glad to be home again!

Tomorrow I have a whole slew of things to do.  I have to get my dress out for Saturday, give myself part of a pedicure and make dinner, plus do all my other things I need to do.  Argh! Come back tomorrow night and see what I manage to do!  Night. 

April 22, 2014

Tuesday - Sunny and warm

A good day.

I got up this morning bright and early.  It was before 9am and before my alarm went off too.  Strange!  

I watched a bit of telly, had my usual morning really.  F texted me and asked me out for lunch today too, but I said no.  He told me he'd be off work tomorrow.

In the afternoon, I wrote a couple more postcards and then scanned them all.  I stamped them and decided to go out to mail them.  I went off to the further away but next to the bank post office.  I took out some money and then went to the post office.  I bought something, and then I sent it, plus another package away.  I mailed my postcards and then came home.  

It was a lovely afternoon.  The trees in the park still have a most of their cherry blossoms, it was slightly windy, but warm…a nice day to be out.  

I came home and got a phone call from F just before 5 pm.  He said he was going to be late, he didn't think it would be too late, but he wasn't sure.  I used the time to cut up another t-shirt and then pulled the yarn.  

F didn't come home until 8 pm.  He'd had to do some after-hours driving for work.  He was fine though.  

We went out for dinner, we went to get gas first and then to Bikkuri Donkey for dinner.  We both had the salad/burger dish.  It would have been quite healthy if it hadn't been for the two side dishes we got too!

We came home afterwards and had a quiet evening in.  We watched the last bit of Romeo+Juliet which wasn't bad, then I watched Criminal Minds and started or re-started the bag I am planning to make for the Convention workshop.  It's going well.  

That's really about it for tonight.  Tomorrow F will be off work, so after the morning, I have no idea what I'll be getting up to!  Night. 

April 21, 2014

Monday - Rainy

A good day.

I got up this morning and took a shower first thing.  I needed to wake up, and I had a sneaking suspicion that F was going to call & invite me to lunch.  I was right!

We went out for lunch and had a quick and cheap lunch at the gyudon shop.  I hadn't felt well before I left home and didn't think I was up to Chinese style food.  I think it was a good call.  I was also going to do some shopping/banking on the way home, but felt poorly again, so just came home. I think it was a good call.

At home, I did a load of laundry and also cut up another t-shirt.  I made a very cool necklace.  I'm not quite finished it yet, but I really like it.  The colour is very dark though, so it probably needs to be seen on a light dress.  I'm also debating embellishing it with charms or not.  

F came home at his usual time and a little while later I got dinner underway.  It came together quite well tonight.  I did fresh pasta with garlic alfredo sauce (from a jar), plus shrimp and broccoli.  I got good reviews, so that was nice!

F did the dishes and then we spent the evening together.  Later on, I made some tea and we watched CSI and then Newsroom.  Well, I did anyway.  I enjoyed them both. I also wrote up a few cards, first time in a while.

That's about it for me.  Tomorrow if the weather helps me out, I might go out for a bit of the afternoon.  I would like to pick up a couple of things and do a little personal business.  Night.

April 20, 2014

Sunday - Windy, sunny, cool

A good day.

I woke up this morning, barely, and got up and got dressed.  A little while later, F and I went out to have breakfast.  We went to Grado and had a lovely lunch.  We both had pork roast with a yuzo kosho sauce.  

After lunch, we drove out to Kushibiki to a park/old castle grounds that I had never even heard of before.  It was lovely.  We saw some gorgeous cherry trees in bloom, and walked around.  We visited a graveyard area and it was so peaceful and beautiful that I wouldn't have minded staying longer.  On our way back to the car we passed some small statues that were very interesting and very different to those I usually see in Japan.  Finally we saw a group of Jizo that were wearing lovely new hats and bibs.  They were cheerful rather than sad like they are in most shrines that I've seen. 

Me under the torii

Jizo

Kushibiki drain cover

From Kushibiki we drove on and made a stop at Matsugaoka.  We didn't plan it this way, but there was a craft sale going on there.  We parked and had a look around.  There were many beautiful things that I would have loved to buy, but I have neither the money nor the space for the items.  I know that F would have bought me something if I had asked, but I really didn't need anything.  Sadly we arrived around 3:30 and the sale ended at 4:00 so we didn't have a lot of time to poke around the stalls.  

From Matsugaoka we came home for a bit.  F needed to re-bandage his foot and then we rested for a while.  

We went out for dinner to the Evil Place, the yakiniku buffet.  It wasn't my suggestion, but since F rarely makes requests I don't mind, I went along with it.  It wasn't too bad.  I had this really cool thing while I was there.  It was cooked spaghetti in tin foil.  They'd put onions on the bottom of it, then the spaghetti.  From there, I could and did add cheese and a spaghetti sauce.  I took the foil wrapped package, twisted the top and put it on the grill.  A few minutes later it was steaming and ready to eat.  It was so simple…I think it would make a great camping dinner really! You could bring pre-cooked  pasta and add the sauce at the campsite.  Grill over the fire and there's dinner.  Yum.  

After dinner we made a quick run through the grocery store for tomorrow's dinner.  It'll be a meatless one…we'll have shrimp but no meat since we had too much today!

At home we relaxed.  I made tea and emptied a few more things out of the fridge.  I've been trying to throw out a lot of the expired junk that has accumulated in my fridge over the years.  It is starting to made a difference space-wise. Yay.  

And that's it for me.  It was a good day and totally unexpected!  I hoped it would be this good, but didn't think it could be. Nice to know I'm wrong.  Got to go. Night!

April 19, 2014

Saturday - Warm and sunny

A pretty good day.

I got up this morning to an empty apartment again. I watched Gordon Ramsey's cooking show this morning. All I can say is "Bring back Nigel Slater!"  Ramsey wasn't terrible, it's just that he is a lot more aggressive than Nigel. 

F came home and about the time he did, I started to get very tired.  I was going to go back to bed, but decided I'd sit on the couch instead.  F was there, and so was a bunch of his crap, so I started to move it.  I picked up a couple of socks that had been on the couch for 4 or 5 days and put them on his keyboard.  He went ballistic and got angry with me.  I didn't throw them down, I very gently placed them on his computer so it wouldn't hurt anything.  I was trying to make the point that they shouldn't be on the couch.  He stormed off to the bedroom.  I decided to go back to bed too and did.  I fell asleep, but when I woke up, he was on the couch sleeping.  Crazy.

The good thing is that when he woke up, he was in a good mood again.  I made some drinks and then we decided to go out.  We made a quick detour to the Washington Hotel so I could buy a couple of things, then headed out to Mikawa.  

We arrived at the mall quite early.  We had a late lunch/early dinner of bibinba and then ice cream from Baskin Robbins.  We went along the mall to Aeon where I looked at the craft supplies and bought a small something, then came back along the mall.  F & I looked in the book store, then went to the theatre.  Tonight we saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and liked it.  It was quite a lot of fun, and it was nice to watch an action movie without a heavy metal soundtrack. 

After the movie we drove back to Tsuruoka.  We picked up a few things at the grocery store and then came home.  I watched a bit of TV and F set up the bread-maker.  

And that was it.  It turned out to be a good day.  Hooray.  I'm not sure what we're going to do tomorrow.  Things might change in the morning depending on the weather.  Come back tomorrow and find out.  Night!

April 18, 2014

Friday - Sunny but windy

A good day.

I got up this morning to an empty apartment.  I got up and got ready to take my shower, just as F came home from the doctor.  

I showered, had a quick breakfast and watched my telly.  I got dressed for going out at 11:30 and then at 11:45 I went out and met my friend.  We went to the new Bistrot des Points and had a lovely and slightly expensive lunch there.  We both had Shonai Pork for lunch.  We had kabocha soup first, then the pork with cabbage and potato.  We finished with dessert and coffee.  Yum.  We stayed there and chatted so long that the chef and his wife gave us refills on our drinks!  Amazing.  

After lunch we went over to Hard-Off to look at kimonos.  My friend was thinking of getting herself a kimono.  We looked at a lot of them.  Some were great, some had terrible stains or were sun-faded, but she managed to find one that was cool and in pretty good condition and not too expensive either! She found an obi that looked beautiful and matched the kimono too, so I think she did really well.  

Sadly, it was time for her to go home, so she dropped me off at home and I waved goodbye.  I went into my quiet apartment.  F was off somewhere so I texted him and then waited to hear from him while I watched the news.

He came home and wanted to go out again almost immediately.  He wanted to go to the Internet Cafe, so that's where we spent the rest of the evening.  

While I was at the Internet Cafe I did a little reading, a little crochet and a little bit of watching TV.  I found a way to watch cable so I watched part of a UK mystery.  That was cool.  

We came home before 11:30 and relaxed around the apartment.  We watched a little TV, well I did, and I had a late night snack.  

Tomorrow, I'm not completely sure what we'll get up to.  We'll probably go and see a movie in the evening, but apart from that, who knows?  Come back and see what happens.  Night. 

April 17, 2014

Thursday - Sunny

A good day.

I got up early this morning, but came through to the living room and napped on the couch!   Dear dear.  I watched my TV, ate breakfast and had a quiet day really.

In the afternoon I made a necklace.  I took part of a t-shirt and did a little cutting and presto-changeo!  A new necklace.  It looks pretty good too!  

I worked on my column today and got it written.  It isn't the usual sort of column though, but it is okay.  I'll proof it and send it off soon.  

F was home late tonight.  He called me to say he was done, but went over to his mother's for a bit.  He didn't see her though.  

When he came home, I started cooking dinner.  Tonight I made sauteed mushrooms with maiitake and ordinary mushrooms, and asparagus plus chicken saute, and my usual salad.  It took a little prep time, but came together fairly well.  Finally, everything was ready and we ate. It was pretty good!

F did the dishes afterwards and we settled in for a quiet evening.  F watched a bit of Japanese TV which I ignored, then I watched some after 11 pm.  He's gone to bed now, and I'll run off there soon.  

Tomorrow, F is off work, but I have plans.  I'm going to have lunch with a friend, and hopefully ice cream too!  After that, who knows?

Come back tomorrow and find out what I got up to!  Night. 

April 16, 2014

Wednesday - Cloudy & warm

An interesting day.

I got up this morning and took a shower, then went through to the living room and turned on the TV.  I watched TV while F went off to the dentist.  He was back really quickly!  I think he was only there for 15 minutes or something.  

He came home and I was a tad miffed as I had hoped for more time, but it was okay.  I watched my shows then we went for lunch after 12.  

I suggested going to the chicken izakaya, so that's where we went.  I had a fried chicken set meal and F had ramen in chicken broth.  I thought mine was good, F was okay with his.  We came home again and discussed my going to his doctor's appointment with him.  I did offer to go and hold his hand, but he refused at the end.  Finally, he left and I got some time alone in the apartment finally.  

F came back over an hour later with a huge bandage on his big toe.  He was barefoot too.  No socks.  I couldn't help laughing at the size of the bandage.  He didn't have any shoes that would fit over his foot, so I suggested getting a pair of sandals.  However, F decided he could make do by cutting a hole in the top of an old pair of runners.  

We vegged around the apartment for a while until it was time to think about dinner.  We went out to Jiro, our old favourite.  We had our usual dish, pork saute in garlic oil and it was good.  As we were about to leave, F said that his foot hurt in the shoe. It started out being comfortable, but didn't end that way.  I suggested trying the shoe store after all.  

We paid the restaurant, then drove over to Shoe Barn.  We looked at some sandals and then I found a pretty good pair.  They had a back strap and the parts over the foot opened and closed with velcro.  That meant that they could accommodate F's foot.  He ended up getting that pair.

We bought a few groceries and came home. F's been in a lot of pain and took some medicine.   

A while ago, he knocked over his glass which shattered all over the floor.  Sigh.  I didn't want him to try to clean it up. He had bare feet and I had visions of him getting bandaged on the other foot too.  I cleaned it up, but I did prick my thumb on a sliver of glass and it bled quite a bit.  Poor me!

F fell asleep on the couch and was out like a light for hours.  I tried to wake him up two hours ago, but he didn't.  He finally woke up and now is getting ready for bed.  

That's it for me. It was an odd day. I did get a start on my Journal column though. It's an odd one, not a review column for a change…at least for now!  Tomorrow I have the day to myself I hope, so I'll be writing and cutting up old tee-shirts if I have time.  Wish me luck!  Night.

April 15, 2014

Tuesday - Sunny then rainy

A good day.

I got up late today.  It was probably because my sleep pattern got messed up last night.  I tried to go to bed earlier, but didn't get a lot of sleep.

I did my normal morning things. I checked email, read the paper, ate breakfast, watched my telly, and had a nice time. I finished my book too.  Woot. I got dressed and then in the afternoon got on with other stuff.  I tried to update the Flash Player on my computer, but it didn't work and I seem to have lost it from my browser.  Sigh.  

In the afternoon,I had lunch. It was yummy.  I took yesterday's leftovers, chopped them up, and sauteed them, then put a lightly fried egg over them.  I should have put either some cheese or some sour cream over them, but I forgot.  Bah!

After I did dishes, I cut up another tee-shirt.  I made some dark blue tarn today.  What will I do with it eh?  I hope I figure it out too!

One thing I didn't do today was start my column. Sigh.  Must do that, must!

When F came home it was raining, but we changed and went out anyway.  We wanted to have a Hanami together, but the rain was really nasty and the park was nearly empty. Half of the stalls were either closed or closing when we got there, it was sad. We walked through the trees a bit, but it was hard to take pictures with an umbrella in one hand!

After a quick once around the park, I insisted nicely that we leave.  I was getting quite damp and I didn't want to get sick.  We went back to the car and then I suggested going to Hyakkenbori for dinner.  It was empty when we got there, so we were able to be seated right away.  It was rather nice.  I had teriyaki chicken and F had a tempura dinner.  We both enjoyed our meals, although I would have liked to have some dessert after!

F suggested that we go to Mr. Donut after our meal, so that's what we did.  We each had a doughnut and tea or coffee.  It was quite relaxing really.  

We came home afterwards and had a quiet evening in.  F is off work tomorrow so he's staying up a bit later than I'd like.  He's got a couple of appointments for himself though so he won't be underfoot all day.  

That's it for me for tonight.  I'll try to write tomorrow night.  Talk to you then I hope.  Night!

April 14, 2014

Monday - Sunny and warm

A good day.

I got up a little late this morning, but not very late!  I came through to the living room and relaxed, checked email and after a bit ate breakfast and read my papers from the weekend.

F called me at 11:30 to invite me out for lunch, just as I was going to go and have a shower.  I asked him if I could skip it, and he didn't mind.  

In the afternoon I read part of the book I'm reading (Cry Wolf) and made a t-shirt into Tarn. It worked out rather well.  

I never did go out today and I still haven't started my column. I finished up my scarf from Friday by hemming the raw edges. I cooked dinner, which for some reason got quite good reviews.  I did chicken drumsticks, salad, new potatoes and urui which is a new-to-me-as-a-cook Japanese plant.  I'm not big on adventures when it comes to them.  I did part of the dishes and then F did in the rest.  

In the evening I read a lot of my book, wrote a little email and started a tarn-bag.  I'm not sure if I like it much, but I do love the colour!

I watched Newsroom, which was great, and had a nice quiet evening.  Tomorrow I should get going on my column. I may even go out and try to get a start on it out of the apartment.  F and I might go and look at the hanami in the evening when he comes home from work.  We'll see what happens then.  

That's it for me for tonight. Oh, wait, I'll toss in a couple of pictures of my last scarf from Friday.  I really like it.  What do you think?  

Night.

Wister Fairine

April 13, 2014

Sunday - Sunny and warm

A good day!

Well, as I promised my husband, I got up early (for me) on Sunday morning. I was out of bed a bit after 10 am.  I checked email and then got dressed just before 11.  

We drove to Yuza and went to the restaurant he'd read about.  It was on the second floor, and it was nice.  We ordered a main course each, and then were free to have as much from the buffet table as we wanted.  I was really pleased that there were a good supply of vegetables there.  F and I had a really nice meal.  He had sashimi as his main dish, I had pork stew.  For some reason when he told me what it was, I heard pork cutlet!  I was surprised when it arrived, but it was fine. 

We ate lunch and then left.  We had a quick look around the shops in the area, but only bought drinks for the way back.  We detoured in Sakata for a minute, and then went to the Aeon Mall.  We hacked the hardware shop, where I was the person to get stuff.  I got new VHS tapes and 3 used DVDs.

Then, I went to the craft section of the store.  I wasn't planning to buy too much, but I ended up with a low heat glue gun, a new crochet hook, and another ball of hoooked by Zpagetti.  This one is pink with white polka dots.  

We came home and dropped off our stuff.  We spent a bit of time on our computers, then around 4:30 we headed out again.  We went to Machikine again and this time we saw The Best Offer.  It was a fabulous little thriller with Geoffrey Rush playing an art expert and auctioneer.  We both enjoyed the film so much.

After the movie, we talked about dinner.  I suggested a place, but it looked like it was closed.  Whether it was a Sunday close or a permanently close, we weren't sure.  Then, F suggested The Grand El Son.  We went there and had a really nice meal.  We had their pasta and pizza set for couples and it was very good.  We had appetizers, salad, carbonara and 4 cheese pasta.  It was all nice.

We came home via the grocery store.  I got a few things for tomorrow night, including some weird Japanese mountain vegetable.  F suggested rather strongly that I buy it.  We'll have some chicken, potatoes and this odd stuff!

We had a nice quiet evening together.  I am having a hard time believing that we didn't fight this weekend, but it is true.  

In other news, the cherry blossoms are out in the park, so I may try and run off and see them tomorrow if I have time.  I have so much to do though, and honestly, not much time to do it in, so I need to buckle down.  Until then!  That's it for me.  I have to run.  Night.

April 12, 2014

Saturday - Cloudy and warmish

A good day.  

I got up quite early this morning, but wasn't quite awake yet!  I sat on the couch next to F and slept there until Nigel came on!  I watched Nigel and enjoyed his show today.  It was all about hot and cold food…fun.

A little after 11am  F and I left the apartment for Machikine, the movie theatre.  We had lunch at the restaurant in the building and it was nice.  It just changed recently, and this was our first time to go there.  It was quite good.  We had different dishes.  I had tuna and nanohana pasta which was interesting, and F had chicken and tomato stew with rice.  They both came with soup, salad and dessert.  Mine tasted good, but the texture of the tuna was a little strange.  I don't know if I'd have that dish again.  

Then, we went to see 20 Feet from Stardom, the Academy Award winning documentary.  I really enjoyed the documentary, although they didn't mention my favourite back-up singer, Helen Terry.  Then again, she wasn't a US back up singer.  

After the movie, F and I went for a drive.  We ended up along the shore and went into the tomato farm shop for something.  I thought about ice cream, but we got an apple pie thingy instead.  Then, we went to the nearby convenience store for a drink.  I got some tea, F got what he thought was coffee until he put it on the counter.  After he paid for it, we realized that it was corn soup.  Yuck.  

We came back into Tsuruoka and came home for a bit.  We had planned to go to a later movie, but decided not to do that.  We stayed home and ordered in sushi for dinner.  It was really nice.

We had a quiet and lovely evening. I made reservations for our Golden Week as well. I hope that works out!  F went to bed around midnight.  I think his toe is bothering him, poor guy.  I'm up watching old Sherlock.  I am waiting for the new Sherlock, but that won't be for a few weeks yet.  

Tomorrow, F wants to go to another town for lunch, so I have to get myself up early.  I'm hoping I can do that, but I'm glad we have plans.  I'll let you know how it goes!  Night.

April 11, 2014

Friday - Sunny and cool

A good day!

I got up early this morning, in enough time to catch a bit of Bewitched.  Boy oh boy, is that show dated.  It is so misogynistic!  Darren was always telling Samantha what to do and that she shouldn't use her powers.  It's quite annoying.

I had a long and quiet morning at home. I enjoyed myself, took things easy. I had breakfast, and then I got dressed and made the bed. 

F came home for lunch. I'm not sure why!  He bought a bento for himself. It was smelly fish.  Yuck.  I had to open a window to get the smell out.  He did offer to bring me one, but I didn't want one.  

He left to go back to work and I got on with my day.  I watched my show, and then I went out.  I biked off and did a little shopping.  I didn't get very much, but I was gone for a couple of hours.  I wasn't able to have a rest and reading time, which was a bit sad.  

I came home and not too much later, so did F.  He changed and got ready for his party.  He looked pretty sharp!  He called a taxi and off he went.  

I had the evening to myself.  Yay!  I decided to make my dinner fairly early.  I had chicken breast pieces sauteed and served with wasabi mayonnaise, plus salad and a soup pasta thingy.  It was nice.  

I started the movie du jour, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  It was excellent.  I enjoyed it so much! While I was watching it, I did the dishes and then decided to make up one of my scarves.  I bought the "yarn" in the craft store a few months ago and yesterday I looked up the technique when I was in the Internet Cafe.  It went well, and took me just under 2 hours to make it.  I was watching a movie with subtitles at the time too, so I couldn't keep concentrating on the scarf.  It cute and I'll try and post a picture of it soon!

F came home a bit after 10:30.  He said the party was still ongoing, but he wanted to come home. He was happy when he got home!  He also had a huge sneezing fit during the TV show that I watched at midnight…it drove me crazy.  My husband does not sneeze softly.  It was funny, but annoying too!

And that was my day.  It was quite nice.  I didn't do much of my convention project, but hopefully I'll get started on that next week.  I also found out that my column is due next week.  Ack!  I was hoping for month end, but I guess I'm going to be darn busy.  Oh well.  It's about time!  That's it for me.  Night!