December 31, 2013

Happy New Year!

Tuesday - Clear and Warm, Thunder, Lightning & Rain

A surprisingly good day!

Last night I went to bed with a new resolve.  I decided when I got up I would suggest ordering in sushi for dinner like we tried to do last year.  We did that, and it seemed to make a big difference for how the rest of the day went.  

We had a relaxing day around the apartment and then went out for a few grocery items.  We were originally going to have lunch too, but F got a bit snarky about restaurants, so I went for grocery store food instead.  I got some roast beef and some bagels.  

Came home, I had a few bites and then a little later our sushi arrived.  We had sushi and soup for dinner and it was good.  

We watched The Shawshank Redemption on TV tonight and it was a lovely evening.  We enjoyed the movie, even though we've seen it a few times. It is such a good one.  

After the movie, we got ready to go out and walked to Tsuruoka Park and went to the Shrine for our Hatsumode.  We had taken umbrellas with us and it was a good thing as it started to rain while we were in line.  We got up to the front of the line, did our little prayer and money throw, and then left.  We went back via the road, but on the way home, we saw another shrine in the corner of the park.  We've walked past it before but have never gone in.  Well, tonight it was lit up and we decided to visit.  It was cool.  There were a lot of small red torii on the way to the temple and it turned out to be a very nice, quiet little shrine.  

We came home again in the rain and relaxed for a while.  F just plied me with a glass of wine and some soba, so I'm starting to get a bit sleepy!  

Tomorrow, I'm not sure what will happen. I know that F has to visit his mother and take her out to his father's grave.  I'm really okay with just relaxing and having a quiet day!  

It's quite an interesting thing.  Yesterday I was worried and upset about today, but after I made up my mind to take control of what I could, things were much better.  I hope the way the year starts will be the way it goes!  

Wishing all my readers a Happy New Year.  All the best in 2014!  Night!

December 30, 2013

Monday - Cold, rainy and slushy

Not a great day.

I went to bed really late last night, so I slept in this morning, on purpose.  Kind of.  I got up, took a shower, F was sitting on the couch watching fighting crap.  

I wasn't hungry yet. I still felt stuffed from last night.  F did offer me some toast, but I didn't want any.  He had a nap on the couch and we talked about going out, but never did.  Finally, around 2:30 I had a slice of toast which for some reason gave F license to make himself ramen or something.  I didn't understand that.  

Finally we went out to the post office to mail a late Christmas card and then to the mall.  I went for Subway, F went for ramen upstairs.  I was finished oodles before him, so checked out the grocery store and then went upstairs to wait for him.  When he came out, we went into the 100 yen shop, he got a few things, I didn't, and then we came home.  Oh yeah, did I mention that F almost hit another car before we went into the mall?  In the parking lot a black car pulled out of their spot and F didn't see them, they didn't have their lights on.  He was swinging around a corner and getting way too close to the car.  I was yelling "STOP, STOP" and F finally listened to me just in time.  It didn't improve the mood of either of us. 

In the evening, F proceeded to take a long nap on the couch, which really ticked me off.  I didn't know if we'd be going out for dinner or not, but when he turned on the bath and put his pyjamas on, I found out.  

When he took his bath, I sewed on a couple of buttons on my new coat.  I had lost one on our trip to Kanazawa, and another one was loose.  Yay!  Good for me.  

After his bath, he had more couch time, but when he got up, I brought my food over to the coffee table and sat on the couch to eat it.  I paid for half of the couch, but when he's around I feel like I'm not welcome to sit on it. 

He finally went to bed after I was almost done eating.  It's been a not very good day, and I'm just realizing why I've been so antsy all day.  A couple of years ago we had a huge fight on New Years Eve and it has left me rather anxious about spending the holiday together.  I think I have to be proactive about the whole thing.  I'll maybe chat with him in the morning and see if we can head anything bad off at the pass.  

Anyway, that's it for me.  I'll probably update tomorrow night, but if I don't, I'll catch up with you soon.  Got to go.  Night!

December 29, 2013

Sunday - Cold and snowy

A good day.

I slept in this morning as is my wont, then got up and made us some yummy mini-quiches in gyoza wrappers.  We had a delightful spread for brunch, including cheese, terrine and bread. With the mini-quiche and a pot of tea, brunch was great.

F had gone to his mother's early on and had taken her more bread.  She was doing better today.

We stayed home most of the day today.  Someone (not me) had to write nengajo, but someone (me) had to print them out first! We had a bit of trouble when we couldn't find the nengajo book, but it turned up eventually.  

One lovely thing about today was we got mail!  On a Sunday too.  We got a card from friends in Canada, and a box of presents from my sister.  They were great!  I got a dress and jeans, F got a lovely blanket and a great jacket.  

In the evening, F took a nap.  I was getting hungry so I wasn't best pleased, but I knew he was quite tired.  

He got up again after 9 pm and we went out.  I suggested a couple of places but when we were in the car, he suggested another one.  I was a bit surprised as it was a place he'd sworn never to go again. We went and had a decent meal at Pisolino, the Italian buffet place.  We both overate, and I've felt really uncomfortable ever since.  

At home again tonight I watched a bit of TV.  It was quite a quiet evening.  Nice, relaxing even.  

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring.  I'd really like to get out of the apartment even though there is snow out there.  I'm not great at being cooped up all the time.  Come back tomorrow night and we'll see what happens.  Night!

December 28, 2013

Saturday - Snowy and cold

An okay day.

I woke up this morning to an empty apartment.  I got up, took a shower, turned on my computer and by then, F came home.  He'd gone to his mother's home as she had called him early on.  She asked him to take her to the hospital.  She wasn't feeling well.  She was given an IV and then sent home, so F drove her back to her house and took her out for something to eat.  

He came back to our apartment and made her a loaf of bread which he took back to her when it was done.  Apparently she loved it and ate quite a bit of it.  

I stayed home and tried to be fairly supportive to F, at least in attitude!  I downloaded some of the pictures that I had scanned in Canada during my holiday.  I cropped backgrounds out and generally edited about 30 pictures.  I still have a few to do, but I'm glad that I did more of them.  

Around Five we started to talk about going out and having dinner.  F wanted to go to the internet cafe, and as we hadn't gone to the chiropractor it seemed like a good idea.  We first went to the craft shop, where F bought me a skein of fabric to make a scarf with, and then we headed to S-Mall.  

We had dinner in S-Mall at Patio.  I had my usual tuna and mushroom cream spaghetti and enjoyed it, F had ramen and said it was okay.  

We were lucky and the internet cafe wasn't busy.  We could have either gone to karaoke or the massaging chairs, but I asked for the chairs.  I had things to do!

I got my drink, sat down, watched a bit of TV and started writing my area report.  I did a fairly decent attempt and then finished watching Alexander.  I didn't like it to be honest.  I thought the acting was good, but there was too much exposition to move the story along.  

We came home via the grocery store.  F picked up lots of flour to make bread.  When we came home, he put a loaf together for us in the morning, I had some food that we bought.  After, F had some too.  

I watched a bit of TV including Project Runway of course.  I enjoyed it.  F set up another loaf of bread in the bread maker for overnight.  He'll take it to his mother in the morning when it is nice and fresh.  

And that was my day.  I did get a little more of my knitting done.  I really like the look of the two yarns together, except it is a lot heavier.  Outside, the snow is getting deeper and hasn't disappeared yet.  Yuck.  I think we are now in winter.  That's it for me.  Night.

December 27, 2013

Friday - Cold and windy, few flakes of snow

An okay day.

I woke up this morning but didn't feel very good.  I decided to stay in bed for a while longer and slept on.  I dragged myself out of bed finally, feeling a little better.  

I had breakfast and watched a bit of TV.  I read the paper, usual morning stuff. 

In the afternoon I scanned some cards I had written and then rode to the post office on my bicycle.  I mailed off my cards and then came home.  

When F came home he started watching boxing right away.  Urk.  I suggested dinner and so we got dressed and went out.  The first place I suggested was full, and so was the second.  I was fed up, so told F to just take me to the grocery store and I'd get food there.  That's what I did.  F hasn't been feeling well.  He didn't eat tonight, which worries me a bit.  

F watched more sports, then I watched some.  I've been watching my dumb but fun TV ever since!  

Not really sure what I'm going to do tomorrow, but I hope it'll be fun.  F was talking about going to the chiropractor.  That might be a good idea.  Come back tomorrow and I'll fill you in on the details! Night. 

Oh, before I go, here's some pictures of my new shrug.  It's very warm and snuggly.  

December 26, 2013

Thursday - Gorgeous day!  Warm and sunny…rainy at night

A good day.

I got up this morning and took a shower.  After that, I did a couple of loads of laundry and then had my breakfast.  

In the afternoon, I watched a British detective show and then I decided to "flee the scene!"  I put on some outdoors clothes and went out.  I biked off to my craft shop.  I didn't buy anything but I did check out a lot of stuff in the store.  They have some of those fashion scarves that are frilly for knitting, but these ones were made out of material.  I'm intrigued!  I might be persuaded to get one for myself or someone else?

I snooped around the drugstore too and bought a few things for myself.  Then, I headed towards home. I stopped in at the McDonald on the way and had my very late lunch.  It was okay.  I was really there to read my new Journal and I enjoyed what I read.  

I came home a bit before F and just decided that I was going to have leftovers for dinner, even if he didn't want any.  He came home, started watching boxing on TV…bleck.  I asked him if he'd like some leftovers too, he said yes, so I got everything out and made a small buffet on the kitchen table.  It was nice.  There's still a few things left for my lunch tomorrow.  Yay for that.  

The rest of the evening was quiet.  I did dishes as F was having a bad night, then watched Prometheus when boxing was over. I wrote a few postcards for Postcrossing.  I watched Once Upon a Time too and finished sewing my shrug.  It looks great!  The yarn is so pretty.  I'm going to try and get pictures tomorrow night.

And that was my day.  It was so amazing to get out of the house. It feels like it has been more than a month since I've been able to go further than the post office by bicycle.  

Tomorrow I'll have to go to the post office to mail the postcards.  I should do more laundry if I can.  I have a huge pile of my own stuff to do!  Come back tomorrow night and see what I get done.  Night!

December 25, 2013

Wednesday - clear and cool

Merry Christmas everyone!

An okay day today.

I got up this morning and took my bread out of the maker, but I let F do the actual taking of out of the pan.  I went back to sleep while he had breakfast and got himself off to sleep.

After I got up, I had some breakfast and did a few things around the apartment.  F called me to ask me out for lunch. I accepted, but sort of wish I hadn't.  

I got dressed and went out for lunch.  We went to the Chinese restaurant he likes so I had yakisoba for a change.  Meh.

After lunch F dropped me off at home and I planned to start work in the kitchen.  Instead, I took a nap on the couch.  I was so tired.  I think it was lunch!

When I was able to wake up, I got up and started to prepare for dinner.  I started with the salad and washed and prepped all the veggies.  The later it got, the more I had to do.  I started the potatoes about the time that F said he was going to come home soon.  

When F arrived, he had the chicken with him, but he started to clean up the living room a bit.  That was all well and good, but I hoped for help with other things!  I didn't get it.  When I asked him a simple question about having a table cloth on the table he got mad at me and went to bed.  Rather than getting upset today, I just kept working.  I had decided that even if he didn't want to eat, I did.

It took a bit of juggling, but I made the dressing for the salad, set the table (with cloth) and prepared the mashed potatoes, gravy and yorkshire pudding.  When there was 5 minutes left on the pudding, I went in and told F that dinner would be ready soon and he was welcome to join.  

We had a lovely dinner.  I drank Peartizer which is just different enough to be special, but F switched to wine and beer.  We even had a bit of Christmas Pudding afterwards.  Yum.

F did the dishes, a very valiant proposition as I had used a lot in my cooking.  Then, he went to bed.  I watched Men in Black 3, then followed it up with some regular TV.  I worked on my shrug and got one side sewn up.  Yay.  Nearly done.  Yay me.

F got up again around 1:50 and put on his PJs and did a few things in the living room & kitchen.  He's back in bed now.  I will be heading there soon.

So, what did I get for Christmas?  From my friend I got some clothes, from my sister's family some mitts and a light. I also got a magic trackpad for my computer.  Woot.  I still have a few things to arrive I think.  

That's it for me.  It was a good day, but I'm a little glad that it's over!  Talk to you all tomorrow night. Merry Christmas eh! 

December 24, 2013

Tuesday - Snowy on and off

An okay day.

I got up this morning for the first time when F came home looking for his cellphone.  Sigh. Yes, once again, he'd misplaced it.  I even phoned it for him, but we couldn't find it.  He went back to work.

I had a good morning.  I watched a bit of TV, did some computer stuff and then took a nap.  I got up, watched something on telly, and F came home for visit number two to find his cellphone.  This time he had me phone it while he was in the car. Nothing.  

After my noon show, I showered and then got stuck in getting my mail ready to go out.  I scanned my postcards, stamped them, weighed my parcels for Bookmooch and decided how to send them, and then got dressed to go out.  

The snow that had been on the ground earlier was gone, so I got on my bike and rode to the post office.  I got everything done quite easily, handed in my nengajo too, sent off the packages, and came home again.  Only, now there was driving snow and about an inch of the stuff on the ground.  Bleck.  It was hard trying to keep my eyes open while the snow, little tiny balls of ice, went in my eyes.  I walked the last two hundred or so meters to my apartment!

F came home around 5:30.  There wasn't much on TV after Phineas and Ferb finished, so I turned off the TV.  He wanted to watch it, so I went to the bedroom and tried to nap.  It was too cold in there, so I couldn't do it.  

I got up and we talked about going for dinner.  We decided to go to Cocos.  We did and had an okay dinner.  We shared a Christmas Mud Pie which I am happy to report did NOT have banana in it.  It had vanilla and strawberry ice cream, plus strawberries and sauce on a fried tortilla.  I'm glad we shared one as a full one each would have been too much.

After dinner, we went over the street to Pal and first visited the drugstore, then did our Christmas shopping.  We spent a lot, but got all of the things that I needed for our dinner.  

We came home and had a bit of a veggie evening.  I watched TV and F napped on the couch.  He found his energy and woke up.  Now he's off taking his bath.  

Tomorrow is our Christmas.  F has to work and then he'll pick up the chicken after work.  I have to try and get everything ready, which kind of worries me a little!  I only have two burners and a combo microwave/oven.  Très difficile!

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you all about my day.  Or, spend Christmas with your family like you should!  Night!

December 23, 2013

Monday - Cold, bit rainy

A slow day!

I went to bed at 4-ish last night. F was still up, but said he was coming to bed soon.  I got up at 6 and he was still up.  He said that the bread would be ready in 2 hours and he'd take it out.  I was up again at 8 and he was still up.  He took the bread out of the bread maker and then finally went to sleep.  

We slept in quite late.  I did get up before 10 to check email, then went back to bed.  We finally got up in the afternoon!

We watched a little TV and had some of the bread. It was nice, but I think F spends too much time making bread!  It's annoying since it is MY breadmaker!

I worked on my nengajo all afternoon and I *think* I am finished.  I'm sure I'll receive one from someone I didn't prepare one for, but on the whole, I'm glad to be done!  

F and I went out for dinner to Kintaro Sushi.  That's twice in two days for fish, and only one meal each day.  Not terribly impressed, truth be told.  Oh yes, F offers to take me out, but I'm feeling a bit "Bah humbug" about everything.  After our sushi, I had asked F if he'd like to go to Cocos and have dessert, something I had suggested before dinner, but he'd eaten too much sushi and didn't want to. He said he would for me, but it isn't fun if we aren't both eating.  

Came home and watched the last two movies in the Twilight series.  I hadn't seen the last movie yet.  It was bad and dumb, but slightly better than the rest.  My opinion on this could just be relief that they are finished! That Stewart girl was so whiny I wanted to give her a good talking to!

I watched Scandal and went over to the couch for a little crochet tonight too.  I think I have finally finished crocheting my shrug.  Woot!  Now to sew it up.  Hope I can wear it somewhere soon!

That's about it really.  I also finished my Stephanie Plum novel tonight, after midnight really, but it's done too.  Yay!  And, I wrote some postcrossing cards too.  Hurray for me.  I haven't done any in ages and tonight I wrote 4.  I'll try to do a few tomorrow too as I have to go to the post office to mail some books off.  Got to go.  Night!

December 22, 2013

Sunday - Rainy with a bit of snow

A quiet day.

I slept in until 11 this morning then got up and stayed up.  I ate some of F's toast and watched a bit of TV.  

In the afternoon, F went back to bed for a long nap and I stayed up.  I worked on my nengajo, surfed the net and read a little of my book.  It was nice.

After a while, F got up and we relaxed for a bit.  We went out for dinner to F's favourite fish restaurant.  It was nice tonight, but a bit busy.  I had gindara, F had tuna and we shared an order of vegetable tempura.  

We went to a convenience store to get some more blank nengajo and then came home.  At home I realized that we needed milk, so F volunteered to go and get it.  Yay.  

We spent a fairly quiet evening together.  I printed and wrote nengajo, F did his usual stuff.  

No idea what we'll get up to tomorrow.  It's a national holiday, but I know F is supposed to go and visit his mother.  I'm not sure if we'll do something fun or not.  I have a lot more cards to write!  Wish me luck with them.  Night. 

December 21, 2013

Saturday - clear with rain at night

An okay day.

F came home quite early this morning, but I stayed in bed!  I got up a bit later and took a shower.  We chatted, and then went out for lunch to Grado.

Grado was okay today.  I had roast duck, but it was only good, not great.  F had fish acqua-pazza but he didn't like it too much.  

After lunch we went to S-Mall. I wanted to get something for my craftwork, then I bought F a cup of tea at Doutors.  We had houjicha lattes and they were nice.  We were sitting next to a lady with four children and I was worried at first, but they were really well behaved!  I was impressed, and I'm not usually impressed by Japanese children's behaviour.

We came home for a while. I had a bad headache but managed to write a few of my nengajo.  I also did a few things on my computer too.  

I suggested dinner around 7 pm and so we went out to Coco Ichibanya Curry.  I had curry with pork cutlet and cheese, F had curry with chicken stew.  It was quite good I thought.  After our dinner we bought kerosene and came home.  

At home, F made some bread (Royal Milk Tea-yum!) and I made tea.  I printed some nengajo for him. He does it a different way than I do, I print different patterns for specific people, he wants one pattern for everyone. He hasn't written them yet.

He went to bed a bit after midnight. He's not doing that well sadly.  The weather is still playing havoc with his back.  He's so grumpy all the time and it makes it hard to be around him.  

I'm not sure what we'll get up to tomorrow.  I think we might work on nengajo.  I know F has to take his mother shopping, but I'm not sure when he'll do that.  Come back tomorrow and see what happens.  Night!

December 20, 2013

Friday - Rainy

A good day.

I got up this morning to an empty apartment.  F had gone to work, but he left me some bread on the table. Yay.

I had a quiet morning, did a few things that I normally do, and then had breakfast.

In the afternoon I got ambitious.  I went through my clothes in the wardrobe and culled them.  I threw out many things with tears or stains or that didn't fit.  I'm not sure why I kept them all so long, but I did.  I filled 3 of our Japanese garbage bags.  I'm sure I'll regret some of them in a way, but it had to be done.  I also managed to finally finish unpacking from my trip to Canada!  There was now places to put my new clothes.

F came home for a minute or two to pick up some clothes and then he went off to his party.  

In the evening I cooked my dinner.  I had chicken wings and salad.  Yum.  I watched the new show Covert Affairs and enjoyed it.  It has potential.  Piper Perabo had a good quality about her.  I also watched The Dome AND Shameless, by taping one of them and watching it afterwards.  Yay me.  I also printed off a few nengajo, but I have to write them soon.

That's about it really.  I didn't go out because of the weather, so I stayed in and enjoyed my quiet day to myself.  I'll have F for the next 3 days so I'm a tad nervous because we've been fighting so much lately.  Wish me luck!  Night.

December 19, 2013

Thursday - Rainy

I'm back.  

Parts of the trip were great, too many parts were horrid.  I'm blaming the hotel for part of that, although I'm sure I share some of the blame with my husband too.

The trip down there and most of Tuesday were great.  We got into town earlier than expected.  We checked in and were told that the room we reserved at the Hotel Nikko in Kanazawa had a "semi-double" mattress, but we could upgrade it for a few extra yen each.  Yep, bait and switch.  We fell for it…but I'll be commenting about it on as many travel advisory sites as I can.  Since when does a "superior double room" have a semi-double bed in it??

The room we ended up with was nice, but the hall light worked on a motion sensor.  At night, every time F moved his feet, the light went on in the hallway.  He moves his feet a lot.  I don't sleep well in light rooms, PLUS the bed shook every time he fidgeted.  And he fidgeted a lot that night.  I ended up grabbing my pillow and sleeping on the floor for 3 hours until I got too cold and went back to bed.  Himself says that he didn't sleep, but I say if you are snoring, you are asleep.  

Last night we stayed in Niigata, got in hours later than I thought we would, so it was a good thing I hadn't made plans with my friends in town.   Slept VERY well in our much cheaper room since I was so tired.  That bed didn't move and there were no flashing lights, thank goodness.  

Today we got up and had the yucky free breakfast…nothing like rice with a side of macaroni salad and bread for breakfast…carb city…checked out and did a little shopping.  I bought postcards, and got some food for us from Kaldi's.  I also bought some yarn…recycled t-shirt yarn that I am eager to try out.  

We came home on the highways which was nice. They are much faster than the old days.  When the highway is finished I'll be happy.  

Got home and found a bunch of mail, which I haven't even opened yet!  Oops!  F and I went to the post office to pick up a box from my sister, then headed to the internet cafe for a few hours.  I said I needed to be home before 11, so we went for about 4 hours, which was about 3 too many in my opinion!  

I watched most of Alexander and had dinner…a chicken cutlet with rice and miso soup. It was okay, but not sure I'll have it again.  

After 10 we left and went to the grocery store.  I was telling F that I needed some food in the house for tomorrow night, but he didn't seem to twig on why.  

It wasn't until I asked him to remind me where his work party is that he remembered he isn't coming home tomorrow night.  Doh!  Dude's got a nice overnight work party and gets to stay in a spiffy hotel.  

I got some food at the store and then we came home.  I read email and watched Once Upon a Time.  I read more email, answered some and then wrote a message on Facebook.  

Anyway, that's it for me.  I know this is brief, but I talked about the most important stuff.  Talk to you all later.  Gotta go. Night.

December 14, 2013

Saturday - Snowy and cold

A good day.  

I got up fairly early this morning.  F was still at his doctor and he'd left some bread in the maker.  I took it out and took care of it all for him.

He came back and we relaxed for a while.  F called a chiropractor for me and he said I could get in at 1 pm.  

We had lunch….together! at the Komagi Park buffet. It was quite nice today. I didn't want to eat too much as I was going to the chiropractor.  After lunch, we drove to the office up there.

This chiropractor was very different from the other one I went to.  The first one I saw was basically all business.  I would lie down on the table and he'd get to work.  This guy was different.  He had me bending and moving and he'd ask questions.  In other words, I had to be awake and think about things!  F was on hand to translate of course, and it was a tad difficult for him.  Today's guy even gave me homework and suggestions for things to do to improve how I feel.  I think I like him better!

After we finished, we came home for a few minutes.  We decided that we'd go to the internet cafe for F to get some massaging chair time, and then go directly to Mikawa to see the movie.  We did that.  I wasn't able to get a massaging chair at first, but it only took 15 minutes or so to get one.  I hadn't even really sat down properly before they came to get me.  

We both ate our dinners at the internet cafe and I watched a bit of TV, dozed and finished one of my books (Dead on Arrival).  I even started a magazine too.  

We drove out to the mall and saw Gravity.  It was great.  A very original film that surprised me in how engrossing it was.  

We drove home and had a quiet evening in.  I've been watching TV and F has been on his computer for most of the night.  It's been rather nice and friendly.  

I'm not sure what we'll get up to tomorrow, so don't hold your breath.  We'll also be away for a few days so don't miss me too much! I have to go.  Night!

December 13, 2013

Friday…Rainy and snowy

A good day.

I got up this morning, showered and had a quick breakfast.  I got dressed and when my friend arrived I went out to meet her.  We went over to the Italian buffet and had a great meal.  We laughed and talked, good therapy for each other.

When our time was up we went to the hotel and took care of business.  We were both quite sad afterwards so I suggested a tea in Doutors.  While we were there my friend became unwell, and we ran out of time, so we left.  We had a nice chat before we drove back to my apartment.  When we arrived I grabbed a book for her and then we hugged goodbye.

I came inside and got started on writing my column.  I worked on it for a few hours, even when F came home, and I finally got it done, proofed and submitted. Yes!  I still have my area report, but the deadline is a little bit later for that.  Yay.

I ate my dinner, watched some TV, while F slept in the other room.  I switched channels and found a British Detective show, so started to watch it, and then, F got up!  It's now 4 am and we're both up.  I'll be going to bed soon though, I'm not sure about him!

Tomorrow, no ideas what I'll get up to.  I hope it'll be interesting.  Come back and see!  Night.

December 12, 2013

Thursday - Drizzle, snow, drizzle & cold wind

An okay day.

I woke up this morning when F came home for a few minutes to find his wallet. I do not understand why or how he can lose it so many times.  

I Veronica'd this morning, had breakfast too.  It was the last episode of Veronica Mars too.  Sigh.  Glad I didn't miss it.  

I spent a bit of time on my computer and then had lunch.  I left the apartment in a bit of a hurry just before three, to try to get to my hairdresser.  She was busy, and asked me to come back at 4, so I toddled off to the mall for a little bit of retail fun.  I bought myself a new hat at the 100 yen shop because I realized I hadn't brought one, and if my hair was much shorter afterwards, I'd need one.  Good call!

I walked back to the salon and got another great haircut.  Today I kept catching her eye while she was cutting my cowlick in the front.  I am doubly blessed…I have 3 cowlicks (whorls) and the one in the front is the bane of my hairdresser's life!  Getting my hair to sit the way she wants it to takes a lot of time, but she manages.  Afterwards, I felt like a million dollars as usual.  I spend a little more money on myself than I have to for my haircuts, but it is so worth it.  I know my hair will be nice for the next 3 or 4 months.  Yay.  

I walked back to the mall and did a little more shopping.  I thought that my husband would call me when he finished work, but he didn't.  I had a sandwich and a tea in Doutors while I read my book.  Finally I decided to just go home.

It was raining and snowing when I got to the doors of the mall, plus it was dark.  Yikes.  I put on my lovely rain cape and my reflective ankle bands, plus my new hat and biked home.  I got there and F was there.

We had a quiet evening, but a decent one.  I cooked my dinner around 8 pm.  I had some sauteed chicken, mashed potatoes (from scratch!) and salad.  Very nice.  I don't think F had much to eat.  When I came home first, he didn't really feel hungry he said.  I did my dishes and then spent a while on my computer.  I watched a couple of shows that I would miss next week because of us being away, and then during Once Upon a Time, I did some crochet.  It went quite well and I got three more rows done.  

I have been working on my column, and I reviewed another movie, but I'm going to have to step on the gas soon.  I have to get it in by Sunday, and because we're going away next week, I can't really ask for an extension.  Sigh.  

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with a friend and then we have to cancel something that we planned.  Neither of us is really keen on having to do it, but we have to.  After that, I'll probably come home and write the rest of my column.

That's it for me.  Got to go.  Night!

December 11, 2013

Wednesday - Clear in the afternoon, rainy at night

Detente 

I had a much better day today.  I got up quite early for me and then watched my show plus had breakfast.  

I had a nice morning, took a shower and even planned to go out, but didn't. Well, actually, I did , but later!  I thought about getting a haircut, but in the end I went to the mall for some food and a cup of tea.  I read a little and even saw one of my ex-students today.  

I came home and relaxed.  When F came home he changed into his pyjamas and went to bed.  I decided to have my dinner, a Subway sandwich.  It was very good.  I enjoyed it a lot.  

A little later, F came out of his room and started talking about a trip he'd suggested for us this month.  For next week!  I told him quite honestly that I didn't think it was a good idea.  We'd spent all this week not talking to each other over nothing…then he wants to jump in a car and drive 6 hours?  Is he crazy? Well, maybe he is…and so am I.  I'm going to go too.  

I made hotel reservations for us in a couple of hotels and then we went out to buy groceries.  Things aren't completely back to normal, I'm not going to cook for "us", just for me.  But, that's okay, because I like what I cook.  I think F's going to live on ramen and weird Japanese food!

Tonight when we came home, things were nicer than they have been for a bit.  I watched Grey's and did a couple of rows of crochet, then I did the garbage for F to take out in the morning.  Normal stuff.  

So, that's about it for me.  I didn't manage to get out of the apartment early enough today to get my hair cut.  If the weather holds I'll go tomorrow.  I hope it does as I'm feeling ever so shaggy!  Talk to you tomorrow then.  Night.  

December 10, 2013

Tuesday - rainy

Day 3 of the War

An okay day.  I got up this morning and checked my email. I had a few that had to be dealt with right away.  After that, I watched Veronica (only a few more episodes left) and had some breakfast. 

I got a bookmooch request during the day, so I prepared it to go in the mail, and wrote up a couple of postcards.  It's less stressful doing a few a day.  I was going to walk to the post office, but although it was raining, it wasn't terrible.  It was very, very windy out there!  

I got to the post office before it closed and sent off my book.  I think the postal clerk thought I was daft because I sent it by sea mail and not the expensive air mail that he thought I should use!  Ha!  

I came home and waited to see how F would be when he came home.  The answer was not good.  He was still angry, but later on we had an argument and got a few things out.  There doesn't seem to be a resolution for now, but he now claims that he doesn't want to eat with me ever again.  He's also blaming me again for not letting him eat fish, which is ludicrous because I have never stopped him from eating fish!  I can't count the number of times that he has changed his order to whatever I'm having!  Which, by the way, is usually chicken. 

He stormed off for a while so I made my dinner.  Tonight it was the pancakes that I had read about in Mark Bittman's newspaper column.  Basically just flour, egg, and a bit of water.  I put some bacon and some cheese in mine and fried them up.  I had them with a little sour cream and a salad.  Yum.   Really nice.  

I was finishing my prep when he came out of the bedroom. He dressed and went to the store.  He came back with some food for himself and made his dinner.

We talked a little bit later on, but it wasn't pleasant really.  He'd ask me something and then take it back, it was annoying really.  He is insisting that we don't eat together anymore.  At the moment, it is fine with me.  The only problem is that with winter coming I don't really have a way to get food here at home.  Anyway, we'll work those details out soon.

The rest of the evening I was subjected to Japanese TV…in other words, torture! He finally went to bed and it was all I could do to not jump up and down in happiness.  

Tomorrow I'm not really sure what I'll get up to.  I might go out if the weather is decent.  I'd love to get my hair cut, it's getting much too long, or I might stay home and work on my column, which I have finally started.  Yay for that! Come back and see what I do!  Night.

December 9, 2013

Monday - Sunny and warm

Day 2 of the War

I got up this morning and made the bed.  I watched Veronica and afterwards I took a shower.

I wrote up a couple of postcards, scanned them, and took them, and 4 books that had been mooched from me to the post office. First up, I went to the bank and got my bank book updated, then the post office near the bank.  The woman took ages to do everything, but I had checked prices, etc on the internet before I came, so I knew exactly how much everything would cost.  

I came home a different way so I could enjoy the sunshine.  It was so lovely to be out and not have it raining for a change.  I stopped at a convenience store to get a few things for my late lunch and then came home.

I relaxed for a while, but when F came home he wouldn't talk to me at all and went to bed.  I tried going in to talk to him, but he was being his usual mulish self. It was annoying.  I left as I wasn't getting anywhere except angry.

Later he got up and gave me some money for dinner because he "couldn't eat with me anymore". Gee thanks.  

I waited for a while in case he'd eat or decide to go out, but nothing happened.  I went to the grocery store and picked up some food for myself and came home.  

He's still up, now making bread.  That's annoying since it is supposed to be my bread maker, but I never use it.  I never have the chance.  I just hope he's not taking the bread to work with him.  

I ate my dinner and it was quite good.  I had katsudon from the store.  

Tomorrow, I'm not sure what I'll get myself up to.  I may go out in the afternoon and try for a haircut, or I may stay home and work on my column.  I haven't decided yet.  Will I be talked to tomorrow?  Hmm, doubtful.  Got to go.  Night!

December 8, 2013

Sunday - Rainy

Oh boy…

So, yesterday I was rather fearful of going to that restaurant in Sakata, remember?  It was with good reason.  Sigh.  

We stayed up late last night, F got up fairly early, I didn't really, but I was up and dressed before 12:30.  I sat at my computer and used it while F decided what to do with himself.  He had made bread so he gave us some. It wasn't bad, it was raisin and cinnamon I think.  

We went out late to Sakata and got there around 3 pm.  We both thought it was closed, but sadly it wasn't.  We went in.  It wasn't busy so we ordered and while we were waiting for our meals to come, I offered to buy him a drink from the vending machine.  At that time, the staff started yelling at us.  I had no idea what they were saying of course, but F said rather rudely that if I went to the desk they'd give me a coin to have the drink at a discount.  It made no difference to me.  F decided he wouldn't drink anything and there wasn't anything I wanted anyway, so I got some water for myself, after asking him if he wanted some.  I sat down and started to eat my meal which had now arrived.  

All of a sudden F started reaming me out, telling me over and over again how stupid I was for not saving 50 yen…I got tired of it and told him I was really sick and tired of him treating me like I was a child.  I told him to stop telling me off.  And those were the last words we spoke to each other today.  

As soon as he finished eating, he left.  He went downstairs and then went and hid somewhere.  I finished, went to the car, but he wasn't there, so I walked back to the building, just as he walked out.  He went to the car, started it up.  He did let me in, but the whole way back to Tsuruoka we didn't say anything to each other.  We arrived at our apartment, he drove me to the door, I got out and he drove off. 

That was it for a few hours. He came home after a while.  He didn't talk to me at all.  He made ramen for his dinner, went to bed.  After he did, I made my dinner, washed up afterwards.  I've had a lovely evening by myself.  I actually mean that!

I've thought about why I don't like that restaurant.  It reminds me of a barn.  It's noisy and the tables are long and remind me of troughs.  Yes, the fish is good and fresh, but that's it.  So what.  I wouldn't swap it for one of the restaurants that I like going to.  F has named a few restaurants as ones that he won't go to again, that's how I feel about that place.  

Anyway, I'm not sure what I'll get up to tomorrow.  I might go out if the weather is okay, if not, I'll probably stay home for a bit.  Wish me luck!  Night.