December 31, 2015

Thursday - Cold but sunny

A bad, sucky, horrible day.

F and I went out of town and stayed in a hotel last night.  We had a lovely night together and I thought things were going well.

This morning we checked out around 11 and drove into Sakata “to have lunch”.  We discussed a few places that we could go, but when we got to them they were all closed for New Years.  Sigh.  Then, while we were in the middle of a store, F came up with the idea that we should go to the Sakata Port Restaurant.  That’s the place he went last week when I went to the Soup restaurant.  I declined the invitation, far more politely than I felt.  He insisted.  I refused.  He said he was going to go so I said that I would walk to the train station and then go back to Tsuruoka.  

He took off and I followed him for a couple of floors until I realized that I needed the washroom.  I took care of that and then did what I said.  I walked to the Sakata train station, luckily there was a train in 15 minutes, so bought my ticket and got on board.  

I had a lovely, quiet ride.  I read a bit of my book and all was pleasant.

When I got to Tsuruoka I went to S-Mall and had lunch at Subway.  After that, I walked home. 

When I arrived, F was already there.  I asked him none too politely for the car keys, got them and then took my stuff out of the car.  Those were the last words I said to him for the rest of the year.

He watched crap boxing and then went to bed for a few hours.  I watched the first four episodes of Zoo.  It was okay, rather interesting actually.

When he got up, he went out and brought himself back some food.  

Since nothing was offered to me, I knew I had to go out and get my own too.  I walked to the grocery store, got some food and walked back again. 

I heated up my food, ate, read a bit of my iPhone book and then did the dishes.  Since I came home there was nothing on but horrible, horrible Ultimate Fighting crap.  

I finished up the Christmas pudding for good order. I had the calories after all, I walked all over Sakata and Tsuruoka today.

When the fighting on TV finished, something else was on.  Apparently, the new year has begun, but things are exactly same here, except someone is drinking beer and eating horrid crunchy things.  

I don’t make New Years resolutions, but I have one that I’d like to make and keep in mind for this time next year.

I wouldn’t have minded if F had gone to the Port restaurant again, but he knows that I’m not going to go there again.  He asked me why today and I told him that every time we go there we fight.  AND HE KNOWS THAT. He asked me how many times and I told him 3 or 4 and that he always yells at me there.  He couldn’t believe it.  Obviously, he is memory impaired.

 (PS…does anyone else think it ironic how I’m in trouble for not going to a restaurant that we always end up fighting in?)

Anyway, I’ll end this now, but this hasn’t been a Happy New Year, and pretty sure it won’t be for some time. Hope yours is better than mine.  I’ll probably be here tomorrow because where else would I be?  Until tomorrow…..

December 29, 2015

Tuesday - Cold and snowy

A good day.

I got up this morning and made myself some tea.  I was trying to relax and have a good morning, but F came back from his mother’s.  I still had a good morning, but didn’t get to relax too much. I got dressed and we talked about going out versus staying home.  F wanted to go out but I didn’t really.  I wanted to eat my leftovers from last night!

We ended up going out to the Nepali/Indian restaurant and both of us had the special lunch set.  It was really good.  Neither of us had a clue about what the lunch special curry was, but it tasted nice.  

After lunch we came home for a little bit. I grabbed my stuff and some crafting goods and then we went to the Internet Cafe.  We were lucky enough to get a massaging chair each. I watched a bit of TV and then a movie, but I made myself a scarf.  Actually, I’m not sure if it is going to be for me or not. I think I bought it with a friend in mind for it, but I’m not sure if she’d wear it!

Wister Fairine scarf....knits up quickly

Not grumpy, just trying to get all of the scarf in at once.  Failed!

We were in the Internet Cafe for 4 hours since that is the “package” of time they offer at the moment.  It was enough time.  

When we left, we went for dinner to Jour Faste.  My friend and I went there last week.  I had wanted to have pasta today, but the daily pasta was an oyster one that I didn’t want.  F had that, and I had a shrimp one from the regular menu.  I was expecting it to have shrimps in it, but it didn’t.  It had a very strong shrimp flavour, so it must have been made with a shrimp broth or something.  It was very good and I enjoyed it a lot.

After dinner we came home.  We were quiet for a while, but at 10pm I had to watch my stuff.  I turned the TV over to F at 1 am and he found Black Swan, which I ended up re-watching by myself.  

So that was about that.  I had a good day, but I really didn’t see much of my husband.  I am glad that I got a bit of knitting done since my stash is getting out of control!  I’m hoping that I’ll be able to work on other projects soon.  Come back later and find out how my Wednesday is.  Until tomorrow….

December 28, 2015

Monday - Snowy and cold

A good day.

I woke up this morning with F in the bedroom making some noise.  He’d misplaced his glasses and thought they might have fallen off the bedstand.  Nope.  I went back to sleep.

When I got up a couple of hours later I watched a bit of TV and also snoozed on the couch.  I found F’s glasses. He’d left them on the washing machine in the bathroom. I sent him a text telling him that.

I worked out today and I used one of my Christmas presents to help me do that.  I got a Belkin armband to put my iPhone in to count my steps.  That meant that I could wear my snazzy new workout gear.  Feeling very proud of myself, I did my workout.  I thought F might come home at lunch to pick up his glasses, so I shortened my planned workout, but he didn’t come!

I had an early-ish lunch and then got stuck into my column.  I had a goodly amount done, but took a break at 4ish to have a shower.  F came back around 5:30 but didn’t go over to his mother’s today.  He kept talking to me and finally I had to ask him not to!  I also suggested that he cook his own dinner while I was still busy.

I finally got all the good movies reviewed, so I took a break to cook my dinner.  Tonight I made a new dish for myself.  I made General Tso’s Chicken.  I got the recipe here.  I tasted the sauce today before I cooked it and that was good.  I had to add a little more honey to balance the heat.  I also had to fudge or leave out a few ingredients, but I think I might make it again! I served mine over couscous rather than rice, but it was nice anyway.  

Healthy General Tso's Chicken plus couscous

After I did my dishes after dinner, I watched Gossip Girl and finished my column.  Yay!  I got it done.  I listened to it, made a few tweaks to it and then sent it in to the editor.  Done! Now I can enjoy the rest of the time off, hopefully!  I hope to do some crochet and or knitting soon.

F went to bed early as he was tired, but got up after a bit with a leg cramp.  I massaged it for him as best I could and he’s now asleep on the couch.  I think I shall send him off to bed soon, but I should get there soon too.  

No ideas what we will get up to tomorrow.  There is a faint chance that we’ll be out of town overnight this holiday week, so if I disappear for a night or two, don’t worry! Come back a bit later and find out what is new with me.  Until tomorrow…?

December 27, 2015

Sunday - Snowy and cold.  Brrr.

An okay day.

I woke up later than a usual day but it was Sunday so it was okay.  Also, I had a wee chat with F last night and told him that when he heard my alarm in the morning he should make sure the light was on in the living room, and probably the TV for noise too.  I have a very hard time getting up when there is no light or noise, or heat either if I’m honest.  This morning, he did have the light on, and the TV and even the heater, so even though I was in the midst of a cool dream, I was able to get up and stay up.  Yay.

We had brunch at the hospital where F spent a lot of time this summer.  We went to their restaurant on the 9th floor.  F didn’t seem phased at all by being back, but I was having quite horrid flashbacks.  Sigh.  I had a massive vegetable stir-fry teishoku for lunch.  I didn’t know it was massive when I ordered it of course!  F had ramen that he complained about so things pretty much as normal then.  During lunch, he suggested that we go to karaoke, and I was totally into that.

Snow and cold...and where are the mountains?

I think the mountains are just starting to appear again!

We went to the Internet Cafe and spent time in a karaoke box.  We had a lot of fun.  I did mostly old favourites, but also tried a few new ones too.  We spent 3 hours there and by the end we were both a bit tired of singing.  We came home afterwards.

F went over to his mother’s for a while and I caught up on the internet.  Then, F called me and asked if I wanted anything from the grocery shop.  I said I’d rather go myself so he agreed to come home and we would check things out.  

When he came home I asked if he’d prefer dinner out or dinner at home from the grocery store.  He wanted dinner out and suggested a restaurant that is okay, but my usual dish is almost the same as my lunch.  I said no and he got mad.  I came to the idea that I didn’t have to have my usual dish, there are other things, so told him it was fine.  

We went there and the place was freezing.  Very cold in side so I wore my coat.  We ate and it was okay.  I think F liked his dish, I was a bit ambivalent about mine.  

We bought a few groceries at the shop. I got stuff to make my dinner tomorrow night, F got some fish and rice. He didn’t get anything healthy like vegetables.  He isn’t getting any of mine!

We came home and had a fairly quiet night.  F put on The Judge, with Robert Downey, Jr.  It was okay but not great.  Some of the actors in it were interesting, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it to anyone.  

Tomorrow I have to write my Journal column or at least make a good attempt at it.  I have to do a bit of laundry too and hopefully workout.  Come back and see just what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

December 26, 2015

Saturday - Boxing Day - Rainy, Snow in the morning

A good day!

I got up a bit late this morning.   F was out at the doctor or the dentist with his mother.  I tried the DVR and it worked, so the problem couldn’t have been too severe.  Yay.  I took a shower, got dressed and debated with myself over whether I should have breakfast or not.  I decided not, but did have a couple of sweet biscuits and a cup of tea.  Yum.  I worked on my nengajo this morning and got most of them done.  Yay me.

F didn’t get home until two-ish.  He’d been at the doctor.  I was quite hungry so asked that we go out for lunch.  I was in the mood for Bikkuri Donkey, so off we went.  We both had the same thing, a spicy tofu/hamburg/udon nabe and shared a salad.  It was quite nice.

After lunch, F wanted to get his hair cut, so I asked to be let out at S-Mall for a bit of shopping. Once in the mall, I wandered around and bought a few things including a new box for my postcards.  That’ll make 3 of them.  Which is actually 2 too many in my opinion!  I wandered a bit more and then decided to just go and have some tea in Doutors.  While I was waiting for my tea at the counter, F found me.  

I handed over my card and he ordered something for himself, so we had a nice break together.  He got his hair cut quite short. It’s longer on the top but very short on the sides, it looks like it’s been shaved there.  It’s okay actually.

We discussed what to do next and decided to go home for a bit.  We did that.  I got the remnants of last night’s dinner out and we had them for tonight’s dinner.  It was very nice really.  

A little before 8 we drove over to Machinaka Kinema and saw The Monument Men.  It was very enjoyable.  I think George Clooney could be a very good director.  The story was good and it wasn’t a huge special effects extravaganza. Of course, it was based on a true story, probably quite loosely based, but we both enjoyed it.

We came home after the movie and after a few minutes, I decided that I was darn well going to bake some scones.  I’d seen a recipe in one of my groups recently and it was supposed to be very good.  I made it, and it was.  I’d like to make it again because my baking powder was expired.  It did work a bit because I tested it, but I’m not sure how much it was supposed to rise normally!  

Yummy scones.  No longer in existance.

The inside. Add a little jam or butter and they magically disappear.

F and I had a midnight feast of fresh scones and butter and jam with some tea on the side.  Yum.  I put half of the batch in the freezer to bake another time.  I watched most of Under the Gunn and enjoyed that too.  

I’m now yawning away and would like to get to bed soon.  After all the bad days that I’ve had lately, it was so nice to have a good one!  

Tomorrow we don’t have any plans, which is a bit scary.  Hopefully it’ll be okay.  Come back a bit later and see what I get up to.  Until tomorrow…. 

December 25, 2015

Friday - Rainy and cloudy

Merry Christmas!

A disappointing day.

I got up quite early this morning, came through to the living room and watched some TV.  I did have some tea and my breakfast, but I had it a bit later than usual.  I dozed off in the middle of the morning and was late making the bed and didn’t work out at all.  

F came home for lunch, just a couple of minutes after I’d left the couch.  He brought a bento for himself, but did bring me an instant soup cup, which was sweet of him.  He stayed for a bit and then left.  

After he left, I did a work out.  I did the lower and upper body one so worked quite hard!  After that, I did a few internet things.  

Somewhere in the afternoon I managed to mess up the DVR again.  We can get sound, but not picture.  I don’t think it really is me, but I have no idea how to fix it. 

F called to say he was on his way to his mother’s so I started getting ready for our dinner.  I had the cheese out already, but I added the cold meats and the salad too.  He didn’t actually show up for more than an hour and a half though.  Sigh. 

He came and ate, but complained about not feeling well.  He spent some time in the bedroom when he first came home, then joined me when I started to eat without him.  

We had a nice, simple dinner of cold cuts, cheeses and salad.  We could have sandwiches or cheese on crackers and everything was nice.  

F put on skating on TV to watch.  I wasn’t really pleased about that.  I had Christmas music on for a while, but when the DVD player started to skip I took it off.  He didn’t/couldn’t fix the DVR player so left it.

We opened presents after dinner.  I had done the dishes really quickly after I put everything away.  Then, we opened presents.  We did very well.  I had given F really practical things like socks, underwear and pyjamas, he gave me the iPod I had asked for.  I was with him when he bought it, so I knew what I was getting.  My friend in Canada sent a new swimsuit and a pair of leggings, my sister sent some workout stuff, cereal and to my husband a few Edmonton Oilers things!  I think he was as always, surprised.

By 9:30 or so, F was back in bed.  He’s slept ever since.  I understand that he isn’t feeling well, so I’m trying not to be annoyed with him, but I can’t help feeling disappointed as usual.  We didn’t even get to have our Christmas Pudding.  

I watched a bit of TV and have messed around on my computer for a bit. I had to figure out my iPod too, but that is done and it is working well.  Hurray for that.  

So that was my lonely, quiet little Christmas.  I hope F isn’t sick, I really do.  I am so behind the things I need to do. I haven’t sent my nengajo, I haven’t finished them all yet.  I haven’t started my Journal column yet and I need to get that done very soon.  Ack.

Oh well…Come back later and see how my Boxing Day goes.  Until tomorrow!

December 24, 2015

Thursday - Clear and sunny - beautiful day.

A mostly good day.

I was rather busy this morning.  I got up at my time and then wandered around the apartment until I decided to take a shower.   I took one and then got dressed in a casual outfit.  My friend in Sakata was coming to meet me, but I wasn’t entirely sure when that would be.

I watched an episode of Under the Dome while I waited and did some of my computer stuff as well.  Soon she arrived and I went out to meet her.

We discussed where to go and we ended up trying a new place for her, Jour Faste.  We were a little too early and had to kill a bit of time, but the weather was lovely and the walking was nice so it wasn’t a big deal.  When we could go in, we both had pasta.  I had Japanese mushroom pasta and she had oyster cream pasta.  They both looked good, mine was very nice.  We had salad, dessert and coffee or tea with our meal, which we both enjoyed.  

After our lunch we did a little shopping in the nearby grocery store and then went for a drive.  We had hoped to go to the ocean, but unfortunately time was running out on us and she had to go. She dropped me off at home and then went off to her city.

I went into the apartment and decided to check out the internet first.  It was still there, so I checked on how to fix F’s printer and then got stuck on that.  I changed out of my nice shirt, grabbed a big flashlight and then plugged in the printer to see what the message was.  When I googled it, I found a page that told me how to fix it.  I shone the flashlight into the bowels of the printer and saw a cord that I didn’t remember seeing before.  I tugged on it gently and it came out.  Of course I covered one of my fingers with ink, but no worries.  The cord was some kind of decoration from a package.  It must have fallen in the back of F’s printer and then lodged in when he put paper in after it. Oh, and I should mention that of course, I turned off the printer and unplugged it for good measure, before I stuck my hand into it.   

It seems to work now, so that’s a good thing.  Yay me.  

When F came home I told him about the printer and he was happy. He asked about dinner and I suggested going to the grocery store for something. Now, stupid me thought that we’d get something to share.   Right now they have lovely trays of food that we could have a little bit of many kinds of food and it would all be quite Christmassy.  He announced he wanted fish.  Of course he did.  I didn’t.   Then, he said, “Oh, I’ll just eat the fish you cooked on Monday.” I shook my head and had to confess that I had thrown it away.  So, he’ll eat the fish I cooked 3 days after I cooked it, but not on the day I cooked it? 

I ended up with a little chicken steak thing and a bag of cabbage salad.  I tried to get him interested in having a fruit plate, but he only wanted grapes and I am not a fan.  I was quite depressed and upset when we finished in the grocery store.  Not a very nice or Christmassy meal at all.

Came home and I stupidly told him to make his food first, not realizing that he was actually going to cook noodles and really take his time about it.  I didn’t eat until sometime after 8 and I was starving. 

I heated up my food, finished off the cauliflower from Monday and eventually did enjoy my meal.  

Later in the evening I served us both some decaf tea and some of the fruit cake he’d bought a few weeks ago.  It was nice.  I was watching Bones, the wedding episode and of course F had to blab all through it.  I ignored him as much as I could.  

I wrote a bunch of my nengajo tonight. I’ve done more than 10 which is a good thing as they are supposed to go out tomorrow!

Anyway, tomorrow is our not so big Christmas day here.  I know I need to lower my expectations and just accept that the day is going to suck, but it really is hard.  I’m not going to cook at all, but I am going to put out some food on the table for us. Let’s hope that doesn’t go to pot!  Come back later and see what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

December 23, 2015

Wednesday - Clear and warmish

A good day!

We both slept in a bit this morning.  I slept in fairly late, getting up sometime around 11 I think.  Still it was nice to sleep in.  

F started in on me about where did I want to eat and what did I want to do today.  I suggested going to Bikkuri Donkey for lunch and then the Oyama Nature Centre, which F promptly ignored.  He mentioned wanting to go to the evil Sakata Port restaurant so I told him he could go.  I had also suggested going to the new Very-Berry Soup company restaurant in Sakata, but he didn’t want to go there.  So, I said why don’t we each go where we want?  That seemed to work!

We drove to Sakata and F dropped me off at the soup place.  I went in and had a very nice meal of soup, salad and bun.  I honestly really enjoyed it.  Last time we were there it took ages to get our food and it was really busy.  Today it was busy, but my food came quite quickly and I had a nice table near the window so I could watch the street.  And, the soup was good!  Yay!  When I finished I texted F.  I was hoping that I’d have time to go to the big department store across the street to shop, but F was also done.  He said he’d drive by and pick me up.  He did so.

My Very-Berry Soup Lunch...Double set plus drink. I had salmon cream stew plus vegetable/consomme soup, salad and a bun.  Very reasonable and very delicious!

We then drove off to the Salmon Trap.  It’s a place out in the boonies where salmon come to spawn or get caught in a trap.  After that, I’m afraid they are dried for food. We decided to follow a trail that we didn’t the last time we were there because it was nearly dark.  There was a lovely little pond in the woods, plus a shrine and some gorgeous views along the way.  We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because we ended up walking for miles, but it was quite enjoyable.  

I half thought there'd be a maiden with a sword in the middle of the pond. Disappointingly, there wasn't.

Big old tree next to the shrine.

Mt. Chokai under snow...us, not so much!

We drove back to Sakata and at my request had a beverage in Starbucks.  That was lovely.  After that, we drove to the Mikawa Mall for F to get something for work and I ended up getting another circular knitting needle, but a smaller gauge than I’ve had before.  

We drove back to Tsuruoka and ran a few errands.  We picked up a sushi brochure for our New Years day lunch, then got gas for the car.  We went to Cocos for dinner and had a nice dinner despite neither of us really planning to go there!  We had the same thing, a roast chicken leg with a side salad and the drink bar.  We shared one of their Christmas Mud Pie desserts, and it was nice too.

We got a few groceries.  Nothing much for tomorrow, but a few nibble-y things for Christmas Day.  At dinner I gave F the option of me going to Subway and picking us up a couple of sandwiches for dinner or getting in some cold cuts for sandwiches and nice cheeses for a cheese plate.  He chose the latter, so we bought a bit of cheese and some sliced meat and smoked salmon.  We’ll still have the Christmas Pudding afterwards, so I got some cream to whip.  

We then came home and I printed out a few nengajo.  I tried to help F fix his printer (because it used to be my printer) but he’s really messed it up.   I couldn’t get it to work.  I wrote up one nengajo and that was while I was watching Scandal.  It was good today.  I also tried to get F’s computer to connect to my printer (we’re a two printer family) but since his computer is Japanese and I don’t read Japanese well, it was too confusing for an on the fly operation.  

Anyway, today turned out rather well.  I’m hoping that the rest of the week goes well too.  I have a lunch date tomorrow and then Friday is Christmas.  I’m hoping all goes well for the next couple of days.

Come back later and find out how our Christmas Eve goes.  Until tomorrow….

December 22, 2015

Tuesday - Cloudy, but not much rain.

A good day!

I got up to an empty apartment as usual, watched my show, fell asleep on another, worked out before 12 and then F didn’t even show up.  Actually, I was rather relieved not to see him. My day passed rather quietly.  

I made a quick trip to the post office to post some postcards.  I didn’t go in today, just threw them in the mailbox and came back home.  Then, I decided to get ready for our big event tonight.  

I showered and then started to get dressed a bit.  When F came home I was fussing with my makeup and my hair.  He seemed in a good mood and was in a hurry to get changed too. 

We looked rather spiffy when we were both dressed.  F wore his black suit, and I wore a black dress with a sparkly bodice and jacket.  Unfortunately, my dress was a bit too big for me, so I had to re-think my undergarments as they were showing at the top.  It still looked good.  I’m wondering about having the dress taken in for me, but I might leave it for now.  I managed to burn myself with my curling iron on the forehead.  Ouch.  That really hurt.  

We called a taxi and went over to the Grand El Sun.  We were greeted there by the lady that helped us at our wedding, so she showed us to our table, and explained a few things to us.

We needn't have dressed up quite as fancy as we did, but we certainly didn’t look out of place.  Some people were in dresses and suits, others were very casual.  It was quite a casual buffet.  The alcohol was flowing and the food wasn’t bad.  They had a lot of Japanese and Chinese offerings, but also roasted turkey (that we had to hack at ourselves with a table knife!) and some roast beef.  I was happy to have some of the cheese and crackers, as well as some paella and other things.  

I drank a bit tonight. I started with a non-alcohol cocktail, but then had some mulled wine, then some cider and finally F brought me over some local sake! Quite a bit then.  He had a few beers and a glass of wine.  He was the one that got the cider but he didn’t like it.  I finished it for him because I didn’t mind it.

After the party we just came home and changed out of our fancy clothes.  Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture of us all dressed up.  That’s the problem of being a couple, there’s no one to take our picture!

We had quite a friendly night here together.  I’m not sure why. Anyway, I have no idea what we’re going to get up to tomorrow.  I hope it is a good day.  Fingers crossed.  Come back later and find out. Until tomorrow….

December 21, 2015

Monday - Rainy 

Another bad day.

I got up at a goodly time this morning, filled up the kerosene tank too.  I settled in with my computer for Numbers.  It’s a good show, but it isn’t House.

F popped by for something. I don’t know why.

I did my workout fairly early this morning.  I had planned to do 40 minutes, but ended up doing 30 instead.  My leg was not exactly stiff, but not happy and I didn’t want to push it too far.

I tuned into Agents of Shield and F came home to eat lunch.  He barely talked to me, but seemed okay.

In the afternoon I had my lunch that I bought at Subway yesterday…yum…then did some computer stuff.  I headed out to the post office a little early too.  I wanted to make a deposit of some of my coins and then do a transfer.  I had a good walk there and back and then came home.

I didn’t know when F would come home and so I decided to get a few dinner things underway.  I went into the kitchen and was just starting to wash dishes and put things together when he called to say he was on his way home from his mother’s.  He hadn’t told me he was finished work, so I was quite behind.  

When he arrived he seemed to be in a bad mood.  I asked him how he was and he said he was tired.  I quickly got the cauliflower into the oven to roast and after asking him for an opinion on how long the fish would take to grill, opened the fish grill.  Unfortunately, I discovered that the last time it was used (not by me) it hadn’t been cleaned out at all, and it looked like it hadn’t had any water put in the bottom either.  It was rancid.  I took it out of the stove and put it in the water.  I scrubbed and scrubbed.  The smell was turning my stomach.  I didn’t notice it before.  I have a very odd sense of smell and don’t notice a lot of bad smells. 

I finally got the damn thing clean and put both water in the tray and the fish on top.  

When I told F that dinner was ready he was weird and decided that I was cranky and he wouldn’t eat with me.  I told him about the filthy fish grill and he told me it would only take 5 minutes to clean it up.  The point for me is that it should never have been left like that.  I do not cook fish as a general rule, why would I clean it? It took more than 5 minutes to clean, plus I couldn’t even look at the fish I cooked.  

F wouldn’t eat with me, I wouldn’t eat the fish.  After I ate my roast cauliflower, salad and mushrooms and bacon, I did the dishes.  All the dishes, including the fish grill.  I was going to throw out the fish, but didn’t.  I thought about leaving it on the table, but didn’t do that either.  I wrapped it and put it in the fridge, but I probably should have chucked it.  I don’t want it.

We had a very quiet and unfriendly night.  I went to the bedroom for a while and tried to sleep but couldn’t.  I got up and asked for the TV for an hour which I got.

That’s about it. I did a bit of postcrossing tonight, plus I’m doing a swap with another postcrosser in Japan. I also made myself some oatmeal later on.  The cool thing is that I read the directions in Japanese on the package.  They have stovetop instructions in English, but microwave ones in Japanese. I figured it out all by myself.  Yay me.  And it was good!

I’m not sure what is going to happen tomorrow. We are supposed to have our Christmas dinner tomorrow night at the Grand El Sun.  I spent an hour tonight finding something to wear for it, but I really don’t want to go anymore.  If I don’t he’ll be even more upset.  Sigh.  I really don’t feel very Christmassy at all.  Come back later and find out all about my day. Until tomorrow….

December 20, 2015

Sunday - Cloudy but mostly clear with occasional light rain.

An odd day.

F and I were home late last night and stayed up very late too.  It was around 4 am when we both went to bed.  Fast forward a bit to 6 am when I woke up, only to discover that F was wide awake and playing on his computer in the living room. Hmm.  8:00 something am, same thing.  Hmm.  How much sleep did he get?

He went over to his mother’s in the morning and I slept on.  I finally dragged myself out of bed very close to noon.  I got dressed immediately and thought he wanted to go out.  He said he wanted to go and see a salmon ladder which was fine, and asked where I wanted to go to eat.  I suggested something in Sakata which I thought was okay, but then changed his mind and wanted something else.  He then suggested the port restaurant in Sakata which is a complete and total NO-GO as far as I am concerned.  We fight every single time we go there and it is horrible besides.  So no.  Not going to go there. Ever again.  EVER.

He got mad, said he wasn’t going to go anywhere then and made himself some ramen.  Fine…I didn’t care!  When he finished I made myself something to eat out of the leftovers in the fridge.  Then, I asked if he’d like to go out.  No.

We had more words and then he left to get some kerosene for his mother. I suggested getting us some too.  He wasn’t talking to me, however.

When he came back, I thought he might want to go to his salmon place then.  Nope.  I thought he might want to go to the electric shop.  Nope.  So, I went out by myself.

I got dressed in my coat, grabbed my handbag, said, “See ya!” and walked off to the mall.  At the mall I had a really nice time by myself.  I picked up a few things in the hundred yen shop, then had a drink at Doutors where I read a bit of a book and tried to start my latest movie column.  

I left the mall around 4:30, just after it was dark.  I walked home again and was nice as I could be when I came back, but wasn’t talked to for a while.

Around 6 pm I suggested going for dinner.  He actually seemed to think that was a good idea and said okay.  Although he said he didn’t like the place I suggested, he only wanted ramen instead so I said no to that!

When we got to the main road, he didn’t turn the way to the restaurant so I asked him where we were going.  To the electric shop.  Okay then.  When we were there, he picked up my Christmas Present and some ink for our printers.  

After this, things were quite pleasant and I suggested another place that I had remembered going with him.  I asked about the new Chinese restaurant that he’d taken me recently, so we went there.  He could have ramen there and I didn’t have to.  We went and neither of us had ramen!  We got four dishes, gyoza, fried rice, pork and black mushroom and egg stir-fry, and yaki-bifun.  Everything was good and we were stuffed afterwards.

We went to the grocery store where F basically insisted on fish for tomorrow night. I’m not terribly happy about it to be honest.  I like the fish, I don’t like cooking it.  It isn’t something I’m confident in.  I was also a little shocked to see how expensive the fish was in comparison to meat! Yikes.

We came home. I had a meeting on line with other ladies in my area that was a lot of fun and during that F slipped away to bed.  I tried to wake him up to put on his pyjamas or take his bath, but he didn’t wake up at all.  Sigh.  

So, things are better tonight than they were in the daytime, but I still don’t know why he had to be such a grumpy bear all day.  I think it was because he didn’t get enough sleep, but HE will never admit that!  

Come back later and find out how that fish turns out, and other exciting details in my life!  Until tomorrow….

December 19, 2015

Saturday - Clear with a bit of rain.  Cool.

A good day.

I went to bed quite late last night and overslept this morning.  F wasn’t home yet, so it didn’t matter too much.  When he arrived, I did take a quick shower and soon afterwards we went out for lunch.

We went to his farmer’s restaurant that he likes so much.  It’s okay, but the service is not that great and honestly, the main dishes don’t change.  I think it is a bit boring now, but I don’t hate it and F is happy when I let him take me there so I’m okay with going there for now.

After our meal we stopped in at Voice Shopping Centre.  We went to the bit under the furniture store first and had a look around.  I got a few little things for a present and something for myself, then we looked around the second hand store.  They had some things that would almost do, but in the end we decided to leave the store.

We went over to Hard Off and we had more luck.  I found a lot of handbags that were close to what I wanted, but finally I found a light silver one and got that.  I think it’ll match my nice dress and the accessories that I have with it.  The best part is that it was under one thousand yen! We also got a couple of small bowls to go in the kitchen. A couple of our staple bowls have been broken recently and I wanted replacements.  

F dropped me off at home after this and he went off to his mother’s house.  I relaxed, caught up a little on the DVR and then F came home.  We left almost immediately for the mall.

At the Mall we did a little looking around.  F keeps asking me what I want, but I have already told him and I can’t get it in the mall.  I tried to ask him what he wanted, but he kept suggesting things for himself that he wasn’t completely sure of the sizes for so I refused!  Finally I got him to wander off on me and I did some shopping alone.  I hope that what I got him will fit, but I think it will.  Also, I went boring but practical, so hope that’ll work out for him!

I put my shopping in the car and then we had dinner at the pasta place in the mall.  I had a grilled chicken with grated daikon pasta, and F had tarako pasta.  Both dishes were good.  We still had oodles of time before our movie so we went to Seattle’s Best and each had a drink.  I was a bit bad and had a hot chocolate, F had a Java Kula with chocolate and hot pepper. Neither of us would have our drinks again!

We went upstairs and waited in the lobby of the theater for them to open the theater for us.  We got into the concession line just as they did and got our popcorn and drinks for the show.  What did we see?  Star Wars of course!  I really enjoyed it.  It was wonderful to see the old cast and the new cast was really good.  I thought the film was excellent and I loved it.  

After the movie, F and I drove home to Tsuruoka.  A few hours ago F said he was going to bed, but he took a snooze on the couch and is still up! He woke up a while ago and seems energetic again.

I’m not sure what we’re going to do tomorrow.  We might do more shopping or we might just take things easy.  Come back later and find out what we get up to. Until tomorrow….

December 18, 2015

Friday - Rainy, Snowy, and Cold.

A good day.

I got up this morning and watched Numbers.  It is a good show, but I preferred House! I had a good morning, I did fall asleep on a show, but put 10 minutes on my timer so I could take a mini-nap.  Unfortunately, F took it upon himself to come home during those 10 minutes so I didn’t get my nap after all.  

I did work out today, I did a “Mega-walk” with intervals and mostly managed to keep up.  Yay me.  

In the afternoon, I watched Agents of Shield and then went out for lunch.  I took myself off to the post office and then to have lunch.  I went to Kappa Sushi so it wasn’t expensive, and honestly wasn’t too bad either.

I came home and a little while later, F called to say that he was coming home to change and get ready for his party.  He came by and was gone a few minutes later.

In the evening I watched Frozen because it was on TV, and then Castle.  I made my dinner somewhere in there and then put on Mr. Selfridge.  I borrowed the dvds from a friend a couple of years ago and still have a lot to watch.  I “binge-watched” about 5 episodes tonight.  It is an excellent show.  Of course, I still have an entire season to go through!

I’ve had a very quiet but enjoyable evening.  I had a couple of texts from F before he went to bed but that was it.  It’s been blissful in all honesty.  I adore my husband, but I need to spend time alone too.  

I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to tomorrow night, but I hope it’ll be fun! I’d like to go shopping for F’s present and a new handbag for myself.  I’d also like to to see a certain new movie about a galaxy far, far, away if we have time!  Come back later and find out what we get up to.  Until tomorrow….

December 16, 2015

Wednesday - Rainy

An okay day.

I got up this morning but I thought it was really early and I could go back to bed. Er…nope.  It was time for House.  So, I got up, watched it and had tea and breakfast.

I tried re-arranging the packages in my box, and I tried squishing the squishable ones.  Nope, still didn’t work.  I looked for a bigger box and managed to find one.  I transferred the packages and everything fit perfectly.  The problem was now I had to seal it and get to the post office.  In the rain.  I put the box in a clean garbage bag, covered the top with other plastic bags and made sure I had all I needed with me.  I took spare tape, a packing list in triplicate and a lot of money.  I didn’t need the spare tape! 

I’m a bit ahead of myself again.  During the day, I did some laundry, put away some laundry and then walked to the post office.  I got there just before 4:30.  I was able to send everything which really pleased me.  They took my box, my money and I took off back home again!

At home I hung up my last load of laundry and then had lunch.  Yes, after 5 pm.  

Lunch was the last of the fajitas and they were still yummy.  I put a bit of sriracha on them today…wow!

I relaxed a little at my computer and also got my books ready for a Secret Santa thing that I am doing.  I just have to send them tomorrow.  I did another Christmas card too, but this one was for inside Japan.  Yay.  

I was nearly finished when F came home.  I opened the door and was cheerful to him and it seemed to help.  He came in and asked if I wanted to have dinner.  I said I did.  He made himself a quick something so he could take some medicine first and then we went out for dinner.  

The first place we tried closed just as we got there, and then we went to the Nepal/Indian restaurant along the road from us.  Tonight we did something I’ve talked about for a while.  We just had a naan each and a curry.  Honestly, it was just what I wanted that late at night.  I had mild butter chicken and F tried a Chicken Kardai.  He had his medium spicy.  I tried a little and it was good, but too hot for me.  

After dinner, we made a fast trip to PAL shopping centre and we bought detergent in the drugstore and then went to the grocery store beside it.  I got stuff for two night’s dinners, completely forgetting that F is supposed to be away on Friday night.  Oh well.  I’ll do most of the veggies for tomorrow night I guess.  

We came home and I watched a bit of TV and went over to the couch to work on my little Christmas tree.  I didn’t do much, but I did a little. Yay me.  

And that’s about it.  I’m going to try cooking dinner tomorrow and if someone turns up his nose at it there is nothing I can do really.  It means there is more for me.  Come back in a bit and see what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

December 15, 2015

Tuesday - Clear and warm, rain at night

An okay day.

When I went to bed last night, F was very unsettled, so I put my hand on the part of his back that is usually bad.  I let go of a lot of my anger and concentrated on healing energy.  It sounds all new age-y, but I felt better and he fell asleep soon after.

This morning, I got up and did my usual things.  I watched House, did a workout, and then got some mail ready to go to the post office.  I wrote a couple of Gotochi cards to send, plus made a list for sending off my BFF’s present to her.  I had lunch, watched a DVR programme and then walked to the post office.  

I got my package mailed off and almost had a chat with the post office lady about it, then came home again.

F was late tonight and still not talking to me.  Sigh.  I talked to him, but a lot of the time he wasn’t listening to me.  I let him have his dinner first and then I had my leftovers.  They were so delicious.  I had them for lunch too.  

F watched a lot of Japanese crap on TV tonight, so I told him I needed the TV at 11 and watched The Following.  It was good but a bit freaky.  

Tonight I also found a box for presents for my sister and her family.  I’m just not sure if I can cram them all in.  I don’t want to send them as two boxes but I will if I have to.  I didn’t want to work too hard on it tonight as it gets noisy.

I wrote up 3 postcards tonight. It’s the first time in a couple of weeks that I have done much postcrossing at all.  I still have soooooooo much to do and I’m running out of time to do it all.  Wish me luck with that!

That’s about it for tonight.  I plan to go to the post office early if I can and take the box if I can figure out a way to take it there and be dry too.  Come back tomorrow night and see if I have any success! Night.

December 14, 2015

Monday - Clear and warmish

Was a good day, but not any more.

I got up early this morning, watched my show, ate breakfast and had some tea.  That was nice.  I decided to get moving a bit early today, so I made my bed and then started my workout much earlier than usual.  I also changed the tape and did a fairly difficult one using a fitness band.

I was nearing the end of the midsection of the tape when I heard the door open.  F had come home for lunch. Early. He had his lunch and then took off again. He had to take an early lunch today.  Okay, fine.

When it was time for my lunch later on, I went into the kitchen and was shocked.  He’d left it in a mess.  He’d just put his pan in the sink, left garbage all over the table and hadn’t said anything to me about it.  If he’d said he was in a hurry and apologized or anything, but there was nothing except a big mess.

I ate my lunch and watched a bit of TV.  Just after 4 I went out for a walk.  I walked to Kaneta, which is a nearby shop that sometimes, if you are careful, has great stuff for presents.  I spent an hour looking around the store, and I found a few things for my sister and my nephew, so I got them.  I walked home again.

F had said he’d be late tonight, so I putzed around, before getting the kitchen sorted out.  He phoned to say he was coming home and not going to his mother’s, so really he was home at the same time he usually was.  

Dinner prep was going well.  I was making fajitas, so I was slicing up tomatoes and washing lettuce for the salad on the side.  I had the meat marinating, and was almost done when I heard a really nasty sound.  F was sitting on the couch, scraping his foot with his pocket knife.  I was rather shocked and asked him to stop as it was dangerous.  

He got mad at me and when I asked if he was still going to have dinner with me said he wasn’t because it was taking too long.  I. Was. Nearly. Done. Prepping.  So, he tried to storm the kitchen to make his ramen, but I was in the way of course, because….almost ready to cook. He changed to making rice in the microwave and searched the fridge for something.  

I made myself the fajitas and they were really good.  He took a bath.  After I finished my cleanup I started to gather my things for Christmas wrapping.  I sat at the table and started to wrap presents for my family in Canada.  I told him that if he wanted to use the kitchen, he just had to ask me to move.  He said yes, but didn’t ask me.  Not knowing what that meant I continued.  

He went out, I guess to the grocery store and so I watched Gossip Girl, and wrapped a lot of presents.  Yay me.  He came back and I said again that if he wanted me to move he just had to ask.  He said yes, but didn’t ask me.  Next thing I know, he’s climbing over the island in the middle of the room so that he can use the kitchen.  I pointed out that it was dangerous, and not very good sanitation wise either.  We started yelling at each other and it was a bad scene.  He ended up eating some crap he’d bought at the grocery store and drinking a couple of beers.  Now he’s snoring away on the couch where he has been for the last 4 hours or so.  When I go to bed I think I’ll just leave him there.  

I have very nearly finished the wrapping.  I have done all of the Christmas stuff, but I also have to wrap my nephew’s birthday presents.  I send the birthday stuff in with the Christmas gifts since his birthday is in early January.  

So, if things don’t get better, I might take myself off somewhere for a night or two, so don’t miss me.  Or, miss me a little! Hopefully this’ll all blow over soon.  Until tomorrow….

December 13, 2015

Sunday - Mostly clear, a little drizzle now and then.

A good day!

I slept in this morning.  I didn’t get to sleep in at all last weekend, so decided to go for it today!  It was great.  I finally dragged myself out of bed around 12ish.  

F and I went out for lunch sometime around 1:30. We chose Jiro today, because it was our second choice last night and because we like it!  It’s run by an older couple and we often run into them in the grocery store.  I had chicken saute and F had the gratin set.  

After lunch, we talked about a few things to do, but didn’t really do anything.  We decided to just go home.  

At home we had a quiet afternoon and then F suggested going to the movie tonight.  I wasn’t fussed either way, but he said he wanted to see it.  Okay then!  As the movie was a late one and didn’t start until 8:45, I suggested having dinner first and then getting our groceries before seeing the movie.  Usually we go to the grocery store afterwards, but that would be really late.  F thought that my idea was good and that’s what we did.

We had a quick, cheerful, and fairly decent meal at Gusto tonight.  We both had the same thing.  Beef with grilled vegetables, rice and a small salad plus drink bar.  We both even liked it!  

We got groceries for tomorrow’s dinner.  I’m going to make fajitas with the new tortillas we got on Saturday.  I picked up the ingredients at the grocery store and then we came home and put them away.  We had about an hour before we had to leave for the movie, so we relaxed for a bit.

We left for the theatre and went to Machinaka-Kinema and saw Everest in 3D.  Surprisingly, they were showing it with subtitles rather than a dubbed version.  It was quite a gripping movie, even though I had a feeling it would end the way it did.  I’m glad that I have never been interested in climbing mountains!

We came home after the movie and had a quiet time before bed.  F set up the bread maker for a cranberry loaf which we’ll split with his mother, and I set up the DVR and made some tentative plans for myself for tomorrow to do a little last minute shopping. We’ll see how that goes!

And that is it.  It was a pretty terrific day. Low stress and low key.  F is a bit disappointed I think, but I’m not.  I like these kinds of days every now and then, recharges my batteries.  Come back later and find out what else happens.  Until tomorrow….