April 25, 2019

Thursday - Rainy and cooler

I woke up this morning just after F left for work I think. I stayed in bed for a while. I debated going for a walk but didn’t. The roads were wet when I looked out, so it was probably a good call.

I had a quiet morning and afternoon. I watched a lot of stuff off the DVR and wrote an email. I never did get around to working on my column though. Sigh. 

F popped in a little early to change for his party tonight. It was a welcome party so he had to wear his suit. He looked very handsome when he left.  

He had ordered sushi in for K and me tonight for our dinner. It was a lovely treat. I paid the delivery person with the money he’d given me and set things up on the table for us. K and I had a nice feast and then I cleaned up afterwards. 

When I came upstairs I watched a bit of TV and started working on some mending for F. I’m doing it a little bit Sashiko style, but I’m not very neat. Still, it is in an awkward place, his jeans pocket. It’s hard to manipulate the fabric without taking the pocket off…and I’m not doing that as I’d never put it back.

F came back to the house around 11. He’d had a good time at his party and had even had a second party, so that was good. 

When he was back, I took a shower and then came upstairs to my computer. 

Tomorrow I’m having lunch with a friend, who I actually met 3 years ago according to my blog. I’m looking forward to seeing her again as it has been a while. I’m also looking forward to getting out of the house. I didn’t go out at all today. 

So, that’s it for me. A quiet day, but I started the mending I’ve been thinking of for a while and I cleared a lot of stuff off the DVR.  

Come back later if you like and see what I get up to. Until tomorrow….

February 28, 2017

Tuesday - Clear and sunny I think?!

An okay day.

I got up this morning a little late, managed to stay awake during my breakfast and tea, but fell asleep afterwards.  I even slept through the next show.  I just couldn’t stay awake. 

I got up, dressed and made the beds and put the kettle on for another cup of tea for me.  F came home and basically took over the kitchen. It’s somewhat annoying really.  

In the afternoon, I did some letter writing and emailing and then went into the spare room and filled a garbage bag with stuff that I don’t need anymore or plastic bags or old craft projects that I don’t even remember starting.  It was a little therapeutic honestly.

F called to say he was coming home, so I did the day’s dishes and then started dinner when he arrived.  It was fairy simple tonight.  We had store bought salt lemon chicken that I sautéed, salad, quinoa, and some beets as well.  I thought it was really nice. Fumihiko told me he didn’t really like the beets though.  Too darn bad dear…all the more for ME!!!

He had said he would go to bed early, but didn’t.  He was everywhere in the apartment that I wanted to be!  I wanted in the kitchen, he was there. I wanted on the couch…you know what I mean.  Oh, one good thing was that I wrapped my friend’s birthday presents up and even got a box for them.  I should take the box to the post office tomorrow to mail them off.  

F finally headed off to bed after midnight.  I had managed to sit on the couch and do some sewing  of squares and I also later on did a little bit of knitting.  I think it is sort of cute, just slow.  

Tomorrow I have a to-do list with a bunch of things on it.  I hope I get all the things on my list crossed off.  Wish me luck with that!  

Until tomorrow….

February 27, 2017

Monday - Clear and Sunny

A good day.

I got up this morning and got dressed right away. I boiled the kettle and got my breakfast ready before I turned on the TV.  I watched the Oscar pre-show and then of course the actual Academy Awards Event.  I Facebooked it with some friends in Canada and in Japan.  It was rather fun.

Speaking about the show…no huge surprises. It was nice that Mahershala Ali won for Moonlight…I used to watch him on The 4400 and he was also in Predators.  I was glad that Emma Stone won, although I would have enjoyed seeing Meryl take it again!  Jimmy Kimble’s schtick was quite funny and I just enjoyed today’s show.  The bit with the tour bus was fun, the musical numbers were good…but that ending!  Yikes!  I really feel for the La La Land gang, but from what I have heard Moonlight is very deserving of the Best Picture Award.  Everyone acted with honour in their situation, so there wasn’t a bad taste left in the audience’s mouth, so to speak.

Since most of the day had passed before the show was over, I accepted a package in the mail for F and then took a shower. 

After my shower, lunch was on the schedule.  I took a break for a bit and then started on dinner.  F called to say he was going to be late, since his mother wanted to go to an onsen tonight.  She had a coupon which was about to expire. I said it was fine, and it mostly was.

While F was out, I made some quinoa, washed the lettuce we bought yesterday and put together the ingredients I was using to make skewers.  When F called to say he was on his way, I started to grill them. I also made some miso soup from packets.  

When he arrived and was able to sit, we had a good dinner.  Everything was quite nice and F was able to eat for a change. Yay for that.

He did the dishes and afterward I realized that my silly teen show was on, so I watched it and did a bit of squares sewing.  I went a bit overtime as I remembered that the Oscars were usually rebroadcast, so got F to put them on so he could see some of it.  This year, he seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.

And that was about it.  F has gone to bed early and I am actually thinking about heading there soon too. I’m not sure if I really will though! 

Come back on Tuesday and find out what is going on with me.  Until tomorrow….

February 26, 2017

Sunday - Clear with a bit of rain later on

A good and busy day!

I was surprised this morning that F didn’t go over to his mother’s house.  He had said that he would the night before, but didn’t.  In fact, when I was thinking about getting up, he went back to bed.  I did get up a few minutes later.

We went out for lunch today, and I suggested Hyakken Bori, the restaurant on the lake.  It was good. I had teriyaki chicken, and F had a noodle dish.  His tooth was bothering him again, so it was a good thing I guess.  

After lunch, we talked about what to do and ended up at the Chido Museum.  Their display today was about maps of the area and it was quite fascinating.  F told me that the maps basically said it took 12 to travel from Tokyo to Tsuruoka.  Nowadays we can do it in an hour by air, or 4 by train, so a bit different.  

We talked about having coffee, but then I had another idea.  I suggested that F go and visit his mother, invite her out for dinner tonight and and let her know that we need to drop off some boxes too.  So, that is basically what we did.  I sent over some of my boxes of books and dvds.  We took them up to our rooms upstairs and then bundled F’s mum into the car and went for sushi!  It was quite a nice meal. F ate quite a bit, which I was glad about, his mother did well too.  I only had a few plates of sushi, but that was fine really.

We asked if she needed shopping, but she didn’t really.  We dropped his mum back at home and made sure she was safely inside, then we left.  

I suggested going to the mall for a cuppa of something.  When we got there, the new Tokyu Hands “Truck Market” was open, so we snooped a little.  I checked out the hundred yen shop too and bought a couple of things, then we came downstairs again and went to Doutors.  F had Royal Milk Tea and I had a soy latte which was really nice.

We got a couple of things in the grocery store and then came home.  Spotlight was on at 9:00 pm, so we watched that and I did some squares sewing too.  I got quite a few done tonight too.  

And that was about it.  We ended up watching Mad Max: Fury Road when it was on, it isn’t really a restful before bed movie…I love it but it is wake you up kind of thing!

So, tomorrow is the Oscars and I shall be Facebooking with my friends.  I am woefully behind though, I’ve only seen one of the best picture films and only two of the best actress performances.  I’m looking forward to it, I hope it goes well.

Come back later on and see how Monday goes!  Until tomorrow….

February 25, 2017

Saturday - Warmer, with a bit of sleet later on

A good day.

I slept in a bit this morning, but got up and had tea eventually.  F was home and we both did a bit of tidying up and sorting.  He threw out a few things, so that was good.  I tidied up the living room near my computer, haven’t done that in a while and it was good!

F and I had lunch at home, ate a little of the leftovers in the fridge.  F couldn’t eat much again.  

We did more cleaning and sorting and then around 3 pm got changed and went out.  We ran an errand or two, including taking back some ink cartridges to the store and trying to pick up some boxes.  We arrived at the mall and first off went to check out the yarn shop.  I was lucky and was able to buy three more balls of yarn in my dye lot.  I had bought a lot before, but because I made it bigger than I planned, needed more.  Hurray for that.

We also went shopping for a present for a friend of mine and managed to get a couple of nice things I think.  I hope she likes them.  We had a cup of Royal Milk tea and a doughnut each at Mr Donut.  Mine was a fat reduced one.  It wasn’t bad, but it was really squishy-soft!

We put my shopping in the car and then went to the theater.  We redeemed a couple of point cards so were able to see La La Land for free!  Yay us.  We did buy our own popcorn though!  The movie was great.  We both really enjoyed it.  I felt bad for F though because he was in a lot of pain and not doing well.  For a change I was glad that he wasn’t sitting beside me.  He had moved over a seat as usual.  

After the movie we had dinner in the mall.  F had the fast food sections ramen (not great) and I had a bibinba…pretty darn good!  We came back to Tsuruoka and home.  

At home I watched a bit of telly and sewed a few more squares together.  Actually, today I sewed part of the panels together.  It’s just in one direction, the sewing and it went quite well, but to try and keep it invisible and even is a bit tricky.

F and I shared a cider that we got on my birthday trip and then he went off to bed.  I will try and get some sleep soon too.  I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, I’m thinking that we might take some of our stuff over to F’s house.  It would be got to get some of the stuff out of our apartment and make a little room! 

I hope that tomorrow goes as well as today did, but you never know what will happen.  Come back later and find out what happens on Sunday.  Until tomorrow….

February 24, 2017

Friday - Clear, snowy and clear again

A good day.

I got up this morning on time but had to fill the kerosene heater.  It must have been working on fumes last night!  That done, I settled in for my ER fix along with breakfast and tea.

I took an early shower and then got dressed.  My friend said she’d be a little late so when the later time arrived, I went out to the lobby of the building to wait.  She arrived about 2 minutes later, so no problem.  

We went to Pisolino, the buffet and pasta restaurant and had a very nice lunch.  It was a bit tricky making sure that she was able to eat things, but I think we managed.  After our meal, she had to go to work, so she dropped me off at home again and then went on her way.

In the apartment I watched a bit of TV and then got stuck into the spare room again.  I didn’t throw out a lot of stuff, but I did go through a lot of bags and dusted off some books that I’d all but forgotten about.  I boxed them to take with us.  

When F called to say he was on his way home, I got the things out of the fridge for dinner. However, when he got home, he said that he couldn’t eat again.  Oh no!  I’m getting rather worried about him.  

After I ate and did my dishes, he asked if I wanted to go out for anything.  I actually did.  I needed something from the drugstore, and we needed more kerosene.  I was doing a questionnaire from the hotel we stayed in for my birthday and it was taking forever to load.  Finally done, we went off.  

We popped into the drugstore, I went right to the thing I needed (a nasal spray to keep the inside of my nose moist) and paid.  Then F bought kerosene.  On the way back home, he decided to go to the grocery store, but I stayed in the car.  He got himself a few things for his dinner.

We came home and watched Ricki and the Flash, the movie on WOWOW tonight with Meryl Streep and Rick Springfield.  It was actually pretty good, and we both enjoyed it.  I didn’t think that F was watching, but he surprised me by asking about the movie afterwards! During the movie I got quite a few squares joined together. I have finished another panel to join to the big one already done.  Yay for me.  

F took an early bath and went to bed, I did a postcard blog entry and then this.  I’ll likely go to bed soon too.  Tomorrow I’m hoping that F will start packing something, because he hasn’t done a blooming thing.  I plan to do a bit of sorting and throwing and I hope we’ll be able to go and see a movie in the evening too.  For the last 3 or 4 weeks there hasn’t been many new movies available in English, now there are 3 new ones that start this weekend.  It isn’t fair!

Come back later and see what we get up to.  Until tomorrow….

February 23, 2017

Thursday - Rainy, clearing at night

A good day.

I got up this morning a few minutes late, but was still able to watch ER.  I rather enjoyed it with my breakfast!  I stayed up, but ended up snoozing on the couch for a bit.  

After I dressed and did a few household chores I set up my slow cooker to make pulled pork.  I soon had the little device working away and left it to do its thing.  

I managed to get a handle on my column today and finished it.  I left it overnight to tweak it a little.  I always like to give myself a touch of distance if I can.  I’ll listen to it tomorrow and if it is okay I’ll send it to the editor.  

I watched some of the TV from the DVR and mostly enjoyed it, and then the news at 4 pm.  No big deal.  

F called me around 6:30 or 7 pm to say he was on his way home, so I made some coleslaw and then he was home.  I gave him a few minutes to get sorted out, but we had our dinner then.  It turned out quite well.  F didn’t eat a lot, but he did eat, so that was good.  We have enough to eat for dinner tomorrow night too.  Hurray for no cooking!

I did the dishes because F seemed to have disappeared again.  He did have the grace to apologize a little later.  But…he had asked if I’d like to go out tonight and I said yes.  

We went over to McDonalds and had a McFlurry and an iced tea each.  We chatted a little and took a selfie and then went over to the grocery store.  I’ve been going through soy milk and garbage bags like crazy, so I bought more of those!  I had bought a case of soy milk at Costco but I’m nearly finished it.  I didn’t think I used that much but I do.

We came home and at 10 pm I watched the New-to-us-in-English Hawaii Five-0 and quite enjoyed it.  I sewed a few squares together as well. Yay. 

That was about it.  F went to bed around midnight and then I started blogging.  I have also made plans to meet up with a friend for lunch tomorrow and of course I have to polish my column and do more packing and throwing out of stuff.  I did actually get around to doing a bit of that today.  I got a lot thrown out which was really satisfying!  Yay me.  

Come back later if you will and see how my Friday goes.  Until tomorrow….

February 22, 2017

Wednesday - Clear and sunny

A good day.

I had a good morning today, I got up on time and I didn’t have to worry about F coming home for lunch as he had a big driving day. I showered in the afternoon and did a couple of loads of laundry and got around to putting my other laundry away.  I didn’t do much packing, but I did finish watching the movie I started last night.  

I also did a little prepwork for dinner so that I could get things ready to go when F came home.

However, when F came home, he didn’t feel like eating again.  I made us some tea and I cooked and ate and didn’t give him a hard time. I wasn’t angry about it tonight, but I am getting a bit worried about him.  He is having a hard time eating.  He also complained of toothache tonight, but he said that was also from his medicine.  I’m not sure I believe that one though.

I had a Johnsonville Garlic brat on a tortilla with mustard and kimchi, plus salad and some anchovy potatoes.  It was all quite nice really. Too bad that F didn’t want any.

After dinner I did my dishes and put everything away, then told F I’d need him to pick up some things for dinner tomorrow night before he came home.  He suggested going out to get the things tonight, so I took him up on that. 

We went to the grocery store and picked up some buns and shredded cabbage salad for me.  F however, picked up some beer, cup noodles and ramen packets and soda and a few other things.  I was quite surprised. 

We came home and had a quiet evening.  I watched CSI: Cyber and did some square-sewing…I got a few done tonight.  I made some smaller panels, I’ll try and join them tomorrow night.  F went to bed fairly early as he has an early driving assignment tomorrow. 

I’ve been working on my column tonight as well. I had to stop to blog because I do have to go to bed sometime! I’ve written about 4 movies so far, I have a huge list, but I think I’ll just mention a few more for my topic (top secret at this time, sorry!)

I haven’t quite decided what I’ll do tomorrow. I could/should stay home and work on my column, but I might take myself out to a movie, since there I won’t be able to do that for very much longer.  I could also go and get my hair cut, but I’ll have to see about that too.  

Come back later and find out how I decide to fill my day.  Until tomorrow…. 

February 21, 2017

Tuesday - Cold, snowy and windy

A good day.

I got up this morning on time and turned on the heater.  I did my usual morning things and enjoyed them as usual.  Boring I know. True though and I’ll miss my little routine when I have to give it up.

F came home for his lunch again and I worked on scanning my cards to send.  I got them done quickly as there were only three so far this week.  I also had to arrange some stuff to send to my sister, so did that as quickly as I could.  I planned to take some of F’s coins to the post office for him as well.  I got ready to take everything to the post office and got there a little after 3:20.  I started with the coins, deposited them and then paid for my envelope to go away.  I had put the postcards in the outside mailbox.  

Sadly I had to leave the nice warm post office, but not before I withdrew the money for the coins in something a little easier to carry.  I strode off home again.  

At home, I put out the money for F and then had my lunch.  Today it was simple.  I had a toasted onion bagel with some smoked salmon on it.  Last night we saw a packet of smoked salmon in the shop for half price.  Today was the last day on it and I got it.  F said he didn’t want any of it, so I ate the whole thing.  (It was less than 100 grammes, so don’t think it was a huge amount or anything!) It was amazing.  Really, one of the nicest lunches I can remember having!

I did dishes after 5 and F called to say he was coming home, but would soon go out again.  When he came home, he saw his money and told me I could have it.  Woot! Yay. 

While he was gone, I prepared the kitchen for dinner.  I wasn’t cooking tonight, but I know how nice it is to start from a clean kitchen.  Unfortunately, I usually am the one to clean it here!

F came home and made us a nabe.  I went out to the genkan and tidied up a bit and tossed a few things that I know we didn’t need anymore.  F has a lot of stuff out there, but I’m sure he won’t be going through it unless I make him.  

Dinner was good.  We’d bought a nabe soup base at the hundred yen shop on Monday and tried it tonight. It was a yuzu-chicken one and was pretty good for a hundred yen!  F couldn’t eat all that much again, I’m sad to say.

I did the dishes and then settled in to start my column.  I did do a little and I even watched most of a movie on YouTube to refresh my memory of it.  I need to finish it when I can.  I did a bit of knitting while I watched it too!

At 11pm I made myself some tea and went to the couch to sew and watch the Criminal Minds offshoot.  I LOVE Gary Sinise, but I don’t really like the show at all.  It comes over as being quite arrogant that these FBI officers go to other countries to “rescue” Americans.  Not sure I can say exactly why I don’t like it, but the attitude on the show is very similar to the attitude that the Americans that lived near us had in Norway when I was a child.  It was condescending, that’s how it seemed to me.  

Anyway, I watched another couple of things tonight and worked on my blogs.  That’s really about it for tonight.  

On Wednesday, I hope to spend more time on my column and also do some packing of things if I get the chance.  I also have to work on dinner, but F thinks he’ll be later so that gives me a bit of time I hope.  Come back later and see what happens.  Until tomorrow….

February 20, 2017

Monday - Rainy and windy

A good day.

I got up this morning rather early and checked that F had taken out the garbage.  There was a lot going out and he had. Hurray for that.

I stayed up and when I went looking for today’s clean clothes, found F’s shirt hanging on the drying rack.  I have half promised him that I would fix it, but I told him it had to be clean first.  Well, it was clean and I had a bit of time, so I did it.  His button at the waist level had vanished, but in doing so, had ripped right through the fabric.  However, F likes the shirt a lot and I thought I could figure things out for him.  I made a patch for the back of the button and sewed it in, covering the hole.  Then, I sewed on a button, which I craftily took from the bottom of the shirt. F tucks in his shirt, so no one will notice that it is gone.  I finished just as he called to say that he was coming home for lunch.  I didn’t tell him what I did, just hung the shirt back up again.  I wonder if he’ll notice.  (PS…I don’t have a suitable button to replace the one on the bottom, when and if I find one, I’ll likely add it.)

F had his lunch and then left again.  He came back when he officially finished work and then went to his house.  

I had lunch then. I finished up the taco mix from last week and it was lovely.  I did the dishes then too, and decided to get to work.  

I pulled out all of the old futon and quilts that have been moulding away in the closets in the tatami room and got them ready to go out.  F promised me that he’d help me take them to the gomi station.  We took a car load full of them and it was very interesting.  It cost us about 700 yen.  

I had wanted to ditch some old chairs from my school, but F said he’d take them to a secondhand store.  I told him they were worthless, but he did it anyway.  He got 200 yen each for them, which I let him keep since it nearly covered the other expense!

Cafe latte and Soy Latte!

Hina Doll set up, plus other types of dolls

We had a nice coffee in Cafe Studio Cinq and then F dropped me off at home again for a while.  He came back fairly soon after checking on his mother.

We had dinner at a fish restaurant tonight.  Usually we have raw fish on rice, but since it was cold I wasn’t feeling it.  I had cooked fish and F had raw.  We also shared a salad, although I got most of it!  F couldn’t finish his meal again tonight.  I don’t know what is going on with him.  He just isn’t enjoying his food lately.  It might be his new medicine or just a holdover from his flu, I wish I knew.  

We came home and after some tea, F went to bed.  He got up a few times, but hopefully is sleeping now.  I watched a bit of TV and also something off the DVR.  I wrote 3 postcards as well tonight, just to have something to do!

Tomorrow I’ll be off to the post office at some point and I hope to get back to boxing, packing, sorting and throwing things out!  Oh, how exciting.  Come back and hear what gets done.  Until tomorrow….

February 19, 2017

Sunday - Sunny, with bits of snow

A good day.

I got up early this afternoon, but I still managed to get up before my husband!  He went to bed before me, but stayed in bed instead up getting up.  I didn’t mind.  I put on the kettle and made us some tea. He got up for that.  Then, we discussed the lunch thing and decided to go to the Grand El Sun since their lunch goes until 2:30.  

We had a nice if slightly petite lunch there…local pork in a tomato sauce with breadcrumbs. It was very nice. After lunch F took me to the mall and dropped me off. He went to have his hair cut, and I went looking around.  

I bought a few practical things in the hundred yen shop, including some cleaning supplies and some coffee filters, then bought us a couple of drinks at Doutor after that.

F dropped me off at home and went over to his mother’s house to check on her.  I got out a box and taped it up, then put a few things in it.  F came back while I was doing that.   We both spent a few minutes boxing things up and throwing things out.  I have to ask him how to dispose of some things because I have no idea!  

Finally we went out for dinner again to the Indian Restaurant.  It was really good tonight.  We had a higher priced set than usual so we could pick our own naan.  I had garlic, F had butter.  Mine was, as usual, better!  Poor F ate about half of his and then stopped.  He really is having a problem with food these days.  Still, he ate some of it so that is a good thing.

We came back home and watched Room on WOWOW.  I had seen by myself it last year when it came to the cinema.  I had told F for weeks that I was dying to see it when we saw the previews, explained that it was by an author who lives in Canada and how the book had moved me, and then he threw a mood when it was in town and refused to go.  So, I went by myself, loved the film and even put it at about number 3 on my yearly top ten list.  Anyway, he did watch it with me and he loved it too.  Hurray for that.  I did quite a bit of sewing on my blanket tonight too.  I have joined about 5 rows of it now.  I still have to finished some of that, but it is well underway now. Whew.

I watched Downton Abbey, made us some tea as well and then F went off to bed. I should really get myself there too soon.  

So, even though there is a ton of work to be done, at least some of it has been started.  Tomorrow we’re going to try and take some of our useless junk to the town dump, if F finishes his business thing early enough.  

If you are interested, come back later and find out about my Monday.  Until tomorrow….

February 18, 2017

Saturday - Clear, with some snow

A good day.

I got up this morning and took a shower.  I had some tea and then F came home. We drove to the doctor’s clinic and spent the next hour or so waiting!  

We had lunch today at Naa, the farm restaurant that F likes. It was very nice, but my fish was quite bony today.  I’m not a fan of that.  Over lunch I talked to F about a few things that needed to be said and suggested. 

Basically, what is coming up is we are moving.  We have to move since we are living in Prefectural housing.  We will be moving in with F’s mother in their house.  I am extremely upset about this to be honest.  We don’t get on very well and I’ll be there on my own with her during the day.  

However, we have to leave this apartment at the end of next month and F has done nothing to get ready for the move.  I suggested a few things like getting rid of futons and quilts that we inherited but never used, getting in a cleaning service near the end to do some of the heavy cleaning and I brought up the fact that we’ll really have to be out earlier than the end of the month so that we can clean thoroughly.  We’ll also need a moving service of some kind because we have some heavy things that need moving.  Ack.  

We came home after lunch because F wasn’t feeling well again and he went back to bed.  While he snoozed I did a bit of sorting in the kitchen, sorting and throwing out.  I made myself some tea and offered F some.  He came back into the living room, had some tea and actually went through a few things.  It’s a start at least.  

We had dinner at Nagomi, the little Japanese udon restaurant and it was nice.  I had wanted Indian food, but when F suggested Nagomi I was quite happy to go there.

After dinner, we went for tea in a little coffee shop near the restaurant, then hit up the drugstore for a few things we need around the apartment.  

At home again, F was rather unwell again.  I’m quite worried about him. He’s feeling dizzy much of the time.  It may be the new medicine that he has to take, I’m not sure.  

We had a quiet evening at home.  I had a bit of couch time for some blanket square sewing, and then did a bit of knitting for good measure.  

Tomorrow I’m not sure what we’ll get up to.  I’m hoping that there will be a bit of sorting or packing, but you never know around here.  Come back later and see what I get up to on Sunday.  Until tomorrow….

February 17, 2017

Friday - Rainy

I had a good morning today. I got up on time and had a small breakfast.  I knew I was going out today, so didn’t want to have a lot of food beforehand.

I had a relaxed morning and got dressed. I stayed pretty casual today.  My friend arrived almost on time and I went out to her car.  I gave her a little gift package of things for her.  I’ve been clearing out the kitchen so gave her a packet of beets, a packet of quinoa and a magazine that I finished.  I also gave her a mini-souvenir from Sendai (some English shortbread).  

We had lunch in Hyakken Bori today and she really liked it.  I like it a lot there but haven’t taken her there before.  One reason for me is that the menu is mostly in kanji, which I can’t read.   She can though, so we did quite well.  I had the daily lunch special, she had the soup.  We talked nineteen to the dozen the whole meal and then we decided to go over to the mall for dessert.  

We drove to S-Mall and went to Doutors.  I had my usual Soy Latte and she had a coffee and ice cream.  We talked for a lot longer and then she had to go.  I had originally planned to stay in the mall and do some reading, but I changed my mind and went home.  

When I arrived, I changed my clothes and then I did a bit more sorting and throwing out of stuff.  I found my first teapot, the one I bought when I first came to Japan and washed it out.  I threw a few things out and spared a few other things as they might make packing easier.  

F finally called to say he was finished work.  He went to his house first so I started to get the table ready.  When he arrived I gave him the choice of tacos again, or taco salad.  He chose tacos.  However, he was only able to eat one smallish taco before he was done. Sigh.  I had a couple and they were good.

I did ask that he do the dishes tonight, and he did them, so that got him brownie points!  He watched the news in English and then seemed to not watch the TV after that.  I started watching TV and even though I asked if he’d like it back to watch something, he never did.  I watched a lot. I felt it was almost too much at the end of the night.

I went over to the couch for some square sewing tonight and got quite a few done.  I have some fairly big panels done, I need to sew them together so that they fit!  The worst thing would be if I had to unpick squares because I sewed them wrong.  It is looking really lovely though I must say. 

That’s about it.  Tomorrow I have a doctor appointment in the morning and then I have to sit F down and have a bit of a chat with him.  I hope that I can actually do it and not lose my courage.  I’m not sure what else we will get up to.  Come back and see in a while.  Until tomorrow….

February 16, 2017

Thursday - Clear and sunny, warm

An okay, yet odd day!

I woke up this morning around 7:30 or so and of course made my usual washroom run.  On the way there I noticed that F had left for work and hadn’t taken out the garbage. Oh no.  I got half dressed, grabbed my wallet (for ID) and then took it out myself.  I dumped it off and then went to look at vending machines.  I decided to get myself a canned coffee, which then became two cans of coffee so I could compare them.  After that, I saw another kind I was interested in, so I got it too.  I came back to the apartment and for some reason proceeded to drink 3 cans of hot sweetened coffee in a row.  I was originally planning to go back to bed, but became so wired that I could barely sit still.  It was rather horrible! I stayed up.

I had a quiet morning and then made the bed, today took a shower too.  After that, I blocked my remaining squares and then had lunch.  I had it a little early today and finished up my yummy soup.  That was really nice stuff.  

In the afternoon I did some laundry and a small bit of tidying up, then started dinner prep.  During the day I had done a bit, so it didn’t take all that long.  F called around 7 to say he was on his way.

I cooked dinner but it was rather anti-climactic.  He barely ate anything.  So much for my lovely tacos.  He had one with a teeny amount of meat, cheese and fake sour cream in it, then left the table.  I had a couple and they were great I thought.  

I did the dishes which in all honesty was kind of crap because F should have done it, but of course didn’t.  

I went over to the couch for the Bones double shot tonight.  It was the last two episodes of the 11th season. And, now it’s finished on this channel.  I hope they’ll bring the rest eventually.  I sewed quite a few squares together and then did a bit of knitting.  Since my pattern is getting a bit off on my cowl, I decided to do a couple of stocking stitch rows and then try it again!  It’s my cowl, I can do what I want with it!

And that’s about it.  Tonight when he went to bed F was trying to interrogate me about when I would come to bed.  I thought that was rather rich from him.  I told him I’d come when I was finished!  

OH, one nice thing that happened today was that I got a box of books and cds from a friend.  I had no idea that they were coming my way so it was a big surprise!

Tomorrow I’m having lunch with a friend and then I’m not sure what I’ll get up to.  Come back later and find out how Friday went.  Until tomorrow….

February 15, 2017

Wednesday - Warmer and clear

A good day.

I had the usual morning so won’t even bother writing it up for you all!  F called again to ask me to start the water for his ramen.  I think it is a little cheeky of him to ask me to do that since he knows that I hate the stuff and he uses my pan that he wrecked to make it in.  I no longer acknowledge the pan at all. He dirties it and I leave it in the sink for him to wash.  

In the afternoon I packed up a box of DVD’s and also picked up many of the used batteries that we have lying around the apartment. I put them in a clear plastic bag near the door and wrote on the calendar when to take them to the gomi station.  I prepared a small bag of stuff for my friend in the next town, mostly stuff that I am returning to her.  

I laid out the squares that I have been crocheting on the bed today to see if I have enough or not. I had the feeling that I needed to do one more, but big surprise…I’m actually done!  I have the perfect number.  Hurray. Now to finish sewing them all.  

This was just a fast layout to count them and check I had enough.
Usually I try and hide the strings better.

I also took a picture of the knitting that I have been doing.  I’ve put quite a few hours into it but it doesn’t look like much!  Sigh.  

My tiny cowl. My neck is short, but not that short!

In the afternoon, F popped back in between driving assignments and then popped back out again.  I watched some of my TV from the DVR and deleted it, and even had an early and yummy lunch.

In the evening, F called around 6 pm to say he was coming home and then did.  We got changed and decided to go to Cocos for dinner.  I really wanted their “Ethnic Chicken” and the roasted potatoes that come with it.  

We ran a few errands after dinner.  F picked up kerosene for us and then we bought a few groceries for tomorrow and the next night’s dinner.  We’re going to have tacos.  I’m straining some yogurt overnight to make fake/low-cal sour cream and tomorrow I’ll look up the recipe for taco seasonings and will probably grate some cheese too.  

I watched Macbeth on the telly when we came home.  It was a newer version of the Scottish play with Michael Fassbender.  I like him a lot usually, but I’m not sure that I liked this version.  Of course, I did miss the beginning, but it was really hard to understand what everyone was saying, and I really know Macbeth, so that was disappointing for me.  

I followed that up with some regular TV and did some square sewing.  I got about 6 squares joined tonight and then I joined that set to the one I had done before.  Tomorrow afternoon I hope to be able to block the remaining squares.  

F went to bed and I will try and go too.  I foolishly had some coffee at dinner, so I’m a little wired, but will probably be able to sleep.  

Tomorrow I could have a busyish day, so please come back later and see what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

February 14, 2017

Tuesday - Clear and warmish

Valentine’s Day

An okay day.

I got up on time this morning and checked the kerosene tank in the heater. It was nearly empty, so I turned it on and vowed to fill it later.  I had my breakfast and my tea on the couch and then basically snoozed most of the way through White Collar.  When I woke up I made the bed and got dressed.  No big deal.  I also filled up the kerosene tank.

I half expected F to come home around 12, but he didn’t.  I scanned some cards, which took a while as I had a lot to do, both incoming and outgoing.  F did show up after 1 pm though.  He called first and asked me to turn on some water for him for his ramen.  Bleck.  I did though. He left soon after.  

I finished up my cards and then ran them off to the post office.  I had also written a short thank you letter so I had to mail that too.  I came back to the apartment as soon as I was done.  

I got started on dinner after I had a very late lunch and prepared some vegetables for our dinner.  I let the chicken sit in the fridge with its coating on it.  I waited, and waited, and waited.  F called around 7 to say he was still working and then again at 8 to say he was on his way home.  He’d been waiting at an office for co-workers to drive them back to the office, but they’d left already.  I was quite upset on his behalf to hear that.  What a thing to do to someone.

When he said he was coming home, I started cooking and heating things.  We had roasted chicken in the toaster oven, carrot soup, roasted cauliflower and roasted beets and salad.  It turned out rather well, but again F wasn’t too interested in food.  Sigh.  He did eat more tonight than he did last night.

We had a fairly quiet evening.  F put on a movie and I think he watched it. I watched bits and pieces of it, I wasn’t in the mood.  I sat on the couch and did a couple of squares during the Criminal Minds off-shoot.  I didn’t like it.  For one thing, when people speak non-English languages, they subtitle in Japanese only…boo!  and it seemed a little too much America the Superior to Everyone Else kind of thing.  I don’t know if I’ll add it into my must watch TV schedule or not. 

While F was doing the dishes after dinner, I finished my book.  I bought The Miniaturist when I was in Sendai, started it on the bus home and finished it tonight.  It has been a while since I have finished reading a book that quickly!  I really enjoyed it and felt a little discombobulated when I finished it.  I felt out of place in my living room in front of my computer!

And really, that’s about it for me.  It was an okay day here. I got out of the apartment at least.  

Poor F didn’t give me a Valentine’s Day present though. I think he was too tired after work to think about it.  Oh dear.  

Tomorrow I don’t have too much planned for myself.  Hopefully I’ll get up to something useful!  Until tomorrow….

February 13, 2017

Monday - Cold and I don’t know!

A good day.

I got up this morning when F was leaving for work and said a sleepy hello to him. I went back to sleep then.  I got up around 9 this morning and around 9:30 took out the loaf of bread that F had put in for me last night.  I wanted it for our dinner.

I had my usual morning of tea and cereal for breakfast and a little snooze. I roused myself a bit later and made the bed and then took a needed shower! F came home a few minutes later and had his lunch.

Once he left in the afternoon I packed up some of my books.  They were quite dusty so I wiped them down, but tried to sort them into different categories.  I only put a few of them into a box.

In the afternoon I did a little bit of TV watching from when I was away and then I had an early lunch.  I checked over my recipe to check that I had the ingredients. I did, mostly.

Around 5 pm I started making Simple Carrot Soup from 101 Cookbooks.  It was remarkably easy and went quite well.  Unfortunately, I hadn’t heard from F. It took a long time before he called.  I didn’t want to make the soup too early for us, but I did anyway.  We didn’t sit down to eat until almost 8 pm, and then F tried the soup and announced that he couldn’t eat and wasn’t feeling well.  He left the table and I continued eating.  He kept his soup for tomorrow.  

The soup was gorgeous and I loved it.  I am looking forward to having more tomorrow!  F was on the couch not looking too happy, so I did the dishes.  Thankfully there wasn’t that much to do as I had been doing them while I was cooking.  Yay for me.

In the evening I watched some TV and did a few Postcrossings.  Postcrossing just hit its 40 millionth card tonight.  Wow!  I got 5 in the mail today which was rather surprising.  I prepared a few to go out.  

And that was it for the most part.  Just after midnight I gave F his Valentine’s Day present.  I told him I went really practical this year, and I did.  I gave him two pillowcases!  He recently bought big pillows at Costco and it is hard to find pillow cases that fit.  I found some in Sendai and washed and even ironed one of them today. He seemed pleased.  Hurray for that.

Tomorrow I have to send my postcards and I hope to do a bit more decluttering or packing.  We’ll see how things go.  Until tomorrow….

February 12, 2017

Sunday - Cold and windy

An okay day.

I slept in quite late this morning and only got up when F went out in the morning.  I filled up the kerosene tank and then unpinned all the squares I blocked yesterday.  They looked good. Yay me.  

F came back a little later and we went out for lunch.  We ended up going to Jiro, our favourite local restaurant.  I had my old stand-by dish, pork saute with garlic oil. It was great. 

We followed lunch with a trip to the drugstore to pick up some necessaries and then went to Doutor to have coffee in the mall.  

F wasn’t feeling very good today, so he wanted to come home.  We did and he ended up snoozing part of the afternoon on the couch.  I read my fabulous book (The Miniaturist) and played around on my computer a bit.  

We went for dinner to the Chinese Restaurant near the bridge and it was really good.  I am glad that I managed to talk F out of having ramen there because of course it wouldn’t be up to his standards, but the other food was!

We got some groceries and then came home.  I am going to try and make some carrot soup tomorrow. I am hoping that it will turn out okay!

We had a quiet evening at home.  F watched stuff on his computer and then I joined him on the couch for Downton Abbey and some crochet.  I have three more squares to go and then I am done.  Yay. Of course I still have a few to block and then I have to finish sewing this thing and then I have to edge it. But mostly done now.  I hope!

And that is it for today.  Come back later and see what my Monday is like and if the soup turns out! Until tomorrow….

February 11, 2017

Saturday - Cold and snowy

A good day. I woke up quite early and thought F was still asleep.  However, he was awake when I came back to the bedroom.  I fell back asleep and when I woke again, he had gone.  

I got up and took a shower and dressed.  I waited around for him but had a cup of coffee which I really enjoyed.

When F did come home we decided to go to Hyakkenbori for lunch.  When we got there, we discovered that they had sold out of the lunch special.  Oh no!  I had really wanted it.  I had miso grilled fish today. It was good, but I don’t really like sweet fish.  

After our nice lunch, we went for coffee or tea to Aomoriya.  Oh, and tart too! It was quite nice today.  I had a piece of mixed fruit tart.  

Mixed Fruit Tart and Earl Grey Tea

We came home for a bit.  I was rather busy in the afternoon. I spent some time in the tatami room blocking squares for my baby blanket.  I ran out of pins before I ran out of squares! It took ages to pin the squares out, but I finally got 17 done.  

F asked that we go out for dinner, so I suggested yakiniku.  We went to our favourite place, Togashi and had a lovely meal.  We ordered lots of vegetables and not as much meat as you might expect, so the meal wasn’t terribly expensive.  

We came home and around 11 pm I went to the couch and did some crochet and then some knitting.  I made a mistake in my knitting and had to take some of it back, which was annoying!  

And really, that is about it for my day. It has been rather good, but I really should have got more done today.  

I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to tomorrow.  Part of it depends on F and what he wants to do.  I hope to do a little more blocking and hopefully some more crochet if I get time.  Come on back later on and see what happens.  Until tomorrow….

February 10, 2017

Friday - Cold and cloudy

A good day.

I had a lovely night back in my own bed again.  Hurray for that!  I slept really well, but for some reason, woke up before my alarm this morning.  I got up, turned on the heater and the living room light, and went back to bed.  Five minutes later, F stopped by to pick up his phone!

I got up and watched ER, which is now the morning show and checked email and read a bit.  I had a quiet morning and then in the afternoon did a bit of laundry.  My suitcase was delivered so I had to unpack that and wash the clothes from the trip.  I felt busy, but I’m sure not everyone would agree that I was!

When F came home I cooked dinner.  It was just a simple meal of pasta with some smoked duck and a salad, so it came together quickly.  Afterwards we both felt a bit hungry.

F asked a little later if I’d like to go out for a drink and I said I would.  At first I wasn’t sure if he meant for alcohol or not, but we ended up at Mosburgers.  I had a cake made with soy milk and a tea, F had a shrimp burger and tea.  It was quite nice to get out of the apartment, and we had a good time at the restaurant.

We came home around 9 pm and I watched some TV.  F went to bed and I did some crafting and some blogging too.  I really should go to bed soon as I’m tired and I have a lot to do tomorrow.  

Come back later and see what my weekend is like.  Until tomorrow...