Sunday - Hot and sunny
A nice day. We both slept in a bit this morning, although F was up hours before me. He was watching TV when I finally dragged myself out of bed.
We went out for lunch a little later than we originally planned, but it was fine. We went to The Grand El Son and had a nice but small lunch there. They’ve changed some of the way they do lunch now. They have a salad bar and a drink bar available, but the entree we had was terribly small. Two tiny little pieces of pork each. Beautifully cooked, gorgeous tasting, but I understood why F was asking for a microscope, even though I shushed him a bit!
We went to the Farmer’s Market that is near where his house is. I hacked around but didn’t see much that I wanted until I saw some decent sized zucchini. I got a couple. F trolled the fish market, I stayed away! We also picked up some bagels for tomorrow.
We drove home and went to karaoke. We didn’t go to our usual place, but to one near our apartment. It’s quite a fancy place. We didn’t get free time there, just stayed for a couple of hours and sang a lot of great stuff. When we finished we were both feeling quite happy. We hit up a couple of drugstores for stuff for ourselves. We each got a sort of ankle brace. Mine is a bit too tight at the top but hopefully his is okay. I also picked up a bottle of the really nice Darjeeling tea in a bottle. It’s unsweetened and just a nice drink to have around.
We came home again for a little while, I sent a fax off to a restaurant for later this week and checked email. Then we went out again for dinner. We went back to the Farmer’s Market place for dinner. They have a “viking” there and since we used to go there for lunch sometimes, thought we’d try it. It was…not great. Most of the food was gone by the time we arrived, and despite it being on until 8:30, they only brought out two dishes. It wasn’t awful, and the food was quite tasty, but I was expecting a bit more.
We hit the grocery tonight and got something for tomorrow’s dinner. I’ll cook the zucchini and some fried chicken from the store. It’ll be pan sauted, not deep fried. No big whoop really.
At home again, we re-watched Fantastic Four, which is a fun, not great, but enjoyable movie. F likes things that are slightly simple and funny.
And that’s about it for our day. It was quite a nice one, all told. We had a good time together and that was a really nice way to spend our day. Night!
Showing posts with label July 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label July 2011. Show all posts
July 30, 2011
Saturday - Hot and sunny
Had a good day mostly!
I got up this morning to an empty house. F went for a walk and I got up and made the bed. He came back when I was doing that and I took a shower.
We went off to Gusto for brunch and then F dropped me off at my school. I got busy. My student came and we had a good lesson. I gave her oodles of homework, so she’ll be busy this week!
F picked me up just after 2 and we went to the dentist. I had another tooth repaired and refilled. It wasn’t bad at all. I think I lucked out on my dentist. I like her a lot.
After the appointment we came home and after a bit of time on my computer I took a nap. F took one too and we were out for hours.
We had dinner tonight at Moku-Moku and it was quite nice. We came home and watched a little TV. F watched Transformers, the second one. It was not great! I was quite bored by it, having rewatched it again in Canada at Christmas time.
I watched Heroes later on and even stayed up to watch a British comedy on WOWOW. During the comedy, the room started shaking. Another earthquake. It lasted quite a while, but wasn’t too bad here. It did seem quite big where it started, and covered a lot of Japan, even going up to Hokkaido.
Today was a good day, even with going to the dentist! I hope tomorrow will be good too, just not as shaky. Night.
Had a good day mostly!
I got up this morning to an empty house. F went for a walk and I got up and made the bed. He came back when I was doing that and I took a shower.
We went off to Gusto for brunch and then F dropped me off at my school. I got busy. My student came and we had a good lesson. I gave her oodles of homework, so she’ll be busy this week!
F picked me up just after 2 and we went to the dentist. I had another tooth repaired and refilled. It wasn’t bad at all. I think I lucked out on my dentist. I like her a lot.
After the appointment we came home and after a bit of time on my computer I took a nap. F took one too and we were out for hours.
We had dinner tonight at Moku-Moku and it was quite nice. We came home and watched a little TV. F watched Transformers, the second one. It was not great! I was quite bored by it, having rewatched it again in Canada at Christmas time.
I watched Heroes later on and even stayed up to watch a British comedy on WOWOW. During the comedy, the room started shaking. Another earthquake. It lasted quite a while, but wasn’t too bad here. It did seem quite big where it started, and covered a lot of Japan, even going up to Hokkaido.
Today was a good day, even with going to the dentist! I hope tomorrow will be good too, just not as shaky. Night.
July 29, 2011
Friday - Cloudy and muggy, hot
An okay day.
I didn’t get up on time today. In fact, I turned off my alarms and slept in on purpose. It was nice. I’ve not been sleeping well and I felt a bit “pre-cold” so decided to fight it off the old fashioned way!
I got up later, ended up watching Pollyanna on NHK. I don’t know if I’d seen that version before or not. It was quite an old one, with Haley Mills. She was quite good and the movie was fun and squeaky clean, except for the naked boy jumping in the river at the beginning of the film!
After the movie was over, I decided to go out. I did up a couple of postcards for Postcrossing and then took them to the post office before 4:00. After that, I went over to the mall. I hacked around the mall, bought a few small things in the 100 yen shop and then had an iced tea and a sandwich in Doutors. Yum. I took a few minutes and cruised through the grocery store, but didn’t find anything for dinner. I was hoping to get something, but couldn’t find anything appetising.
I came home by bike and then a few minutes later, F came home. He took a nap for a while. I was on my computer for a bit, but around 8:30 I woke him up and we went to Kappa Sushi for dinner.
Dinner was okay. We had a lot of different things to eat and it was fun. I think I like the non-sushi things more than the sushi!
We came home and watched Glee. F watched it with me this week as Olivia Newton-John was on. It was, as always funny, made even more funny by the fact that Total Eclipse of the Heart was the last song and one of my favourite karaoke songs!
I watched Desperate Housewives too and enjoyed it. This was a classic “setting up” show. Something’s going to happen again soon I think.
I did quite a bit of crochet tonight. I got about 3 rows done tonight I think. That was good. My shawl is getting to be shawl sized now. It’s not as big as I want yet, but getting there!
I’m just chilling out now and watching Supernatural. I should go to bed fairly soon. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow. I’m going to the dentist again to get another filling fixed. The first part of my day might be quite busy. Wish me luck! Night.
An okay day.
I didn’t get up on time today. In fact, I turned off my alarms and slept in on purpose. It was nice. I’ve not been sleeping well and I felt a bit “pre-cold” so decided to fight it off the old fashioned way!
I got up later, ended up watching Pollyanna on NHK. I don’t know if I’d seen that version before or not. It was quite an old one, with Haley Mills. She was quite good and the movie was fun and squeaky clean, except for the naked boy jumping in the river at the beginning of the film!
After the movie was over, I decided to go out. I did up a couple of postcards for Postcrossing and then took them to the post office before 4:00. After that, I went over to the mall. I hacked around the mall, bought a few small things in the 100 yen shop and then had an iced tea and a sandwich in Doutors. Yum. I took a few minutes and cruised through the grocery store, but didn’t find anything for dinner. I was hoping to get something, but couldn’t find anything appetising.
I came home by bike and then a few minutes later, F came home. He took a nap for a while. I was on my computer for a bit, but around 8:30 I woke him up and we went to Kappa Sushi for dinner.
Dinner was okay. We had a lot of different things to eat and it was fun. I think I like the non-sushi things more than the sushi!
We came home and watched Glee. F watched it with me this week as Olivia Newton-John was on. It was, as always funny, made even more funny by the fact that Total Eclipse of the Heart was the last song and one of my favourite karaoke songs!
I watched Desperate Housewives too and enjoyed it. This was a classic “setting up” show. Something’s going to happen again soon I think.
I did quite a bit of crochet tonight. I got about 3 rows done tonight I think. That was good. My shawl is getting to be shawl sized now. It’s not as big as I want yet, but getting there!
I’m just chilling out now and watching Supernatural. I should go to bed fairly soon. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow. I’m going to the dentist again to get another filling fixed. The first part of my day might be quite busy. Wish me luck! Night.
July 28, 2011
Thursday - Hot and rainy. Very humid.
An okay day today.
I got up but was a little late this morning. Oh well. I channel surfed and found Julie and Julia (or vice versa) on TV and watched that. I liked Meryl Streep as Julia Child. She was very funny and quite like what I remember Julia Child as being (except she isn’t as tall).
I took my shower somewhere in there too and then got dressed.
I stayed in for most of the day. There was a torrential rainstorm early on and it didn’t make me feel like going anywhere.
At 4ish I started making my lunch. I also got a delivery from the post office, so that was nice. I didn’t open it as it was addressed to F. It was my book, but I still feel like I shouldn’t open things that aren’t addressed to me.
I went out to go to work around 5 pm. I wore a jacket, but not a raincoat, so after a couple of seconds outside I went back in and got a raincape to wear if it started pouring. I took off on my bike. I detoured through the drugstore and did a little shopping. That was fun.
I got to the school and I was only a little damp. I hung up my clothes to dry and got on with the serious business of getting ready for work. My student came on time and we had quite a good class. Today we learned a few collocations. I think it was interesting.
After class I did paperwork, washed some dishes and then called F. He picked me up and we went out for dinner.
Tonight we went to Fireball and didn’t have the more expensive set dinner. We had chicken, tomatoes and eggplant in a vinegar sauce that was very nice, and some spicy chicken wings. Yum.
We came home after dinner and I watched Royal Pains. I know it isn’t the most cerebral of shows, but I have to say I quite enjoy it. The only thing is that they seem to have changed one of the female leads from a doctor/ hospital administrator to just an administrator. Not sure I really approve of that! I did a little crochet too. The hour or so where I crochet in the evenings is something that I really look forward to all day.
After Royal Pains, I watched a documentary about Lionel Logue, the man who helped “Bertie” in The King’s Speech. It was quite well done and enjoyable. It added heaps to my knowledge of the movie.
And that, dear readers, was my day. No big deals really. Tomorrow no plans, just going to relax and if the weather cooperates, hopefully go out for a bit. Wish me luck with that! Night.
An okay day today.
I got up but was a little late this morning. Oh well. I channel surfed and found Julie and Julia (or vice versa) on TV and watched that. I liked Meryl Streep as Julia Child. She was very funny and quite like what I remember Julia Child as being (except she isn’t as tall).
I took my shower somewhere in there too and then got dressed.
I stayed in for most of the day. There was a torrential rainstorm early on and it didn’t make me feel like going anywhere.
At 4ish I started making my lunch. I also got a delivery from the post office, so that was nice. I didn’t open it as it was addressed to F. It was my book, but I still feel like I shouldn’t open things that aren’t addressed to me.
I went out to go to work around 5 pm. I wore a jacket, but not a raincoat, so after a couple of seconds outside I went back in and got a raincape to wear if it started pouring. I took off on my bike. I detoured through the drugstore and did a little shopping. That was fun.
I got to the school and I was only a little damp. I hung up my clothes to dry and got on with the serious business of getting ready for work. My student came on time and we had quite a good class. Today we learned a few collocations. I think it was interesting.
After class I did paperwork, washed some dishes and then called F. He picked me up and we went out for dinner.
Tonight we went to Fireball and didn’t have the more expensive set dinner. We had chicken, tomatoes and eggplant in a vinegar sauce that was very nice, and some spicy chicken wings. Yum.
We came home after dinner and I watched Royal Pains. I know it isn’t the most cerebral of shows, but I have to say I quite enjoy it. The only thing is that they seem to have changed one of the female leads from a doctor/ hospital administrator to just an administrator. Not sure I really approve of that! I did a little crochet too. The hour or so where I crochet in the evenings is something that I really look forward to all day.
After Royal Pains, I watched a documentary about Lionel Logue, the man who helped “Bertie” in The King’s Speech. It was quite well done and enjoyable. It added heaps to my knowledge of the movie.
And that, dear readers, was my day. No big deals really. Tomorrow no plans, just going to relax and if the weather cooperates, hopefully go out for a bit. Wish me luck with that! Night.
July 27, 2011
Wednesday - Hot and muggy, rainy at night.
An okay day. I woke up this morning and one of the first things I heard was a delivery van outside. Since I am expecting a delivery I thought it might be coming to my apartment, so I jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes. Hey, I was up! However, the truck drove off a few seconds later. Not for me then.
I had a quiet morning and afternoon. There was nothing on TV so I watched a dvd sent from a friend in Tokyo. It wasn’t a bad story at all, except being from the early 1970’s the computer in the story was huge! It was fun seeing a pre-Quantum Leap Dean Stockwell and a pre-Hart to Hart Stefanie Powers. It was called Paper Man and was an okay little movie. The sound quality wasn’t great, but that could be my little dvd player at fault.
In the afternoon I sent off a couple more postcards for PostCrossing. These two are going to the Netherlands and Taiwan. I’ve sent quite a few to Taiwan, and this is my second to the Netherlands.
F came home around 6 and a little while later I started making dinner.
I washed the lettuce, marinated some chicken, prepped some garlic butter and then got garlic toast ready to go in the toaster oven. When I was about ready, I grilled the chicken , let it cool for a bit, sliced it. I made up a caesar salad with a bit of cheddar cheese, some bought croutons and bought dressing. Looking at some of the internet recipes though, I think that I’ll make my own dressing next time. I plated the food and called F through from the bedroom.
We had a nice meal. I made extra garlic toast afterwards, and we ate all of the salad, so I think it was good. I really enjoyed it and it was nice to have something a little lighter for a change. I hope I’ll make that again soon.
F did the dishes and then we watched The Proposal on TV. It was okay, not great. I’d seen it before, but F hadn’t.
I went over to the couch at 11 to watch Grey’s Anatomy and do a little crochet. That was nice and relaxing. F took his bath and then came back and made a bit of noise. Not as much as usual so I guess I should be happy about that!
Oh, and I got my email fixed! Yay! I called the English support line tonight and even though it was almost 9 pm, the lady took my call and walked me through the steps of what to do. Hurray for that. I had 70 some email waiting for me. Ack!
Anyway, that’s about it for tonight. I have an evening class tomorrow, so I should go over to the school tomorrow afternoon. It was a good day, just a really really hot one. Night!
An okay day. I woke up this morning and one of the first things I heard was a delivery van outside. Since I am expecting a delivery I thought it might be coming to my apartment, so I jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes. Hey, I was up! However, the truck drove off a few seconds later. Not for me then.
I had a quiet morning and afternoon. There was nothing on TV so I watched a dvd sent from a friend in Tokyo. It wasn’t a bad story at all, except being from the early 1970’s the computer in the story was huge! It was fun seeing a pre-Quantum Leap Dean Stockwell and a pre-Hart to Hart Stefanie Powers. It was called Paper Man and was an okay little movie. The sound quality wasn’t great, but that could be my little dvd player at fault.
In the afternoon I sent off a couple more postcards for PostCrossing. These two are going to the Netherlands and Taiwan. I’ve sent quite a few to Taiwan, and this is my second to the Netherlands.
F came home around 6 and a little while later I started making dinner.
I washed the lettuce, marinated some chicken, prepped some garlic butter and then got garlic toast ready to go in the toaster oven. When I was about ready, I grilled the chicken , let it cool for a bit, sliced it. I made up a caesar salad with a bit of cheddar cheese, some bought croutons and bought dressing. Looking at some of the internet recipes though, I think that I’ll make my own dressing next time. I plated the food and called F through from the bedroom.
We had a nice meal. I made extra garlic toast afterwards, and we ate all of the salad, so I think it was good. I really enjoyed it and it was nice to have something a little lighter for a change. I hope I’ll make that again soon.
F did the dishes and then we watched The Proposal on TV. It was okay, not great. I’d seen it before, but F hadn’t.
I went over to the couch at 11 to watch Grey’s Anatomy and do a little crochet. That was nice and relaxing. F took his bath and then came back and made a bit of noise. Not as much as usual so I guess I should be happy about that!
Oh, and I got my email fixed! Yay! I called the English support line tonight and even though it was almost 9 pm, the lady took my call and walked me through the steps of what to do. Hurray for that. I had 70 some email waiting for me. Ack!
Anyway, that’s about it for tonight. I have an evening class tomorrow, so I should go over to the school tomorrow afternoon. It was a good day, just a really really hot one. Night!
July 26, 2011
Tuesday - Hot and sunny, humid
A good day. I went to bed late last night but managed to get up this morning on time. Yay. I showered and then spent time on my computer.
I had a quick lunch around 1 and then headed out to my school. It was hot and humid there, so I got it cooled down as fast as I could. It was over 30 at first. Yuck.
My student came on time and we had a good class. I haven’t seen her for ages so we had a lot to talk about. After her class, I cleaned up, and got ready for my next one. At the time of the class, the student called and said she couldn’t come, but would like to exchange her reading book if it was okay. I said sure. She was a little later than her class time, but I let her come anyway. She took a new book, left her old one, and went on her way.
After another break, my last student of the day came. We had a good class too, and even finished our page of the text. I got very sleepy at the end of the class though. I hate that!
When my student left, I finished up my paperwork, then called my husband. He picked me and my bicycle up and we drove off.
We first went to the drug store where we picked up some bandages for his foot and also some toilet paper, for home and my school. It’s important stuff, and ever since the big quake, I haven’t let us get too low in supply.
We had a pretty good dinner in Cocos tonight. I had chicken and we shared an order of fries.
After dinner we came home via a convenience store and the grocery store. We picked up things for tomorrow’s dinner. I’m going to attempt a caesars salad with chicken on top tomorrow. I hope it all works out. Wish me luck with it.
We came home and I watched Jamie’s Revolution and then F watched some Ultimate Fighter stuff. I thought he was taking his bath, so I turned it off, only to look up and see him watching it from our bed! Oops! I turned it to English and let him watch it. Inglourious Basterds came on afterwards and F stayed up way too late watching part of it.
That’s it really. Today was mostly a good day. Tomorrow, not many plans, just hopefully I’ll do something interesting too. Night!
A good day. I went to bed late last night but managed to get up this morning on time. Yay. I showered and then spent time on my computer.
I had a quick lunch around 1 and then headed out to my school. It was hot and humid there, so I got it cooled down as fast as I could. It was over 30 at first. Yuck.
My student came on time and we had a good class. I haven’t seen her for ages so we had a lot to talk about. After her class, I cleaned up, and got ready for my next one. At the time of the class, the student called and said she couldn’t come, but would like to exchange her reading book if it was okay. I said sure. She was a little later than her class time, but I let her come anyway. She took a new book, left her old one, and went on her way.
After another break, my last student of the day came. We had a good class too, and even finished our page of the text. I got very sleepy at the end of the class though. I hate that!
When my student left, I finished up my paperwork, then called my husband. He picked me and my bicycle up and we drove off.
We first went to the drug store where we picked up some bandages for his foot and also some toilet paper, for home and my school. It’s important stuff, and ever since the big quake, I haven’t let us get too low in supply.
We had a pretty good dinner in Cocos tonight. I had chicken and we shared an order of fries.
After dinner we came home via a convenience store and the grocery store. We picked up things for tomorrow’s dinner. I’m going to attempt a caesars salad with chicken on top tomorrow. I hope it all works out. Wish me luck with it.
We came home and I watched Jamie’s Revolution and then F watched some Ultimate Fighter stuff. I thought he was taking his bath, so I turned it off, only to look up and see him watching it from our bed! Oops! I turned it to English and let him watch it. Inglourious Basterds came on afterwards and F stayed up way too late watching part of it.
That’s it really. Today was mostly a good day. Tomorrow, not many plans, just hopefully I’ll do something interesting too. Night!
July 25, 2011
Monday - Hot and sunny, humid
An okay day, mostly.
Last night, I was using the facilities before going to bed when the room began to move. It was disconcerting to say the least! I heard F say something in the living room, so I knew that it woke him up too. We had a fairly strong earthquake of level 3 in Tsuruoka, about a 5 in Miyagi I think.
I got up this morning on time for a change and got on with my day. I watched a couple of movies on WOWOW and did some laundry too. Today’s first film was Breakdown with Kurt Russell and it was good. I hadn’t seen it before and really liked it. The other was He’s Just Not That Into You and it was okay. I saw parts of it before.
I also watched some of the TV I taped this weekend. I managed to tape the subtitled shows this weekend, so could understand them this time. Woot.
It was a quiet day and I never did go out. I had planned to, but it never happened!
F came home around 6:30 and I started cooking dinner fairly soon after. I did pork saute with pasta on the side, plus salad. It was nice, especially since we each had different pasta sauces.
F did the dishes and then came over to the couch to watch his boxing stuff. After a while, it was time for Medium, so I made a pot of tea and we watched the show. I wound a ball of cotton yarn during the show, when I wasn’t eating some nice melon or some biscotti!
After midnight, we watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief which was cute, and that’s about it. I’ll probably go to bed fairly soon. Not sure when.
A couple of other things about today. My email seems to be out. I haven’t received any all day, and that’s really odd. I even sent myself some to check it and it didn’t arrive. The other thing is that F cut his foot when he was at work today. He went to the beach and cut his foot on a rock in the water. He’s got it bandaged up, but it looks nasty. And, my back is better, but not completely back to normal yet. Wonder what I did!
Tomorrow I have a busy day at work. I have three classes, all separated by an hour. It makes for a strange day. I just hope everybody shows up. And that is it for today. Talk to you tomorrow. Night!
An okay day, mostly.
Last night, I was using the facilities before going to bed when the room began to move. It was disconcerting to say the least! I heard F say something in the living room, so I knew that it woke him up too. We had a fairly strong earthquake of level 3 in Tsuruoka, about a 5 in Miyagi I think.
I got up this morning on time for a change and got on with my day. I watched a couple of movies on WOWOW and did some laundry too. Today’s first film was Breakdown with Kurt Russell and it was good. I hadn’t seen it before and really liked it. The other was He’s Just Not That Into You and it was okay. I saw parts of it before.
I also watched some of the TV I taped this weekend. I managed to tape the subtitled shows this weekend, so could understand them this time. Woot.
It was a quiet day and I never did go out. I had planned to, but it never happened!
F came home around 6:30 and I started cooking dinner fairly soon after. I did pork saute with pasta on the side, plus salad. It was nice, especially since we each had different pasta sauces.
F did the dishes and then came over to the couch to watch his boxing stuff. After a while, it was time for Medium, so I made a pot of tea and we watched the show. I wound a ball of cotton yarn during the show, when I wasn’t eating some nice melon or some biscotti!
After midnight, we watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief which was cute, and that’s about it. I’ll probably go to bed fairly soon. Not sure when.
A couple of other things about today. My email seems to be out. I haven’t received any all day, and that’s really odd. I even sent myself some to check it and it didn’t arrive. The other thing is that F cut his foot when he was at work today. He went to the beach and cut his foot on a rock in the water. He’s got it bandaged up, but it looks nasty. And, my back is better, but not completely back to normal yet. Wonder what I did!
Tomorrow I have a busy day at work. I have three classes, all separated by an hour. It makes for a strange day. I just hope everybody shows up. And that is it for today. Talk to you tomorrow. Night!
July 24, 2011
Sunday - Hot and sunny
Summer, it would seem, is back. I am not impressed!
Had a good day today. I woke up very late as I went to bed very late. Still, F didn’t seem to mind too much. He’d gone for a walk and watched some TV in the morning, at least I think he had.
We went out for brunch to a yakiniku place, Ringo-en. It was a good choice, even though I didn’t want to go there at first. We both had bibinba and shared the meat that came with them. We even had gelato afterwards. F had chocolate which he found too sweet, I had black sesame and it was great.
We tried to find something to do after lunch. We wanted to go for a tea or coffee, but Mr. Donut was full of people. Doutors was too, but we managed to find a seat there. Also, their ordering system is less chaotic than Mr. Donut. F bought our teas, I grabbed a table. We also visited the bakery in the mall to get something for his breakfast tomorrow.
We had thought about going to karaoke, but my back still hurts and I wasn’t feeling that great. We came home instead and relaxed. Around 6 pm we watched Salt on TV. That Angelina, she knows how to kick butt!
After the movie we went out for dinner. F suggested a few things that weren’t inspiring me, so I agreed to tonkatsu. On the way there, he changed his mind and we tried to go for yakitori. Unfortunately the two places he tried were closed, so we ended up at a place we’ve gone occasionally, Kitchen Futaba. It was open, at least for a little while longer and we went in.
We were the only customers in the restaurant. We got a table and sat down. We were quite surprised to see that the waitress was our favourite waitress from Grado, the one we haven’t seen in ages and have missed. We ended up having a really delicious meal. We shared a couple of appetisers, smoked salmon salad and a yummy pork and prune terrine. Our entrees were local grilled pork and local grilled duck. They were both excellent. We had tea or coffee for afters and then the waitress brought over some cassis sherbet for us that was to die for! It was lovely. It was unexpectedly an amazing meal.
We came home via the drugstore and the grocery store. I’m going to cook something simple tomorrow night. I don’t want to spend as much time in the kitchen tomorrow as I did on Wednesday.
At home, F watched some soccer on TV. I asked him who was playing and he said, “Yes.” I didn’t understand and asked him what teams were playing. He proceeded to tell me the names of the Japanese players on the teams. I told him I didn’t care about the J-Players…I wanted to know what teams were playing. He didn’t know. Does he not realise that soccer is a TEAM sport, not a Japanese player sport? I guess not!
Anyway, the evening was quiet, F went to bed a bit late, but he’s sleeping now. Tomorrow, I hope to do a bit of laundry and perhaps go out for a while under my own steam.
It’s been a good day. Catch up with you tomorrow? Night!
Summer, it would seem, is back. I am not impressed!
Had a good day today. I woke up very late as I went to bed very late. Still, F didn’t seem to mind too much. He’d gone for a walk and watched some TV in the morning, at least I think he had.
We went out for brunch to a yakiniku place, Ringo-en. It was a good choice, even though I didn’t want to go there at first. We both had bibinba and shared the meat that came with them. We even had gelato afterwards. F had chocolate which he found too sweet, I had black sesame and it was great.
We tried to find something to do after lunch. We wanted to go for a tea or coffee, but Mr. Donut was full of people. Doutors was too, but we managed to find a seat there. Also, their ordering system is less chaotic than Mr. Donut. F bought our teas, I grabbed a table. We also visited the bakery in the mall to get something for his breakfast tomorrow.
We had thought about going to karaoke, but my back still hurts and I wasn’t feeling that great. We came home instead and relaxed. Around 6 pm we watched Salt on TV. That Angelina, she knows how to kick butt!
After the movie we went out for dinner. F suggested a few things that weren’t inspiring me, so I agreed to tonkatsu. On the way there, he changed his mind and we tried to go for yakitori. Unfortunately the two places he tried were closed, so we ended up at a place we’ve gone occasionally, Kitchen Futaba. It was open, at least for a little while longer and we went in.
We were the only customers in the restaurant. We got a table and sat down. We were quite surprised to see that the waitress was our favourite waitress from Grado, the one we haven’t seen in ages and have missed. We ended up having a really delicious meal. We shared a couple of appetisers, smoked salmon salad and a yummy pork and prune terrine. Our entrees were local grilled pork and local grilled duck. They were both excellent. We had tea or coffee for afters and then the waitress brought over some cassis sherbet for us that was to die for! It was lovely. It was unexpectedly an amazing meal.
We came home via the drugstore and the grocery store. I’m going to cook something simple tomorrow night. I don’t want to spend as much time in the kitchen tomorrow as I did on Wednesday.
At home, F watched some soccer on TV. I asked him who was playing and he said, “Yes.” I didn’t understand and asked him what teams were playing. He proceeded to tell me the names of the Japanese players on the teams. I told him I didn’t care about the J-Players…I wanted to know what teams were playing. He didn’t know. Does he not realise that soccer is a TEAM sport, not a Japanese player sport? I guess not!
Anyway, the evening was quiet, F went to bed a bit late, but he’s sleeping now. Tomorrow, I hope to do a bit of laundry and perhaps go out for a while under my own steam.
It’s been a good day. Catch up with you tomorrow? Night!
July 23, 2011
Saturday - Warm and sunny, getting hotter by the end of the day.
I took a couple of tylenol before bed and was able to get some sleep . That was a good thing. However, I was and still am in quite a bit of pain. Perhaps I should have gone to F’s doctor with him this morning after all!
Anyway…I got up, showered and dressed. F came back from his doctor and watched some J stuff on TV. Didn’t ask if I had anything I wanted to watch, so I missed Medium, but mostly because I thought I’d already seen it. I hadn’t.
We went out for brunch to Gusto and then F dropped me off at the school Lately he’ll do this silly thing where he’ll ask me if I want to go driving for a few minutes so I can let the apartment cool down for a bit. He seems to forget that I have to work there…and I don’t have all that long until my first class. Still, it was nice to be asked I suppose!
I got ready for my class, the student and her mother came and we had a good class. We finished the review, next week we’ll start the first unit. I stupidly gave my textbook to my student before she left. Silly me!
I had a break before my next class and I used it to prep a lesson for today and to read the newspaper.
My second and later third classes of the day went rather well. I think the students enjoyed them. In between those two, F came to the school to bring me a sandwich and to have a cup of coffee. It was nice to see him at that point in my day.
After I finished teaching at 7 something tonight, I did paperwork and then washed up the dishes. I called F and he picked me up and we went for dinner.
We went to a soba restaurant that he likes. I wasn’t terribly interested in soba (what else is new?) but wanted to make him happy. We had an okay meal there, but had a side dish that was greasy and salty and I’ve been suffering the rest of the night.
We came home and had a relaxing evening. I’ll hopefully get to bed fairly soon, although I do have to try and set the VCR for myself. Wish me luck with that! Got to go. Night!
I took a couple of tylenol before bed and was able to get some sleep . That was a good thing. However, I was and still am in quite a bit of pain. Perhaps I should have gone to F’s doctor with him this morning after all!
Anyway…I got up, showered and dressed. F came back from his doctor and watched some J stuff on TV. Didn’t ask if I had anything I wanted to watch, so I missed Medium, but mostly because I thought I’d already seen it. I hadn’t.
We went out for brunch to Gusto and then F dropped me off at the school Lately he’ll do this silly thing where he’ll ask me if I want to go driving for a few minutes so I can let the apartment cool down for a bit. He seems to forget that I have to work there…and I don’t have all that long until my first class. Still, it was nice to be asked I suppose!
I got ready for my class, the student and her mother came and we had a good class. We finished the review, next week we’ll start the first unit. I stupidly gave my textbook to my student before she left. Silly me!
I had a break before my next class and I used it to prep a lesson for today and to read the newspaper.
My second and later third classes of the day went rather well. I think the students enjoyed them. In between those two, F came to the school to bring me a sandwich and to have a cup of coffee. It was nice to see him at that point in my day.
After I finished teaching at 7 something tonight, I did paperwork and then washed up the dishes. I called F and he picked me up and we went for dinner.
We went to a soba restaurant that he likes. I wasn’t terribly interested in soba (what else is new?) but wanted to make him happy. We had an okay meal there, but had a side dish that was greasy and salty and I’ve been suffering the rest of the night.
We came home and had a relaxing evening. I’ll hopefully get to bed fairly soon, although I do have to try and set the VCR for myself. Wish me luck with that! Got to go. Night!
July 22, 2011
Friday - Cooler but sunny.
Painful.
Last night as I went to bed I did something to my back or my side and now I can barely move. I couldn’t get comfortable in any of my usual positions that I sleep in and could not find a good one. I tossed and turned a lot. It was cold as well, so I got up to get a blanket and a little while later, F did too.
I overslept this morning, but as I had no big plans it wasn’t a big deal. I got up, checked my email and such, and came back a bit later and made the bed very gingerly. I was still in pain, still am now for that matter.
In the afternoon I watched The Hours again and enjoyed it more this time for the performances. Nicole Kidman got the Oscar, but I think Meryl Streep was much better in her part.
I wrote up a couple of postcards for Postcrossing and then went out a bit before 4. I first went over to the Chido Museum gift shop and bought some new postcards (from the area around Tsuruoka) and then biked back to the post office and mailed off my post cards.
I came home and relaxed for a bit.
F came home before six and had a nap. I started to put dinner out around 7:30. It was just leftovers from the last two days, but it was quite nice. We had stew and chicken salad, plus a few other things.
F did the dishes for me and then we relaxed for a while. At 10 I put on Glee and F went for a walk. I was a bit sad, but that’s his choice, plus the apartment is so much quieter without him!
He was back in time to watch Desperate Housewives and we watched and enjoyed it. I was working on my crochet again and got quite a bit done tonight. Yay. I finished a ball of cotton, so I’ll have to wind a new one next time I crochet.
During the show, a student of mine sent me an email and asked for a class for tomorrow. Although I think it’s rather short notice, I said it was okay and got F to sent an email back to her.
After midnight we had a bit of melon which was nice, but not great. Not sure why that is. And that’s my day. My side is still really sore and I’m planning to take a couple of Tylennol before I go to bed so that I can get some sleep. I hope I get over this soon! Just don’t need it, you know?
Anyway tomorrow I’ll be a little busy at work, but that’s a good thing! I have to go, but I’ll try and write tomorrow night. Night!
Painful.
Last night as I went to bed I did something to my back or my side and now I can barely move. I couldn’t get comfortable in any of my usual positions that I sleep in and could not find a good one. I tossed and turned a lot. It was cold as well, so I got up to get a blanket and a little while later, F did too.
I overslept this morning, but as I had no big plans it wasn’t a big deal. I got up, checked my email and such, and came back a bit later and made the bed very gingerly. I was still in pain, still am now for that matter.
In the afternoon I watched The Hours again and enjoyed it more this time for the performances. Nicole Kidman got the Oscar, but I think Meryl Streep was much better in her part.
I wrote up a couple of postcards for Postcrossing and then went out a bit before 4. I first went over to the Chido Museum gift shop and bought some new postcards (from the area around Tsuruoka) and then biked back to the post office and mailed off my post cards.
I came home and relaxed for a bit.
F came home before six and had a nap. I started to put dinner out around 7:30. It was just leftovers from the last two days, but it was quite nice. We had stew and chicken salad, plus a few other things.
F did the dishes for me and then we relaxed for a while. At 10 I put on Glee and F went for a walk. I was a bit sad, but that’s his choice, plus the apartment is so much quieter without him!
He was back in time to watch Desperate Housewives and we watched and enjoyed it. I was working on my crochet again and got quite a bit done tonight. Yay. I finished a ball of cotton, so I’ll have to wind a new one next time I crochet.
During the show, a student of mine sent me an email and asked for a class for tomorrow. Although I think it’s rather short notice, I said it was okay and got F to sent an email back to her.
After midnight we had a bit of melon which was nice, but not great. Not sure why that is. And that’s my day. My side is still really sore and I’m planning to take a couple of Tylennol before I go to bed so that I can get some sleep. I hope I get over this soon! Just don’t need it, you know?
Anyway tomorrow I’ll be a little busy at work, but that’s a good thing! I have to go, but I’ll try and write tomorrow night. Night!
July 21, 2011
Thursday - Sunny and windy, cooler (yay)
A good day.
I overslept this morning, but when I woke up I felt good, not sticky and sweaty. The wind brought cooler temperatures and it was lovely to feel normal for a change.
I was fairly busy during the day today. I made chicken salad from the two breasts I cooked yesterday, then I washed and cut up all of the celery and zucchini. I put everything in the fridge for the afternoon.
I headed off to work around 5 pm, and made a detour through the drugstore on the way there. It was nice to do a little shopping. I headed out to the school then. When I got there it was really hot inside. The wind was cool, but I can’t leave the school’s window open when I’m gone. I did open it for a while today, and it reduced the temperature by 2 degrees, but I had to run the air conditioner afterwards. It’s too noisy to teach with the windows open, and too windy today too.
My class went quite well and we talked about a few things related to superstitions. I thought it was quite interesting. After class, I finished up my paper work and did the dishes, then called F. He picked me up and we went home.
At home, I got dinner on the table quite quickly. We had chicken salad sandwiches on French bread, cold kabocha soup and celery and zucchini sticks for dipping. It was all quite nice. I think F liked it!
Tomorrow we’ll probably have leftovers as we have enough food in the fridge for that. If we don’t, I will be angry if we waste it. I might pick up another salad or something small to supplement the meals, but it might not be necessary.
F did the dishes and as he was finishing, I got an email from a student. We discussed how to proceed and F wrote the email out for me tonight. I’ll send it tomorrow as it was a little late to send tonight.
I watched Royal Pains again tonight and enjoyed it, for the most part. I did more crochet during it, which was nice for me. Just a couple of rows tonight as they were the rows that take longer.
After midnight, F went to bed fairly quickly. I might read a bit or might go to bed fairly soon too. I’m not as tired as usual as I feel quite well rested for a change. The cooler weather is good for that.
Not entirely sure what I’ll do with myself tomorrow. I might take the day off as I’ve been quite busy for the last couple of days with cooking. I’ve quite enjoyed the challenge though. Tune in tomorrow night and find out what I do! Night.
A good day.
I overslept this morning, but when I woke up I felt good, not sticky and sweaty. The wind brought cooler temperatures and it was lovely to feel normal for a change.
I was fairly busy during the day today. I made chicken salad from the two breasts I cooked yesterday, then I washed and cut up all of the celery and zucchini. I put everything in the fridge for the afternoon.
I headed off to work around 5 pm, and made a detour through the drugstore on the way there. It was nice to do a little shopping. I headed out to the school then. When I got there it was really hot inside. The wind was cool, but I can’t leave the school’s window open when I’m gone. I did open it for a while today, and it reduced the temperature by 2 degrees, but I had to run the air conditioner afterwards. It’s too noisy to teach with the windows open, and too windy today too.
My class went quite well and we talked about a few things related to superstitions. I thought it was quite interesting. After class, I finished up my paper work and did the dishes, then called F. He picked me up and we went home.
At home, I got dinner on the table quite quickly. We had chicken salad sandwiches on French bread, cold kabocha soup and celery and zucchini sticks for dipping. It was all quite nice. I think F liked it!
Tomorrow we’ll probably have leftovers as we have enough food in the fridge for that. If we don’t, I will be angry if we waste it. I might pick up another salad or something small to supplement the meals, but it might not be necessary.
F did the dishes and as he was finishing, I got an email from a student. We discussed how to proceed and F wrote the email out for me tonight. I’ll send it tomorrow as it was a little late to send tonight.
I watched Royal Pains again tonight and enjoyed it, for the most part. I did more crochet during it, which was nice for me. Just a couple of rows tonight as they were the rows that take longer.
After midnight, F went to bed fairly quickly. I might read a bit or might go to bed fairly soon too. I’m not as tired as usual as I feel quite well rested for a change. The cooler weather is good for that.
Not entirely sure what I’ll do with myself tomorrow. I might take the day off as I’ve been quite busy for the last couple of days with cooking. I’ve quite enjoyed the challenge though. Tune in tomorrow night and find out what I do! Night.
July 20, 2011
Wednesday - Windy and hot
A good day.
I got up at a decent-ish time today. Like most people I am having problems with sleeping well these days as it is just too hot. However, this morning when I got up and opened the windows, there was a strong breeze. It became a strong wind very soon afterwards. In most respects the wind was wonderful today. I didn’t have to turn on the AC at all as the windows let in the lovely crosswind. It also wasn’t humid today. Hurray for that! I sweated a bit from the heat, but not the humidity.
I had a bit of a busy day today. I decided to wrap my niece’s birthday presents, so I put on my weekend TV to do that. Sadly I discovered that I had taped it in Japanese. Argh. Not happy about that. I couldn’t get it to switch into English either, so there must be some trick that F hasn’t read about yet.
Anyway it took a long time to wrap the presents and then find a box and then wrap the box too. Ack. It was a bit late when I got it all done. I changed my clothes and rode off to the post office. I got the parcel mailed off. Hurray! After that, I made a quick convenience store run to grab a bite to eat. I came home. The wind was pretty wicked at this time, and there was a lot of dust in the air. I managed to get some of it in my eyes. Yuck.
I came home, and when F called me, I got dinner underway. He’d asked for a stew for tonight and I foolishly said okay. It’s a lot of work! I prepped all the veggies and then started it just after he came home. He took a nap for a while. We didn’t eat until later, but the stew was really good when we did. We had it with some English muffins on the side. Yum.
After dinner, F took a walk for a while (his new thing, which I am encouraging) and I relaxed, after washing some blueberries.
We watched Grey’s Anatomy together (the first one of the season, after the big shoot-up last year) and enjoyed it. F and I sat on the couch, I did some crochet—back to my shawl—and relaxed. I had been quite busy today! When the show was over, we had our blueberries and some ice cream. It was a nice way to end the day.
Tomorrow I’ll be making chicken salad for dinner. I cooked the chicken tonight while I was prepping the veggies for the stew. I’ll put it in the fridge during the day to blend the flavours. I also have an evening class, so I have to leave in the afternoon for that. I’m planning a trip to the drugstore on the way.
Anyway, that was my day. It was quite good, if a bit busier than usual. Thankfully it wasn’t as hot as usual so I feel good rather than completely drained! Night.
A good day.
I got up at a decent-ish time today. Like most people I am having problems with sleeping well these days as it is just too hot. However, this morning when I got up and opened the windows, there was a strong breeze. It became a strong wind very soon afterwards. In most respects the wind was wonderful today. I didn’t have to turn on the AC at all as the windows let in the lovely crosswind. It also wasn’t humid today. Hurray for that! I sweated a bit from the heat, but not the humidity.
I had a bit of a busy day today. I decided to wrap my niece’s birthday presents, so I put on my weekend TV to do that. Sadly I discovered that I had taped it in Japanese. Argh. Not happy about that. I couldn’t get it to switch into English either, so there must be some trick that F hasn’t read about yet.
Anyway it took a long time to wrap the presents and then find a box and then wrap the box too. Ack. It was a bit late when I got it all done. I changed my clothes and rode off to the post office. I got the parcel mailed off. Hurray! After that, I made a quick convenience store run to grab a bite to eat. I came home. The wind was pretty wicked at this time, and there was a lot of dust in the air. I managed to get some of it in my eyes. Yuck.
I came home, and when F called me, I got dinner underway. He’d asked for a stew for tonight and I foolishly said okay. It’s a lot of work! I prepped all the veggies and then started it just after he came home. He took a nap for a while. We didn’t eat until later, but the stew was really good when we did. We had it with some English muffins on the side. Yum.
After dinner, F took a walk for a while (his new thing, which I am encouraging) and I relaxed, after washing some blueberries.
We watched Grey’s Anatomy together (the first one of the season, after the big shoot-up last year) and enjoyed it. F and I sat on the couch, I did some crochet—back to my shawl—and relaxed. I had been quite busy today! When the show was over, we had our blueberries and some ice cream. It was a nice way to end the day.
Tomorrow I’ll be making chicken salad for dinner. I cooked the chicken tonight while I was prepping the veggies for the stew. I’ll put it in the fridge during the day to blend the flavours. I also have an evening class, so I have to leave in the afternoon for that. I’m planning a trip to the drugstore on the way.
Anyway, that was my day. It was quite good, if a bit busier than usual. Thankfully it wasn’t as hot as usual so I feel good rather than completely drained! Night.
July 19, 2011
Tuesday - Hot, humid and windy at night
An okay day. I had a hard time getting up this morning and so was a bit late, but still managed to get things done for today.
When I was in the shower today I cleaned the floor of the shower. It’s usually F that does all the work in there, as he uses the bath and I like to think, makes most of the dirt! As I suspected, F didn’t notice and never mentioned it tonight.
I was supposed to go to the post office this morning, but didn’t. Instead, I just stayed home. Around 3 pm I made my brunch. I had a lovely omelette with real cheese. Yum.
I went off to work. It was a bit cloudy, but didn’t feel that rainy so I went without a jacket. At the school it was hot, over 30 degrees, so I ran the fan and the AC to cool things down. I got things ready and waited for my student.
She was a little late today, but she called to say she was coming. We had a good class and at the end we scheduled a few more classes for us.
I had a break in the middle today, so I read a newspaper and some of another one. There was lots to read today, so I didn’t skip as much as I do sometimes!
My second class went well too. My student told me about her interesting weekend and I mentioned some of what I did. I looked at the humidity indicator on my class thermometer and it had gone up to 80% by the end of class. When I came to the school today it was 65ish. No wonder I wasn’t comfortable.
After class I finished up and then called F to come and get me. He came and we had a cheap and cheerful dinner in New York, New York. He had cold noodles and I had pasta. It was okay, not great, but fine. I usually have chicken there, but I ate chicken twice yesterday so decided to take a break.
We came home and had a quiet evening. I watched Jamie’s Ministry of Food at 11:30 and then F watched his boxing. Bleck. Still, he likes it so once in a while is okay. He went to bed finally, I’m still here.
Tomorrow I need to do quite a lot of things. I have to wrap and mail my niece’s presents, do a bunch of food prep and not go crazy at home in the heat if I can help it! Talk to you tomorrow? Night!
An okay day. I had a hard time getting up this morning and so was a bit late, but still managed to get things done for today.
When I was in the shower today I cleaned the floor of the shower. It’s usually F that does all the work in there, as he uses the bath and I like to think, makes most of the dirt! As I suspected, F didn’t notice and never mentioned it tonight.
I was supposed to go to the post office this morning, but didn’t. Instead, I just stayed home. Around 3 pm I made my brunch. I had a lovely omelette with real cheese. Yum.
I went off to work. It was a bit cloudy, but didn’t feel that rainy so I went without a jacket. At the school it was hot, over 30 degrees, so I ran the fan and the AC to cool things down. I got things ready and waited for my student.
She was a little late today, but she called to say she was coming. We had a good class and at the end we scheduled a few more classes for us.
I had a break in the middle today, so I read a newspaper and some of another one. There was lots to read today, so I didn’t skip as much as I do sometimes!
My second class went well too. My student told me about her interesting weekend and I mentioned some of what I did. I looked at the humidity indicator on my class thermometer and it had gone up to 80% by the end of class. When I came to the school today it was 65ish. No wonder I wasn’t comfortable.
After class I finished up and then called F to come and get me. He came and we had a cheap and cheerful dinner in New York, New York. He had cold noodles and I had pasta. It was okay, not great, but fine. I usually have chicken there, but I ate chicken twice yesterday so decided to take a break.
We came home and had a quiet evening. I watched Jamie’s Ministry of Food at 11:30 and then F watched his boxing. Bleck. Still, he likes it so once in a while is okay. He went to bed finally, I’m still here.
Tomorrow I need to do quite a lot of things. I have to wrap and mail my niece’s presents, do a bunch of food prep and not go crazy at home in the heat if I can help it! Talk to you tomorrow? Night!
July 18, 2011
Monday - Marine Day - Hot and sunny
A good day. Despite planning to go to bed earlier last night, I didn’t. I stayed up quite late again, so slept in this morning. Still, it wasn’t too bad. Today was a national holiday, so we both relaxed and lazed around the house. F did go for a walk by himself when I was sleeping though.
In the afternoon I started to be very hungry. Yesterday I hadn’t eaten that much protein and I really needed some! We went to Gusto for a decent lunch. I had spicy chicken and salad, F had noodles, of course!
After lunch we talked about what to do. F suggested driving out to Takadate-yama and climbing the tower to see the view. I wasn’t sure, but then realised that I didn’t have any better suggestions and we hadn’t been there for a while. So, I said okay.
We drove out to the mountain and drove up. It’s a bit scary as the road is narrow, but we didn’t meet anyone else on the mountain until the top. F parked the car off the road and we walked to the tower. We climbed up the steps and got to the top. I was huffing and puffing rather a bit too much. Sigh. The view was gorgeous. On one side of the tower we could see the flat rice fields and the mountains, on the other side was the ocean and more mountains. It was really beautiful.
We climbed down the tower again and drove down the mountain. We drove off to Yura along the coast. The sea was very choppy today. There weren’t many people out fishing or on the ocean. We parked the car and went across the bridge to Hakkusanjima. My knees were protesting a bit because of the tower climbing, but I managed it. We found a little statue dedicated to the memory of members of the Japan Navy that had been killed while checking the weather or sea conditions or the course for big ships and took a few photos of it. There was a little bed of plants near it. The plants were shiso and perhaps lilies, but were a bit crowded by grass and other plants. There was nobody around, so F and I did a little bit of guerilla weeding. It looked much better after we finished.
We headed back into Tsuruoka proper and talked about dinner. We decided to go to Sultan, the Arabic restaurant. I was looking forward to some baba ganoush. However, when we got there, it wasn’t on their menu anymore. Instead, we had hummus instead, and that was nice. F had a type of ramen and I had a type of stew served over rice. We were both quite happy with our meals. We got some mint tea afterwards too. It was a really nice and different way to end the meal.
We came home via the grocery store and at home just relaxed for a bit. F did some translating for me and I spent entirely too much time on my computer! We had a really nice time together. Hurray.
Got to go..work tomorrow. Night!
A good day. Despite planning to go to bed earlier last night, I didn’t. I stayed up quite late again, so slept in this morning. Still, it wasn’t too bad. Today was a national holiday, so we both relaxed and lazed around the house. F did go for a walk by himself when I was sleeping though.
In the afternoon I started to be very hungry. Yesterday I hadn’t eaten that much protein and I really needed some! We went to Gusto for a decent lunch. I had spicy chicken and salad, F had noodles, of course!
After lunch we talked about what to do. F suggested driving out to Takadate-yama and climbing the tower to see the view. I wasn’t sure, but then realised that I didn’t have any better suggestions and we hadn’t been there for a while. So, I said okay.
We drove out to the mountain and drove up. It’s a bit scary as the road is narrow, but we didn’t meet anyone else on the mountain until the top. F parked the car off the road and we walked to the tower. We climbed up the steps and got to the top. I was huffing and puffing rather a bit too much. Sigh. The view was gorgeous. On one side of the tower we could see the flat rice fields and the mountains, on the other side was the ocean and more mountains. It was really beautiful.
We climbed down the tower again and drove down the mountain. We drove off to Yura along the coast. The sea was very choppy today. There weren’t many people out fishing or on the ocean. We parked the car and went across the bridge to Hakkusanjima. My knees were protesting a bit because of the tower climbing, but I managed it. We found a little statue dedicated to the memory of members of the Japan Navy that had been killed while checking the weather or sea conditions or the course for big ships and took a few photos of it. There was a little bed of plants near it. The plants were shiso and perhaps lilies, but were a bit crowded by grass and other plants. There was nobody around, so F and I did a little bit of guerilla weeding. It looked much better after we finished.
We headed back into Tsuruoka proper and talked about dinner. We decided to go to Sultan, the Arabic restaurant. I was looking forward to some baba ganoush. However, when we got there, it wasn’t on their menu anymore. Instead, we had hummus instead, and that was nice. F had a type of ramen and I had a type of stew served over rice. We were both quite happy with our meals. We got some mint tea afterwards too. It was a really nice and different way to end the meal.
We came home via the grocery store and at home just relaxed for a bit. F did some translating for me and I spent entirely too much time on my computer! We had a really nice time together. Hurray.
Got to go..work tomorrow. Night!
July 17, 2011
Sunday - Hot and sunny
A good day.
When I went to bed last night, it was morning. There was daylight outside. Oh dear. I did sleep a little late to make up for it. I woke up once around 10 am when F dropped something in the kitchen, but I didn’t get up to stay until a bit after 11, when some idiot outside parked his car under my window and left the motor running.
We had a long and languorous early afternoon at home. We ate English muffins, drank coffee (well, F did) and just relaxed. We went out around 3 for brunch! We went to Kintaro Sushi and it was okay. I wasn’t in the mood for sushi to be honest and so didn’t have that much to eat.
We drove out to the mall after our meal. At the mall we had a drink and then wandered around the mall looking for nice postcards for me. I finally found some that I liked in Aeon Jusco. They were still a bit expensive, but cute at least.
We decided to have a quick bite before the movie, so F and I went to one of the food courts. He had yakisoba and okonomiyaki, I had French fries and chicken. Mine was okay, but it wasn’t really a meal. His was quite good.
After that, we went into the theatre to get our popcorn and go to the movie. We got to our seats just as the previews were starting. After that, it was 2 hours dedicated to one Mr. Harry Potter and his friends. I really loved the film. I think they got in most of the important bits from the book and gave many of the fabulous British actors in the series a “scene”. Emma Thompson was only in for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her bit though. We sat in our seats through the final credits hoping for a little goodie or something at the end of the film, but there wasn’t one at all. Sigh.
We came home via a convenience store for a couple of drinks and then F had a long nap. He’s now sleeping on the couch. He’s really out of it I think. Poor guy!
Tomorrow we don’t have any plans, so I hope that we’ll manage to have a good day. It’s Marine Day, but I don’t know if there’s any traditions that we have to follow tomorrow. Got to go. Night!
A good day.
When I went to bed last night, it was morning. There was daylight outside. Oh dear. I did sleep a little late to make up for it. I woke up once around 10 am when F dropped something in the kitchen, but I didn’t get up to stay until a bit after 11, when some idiot outside parked his car under my window and left the motor running.
We had a long and languorous early afternoon at home. We ate English muffins, drank coffee (well, F did) and just relaxed. We went out around 3 for brunch! We went to Kintaro Sushi and it was okay. I wasn’t in the mood for sushi to be honest and so didn’t have that much to eat.
We drove out to the mall after our meal. At the mall we had a drink and then wandered around the mall looking for nice postcards for me. I finally found some that I liked in Aeon Jusco. They were still a bit expensive, but cute at least.
We decided to have a quick bite before the movie, so F and I went to one of the food courts. He had yakisoba and okonomiyaki, I had French fries and chicken. Mine was okay, but it wasn’t really a meal. His was quite good.
After that, we went into the theatre to get our popcorn and go to the movie. We got to our seats just as the previews were starting. After that, it was 2 hours dedicated to one Mr. Harry Potter and his friends. I really loved the film. I think they got in most of the important bits from the book and gave many of the fabulous British actors in the series a “scene”. Emma Thompson was only in for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-her bit though. We sat in our seats through the final credits hoping for a little goodie or something at the end of the film, but there wasn’t one at all. Sigh.
We came home via a convenience store for a couple of drinks and then F had a long nap. He’s now sleeping on the couch. He’s really out of it I think. Poor guy!
Tomorrow we don’t have any plans, so I hope that we’ll manage to have a good day. It’s Marine Day, but I don’t know if there’s any traditions that we have to follow tomorrow. Got to go. Night!
July 16, 2011
Saturday - Hot and sunny
An okay day. I got up a few minutes later than I wanted, but it was fine. I showered and then watched Medium. F didn’t go to the doctor this morning so he watched it with me too.
We had a fairly decent lunch in Cocos today and then F dropped me off at my school. It was 29 degrees in there, so I got the AC on as soon as I could. I got everything set up, did a bit of sweeping and dusting and checked over the lesson a bit.
My student came and we had a good first lesson in her new book. She quite enjoyed it I think. It was all review, but she’s a bit intimidated by her new text. I think she’ll be fine.
After her class I did paper work and then read the newspaper. When it was almost time for my next class I got all ready, but my student called to say she couldn’t come. We scheduled a class for next week though.
I did a load of laundry at the school and also wrote a letter to a student’s mother for F to translate later. I washed the dishes at the school and left things ready for next week.
F came and picked me up. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves, so I suggested going to Yamaya to pick up a few things. We bought a lot of things, but the biggest thing was we bought cheese. They had huge blocks of cheese for a little over a thousand yen, so I got one! I hope I can eat it before it goes off! I’ve been looking into freezing part of it, and I might be able to do that.
We were both thirsty so we went to the McDonalds that has just opened nearby and had a drink. We talked about dinner and then F suggested our favourite, Bistro Des Pointes. It was a great suggestion, made even better by the fact that he called them to see if we could still go. They said it was okay, so we drove out to Mikawa.
We went into the restaurant and had a lovely meal. F took pictures all the way through, but I just ate! We had sashimi and salad, kabocha soup, lovely, crusty bread, and for our main, F had steak and I had a beef tongue stew that was amazing. It was so good. For dessert we each had a kind of pudding, I had mango pudding with a yogurt flavoured ice cream, F had the Japanese style “purin” and banana ice cream.
We drove home very contentedly! I nearly fell asleep. When we got home we talked about watching a movie, but F wasn’t into it. We had a bit of a spat, but thankfully it didn’t last long and things were fine for us watching Top Gear and then Heroes. I got off the computer long enough to finish the little scarf I was making. It’s cute, if I say so myself. It’s for my one of my nieces, so don’t anyone tell her about it!
And, that was my day. No big deal, just a productive work day. Talk to you tomorrow? I might be late again with my update. I have a feeling that we’re going to go and see a certain Mr. Potter later on. Night!
An okay day. I got up a few minutes later than I wanted, but it was fine. I showered and then watched Medium. F didn’t go to the doctor this morning so he watched it with me too.
We had a fairly decent lunch in Cocos today and then F dropped me off at my school. It was 29 degrees in there, so I got the AC on as soon as I could. I got everything set up, did a bit of sweeping and dusting and checked over the lesson a bit.
My student came and we had a good first lesson in her new book. She quite enjoyed it I think. It was all review, but she’s a bit intimidated by her new text. I think she’ll be fine.
After her class I did paper work and then read the newspaper. When it was almost time for my next class I got all ready, but my student called to say she couldn’t come. We scheduled a class for next week though.
I did a load of laundry at the school and also wrote a letter to a student’s mother for F to translate later. I washed the dishes at the school and left things ready for next week.
F came and picked me up. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves, so I suggested going to Yamaya to pick up a few things. We bought a lot of things, but the biggest thing was we bought cheese. They had huge blocks of cheese for a little over a thousand yen, so I got one! I hope I can eat it before it goes off! I’ve been looking into freezing part of it, and I might be able to do that.
We were both thirsty so we went to the McDonalds that has just opened nearby and had a drink. We talked about dinner and then F suggested our favourite, Bistro Des Pointes. It was a great suggestion, made even better by the fact that he called them to see if we could still go. They said it was okay, so we drove out to Mikawa.
We went into the restaurant and had a lovely meal. F took pictures all the way through, but I just ate! We had sashimi and salad, kabocha soup, lovely, crusty bread, and for our main, F had steak and I had a beef tongue stew that was amazing. It was so good. For dessert we each had a kind of pudding, I had mango pudding with a yogurt flavoured ice cream, F had the Japanese style “purin” and banana ice cream.
We drove home very contentedly! I nearly fell asleep. When we got home we talked about watching a movie, but F wasn’t into it. We had a bit of a spat, but thankfully it didn’t last long and things were fine for us watching Top Gear and then Heroes. I got off the computer long enough to finish the little scarf I was making. It’s cute, if I say so myself. It’s for my one of my nieces, so don’t anyone tell her about it!
And, that was my day. No big deal, just a productive work day. Talk to you tomorrow? I might be late again with my update. I have a feeling that we’re going to go and see a certain Mr. Potter later on. Night!
July 15, 2011
Friday - Hot and sunny
A good day again. Yay!
I slept in this morning, on purpose. I needed more sleep and I got it so when I did get up this morning I felt quite good.
I had a quiet day at home for the most part. I had something nice happen though, I got a postcard in the mail today. A couple of weeks ago I joined Postcrossing.com and have sent out a few postcards. Today I received my first one and it was very cool. I had said on my profile that I collect black and white postcards of famous people. A woman sent me a postcard with a Japanese jazz musician on it and it is very cool. I’m having fun with Postcrossing and it gets me out of the apartment, even if it’s only for a few minutes!
During the day I caught the end of The Bodyguard. Every time I watch it, I really wish that Kev had let Whitney die! I just can’t get into that movie. Later on, I caught The Exorcist which was interesting. I’m glad it wasn’t on late at night, but it didn’t really scare me. There were a few gross scenes and I’m glad that the soup we had for dinner wasn’t pea soup, but meh! Maybe I just didn’t get the theology of the movie?
Fumihiko called me just after 5:15 to say he was finished work and to ask me to a festival at his work. I didn’t really want to go to be honest, but he promised me we could leave if I didn’t want to stay long. I took a quick shower and got dressed.
We drove over to his work place and they had a little matsuri for the children in the neighbourhood. It was quite sweet and very low key. At the end there were fireworks, which scares me a little as we don’t do fireworks in Canada like that. (You need to have a permit.) Still, it looked like the kids liked it and that’s what was important…that and that no one got hurt!
After the festival (we stayed to the end) we went to Mosburgers for some fries, onion rings and a couple of drinks. It was nice actually, and quite relaxing.
We came home and I got dinner started. It was mostly from the store stuff, carrot and pumpkin soup, salad, tofu, but I also fried up some basil chicken from the store. It was rather nice.
F did the dishes and I relaxed for a bit. Later on, I watched Glee and did some crochet, then watched Desperate Housewives and did some crochet. I’ve passed the hump, so to speak! I’m on the home stretch. A couple of hours solid work on the scarf and I think I can get it done. Yay. It’s really cute this time.
Anyway, that’s about it for me. I’m going to watch Supernatural soon, and then I’ll hopefully go to bed. I’m a tad tired with all the heat, so I’d like to be rested for tomorrow. Talk to you tomorrow night? Later!
A good day again. Yay!
I slept in this morning, on purpose. I needed more sleep and I got it so when I did get up this morning I felt quite good.
I had a quiet day at home for the most part. I had something nice happen though, I got a postcard in the mail today. A couple of weeks ago I joined Postcrossing.com and have sent out a few postcards. Today I received my first one and it was very cool. I had said on my profile that I collect black and white postcards of famous people. A woman sent me a postcard with a Japanese jazz musician on it and it is very cool. I’m having fun with Postcrossing and it gets me out of the apartment, even if it’s only for a few minutes!
During the day I caught the end of The Bodyguard. Every time I watch it, I really wish that Kev had let Whitney die! I just can’t get into that movie. Later on, I caught The Exorcist which was interesting. I’m glad it wasn’t on late at night, but it didn’t really scare me. There were a few gross scenes and I’m glad that the soup we had for dinner wasn’t pea soup, but meh! Maybe I just didn’t get the theology of the movie?
Fumihiko called me just after 5:15 to say he was finished work and to ask me to a festival at his work. I didn’t really want to go to be honest, but he promised me we could leave if I didn’t want to stay long. I took a quick shower and got dressed.
We drove over to his work place and they had a little matsuri for the children in the neighbourhood. It was quite sweet and very low key. At the end there were fireworks, which scares me a little as we don’t do fireworks in Canada like that. (You need to have a permit.) Still, it looked like the kids liked it and that’s what was important…that and that no one got hurt!
After the festival (we stayed to the end) we went to Mosburgers for some fries, onion rings and a couple of drinks. It was nice actually, and quite relaxing.
We came home and I got dinner started. It was mostly from the store stuff, carrot and pumpkin soup, salad, tofu, but I also fried up some basil chicken from the store. It was rather nice.
F did the dishes and I relaxed for a bit. Later on, I watched Glee and did some crochet, then watched Desperate Housewives and did some crochet. I’ve passed the hump, so to speak! I’m on the home stretch. A couple of hours solid work on the scarf and I think I can get it done. Yay. It’s really cute this time.
Anyway, that’s about it for me. I’m going to watch Supernatural soon, and then I’ll hopefully go to bed. I’m a tad tired with all the heat, so I’d like to be rested for tomorrow. Talk to you tomorrow night? Later!
July 14, 2011
-Happy Bastille Day!-
Thursday - Hot and sunny, cloudy in the late afternoon
A good day. I got up this morning, bathed in sweat as usual. Yuck. I did some of my computer things and then took a shower and did a load of laundry too.
In the afternoon, I went out around 2:30 and went to S-Mall for lunch. I had tuna and mushroom cream sauce pasta and it was very nice. I was quite impressed actually.
After I ate, I walked over to my hairdresser and got my hair cut. Today, for your viewing pleasure, I have before and after pictures for you! In a way, the before looks better, but the light at night is quite different. The after FEELS better, believe me on that!
I said goodbye and then walked back to the mall, picked up my bike, and rode off to my school. It was very hot in there, but I had lots of time to cool things down.
I prepped a lesson for my Saturday student, the one that is starting a new text, and then read some of my magazine. My time was very enjoyable.
My student came on time and we had a good class. We have are talking about superstitions in this unit and it’s giving us a lot to talk about. I’m enjoying it, and I hope my student is too.
After class, I cleaned up, did paperwork and then called F. He picked me up and we went to New York, New York for a quick and cheerful dinner. After that, we visited the grocery store for tomorrow’s dinner and then came home.
I watched Royal Pains and did a little crocheting. I drank some iced tea and ate some of F’s fried garlic soba. Some of the restaurants here fry up their unused soba and then sell it as a snack. It’s really good! The garlic one is my favourite.
And, that’s my day really. It was good. I’m so glad I did go and get my hair cut today. I was getting so annoyed by it. Talk to you tomorrow? Night!
July 13, 2011
Wednesday - Hot and sunny.
A good day. I got up this morning and watched TV for a while. Carrie, a movie from 1952, was on and it was quite engrossing. It had Jennifer Jones and Laurence Olivier in it, so the acting was good, and the story was quite interesting. F came home while I was watching it, to pick something up. He didn’t stay very long though.
I had a quiet day at home and relaxed for most of it. I watched Sex and the City 2 over the course of the day and am glad that I didn’t have to fork over any money to watch it in a theatre. There were flashes when it did have something to say, but then it was ruined by the stereotypes of the Arabic characters. I’m not sure if they missed any.
I made a quick trip to the post office just before 5 pm to mail off a postcard and an envelope. No bid deal.
F was home fairly early tonight. We spent a bit of time together and then went out to Aki for dinner. We had okonomiyaki and it was really nice tonight.
We made a quick trip to the drugstore to pick up some cool towels for our necks and to get a few other things. Then, we hit up the grocery store on the way home.
At home, we vegged for a while before putting on a movie called Lovely, Still. I watched it all, but F went to bed on it. It was about a romance between two older people and was quite charming.
I’ve also been reading a bit. I wish I could report that it was a really good book that I’m reading, but it isn’t really. It’s The Host by Stephenie Meyer, of Twilight infamy. It is better than Twilight, at least so far, but I wouldn’t call it great.
Anyway, tomorrow I have a busy day. I’m hoping to get my hair cut, then I have an evening class, so I will have a lot of bike riding to do in this heat. So not looking forward to that! Oh well. I have to go. Talk to you tomorrow night? Later.
A good day. I got up this morning and watched TV for a while. Carrie, a movie from 1952, was on and it was quite engrossing. It had Jennifer Jones and Laurence Olivier in it, so the acting was good, and the story was quite interesting. F came home while I was watching it, to pick something up. He didn’t stay very long though.
I had a quiet day at home and relaxed for most of it. I watched Sex and the City 2 over the course of the day and am glad that I didn’t have to fork over any money to watch it in a theatre. There were flashes when it did have something to say, but then it was ruined by the stereotypes of the Arabic characters. I’m not sure if they missed any.
I made a quick trip to the post office just before 5 pm to mail off a postcard and an envelope. No bid deal.
F was home fairly early tonight. We spent a bit of time together and then went out to Aki for dinner. We had okonomiyaki and it was really nice tonight.
We made a quick trip to the drugstore to pick up some cool towels for our necks and to get a few other things. Then, we hit up the grocery store on the way home.
At home, we vegged for a while before putting on a movie called Lovely, Still. I watched it all, but F went to bed on it. It was about a romance between two older people and was quite charming.
I’ve also been reading a bit. I wish I could report that it was a really good book that I’m reading, but it isn’t really. It’s The Host by Stephenie Meyer, of Twilight infamy. It is better than Twilight, at least so far, but I wouldn’t call it great.
Anyway, tomorrow I have a busy day. I’m hoping to get my hair cut, then I have an evening class, so I will have a lot of bike riding to do in this heat. So not looking forward to that! Oh well. I have to go. Talk to you tomorrow night? Later.
July 12, 2011
Tuesday - Hot and sunny and humid. Plus hot. Plus hot.
Today was an okay day. I got up around the time of my first alarm and stayed up. Right now, it is too difficult to be cool and comfortable anywhere, even in bed!
I got up and watched a bit of TV, a movie or two on WOWOW or SkyPerfect or something. Since we’ve just received an adapter for my VCR we get 15 free days of it…free days with a big corner advertising thing.
I had a relaxing and quiet day at home. I cooked the leftover food from last night for my lunch…yum, and then had a couple of cucumber sandwiches on the nice whole wheat bread from the mall. Double yum.
In the afternoon I watched the British drama on WOWOW. Bouquet of Barbed Wire was the one. It was good. Tomorrow is the finale so I hope to watch it. When Grey’s Anatomy came on I did a bit of reorganising in my little corner. I threw out a bunch of papers, put away many hats, gloves and scarves and did a bit of tidying up. It looks better now, although I really must decide what to do with my old magazines and Journals. I have a huge bag of stuff for shredding too. Must get on that.
I also caved in and turned on the AC. The thermometer in our bedroom said that it was 31.5 degrees in there, the windows weren’t letting in any crosswinds and I was sweating profusely. I turned on the “air-con” and soon felt a bit more human.
When F came home tonight we were friendly, but not profusely so. He was very tired so had a nap in the hot bedroom until I went in and said we should go out for dinner. We ended up going to Kappasushi again and had an okay time. We tried a bunch of different types and I even had dessert. It wasn’t great, but it was okay.
We picked up a few groceries, but nothing for dinner tomorrow. It’s the local Obon here, and I’m not sure that F will be around. He probably will, but… Also, I’m just not in the mood to cook. When hubs throws his little tantrums and refuses to eat what I cook, I get even more discouraged than ever about cooking. So, why do it?
Tonight, we watched Rope, the Hitchcock movie. I liked it, but was falling asleep on part of it. It was very wordy. I did some of my crochet too, so now I only have one side left of my scarf. Yay. Maybe tomorrow I should wrap the other presents for my niece. Then, I can get things sent off when I’m really done the scarf.
I watched Jaime’s Ministry of Food and then F watched Ultimate Fighting. Bleck. I’m taping the second Sex and the City movie now. At least I hope I am. I’ve heard that it is terrible and when I saw it in Japanese I certainly thought so, but I’ll be bored for a lot of tomorrow anyway!
That’s it for me. Tomorrow, who knows? Come back and find out what happens. Night!
Today was an okay day. I got up around the time of my first alarm and stayed up. Right now, it is too difficult to be cool and comfortable anywhere, even in bed!
I got up and watched a bit of TV, a movie or two on WOWOW or SkyPerfect or something. Since we’ve just received an adapter for my VCR we get 15 free days of it…free days with a big corner advertising thing.
I had a relaxing and quiet day at home. I cooked the leftover food from last night for my lunch…yum, and then had a couple of cucumber sandwiches on the nice whole wheat bread from the mall. Double yum.
In the afternoon I watched the British drama on WOWOW. Bouquet of Barbed Wire was the one. It was good. Tomorrow is the finale so I hope to watch it. When Grey’s Anatomy came on I did a bit of reorganising in my little corner. I threw out a bunch of papers, put away many hats, gloves and scarves and did a bit of tidying up. It looks better now, although I really must decide what to do with my old magazines and Journals. I have a huge bag of stuff for shredding too. Must get on that.
I also caved in and turned on the AC. The thermometer in our bedroom said that it was 31.5 degrees in there, the windows weren’t letting in any crosswinds and I was sweating profusely. I turned on the “air-con” and soon felt a bit more human.
When F came home tonight we were friendly, but not profusely so. He was very tired so had a nap in the hot bedroom until I went in and said we should go out for dinner. We ended up going to Kappasushi again and had an okay time. We tried a bunch of different types and I even had dessert. It wasn’t great, but it was okay.
We picked up a few groceries, but nothing for dinner tomorrow. It’s the local Obon here, and I’m not sure that F will be around. He probably will, but… Also, I’m just not in the mood to cook. When hubs throws his little tantrums and refuses to eat what I cook, I get even more discouraged than ever about cooking. So, why do it?
Tonight, we watched Rope, the Hitchcock movie. I liked it, but was falling asleep on part of it. It was very wordy. I did some of my crochet too, so now I only have one side left of my scarf. Yay. Maybe tomorrow I should wrap the other presents for my niece. Then, I can get things sent off when I’m really done the scarf.
I watched Jaime’s Ministry of Food and then F watched Ultimate Fighting. Bleck. I’m taping the second Sex and the City movie now. At least I hope I am. I’ve heard that it is terrible and when I saw it in Japanese I certainly thought so, but I’ll be bored for a lot of tomorrow anyway!
That’s it for me. Tomorrow, who knows? Come back and find out what happens. Night!
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