June 16, 2018

Saturday - Cloudy but not rainy

A good day.

This morning F went off to the doctor and K went to a day outing for seniors.  I had the house to myself for a few minutes but didn’t take advantage.  However, when F came back, I had a bit of a look for some of my kitchen stuff. I didn’t find it all, but I did find my pasta pot/steamer. Yay.  

We went out for lunch.  I had requested Futaba just down the road, and that’s where we went.  I didn’t have their quiche today because it had baby fish in it that I consider to be bait.  I had the baguette sandwich and F had the quiche!

After lunch, we went over to Mikawa Shopping Centre and did a little shopping.  I bought some yarn.  Well, strictly speaking, F bought the yarn, I just picked it out.  

We had ice cream at Baskin Robbins too.  They invited us to “Challenge the Triple” today, so we did! It was really nice.

We came back to Tsuruoka and to a hardware shop. F and I bought a few things for the house and garden. We came back to the house after that.  At the house, we found that K had returned. She’d had a good day, but had a hard time because she couldn’t hear well.  F and I came upstairs and he hung up our new curtain rails.  He put them on the ceiling instead of the walls, so I’m a tad bit worried in case they let in too much light, but we’ll deal with that later. 

F finished just after 7 and we talked about dinner.  We decided to go to Foodever and asked K if she’d like to join us. At first, she didn’t want to, but when we told her that we’d bring her a bento afterwards she changed her mind!

Foodever was a tad busy, but not in a bad way.  K had some kind of soba in a soup dish, F had a keisen don and I had fish and roasted potatoes.  I had a to wait a long time for them, a bit too long if you ask me.  

After our meal we came back to the house and stayed here.  I was a tad disappointed, but I knew that F was feeling tired and didn’t want to stress him out more.

We had a quiet evening in.  I took a shower, F went to bed but hasn’t gone to sleep yet. And that was my day!  I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow, but please come back and check it out.  

That’s it for me. Until tomorrow….

June 30, 2017

Friday - Muggy and rainy

An okay day.

I got up this morning around 8 and watched news, then got dressed and after a bit went and downstairs and gave K some breakfast.  She hadn’t heated up the water this morning so there wasn’t any tea, sad to say.

I did the dishes, which took all of two minutes and then came back upstairs.  I did a load of laundry and also took out some garbage from our room up here.  

I also took a nap while the laundry was in the machine. I had set an alarm to let me know when it would finish, so I got downstairs just as it was finishing up.  

A bit after 12:30 I started making lunch for us.  Today we had cold tofu, chicken salad sandwiches and ham salad sandwiches with a little bit of salad.  K said that she liked them and ate them all too.  I was a tad worried that maybe I made too much for her, but she did eat them all.

In the afternoon I came back upstairs and just relaxed a bit. I crocheted a lot, worked on my computer a bit…honestly, it was so hot and humid I didn’t want to do anything at all.  I had to keep drinking too.

F came home around 6 pm and we talked about what to do.  Our old plan, if it hadn’t been raining, was to walk to an izakaya, but it was raining.  Instead we went out and got K something for dinner, delivered it, and then went out for our dinner.  We went to a Thai restaurant and had a yummy meal, then went to the Internet Cafe again. It was nice that we didn’t have to eat there tonight.  We got massaging chairs and spent 3 hours enjoying ourselves.  I did quite a bit of crochet there too.  I watched some regular TV and then put on some of the music videos that my niece had suggested for me.  They were quite good really.

We came home via the convenience store for some drinks.  I was really thirsty, even though I drank a lot.  F went to sleep fairly early, but I’m still up for now.  I hope to go to bed very soon though.

I’m not sure what we’ll be doing on Canada Day, but I hope it will be fun.  Come back later and find out.  Until tomorrow….

June 29, 2017

Thursday - Hot and sunny

A good day.

I got up this morning and got dressed and watched the news. I went downstairs and gave K her breakfast and ate mine with her.  It was nice and companionable.  

After breakfast I tried to find something that F wanted, and found it in the second box I opened so that was good.  One of the benefits of properly labelling the outsides of the box!

When I went back upstairs I found a message from my friend in the next city wondering if I was free for lunch.  I was actually so sent her back my acceptance note and gave her directions to the house too.  I told K I was going out and she was fine with it.

I got ready to go out and then came downstairs and waited for my friend.  She was a little late, but it wasn’t a big deal.  I introduced her to K and then we went off.  We  had lunch in a restaurant in Ginza Dori and it was nice.  We needed a quiet place that wouldn’t freak if we brought a baby and it was great!  The baby in question was very quiet, so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. 

When we finished lunch we walked around the area a little and looked at buildings and architecture. We found a few surprises and it was a nice walk.

We finished up by going to the new tourist attraction near the station.  Technically it opens on July 1st and shouldn’t have been open today, but they were!  We were able to walk around the stores and we could have bought a few things if we wanted.  Sadly, it became time for my friend to leave and she took the elevator to the parkade.  

I went over the road to get a drink from the vending machines outside the building, and then found myself using the lovely re-modeled public washroom in the hotel’s building.  From there, I walked to my hairdresser’s and was able to get a haircut.  Hurray!

I took my shorn locks to the mall and had a quick hack of the hundred yen shop. I didn’t buy anything today.  Then, I went down to Doutor and had an iced coffee and used the wifi for a while.  

F called me a bit late today, so I told him where I was and suggested he join me.  He did!  We had our drinks and then decided on dinner.  I suggested going to an Indian restaurant which wasn’t F’s first idea, but he said it was okay.

We went to the restaurant and I had a great meal.  F didn’t like his as much, but I still think it was good.  I had chicken curry, naan, tandoori chicken and salad…that kind of thing.  It was good.  

We picked up a bento for K and came back to the house with it.  And that was basically that.  I watched a bit of TV, did some crochet and now I’m blogging.  

Tomorrow I’m not sure what I’ll get up to. There’s a faint chance I won’t write, but I most likely will.  Please check back later and see what I get up to!  Until tomorrow….

June 28, 2017

Wednesday - Hot and sunny

A goodish day.

I got up this morning when F did and went out with him.  He dropped me off at the Internet Cafe and I went in and got a massaging chair for myself.  I spent the next 3 hours there and enjoyed myself. I did some crochet, watched some videos and even closed my eyes for a few minutes.

When my time was up I walked to the train station and finally managed to get my tickets for my trip next month.  Of course, it took longer than I hoped and the clerk made a mistake so she had to fix it, but after a while things got sorted out. Whew.  

I met my friend and after buying a drink, we went over to her apartment for some lunch and crochet.  She had made some gorgeous curries and we had them with bread.  After lunch, we did some crochet and knitting together.  I showed her a couple of techniques to help her with joining yarn. I’m hoping I did a decent job, but thought that maybe she was a bit confused.  

When it was time to go, she dropped me off at S-Mall.  I had planned to go and get a hair cut, but honestly, I completely forgot, so I just hacked the mall instead!  I put my backpack in a locker, had ice cream at Baskin Robbins and then did a little window shopping.  I went to Doutors and had an iced coffee and a cookie later on too.  

F called me to say he was finished work. I grabbed my backpack and after a long detour where he bought  a drink we were off.  He went to the car dealership where they put in the new GPS.  Let’s hope this one actually works this time.

We got gas for the car and then thought about dinner.  Although I had wanted more curry I didn’t say anything and let F pick.  He wanted fish, so we went to the restaurant/bar near the station.  I wasn’t that happy about the whole thing, but didn’t care too much either.  

We picked up a bento for K and I picked up some food for lunch tomorrow.  We came back to the house and vegged upstairs.  I watched the end of one movie and then The Martian was on again and I watched it. I tried to crochet during the movie, but F was so damn noisy I wanted to yell at him.  I didn’t.

The colours so far are dark grey, light grey and pink.  There will be cream as well later.

Close up!

Anyway, he wasn’t going to take his shower first, so I asked if I could go instead.  I had an okay shower and then when he went I watched a bit more telly.  

That’s really about it for today.  No big plans for tomorrow, but F needs me to find some important personal papers for him. No idea why really!  Come back in a bit and see how my Thursday is. Until tomorrow….

June 27, 2017

Tuesday - Hot and Sunny

A good day.

I woke up with F this morning, but I didn’t get up!  I went back to sleep after he left which is the first time I’ve done that for a while.  After 9 am I went downstairs and had breakfast with K.  

I came back upstairs and got a load of laundry ready to wash, then took it downstairs.  I worked on some of my computer stuff and also finished my column.  I got it ready to send off to the Journal editor. 

I went downstairs and made lunch for K and I. It was another simple one. I had a bagel with ham slices, K had soft bread with ham slices and mayo.  We both had some soup and salad on the sides.  She seemed quite happy to have lunch and even did the dishes afterwards for us.  Woot.  

In the afternoon I did a couple of postcrossings.  I did one a couple of weeks ago, but it is going to Russia, so I worry it’ll take forever to get there.  The cards I sent today are going to the US and Germany, so there’s a chance they’ll arrive soon.  I also wrote a birthday card for a friend and stamped it.  I decided to go out exploring.  I took my postcards and envelope to the nearest post office, dropped them in the mail box and took a quick tour of the post office.  Sadly, the nearest one is actually not a full service post office and I won’t be able to send international packages from there I think.  Darn. 

I did a little exploring of the area on my bike. I was quite pleased to see that I’m not as far from some things as I thought I was.  Still too far from the station and the movie theater though. I discovered another convenience store so I bought an iced coffee and a snack there and ate and drank in their seat section.  I didn’t stay long, but it was nice to be out of the house alone.

I rode back to the house and went upstairs.  I did some of my crochet, got 3 or 4 rows done while I watched an odd Sandra Bullock movie.  I didn’t finish watching it as F came back from work and we went out.  

We drove around for a while and then went to the older udon shop he likes. It was good tonight, we both had the same thing, udon with some tempura.  We shared a caesar salad too.  

After our dinner, we went to Gusto for dessert and wifi.  It was nice to have it again! Wifi I mean, although dessert was okay too.  We picked up dinner for K there and then made a quick trip to the local Homac for some tape for me.  

We came back to the house and then F and I went for a walk.  It was a lovely evening and it was a good idea.  We went for about a mile.  Neither of us was in tip top condition, so for a first night, a mile was a good distance.  

F took his shower, and then I did.  And that’s about it for the night. I did a little more crochet, I’m about 15 rows in and the blanket is looking great.  I watched a little TV and next I’m off to bed.  

I won’t be at the house all day tomorrow. I’m going to have lunch with a friend and then I’ll go back to the mall and wait for F.  It’s a small mall, so I’m sure I’ll like it when he picks me up afterwards!  

And that was my day. It was quite good.  Come back later and see how my Wednesday turns out!  Until tomorrow….

June 26, 2017

Monday - Cloudy and cold

A good day.

I woke up when F got up this morning, but went back to bed for a little longer.  I got up around 8 to watch the news and then a little after 9 I went down to prepare my breakfast.  While I was there, K asked if she could have some of my cereal too.  It was absolutely fine, so I made her a bowl of it too.  We ate together, and even had some tea too.  I did the dishes and then came upstairs again.

I took a bit of a nap, but got up and did a few things on my computer.  After 12:30, I went down to have lunch. I made some for K too.  She said she liked it but I was worried that it wasn’t what she was used to.  We each had half a bagel with chicken salad on it, plus some lettuce on the side.  Since it was cold, I thought that we should have some soup too, so gave us each an instant soup in a cup.  It went over rather well.  Whew!

I did the dishes again, and came upstairs.  This time I worked on my column and I think I have finished it.  Yay me! I’ll proof it tomorrow.

I walked along the road a little to buy a pop from a vending machine. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit.  I came back in, but K was going for a walk too!  

F came home and wanted to go out this evening, but then spent ages looking for our sheets.  When we finally went out we ended up at the Grand El Sun. I was surprised because it can be expensive at nights, and it was!  We shared an appetizer and had one dish each.  I had a very yummy pasta with  crab and mushroom in a cream sauce, F had balsamic chicken with rice.  

We finished the evening in an exciting tour of the grocery store where we picked up a few items for the house and K.  

We came back to the house, put the food away and then came upstairs.  F took a bath and I watched some TV.  When my show was over, I offered to let him watch something and he found August Rush, one of my favourite little films. We watched the end of it together. F had completely forgotten it!  I did a bit of crochet too.  I started using the second colour, and it looks very nice next to the other one.  

And that was it.  Tomorrow I have to polish my column and send it in, then write a birthday card and probably send that off to a friend.  I don’t know if I’ll be making meals tomorrow or not.  

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

June 25, 2017

Sunday - Cloudy and then rainy

A good day.

We slept in this morning and it was lovely to be able to do so.  Finally F and I got moving.  We went over to Hyakkenbori for brunch and it was nice for me.  I picked their summer special and really enjoyed it.  F, poor F, picked an udon dish but I saw there was a hair on it.  He did tell the waitress and of course they replaced it, but I don’t know if he enjoyed his meal after that.  

Cold udon with goma sauce, and steamed chicken.  Yum.

We drove out to Mikawa after our lunch and went to the mall.  We went and looked at the yarn section and I bought three colours.  Joining with what I have leftover from the last blanket I made, I should be able to make something nice for the newest member of my husband’s family.  

The yarn we bought, pink and dark and light grey.  I also have some cream left.

We also looked at socks for F. He got a couple of pairs, I got one as well. 

We had a doughnut and some coffee at Mr Donut, then went and bought our movie tickets.  Today’s movie was King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. It wasn’t good.  There were some good performances, a few good scenes, but overall, it really was a meh movie.  

F was ready for dinner after the movie and suggested driving to Amarume to go to a nice place there.  I wasn’t sure it was open, but said okay.  Of course, when we got there, we found that it is only open Friday and Saturday in the evenings.  Sigh.  We went to an Italian place instead and had a pizza and pasta set.  It was okay, but not that great for the price.  The salad at the beginning was nice, but F and I couldn’t agree on the pizza.  In the end, I let him pick and of course he picked wrong!  He chose a pizza with shrimp and bait on it. The shrimp and bait had no taste whatsoever, all we could taste was the tomato sauce.  The same sauce that has set off my allergies again.  Oh yay.  The pasta was fine, but could have done with a bit more oomph in the sauce.  

We drove back to Tsuruoka and got a few groceries.  I got stuff for my lunch tomorrow, and we picked up something for K’s dinner.  When we got back to the house, K was still up which was a bit of a surprise.  

F and I came upstairs and watched a bit of TV. I also got started on my new crochet project.  I did two and a bit rows tonight and it looks really nice!

Tomorrow I’m not sure what the weather will be like so don’t know if I’ll be able to go out or not.  I do hope I can go for a walk or something in the morning!

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

June 24, 2017

Saturday - Hot and Sunny

A good day.

We got up fairly early this morning and took K out for breakfast.  We went to the local Gusto, no big deal.  We came back to the house, dropped her off, and then we headed to our doctor’s appointments.  

After our time in the clinic, we decided to have lunch, but we were still full from breakfast.  We went to Yamaya so I could pick up some decent granola.  I actually got muesli, but that’s okay!  F started driving around afterwards and we ended up at a shop that sells large sized clothing.  We had a snoop around and I got something for myself and something for my niece.  After that I asked if we could go to another clothing store in Tsuruoka.  

We were going to go to the yakiniku buffet place for lunch, but at the last moment, I remembered there was a Korean restaurant in the Kokusai Mura, so decided we’d try there.  We were fortunate that  it was still open for lunch so we had a yummy one.  I had a bibinba, F had a noodle dish, and we shared an order of chap chae.  Yum.  

We went to the other clothing store and I found a couple of things for my niece there. I hope they’ll fit her and that she likes them all.  

I told F that I had a cunning plan, so I took him to S-Mall for Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, and I paid.  They have a “Challenge the Triple” thing on at the moment, so we took advantage.  He ordered the large sized, I got the smaller and was very happy with that!

We went back to the house for a while and sat and had some cherries with F’s Mum.  That was nice, but I really just wanted a nap! After a bit, we left.  We picked up a bento for K and delivered it, then went for our light dinner.

We ended up at Kintaro Sushi and had a nice meal. It was surprisingly busy there tonight, the place was hopping.  

After sushi, we went over to the Machikinema and saw Manchester By The Sea.  It was a good movie, not all that easy to watch, but quite deep. Both F and I had some interesting thoughts about it on the way to the house. 

And that’s about it.  When we got back here to the house, F went to bed, me to my computer.  I watched a little telly.  

Tomorrow I’m not exactly sure what we’ll get up to.  We might go over to the Mikawa Mall as I need to get yarn for a new project.  Yes, another of F’s relatives has had a baby.  I just wish they’d tell me before the baby arrives!  And that’s it for me.  Come back later and see if we have a good day or not.  Until tomorrow….

June 23, 2017

Friday - Hot and sunny

A good day.

I woke up with F and said goodbye, then snoozed a little longer.  I was up around 8 am however so that I could watch the news in English.  I really wanted to go back to bed and take a nap, but I never did.

I spent most of the day on my computer working on my column. I got quite a bit done, about half of it I think.  I also brought in my laundry and made my lunch.  I had planned to make lunch for K too if she wanted, but she napped a lot of the day, so I didn’t see much of her.  I caught up with some of the stuff on the DVR as well, and then F called me around 4 pm.  He’d taken a bit of time off work.  He needed to run some errands and was on his way to the house.  

He needed to go back to the doctor’s clinic to check on the procedure done last week.  He invited me to come along.  I quickly changed and then came along.  I brought my knitting along and while he was being seen to in the clinic, I did some. It was relaxing.  

We followed that up with a trip to the car dealership where they tried to fix the GPS in the car.  They didn’t manage, but since it is still under warranty, or F is a good customer or whatever, they are going to fix it next week.  Yay.

We got K a bento for her dinner and delivered it, and then the two of us went to the Internet Cafe for 3 hours.  We had dinner there too. I watched some regular TV and then watched a bit of YouTube which was rather fun.  

We left almost at our time limit and came back to the house.  I’ve been watching Twin Peaks and checking out the internet, F has just turned in for the evening.  

Tomorrow we have a few things planned, but nothing major really.  I hope to go and see a movie tomorrow night, and maybe do a little shopping during the day.  Wish me luck with that!  Come back later and see what happens.  Until tomorrow….

June 22, 2017

Thursday - Cloudy, coolish, but muggy

A busy day!

I woke up when F got up so I could say goodbye, then I tried to snooze for a while.  I was a tad worried that K would come looking for me, so even though I tried to snooze longer, I really didn’t manage much.  Finally I got up and dressed around 8 am as I watched the news on TV.  I went down and had breakfast around 9 am.

After my break, I did some laundry and hung it up in the garage on the second floor.  I was coming in when I heard a vehicle come into the parking space. I thought it was my husband, but it was his niece and her baby.  I invited her into the house and let K know she was there.  I hightailed it upstairs for a while, but did come down near the end of her visit to be friendly.

And what was I doing?  Moving boxes, tidying up and doing all manner of things in our rooms upstairs.  I did most of it in the part that I’m using as my computer room, but did a bit in the bedroom area too.  I packed a few things away, tossed two bags of garbage and also found a missing earring that I feared I would never see again.  Unfortunately it is for pierced ears and mine have grown over so I likely won’t ever wear it!  There’s a lot more to do of course, but the good thing is that I am writing this from F’s old desk while F sleeps in the other room. I can sit in here, write and watch TV quietly and not feel guilty for keeping him up.  

I took a break around 12:30 for lunch.  I was having a big salad with sliced chicken on it, I wasn’t sure about K.  I asked if she’d like something and gave her a smaller bowl with some.  We ate in the living room and she seemed to like it.  I did the dishes afterwards and went back to work.

I came upstairs and brought the vacuum and got up a lot of the old dust.  The best thing would have been if we’d been able to do that before we moved in, but F didn’t think of it before he started to take boxes over.  Still, it looks much better in places now.  I still have too many clothes and there are many stacks of “things”, but I can use the desk and the floor looks cleaner and easier to walk around in.  

F came home around 5:30 I think.  He was tired but he suggested a place for dinner and it was okay.  We went to MokuMoku, thinking it had wifi, but it didn’t.  Still, we had a good meal.  I tried a tomato based pasta, hope it wasn’t a big mistake, and F had the one that I usually have with salmon and shrimp.  We both enjoyed them.

We went to McDonald for coffee and wifi, only to find out that their wifi was very spotty.  I had more luck with the wifi in the washroom than I did outside of it.  

We went to MaxValu and picked up a few things for K’s dinner and for my lunch tomorrow.  I got enough to share with K if she wants some of it.  We came back to the house and I actually took my shower before F since he was listening to a podcast and I wanted to be done before 11pm.  

And that was my day!  I was surprisingly busy, but it felt rather good to get so much stuff done.  I know we have a lot to do up here, but a start has been made, and that was good.  

Tomorrow I really need to get working on my Journal column. I have a few ideas for it, but I need to get them down on paper/screen!  Come back later and see what my Friday is like.  Until tomorrow…..

June 21, 2017

Wednesday - Rainy

A good day!

I got up and went out with F again this morning.  I didn’t go into the convenience store this morning, because I was planning to go somewhere that had a drink bar.  Today, I got F to drop me off at the Internet Cafe.  I got a massaging chair and spent almost 3 hours there.  I had some tea and some coffee, also breakfast and then it was time to go.  I snoozed a little, I must admit, but I was tired.  The massaging chair felt really nice today, after yesterday’s hard work.

Around 10:30 I roused myself and made my way over to the station. I bought a ticket and caught the train with lots of time to spare.  Woot!  The train ride to Sakata was nice and quiet and I did a  couple of rows of my knitting.  When I got off the train in Sakata and went out to meet my friend, she wasn’t there yet, so I just waited for her.  She’s on baby time, so I wasn’t worried. 

We decided to go and have lunch at a new cafe she knew of, but it wasn’t open today. Instead, we went to the Senbei Factory and had a very yummy lunch and lots of lovely conversation.  I bought a few souvenirs there for F and I, and maybe for a friend.  We decided to decamp to Doutors and have more conversation.

At Doutors, some of the customers were admiring my friend’s baby and asked her if I was my friend’s mother! Ack!  Nope, just friends.

I caught the train handily and had a fairly quiet ride back to Tsuruoka. I did more knitting and even saw a heron or two out the window.  Very nice! Back in Tsuruoka I tried to buy my tickets for next month’s  trip, but they wouldn’t sell me the return trip one yet so decided to wait. I walked to S-Mall and had a walk around before F called me.  

We went to Doutors and had a drink each and a quick use of the wifi.  After that, it was off to the car dealership to see about the problem with his GPS machine. It isn’t working at the moment.  Since the car is only 3 months old, that seems a bit strange.  

F was demanding dinner again and for me to pick the restaurant, but tonight I suggested going to one of the fish restaurants that he likes.  It was a good idea and he seemed quite happy for a change.  I didn’t mind either, so it was a win-win situation.  We both had a tuna donburi and shared some octopus tempura.  

We hit up a grocery store after the meal for K’s bento, then realized that I would need food for tomorrow too.  I got stuff for breakfast and also for lunch.  I got enough for two days as well, so I can either share with K if she is interested, or I can have the same thing twice.  

And that’s about it.  We came back to the house, unpacked our groceries and then came upstairs.  I watched a bit of TV, F showered and then went to sleep.  Tomorrow will be the first day in ages that I haven’t got to get up and go out with him.  I’m not sure how K and I will get on together tomorrow.  I need to work on my column and my rooms!  I need to start unpacking, do some laundry and if the weather allows, go for a walk! 

Come back later and find out how I manage.  Until tomorrow….

June 20, 2017

Tuesday - Hot and Sunny

A busy day.

I went to the apartment this morning as usual and got busy.  Instead of waiting until after breakfast to start, I washed the living room and kitchen floors, then went out for my breakfast.  I biked to McDonald and had breakfast there and used their lovely free wifi.  After that, I zoomed over to the grocery store and bought my lunch and a few things to have later on.  

I came back to the apartment.  The floor was only wet in a few patches and looked pretty darn good.  I moved some things around and got ready to do more cleaning.  F came by for his lunch.  He did offer to bring me something, but since I had taken care of that earlier, I turned him down.  I did start eating when he was there.  He was called by his work during his lunch, he had to go and pick someone up.  Oops.  He rushed off, I finished lunch and got back to work.  During the next few hours I cleaned the toilet on the outside, washed the floors in the bathroom, genkan, toilet room and hallway, cleared off the island, packed up the rest of the dishes, cleaned the bath, took down the curtains and folded them up and just generally got on with it.  F was rather surprised when he showed up. Late.  He’d had to work late tonight, so not really his fault, just the wrong night to do it.  

He loaded up the car with stuff and took it to his house.  While he did that, I got the next load ready, did a final clean of the toilet and then the bathroom sink.  F loaded up the car again, this time with a bit of my help.  He was a bit of a pain through the whole process.  I had a small basket filled with my toiletries, things that I needed later on.  He put them in a box with cleaning goods and then tried to put a bag of coffee and tea in on top.  I am afraid that I rather got annoyed at that!  I told him that I had to have my basket later on, as I was going to take a shower at his house.  

I had carefully kept a garbage bag in the apartment and didn’t seal it to go out because I knew there would be last minute things to go out in the garbage.  He very carefully took it out to the car.  He did get it for me, but honestly!  At one point, he tried to put my shoes in a box.  Did he not think I might need to wear them later on?

Anyhow, it got done, F changed the lock combo, and we did a quick check that everything was out. It was.  Sigh. I am going to miss that place. It was fairly modern and so convenient for stores, the station, and decent restaurants.  

We went for dinner to ….Gusto.  Yeah, the place we’d been fighting about before.  It was fine really.  It had drink bar, which I desperately needed, and we had coupons to make our meal even more reasonable.  I liked my food, F said his was okay, but I think he didn’t like it much.

We came back to the house via the grocery store to get his mother something.  We picked up some drinks too.  I watched a bit of TV and after F took his, I took a shower.  

That was about it.  Tomorrow I’m going to head over to Sakata to visit a friend and probably have lunch, then who knows.  

I’m quite tired now, so I think I’ll go to bed in a minute or two and get some sleep.  Come back later and see what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

June 19, 2017

Monday - Sunny and warm

A bit frustrating day.  

Went to the apartment again today, second last time to do that.  We were quiet in the car, didn’t say much to each other.  F dropped me off and I went in. I drank my coffee and decided what to do.  Since I needed to buy my train tickets for next month I thought I’d go and do that and then pick up something for breakfast.  

I got to the station and couldn’t find where to park my bike.  I looked at the sign and it seemed to say that the bike parking was behind the station.  Really?  I duly walked my bike through the underpass but when I got to the other side, there wasn’t anywhere to park my bike.  My car, if I had one, no problem.  My bicycle, nope.  I went back to the front of the station and stuck it somewhere.  I go into the station and fill out a form that was all in Japanese.  I wrote in English, but no worries.  When I got to the counter the clerk told me to come back tomorrow because they can’t book train tickets more than a month early.  ARGH!!!!

I biked to the mall and went to the hundred yen shop. I bought a new hat because mine wouldn’t stay on while I was riding, and a new solar light for the garden and some decaf tea.  I went to the bakery downstairs and bought a few things too, then came back to the apartment and ate.  

F called about 30 minutes later asking if I wanted lunch. I asked for a salad and when he came 15 minutes later he gave me an onion salad with tuna.  It was surprisingly good, but not quite what I had hoped for.  He was friendly on the phone, but not so much in person to me.

After he left, I got busy.  I tidied up some of the island, I put things away, I wiped all the ledges in the mouldings around the room, and where necessary, the bits around the floor too.  I even cleaned some of the toilet room, I cleaned the outside of the toilet that I thought F had done before.  I don’t know if he did any of it though.  

I took a quick shower and then I decided to wash the floors in the bedrooms.  In the second bedroom, I moved the wardrobe out of its corner so I could do underneath it.  

When F called, I was nearly finished.  When he arrived he seemed happy at first, but then turned into grumpy man again.  Instead of saying what a good thing it was that I’d done the floors today, he told me off for not following the grain of the wood.  Which I did for the most part, except around the wardrobe.  

He went and hid in the closet again when I wouldn’t name a restaurant that would make him happy.  Hey, I know there isn’t actually one.  I told him again tonight that I’d really like to go to a restaurant that would make me happy, but there aren’t any Greek or Mexican restaurants in our city.  He doesn’t seem to twig that I very rarely get to eat food that I really love unless I make it and I haven’t been able to do that in months. 

Anyway, I suggested going to the beach with some sandwiches from the store and watching the sunset, he countered with going to see the fireflies.   I was just glad he wasn’t going to make me go to a restaurant so I said okay.  I insisted that we go to a grocery store for food, which we did.  I got some sandwiches and some roast chicken, he got some onigiri.  I also insisted in eating in the car before we went anywhere.  I was damned if I was going to head into the woods with someone who is hangry.  He had actually still wanted to go to a restaurant, but I’m not sure why.

We drove to Yutagawa and to the fireflies area, but didn’t see any at all.  That was sad.  

We drove back to Tsuruoka and his house.  We came upstairs and he was nice for the most part, but fell asleep soon.  I really didn’t mind.  

Tomorrow is the last day of us having the apartment.  I have a lot to do there, lots of cleaning and last minute packing.  I don’t need attitude from my husband, if I get it, I’ll be very unhappy.  

Well, that’s it for me for tonight.  Come back later and see how the last day at the apartment goes.  Until tomorrow….

June 18, 2017

Sunday - Sunny but muggy

An awful day.

We both slept in this morning, it was nearly noon when we finally got up.  We decided to go out for lunch but F was in one of his moods and demanded that I pick the place, but really he didn’t want to go anywhere except a ramen shop.  I wasn’t going to one of those, so I suggested a couple of places that we usually like.  We even have a discount card for them and they are fairly reasonable.  He decided that he would drop me off at one of them.  Which he did.  

I didn’t go there, I was too angry.  Here it was, noonish and I was out in the midday sun with no sunscreen. I had left it at home, thinking I’d only be out for a few minutes. Thankfully I had worn my big sunhat.  I walked to a convenience store, bought some food, and then walked to the apartment and ate.  I shut the door to the room I was in, so when F showed up a few minutes later wasn’t too surprised.  

He took the air conditioner out and left.  I used the washroom, looked around and went back to my room.  

He came back and did something and then seemed to disappear.  I couldn’t hear him any more.  I checked and the car was there, his shoes were there, but he wasn’t.  I found him sleeping (or pretending to) in one of the closets for futons.  What an idiot.  

I left him alone for a while then offered him a coffee.  He got a little friendlier after that.  He told me about taking the air conditioner to the shop and that he hadn’t had lunch.  That was crazy.  I had managed to walk to the convenience store and buy my lunch, he had a car and he couldn’t get anything? He asked if there were any movies playing and as it happens, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was playing in half an hour.  I had earlier decided to go by myself if he didn’t start acting better.  

We drove to the theater and went to see the movie.  F got some food at the bakery and wolfed it down, and we shared a tub of popcorn during the show.  I think I enjoyed the film even more the second time.  I could concentrate on some of the characters more than the story this time.  

After the movie we went to Doutors for a while.  It was very quiet.  We didn’t talk, both of us used the wifi and drank our drinks.  

We got something for F’s mother and brought it back for her.  F was in the house for a long time, and I didn’t want to be, so I went outside and contemplated my life and what I want and what I’m not getting.  

When he came out, he again demanded that I choose the restaurant.  I suggested a couple of Korean ones, he drove past one but it looked busy so he kept driving.  I suggested another restaurant we always go to, he said it was okay but he didn’t like it.  I pointed out that I didn’t like it that much either, but it has wifi, is cheap and fast.  When I asked him where he wanted to go, he named a few restaurants that are absolute pits and I said I wouldn’t go to any of them. Not only was the food bad, but most of them were ramen joints.  

He decided to please himself and drove off into the night. He was trying to find a place in the next town that he likes but it was closed so he had to turn around and come back.  We were talking a little by then, but not much.  

He found a place in Tsuruoka finally that had Chinese food, so I had a set meal and he had ramen.  It was fine, actually much better than I was expecting.  It wasn’t cheap, but by that time I really didn’t give a crap.  

We came back to the house and came upstairs.  He took a shower and has gone to bed, I’m still up.  I know he’s worried about money, but I’m not the person who has dragged out this move. I’m also not the person who bought themselves a new car this year. I am the person who has had this unwanted move forced upon them, and who is now trying to decide if remaining here is something that I am willing to put myself through. In two short days we will be out of the apartment and the next phase of my life will begin.  I believe in self-preservation first so there may be some big changes coming up.  

Come back later and see if things get any better or if we continue acting stupid.  Until tomorrow….

June 17, 2017

Saturday - Sunny but cool

A bit frustrating day…

We slept in this morning, and then F took his mother to get her hair cut.  When they came back, F and I went out for lunch.  K didn’t want to come, she was invited.

We had lunch near the shopping centre Pal and it was fine. I had pasta with mountain vegetables, F had a ramen-type meal.  After lunch, we went to the drugstore nearby and I bought some sunscreen.  It wasn’t cheap, but a couple of years ago it was the only stuff that seemed to work on me, so I was willing to get it again.  

We went to the apartment and F tried to call people to take down our AC unit.  Unfortunately, he’d left it too late and they couldn’t come in our time limit.  He decided to do it himself but needed tools.  We went to his house to pick stuff out, do some printing, and then a little shopping. 

F worked very hard on removing the unit. He consulted a site on the net so had some good advice about it and finally, finally got it done.  It was a big job though.  I cleaned the wall underneath where the AC was, and then of course, F had to re-clean it.  Gah!  Does he have any clue how rude that is?  And no, there wasn’t any difference afterwards.

We’d had lunch early today and dinner was already late, so I was getting annoyed that F wouldn’t stop so we could have dinner.  We also needed to get his mother something so time was running out. We brought her a bento and then went for our dinner.

I suggested going to Coco Ichibanya for curry and F liked the idea.  We both had different dishes, I had soup curry, he had curry with fried fish.  They were fine. I liked mine a lot.  

We went to the theater and went to see Moonlight.  I was prepared to like it a whole lot more than I did.  I think I need to think a little more about it.  The performances were quite good though and the story was interesting.  It wasn’t much fun, however!

After the movie, F and I came to the house via a convenience store where we picked up a few things for tonight.

And that’s about it.  It was a strange day. We spent time at the apartment, but I didn’t do all that much. Tomorrow I think we have to go and do a few more things there, come on back and find out.  Until tomorrow….

June 16, 2017

Friday - Cloudy, rainy and back to sunny.  

A good day.

We got up a bit later than usual this morning, which was lovely! We had decided last night to go to Gusto for a as-late-as-possible breakfast, since F couldn’t eat after 11 am.  We invited K to come along and she did.  Gusto was fine, I had my usual scrambled egg and bacon & sausage, K had pizza toast and F had what I had, but with fried eggs instead of scrambled.  

After breakfast, I asked that we go to the grocery shop so that I could get something for my lunch.  K bought some groceries for herself too, then F  brought us back to the house.  He and I went out again to run a few errands and then at 11:45 his taxi came and he had to leave.  

I stayed upstairs for most of the time watching telly and tidying up a bit.  I had noticed last night that the first season of Girls was unscrambled on one of the cable channels, so I had set the dvd recorder.  I watched 3 and a half episodes before K called me downstairs.  There’s been some problem with the antenna to her TV.  She doesn’t really watch Satellite TV, so she wasn’t sure about the channels.  I came down and showed her the NHK ones, but I don’t know if she was happy about them.  I grabbed my lunch and after offering to share with her and having it turned down, took it upstairs to eat.  I watched more of Girls and ate lunch.  F was home soon, and seemed fine!  

He wasn’t supposed to drive since he’d had anesthetic so I suggested we walk to the nearest vending machines for some drinks.  He liked the idea and off we went.  It was drizzling, but not bad at all out.  We carried our brollies, but didn’t use them.

Back at the  house, I watched more of Girls and F napped and looked at some of his stuff. He realized that it had to be taken to the hospital and the deadline was today. Oops.  He decided to drive to the hospital. I came with him of course and kept an eye on him, but he was fine.  I think he has a high tolerance of painkillers personally.

He handed in the papers and then I checked the gift shop for some of the sunscreen I bought there a few years ago.  They didn’t have any, but they had some of the old brochures, so I took one of them!

We came home, watched a bit more telly and had a cuddle.  Around 6 pm our sushi that we ordered last night was delivered.  Hurray!

The three of us had a nice meal.  We had ordered a 40 piece set of sushi which came with soup packets for us all.  We made up the soup, and ate the sushi.  It was a big hit with K and really was nice to have a no fuss dinner.  Afterwards, I washed the few dishes there were and had F make space for the wet dishes in the drainer.  

We came upstairs and the two of us watched Sliding Doors which we haven’t watched in ages.  It was on the DVR for at least a year, probably more!  I really liked it, probably and mostly because of the Monty Python quotes and the lovely John Hannah!

F was tired afterwards and he’s been snoozing for a while.  I’m still up having watched my usual Friday night programmes.  I have the DVR set for the rest of Girls season one.  I must say I enjoyed it, but the frank sexuality and amount of nudity was rather surprising for a half hour comedy show. 

Tomorrow we have a few things planned.  I’d like to go to a drugstore and see if I can find the sunscreen I want since F read in the brochure where we can get it, we need to go to the apartment and F will do a little bit of work there, probably me too, and I’m hoping to take in a movie tomorrow night.  There are two new English ones, Moonlight and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.  I’ve heard terrible things about the latter, and only good things about the former, so I’m voting for it! 

Come back later and see what we get up to.  We are winding down the move, we didn’t even go to the apartment today, hurray! Until tomorrow…. 

June 15, 2017

Thursday - Sunny and warm, rainy at night

A good day.

This morning after I got dressed for leaving the house, I packed my computer into my backpack and also put a pair of jeans and a nice shirt in there too.  

At the apartment I finished drinking my iced coffee from the convenience store and then scooted off on my bike to have breakfast at McDonald.   That done, and my apps updated, I headed off to the grocery store and picked up a few things.  

After that, I came back to the apartment, took a quick shower and then made a start on my Journal Column.  

My friend came to meet me around 11:30 and I invited her in to see the apartment.  We also had a coffee and the grand tour!  F came home while we were sipping our hot beverage, so we left him to it and went for lunch.  She had brought her baby of course, so we needed a family friendly place.  We decided to go to Cocos and it was a good choice.  

We had a nice meal with good drinks and even splurged on desserts so really enjoyed ourselves.  I was able to help her with a few things when she had the baby in her arms, which was nice for both of us.  

Our time together was soon up, so she drove me back to the apartment and went on her way home.  I went in, and tried to work on my column again.  I was overtaken with tiredness for a bit, so I took a nap.  I set a timer and woke up a little later.  

When F came by the apartment after work, he wanted to go out.  We decided to go to Doutors in the mall for coffee and wifi.  I had decaf iced coffee, F had regular and we both made use of the wifi!  When we finished, we bought a couple of things in the hundred yen shop, then went to the grocery store for a bento for K.

As we drove to the Chinese Restaurant near our apartment, I suggested a couple of things to F for tomorrow.  I said we could order in some Sushi for dinner and he should also order a taxi for himself.  He’s going to the health clinic for a procedure tomorrow, so will be off work.  At first he didn’t like my ideas, but after dinner, came around to my way of thinking!

Dinner wasn’t a great success however.  F wanted shrimp in chilli sauce, a dish I have never liked much.  He whined about ramen too, but I said it would be okay if we had some fried rice.  We also had the half chicken that we both like.  Well, I had one shrimp…or half of one.  I bit into it, but the shrimp still had the shell on it.  Yuck.  I hate that change in texture.  Then, the chilli sauce sploged off my chopsticks and onto one of my favourite shirts.  It got on the table too and took a while to clean up.  That was all the chilli-shrimp that I could handle.  I did eat quite a bit of the chicken and the rice though.  F got a bit quiet during the meal and it took a bit of jollying him before he cheered up.  

On the way to his house, we stopped at the sushi delivery place and made an order for tomorrow and also stopped at a taxi company and booked a cab for him.  Yay me!  Two things we don’t have to worry about tomorrow.  

We came back to the house and K was in a bit of a mood.  The TV antenna seems to be off, so she wasn’t able to watch shows she liked. F and her had words, but I just came upstairs. We popped out a few minutes later to pick up some beer for F and a drink for me.  

We came back again to the house and came upstairs.  I did a load of laundry but my shirt didn’t come clean yet.  I hung it up, put the other stuff away and then watched a bit of TV.  

It’s been a quiet evening really except F isn’t sleeping.  He was almost there and then got up.  I think the bad weather isn’t helping him at all. 

Tomorrow is going to be a different type of day.  We have dinner sorted, but will have to have a brunch type of meal together.  Come back later and see how it goes.  Until tomorrow…. 

June 14, 2017

Wednesday - Sunny and warm

A good day!

We got up this morning and left for work and the apartment.  F dropped me off and I went to the apartment.  I had a very slow start to the day, I snoozed for a bit before having breakfast and doing a bit of knitting.  

F called to say that he’d come there for lunch which annoyed me a tad as I didn’t think he’d be able to do that and I had planned for him not to come!  I was in the midst of getting ready to wash the floor again.  I was sweeping and vacuuming before I washed things.  I got the toilet room, genkan and half of the bathroom done, then did the bedrooms.  I changed the water along the way and had done half of the kitchen when F came.  He had some noodles and I took a break!

He went back to work and then I did more washing. I got the kitchen, living room, and half of the hallway done.  I couldn’t really finish until he came back from lunch to get me.  When he arrived, I very quickly did the rest of the floor and we left.

We had a quick, cheap and cheerful lunch at Kappa Sushi and then came back to the apartment.  The floor was mostly dry, but not completely!  F did a few spot things like taking things out of the apartment and I did some last minute vacuuming before the inspection person came.  It was a youngish woman who was very nice and efficient.  Basically there aren’t too many problems.  The mould problems we had had apparently aren’t as bad as in some of the apartments so we are okay that way.  We do have to take down the air conditioner.  F was hoping to leave it, but she said we couldn’t.  

She left and we relaxed for a little while.  It’s quite bittersweet for us.  After a while I suggested going to karaoke and I was surprised that F agreed.  

We drove to the newish place near the station and got free time.  Because we’re older, we got a slight discount.  Woot!  We had fun, sang for almost 3 hours and even had our dinner there.  

We bought a bento for K from the grocery store near the karaoke and went back to the house.  We unloaded the car and then came upstairs.  I watched TV for a while and…wrote up a Postcrossing card.  Just one, but I haven’t done any since February.  I have missed it so much.  This card is going off to Russia.  I hope it gets there.  

And that’s about it.  It’s nearly my bed time.  F was asleep, but woke up, took medicine and is back to sleep.  Tomorrow I think I’ll take my computer to the apartment and work on my column.  I also probably have a lunch date so I have something to look forward to.  Come back in a bit and see what happens.  Until tomorrow…. 

June 13, 2017

Tuesday - Sunny and warm

An odd day.

We got up this morning and left for the apartment.  F went past the convenience store and then turned around and came back.  That surprised me a tad!

He let me off near the apartment and I walked up the driveway.  I started the waterpot, sat on the chair and promptly fell asleep.  I didn’t wake up properly for hours.  I was quite upset with myself.  

I roused myself and did a couple of things, then decided to go out for lunch.  I chose to go to a local place that has a meal I really like.  Well, long story short, they don’t have it anymore. I am so disappointed.  It was the only thing in the restaurant that I could eat, since it is run by a farm that grows tomatoes.  Sigh.  I told the waitress that I was sorry, but I was allergic to tomatoes and left. 

As I came out of the building, I got a call from F. He told me that the apartment inspection is going to be tomorrow!  We were planning to ask them to come on Friday, but they will be there tomorrow.  Apparently it is the first of two.  One before and one as we are leaving.  It sort of makes sense, but is really annoying.  

I went to Sukaze for lunch since they stayed open a bit later than most restaurants.  It wasn’t too busy so I could get a table for myself.  I had broccoli and clam pasta and it was lovely. I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t cheap, but it was good.

I went home via the convenience store afterwards and bought a few things, then went back to the apartment and started working on things.  I boxed a few things up to get them ready and moved them to the door.  I took a break and then I got busy again.  I decided to clean the top of the genkan shoe box and then I worked on the outside of the door.  F came back while I was doing that and instead of saying something nice to me, didn’t say anything at all.  

He went inside and started being an idiot again and putting things away where I didn’t want them.  I asked him if we were supposed to clear everything out of the apartment and he said we were.  So, I took him at his word and boxed up the food, my work clothes and a whole bunch of other things.  Then he told me he didn’t mean the food. Or the stools.  ARGH.  Didn’t tell me what he meant though.

We left the apartment around 8 pm and went to Gusto for dinner.  It wasn’t bad at all. It wasn’t too exciting either though!

We came back to the house and that was that.  It wasn’t really a good day, but the good thing is that it does look like we’ll be out of the apartment soon.  I need to get on with my life and decide what that means for me.  I have a lot to think about really.  

Come back later and find out how the inspection goes, as well as everything else.  Until tomorrow….