Living La Vida Loca In Japan: May 2012

Showing posts with label May 2012. Show all posts

May 31, 2012

Thursday - Hot and sunny

A good day.

I got up early and showered. I watched SATC and then started my lunch. I had a nice one today. I cooked some of the chicken from last night, then I made myself a lovely omelette. It was snow peas and asparagus plus cheese. After I did the dishes, I headed off for work.

Yesterday I had blown up the bicycle’s tires, so riding was nice and easy today. I made good time and got my school set up. Unfortunately my student was late, but she did make it! We had a good class together.

After her class, I did my paperwork, read the newspaper and then did the dishes. I unplugged things, turned others off and then left the school.

I stopped in at the drugstore for a few supplies then came home. I read blogs and websites until F came home. He was quite late tonight. We discussed where to go for dinner tonight and finally decided on going to Aki for okonomiyaki. It was a good choice. The restaurant was empty and we were able to get our food quite quickly.

We bought a few groceries, including some gorgeous looking salmon from Norway for dinner tomorrow. I’ll have to plan something else to have with it. I hope it’ll all work out. F said he’d be a bit late tomorrow too.

The rest of the night we spent just chilling out. I watched some TV, F took his bath and is now snoozing on the couch. I did a few rows of crochet. I have about 4 rows worth of my pattern to do and then I’ll decide if I’m going to do anything else to my blanket. That’s it for me for tonight. Later!

May 30, 2012

Wednesday - Cloudy and cool

A good day!

I got up this morning, with a bit of difficulty, but I did! I watched SATC again and afterwards decided to do some laundry. As I was putting away some of my clean clothes from last time, I moved the stuff outside the wardrobe and what should I find but F’s cell phone! On the floor, out of sight under the chair we pile stuff on for later. Whew! I wasn’t able to tell him because I had his phone, but I was happy about it.

I did lots of laundry, also did up another postcrossing and then in the afternoon I took a couple of cards over to the post office and mailed them. I came home and then got started on dinner.

F came home and had a joyful reunion with his cellphone. They were joined together for most of the evening!

I cooked dinner. We had microwave fried chicken (kind of a Shake and Bake-style thing), salad and stir-fried snow-peas and asparagus. Everything was very nice and we enjoyed it. F did the dishes and I relaxed.

In the evening I made brownies. I had bought a mix back in February and it was time for a celebration. Also, I was worried that the weather would soon be too hot to use the oven in the apartment. Today was a little cool so it was okay.

We had some brownies and ice cream with tea around midnight. Very nice, and way too late in the evening.

And that basically was my day. Hurray for finding F’s cell phone. He was lost without it! I did some crochet today too. I still have a few rows to do though. Tomorrow I have an early class so I have to go. Night!

Postcrossing Incoming & Bonus card!

To May 30, 2012

I've been having a great time with Postcrossing.com and as usual have received some great cards. If you like sending and receiving mail, then you might be interested in joining up.

Since the last Postcrossing Update, I have received 6 new cards, plus a bonus I'll tell you about. These are great cards, read on and enjoy!

This card came from the Netherlands and shows Olives on a board. It is a Nouvelles Images card and they are quite sought after. I like it a lot because at my convention in March I took an olive oil tasting workshop and this reminded me of it. I like olives!

Olives on a board

The sender lives in a small village in the center of the Netherlands. She's married and has two children.

This card came from Finland and shows Heath Church. The sender writes that he met up with a friend of his who was in Canada on a holiday and he fell in love with Canada. He says that I am living very far from my home country and he wouldn't be able to do that!

Nummen Kirkko//Heath Church

Cathedral of the Resurrection ("Our Saviour-on-the-Spilt-Blood") 1883-1907

Vitalik writes that he lives in Saint Petersburg, the central part of Russian culture. His city is also well known as the city of white nights and rising bridges.

He writes that he's 17 years old and loves reading, travelling, and listening to music. He wants to learn new languages such as Spanish or Korean.

At the moment he is writing very important exams, so my postcard was the last that he would be able to send until July most likely. He also apologised for writing his card while he was on the school bus!

It's a beautiful card, and quite a bit bigger than the usual cards I receive. I really like this one.

Jiufen, Taipei

YungYa sent this card from Taiwan. She noted that I am a big movie fan, but apologised that she didn't have any movie cards for me. However, the city shown is a famous film location, she writes, and was the inspiration for "Spirited Away"(Sento Chihiro). I would have loved it even without the film connection.

This is a very special and rare card. It comes from Nepal. There are only 17 postcrossers in Nepal and there have only been 176 cards sent from the country. I got one of them! Yay!

A majestic view of Annapurna Range from the village of Dhampus

The sender writes that his country is full of natural beauty, and this picture shows one of the beautiful places. This place is called Dhampus, and we can have a very close view of the mountains from there.

Thank you for sending a card. I appreciate it very much!

I received this card today from the Republic of Belarus. Alena writes that this cards shows the most important book of all time in her opinion, the Bible. She writes that she also finds it interesting and valuable for non-religious people too.

She wrote that her favourite foreign movies are the two adaptations of Alice In Wonderland, the Tim Burton one, and one by Nick Willing. She wrote the name of her favourite Russian movie, but I can't read it!

And now, the bonus. It's a bit gruesome, so perhaps you don't want to see it, but this card was inspired by the novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I entered a competition on a blog and was the lucky recipient of this card. It's a little scary, but I like this card!

A Bloody Twist on Jane Austen's Classic

Just as an aside, I found out about Postcrossing from the blog posted above, so I have an extra reason to be thankful to the sender!

That's it for today. A lot of very interesting cards. I hope you enjoy them all!

May 29, 2012

Tuesday - Changeable and cool outside

A good day. I got up a bit late and made the bed. After that, I watched SATC and while it was on, F came home bearing gifts! He brought me a couple of tai-yaki, and they were still warm. Yum. He left right after he dropped them off too.

In the afternoon I watched a bit of TV, and had lunch. I got ready for work and left right at 4. I rode over to the school and set up over there.

I was ready for my student, but sadly she called to say she couldn’t come. I did a little bit of paperwork and then took off for home. F was there already and we had a nice reunion. I had received a couple of postcards today but hadn’t time to register them before work, so I took care of it.

We had a quick and okay dinner at Tsukiya, then swung through the grocery store for tomorrow’s dinner.

At home, we relaxed for a while and then I went to the couch and did a bit more crochet. The blanket is looking pretty good. I have about 14 or so rows to do if I keep to the present plan. I might go and get more wool, I’m not sure. Anyway, I have photos for your viewing pleasure!

After Criminal Minds, F went to take his bath, and I went back to my computer. Tomorrow, I have a day off, so I might do more crochet or go out, I’m not really sure to be honest.

That was my day. It was a pretty good one. Night! (PS…still no cellphone. Today F reported it to the police.)

May 28, 2012

Monday - Sunny with some rain

An odd day. Is there any other kind?

I got up quite early this morning and came through to the living room. I fired up my computer, watched Sex and the City then somehow ended up napping on the couch. I was quite surprised to wake up 30 minutes later. I did feel less tired though.

I had an exciting early afternoon, ate some of my leftover stew, which was better than before, and watched the last hour or so of Sense and Sensibility. I love Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman in that film. Always lovely to see some of the character actors too, and fun to see Hugh Laurie with his real accent!

In the afternoon I tried to get a head start on dinner, but the garlic I was going to use for my marinade was soggy. Yuck. Instead I used Worcester sauce.

I got a couple of postcards in the mail, so I scanned them and the two I was sending, plus got a Book-mooch ready to go out. The weather wasn’t bad, so I quickly biked off to the post office and sent everything away. When I came home, I swept the lobby of our apartment building. Our “service” month is up at the end of the month, so thought I should do it one last time.

F came home around 5:30 and invited me to go to the mall with him to have another look for his cellphone. We drove out there and parked. We went to the theatre and asked if it had been turned in. Nope. We went to the mall’s customer service, same thing. Nope. We had a snack and then a drink in Seattle’s Best. After that, we went up to the theatre again and they let us take a look around our seats for F’s phone, but nada. What on earth did he do with it? He had been wearing his blue jacket, and tonight when he was walking through the mall, things kept falling out of his pockets, so that’s what I think probably happened to it. It likely fell out somewhere in the dark.

We came home and got dinner underway. F was going to cook the eggplant, but wanted to deep fry it. I wouldn’t let him. Last time he deep fried something there was a thin film of oil all over the kitchen. I didn’t want that happening again. He jury rigged something with dash, foil, oil and ginger in the grill and it was okay. I cooked the meat and it was nice. The Worcester sauce wasn’t too strong, just a nice light flavour. We were a bit miffed with each other, been heatedly discussing dumb stuff earlier and F wasn’t happy with me not letting him deep fry.

Anyway, dinner was fine. We both had a good meal I think and I did the dishes for good measure while F watched boxing.

The rest of the evening was fairly quiet. We watched a bit of TV and I crocheted a few rows of my blanket. I may have to go and buy more yarn. Yikes. I hope not!

Well, that is it for me. I’m about done for tonight. I have a class tomorrow afternoon so I hope the weather holds for a bit. I have to go. Night!

May 27, 2012

Sunday - Hot and sunny

A different day than I expected.

This morning, F got up and realised that he’d misplaced his cellphone. Most people would quickly remember where they had it last and go and find it, but F couldn’t remember. We backtracked over last night and came to the conclusion that he must have left it at the theatre. He called over, but no-one had found it and it wasn’t turned in. He spent much of today searching the apartment, his car, and even the mall trying to find it. He didn’t manage.

I got up in the early afternoon and vegged for a bit. F had also gone out this morning and finished cutting the grass around the apartment building so he was relaxing for a bit. We decided to have lunch and then take the bedding to the laundromat. I’d stay with the bedding and take care of it, while F drove back to the mall to search for his phone.

We had a fast lunch at Kintaro Sushi and it was pretty good. It’s a shame how quiet it is these days. After that, we went to the laundromat and put the stuff in the washers, then I sent F on his way. I had a big book with me and I was dying to get back to it!

I read quite a bit and also put the bedding in to a dryer when F came back. He didn’t find his cell. He checked with the mall people, he checked with the theatre people, but no one had found it. I think that it is stuck on the chair he used yesterday or somewhere underneath it, but there was a matinee on when he was there, so he couldn’t go in and search. Sigh. _I_ would have waited, but I’m not F.

Anyway, we brought the clean bedding home and put the bed back together. We’ve finally changed from the winter quilts to summer blankets and towelkets. Hurray. It has finally started warming up at night here. After that, F proceeded to search even more through our apartment for a phone and I had a nap on the bed. When I woke up it was past 8 pm and F was watching Volleyball. Yawn.

We had a quick and cheerful dinner in Gusto. F had the same dish he had yesterday so I assume he liked it. We shared an order of chicken wings too that were quite nice.

We went by the grocery store and got a few things for dinner tomorrow night. F is going to do some of the prep, so I hope he is okay about it.

At home, he searched again, and of course didn’t find his phone. The last time he remembers having it was when he turned it off before the movie. I think that it probably slipped out of his pocket while he was sleeping and he was a bit dozy after the movie and didn’t look for it right away.

I watched a Jason Statham movie, The Mechanic. It was slick and not great. I’d seen it earlier this year, but watching Jason is one of my great pleasures in life. (Grin) After it was on, the original with Charles Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent was on. It was quite good, in a very different way. It wasn’t as slick as the remake, but it was probably a better movie.

F went to bed and I stayed up a bit. Tomorrow I’m not sure what I’m going to do, so you’ll just have to come back and find out. Night.

May 25, 2012

Friday - Cloudy and then rainy

An okay day. I got up and started my day. I did a bit of crochet and then some housework.

F popped home for a couple of minutes during the day, then left again.

I was going to run my postcards to the post office, but it was raining rather hard for that, so I decided to get F to take me later on.

I started dinner a bit before F came home. I made stew tonight and it was really good. It took ages to prep all of the vegetables though! It cooked fairly quickly and then I got dinner on the table. We both liked it a lot, but there are some leftovers. It might be our brunch tomorrow, you never know!

After dishes, F watched Volleyball. I’m not a fan, but he did enjoy it. We ran out to the post office after the game and then went to Mr. Donuts for a drink. It was nice to go out together and just “hang”.

We came home and watched Desperate Housewives while I did some crochet. After that, Invictus was on, so F watched that. I quite like that film.

And that was my day. It wasn’t bad at all. Tomorrow I’m back at work and then it’s the weekend, baby! No idea what’ll happen with it yet. Come back and find out! Got to go--night!

Postcrossing - Incoming

To May 24, 2012

The week is nearly over, but I thought I would update the cards I have received this week. I have had a good week so far.

Kaiserin Elisabeth von Osterreich (1837-1898)

A few days ago I posted a card of Romy Schneider. I didn't know, but she played this person in a series of films. This is Sissi, Queen of Austria and Hungary. She lived from 1837-1898. She had quite an interesting life but had more than a few problems with eating. She was apparently quite vain about her appearance and was famous for having a wasp waist which she achieved by dieting and strict corseting. She was assassinated by an anarchist as she tried to board a ship.

The card was sent to me by Wilhelm. He lives with his wife and dog in a small German village. I love learning about historical figures, so I like this card very much.

Deanna sent this movie card to me all the way from Canada. Hurray! My first postcrossing from home. She hopes that I like the card, and writes that she's in her twenties and has her BA in Anthropology from McMaster. She loves museums and works in a small museum in Toronto.

I do love this card as I saw the film with my niece and nephew over Christmas a while ago. It was a hoot.

There were also some great stamps on this card, which I have posted for a change! The first two are the interesting Titanic stamps. They commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking. I'm not sure if the detail is there when you click on them, but one half of the stamp says Halifax, the other half says Southampton. Really cool.

However, the other stamp was the one I was really surprised by. Released for Black History Month, it shows John Ware. He was born a slave in South Carolina and then was freed after the US Civil War. He made his way up to Alberta where he settled and raised a family. He was apparently quite a famous person and his funeral was one of the biggest that Calgary had seen until that time. Sadly, I had never even heard of him.

Claudia sent me this great portrait of Sophia Loren. Claudia is originally from Germany but now lives in Ireland. She said that it was interesting to write to me as I have also left my homeland. She wishes me the best and hopes I like her card. I do, very much.

Sophia Loren, 1955

Claudia also used an interesting stamp. Yes, another Titanic stamp! I like this one too ~~but I don't know who the lady on the stamp is, sorry~~.

Edited to add that thanks to a suggestion from a reader (Illahee), the lady on the stamp is (the unsinkable) Molly Brown. Her parents were Irish immigrants to the US.

Eva from the Czech Republic sent this card. She says that the Golden Lane at Prague Castle is a beautiful place. It certainly looks like it from this card. She writes that she loves Meryl Streep. (Me too!)

Golden Lane - Prague/Praha

There you are. Four great cards AND a bonus of some interesting stamps too. I hope that you like these cards as much as I do. Until next time!

May 24, 2012

Thursday - Sunny and warm

A good day. I went to bed early last night but didn’t sleep very well. This morning I got up once to find F’s glasses. He’d lost them in the night. I found them, put them up safely and went back to sleep.

I had a good, if fast morning. I cooked myself lunch around 11 am and then headed out to my school at 12. I made good time and got the school set up quickly. The temperature was nearly perfect so I didn’t have to use a heater.

My student came and we had a good class. We talked a little about postcrossing as she has started doing it too. We soon got down to our lesson which was a little hard, but she did rather well.

After her class I did my paperwork and read some of the newspapers I’d been stockpiling. After that, I headed off home. I stopped at the drugstore for my supplements and then came home.

F came home a bit late tonight, but not outside the norm really. He looked at his postcrossing for a while before we went out for dinner. Tonight he picked Cocos out of the ones I suggested for us.

After dinner we bought a few groceries. I’m going to cook again tomorrow night. Should be fun I think. I hope!

Watched a bit of TV at home and I wrote 3 postcards. I think F did a few as well. At 11 I went over to the couch and did some crochet while I watched Royal Pain.

After midnight, F and I watched Masterchef. Hurray, the right person was knocked out.

And that was my day. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day too. Night.

May 23, 2012

Wednesday - Sunny and warm

A good day. I woke up early-ish and got up right away too. I have to get up early tomorrow and want to be able to wake up then. I watched Sex and the City and did a few rows of crochet. It was nice and peaceful.

In the afternoon I made lunch and did my stuff on the computer. I really just spent a quiet afternoon alone. I thought at one point of going out, but then decided to stay in and scan all of my gotochi cards. A friend sent me one from her prefecture, so I thought it was a good time to get the postcards sorted out.

F came home a bit late tonight and brought me bagels. Yay him!

We went out for dinner at the Taiwanese place that he likes. I hate that place. The food is horrible. I had chicken stirfry with black pepper and it had no taste at all. It was lukewarm when it arrived too. Even the rice was dry. I’ve gone there 3 or 4 times now with my husband and it has never been good. I asked him not to take me there anymore.

After dinner we hit a drugstore for a few necessities and then came home. We had a pretty quiet evening in. I did a few more rows of crochet and F took his bath. Pretty normal really.

And that was my day. I did get a couple of postcrossing cards so I hope that I can post them soon. I can’t stay up late tonight, or I’d do it now! Talk to you tomorrow. Night!

My baby blanket for F's niece's baby

May 22, 2012

Tuesday - Sunny and warm

A good day. I got up this morning and took a shower. I spent a quiet day at home, didn’t go out at all. I got started on my new craft project for F’s niece’s baby. It looks really cute so far. I have no idea what the baby looks like!

F was a little late today so when he came home I got dinner started. We had Fettucine alfredo with chicken and asparagus and a side salad. It was quite nice.

We had a quiet evening together and I did a bit more crochet. I’ve now used all four colours. I’ll try and post a picture tomorrow.

I also received a couple of postcards today. I finally got one from Canada that I’m tickled pink about. Yay for that.

And that was my day. It was quite low-key, but nice. Got to go. Night!

May 21, 2012

Monday - Sunny and warm

A good day.

I didn’t get up this morning to watch the eclipse. We hadn’t bought any of the special glasses to view it safely, so I made the executive decision to skip it and sleep in instead. So, that’s what I did!

I got up this morning and watched a bit of TV. I chilled out, relaxed and enjoyed myself. I moved my computer over to F’s usual spot on the chesterfield and tried scanning some postcards. I got it to work fairly easily after only a little while. Yay me.

F phoned home to see if there was anything he could pick up from the Kaldi’s in Yamagata. I gave him a couple of ideas, and asked if I should take his postcards to the post office with mine. He said yes.

After my lunch I biked off to the post office. I made a quick trip and then came home. At our apartment building I dropped off my bag, then swept the lobby. I started upstairs and swept the whole thing. This place gets so dusty, I can hardly believe it. Still, it did look rather good when I was done.

F came home a little later and we had a nice reunion. We had each received a postcard today (see mine below) so we spent a few minutes on our computers registering the cards or scanning them. I showed F a few things I’d learned about the scanner.

We had dinner tonight at Cafe Framboise. F had his usual Japanese set meal and I had minute steak. We both enjoyed our meals. One unusual thing that happened was I got a call during the meal from a student. Sadly, she was cancelling her lessons for the next couple of weeks. She is a very busy lady.

F bought gas for the car after dinner, then we bought a few things at the grocery store for tonight’s dinner. I’m going to attempt cooking again.

We came home, and in a rare generous mood, I told F that there was boxing on, so he watched that for a while. I of course watched Medium and started the baby blanket I’m going to make. However, I decided that I would probably use too much yarn using the pattern that I was using, so I am re-thinking it all. I’ll likely use a more open pattern. It is summer after all. Or will be when I get it done!

That’s about it for tonight. F took a bath and has gone to bed. He wasn’t nearly as noisy tonight. It’s funny how much better we both are when we eat properly! Got to go. Night!

Postcrossing - Incoming

To May 21, 2012

Another lovely bunch of postcards for your perusal. I have been very lucky with most of my cards. I try quite hard to send out ones that I like and that match people's profiles, and I think most of the people who send to me do too.

Last week I received this lovely card from Germany. It features a very lovely actress, Romy Schneider. Her life was not a happy one, as you'll see if you read the Wikipedia entry on her.

The card was sent by Rolf and he tells me that Romy Schneider is still very popular in Germany and France. I wracked my brains, but I don't think I've ever seen any of her movies. I'll try and remedy that.

Romy Schneider, Hamburg 1961

Anya in the US sent me this great card because I am interested in cards with yarn work. She writes that she has just learned how to crochet as part of her volunteer work. She was very impressed with crocheting. I hope she continues to enjoy herself. I like knitting, but I'm much better at crocheting.

Tibetan Rugs
Khaden (bed rug), early twentieth century

Pakistan Pavilion, Expo 2010
Shanghai, China

The sender of this card tells me that he had lived in Sendai city for 3 years. He points out that it is not far from where I live. Correctamundo! A beautiful card.

Greeting from Holland

Adrienne in the Netherlands sent me this great card which arrived today. She writes that she lives near the North Sea and in summer she likes to swim in it. I wonder a little if she's a member of a Polar Bear club as the North Sea is famous for being really cold!

Four great cards. I hope you have enjoyed looking at them as much as I have. Hopefully there'll be something nice in my mailbox tomorrow too.

May 20, 2012

Sunday - Sunny but cloudy

I feel like F has just gone off to bed, even though he’s been in bed for more than an hour. He was so noisy before bed that I’m still rattled from it. He just had a noisy night. He was banging into things, tripping over things, stepping on things, knocking things over and at one point, popping a bag that sounded like a gun-shot. Most of it, except for the bag thing was accidental, but it was still annoying.

I got up this afternoon. Yes, I overslept. I had set my alarm and even my second alarm, but I didn’t wake up. As usual, there was no noise or light from the living room to suggest that I might want to get up. Sigh. If he’d just turn on the light in the living room it would help to get me up.

Anyway. After I was up, he whined and moaned about where should we eat. I didn’t care. I wasn’t hungry. We went to the mall in Mikawa and he chose a noodle place. Fine, whatever. We went there and I had the usual thing I have there, grilled salmon on rice with mayonnaise. It was okay. F’s dish looked too small for him so I suggested he get something else. He didn’t.

We hacked around the mall a bit more and bought a few postcards. We did look in the Ladies section, but even though there were a few tempting things, I didn’t buy anything. In the wool section I ended up getting some yarn to make F’s niece something for her baby. I’ll have to get started on that right away. Maybe tomorrow?

We had a few minutes before our movie started, so F suggested a bite to eat. I wasn’t hungry, so he decided not to have something big, but suggested an ice cream instead. We went to Baskin Robbins and each had a cone. Yum. I had Love Potion 31 which was a mixture of white chocolate and raspberry, and F had LoveSomethingCheesecake. His was nice, but I liked mine a lot!

We went to see Dark Shadows tonight and it was okay. I wouldn’t say I loved it. I liked it, and I think the art direction and costumes and set decorations will all be happy come Academy Award time, but there wasn’t really a decent plot. With the characters and the mood they could have done so much. It wasn’t terrible like Alice in Wonderland, but it wasn’t great either.

After the movie, we went to the bakery and bought a loaf of whole wheat bread and something for breakfast each, then left the mall. We discussed dinner but neither of us could pick a place. We decided to go to a grocery store on the way home to pick something up. We went in, but they didn’t have anything that we wanted so we left. I wasn’t hungry at all.

At home we watched a bit of TV, some good, some bad, and both of us did some post-crossings. We did end up eating, but individually and much later. My stomach is still having problems, as is F’s, so I just can’t go to a few places right now. I had tuna melts with cheese and I realised that I’ve now had 3 fishy meals in a row. Bleck. Must change that soon!

Anyway, that was my day. It wasn’t too bad really. I’ll look forward to tomorrow and a little peace for a while! Wish me luck. Night!

May 19, 2012

Saturday - Cloudy, sunny in the morning

A good day. I got up nearly on time to take my shower and get dressed for work. We had breakfast at a gyudon shop, and I had to pay! F had left his wallet at home. He dropped me off at work and I got busy. However, as I was a little early, I relaxed too much and then had to scramble at the end.

My student came on time and we had a really good class. She’s asking questions and trying so hard to have real conversations. She’s great.

After her class I sent her off then I did some other work. I brought my books up to date and read the newspapers that had piled up at home. I did the dishes and then called F.

We went to have tea at Doutors at F’s suggestion, then as we were hungry went for dinner. We went to Hana, the Japanese fish restaurant. I had trout for a change and F had his usual sashimi on rice. It was good, but the restaurant was busy and the staff were running around trying to fix things for other people. It didn’t lend itself to a relaxing dinner.

We came home via the grocery store and then settled in for the night. We watched a lot of things including the two good CSI’s and Undercover Boss. It was okay. F finally went to bed while I was watching Gossip Girl. I’m still up, now blogging.

Today was a pretty good day and I enjoyed most of it. I hope that tomorrow is also a good day. Wish me luck with that! Night.

May 18, 2012

Friday - Rainy, with clear patches

A pretty good and stay at home Friday. I did a little laundry, also had some of my yummy soup for lunch. I had a shower…usual things.

F popped in early to grab stuff for his meeting, then came home early. I’m sad to say I wasn’t that happy to see him. I hoped I’d have more alone time before the weekend.

We went out for dinner tonight. First up, we checked on the new Italian place. It still isn’t open. It’s going to be a buffet restaurant, which sort of scares me. They aren’t always very good. It’s also a little bit expensive, so if we go, it means that F (and probably me too) will eat too much to make it worth going. Since it wasn’t open, we went somewhere else.

We had dinner at a cafe that we’ve gone to a few times. It’s very nice, quiet usually and the food is good. It was a good choice as I had exactly what I wanted, grilled chicken. Yes, I know I’m boring. Over dinner though, F dropped a bombshell.

His mother asked him to move back in with her.

To clarify I asked if I was invited too. Apparently so.

I told F that he was welcome to move back, but I would be staying where I am.

This scares me on so many levels that I can barely begin to explain why. I think his mother wants a live-in skivvy. She probably forgot what a terrible housekeeper I am. I wouldn’t be able to make quick little trips to the mall like I do now. The house is too far from the mall for that. We’d be out in the boondocks of Tsuruoka, which is pretty damn out there. There’s the communication problem. I haven’t learned Japanese in the 15 years that I have lived here, and don’t intend to. I didn’t want to make F feel worse over dinner, but there is no way I will move back to that house the way it is now.

We came back to the apartment via the post office to mail off a couple of postcards and then settled in for the season finale of The Walking Dead. Awesome and freaky show tonight. I was terribly spooked. Not sure I’ll be able to see season 3 as we only get this free channel until the end of September.

Watched a few other things on TV tonight including Desperate Housewives. F spent 5 minutes trying to ask me if this was an old episode or not. Nope, new to us. He couldn’t remember if he’d seen it before or not. Sigh. I guess it is true that men don’t keep track of such things!

Anyway, that’s it for me. It’s been a day and I’m just hoping that F and I can have a bit of time to talk about the dreaded topic. Wish me luck with that. Night.

May 17, 2012

Thursday - Rainy and sunny

A good day.

I got up late this morning, because I went to bed so late last night. It was fine though.

After I got up, I watched a bit of TV and then got started on my soup. Today I made chicken vegetable soup. I steamed the veggies before I put them in my crockpot and then let it go. I steamed the chicken too, but instead of putting it in the soup right away, I put it in the fridge. It took ages to make all the soup, longer than I expected actually.

I had a quiet day at home and enjoyed it to be honest. I spent a long time by myself and that was nice. I talked to another member of AFWJ a couple of times on the phone and I enjoyed that.

F was very late tonight as he had to do a lot of driving. When he came home we had dinner. We had chicken soup and sliced French bread, which was great. F wasn’t too hungry as he wasn’t feeling that well, but I had two bowls as I hadn’t eaten much during the day.

F did the dishes and we had a quiet evening together. I watched my usual shows and enjoyed them a lot. I went over to the couch and did a couple of rows of crochet too. My blanket is getting so nice and long. I really love it. I’m not sure how long to make it. It’s probably long enough for me, but not for F.

Anyway, I should finish this as I need to get to bed earlier tonight. I don’t really have any plans for tomorrow, but hopefully something interesting will happen. Got to go. Night!

May 16, 2012

Wednesday - Cloudy

I went to bed late last night and slept in a bit. Part of it was because F was here and I like to give him some time in the morning. I’m not a morning person and things can go badly at times.

Anyway, I got up, he went off to see the doctor and then I was stuck with him! We talked about lunch, but couldn’t decide on a place. Finally we did, but it was one that he wasn’t too happy about. However, after a brief post office run, I had a brainwave, and took us to a place that we’ve never gone to before. I’ve been a couple of times, but F and I together never have. It was a little, out of the way cafe, but quite nice. We had a nice meal. For some reason we even got charged less than the cost on the menu, so it was a bonus for us.

We decided to go to the Chido Museum. Well, F did and I was dragged along. There was a display of items from Zenpoji Temple. It wasn’t bad actually. There was a painting that I thought was quite fascinating and some great photographs. There was also a schematic diagram of the pagoda at Zenpoji. Cool stuff.

We went to Mr. Donut for a drink and a cheap doughnut after the museum, then came home. F wanted to watch a movie and although he plugged for The Langoliers I said it was my pick today and came up with A Fish Called Wanda. Wonder of wonders, he actually liked it this time. I do think it is a movie that gets better each time as you remember more things. I did a couple of rows of crochet and then I started darning in some of the ends on my afghan. We watched some of the special features on the DVD and then went out for dinner.

Tonight we had dinner at Kappa sushi. I tried really hard to just have cooked fish or things that I thought were safe, so hopefully I’ll be okay tomorrow. Over dinner I came up with the plan to make soup for dinner tomorrow night.

We made a quick trip to the drugstore and then went to the grocery store to get supplies. I’m going to make a chicken vegetable soup, if all goes well.

We came home and I watched Private Practice and F took his bath. Unfortunately he chose tonight to clean the bathroom too and the cleaner he used has a lot of bleach in it. That part of the house smells so bad. Yuck. I know I should be thankful, but I just hate the smell.

Anyway, it’s now very very late again and I should get to bed soon. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, most likely. Night!

May 15, 2012

Tuesday - Rainy

An odd day.

I got up a little late this morning. Sad to say that I had stomach troubles again, so I just took things a little slowly and was quite careful with what I ate.

I left for school around 2 pm and made good time, even though it was raining. I set up in the school, turned on the heater and got ready for my class. My classes went well today, happily.

Afterwards, I did some paperwork and read the newspapers. After a while I called F and he came to pick me up.

He wasn’t feeling well tonight either, so we just came home instead of going out.

F put on The Langoliers again, thankfully not from the very beginning, but I was a tad annoyed. However, he did ask me if there was anything on that I wanted to see, and there wasn’t, so I shouldn’t complain too much!

I made myself some pasta and and it was small but nice. I think F made himself something too. We watched a bit of TV and at 11 I did a couple of rows of crochet while I was watching Criminal Minds. It was so relaxing!

Anyway, that’s it for my day. I’m off to get some sleep soon. Night!

May 14, 2012

Monday - Sunny

A good day.

I got up a little late, but started my day. I watched a bit of TV. I was watching a movie, Dinner for Schmucks. It was funnier than I thought it would be.

In the afternoon I started dinner! I chopped up all of the veggies and made the couscous. I threw it in the fridge to let the flavours meld.

After a while I went out. I rode on my bike, which does seem to work again (Yay F!) and went to the craft store. I cruised the aisles, but couldn’t really find what I was looking for. I even thought about looking at the books to see if I could find a Japanese pattern that might work. I could only find two patterns and they weren’t anything special.

When I left the store, I made a quick trip through the drugstore and then the grocery store. I came home a few minutes before F did.

A little while after that, I started dinner. Tonight we had curried couscous salad, ninjin shirishiri, and chicken wings. It was pretty good, but sadly F wasn’t very hungry.

He did the dishes and we settled in to have a quiet evening. Hubs did a postcrossing and I chilled out and took care of some business.

F went to bed around midnight, but as always I stayed up late. Sigh. I really need to stop this. Anyway, that was my day. I did get a lovely postcard today, you’ll likely see it in a few days. Got to go. Night!