May 31, 2016

Tuesday - Sunny with rain at night

A good day.

I got up at a reasonable time this morning.  I thought it would be wise to be up before the delivery service arrived with my bag.  They didn’t deliver it until just before noon.  I was a tad upset at that.  Still, I unpacked and also brought a few things to the bathroom to try to do laundry when I had time.

I did a couple of loads of laundry and helped decrease the mountain in my room. I did a bit of cleaning in the afternoon so between the laundry and the cleaning I was fairly busy.

I had asked F to pick up some grilled chicken or fish for my lunch, he brought me deep fried chicken. Yuck.  I wasn’t impressed, but I did end up eating it.  I had heated it in the toaster oven so some of the fat came out.

After 5 pm I took a shower and then started on the dinner dishes.  I got the kitchen cleaned up and I started taking care of the dinner menu.  I couldn’t do the meal I originally wanted to make, but I asked a cooking website to find me a dish to make.  It suggested Chicken with paprika and vegetables.  I made it and neither of us could finish what we were served!  It was good though.  I did the dishes as F was tired tonight.  

We had a quiet evening in.  No walking as it rained.  I watched Criminal Minds and then Suits. 

I’m having another of those sessions where I am falling asleep on my keyboard.  I really need some sleep again, so come back tomorrow and see what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

May 30, 2016

Monday - Hot and Sunny

A good day.

I spent the last few days in Tsukuba at the annual AFWJ Convention.  It was marvellous and I really enjoyed myself a lot.  I was in the company of roughly 150 other foreign wives and had a lovely, life-affirming, “you aren’t an idiot for marrying a Japanese person” kind of time!

I left Tsukuba yesterday and made good time to Niigata.  In Niigata last night I went out for dinner and bought some books too.  I ended up crashing in bed at before 1am which is rare!

Today I woke up early, watched Castle in my Hotel room and after a bit checked out.  I asked the hotel to keep my bag and then I went out.  I did a little shopping, I did a little eating and drinking and a lot of reading too.  It was rather fun!  I probably spent too much but I enjoyed myself.

I was able to pick up my bags from the hotel and I caught the train handily. I had been most worried that I’d miss it as I had to walk to the train station a little faster than I had planned.  Still, I made it.

When I arrived in Tsuruoka, F was nowhere to be seen.  I phoned and apparently he was running late.  He did come and pick me up within  a couple of minutes so believe him!

We had a cheerful dinner in Cocos and then bought some groceries.  I’ll be cooking tomorrow night, so be warned Japan.  

We came home and I tried to catch up on my Facebooking.  I don’t think I’m quite there yet. 

However, I am yawning up a storm and I am very tired, so I think I’ll just end this and get some sleep.  Talk to you later.  Until tomorrow….

May 25, 2016

Wednesday - Hot and muggy, rain at times.

A good day.  I got up this morning, watched Castle and had a bit of breakfast.  I took a quick shower and then got dressed and waited for my friend.  She was able to come from the next city over today.  Yay.

F came home for lunch, but just after he arrived, so did my friend, so I left!  My friend and I discussed where to go and finally decided on Simon.  It’s a French/Japanese fusion place.  She had never been, so I had to navigate with lots of help from Google Maps.  The restaurant wasn’t busy, so we were seated right away and got down to the serious business of talking, eating and enjoying ourselves.  I had fish for a change and my friend had steak.  Hers looked really good, I sort of wished I’d had it too!

We were politely asked to leave the restaurant and then went over to Komagihara Spa.  We wanted some ice cream and a place to chat.  First we toured the veggies and she bought a few things.  I decided not to as I’m going away soon.  After that, we had ice cream, followed a little later by coffee or tea.  All too soon it was time for her to go, so we drove back to my apartment, detouring a bit for the Tenjin Matsuri events in the park.

I had a few minutes in the apartment to relax so I did.  Then, I changed my clothes and went out to sweep the lobby. It took a while, but I got it looking decent.  I came back in and then worked on getting my suitcase ready to go.  

I took everything out, and then checked that I had enough outfits that I would wear and would be practical for this time of year.  It’s already quite hot where I’m going, but air conditioning can be too cold in places.  I put most of the stuff back in my suitcase, added a little, but kept out a couple of things I wouldn’t need.  

When F came home he was tired and I was sad about that.  He was the kind of tired where misunderstandings could happen easily. He changed and we brought my suitcase to the courier service.  Since I’m travelling by train, I really don’t want to have to take it all the way by myself.  I’ll have them deliver it back here after I come home too.

We went out for dinner.  F wanted his Taiwan restaurant and since he’d helped me and was tired, I said it was okay.  We had a good, if much too big meal.  I even managed to give him a bit of mine, but I still left some of the rice.  

We did some grocery shopping after dinner.  We got a few things at Yamaya and then MaxValu.  I’ll cook dinner tomorrow night, probably just pasta, but I won’t have to cook for a few days and that’s a nice thing!

We came home and a few minutes later went for a walk again.  Tonight we were out for over an hour.  We walked back through the park and as we did, it started to rain.  Oh dear.  We made it home but were a little wet.  

I watched Penny Dreadful again, and F took his bath and then made noise as usual on the couch.  I worked on my crochet by darning in some of the ends on the little motifs I’ve made.  I still have a few to do.  I’ll probably try and do a few more tomorrow night.

And that’s about it.  I’ll probably skip tomorrow night because I’d like an early night. Don’t miss me too much, and I’ll see you next week if all goes well.  Until….next week then!

May 24, 2016

Tuesday - Hot and sunny, muggy

A good day.

I got up this morning at 9:00 am and turned on Castle.  I did my usual stuff and had a good time watching the show.  It was the one that gave me the idea for using “until tomorrow” as my sign off, so I was chuffed to see it again.

I decided not to do a workout today.  I had walked a lot yesterday and my legs were still tired from the night before.  I usually rest on the weekends, but this weekend, F wanted to go walking so I needed a break.  I’m glad I did.  

He came home for a quick lunch and then left again.  I did some laundry and finally hung up all the clothes from the drying rack.  I’ve been putting it off for months.  I also went through a couple of drawers and threw out a few things from them.  I really need to go deeper, but I get attached to clothes and I just don’t want to.  I’d really be happy if I did I think.  

I scanned my cards, walked them to the post office and then I tried a new recipe for dinner.  The funny thing is I just found it this morning in my inbox, and thought it sounded good and even more surprising, I had the majority of the ingredients!  The ones I didn’t have I could either leave out or fudge, so no worries. Today, I made Paprika Chicken with Chickpeas and it was really good.  It wasn’t difficult, and if we weren’t going into summer I’d probably make it again soon.  It will be too hot to use the oven in a week or two.

F came home just as I got the food in the oven.  I told him to relax while it cooked.  I cleaned up the kitchen, set the table and then put out the salad and dressing plus cooked the maitake mushrooms.  Everything was really nice when it was ready.  I was very pleased with the chicken.

F put the dishes in to soak and asked that we go for a walk.  He wanted to check out the park.  This is Tsuruoka’s big festival of the year, the Tenjin Matsuri.  It’s running over three days this year.  We walked through the park and there were quite a lot of people there.  I almost wish that we hadn’t had dinner as there were some yummy things on offer, but F doesn’t really like to eat festival food.

We walked for 50 minutes tonight, not as long as yesterday, but far enough in all honesty.  It was good.  I told him I’d like to go again tomorrow night as I have a lunch date tomorrow and won’t exercise in the morning.  

We came home and I started in on a long forgotten craft that I’ve been working on for my sister for forever!  I made it up one size and then decided I didn’t like it, so I am taking it back and making it up again in another pattern!

F went to bed around midnight as he was tired and I should be off soon.  Oh, I’ll be away this weekend so I probably won’t post from Thursday to next Monday or Tuesday depending on a few factors.  Don’t miss me too much.  

And, before I go, here’s a look at the purse that I made.  I found the pattern on Ravelry and adapted it for my own use.  I also added side panels to the purse so my glasses case would fit into the purse.  It was made of the same yarn as the shawl I finished recently.

This is the Shell Stitch Clutch, Pattern by Lisa Van Klaveren

The inside.  I lined it with some cotton fabric that had a star design.
 The theme of our Convention is Reach for the Stars!

That’s it for tonight. I’m yawning up a storm!  Until tomorrow….

May 23, 2016

Monday - Hot and Sunny

A good day.

I got up a few minutes late, but came through to the living room quickly.  I made tea and breakfast, watched Castle and checked Facebook, the usual.

I got dressed quite early and made the bed and started a workout out before 12.  I finished about 3 minutes before F came home for lunch.  Safe.  He made and then ate his lunch and then left.  I did actually offer to make him something, but he turned me down.

I did some of my computer stuff, but in the middle I found I was so hungry that I needed lunch! I made myself a “skillet” lunch and it was awesome!  I cut up the leftover potatoes from last week, fried them and added in a wiener.  Then I took it all out of the pan, put it on a plate and topped it with some shaved cheddar.  After that I fried an egg, but left the yolk runny and put it on the top of my mound of food.   Yum.  I was surprised because I rarely eat eggs.  They just aren’t something that I eat nowadays.  

I finished up my computer stuff, watched some stuff on the DVR and then took a quick shower.  

I went into the kitchen and started to prep for dinner.  I did the dishes and then washed some veggies and divvied out the salad in two plates.  

I had a weird idea yesterday for today’s dinner and I tried it out. It worked rather well.  We had bought some nice wieners at Costco, so I made Yakitori with them.  I cut them up, threaded them on skewers with some vegetables and then with the leftover veggies I made vegetarian skewers.  We had them with boiled potatoes.  It was pretty cool.  I grilled them on the fish grill and dinner got quite good reviews!  The one thing F commented on was that I didn’t put the wieners on the skewer the way a Japanese person would.  I think he liked it!

Around 8:30pm we went out for a walk again.  I suggested the general direction and we walked for ages.  After 9:00 pm I suggested going home, but it still took us another half hour (including the time it took to visit a convenience store) to get home.  I have been piling up the miles over the last few days.  Honestly, it’s a little much.  Usually when I walk I have 24 hours to recover.  At the moment it is around 9.  I’m debating skipping my workout tomorrow morning or doing an easier one just so I don’t wear myself out.  I won’t be walking on Wednesday morning as I have plans, but I’m undecided about tomorrow.  I think I’ll play it by ear and decide tomorrow!

We came home and I did a few postcrossings.  I took a break to watch an old CSI and finished my purse.  Yay!  I’ll try and post a picture tomorrow for your viewing pleasure!

After midnight I noticed I had tons of calories left so I offered F another couple of mince tarts.  We had a late night snack and it was lovely. I was swearing not to buy the mince tarts again, because I don’t eat them at New Years, but even eating them in May is lovely!  Not seasonally appropriate, but yummy.

That’s about it for me.  I’m quite tired and I need my sleep.  Come back later for pictures of my purse and to find out what I end up doing!  Until tomorrow….

May 22, 2016

Sunday - Hot and Sunny - Summery

A good day.

I got up this morning around 11.  I was late as I had actually set my alarm for earlier.  A friend and I were planning to Skype each other.  I got dressed, grabbed some water and went on-line.  We had  lovely chat and I shared a bit about a craft she was interested in.  

Fumihiko came home and as soon as I was off the computer we talked about lunch.  We had a few ideas, but when we left the apartment we decided to go to Hyakkenbori, the restaurant near the University.  It was a great choice.  They weren’t too busy for a change and we were seated quickly.  I had teriyaki chicken and F had a “fritter” dish, which was basically tempura.  After we ordered he noticed a sign saying they had takenoko soup.  Takenoko is bamboo shoots, and apparently it is a local delicacy. He wanted to order some.  I suggested sharing a bowl, but he ordered us each one.  Of course, our meal arrived and then the bamboo soup arrived and it was huge!  It was really good though. Yes, we did eat it all, but I’m not sure how!

After lunch we didn’t really have any plans so F suggested going to Sakata.  He thought that part of the festival might still be on, or something.  I didn’t mind, so off we drove.  The road was nice and the car was cool.

We drove around Sakata, but didn’t do anything. The festival was over and it was too hot and sunny for me to go walking anywhere.  All of a sudden F suggested going to Starbucks, so that is what we did.

When we got there it was quite busy and lined up so I gave F my order and I found a seat for us.  I had a frappucino and it was wonderful! We drank and then left fairly soon afterwards.

We drove over to the Mikawa Mall area and spent some time in Don Quihote.  We got a bit of food and I also picked up a mobile battery charger for my phone and iPod.  As I said to F tonight, if I have any trouble on my trip, chances are it’ll happen at the precise moment my phone’s battery dies and I can’t reach him!  We bought a few other things in the food department, mostly drinks for us.

We went to the mall for a few minutes.  F wanted some new undergarments so we got a few and then came back to Tsuruoka.  It was a very low key and fun trip.  

We came back to our apartment and just relaxed for a bit.  F ended up watching volleyball again.  I don’t know why.  

We went to Bikkuri Donkey!! for dinner and had a nice one.  It had been F’s suggestion for lunch and actually dinner was nice there.  They didn’t allow smoking while we were there and I tried a new burger with yuzu sauce.  It was nice.  F and I shared a salad and that was good too.  

We bought a few groceries from the store and came home with them.  I’m going to do a bit of cooking this week, I’m thinking of trying something a little experimental tomorrow, but not crazy if you know what I mean.  I’ll tell you about it later.

F caught the end of the volleyball game and then asked if I’d like to go for a walk.  I would!  Between the huge lunch and the frappucino, I was feeling a little overindulged.  We set off and had a lovely time. F had wanted to go a really long route, but I just didn’t think it was a good idea.  He has to work tomorrow and I am going to workout in the morning so…We ended up walking through the grocery store’s parking lot.  They have blocked off one of the entryways with a wire.  I decided to be a smarty pants and go under the wire, but I’d forgotten about the backpack/purse I was wearing and it got caught in the wire.  Oops!  F didn’t laugh too much at me.  

We stopped into the McDonalds to get a drink.  I thought it was just to get a drink and go, F thought it was to sit and stay!  They were closing up and in the midst of cleaning up too.  We had a quick drink and then went on our way.  It was actually a lovely walk and I’m glad that we went.  

When we came home, The Mentalist had just started so I turned it on and watched it.  I also worked on my purse a bit.  I finished one side of it and have pinned the other side, ready to join it.  I’m terribly biased, but I like the way it looks!

F was tired after our walk so went to bed around midnight and I’m going to go soon.  Next weekend I’ll be away and probably won’t have a lot of sleep!  

Tomorrow I hope to finish my purse, make something interesting for dinner, win the lottery and finish packing.  Mostly anyway!  Come back later and see what I manage to get done.  Until tomorrow….

May 21, 2016

Saturday - Warm and a bit muggy

A good day.

Today I got up at my first alarm and got dressed.  I had some breakfast too. Hurray.  When F came back from his doctor and his mother’s we went over to another doctor’s office.  Things were fine there.  He just wanted to check in.  After we paid, we left the clinic.

I suggested going to the Tsuruoka Hospital for lunch.  They have a decent restaurant upstairs and I also wanted to visit the gift shop.  I had a pretty good set meal upstairs.  It had grilled salmon, salad, rice and some vegetables.  F had a huge bowl of ramen, but didn’t like it that much.  After lunch we picked up some sunscreen for me at the giftshop and then went on to S-Mall.  

At S-Mall I got a magnifying mirror for my handbag or suitcase and then we went off to Mister Donut.  F wanted to go again.  They close tomorrow so I do understand him wanting to do that.  

We came home for a few hours in the afternoon.  I did some computer stuff and so did F.  

When it was dinnertime, F suggested the Chinese Restaurant near our apartment.  I wasn’t sure, but thought it would be okay, if he would order some food to share with me.  That’s basically what we did.  We got two dishes off the specials and another off the regular menu and had a nice feast.  

After dinner I asked F if he wanted to keep walking, and he did.  We did make a pit stop in the grocery store, but then kept on going.  We did quite a long circuit and I took F the way that I sometimes ride on my bike.  It was a lovely evening for walking, not too cool and not too warm so we both enjoyed it a lot.

At home I Skyped with one of the AFWJ ladies for an hour or so.  That was fun, since I didn’t know her that well. When we finished, I watched a bit of TV and got a bit of my purse done.  I really have to try and finish it soon.  I’d like to send it down to Tsukuba in my suitcase! Still, it is coming along.

I served us some mince tarts this evening too.  I bought them for New Years but we didn’t eat them then.   They expire at the end of the month so it’s a very belated New Year celebration!

And that’s about it.  I have made plans to Skype with another AFWJ member tomorrow to talk about crafting for a while, if I can wake up in time.  After that, I am really not sure what we’ll get up to.  Come back later and find out.  Until tomorrow….

May 20, 2016

Friday - Warm but a touch muggy

A good day.

I got up late today. Oops.  I had breakfast…porridge and yogurt and tea, and had a relaxing morning.  I was planning to work out, but then decided not to.  I was going out so knew I’d get some exercise.

In the afternoon I prepped the garlic pork for dinner, then did a spot of cleaning.  I scanned my cards and stamped them too. I dressed for going out and then grabbed my bike and went.

I rode to the closest bank machines and made a withdrawal.  After that, I rode to the drugstore and did a little shopping.  I came back, rode through our apartment parking area and went on to the post office where I mailed my cards and bought some new stamps.  Then I went to a convenience store and bought a sandwich and a drink for lunch.  Yay me.  

I came home and ate while I watched the news.  Around 5 pm I took a shower and then started preparing the kitchen for dinner.  Tonight’s dinner was simple but good.  We had garlic pork, boiled potatoes, steamed green beans, and salad.  We were supposed to have mincemeat tarts for dessert, but….

After F did the dishes he asked if I’d like to go out later.  I said sure.  A little after 9 we went for a walk.  Luckily I had recorded Castle.  I thought we’d try going to a tea shop, but we ended up going to a Snack (a kind of bar) that F has been to before.  We went there and had a bit of food and F had a drink, I had my usual oolong tea.  We sang a few songs on the karaoke system and then left.  It was quite expensive, but also a little different.

We got home just before midnight.  It was not what I planned to do tonight, but it was kind of fun.  Not an every day occurrence I hope, but enjoyable. 

And now, I must be off as I have an early appointment.  Come back later and find out if my Saturday is as good as my Friday was!  Until tomorrow….

May 19, 2016

Thursday - Warm and Sunny

A good day.

I got up this morning after snoozing a little longer than I wanted to.  I watched Castle and made breakfast.  Today I had some muesli and it was very nice.  

I had a quiet morning but when 11:30 came around I flew into action.  I made the bed, changed into my workout gear and started my workout in a much shorter time than usual.  I did a speed interval walk and quite enjoyed it.  I finished up just before F came home for lunch.  Yay me.  

 I started working in the bedroom almost as soon as F came home.  I had decided that I was going to go through my stuff and see if I could junk anything or see what I had.  I did throw out a few things, but honestly, not enough.  I may have to Marie Kondo my closet and that scares me more than a little.  Still, I managed to get into my closet today, and get my dress for the convention.  Hurray.  It took hours going through things and to be honest, I put a pile of stuff aside to deal with later.  I also put a huge pile of stuff in the laundry basket.  I’ll check and see how things fit once I’m sure they are clean.

In the afternoon, when I had finished in the bedroom for today, I had my lunch (avocado on F’s homemade bread…yum!) and then spent a very little time on my computer.  I did some laundry tonight and also washed up our dishes too.  

F was home a bit after 6 and I suggested going to Krippa for Indian food.  My original plan was just having naan and curry like I always say I’m going to have, but F went with the set meal and I caved too.  It was really good.  We had chicken sag curry, huge naan, salad, chicken tikka and ice cream for dessert.  We also got a free drink and F had rice.  I cancelled mine because I knew I couldn’t eat it.  

We bought a few groceries after dinner at the Mina grocery store.  It was fun checking it out.  It is so much bigger and better than my local store.  We got food for tomorrow night and then came home.  I told F he could have the TV until 10:00pm and did a postcrossing.  I ended up doing 3 more during the evening.

I worked a little on my purse and watched Bones.  Tonight was the night when a regular important character was killed off and it was sad.  F started babbling about some silly ship in Sakata at the time so I basically told him that I wasn’t interested.  I tried to make him see that I was sad about the character on the show.  I don’t know if he got it.  

Lately, F has been so noisy during the shows that I really enjoy.  If there’s a way that he can make noise he finds it.  He crunches his food with his mouth open, runs water and does dishes with great crashing and banging, all during shows that I enjoy.  He is worse during Penny Dreadful.  I think it has something to do with the more I like a programme, the more noise he has to make.  It is driving me a bit nuts and frankly I am tired (so tired) of biting my tongue and not saying something.  The only reason I don’t is he tends to get even noisier and angry if I do.  

Anyway, mostly the day was good and I am so glad that I finally got into my closet.  Tomorrow, I hope to be able to do a little more clothes sorting or whatever, then scan my postcards and run them to the post office.  I also really need to get more stamps and hit up a bank for some money…from my account. Come back in a bit and find out what I get up to on Friday.  Until tomorrow….

May 18, 2016

Wednesday - Sunny and warmish

A good day.

I got up when my first alarm went off, which is really rare. I came through to the living room and expected Murder She Wrote, but got Castle.  I can live with that, even if it is the very beginning of the series again.  I’m all about the Nathan Fillian!

I didn’t do my workout on time and then I didn’t do it because I assumed that F would be home for lunch.  He wasn’t.  Instead, I practiced my make-up for convention.  I wore it most of the day and it didn’t bother my skin, so that’s a good thing!  Hurray, hurray.

I did my workout after the make up session and felt a little silly and a little glamorous.  Of course, I was just past the warm-up and starting to work hard, when F called me.  He was in a mall and the loudspeaker was coming right in my ear and to be honest, it was touch and go whether I should hang up or not.  My ear hurt from the noise.  After we hung up, I almost cried from relief.  I think F must have been wearing one of his cheap earpieces again.  

I did a couple of loads of laundry today and also tried to block my shawl.  Unfortunately I couldn't. I realized that it was huge!  When I put it on the bed to take my pictures of it, it was longer than my bed’s width.  I don’t have anywhere in the apartment that I can stretch it out and let it dry after I spritz it.  I took a couple of pictures and vowed to ask F to take more tonight.

Around 6 pm F called to say he was going to his mother’s and then a bit later to say he was coming home.  When he arrived home, I had most things ready to start cooking.  Tonight we had pasta with a quick store sauce, steamed broccoli, shredded cabbage and carrots and it was quite nice.  It was nice to have a low stress meal at home.  

F watched a volleyball game that didn’t end until 11:00 pm.  I think he finally did the dishes around 10:00pm.  Ack.  Still, it was his turn to do them.  I got him to take a couple of pictures of me and my shawl so that I could show off a little.  I’m really happy with it.

The Lizard 
I posted a similar one to Ravelry as I didn't want my face over there, more or less!

I did a little work on the purse tonight too.  I have finished sewing in the lining and also begun crocheting a couple of side panels that I hope will allow me to put my glasses and my phone into my clutch to carry around with me.  I’m making them at the same time so they will be very similar.  That’s the plan for now anyway!

That’s about it for me.  It was a pretty good day, I still haven’t made it into my closet yet, but I have hopes for Thursday or Friday.  Fingers crossed I really do it!  Come back soon and find out my latest news.  Until tomorrow….

May 17, 2016

Tuesday - Cloudy and cool

A good day.

I got up rather early this morning, for me!  My husband never believes me when I say I get up early.  I took a shower and then watched Murder She Wrote.  It wasn’t a great episode, but it did have a few actors that I know from other TV programmes or movies now.  

Around 11 am I went outside to wait for a friend who was picking me up.  She had invited me to her apartment to do a little crochet.  We had a spot of trouble finding each other, but happily we soon connected and were off.  We stopped by S-Mall first to get some food, me at Subway, her at the grocery store.  We went back to her apartment then.  Over tea and chatting we worked on some crafting.  I managed to do a bit on my shawl and I helped her make a granny square.  It was rather fun.  

A little before 4 she drove me to S-Mall again and we said goodbye.  I had had a great time and wasn’t ready to go home yet!  I bought a few things in the hundred yen shop and then went to Doutor and had an iced tea.  F phoned me to say he was finished work and I asked him if he’d like to join me.  He came after a few minutes and had a Royal Milk Tea I think.  He drove me home when we finished and then went on to visit his mother.

I came into the apartment and started to make a move on dinner.  I did the few dishes that were there and then started to heat things up and set the table.  We had leftovers from last night, plus some broccoli that I cooked tonight.  It was all quite nice.  

I did the dishes tonight because I hadn’t really had to work very hard on dinner today and F was engrossed in a volleyball game.  

In the evening I went over to the couch to watch Criminal Minds.  It was the intro to the Gary Sinese spin-off so was interesting.  I actually managed to finish my shawl too.  I’ll try and take a picture or two tomorrow.  It looks very nice, if I may say so myself!

F went to bed a little while ago and I need to get some sleep too.  Tomorrow I’m not completely sure what I’ll get up to.  I would like to start the blocking on my shawl and I still need to pack a few things in my suitcase!  Come back later and find out what I manage to get done.  Until tomorrow....

May 16, 2016

Monday - Sunny and warm, rainy at night

A good day.

I got up this morning and came through in time to catch the beginning of Murder She Wrote.  It was a good one too, with clips from an old black and white movie and the same actors playing the parts now after “30” years had passed. Quite well done.  

I had my breakfast and a relaxing morning.   F was going to Yamagata for work so I knew he wouldn’t be home.  I did a strength building workout and then started on dinner.  I set up my slow cooker and soon had things cooking away.  

I hand-washed some lingerie and hung it to dry in the shower and also did a load of towels too.  I went out to the lobby and did a very thorough sweeping.  When I came back in to the apartment I started washing the day’s/weekend’s dishes. I was tired.  I really felt like I hadn’t had a lot of time to sit and relax!  

F came home quite early for him these days.  He wasn’t feeling well and had begged off visiting his mother.  He took a shower whilst I put the finishing touches on dinner.  We had Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork and it was pretty good if I say so myself.  This time it wasn’t too sweet, I don’t like it sweet, but don’t like it really sour either.  I made some coleslaw with a bought dressing and we had bought buns from the store.  I liked dinner a lot.  I’m not sure if F did, he didn’t have as much as I did, but then again, I didn’t eat lunch, so I was hungry!

We went shopping before doing the dishes…got a few things at the Gyomu Super and then hit up the regular grocery store.  F has been collecting stickers and tonight he redeemed some.  We got a knife sharpener.  We recently have been working on getting some good knives, so don’t really need a lot that the store has on offer.  

We came home and I watched The Carrie Diaries and did some crochet.  F went to bed.  He still isn’t feeling great and has to work tomorrow.

Tomorrow I have plans to go out for a bit of a crafting afternoon, so my usual routine will be a bit different.  I’ll try and fill you in on all the details then!  Until tomorrow….

May 15, 2016

Sunday - Hot and Sunny

A good day.

I slept in this morning because I didn’t go to bed until very very late.  I did set my alarm, but still got up after it.  I was just getting dressed when F came home from taking his mother out.  

We were going to go out for lunch when I reminded F that we had to pick something up at City Hall today.  Despite it being written on the calendar in two languages, he had forgotten.  We had to get our things ready for it before we left.  We tried, and then went to an Udon restaurant for lunch.  F had a kind of Udon salad, I had wakame udon.  It was quite good.  

We drove over to City Hall and took care of business.  As usual, F hadn’t got the whole story and things that he had told me at home weren’t correct.  However, I don’t really care that much! We did our stuff and each of us got our brand new fancy “MyNumber” cards.  

We went to Mister Donut to say goodbye and to have a drink.  Sad to say, our Mister Donut is going to close next week.  I would sometimes run over to Mister Donut when I had a lot of free time at work to pick something up, or I’d buy doughnuts for a class that worked hard or once in a while I’d have dinner there after work.  I’ll miss them and their great music station on the sound system.  It was always a good place for F and I to go when I was tired of being stuck in the apartment. 

Our last order at Tsuruoka's Mister Donut.  A honey churro and an Angel French.
My iced tea and F's Cafe au Lait aren't in the picture.  

We came home after the doughnut shop and watched last night’s So You Think You Can Dance.  I did quite a bit of crochet at the same time too.  Yay me.  

Around 6 pm I was starting to get hungry and F asked if I’d like to go and get a massage. I suggested he go and get one since it is expensive, and I’d do some shopping at the mall.  I had been looking at handbags a couple of weeks ago and I had finally made up my mind to get one.  He made the disappointed face he always does when I suggest doing something without him, so I relented and said he could come.  Then it took about 20 minutes before he was ready to leave.  Gah! 

We got to the mall, I went to a shop that sells accessories and found a backpack style purse that can be converted easily to a handbag style and got that.  It was a little more than I wanted to spend, and I don’t think it’ll last for a really long time, but I quite like it.  Maybe I can search for a new bag that I really like in the meantime.  

After that, I bought F a cup of coffee at the Doutor in the mall.  I had some tea and we made a few suggestions for dinner. I thought he’d like fish, but he didn’t want to go to his restaurants, I suggested chicken yakitori, but when we got to it, it was closed.  The other yakitori shop was closed too.  We ended up in Misono.  It was quite busy but no one was smoking near me this time.  Whew!  F had the biggest bowl of ramen I’ve seen in ages and I had vegetable stir-fry.  Mine was good.  

We bought a few groceries afterwards and then came home, just in time to see Mr. Turner.  I’ve been looking forward to it for a few days.  It was okay.  It was a biography film and quite interesting.  I expected more somehow.  As always happens when F is around, I didn’t get to hear some of it because my husband is the noisiest man around.  However, the performances were good and it was fabulous to see the recreation of the Fighting Temeraire. I might re-watch some of it tomorrow if I have time.

And that’s about it for me.  I might pop out tomorrow if I have time, if not, I’ll be doing things like washing my clothes for my convention. I also have to get something in the slow cooker if it is ready.  Fingers crossed that it will be.  

Come back later and find out how my Monday goes.  Until tomorrow….

May 14, 2016

Saturday - Hot and sunny

A good day.

I got up rather early this morning for a Saturday, made some tea for myself and had breakfast too.  F was home but fell asleep on the couch again.  I woke him up around 1 and asked him to take me for lunch.

Today I chose Cafe Studio Cinq.  We went there and had the Miyuki-bashi plate.  It was very nice.  The plate lunch had chicken in a tomato-creamy sauce, rice, cold kabocha soup, potato salad and a salad.  It was great.

After lunch, we went to a drugstore so that I could get a few things for my upcoming party, then hit up a cheaper clothing store for some socks.  While we were there, F got himself a few things and I got socks.  I did a look around and would like to go again, but not when I’m with F.  He just doesn’t enjoy shopping that much!

We came home briefly and I picked up a few things and then we headed off to the Internet Cafe. It was Fumihiko’s choice tonight and we were there for rather a long time.  I watched some TV, then YouTube, did a little crochet, read a magazine and had dinner too.  Finally, our 6 hour mark was approaching and I told F I couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to leave.  Unfortunately, when he was taking back his tray a glass fell off it and smashed on the floor.  Oh dear.

We came home after we paid and I made guacamole.  Our avocados were perfectly ripe and I didn’t want to waste them.  We ate rather a few tortilla chips and guac and some salsa too.  

We watched a couple of movies on TV.  The first was terrible, and the second was quite good.  F wouldn’t watch something from the DVR but that was okay really. 

Anyway, I’m going to go to bed soon.  I’m not sure what we’ll be doing tomorrow. I know we have to go to City Hall to pick something up, after that I’m not sure. 

Come back in a bit and find out about my Sunday.  Until tomorrow….

May 13, 2016

Friday - Warm and sunny

A good day.

I got up a little late this morning.  I had awoken when F got up this morning and then went back to bed.  I should have just stayed up, but didn’t. 

I made breakfast today, porridge and yogurt and it was delish! I did a workout this morning too, the toning one again.  One day I’ll have muscular arms, one day.  I finished as F was coming in the apartment.  I cut it close, but it was okay.  

He watched some TV and had ramen I think, then left again.  After he left I did my computer stuff and then had lunch.  I had a couple of chicken sandwiches and finished up the broccoli and lettuce from earlier in the week.  

I got out my suitcase and packed a few things into it for my big trip in two weeks.  I have to wash a few things still, but it helped me see where I need to fill in the gaps.  I will have to take care of that next week, and I’ll have to almost finished packing too.

I took a shower and then got stuck in doing the dishes in the kitchen.  I got things cleaned up and started putting things together for dinner.  F came home just at the beginning stages of that.  

I was trying a new recipe for a chicken and broccoli stir-fry.  I had to fudge a few of the ingredients as I didn’t get chicken breasts and I made a mistake and added too much soy sauce.  Oops.  It turned out okay, the recipe did, but it was a bit fiddly.  If I hadn’t had the Costco broccoli, I probably wouldn’t have tried it.  I served it with quinoa which I loved.  F had his with quinoa too, but then decided to add rice too.  I gave him a lot of quinoa, I don’t think he really needed rice, but whatever.

He did the dishes and watched something annoying on TV. I decided to check out a few things on YouTube when F asked me if I’d like to go for a walk.  I said no at first, but then thought that it might be nice.  

We walked to McDonald’s and then kept going.  We walked quite far really, but it was a nice night and we were having a good time together.  We did stop in to McDonald’s on the way back and had a couple of drinks.  I had iced tea, the kind with no sugar, and F had a milk shake.  We walked home afterwards.  It was nice.  I didn’t fall on my face this week!  Hurray for that.  

I watched a little TV and F fell asleep on the couch.  He’s out, poor thing.  He’s had a busy catch up week and I don’t think has been feeling that good either.  

I’m not sure what we’re going to get up to this weekend.  I know that F wants to go to the doctor tomorrow and he’ll have to check in on his mum. There aren’t any new English movies, so we might stay in on Saturday night.  I’d like to watch something on the DVR, we have a lot of movies there but something tells me we won’t do that.  Come back tomorrow and see what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

May 12, 2016

Thursday - Sunny and warm

A good day.

I got up early this morning and stayed up.  Unbelievable! I watched my shows and read back entries in this blog. I had some breakfast and some tea too, the usual.  

I did an intervals workout this morning and finished it just a couple of minutes before F came home for lunch.  Which he didn’t eat.  I don’t make him lunch, he usually brings it from a shop or makes his own ramen but today I was a little worried.  He ate a bun and that was it.  I offered him some of the stuff in the fridge, but he didn’t eat it.  

After he left I watched some older tv, a couple of episodes of Once Upon a Time, and last week’s Agents of Shield.  I scanned my cards and then stamped them, and took them off to the post office after 5. On the way back, I bumped into the husband of F’s niece, we said hello and went on our way.  

When I was home again I vacuumed the apartment and then washed up the lunch dishes.  F came home a bit later and we discussed where to go.  He wanted ramen and I didn’t.  We ended up going to Kien, it’s a ramen and curry restaurant.  I had curry with a hamburg on it and F had ramen with gyoza and rice.  Mine was okay, I didn’t mind it. 

We went grocery shopping and got some of the things I needed for tomorrow night’s dinner.  We tried again at our usual shop then, but they didn’t have any chicken breasts either.  The one time I really needed some and I couldn’t find them.  Sigh.

We made a quick conbini run as F needed to pay a bill and then came home again. I watched Royal Pains later on and did some more work on my purse.  I sewed in one panel of the plastic embroidery canvas and have the other one ready to sew tomorrow night.  It’s looking really good!  I think tomorrow I’ll try to put the things I want to carry in the purse in it and see how it looks.  I may decide not to use two panels of canvas, if it doesn’t look good.    

That’s about it for today really.  F is still feeling tired and in pain. I feel quite sorry for him.  Tomorrow I’m going to cook dinner and hopefully work more on my purse.  I didn’t get around to working on my closet yet, I hope to tomorrow!  

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

May 11, 2016

Wednesday - Cooler and rainy

An okay day.

I got up this morning and came through to the living room as I have been doing lately.  I had breakfast and tea, watched Murder She Wrote.  Today I caught a glimpse of George Clooney in the background.  I think he played someone’s boyfriend or husband!

I got ready for my workout a little bit earlier than usual and started early too.  Good thing as F came home around 12:15, just after I finished up.  

After he left I put on some older TV from the DVR.  I watched an episode of Once Upon a Time and also The Fosters and an episode of Major Crimes. In other words, a lot of TV!  I took a shower in the afternoon and had lunch too.

F had said he wanted to eat at home tonight so I pulled a few things together.  It wasn’t the healthiest dinner ever, but we had some nachos, hotdogs, broccoli and salad for dinner.  I think it was okay honestly.  We got a huge bag of nachos at Costco and I’d like to try and use them up before the rainy season really hits us and they go soggy. 

We had a quiet evening here.  F put on one of those horrid “Kid adventuring alone” shows so I left the room.  I went into the bedroom, turned on the light and closed the door.  I finished the book I was reading and then came back out.  He was a bit upset when he heard why I left, but honestly, I hate most reality TV and especially one where kids are involved.  

I did 4 postcrossings tonight and also sorted out the garbage for F to take out tomorrow morning.  It was a bit more work than usual as we had extra garbage from Golden Week.  

At 11 I went over to the couch and did more sewing on my purse.  It’s looking pretty good, if I say so myself.   And I do!  I took a couple of pictures for you to see the progress.  I did a bit more work on it after these, but it’ll still look the same for now.  Next up is cutting the plastic canvas and putting it in between the lining and the crochet layer.  

Inside....lining in process of being sewed in.

Outside.  Note cute button!

That’s about it for me.  F is having a hard time because of the weather and the general reluctance of going back to work after a break. He’s been a grumpy bear for the last few days.  

Tomorrow I have to prep the cards for sending out, and I’ll maybe make some time to work on my closet and packing for my big trip coming up.  Maybe! Come back later and find out what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

May 10, 2016

Tuesday - Warm, rainy in the evening

An okay day.

I got up early again and came through to the living room.  I watched Murder She Wrote and Tess Harper was on it.  I didn’t think much about it.  I have brekkie and tea, did my usual stuff.  I started my workout before noon.  I finished and F came in while the DVD’s credits were going!  Good timing or what?

After he left I got on with stuff.  I had lunch, scanned my cards and watched a few things on the DVR.  I’m trying to clear some of the stuff off.  I have a lot of Once Upon a Time on there and I should catch up with it.  

After 5 pm I went for a walk to the post office.  It was raining at the time, so I took my umbrella and walked rather fast on the way there and back.

When I got home I did the dishes and then started making my guacamole. I usually follow Simply Recipes' recipe as it is quite good.

F came home and a few minutes later we had dinner.  We just had tortilla chips and guacamole then our neighbour stopped by with some fish that they’d just caught today.  F made sashimi out of some of it so we had that too.  

F watched a lot of Japanese TV tonight so I took myself off to the tatami room to work on my purse a little.  Tonight I cut out the lining, pressed the folds into it and then later, while watching Criminal Minds, started sewing the lining into the purse.  I have to do all the sewing by hand so it is a little slow going.  Still, I’m about halfway around it.  I still have to cut the plastic canvas to provide the stiffening for it.

Tomorrow I am hoping to get out of the apartment for a bit, but the weather might not co-operate.  It looks like we are in a bad weather system.  Please take our bad weather and send it to Fort McMurray where they really need rain.   

Oh, yeah, and I meant to say that the episode of Criminal Minds that was on tonight had Tess Harper in it.  She was much older in tonight’s episode, but it was kind of cool to see her twice in one day!

Come back in a bit and find out all about my exciting Wednesday!  Until tomorrow….

May 9, 2016

Monday - Warm and Sunny

An okay day.

After the fun and excitement of the last week, it was hard to go back to our usual routines this morning.  However, I managed to get up before 9 am and in an amazing stroke of luck, saw Shaun Cassidy on Murder She Wrote.  He was my teen idol, not my first, but probably my second one.  It was very nostalgic watching him on TV again!  I had tea and cereal for breakfast again and enjoyed it.  I missed doing that when F was around.

In the later part of the morning, I got ready for a workout, and then did one.  I did an easier one because it has been a while and I wanted to see how my leg was.  The workout was fine for it, I have a big bruise there now, but it only hurts if I put it down on something.  

F didn’t come home for lunch which was great for me.  I watched some of the TV on the DVR and then erased it.  I did a few things on my computer and then had lunch.  After lunch, I took a shower.

I started to get set up for dinner.  I picked over the berries, I prepped some broccoli and the baby lettuce and then waited for F. I waited more.  He didn’t come home until 7ish, but hadn’t gone to his mother’s yet.  

I had everything ready for dinner except the cooking of it and when he came home I asked if I should start cooking and he said no.   So, I cooked for myself then washed all of my dishes.  I was rather annoyed because it wouldn’t have taken long and it was a pretty nice dinner, but his loss.

He moped around the living room, watched some sports on the TV and then went into the bedroom and threw himself on the bed.  Since my show just started, I changed the channel.  Then he came back.  I did offer to let him have the TV back again, but he passed.  

We had some berries with vanilla Greek yogurt and then I did my thing and he did his!  I worked on my purse a little.  I cut out the pattern and also sewed on the button.  Now it looks like a clutch.  The button we picked is beautiful, really beautiful on it.  One more thing done.  Yes!

That’s about it. Tomorrow I’ll have to mail the Postcrossings that I wrote out tonight, but it’ll be nice to have an “excuse” to get out of the apartment again.  Come back later and find out what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

May 8, 2016

Sunday - Hot and sunny

A good day.

I slept in this morning and got up to an empty apartment.  I didn’t mind, I knew that F was off with his mother and he was taking her to an onsen this morning.

I got dressed and when he came back I was  checking out my internet stuff.  That done, we decided what to do today.  F wanted to have sushi before going off to Sakata and I didn’t mind that much.  Off we went to Kintaro sushi.

I had a little bit of sushi, some miso soup and their sashimi mix so did quite well and kept the calorie count lower.  Yay for me.

We drove to Sakata and parked at the museum for a minute, then went off to get drinks.  From there we came back and went in the museum.  We went to see an exhibit of Marie Laurencin’s work.  We spent quite a while in the Art Museum looking at her work and the small collection of local art they have.  

After a while my friend and her little boy joined us.  F and I tried a little bit of child wrangling so my friend could enjoy the paintings by herself.  We were less than successful at one point as the little boy touched the frame of a painting.  Oh dear. I took him off to look at another section of the museum and we found a couch in a tiny room and sat there for a while and looked outside the museum.  

We had all planned to go to the museum coffee shop for a quick drink, but they closed. We asked Siri and he suggested a place I’d never been called Cloak.  My friend had been there and said it was good but a little small.  We decided to try it.  F and I drove there and parked nearby.

When my friend arrived we handed over the food that we had bought her at Costco, she paid us for it and we had our tea or coffee.  It was a lovely coffee shop really.  The little boy amused himself with F’s phone and was pretending to have a conversation on the phone.  He was the spitting image of every business person I’ve seen in Japan on the phone, bowing and saying “Hai”.  I decided to phone him and I was really surprised when he talked to me on the phone.  He doesn’t like me that much, but did very well in English and was very happy to talk on the phone like a grown up!

Sadly, our friend had to leave to help her family and we knew we had to go too.  They left and then F and I tried to find somewhere for dinner.  Siri wasn’t as helpful this time.  He kept directing us to places that didn’t exist or were closed.  F parked in a restaurant’s parking lot to get his bearings and ask Siri on his phone when we decided to just go to the restaurant that we were parked in front of.  It wasn’t a bad choice.

We went to a yakiniku restaurant and had a good meal.  We had all sorts of stuff, chicken, beef and pork.  We had kimchi and a salad too, to try and add a little balance to the mix.  It was nice.

On the way home, we stopped off at the Aeon mall in Sakata and bought a few groceries.  I’ll be making pasta for dinner tomorrow night.  I had most of the ingredients at home already anyway.  

We came home and had a very quiet evening.  I watched The Mentalist and worked on my shawl a bit.  I finished darning in most of the threads and then worked on the edging a bit.  

Tomorrow I hope to start getting ready for my upcoming trip. I need to figure out what to take and what to leave at home!  That means I have to decide my clothing soon.  

Come back in a bit and find out how my Monday at home goes.  Until tomorrow….