December 17, 2016

Sunday - Clear but cloudy

A good day.

I woke up this morning with a running nose and watery eyes.  Is it my allergies again or something else?  I’m not sure.  Anyway, I went back to bed for an hour or so, but that turned into two hours.  Oops.  

When I got up, I took a shower.  F had made some bread, so I had a piece and made some instant coffee too.  Soon afterwards, we went out for a late lunch.  We went to the butcher’s shop/restaurant near my dentist.  Lunch was good, but as always I feel like a sardine at that place.  Not my favourite place to lunch at all, even though the food is good.

We went to S-Mall and had some tea or coffee and a little relax, then F bought a few food things for his mother.  I saw him off and then I went and did some shopping of my own.  I got him a few things that I won’t go into here.  I’m basically repeating a present I bought him a few years ago, but I’ve learned from some of my mistakes and I’m simplifying it a bit.

F called me the second I paid the clerk, so I hastily packed everything up so he couldn’t see it and then we went off together.  First we went to a drugstore to pick up more allergy medicine for me, and then we went to the movie theatre.  

Tonight of course, we went to see Rogue One.  It was really good.  I actually didn’t like it quite as much as last years Star Wars movie, but that was more of a personal thing.  I did really enjoy it though.  Poor F hadn’t steeped himself in the Star Wars history as much as me, so I think he was a bit lost at times.

After the movie, we went to Cocos for dinner and both had the same main dish.  We had a grilled chicken steak with a spicy yogurt sauce. It came with roasted potatoes too.  It was nice.  We both added on a set to it, I had a bun and the drink bar, F had rice and the drink bar.

When we finished dinner, we just came home.  I spent the last couple of hours writing up lesson plans and hoping like heck that I know what I’m doing!  I still have a couple of lessons to plan for this week, and then two for next week. However, I can’t really write up next week’s as I haven’t taught the class yet so don’t know how much we can cover!

And that is basically that.  Tomorrow F is planning to go to his mother’s in the morning and I’m planning to sleep in.  Then I’ll maybe go out for lunch and hopefully do something enjoyable in the afternoon.  Wish me luck with that!

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

December 10, 2016

Saturday - Snowy and Rainy

A good day.

I woke up when F got up this morning, but I slept on.  I didn’t wake up until 11!  I was rather shocked at myself, but considering I didn’t go to bed until after 4, I’m not that surprised.  I showered and went through to the living room.  I made myself a cup of tea and a little later, F came home again.

We went out for lunch to Hyakkenbori.  They were having a fish croquette as their special, so we both had that.  It was nice.  We also made arrangements to have Christmas Dinner there.  They are having a special meal.  I wanted to go to the Grand El Sun again this year, but it is a bit more expensive.  Hyakkenbori is close enough that we don’t have to take a taxi home if F drinks.  

After lunch we ran a few errands.  First up, we went to the Post Office and I got a mailing box for sending presents to Canada.  Then, I took F off to S-Mall for a cup of coffee.  Before we came home, we visited the drugstore and got some hand soap for the kitchen, as well as a few things for F.

We came home for a while and then left again to go to the theater.  We went to see Bridget Jones’s Baby.  I know I saw it before, but it was fun to see it again with F.  We bought laughed a lot at it.

We had dinner at Anmol, the Indian restaurant.  Instead of having the set menu tonight, we just had naan and curries.  We shared chicken saag curry and a pork masala, along with keema naan, garlic naan and then a plain naan.  It was good!

F and I stopped at the grocery store for a couple of minutes and got some soy milk for me and some beer for him.  We came home and basically had a very quiet evening.  

I watched Project Runway and Scandal, enjoyed them both.  Now I’m watching first season Cold Case.  The show had a completely different feel back then! It was still good though. 

Anyway, that’s it for me.  Today was a nice day, even though the weather was bad.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be good too.  Come back later and find out. Until tomorrow….

December 8, 2016

Thursday - Sunny and Warm

A good day.

I got up very early this morning, before 6 am to be honest.  I woke up and checked my phone, I had two messages.  Since one of them was from the person that I was meeting today, I had to read it and did so.  I thought she might be cancelling, but she wasn’t.  I went back to bed for a few minutes, but my alarm woke me up a bit after 6 and I got up and took a shower.

I put on the heater after my shower and F got up too.  He got dressed and we left.  He dropped me off at S-Mall and I took an earlier bus than I was originally planning.  I realized that I wouldn’t eat much anyway at this time, so paying a hotel’s fee for breakfast didn’t make a lot of sense.  I took an energy bar with me and a bottle of water and that was enough.

The trip to Yamagata was fine.  I snoozed a lot on the way, also listened to a couple of podcasts and some music. 

In Yamagata City, I got off at the train station and did a little shopping and then met up with my friend.  We did a little Starbucks and then met up with another person in our women’s group and went off to have lunch together.  

We had a lovely time at the restaurant.  I had pasta and it was yummy!  It was shrimp and avocado genovese, and it came with salad, soup, and a few little delicious things.  It also had dessert and a drink.  I gave away my matcha ice cream because I don’t like matcha and it’s made out of milk! I still had other desserts though, so it wasn’t a bad thing.

In the afternoon, the person who lives in Yamagata dropped us off near a big tea shop and she went off to work.  My friend and I bought some tea and then did a bit of sightseeing.  We visited the former prefectural office and toured around it for a bit.  After that, we had some tea or coffee and a little cake at the coffee shop in the building.  We caught a bus back to the station and went back to Starbucks!  My friend had to catch her train and after a bit more shopping on my part, I caught my bus.

The bus back to Tsuruoka was a bit busier, but I still managed to get a seat to myself.  I snoozed, read, listened to podcasts and music, and enjoyed myself.  

When I got to S-Mall, my husband wasn’t there.  I checked my phone and got a picture of Tsuruoka TRAIN station from him.  I texted him to say I was at the BUS station, and he said he was there too.  I went into the building and there he was!  He really did go to the train station first, but realized that I wasn’t going to be on the train.  

We went to Gusto for a quick and actually pretty good dinner and then did a little grocery shopping.  I got some things for dinner tomorrow night.  

We came home and had a quiet night in.  I watched Bones and did some crochet, and then came back to my computer.  So that was it!  My day today was really great.

Yesterday was good too.  Briefly, I met another friend and we had lunch and vented about our husbands before seeing Bridget Jones’s Baby.  We laughed a lot at that movie.  It wasn’t the best ever, but was just what we needed.

F said he wasn’t feeling well last night, so barely ate anything at dinner, and of course was too sick to do dishes.  I did them and then we had a basically quiet night at home.  I went to bed just after midnight because of having to get up early today.  

So, you are now up to date!  Come back later and find out what I get up to next.  Until tomorrow….

December 3, 2016

Saturday - Sunny and warm - Glorious day!

A good day.

I woke up this morning and took a quick shower.  I got dressed right away, and waited for F to come home to pick me up.  The problem was that he was taking his mother to the doctor first…and they took a long time.  He didn’t arrive home until after 11, but I was waiting for him so jumped in the car and off we went.

At the doctor’s office I did a little crochet (2.5 squares—yay me) and then we were off.  F suggested a place in Kushibiki for lunch and that was fine with me.  I had a stir-fry and added on soup, pickles and rice.  I gave F my rice because I didn’t want it at all. He had ramen with mabo-dofu.  

We came back into Tsuruoka proper then, went to S-Mall and bought my ticket for my trip to Yamagata next week.  After that, I treated us to a nice cuppa in Doutors.  We got some boxes at the hundred yen shop so I could mail a present to my BFF too.

The next thing we did was to come home.  We vegged and drank a bit of tea at home, and then F went off to check on his mother.  She has a cold right now and since she is a little elderly, needs a bit of checking on.

When F came home again, we drove off to Mikawa and had dinner in the pasta restaurant.  I had quite a nice dish, avocado and shrimp basil cream sauce pasta.  Yum.  F had mentaiko pasta and said it was good.

We did a little last minute shopping for my nephew and brother-in-law.  I’m not sure if they’ll like what we got, but we tried.  After that, we took the shopping to the car and went and bought our movie tickets.  

Tonight we saw Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant and Simon Helberg.  It was good.  We both enjoyed it.  Sadly, we were in a huge theatre and there were only 4 people at the show.  I don’t think our area is ready for this film! It was a funny movie, but sweet too.  

After the film, we drove home and relaxed.  I watched Project Runway, which was a lot of fun tonight.  It was the “Rainway” challenge.  They had the models walk down a went runway.  I think the dresses that won deserved to, and the one that lost almost deserved to.  

And that was my day more or less.  I’m not sure what I’ll get up on Sunday.  Come back later and find out! Until tomorrow….

November 26, 2016

Saturday - Warmish and sunny

A good day, eventually.

I got up this morning around 9 am and decided to go back to sleep for an hour.  Two hours later I woke up when F came home. Sigh.  I got up and got on with my day, however.

We went out for lunch.  F had picked his farmer’s restaurant that he likes so much. It was fine with me, but when we arrived, we were told that they house part was booked out. We could have lunch in their “cabin” outside.  I wanted to leave at this point, but F said it was fine, never asking me of course.  We got in and it was cold, and there was a draught coming in on my legs.  They had the heater going strongly and I took off my coat and wrapped it around my legs, which helped a lot.  The room was sunny and hot, it was basically a greenhouse and I was sitting in the sun.  I was not a happy camper.  F did suggest leaving and I really should have taken him up on it, but didn’t want to make him angry…and of course did make him angry anyway. 

We barely talked through lunch. Lunch was okay food wise, but nothing too special.

After lunch, I asked that we go to Mikawa to do some shopping.  We got a lot done actually.  We bought ourselves one of those clay bathmats that absorb the water, and I got presents for most of the people that I had to.  I still have to pick up a couple of things for my nephew since he had a birthday just after Christmas and the poor kid gets ripped off every year. But, I have done most of it and that’s a good thing.

F had a massage since his back was bad and I used that time to scope out a few things.  When F was done, I made him come and buy them! 

We took our shopping to the car and then came back into the mall and had bibinba for dinner.  F had wanted ramen and I wanted pasta, so we compromised…it worked out well and dinner was yummy.  

We did a little window shopping after dinner and then went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  I enjoyed it a lot, but I’m not sure if F did.  He was having a bad day pain-wise.  

We came home after the movie and I had some tea and F a beer.  He headed to bed fairly early and I’m going to go there almost as soon as I post this.

I’m not sure what we’re going to do tomorrow.  In the morning I’ll probably sleep in on purpose and F will likely go over to his mother’s.  After that, I have no idea!  Come on back if you are so inclined and find out.  Until tomorrow….  

November 19, 2016

Saturday - Rainy

A good day!

I went to bed after 4 last night and vowed that I’d sleep in this morning, if I had the chance.  I didn’t!  I woke up around 9 and F called the doctor’s office to see if we could get flu shots.  We could, so I had to take a fast shower and then get on the road with him.  

We had ages to wait in the crowded doctor’s office, but at least it gave me lots of time to read my Sue Grafton (X).  We got our shots after a cursory examination, then were on our way.  

We went to the newish restaurant that used to be a bento shop, near my dentist’s office.  We had a fast and quite good lunch.  We both had a steak don set.  I like the food there, but it is so crowded and not set up for people to have a comfortable lunch that I probably should stop suggesting we go.  We went over to Doutors to have coffee and dessert after lunch. That was very nice to be honest. Then, we zoomed off to Mikawa.

We went to Mikawa Shopping Centre to pick up my yarn for the blanket I’m making.  We got it quickly and had a few discounts too, so that was nice.  Afterwards, I told F I wanted to look in the ladies department, so we had a snoop.  I found a shirt for my niece and a dress/tunic for me so that was good.  They were both on sale with an extra bonus if you bought two, so doubly happy thing!

We came back home for a while and relaxed.  Around 5:30, F started talking about dinner.  We were planning to see the 8:15 movie in Tsuruoka, so I thought it was too early.  However, he found out that a restaurant we like in Amarume was open tonight, so he wanted to go there.  It’s a bit of a drive to get there, so it was a good idea to leave around 6:30 when we did.

We arrived at the restaurant and were able to go in right away.  We ordered our dinner and then saw a nice set on the specials menu that probably would have been better for me at least!  Oh well.  We both had yakiniku with rice, miso soup, salad and pickles.  

When we finished our meal, we paid and zoomed back to the Tsuruoka cinema to see Brooklyn.  It was great.  I was in tears at the end, and F loved it too.  For me, I saw so much of my life in hers.  Of course it was a different time, but I left my home country and family to move thousands of miles away for a job!

After the movie, I didn’t want to go home, and I didn’t really want to eat anything.  I suggested going over to Mos Burgers for coffee and that’s what we did.  F had a burger there too, but I just had a Vienna Coffee.  

We came home in time to watch Scandal and Project Runway, so really, my day was complete!  The film was fabulous, the food today was amazing, and for the most part, F and I got on really well.  

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some sleep.  I’m very, very tired!  Until tomorrow….

November 12, 2016

Saturday - Clear and sunny

A good day.

I got up fairly early today, and took a shower.  When F came home I had just finished.  I watched Click on TV and then he wanted to go for lunch.  Since he wanted the same place I thought about, that was fine.  Only problem, it was so busy we couldn’t park the car, so we moved on.  We had a sushi lunch near the river. It was okay.

After lunch, we drove out to Mikawa shopping mall and went yarn shopping.  I had to special order some yarn as I wanted all to have the same dye lot.  The store didn’t have what I wanted.  After we accomplished that, we had a coffee at Mister Donut and then came back to Tsuruoka.  

On the way back, F asked if I’d like to go to karaoke, so we went!  We went for a couple of hours.  F left early as he had an appointment, but I stayed on for a bit.  I had planned to go to the mall, but F came back for me a little early.  He wanted dinner and picked the restaurant near the cinema.  

After dinner we came home for a bit and then walked to the cinema.  We saw Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.  I liked it a lot, but then again I like Tom Cruise films.  I thought Cobie Smulders had a very interesting character and the whole thing was fun.  

When the movie finished, we decided to walk home, but then we decided to go for a drink or a bite.  We ended up in an izakaya near the station.  I’m on allergy medicine at the moment, so didn’t drink anything alcoholic, but F had a beer.  We both shared a bit of food and it was okay.

We walked home and then I watched Project Runway, and F went to bed.  

My day was quite good, and I enjoyed it.  Not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow, you’ll just have to come back and see.  Until tomorrow….

November 3, 2016

Thursday - Rainy and Cool

A good day.

I got up this morning and watched The X-Files and had some breakfast.  I also made the bed and got dressed.  

F came home from visiting his mother in the early afternoon and we discussed where to lunch.  I suggested going to Bikkuri Donkey!! so that’s where we went.  It was quite nice. F had a salad and a parfait, I had a burger and part of his salad too.

After lunch we did a little shopping.  First up we got gas for the car and then I had a good snoop around the yarn shop.  I didn’t buy anything today, but they had some nice stuff, even though it might be a bit expensive.

We went to the mall for some coffee and then came home for a bit.  At the apartment we had some trouble with the toilet.  Rather than flushing properly, it is filling the bowl.  It hasn’t overflowed thank goodness, but we aren’t sure what is going on.  F went and bought some chemicals for the toilet and he put some in the toilet and then we went out.

I wanted a place that we could spend some time in, if not any money, so then I thought about Hard-Off, the second hand store.  We had a good hack around and didn't buy anything.  Yay us.  After the store, we went for dinner.  F suggested a Japanese place he took me before and I said yes.  They serve a lot of regular Japanese food like soba or deep fried food.  F had a mixed fry and I had their yakiniku plate.  Mine was nice, F liked his too.

We drove to the movie theater and even though we were very early, went in and just sat around for a while.  When it was nearly time, we bought our tickets and I bought the popcorn and drinks.  We went in and watched The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years.  I really enjoyed it, I think F did too.  We talked a little about Beatlemania on the way to the grocery store.  F told me about the way people in his family acted when the Beatles came to Japan. It was a bit scary!

We bought a few groceries at the store and then came home via the gas station for some kerosene.  F brought in the fuel, I put away the groceries.  

I watched a little TV, and I caught up on my email reading.  F went to bed fairly early tonight.  I think I'll join him soon as I'm quite tired.  

Come back later to find out how my Friday goes.  Until tomorrow....

September 29, 2016

Thursday - Rainy then clearing

We’re back from Seoul.  We had a great time  there, although I got a bit too much sun on Monday and it rained all of Tuesday. If I have time I’ll try and write up a post about it, but don’t hold your breath.

Last night we stayed in Sendai, did a few things like see a movie (Sully), shopping, and eating out.  I took F to a place that I visited with a friend earlier this year and I over-indulged in french fries and got rather sick last night.  I had an early night last night.

Today, we had breakfast in the hotel, I made a mad and successful dash to a post office for Gotochi cards and then we left the city.  Before we were able to leave, F had a brain freeze and thought he’d lost the car keys.  He went back to the hotel to look for them, made arrangements to have his car towed out of the parking building and then came back and found them in his pants from yesterday’s pockets. In his suitcase.  Where I had told him to look already.  He phoned to have the towing cancelled again.  

We went to Costco in Yamagata, had lunch there and then did a little shopping.  It was a tad expensive, but we renewed our membership and bought a pre-paid card for gas, so actually got more than it seemed.  I got a new jacket there and a book, got more quinoa, some tuna, potatoes, broccoli and avocados. We couldn’t find any tortilla chips this trip though.   That was a first.

We had a drink (me) and some frozen yogurt (us) before we left Costco and started the drive home.  We made good time and when we came home I quickly checked the fridge and then we headed out again to buy groceries.  Neither of us wanted to go to a restaurant so we bought take out sushi and came home and had it.  

We had a fairly quiet evening.  F went to bed early as he’s not feeling well.  I had a bit of a cold when I left and maybe he’s caught it now?  I hope not.  He’s a bit worried about a work situation so I hope that things work out for him when he gets there.

Well, that’s it for me for now.  I’ll try talking again later.  Until tomorrow….

September 19, 2016

Monday - Cloudy with scattered rain

An okay day.

I slept in a bit this morning, but finally got up.  It was so dark outside that it seemed like night.  I showered and got dressed.  Then, I decided to change my clothes and wore one of my new things from Saturday.  It was a good idea and I was terribly comfortable all day!

We tried to have lunch at Hyakkenbori, but it was quite busy, so went to Futaba instead.  That was really nice.  I had fish and F had pork for lunch!  We had the opposite of what we usually have.  After lunch, we tried to go for coffee, but the coffee shop was closed.  

We ended up at the Chido Museum to see an exhibit of a Yamagata artist, Y Sugawara.  Surprisingly, I liked his paintings and thought they were rather good. I liked getting up close to see the brushstrokes, but found they were greatly improved from a distance!  I even recognized one of the places in the picture, so yay me. 

We checked out the garden and the pond as usual.  It looked nice and I even got F to take a picture of me.  However, he didn’t tell me when he was going to take the picture so I didn’t smile in any of them.  Sad!

Sort of an OOTD pic.

We went to the coffee shop/restaurant that is next to the museum afterwards.  I had an iced coffee and F had a huge kakigori!  I could have had one, but they only had one made with red beans and I didn’t think I would like it.  The waitress did bring F a small bowl with his kakigori, so he gave me a bit.  It was okay but I really think it was too much!

We came home for a while after our drinks and looked into a tour for when we are away.  I didn’t have a lot of luck so I suggested that F sign up for it instead.  We ended up going for dinner.  

Today we went to the little restaurant near the theatre that we’ve gone to twice before now.  They have reasonable, locally sourced food, with all you can eat rice, miso soup and pickles. I had chicken namban which was a bit disappointing, and F had chicken steak which he quite liked.  I’ve had it before and should have had it tonight too.  

After dinner, we had an hour before our movie started, so I suggested doing our shopping.  We went to our grocery store and picked up a few things.  Tomorrow F is going to do a nabe and on Wednesday I’ll do some chicken.  Yay us.  

We brought home the groceries and then went out and saw Now You See Me 2.  It wasn’t a necessity to see the movie, but F seemed to want to go.  I liked it, but wouldn’t go again, F fell asleep on it at the beginning, but liked it overall.  

We came home and I made us a cup of decaf coffee each and we tried to book the boat tour.  F had to register for it and it sounded odd, so I tried in English.  They kept flipping me into PayPal, which I did NOT want to use, so I gave up on it too.  I looked up other companies, but they were charging exorbitant fees so I told F we’ll try and book something when we get there.  Maybe the hotel or the tour company will do it for us.  

So, that was my day.  It wasn’t bad at all.  F and I didn’t argue, which is sort of amazing. We didn’t do a whole lot of things, but it was nice to have a bit of a lazy day for a change.  Come back later and find out how Tuesday goes.  Until tomorrow….

September 12, 2016

Monday - Cloudy and rainy, cooler

A good day.

I got up this morning at my usual time, had breakfast and did watch The X-Files.  Carrie Hamilton was in this one and it was rather good…sort of like a sad Groundhog Day. I had breakfast and tea while I waited for F.  

I took a shower and got dressed.  I watched the end of Burn Notice and waited for F.  Then, I watched Agents of Shield and waited for F.  Finally at 1pm I went to the bedroom for a nap.  He came back quite a bit later.  He did have a reason though.  I knew that the Emperor and Empress were in our city, I just didn’t know that their motorcade was going past the local museum.  The streets were packed apparently, and F couldn’t get through.  He was too busy trying to take photos of the Royals to think of phoning me!

We went out for a nice dinner to Hyakkenbori.  Their special today was grilled salmon, so we both had that.  I was very pleased with it.  We had tea or coffee then too and went over to the train station.  I bought train tickets for my trip to Niigata next month.  I was trying to get a special offer, but it was only for people staying over for one night, not two.  Sigh.  Oh Japan, be more flexible!

We went to Aomoriya, the fruit shop and went to their newly renovated tea room for tea and tarts.  I had a nice fig and grape tart, F had an autumn fruit tart.  We both had the house blend tea and it was great.  We sat overlooking the street and watched people go by.  We also talked about going to see Suicide Squad today and discussed the showing.  Usually we go to the late show, but I knew that F was tired.  He asked that we go to the 5:25 one, which was fine with me.  

Yummy Fig and Grape tart,  tea, and street scene.

We made a brief stop at home to pick up jackets and use the washroom, then drove out to Mikawa.  We went to the theatre right away, got our tickets and went in to the movie.  We saw Suicide Squad and like Two-Face in the old Batman movies, I am of two minds about the film.  I did enjoy some of the characters.  I liked Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, I didn’t like Leto as Joker and I thought the final villain was a bit silly.  Still, overall I was entertained but I don’t know if I need to see this film again or not!

We had bibinba for dinner at the mall after the movie.  I had a normal sized one, F had one that was huge!  He said he was hungry but after he finished it, he said it was too big!

We drove back to Tsuruoka and bought me some soy milk at the store and then came home.  We watched a little bit of TV and are both still up at almost 3 am.  I’m surprised that F is still up, but don’t want to bug him by saying so!

Tomorrow I’m hoping that we’ll finally do some laundry at a laundromat and start discussing rationally what we are going to do on this horrid trip that is coming up all to soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me that we don’t get into another pointless argument again!  Until tomorrow…. 

September 3, 2016

Saturday - Hot and sunny

A good day.

It’s very late, so I’m going to give you a very brief look at my day.  It turned out rather well as you will see!

This morning I slept in a little, but got up and made the bed just as F came home.  He’d had a busy morning.

I asked F if he wanted to have some of yesterday’s leftover food and he said he would.  So, I made us each an omelette. Mine was mushroom, onion and cheese and it was very good.  F’s was salami, mushroom and cheese.  I put some gently cooked mini tomatoes on the plate too.  

We went out in the afternoon to S-Mall and had a drink at Doutors.  After that, we hit up a shoe store for insoles for F and then the nearby drugstore.  We drove around for a while and then went to the small cafe at House Kiyokawa for a drink and a snack.  

We went home and then got ready to walk to the cinema.  We walked for 15 or so minutes and had dinner at a place near the theatre.  I had a pork and vegetable stir-fry with rice and miso soup, and so did F.  We had a walk after dinner and a drink too, then headed back to the cinema.  We went to see Ghostbusters.  The place was quite busy today, and there were a lot of people around.

The film was fun!  Was it the greatest movie ever?  No, but it was quite a good time.  The cameos were cool and parts of the movie were really funny.

After the movie, F and I walked to a bar that he knows and we had a bite to eat and a drink each.  Afterwards, we paid and walked home.

When we arrived home, we watched a bit of TV and then F went to bed. And that’s it really.

I’m not sure what we’ll get up to tomorrow, so please come on back and find out.  Until tomorrow….

August 13, 2016

Saturday - Hot and sunny

A good day!

It is terribly late right now so I’ll give the important details only of today. Got up and had breakfast at home and then went out for lunch with F.  We went to Naa and it was nice.  Then, we found went for coffee and that was good too. 

We were a bit tired so came home for naps in the middle of the day.  There was also a bit of the Olympics on the TV too.

We  drove out to Mikawa’s Mall around 6 pm and had dinner in the pasta restaurant there.  I tried a new sort of pasta for me, mentaiko with salmon and mushroom.  It was okay, but I probably wouldn’t have it again because it felt too salty to me.

We did a little hacking around the mall and then went to see X-Men: Apocalypse.  I enjoyed it, but then again, I’m predisposed to like X-Men films.  

We went over to Don Qixote after the movie to get some cheap drinks and ended up getting me a pair of crocs.  No longer will I be able to talk about my “fake crocs”. We also picked up a few things from the food section before coming home.  

F watched Olympic tennis and then we went out to see the meteor shower tonight.  Sadly, it wasn’t a great night for it as it seemed a little hazy up there.  The last few nights have been so clear we were spoiled.  Still, we did see a few.

And that’s it.  I’m not sure what we’ll get up to on Sunday.  You’ll have to come on back and find out!  Until tomorrow….

July 30, 2016

Saturday - Hot and muggy and humid with a spot of rain

A good day.

Guess what?  It’s terribly late again and I would like to get to bed before 4 am.  I probably won’t make it, but I’d like to be off my computer before then.  So…the bareish bones.

I got up a little late today and took a shower. When F came home we talked about lunch and today I suggested going to Kitchen Futaba.  We went and had a lovely lunch.  I had their meat plate, which was sautéed pork with salad, vegetable soup, scalloped potatoes and a baguette.  It was very nice.  

After lunch, we went to Yamaya and I picked up 4 cans of garbanzo beans and a couple of cans of tomato!  I’d better do a bit of cooking with them soon.  We got some drinks and F picked up some beer for himself. Next up we visited a drugstore and then went back to a DIY shop.  F bought something for work and then we were off again.  I suggested a drink, but also a trip home to change my shoes.  I’d worn a new pair this morning and my feet were a bit sore. 

We came home and instead of leaving again right away, ended up taking a long afternoon nap.  I got up a couple of hours later, F was a bit longer.  

We drove out to Mikawa in the evening.  I had suggested having dinner at the cheap and cheerful pasta place, and that’s what we did.  It was made even more cheap by my full point card, so yay for that.  We both had some nice pasta.  I had one of their cold ones, it was shrimp with asparagus, red peppers and tomatoes.  F had a peperoncino and seemed to like it.  

We did a little walking along the mall, visited Aeon but only bought some earplugs for me.  I don’t like the soft ones and need some earplugs.  We had a drink in Seattle’s Best and then went upstairs for the movie. We went to see The Legend of Tarzan and it was quite fun.  It brought back happy memories of my mum taking my sister and I into town to see Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies in Stavanger when we were kids!  Alexander Skarsgard is pretty hot and Jane wasn’t annoying.  The scenery was gorgeous too.

We came back to Tsuruoka afterwards.  F was being a tad annoying.  He asked if I wanted to eat anything (I didn’t) and I said I’d like a drink.  I suggested either going to the convenience store or the Don Qihote nearby for cheaper drinks.  He ignored both ideas and drove back to Tsuruoka.  When we got nearer I thought about suggesting Mos Burgers, but he went another way.  Then he proceeded to drive past each and every convenience store on the way.  Then he asked if I wanted to go to the grocery store.  Nope.  They have crappy drinks there.  We went to a convenience store that was further away, but we had already passed a couple on the way home.  Why?  I don’t get it!  

We came home and I watched a bit of TV and then F watched a bunch of local stuff.  He did put on Countdown TV which was very “natsukashi” for me.   I used to watch it when I first came to Japan to hear what music was popular in Japan at the time!  Now, I don’t really care that much.  

And that’s about it really.  I don’t have any idea what we’ll get up to tomorrow.  I hope it might be a quiet day.  Come back in a bit and see what happens.  Until tomorrow….

July 24, 2016

Sunday - Warm and Sunny

An oddish day.

I slept in this morning because it is Sunday and I always do AND because I didn’t go to bed until very very early this morning.  I woke up a few times but one time I woke up because F called me. He was calling to say he’d been in an accident and was okay, but he might be home a bit late.

He arrived after 1 pm and I was up by then.  He told me that the person in front of him had stopped her car, so of course he stopped too.  The problem was the person behind him didn’t stop her car in time.  She rear-ended F’s car and caused quite a bit of damage.  Sadly for us, it seems like she doesn’t have complete insurance coverage, so I’m not sure what is going to happen about that.  F’s insurance will likely have to pick up the balance.  Sigh.  

We had a late lunch at Bikkuri Donkey!! which was nice for a change.  It’s so close, but we don’t go much as they don’t have a drink bar, and they don’t have a lot of food that F likes. 

When we finished lunch, we visited a camera shop so we could have some photos of the damage done to F’s car developed.  We were there for a few minutes, but not long really.

We wanted to have a drink, so ended up going to Doutors again for a drink. Before the drink, we popped into Baskin Robbins for some ice-cream. After we had our drink and our ice-cream, we headed off to the theatre.  Today’s movie was Youth with Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Rachel Weisz.  Neither of us liked it!  It had too many characters with pointless stories and never seem to lead anywhere.  Yesterday’s movie was so very much better.

We had a quick dinner at Cocos tonight.  I had chicken and F had a noodle dish.  I almost had one too, but I was wearing a shirt that is a bit of a pain to wash as it has to be laid flat to dry. I can’t eat noodles without splashing myself with soup so decided not to go there.

I bought a few groceries and then we came home.  We went for a walk and took a few pictures of the moon.  Sadly, they didn’t turn out well.  The moon was big and bright tonight. When we came home, F did some prep work for meeting with the insurance people tomorrow.  I hope things go well for him.  I feel a bit sorry for the woman that hit his car, but more sorry for his car!  

And that’s about it.  Tomorrow I hope to get a few things done around the apartment, and I’d like to get out for a little if I can.   Come back later and see what I get up to.  Until tomorrow….

July 23, 2016

Saturday - Warm and sunny

A good day!

I woke up a bit late this morning, but nothing unusual really.  I got ready to take a shower and just as I was going to, F came home.  I showered and then we did our usual fighting over where to eat.  F wanted gyudon, I didn’t really, but said I’d go.  We went to the car and then he said that he’d go somewhere else.  I tried to suggest a couple of places that he might like, but these days it is almost impossible if they don’t serve ramen.  Finally I decided to please myself and suggested a place in S-Mall.  We went there and I had my favourite tuna and mushroom cream spaghetti and it was as nice as ever.  I didn’t have any sides with it like I usually do. F had cold ramen salad. He said it was okay.

We had an iced coffee downstairs after a quick run through the hundred yen shop, then came home.  I went into the apartment, F went over to check on his mother.  He came back a few minutes later and then I took a nap.  

F has been in a bad mood for a while now.  It’s the rainy season so his back is really bad and his medicine doesn’t seem to cut it.  I think I just have to have patience with him (or try anyway) until it is over.  

I got up a bit before 6 and we began the whole rigamarole about deciding where to go for dinner tonight.  We wanted to see a movie, and were planning to walk to the theatre so wanted something on the way.  I came up with a few ideas, like stopping at the grocery store for a couple of things and eating there if there was a table area or a restaurant or two that F didn’t like.  We ended up going to a little casual restaurant near the main post office.  They serve local food and it wasn’t bad.  I had chicken steak and F had some kind of pork dish.  

After dinner, we still had an hour before our movie, so I suggested we do a little walking around.  Well, there was a festival on just down the street, so we went and had a look.  F being F, we didn’t buy anything and I didn’t really ask to look at anything, although I would have if given half a chance.  It was a really nice night out and the festival was quite fun.  

We went to see 45 Years with Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay and it was fabulous.  Looking at IMDb, it sounded boring but with good performances.  However, I forgot that most of the fanboys that comment on that website are into superhero movies and don’t like cerebral British dramas.  Okay, maybe I exaggerate, but the movie was really good.  I didn’t think F would like it, but he did AND he “got” it.  We left the theatre and chatted a bit about the movie.

We decided to go to a bar or an izakaya for a drink.  F’s first choice was busy, so we went to another one down the street.  After dinner, and popcorn I didn’t really want much to eat, so we stopped at a Fish Izakaya and had a drink each and a little food.  It was quite nice and then we walked home.

At home, F went to bed, and I stayed up and watched a little TV.  When the TV I wanted to watch finished, I put on a movie.  Yes, I am that crazy.  And now I’m watching videos from the 90’s.  Right now it is Alannah Myles and Black Velvet! And Right Said Fred!  Do not believe his jumpsuit!  It leaves very little to the imagination!

Okay, I have to get some sleep. The sun is coming up and I know that F will be getting up in a couple of hours!  I’ll probably talk to you again in a few hours.  Until…later today…?

July 17, 2016

Sunday - Rainy and cloudy

A good day.

I slept in because it was Sunday and that’s what I do!  When I got up, F went and had a nap for a bit.  We talked about going out for lunch and then I asked F if he’d like me to cook us brunch instead.  I had bacon, eggs and hash brown patties in the fridge….pretty easy to pull something out of that! He said yes, and so I cooked.  We had bacon, scrambled eggs and the hash browns and it was nice.  We had a couple of mini tomatoes in the fridge, so they went on the plates too.  There were even a couple of plums for afterwards.  

After our brunch we went out.  F wanted to go to the Internet Cafe which was fine.  I had a bag of stuff with me, but when we were on our way there F asked if there were any movies.  We drove to the local theater to see, but nothing was on for a while.  

The parking lot at the Internet Cafe was full, so we couldn’t park there.  We looked at the times of the Mikawa movies and we had a scant 20 minutes to make it there to see a movie.  It usually takes 20 minutes just to drive out there.  We got to the mall and went up to the theater, but decided to wait and do a little shopping first!  

We looked at handbags for me, bought some socks for F and me, and I looked at the craft work stuff, but didn’t buy anything except socks.  We had an iced tea and a doughnut at Mr Donut.  I even did my good deed for the day when I asked F to move down a chair so a lady at the next table could have a seat.  

We finally went to see the movie, Independence Day: Resurgence. It wasn’t great.  I didn’t like it very much. I was mildly entertained by it, but really wouldn’t recommend it unless people are desperate to see a movie.  

We left the mall after the movie and drove back to Tsuruoka.  I suggested to F that we get something from the grocery store for dinner since we weren’t terribly hungry, and that’s what we did.  We picked up some sushi, tempura and bifun and came home.

We waited for a while to eat and started watching a film called Child 44.  It was about a murder investigation during the start of communist Russia.  Of course, there couldn’t be any murders happening in the heaven that was Communist Russia!  It was quite engrossing and even managed to suck F into it too.  We ate our dinner and had a quiet evening in.

I’m not sure what we’ll get up to on Monday.  It’s a long weekend here, so F will be around.  We may do a version of a picnic or if we have time go and do a little sightseeing.  You’ll have to come back later and find out!  Until tomorrow….

July 11, 2016

Monday - Sunny and not too hot

A good day.

I got up this morning with a mission in mind.  I got dressed soon after I got up, made the bed early too.  I did my computer stuff, had tea and breakfast and just before 12 I hit the road!  I rode my bicycle over to the mall and had lunch there.  I was in the coffee shop and today I had their salad lunch.  It was very nice and I enjoyed it.

I biked off again, this time I went to the movie theatre and went to see Room. It was a worthy movie of a fabulous and difficult emotionally book.  It was showing in the tiny theatre room, and there were a lot of people watching the film.  Excellent movie, great performances, very thoughtful film.

After the film I quickly visited the Main Post Office, but didn’t buy anything.  After that, I headed home.

At home, I changed and I noted that F had been home, probably for lunch, but I’m not sure. I did a bit of cleaning up.  I finished a bit in the kitchen, and I also picked up a lot of F’s garbage.  The stuff that falls off the living room coffee table tends to stay on the floor.  

F finally came home around 7:00 pm and we had dinner.  It was quite nice.  We just did sandwiches today, with salad on the side. I had sliced some cucumber and also some red onion, and soaked them separately in vinegar.  They were quite nice on our sandwiches, a bit strong on their own though.

I did the dishes because F was tired and there really weren’t very many.  I got them done and a few minutes later changed into my walking gear.  

F was tired and not feeling great so he asked for a not too long walk which was fine.  I’d had lots of exercise already.  We did a “course” and stopped off in a conbini for an ice cream.  We came home and had our ice cream and a quiet evening.  There was very little on TV for me tonight, so I let F watch some boxing.  Bleck, but he likes it. I did some Postcrossing so I was entertained!

That was my day.  It turned out surprisingly well.  Hurray for that.  I’m not sure what I’m going to get up to so please come back and find out.  Until tomorrow….

July 2, 2016

Saturday - Muggy but hot, rainy at times

A good day.

I slept in this morning.  Sigh.  I didn’t mean to do it, but I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed this morning.  My alarms went off and I ignored them.  It was after 11 when I got up.  

I took a quick shower and expected we’d go for lunch, but F went to bed and took a nap!  He was very tired.  I finally woke him up and we went out for lunch.  I had suggested going to Hyakkenbori, the restaurant at the University, because I had noticed they had a grilled chicken special for lunch.  F was okay with that.  We drove off and he went the wrong way.  Okay, so he was taking a different route.  It wasn’t until he’d passed a couple of the different ways to get there that I checked he knew where we were going.  It was a bit like he’d forgotten.  

Lunch was great.  I had the grilled garlic chicken and it was good.  F had udon and tempura and liked it too.  We had a dessert too, F had a small cream puff and I had a big one with cherries in it.  Yum!

We bought gas for the car and then went home. At home, we went to sleep and slept almost the whole afternoon.  I got up around 5 pm, F was a bit before 6.  It was one of those lovely lazy days that almost never happen around here.

Around 6:30 we started discussing dinner.  We decided on Kintaro Sushi so went there.  We had some yummy sushi and I also had a sashimi plate too.  I gave F most of the shellfish from the plate since I’m not a fan.  

After dinner we went to the drugstore for soap for the bathroom, and also got a few other things for the apartment.  We got some cold icy things for us too.  I had ice cream, F had a popsicle kind of thing.  

We went to the cinema and went to see Hail, Caesar!. We were early, so sat in the lobby for a bit.  I know the reviews have been horrible, but I actually liked the film.  It wasn’t great, not a Fargo or a Big Lebowski, but cute and fun.  It’s very light however.  Our other choice for a film was the latest Alice in Wonderland thing, so I think we made the right decision.  

We came home after the movie and had a quiet evening in.  I made more popcorn and we had that and watched some TV and So You Think You Can Dance.  And honestly, that was about it for my day.

I have no idea what we’ll get up to tomorrow.  Please come on back and find out.  Until tomorrow….

June 25, 2016

Saturday - Warm but cloudy, rainy at night

A good day.

I got up when F came home this morning.  I was surprised to see him so soon, as I assumed that he’d be at the doctor’s office for longer.  He’d also said he’d take him mother out today.  He was back around 9 am and stayed home.

I had an early shower and then watched Click and The Travel Show before we went out for lunch.  F picked a Sushi/Fish restaurant so I had sashimi. It was okay.  

After lunch, we were both a bit sleepy so we came home and slept!  I think we had a three hour nap or something.  F’s was probably longer than mine, since I got up before he did.  

We had a quick and pretty good dinner at Gusto.  I had spicy chicken on bean sprouts, F had some kind of noodle dish and we shared an avocado shrimp salad.  Yum. 

After dinner, it was off to the cinema for us.  We went to see Spotlight tonight and it was great.  A really great ensemble cast, great writing and a deep story.  Both F and I were impressed with it.  I thought it was a brilliant movie, and think it’ll probably make my top ten of the year.  

We bought a few groceries since I really needed some soy milk and then came home.  I watched a couple of TV programmes and F went to bed fairly early.  

No idea what we’ll get up to tomorrow.  A lot depends on the weather and how we are both feeling.  Come on back in a little bit and check out my day.  Until tomorrow….