- 19) Some Great Thing - Lawrence Hill (November 23, 2010)
A Canadian first novel about Winnipeg race relations and the battle between French and English language speakers. This is an interesting novel, one that I would never have chosen for myself, but none the less, enjoyable. It has a quirky Canadian humor about it and I found it good reading, although not compelling. I may have to check out this author's other books.
Showing posts with label November 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label November 2010. Show all posts
Books 2010 - November
I only finished one novel this month, on the same day that I saw the one movie of November. Interesting that!
Flick Picks 2010 - November
Surprisingly, I only saw one film in November and I had to go to a city 2 hours away in order to have it in English. For some reason local theatres are showing fewer English films and I am not happy about it.
- 30) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 1 - Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter (November 23, 2010)
It's Harry Potter. It's a given that I would love it. And I did! I wasn't expecting to enjoy this film as much though. If you've read the book, then you know that this is the one outside of Hogwarts. Harry, Hermione and Ron are on the run and are hiding out in the woods. Their friendship is tested in believable ways and there are losses on Harry's side. The most grown up movie so far. Fans will love it!
November 30, 2010
Tuesday - Sunny and warmish, then rain at night.
A good day. I got up, checked email and watched the news. I also watched the second part of a documentary series on Africa. Yay NHK!
I had a quiet morning and afternoon really. I did get a book mooch ready to go out tomorrow and wrote up a couple of cards to send. I have a couple more cards that I should try to get ready tomorrow so they can go out tomorrow.
Went off to work rather early and got there in good time. I did a little more work on a craft project I was working on. I needed a container for some game pieces. On Saturday, I took an old potato chip tube container and glued different coloured squares of construction paper to it. Then, I covered it all with white bond (glue). It dried to a lovely shiny surface and made the whole thing look rather nicer than it ought to! Today, I worked on the lid. Since the game will be going to my very young nephew, I wanted to do game instructions in the simplest way possible, so I wrote them up on my computer, then did a bit of downsizing, photocopying and colouring at the school. I then stuck the simple directions on the lid and on the bottom of the tube and covered them with Bond. Hopefully it will look good when done.
My first class of the day cancelled which was sad, but a little expected. My second went well though. We did some vocabulary review and it was good for the student.
After work, I finished working on the tube I mentioned above, then did paperwork and finished reading the paper. I called F a little after 9 and he came to get me.
Tonight we couldn’t make up our minds about where to go for dinner. I suggested Cocos, but the parking lot was nearly full. F countered with another place, a new restaurant, but they weren’t properly open yet. We ended up at Coco Curry Ichibanya or whatever it’s called. We both had chicken cutlet curry, although I had small rice and very mild.
We came home and watched So You Think You Can Dance. I enjoyed it and some of the routines were fun. I was pretty good as a judge tonight! At least, the judges agreed with me.
F went to bed around 1 and I’m still up. Sigh. Should be in bed though. He told me tonight that he’s taking tomorrow off. Damn and blast! I know that sounds harsh, but I had a whole line up of things planned for myself and I have no idea if they will get done or not. I told him that they are important to me, but he has a funny way of just ignoring things like that.
Anyhoo, I’m done for the night. Tomorrow night I’ll try and check back in. Got to go! Night!
A good day. I got up, checked email and watched the news. I also watched the second part of a documentary series on Africa. Yay NHK!
I had a quiet morning and afternoon really. I did get a book mooch ready to go out tomorrow and wrote up a couple of cards to send. I have a couple more cards that I should try to get ready tomorrow so they can go out tomorrow.
Went off to work rather early and got there in good time. I did a little more work on a craft project I was working on. I needed a container for some game pieces. On Saturday, I took an old potato chip tube container and glued different coloured squares of construction paper to it. Then, I covered it all with white bond (glue). It dried to a lovely shiny surface and made the whole thing look rather nicer than it ought to! Today, I worked on the lid. Since the game will be going to my very young nephew, I wanted to do game instructions in the simplest way possible, so I wrote them up on my computer, then did a bit of downsizing, photocopying and colouring at the school. I then stuck the simple directions on the lid and on the bottom of the tube and covered them with Bond. Hopefully it will look good when done.
My first class of the day cancelled which was sad, but a little expected. My second went well though. We did some vocabulary review and it was good for the student.
After work, I finished working on the tube I mentioned above, then did paperwork and finished reading the paper. I called F a little after 9 and he came to get me.
Tonight we couldn’t make up our minds about where to go for dinner. I suggested Cocos, but the parking lot was nearly full. F countered with another place, a new restaurant, but they weren’t properly open yet. We ended up at Coco Curry Ichibanya or whatever it’s called. We both had chicken cutlet curry, although I had small rice and very mild.
We came home and watched So You Think You Can Dance. I enjoyed it and some of the routines were fun. I was pretty good as a judge tonight! At least, the judges agreed with me.
F went to bed around 1 and I’m still up. Sigh. Should be in bed though. He told me tonight that he’s taking tomorrow off. Damn and blast! I know that sounds harsh, but I had a whole line up of things planned for myself and I have no idea if they will get done or not. I told him that they are important to me, but he has a funny way of just ignoring things like that.
Anyhoo, I’m done for the night. Tomorrow night I’ll try and check back in. Got to go! Night!
November 29, 2010
Monday - Rainy most of the day
A great day! I got up almost on time this morning and despite being a little tired, never went back to bed nor did I take a nap. Win!
I watched news, checked my email groups and did a few other on-line things. I watched all of my weekend TV today too. That was a lot! Still some of it was good. I was a little disappointed in the CSI trilogy thing. They’d been talking it up a lot so I was expecting more. Still, wasn’t awful or anything.
I did a couple of loads of laundry, vacuumed the apartment and wrote a few Christmas cards. Around 4:30 I ran out to the post office to mail everything off, then came home.
I did a bit of dinner prep and then when F called to say he was on his way I got it under way. Tonight we had spaghetti squash, salad, celery sticks and coro-coro steak cooked with an onion and a little bit of sun dried tomato. That was really nice! We had basil sauce on the spaghetti squash and it was good, but I preferred the tuna one we had last year.
F was doing some paperwork so I let him off Dish Duty and I did them instead.
We had a quiet evening. F went out to mail his paperwork and then when he came back we watched Hell’s Kitchen and relaxed a bit. I did a little crochet. I’m going to have to move it a little faster if I want to finish this before I go.
That’s about it. No big deal. It was just a good day where I got a lot of things done! Night.
A great day! I got up almost on time this morning and despite being a little tired, never went back to bed nor did I take a nap. Win!
I watched news, checked my email groups and did a few other on-line things. I watched all of my weekend TV today too. That was a lot! Still some of it was good. I was a little disappointed in the CSI trilogy thing. They’d been talking it up a lot so I was expecting more. Still, wasn’t awful or anything.
I did a couple of loads of laundry, vacuumed the apartment and wrote a few Christmas cards. Around 4:30 I ran out to the post office to mail everything off, then came home.
I did a bit of dinner prep and then when F called to say he was on his way I got it under way. Tonight we had spaghetti squash, salad, celery sticks and coro-coro steak cooked with an onion and a little bit of sun dried tomato. That was really nice! We had basil sauce on the spaghetti squash and it was good, but I preferred the tuna one we had last year.
F was doing some paperwork so I let him off Dish Duty and I did them instead.
We had a quiet evening. F went out to mail his paperwork and then when he came back we watched Hell’s Kitchen and relaxed a bit. I did a little crochet. I’m going to have to move it a little faster if I want to finish this before I go.
That’s about it. No big deal. It was just a good day where I got a lot of things done! Night.
November 28, 2010
Sunday - Rainy
An okay day. I went to bed very late last night but set my alarm for 11 am. I wanted to sleep in a bit, but not enough to annoy my husband! After I got up, we had a bit of apple and then discussed what to do.
I suggested going to the Daiichi Hotel for lunch and dropping my watch off on the way. My poor watch…the one I’ve been wearing for the last 10 years has a problem. The face has shifted. Usually 12 and 6 are centred at the top and bottom, but right now they have rotated a few degrees. It’s very confusing to read the time at the moment.
We dropped off my watch. I was hoping for an instant fix to be honest, but they said it’d be 3 days before they could tell us how much it would cost to repair it. Sigh. It really doesn’t matter if it’s a reasonable amount because I love that watch. F gave it to me for our first Valentine’s Day as a couple! In fact, it’s one of a pair. We got the whole “Pair Set” thing or as we’d say back home, His and Hers watches.
Lunch was good. We both had local pork with soup and bread. We added on the salad bar and dessert. The salad bar was worth it, the dessert not so much.
I picked up a few things at the hundred yen shop and then we came home for a while. I was doing some printing when my printer announced it was low on ink. Since it’s Christmas time and I need my printer I asked if we could go and buy more. So, that’s what we did! We stopped by my school to pick up my cartridges for recycling and hit up the store! I got ink, F got ink and I got more ink for my school. Yay. We also looked at some cameras there as I’m in the market for a new one. They didn’t have my brand, so we drove to the local camera store for a look-see. They had the one I want, and a couple more. I’m going to do some investigating as I would like the camera to be my Christmas present from my not so secret Santa.
We spent quite a while in the store looking at cameras and comparing them. I like the ones that have the option of putting the thing in English.
We had dinner at Kintaro Sushi and then came home via the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. I think tomorrow will be an exciting dinner of spaghetti squash and coro-coro steak. Yum.
We watched The Golden Compass on TV tonight. It seemed a little different since I read the book. I still enjoyed it immensely though.
And that was about it. We had a nice day off together. I wish they were all like that to be honest. Next week is going to be a bit of a drag though. F has a bonnenkai on Thursday, I have a party on Friday night (but am looking forward to it ) and we have a goodbye party-overnight trip on Saturday. Whew. And I’m still trying to get ready for Christmas and Canada. Argh. Wish me luck!
Night.
An okay day. I went to bed very late last night but set my alarm for 11 am. I wanted to sleep in a bit, but not enough to annoy my husband! After I got up, we had a bit of apple and then discussed what to do.
I suggested going to the Daiichi Hotel for lunch and dropping my watch off on the way. My poor watch…the one I’ve been wearing for the last 10 years has a problem. The face has shifted. Usually 12 and 6 are centred at the top and bottom, but right now they have rotated a few degrees. It’s very confusing to read the time at the moment.
We dropped off my watch. I was hoping for an instant fix to be honest, but they said it’d be 3 days before they could tell us how much it would cost to repair it. Sigh. It really doesn’t matter if it’s a reasonable amount because I love that watch. F gave it to me for our first Valentine’s Day as a couple! In fact, it’s one of a pair. We got the whole “Pair Set” thing or as we’d say back home, His and Hers watches.
Lunch was good. We both had local pork with soup and bread. We added on the salad bar and dessert. The salad bar was worth it, the dessert not so much.
I picked up a few things at the hundred yen shop and then we came home for a while. I was doing some printing when my printer announced it was low on ink. Since it’s Christmas time and I need my printer I asked if we could go and buy more. So, that’s what we did! We stopped by my school to pick up my cartridges for recycling and hit up the store! I got ink, F got ink and I got more ink for my school. Yay. We also looked at some cameras there as I’m in the market for a new one. They didn’t have my brand, so we drove to the local camera store for a look-see. They had the one I want, and a couple more. I’m going to do some investigating as I would like the camera to be my Christmas present from my not so secret Santa.
We spent quite a while in the store looking at cameras and comparing them. I like the ones that have the option of putting the thing in English.
We had dinner at Kintaro Sushi and then came home via the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner. I think tomorrow will be an exciting dinner of spaghetti squash and coro-coro steak. Yum.
We watched The Golden Compass on TV tonight. It seemed a little different since I read the book. I still enjoyed it immensely though.
And that was about it. We had a nice day off together. I wish they were all like that to be honest. Next week is going to be a bit of a drag though. F has a bonnenkai on Thursday, I have a party on Friday night (but am looking forward to it ) and we have a goodbye party-overnight trip on Saturday. Whew. And I’m still trying to get ready for Christmas and Canada. Argh. Wish me luck!
Night.
November 27, 2010
Saturday - Sunny and gorgeous during the day, rainy in the middle of the night.
A good day. I got up, watched news, showered, no big deal really. F and I had brunch at Gusto and then he dropped me off at work.
My first class was good as usual. After her class though, I did something unusual for me, I went out. I walked to the drug store. I was looking for some nice tea, and also a few things for myself. I didn’t find nice tea, but I found other things so got them. I was out and to two different drugstores and back to the school within an hour, so not bad!
I read some of the newspapers and also prepped classes in my free time. My second student called to say she’d be a little late. She was, but no big deal. I knew she was coming. We had a good class too.
After her class, I got ready for my last student of the day. I also read a little more and then taught another lesson. Normal day really.
After class I got started on a little art project that will go with one of my nephew’s gifts for his birthday I think. Or Christmas. I’m not sure yet. It took longer than anticipated, but no biggy. I finished up my paperwork and did dishes. I watched or listened to podcasts while I was doing it all. It really made the time fly by.
I called F to pick me up while I was watching Paul Gross on a CBC podcast. That man is fine!
We had dinner tonight in a little Korean restaurant. We were the only customers and I have the feeling the guy was about to close when we arrived, but we had a nice meal. We had chap chae, chichime and bulgogi, and then gyoza too. It was yummy.
We came home and F watched a lot of Japanese TV. At first it wasn’t too annoying, but towards the end became a bit more so. At midnight I switched on Top Gear and we watched that. It was fun as always. I watched Burn Notice at 1 which is one of the reasons that I’m posting so darn late. I’m writing this at 4 am, hope it makes sense.
Anyway, I’m off. Sheep to count and all that cool malarky. Sleep is definitely over-rated! Night!
A good day. I got up, watched news, showered, no big deal really. F and I had brunch at Gusto and then he dropped me off at work.
My first class was good as usual. After her class though, I did something unusual for me, I went out. I walked to the drug store. I was looking for some nice tea, and also a few things for myself. I didn’t find nice tea, but I found other things so got them. I was out and to two different drugstores and back to the school within an hour, so not bad!
I read some of the newspapers and also prepped classes in my free time. My second student called to say she’d be a little late. She was, but no big deal. I knew she was coming. We had a good class too.
After her class, I got ready for my last student of the day. I also read a little more and then taught another lesson. Normal day really.
After class I got started on a little art project that will go with one of my nephew’s gifts for his birthday I think. Or Christmas. I’m not sure yet. It took longer than anticipated, but no biggy. I finished up my paperwork and did dishes. I watched or listened to podcasts while I was doing it all. It really made the time fly by.
I called F to pick me up while I was watching Paul Gross on a CBC podcast. That man is fine!
We had dinner tonight in a little Korean restaurant. We were the only customers and I have the feeling the guy was about to close when we arrived, but we had a nice meal. We had chap chae, chichime and bulgogi, and then gyoza too. It was yummy.
We came home and F watched a lot of Japanese TV. At first it wasn’t too annoying, but towards the end became a bit more so. At midnight I switched on Top Gear and we watched that. It was fun as always. I watched Burn Notice at 1 which is one of the reasons that I’m posting so darn late. I’m writing this at 4 am, hope it makes sense.
Anyway, I’m off. Sheep to count and all that cool malarky. Sleep is definitely over-rated! Night!
November 26, 2010
Friday - Rainy in the morning.
An okay day I suppose.
I woke up early this morning and got up and watched the news. After a bit I ended up going back to bed for 30 minute nap and woke up 2 hours later. I thought I’d feel guilty but I don’t.
I didn’t go out today, but I finally managed to wrap up one of the presents that I need to send to Britain. Yay for me. I’ve been putting it off for ages.
I vegged a lot, watched some TV and then around 6 decided to get a start on dinner. I set the table and started some water boiling. I washed and chopped the cauliflower and the broccoli and then waited for F to come home.
He came home around 7 and barely even said hello to me. He headed straight for bed. I was a touch miffed, but went in and asked if he wanted dinner soon. He said yes, so I got busy.
I steamed the veggies, then put them in the pie dish and added the cheese sauce. I topped them with cheese and some cracker crumbs and baked the whole thing in the oven. While that was cooking away, I put the chicken in the frypan and got it cooked too.
Dinner was nice. The cauliflower and broccoli mix was good, and so was the chicken. We had a salad with it too, and some pop to drink. I’d got a decaf Coke last night. F did the dishes, mostly in silence and then headed back to bed.
Days like this are really tough for me. Because I didn’t go out, I didn’t speak to anyone all day, and then F comes home and doesn’t want to/can’t speak to me at all. It’s very lonely.
Anyway, tomorrow I’m back to work and I’m scheduled for 3 classes so I should be a little busy. Hopefully I can get more of my Christmas cards ready to go. Maybe I should take my computer along for the ride?
That’s it for me. Night!
An okay day I suppose.
I woke up early this morning and got up and watched the news. After a bit I ended up going back to bed for 30 minute nap and woke up 2 hours later. I thought I’d feel guilty but I don’t.
I didn’t go out today, but I finally managed to wrap up one of the presents that I need to send to Britain. Yay for me. I’ve been putting it off for ages.
I vegged a lot, watched some TV and then around 6 decided to get a start on dinner. I set the table and started some water boiling. I washed and chopped the cauliflower and the broccoli and then waited for F to come home.
He came home around 7 and barely even said hello to me. He headed straight for bed. I was a touch miffed, but went in and asked if he wanted dinner soon. He said yes, so I got busy.
I steamed the veggies, then put them in the pie dish and added the cheese sauce. I topped them with cheese and some cracker crumbs and baked the whole thing in the oven. While that was cooking away, I put the chicken in the frypan and got it cooked too.
Dinner was nice. The cauliflower and broccoli mix was good, and so was the chicken. We had a salad with it too, and some pop to drink. I’d got a decaf Coke last night. F did the dishes, mostly in silence and then headed back to bed.
Days like this are really tough for me. Because I didn’t go out, I didn’t speak to anyone all day, and then F comes home and doesn’t want to/can’t speak to me at all. It’s very lonely.
Anyway, tomorrow I’m back to work and I’m scheduled for 3 classes so I should be a little busy. Hopefully I can get more of my Christmas cards ready to go. Maybe I should take my computer along for the ride?
That’s it for me. Night!
November 25, 2010
Thursday - Sunny but a little cool.
A good day. Today I got up a little before my alarm and watched the news. I spent a bit of time on my computer before going to take a shower. No biggie.
I watched last night’s Ugly Betty and then as there was nothing on the TV, actually popped in a video and watched it for an hour. I watched Sense and Sensibility and was instantly charmed by Emma Thompson’s script all over again. She is such a great writer.
I got ready for work and left around 4 today. It was still sunny when I left, although the sun went down soon after I arrived at my school. I vacuumed today, and it really needed it!
My first student came and we had a good class. He’s improved so much lately. I know he’s getting English at school now too, and that’s good for things like grammar, but he really needs me to help him work on listening and pronunciation. It’s funny, when I first opened my school (and at L’Eikaiwa before that) I dreaded his classes, now I look forward to them.
During the time between my classes I prepped First Student’s next class and then read some of the newspaper. Had some coffee too as I was really tired.
My last class was good. We had a good discussion and went over some new vocabulary. I ended up talking about Madonna’s song Material Girl to see if it would help my student learn the meaning of materialistic. I don’t know if it did, but it was a bit strange for me!
After my student finished I did some paperwork, read a bit more of my newspaper and then called F. He picked me up and we went to Grado. I wanted to finalise the menu for my party next week. Yay. I think it’ll be fine. We had a nice dinner and then went to the grocery store for ingredients for tomorrow’s dinner. I’m going to do chicken wings, broccoli and cauliflower in a cheese sauce and salad. Yum.
We came home and watched ER. It was an okay one tonight. Mostly learning about one of the new doctors. F watched it and then went to bed. He’s so tired these days. Poor thing.
Well, that’s it for me. Tomorrow I have a few things that I need to do. I really hope to get out of the house a little early for a change. I’d like to go to the post office and maybe go to the mall. Wish me luck with that please! Night.
A good day. Today I got up a little before my alarm and watched the news. I spent a bit of time on my computer before going to take a shower. No biggie.
I watched last night’s Ugly Betty and then as there was nothing on the TV, actually popped in a video and watched it for an hour. I watched Sense and Sensibility and was instantly charmed by Emma Thompson’s script all over again. She is such a great writer.
I got ready for work and left around 4 today. It was still sunny when I left, although the sun went down soon after I arrived at my school. I vacuumed today, and it really needed it!
My first student came and we had a good class. He’s improved so much lately. I know he’s getting English at school now too, and that’s good for things like grammar, but he really needs me to help him work on listening and pronunciation. It’s funny, when I first opened my school (and at L’Eikaiwa before that) I dreaded his classes, now I look forward to them.
During the time between my classes I prepped First Student’s next class and then read some of the newspaper. Had some coffee too as I was really tired.
My last class was good. We had a good discussion and went over some new vocabulary. I ended up talking about Madonna’s song Material Girl to see if it would help my student learn the meaning of materialistic. I don’t know if it did, but it was a bit strange for me!
After my student finished I did some paperwork, read a bit more of my newspaper and then called F. He picked me up and we went to Grado. I wanted to finalise the menu for my party next week. Yay. I think it’ll be fine. We had a nice dinner and then went to the grocery store for ingredients for tomorrow’s dinner. I’m going to do chicken wings, broccoli and cauliflower in a cheese sauce and salad. Yum.
We came home and watched ER. It was an okay one tonight. Mostly learning about one of the new doctors. F watched it and then went to bed. He’s so tired these days. Poor thing.
Well, that’s it for me. Tomorrow I have a few things that I need to do. I really hope to get out of the house a little early for a change. I’d like to go to the post office and maybe go to the mall. Wish me luck with that please! Night.
November 24, 2010
Wednesday - Cloudy and cool.
An okay day. I woke up this morning when F was getting ready for work. I hardly ever do that. I said a sleepy goodbye and off he went to work.
I got up a bit late today and then watched the news, followed by a lot of taped TV. I didn’t do anything that I had thought about. Oh well.
In the afternoon I went out for a bit and got some goodies for myself at the local bakery, then went to the new cake shop near our apartment for some cake for F. He didn’t have any birthday cake yesterday. The only thing they had left was a dadacha-mame roll cake, so I got that. F likes roll cake, so it was fine.
Came home again and a little later F called to say he was coming home. When he came he wanted to eat something right away, but it was soba. I said no. He went out for something to eat and then came back.
We ended up going to the drugstore for my endless search for decent toilet paper. Had to go to two places as the first place only had scented or recycled. I don’t want either.
Dinner was in New York, New York and was fine. No big deal really. We discussed having nabe for tomorrow’s dinner but F didn’t like the fact that I didn’t want seafood. To check, I asked him what he considered seafood, and that was fine for me, but he decided not to do it.
We went to the grocery store for a few things, then came home and went back to the store again. Tonight was the last day for ordering things from their latest campaign and we’d filled in two sheets already.
Had a bit of a quiet evening , but at eleven we had coffee, cake and So You Think You Can Dance. I did a bit of my crochet afterwards. I really used the wrong hook when I started this. That, and my tension is too tight I think. Hope I can finish it soon.
F went to bed after the dance show, but I watched That 70’s Show before turning off the TV. I’ll likely go to bed soon as I’m a bit tired tonight.
That’s it for me. Night!
An okay day. I woke up this morning when F was getting ready for work. I hardly ever do that. I said a sleepy goodbye and off he went to work.
I got up a bit late today and then watched the news, followed by a lot of taped TV. I didn’t do anything that I had thought about. Oh well.
In the afternoon I went out for a bit and got some goodies for myself at the local bakery, then went to the new cake shop near our apartment for some cake for F. He didn’t have any birthday cake yesterday. The only thing they had left was a dadacha-mame roll cake, so I got that. F likes roll cake, so it was fine.
Came home again and a little later F called to say he was coming home. When he came he wanted to eat something right away, but it was soba. I said no. He went out for something to eat and then came back.
We ended up going to the drugstore for my endless search for decent toilet paper. Had to go to two places as the first place only had scented or recycled. I don’t want either.
Dinner was in New York, New York and was fine. No big deal really. We discussed having nabe for tomorrow’s dinner but F didn’t like the fact that I didn’t want seafood. To check, I asked him what he considered seafood, and that was fine for me, but he decided not to do it.
We went to the grocery store for a few things, then came home and went back to the store again. Tonight was the last day for ordering things from their latest campaign and we’d filled in two sheets already.
Had a bit of a quiet evening , but at eleven we had coffee, cake and So You Think You Can Dance. I did a bit of my crochet afterwards. I really used the wrong hook when I started this. That, and my tension is too tight I think. Hope I can finish it soon.
F went to bed after the dance show, but I watched That 70’s Show before turning off the TV. I’ll likely go to bed soon as I’m a bit tired tonight.
That’s it for me. Night!
November 23, 2010
Tuesday - Cloudy and cool, smattering of rain.
Happy Birthday to my guy!
Had a good day away. We left Tsururoka around 8:00pm on Monday night and drove to Yamagata. We checked into the hotel and then went out for a walk. We had dinner in Tsuruoka, but F wanted more food, so we went to an izakaya.
I had some chicken and some raw vegetables with dip that we ordered. The veggies especially were yummy. We walked back to the hotel and stayed up for a bit reading before going to bed.
This morning, we got up around 8:30 and had the hotel breakfast. It was mostly rice balls and miso soup. Not bad in some respects, just awfully carby. I skipped the coffee and had water instead.
We checked out of our room and went shopping for a while. We searched through the whole department store but didn’t buy anything. We left a little early for the theatre, got there and parked. We went in, bought our tickets and then tried to go to the nearby cafe for a quick lunch. We only had 20 minutes so of course they told us it wouldn’t be enough time. Sigh. Went back to the theatre and I bought the popcorn and drinks. Couldn’t get two sets as the oolong tea that I wanted wasn’t part of the set. It was a separate drink. Egads. Whatever.
Got to our seats, sat down and enjoyed the show. We saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and I loved it! It’s been a year or two since I read the book, but thought they did a good job of it. I’d have liked more Snape, but what are you going to do?
After the movie, I suggested going to Bikkuri Donkey. We don’t have one in Tsuruoka so it would be a treat. F started driving in the direction of it, he said, and of course got us lost. Then he asked about going to the mall for dinner. Okay, fine. We drove and drove and drove and were getting to the outskirts of Yamagata when I suggested that maybe we were a bit past the mall. At a traffic stop, I asked him to use the GPS which he did, and it got us there much faster than him alone would have. Sigh. When we finally got to the mall, more than an hour had past since we left the theatre. I hadn’t had a decent meal at all that day, and nothing much to eat since 9 am, so I was ready to gnaw my arm off!
We had shabu-shabu in the mall and it was fine. This time we did something new for us and I really liked it. We were originally given two trays of pork and two of beef. Instead of F doing all of the putting meat into the soup, he gave me one tray of each and I could do it for myself. Yay. I could eat a lot less that way so I was quite happy.
After dinner we had a quick trip around Toys ‘R’ Us, didn’t buy anything. Then, we headed home. We made fairly good time and were back in Tsuruoka by 9:30 I think.
At home F watched a lot of TV about the Korean Missile thingy and then at 11 we watched So You Think You Can Dance. It wasn’t bad tonight, except I kept disagreeing with the judges! Oh well.
I think F had a good birthday. I gave him a couple of packages of ramen, a shopping bag, chocolate, and some fake money. There was also a bath salts kind of thing too. He said he liked it a lot. Yay me.
Anyway, that’s it for me. I’m tired and should really get some sleep. I didn’t sleep well last night. Got to go. Night!
November 21, 2010
Sunday - Sunny and warm.
A really good day!
Song of the day….Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, k.d. lang, and me!
I woke up a couple of times this morning before I actually got up. No big deal. F was off to his mother’s so I woke up right around noon and got up, checked email and then a little while later, he came back.
We hummed and hawed a little about where to go and in the end he wanted to go to a place in Oyama that I’ve never been to before. He said they had ramen and also teishoku meals. I was trepidatious but went along with him. We got to the restaurant after a lovely drive listening to my new k.d. lang cd Hymns of the 49th Parallel. We went in. They served things on rice, ramen and soba. I was not amused. F did offer to go elsewhere, but I went along with it. He had ramen, I ended up having katsudon, which was pretty good. I didn’t want all the rice that came with it, but, what can I do? He didn’t like his ramen. Ha ha.
We went back to Tsuruoka and went to Yamaya. I was looking for snacks to take back to Canada. F wasn’t helping that much. He kept suggesting huge packets of things that I either wouldn’t fit in my suitcase, or would end up eating because I doubt Canadian children would touch them! We got a few treats for ourselves though!
We visited S-Mall and checked out their grocery department, then the bookstore and the dvd shop. I discovered that Predators is only out on Blue-Ray right now. I’ll have to wait another month to get the plain old dvd. Sigh.
We came home to drop off our things and then went to karaoke. We went via a grocery store for a few munchies (the place we go to allows you to bring your own food and drink) and then hit up Manekineko.
We had a blast! We only went for two hours as F has work tomorrow and I’m still a bit weezy. I tried mostly old favourites as I didn’t know any of the new songs. On a whim I put on Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell and just had the best time rocking out to that one. I got some major stress busting done. Yeah! (or as Billy would say, “More, more, more. Yow!”
After karaoke we tried to go to Cocos for dinner but once again it was too busy, so we went to Jiro instead. We had a lovely meal there. I had my usual pork saute in garlic oil. So good. Mounds of onions cooked in a garlicky oil on top of two pieces of pork. No vampire’ll come near me tonight!
We came home and had a quiet evening in. We found the second Harry Potter film on TV and watched the end of that. It was a nice night.
F went to bed and I’m still up. I’ve bundled up the garbage for him to take out when he goes to work. I’ll likely get to bed soon myself.
Oh, tomorrow, there won’t be any update as I’m sweeping F off for a lovely romantic trip to Yamagata City to see Harry Potter in English. Well, I hope it’s romantic! Tuesday is F’s birthday, so hopefully we’ll get to have a little fun in Yamagata. Wish us luck!
Night.
A really good day!
Song of the day….Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, k.d. lang, and me!
I woke up a couple of times this morning before I actually got up. No big deal. F was off to his mother’s so I woke up right around noon and got up, checked email and then a little while later, he came back.
We hummed and hawed a little about where to go and in the end he wanted to go to a place in Oyama that I’ve never been to before. He said they had ramen and also teishoku meals. I was trepidatious but went along with him. We got to the restaurant after a lovely drive listening to my new k.d. lang cd Hymns of the 49th Parallel. We went in. They served things on rice, ramen and soba. I was not amused. F did offer to go elsewhere, but I went along with it. He had ramen, I ended up having katsudon, which was pretty good. I didn’t want all the rice that came with it, but, what can I do? He didn’t like his ramen. Ha ha.
We went back to Tsuruoka and went to Yamaya. I was looking for snacks to take back to Canada. F wasn’t helping that much. He kept suggesting huge packets of things that I either wouldn’t fit in my suitcase, or would end up eating because I doubt Canadian children would touch them! We got a few treats for ourselves though!
We visited S-Mall and checked out their grocery department, then the bookstore and the dvd shop. I discovered that Predators is only out on Blue-Ray right now. I’ll have to wait another month to get the plain old dvd. Sigh.
We came home to drop off our things and then went to karaoke. We went via a grocery store for a few munchies (the place we go to allows you to bring your own food and drink) and then hit up Manekineko.
We had a blast! We only went for two hours as F has work tomorrow and I’m still a bit weezy. I tried mostly old favourites as I didn’t know any of the new songs. On a whim I put on Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell and just had the best time rocking out to that one. I got some major stress busting done. Yeah! (or as Billy would say, “More, more, more. Yow!”
After karaoke we tried to go to Cocos for dinner but once again it was too busy, so we went to Jiro instead. We had a lovely meal there. I had my usual pork saute in garlic oil. So good. Mounds of onions cooked in a garlicky oil on top of two pieces of pork. No vampire’ll come near me tonight!
We came home and had a quiet evening in. We found the second Harry Potter film on TV and watched the end of that. It was a nice night.
F went to bed and I’m still up. I’ve bundled up the garbage for him to take out when he goes to work. I’ll likely get to bed soon myself.
Oh, tomorrow, there won’t be any update as I’m sweeping F off for a lovely romantic trip to Yamagata City to see Harry Potter in English. Well, I hope it’s romantic! Tuesday is F’s birthday, so hopefully we’ll get to have a little fun in Yamagata. Wish us luck!
Night.
November 20, 2010
Saturday - Sunny and warmish.
A good day.
I got up a few minutes after 9 and went through to the living room. I turned on the news and watched it. For some reason F decided to make a whole bunch of noise during it. I was not impressed but managed to stop myself yelling at him. Honestly, I get to see about 10-18 minutes of US news on a Saturday morning and he has to make noise all through it? Why? He peeled an apple for us and then made coffee. Neither of which did I want at that time. Grr. I went off and showered and then came back.
Didn’t watch Grey’s this morning as F had some stupid Japanese thing on and didn’t feel like making him change it. I guess I should let him watch what he wants once in a while eh? I did tape Grey’s, so all is not lost!
We went to Gusto for brunch. It was okay. I had my usual, a hamburg and shrimp.
F dropped me off at my school on his way to his Mum’s. He promised to look for my box of photos while he was there.
In my school I got things warmed up and then I did a bit of lesson review. I just missed a call from F saying he couldn’t find my box.
My class went well. The student was in good form and we had fun. After class I talked to F and it seems like my photo box has vanished. I got off the phone and burst into tears. I’ve been asking F to bring that box over from his house for years and now I find it has gone missing. Missing or thrown out by his mother? I wonder. She doesn’t like me, so it would be no skin off her nose if my stuff mysteriously vanished.
Anyway, my other two students came today and we had good lessons too. In my break time I read three papers, did up my financial books and did a bit of prep. Yay me!
After work I called F and he picked me up. We were going to Cocos for dinner, but it was crowded, so we changed our minds and went to Togashi for yakiniku. We only had to wait a couple of minutes and had a good meal.
We came home afterward and had a nice evening in. We watched Top Gear and then I watched Burn Notice. I quite like it, and not just because Bruce Campbell is in it. I like the fact that it’s very different from the usual detective show.
Tomorrow F has to go to his mother’s. Her new appliances will be delivered. I’ll be home sleeping probably! I’m really wondering what happened to my photos. I wanted to go over there much earlier to get stuff, but F never let me. Sigh. Those are photos from my first 3 years in Japan, and some of my photos that I brought over from Canada, so I really hope they aren’t gone forever. I can’t replace them.
Anyway, I should go. It’s very late now and I’m tired. Night!
A good day.
I got up a few minutes after 9 and went through to the living room. I turned on the news and watched it. For some reason F decided to make a whole bunch of noise during it. I was not impressed but managed to stop myself yelling at him. Honestly, I get to see about 10-18 minutes of US news on a Saturday morning and he has to make noise all through it? Why? He peeled an apple for us and then made coffee. Neither of which did I want at that time. Grr. I went off and showered and then came back.
Didn’t watch Grey’s this morning as F had some stupid Japanese thing on and didn’t feel like making him change it. I guess I should let him watch what he wants once in a while eh? I did tape Grey’s, so all is not lost!
We went to Gusto for brunch. It was okay. I had my usual, a hamburg and shrimp.
F dropped me off at my school on his way to his Mum’s. He promised to look for my box of photos while he was there.
In my school I got things warmed up and then I did a bit of lesson review. I just missed a call from F saying he couldn’t find my box.
My class went well. The student was in good form and we had fun. After class I talked to F and it seems like my photo box has vanished. I got off the phone and burst into tears. I’ve been asking F to bring that box over from his house for years and now I find it has gone missing. Missing or thrown out by his mother? I wonder. She doesn’t like me, so it would be no skin off her nose if my stuff mysteriously vanished.
Anyway, my other two students came today and we had good lessons too. In my break time I read three papers, did up my financial books and did a bit of prep. Yay me!
After work I called F and he picked me up. We were going to Cocos for dinner, but it was crowded, so we changed our minds and went to Togashi for yakiniku. We only had to wait a couple of minutes and had a good meal.
We came home afterward and had a nice evening in. We watched Top Gear and then I watched Burn Notice. I quite like it, and not just because Bruce Campbell is in it. I like the fact that it’s very different from the usual detective show.
Tomorrow F has to go to his mother’s. Her new appliances will be delivered. I’ll be home sleeping probably! I’m really wondering what happened to my photos. I wanted to go over there much earlier to get stuff, but F never let me. Sigh. Those are photos from my first 3 years in Japan, and some of my photos that I brought over from Canada, so I really hope they aren’t gone forever. I can’t replace them.
Anyway, I should go. It’s very late now and I’m tired. Night!
November 19, 2010
Friday - Sunny.
I had an okay, if very quiet day today. I didn’t go out at all. I wanted to, and even planned to, but just didn’t make out the door.
I got up early again and watched the news. After that, I caught the end of a Chris Cooper movie and watched that for a while before going to the bedroom and making the bed. Actually though, what I did was look at the bed. Decided I wanted to be in said bed, got in and promptly fell asleep for a bit. Oh well. I finally woke up when the heater sounded its three hour alarm. I had a really cool dream, which eludes me at the moment. I think it was about Prom for some reason. Not my Prom, but a nice one like they have on TV!
During the day I read a lot of email. Towards the end of the day calmer heads were prevailing and things seem to be sorting themselves out. Sadly, some people have jumped on the complaints wagon and have muddied the water even more. Sigh.
I had planned to go out and mail something or go and get my hair cut. I did neither! I just stayed home.
Around 5 I decided to get things started for dinner. I washed the nabe, set the table and washed and prepped the broccoli.
F didn’t come home for a bit. It was around 7 pm that he walked in the door. At first he didn’t want to eat right away, and then he did. He did most of the work for our meal, I made coffee. Tonight we had the curry nabe and it was nice. I really liked it. He added some cheese to the top and it added a little something.
I did the dishes afterward, which wasn’t a lot of work. Hurray for nabe!
In the evening I had sort of planned to watch Orphan on WOWOW, but then F found an old Harry Potter movie on TV so we watched that instead. I’d much rather watch HP than a horror movie, especially after all the happenings of the last couple of days!
And that was about it. F is snoozing in bed, and I might head there soon. Or not!
That’s it for me. Night.
I had an okay, if very quiet day today. I didn’t go out at all. I wanted to, and even planned to, but just didn’t make out the door.
I got up early again and watched the news. After that, I caught the end of a Chris Cooper movie and watched that for a while before going to the bedroom and making the bed. Actually though, what I did was look at the bed. Decided I wanted to be in said bed, got in and promptly fell asleep for a bit. Oh well. I finally woke up when the heater sounded its three hour alarm. I had a really cool dream, which eludes me at the moment. I think it was about Prom for some reason. Not my Prom, but a nice one like they have on TV!
During the day I read a lot of email. Towards the end of the day calmer heads were prevailing and things seem to be sorting themselves out. Sadly, some people have jumped on the complaints wagon and have muddied the water even more. Sigh.
I had planned to go out and mail something or go and get my hair cut. I did neither! I just stayed home.
Around 5 I decided to get things started for dinner. I washed the nabe, set the table and washed and prepped the broccoli.
F didn’t come home for a bit. It was around 7 pm that he walked in the door. At first he didn’t want to eat right away, and then he did. He did most of the work for our meal, I made coffee. Tonight we had the curry nabe and it was nice. I really liked it. He added some cheese to the top and it added a little something.
I did the dishes afterward, which wasn’t a lot of work. Hurray for nabe!
In the evening I had sort of planned to watch Orphan on WOWOW, but then F found an old Harry Potter movie on TV so we watched that instead. I’d much rather watch HP than a horror movie, especially after all the happenings of the last couple of days!
And that was about it. F is snoozing in bed, and I might head there soon. Or not!
That’s it for me. Night.
November 18, 2010
Thursday - Clear and sunny, rainy at night.
Odd, odd day.
I got up early today, before my alarm went off even. I never do that. I got up, watched the news live and then did some computer work before taking my shower.
I spent a lot of the day reading email from some irate people. There has been a big kerfuffle on my women’s group and unfortunately I can’t keep out of it as I’m a moderator. I can’t really talk about it here, but I feel quite stressed about it. And even worse, I’m training a person as a moderator on the group and SHE ended up taking the brunt of the trouble at first. Sigh.
I went off to work around 4 today. Got stopped by the security guard working outside the demolition site next to my apartment building. I think he was just trying to be friendly. I think! He asked me if I was a teacher. Ummm, yeah. What’s it to ya?
My class tonight was good. The student finally managed to spell thirty correctly on his quiz at the start of class. Later on, I asked him his age and he told me he was thirty. However, he corrected himself and laughed about it. He’s thirteen! He’s starting to get it. Hurray!!!
I didn’t actually have a second class today, but I didn’t tell F that. I just wanted to have some time in my school where I could do some work or even relax without worrying him. I did use the time to do some planning and then decorating, so it wasn’t in vain.
I called F a little earlier than my usual time and he came to get me. I brought along a bag of newspapers I had found in my closet, so we went to Grado for dinner. It was nice. We both had the daily meat meal, which was local pork and chicken fricassee. It was rather nice. We were even given a small dessert tonight for free as a thank you for the newspapers. Yay!
We bought some groceries. I suggested having nabe tomorrow night. It’s getting colder and we’ll be out for the next few nights, so wanted a meal at home. We bought a curry base for it too. I was hoping for a cheese base, but the store didn’t have any.
At home we watched ER. It was a good one, a flashback one, so they had Jerry, Dr. Romano (with TWO arms) and Mark Green in it! Dr. Weaver made a quick appearance too. Yay for old characters!
And that’s about that for my day. This group problem is likely to continue for a bit, so I’ll just have to keep my chin up and hope everything ends well. Night.
Odd, odd day.
I got up early today, before my alarm went off even. I never do that. I got up, watched the news live and then did some computer work before taking my shower.
I spent a lot of the day reading email from some irate people. There has been a big kerfuffle on my women’s group and unfortunately I can’t keep out of it as I’m a moderator. I can’t really talk about it here, but I feel quite stressed about it. And even worse, I’m training a person as a moderator on the group and SHE ended up taking the brunt of the trouble at first. Sigh.
I went off to work around 4 today. Got stopped by the security guard working outside the demolition site next to my apartment building. I think he was just trying to be friendly. I think! He asked me if I was a teacher. Ummm, yeah. What’s it to ya?
My class tonight was good. The student finally managed to spell thirty correctly on his quiz at the start of class. Later on, I asked him his age and he told me he was thirty. However, he corrected himself and laughed about it. He’s thirteen! He’s starting to get it. Hurray!!!
I didn’t actually have a second class today, but I didn’t tell F that. I just wanted to have some time in my school where I could do some work or even relax without worrying him. I did use the time to do some planning and then decorating, so it wasn’t in vain.
I called F a little earlier than my usual time and he came to get me. I brought along a bag of newspapers I had found in my closet, so we went to Grado for dinner. It was nice. We both had the daily meat meal, which was local pork and chicken fricassee. It was rather nice. We were even given a small dessert tonight for free as a thank you for the newspapers. Yay!
We bought some groceries. I suggested having nabe tomorrow night. It’s getting colder and we’ll be out for the next few nights, so wanted a meal at home. We bought a curry base for it too. I was hoping for a cheese base, but the store didn’t have any.
At home we watched ER. It was a good one, a flashback one, so they had Jerry, Dr. Romano (with TWO arms) and Mark Green in it! Dr. Weaver made a quick appearance too. Yay for old characters!
And that’s about that for my day. This group problem is likely to continue for a bit, so I’ll just have to keep my chin up and hope everything ends well. Night.
November 17, 2010
Wednesday - Sunny but cool, rainy at night.
A good day. I got up this morning, watched the news and then watched some of last night’s TV. I watched Project Runway and The Good Wife as well. They were both quite good.
In the later part of the afternoon I went out. I went to the bank machine near the supermarket to deposit some money then hit up my craft store. I didn’t buy anything there, although I wanted to, then hit up the drugstore next door. I bought a few things there, but nothing too important. I rode back towards home, but stopped in at McDonalds to try their newest McFlurry flavour. It was good, but not great.
I came home and about half an hour later, F phoned then came home. He was very hungry, so I made dinner fairly soon after his arrival.
While he had a rest, I put the water on for pasta and made up some garlic butter. When I had done that I partially sliced a loaf of French bread and then buttered it with the garlic butter. I baked it for a while, set the table and got the pasta in the pan. I got F to do most of the sauce warming up. I didn’t make the sauce, I’m afraid that it was a packet from the store! Still good though. We had spaghetti with a cream chicken sauce, onion salad and very, very garlicky garlic toast. It was good!
F did the dishes and then he started working on a translation for my school. Hurray for him. He finally also used the mouse I bought him as a late anniversary present and it was much better than his old one.
We watched The Hours tonight. I had heard different things about it, that it was good, or that it was boring. I did find a bit of it boring, but I think it was because I didn’t give it my full attention. Parts of the movie grabbed me and I thought they were great. Overall I would say that I really enjoyed the movie and would like to see it again.
We watched So You Think You Can Dance at 11. F finished up the translation and tried to print it while I watched the show and crocheted a bit. My tension is all off. I am wondering if I should frog it or not, but I’m about half done and I don’t have a lot of time to finish it. Sigh.
F went to bed around 12:30 and I might go fairly soon.
Today was good. Night!
A good day. I got up this morning, watched the news and then watched some of last night’s TV. I watched Project Runway and The Good Wife as well. They were both quite good.
In the later part of the afternoon I went out. I went to the bank machine near the supermarket to deposit some money then hit up my craft store. I didn’t buy anything there, although I wanted to, then hit up the drugstore next door. I bought a few things there, but nothing too important. I rode back towards home, but stopped in at McDonalds to try their newest McFlurry flavour. It was good, but not great.
I came home and about half an hour later, F phoned then came home. He was very hungry, so I made dinner fairly soon after his arrival.
While he had a rest, I put the water on for pasta and made up some garlic butter. When I had done that I partially sliced a loaf of French bread and then buttered it with the garlic butter. I baked it for a while, set the table and got the pasta in the pan. I got F to do most of the sauce warming up. I didn’t make the sauce, I’m afraid that it was a packet from the store! Still good though. We had spaghetti with a cream chicken sauce, onion salad and very, very garlicky garlic toast. It was good!
F did the dishes and then he started working on a translation for my school. Hurray for him. He finally also used the mouse I bought him as a late anniversary present and it was much better than his old one.
We watched The Hours tonight. I had heard different things about it, that it was good, or that it was boring. I did find a bit of it boring, but I think it was because I didn’t give it my full attention. Parts of the movie grabbed me and I thought they were great. Overall I would say that I really enjoyed the movie and would like to see it again.
We watched So You Think You Can Dance at 11. F finished up the translation and tried to print it while I watched the show and crocheted a bit. My tension is all off. I am wondering if I should frog it or not, but I’m about half done and I don’t have a lot of time to finish it. Sigh.
F went to bed around 12:30 and I might go fairly soon.
Today was good. Night!
November 16, 2010
Tuesday - Cloudy and rainy.
Happy Birthday to my sister Vanessa!
Had a good day today. I woke up in fairly good time this morning, joined F on the couch and watched the news. Hurray. He took a shower and I made a bit of breakfast. It was just English muffins with ham and cheese, but it was nice. I was also glad to send F off to work with a little bit of food in him.
I spent a quiet day at home. I watched Drop Dead Diva and quite enjoyed it. It’s a cute little show.
Around 3 pm I started to get ready for work. I left a little later than I wanted to, around 4:20 and it was already quite dark out there. Yikes. I rode my bike and I was going to go to the drug store, but the clouds were ominous and then it started to rain just a little. I decided I’d better go to work. I did that instead.
At my school I worked on getting things done. I’d left a bunch of decorations on my table on Saturday, so I put them up and took down some of my other decorations. I’m decorating for Christmas now. I usually wait until December, but I’m leaving in one month, so I wanted to do things now!
My first student cancelled her class just a little before the time, although we did schedule a class for her later in the week. I used her class time to read the paper and talk to my husband. He phoned me at 6:30 tonight and said he was leaving Yamagata and would be home around 8pm.
My other class went well. The student had her hair cut this weekend and looked very cool. I’ve never seen her with short hair before. We got to work and started the next unit of her text. Yay.
After class I finished my paperwork and then I finished reading the newspaper. F called me a bit before 9 and asked if I was finished. I wasn’t and asked for a few more minutes. He picked me up a little later.
We had a not great dinner in Midori Shokudo. It was okay, but a bit too big and gingery for me. It was fairly reasonable though.
Came home via the grocery store where we got some things for dinner tomorrow night. I’m thinking simple ol’ pasta!
We watched So You Think You Can Dance. It was good, but a bit sad to see some people’s dreams being dashed. I did a lot of crocheting during the show. Yay! I think I’m going to have to put in more couch time in to get it done in time.
And that’s about it. F went to bed and I’m still up a bit blogging. I’m going to try and get off to bed soon, because I want to get some sleep. Got to go. Night!
Happy Birthday to my sister Vanessa!
Had a good day today. I woke up in fairly good time this morning, joined F on the couch and watched the news. Hurray. He took a shower and I made a bit of breakfast. It was just English muffins with ham and cheese, but it was nice. I was also glad to send F off to work with a little bit of food in him.
I spent a quiet day at home. I watched Drop Dead Diva and quite enjoyed it. It’s a cute little show.
Around 3 pm I started to get ready for work. I left a little later than I wanted to, around 4:20 and it was already quite dark out there. Yikes. I rode my bike and I was going to go to the drug store, but the clouds were ominous and then it started to rain just a little. I decided I’d better go to work. I did that instead.
At my school I worked on getting things done. I’d left a bunch of decorations on my table on Saturday, so I put them up and took down some of my other decorations. I’m decorating for Christmas now. I usually wait until December, but I’m leaving in one month, so I wanted to do things now!
My first student cancelled her class just a little before the time, although we did schedule a class for her later in the week. I used her class time to read the paper and talk to my husband. He phoned me at 6:30 tonight and said he was leaving Yamagata and would be home around 8pm.
My other class went well. The student had her hair cut this weekend and looked very cool. I’ve never seen her with short hair before. We got to work and started the next unit of her text. Yay.
After class I finished my paperwork and then I finished reading the newspaper. F called me a bit before 9 and asked if I was finished. I wasn’t and asked for a few more minutes. He picked me up a little later.
We had a not great dinner in Midori Shokudo. It was okay, but a bit too big and gingery for me. It was fairly reasonable though.
Came home via the grocery store where we got some things for dinner tomorrow night. I’m thinking simple ol’ pasta!
We watched So You Think You Can Dance. It was good, but a bit sad to see some people’s dreams being dashed. I did a lot of crocheting during the show. Yay! I think I’m going to have to put in more couch time in to get it done in time.
And that’s about it. F went to bed and I’m still up a bit blogging. I’m going to try and get off to bed soon, because I want to get some sleep. Got to go. Night!
November 15, 2010
Monday - Bit of rain, mostly clear and cool.
I got up late this morning. Sigh. But, once I was up, I was up! There was news on this morning too, which was unusual. NHK doesn’t show it on Monday mornings to my knowledge.
I watched Tim Gunn’s Fashion show. It was about a woman with too much in her closet. A bit like me really. I should really ditch a bunch of stuff!
Watched the weekend’s TV during the day and then decided to go out around 4. That was late, but I didn’t care. I went to a couple of stationery shops. It was a little difficult to get to them as the road was being worked on as I walked or rode by. I got some nice things in one store, in the other I saw a lot of nice things, but I didn’t buy anything. Sadly for me, I saw a lot of Christmas cards that were nicer and cheaper than the ones I bought already. Bummer!
I came home around 5:30 or so and F called around 6:30, reaching here around 7. I had made up my mind that I would pick a couple of types of food that I would like to eat and offer those to him as his choices for tonight, seeing as how he told me off for making him pick the restaurant. When I told him I wanted either okonomiyaki or pasta, he didn’t say much, then a few minutes later mumbled something under his breath like, “but I really want to have soba”. I lost it at that point, told him I didn’t know how to respond to that and went out for a walk. It was probably the best thing I could have done as I got to take out my frustration in a physical, healthy way. I bought myself a can of Diet Coke and came home. The kicker? When I came back inside, F was surprised I’d gone out. He thought I was in the toilet!
We went for okonomiyaki and we had the place to ourselves tonight. Usually it’s quite busy, but not tonight. I had my favourite, curry and cheese, and F had shrimp and ika tempura. He also had oden to start and I had some gyoza.
After dinner, a few groceries were bought and then we came home. F immediately went into the bedroom and had a lie-down. I went in for a cuddle, then got up to do some other things. He’s still there. He missed Hell’s Kitchen and is still in his jeans and jacket I think.
Tomorrow I have a busier day. I have two night time classes at the school and I may have to get myself home too. Hubby has to go to Yamagata city for a meeting. He’s so happy to be going - not! He might be really late tomorrow, he isn’t sure.
And that’s about it for me. I’m not that tired yet, although I could probably sleep if I wanted to. Maybe I’ll go to bed early tonight? Night.
I got up late this morning. Sigh. But, once I was up, I was up! There was news on this morning too, which was unusual. NHK doesn’t show it on Monday mornings to my knowledge.
I watched Tim Gunn’s Fashion show. It was about a woman with too much in her closet. A bit like me really. I should really ditch a bunch of stuff!
Watched the weekend’s TV during the day and then decided to go out around 4. That was late, but I didn’t care. I went to a couple of stationery shops. It was a little difficult to get to them as the road was being worked on as I walked or rode by. I got some nice things in one store, in the other I saw a lot of nice things, but I didn’t buy anything. Sadly for me, I saw a lot of Christmas cards that were nicer and cheaper than the ones I bought already. Bummer!
I came home around 5:30 or so and F called around 6:30, reaching here around 7. I had made up my mind that I would pick a couple of types of food that I would like to eat and offer those to him as his choices for tonight, seeing as how he told me off for making him pick the restaurant. When I told him I wanted either okonomiyaki or pasta, he didn’t say much, then a few minutes later mumbled something under his breath like, “but I really want to have soba”. I lost it at that point, told him I didn’t know how to respond to that and went out for a walk. It was probably the best thing I could have done as I got to take out my frustration in a physical, healthy way. I bought myself a can of Diet Coke and came home. The kicker? When I came back inside, F was surprised I’d gone out. He thought I was in the toilet!
We went for okonomiyaki and we had the place to ourselves tonight. Usually it’s quite busy, but not tonight. I had my favourite, curry and cheese, and F had shrimp and ika tempura. He also had oden to start and I had some gyoza.
After dinner, a few groceries were bought and then we came home. F immediately went into the bedroom and had a lie-down. I went in for a cuddle, then got up to do some other things. He’s still there. He missed Hell’s Kitchen and is still in his jeans and jacket I think.
Tomorrow I have a busier day. I have two night time classes at the school and I may have to get myself home too. Hubby has to go to Yamagata city for a meeting. He’s so happy to be going - not! He might be really late tomorrow, he isn’t sure.
And that’s about it for me. I’m not that tired yet, although I could probably sleep if I wanted to. Maybe I’ll go to bed early tonight? Night.
November 14, 2010
Sunday - Cloudy, but not rainy
An odd day that was quite productive.
This morning F got up early and drove to Yamagata to see about renewing his license. I slept on. I would have gone with him but there really wasn’t anything for me to do while he was doing his renewal stuff.
He emailed around 11 to say he was on his way back. I was up, but went back to bed soon after. I was tired!
When he came back I was sleeping but woke up right away. He offered to take me out for brunch, but I thought I’d make breakfast at home for us. However, I was in the kitchen and I saw a cobweb over the stove. Obviously I wasn’t going to start cooking while it was there. I planned to clean it, but F came into the kitchen and did a not very good job of cleaning it up. I’m not sure why he did that. I decided that I wasn’t going to cook any more so F left. He buggered off for the next 3 hours.
While he was gone I vacuumed the apartment and also tackled the genkan. It was about time. F had some bags of junk that he’d stowed there for ages. It was literally the garbage from his car, stuffed into the cubby hole. I moved his bags of stuff for him to deal with later and I threw out a lot of paper and detritus.
When he came back I asked him to take care of his stuff, which he did. Yay. The genkan looks so much better.
We went out for sushi after a lot of arguing and then did some shopping. I had quite good luck today and I think I’ve got most of my family stuff bought now. I may have to fill in a few holes here and there, but basically done. Whew!
We came home for a while, watched X-Men Origins-Wolverine or whatever it’s called. It was just as not great this time too. I was hoping that not being on the plane would make it better. It didn’t.
We had a late, quick and not terrific meal at Gusto. I had steak and it was okay, F’s beef dish wasn’t hot enough. We came home and had some quiet time until F decided to put on sports. Ack.
Tomorrow F is at work and I’m off. I’m thinking about going out if the weather is nice, mostly cause I don’t want to stay home all day.
These days, F and I seem to have two subjects that we fight about and it is driving me crazy. We fight about food and we fight about sleep.
I don’t like Japanese noodles. Ever since I did two or three years on low carb I realised how bad they are for me and I just am not interested in eating them. The instant ones are horrible and the ones in the restaurants always taste the same. F says he can eat anything, which he does, but he complains about everything. I’ve rarely had a meal out with him these days where something doesn’t annoy him.
And sleep. If I go to bed at the same time as him, I’m not happy. I’m a night owl and like to stay up. It’s a great time to catch my friends in Canada on-line and I have some other things I like to do. When I go to bed I’m very quiet and F doesn’t usually wake up. However, in his mind he can’t sleep until I’m there (his snoring says otherwise). And speaking of snoring. Apparently, I snore so loudly that I wake him up. Recently I’ve found him on the couch sleeping, because of me-he says. Add in to that the news I got today that before I wake up to go to the washroom I roll around in bed for a bit, and I get really annoyed with him. I’ve suggested that we sleep in different rooms which honestly, to me sounds heavenly, but he gets upset. After all his kvetching, he tells me that he loves the way I sleep. Yeah, right. I’m starting to get a complex. Big time.
Anyway, that’s it for now. I’m not planning to go to bed until I’ve done all the things I want to do. Night.
An odd day that was quite productive.
This morning F got up early and drove to Yamagata to see about renewing his license. I slept on. I would have gone with him but there really wasn’t anything for me to do while he was doing his renewal stuff.
He emailed around 11 to say he was on his way back. I was up, but went back to bed soon after. I was tired!
When he came back I was sleeping but woke up right away. He offered to take me out for brunch, but I thought I’d make breakfast at home for us. However, I was in the kitchen and I saw a cobweb over the stove. Obviously I wasn’t going to start cooking while it was there. I planned to clean it, but F came into the kitchen and did a not very good job of cleaning it up. I’m not sure why he did that. I decided that I wasn’t going to cook any more so F left. He buggered off for the next 3 hours.
While he was gone I vacuumed the apartment and also tackled the genkan. It was about time. F had some bags of junk that he’d stowed there for ages. It was literally the garbage from his car, stuffed into the cubby hole. I moved his bags of stuff for him to deal with later and I threw out a lot of paper and detritus.
When he came back I asked him to take care of his stuff, which he did. Yay. The genkan looks so much better.
We went out for sushi after a lot of arguing and then did some shopping. I had quite good luck today and I think I’ve got most of my family stuff bought now. I may have to fill in a few holes here and there, but basically done. Whew!
We came home for a while, watched X-Men Origins-Wolverine or whatever it’s called. It was just as not great this time too. I was hoping that not being on the plane would make it better. It didn’t.
We had a late, quick and not terrific meal at Gusto. I had steak and it was okay, F’s beef dish wasn’t hot enough. We came home and had some quiet time until F decided to put on sports. Ack.
Tomorrow F is at work and I’m off. I’m thinking about going out if the weather is nice, mostly cause I don’t want to stay home all day.
These days, F and I seem to have two subjects that we fight about and it is driving me crazy. We fight about food and we fight about sleep.
I don’t like Japanese noodles. Ever since I did two or three years on low carb I realised how bad they are for me and I just am not interested in eating them. The instant ones are horrible and the ones in the restaurants always taste the same. F says he can eat anything, which he does, but he complains about everything. I’ve rarely had a meal out with him these days where something doesn’t annoy him.
And sleep. If I go to bed at the same time as him, I’m not happy. I’m a night owl and like to stay up. It’s a great time to catch my friends in Canada on-line and I have some other things I like to do. When I go to bed I’m very quiet and F doesn’t usually wake up. However, in his mind he can’t sleep until I’m there (his snoring says otherwise). And speaking of snoring. Apparently, I snore so loudly that I wake him up. Recently I’ve found him on the couch sleeping, because of me-he says. Add in to that the news I got today that before I wake up to go to the washroom I roll around in bed for a bit, and I get really annoyed with him. I’ve suggested that we sleep in different rooms which honestly, to me sounds heavenly, but he gets upset. After all his kvetching, he tells me that he loves the way I sleep. Yeah, right. I’m starting to get a complex. Big time.
Anyway, that’s it for now. I’m not planning to go to bed until I’ve done all the things I want to do. Night.
November 13, 2010
Saturday - Clear and sunny.
A good day. I watched the news this morning, then took a quick shower so I could be back in time to watch Grey’s Anatomy. Oh dear, the things those docs get up to!
F and I had a nice brunch in Cocos. I had a burger with a chicken cutlet, an egg and curry sauce. It worked somehow! He dropped me off at my school and that was that.
My student and her mum came on time and they were quite happy about something. My student had just passed the Eiken 4 English exam. She’s still in elementary school, so apparently this is really a big deal! All I know is she’s doing really well in my classes.
We had a good class and then she was off. I did a few things around the school and then called F.
He picked me up and we drove to S-Mall. He bought me my last plane ticket, the one coming back to Tsuruoka. Yay. I suggested that he park behind the mall, but he drove past all the parking and drove to the top of the mall, through the parkade. ACK. I was quite sick by the time we go to the top and I didn’t really notice the car had stopped moving when F parked. I do not like going round in circles in a car.
After we got my ticket we had a tea or coffee in Doutors and then F drove me back to my school.
At the school I read the newspapers and checked my lesson for the evening. I also did a puzzle and contemplated doing a Christmas card, but didn’t. Sigh.
My student came on time and we had a good lesson too. She’s funny, but she doesn’t like to talk much. We were talking about life experiences and as she’s still a bit young, it makes it a bit hard for her. Still, was a fun class I think.
After class and clean up, I called F and asked him to come and get me. While I waited for him, I got a few Christmas decorations out of the closet and set them up.
Tonight we had dinner in Hana, a local Japanese & fish restaurant. I had gindara, which was very nice, just too small. F had sashimi.
We came home and had a quiet evening. I watched Top Gear of course, and also Burn Notice. I think I like Burn Notice. It isn’t a CSI show…thankfully! Will keep watching for a while…besides it had Bruce Campbell in it, so I kind of have to keep watching!
That’s it. I’m up too late, but I’m enjoying chilling out for a bit. F and I decided that we’re going to a goodbye party next month for a friend of ours. We’ll have to stay over in a hotel so that could be fun, I hope!
Got to go. Night!
A good day. I watched the news this morning, then took a quick shower so I could be back in time to watch Grey’s Anatomy. Oh dear, the things those docs get up to!
F and I had a nice brunch in Cocos. I had a burger with a chicken cutlet, an egg and curry sauce. It worked somehow! He dropped me off at my school and that was that.
My student and her mum came on time and they were quite happy about something. My student had just passed the Eiken 4 English exam. She’s still in elementary school, so apparently this is really a big deal! All I know is she’s doing really well in my classes.
We had a good class and then she was off. I did a few things around the school and then called F.
He picked me up and we drove to S-Mall. He bought me my last plane ticket, the one coming back to Tsuruoka. Yay. I suggested that he park behind the mall, but he drove past all the parking and drove to the top of the mall, through the parkade. ACK. I was quite sick by the time we go to the top and I didn’t really notice the car had stopped moving when F parked. I do not like going round in circles in a car.
After we got my ticket we had a tea or coffee in Doutors and then F drove me back to my school.
At the school I read the newspapers and checked my lesson for the evening. I also did a puzzle and contemplated doing a Christmas card, but didn’t. Sigh.
My student came on time and we had a good lesson too. She’s funny, but she doesn’t like to talk much. We were talking about life experiences and as she’s still a bit young, it makes it a bit hard for her. Still, was a fun class I think.
After class and clean up, I called F and asked him to come and get me. While I waited for him, I got a few Christmas decorations out of the closet and set them up.
Tonight we had dinner in Hana, a local Japanese & fish restaurant. I had gindara, which was very nice, just too small. F had sashimi.
We came home and had a quiet evening. I watched Top Gear of course, and also Burn Notice. I think I like Burn Notice. It isn’t a CSI show…thankfully! Will keep watching for a while…besides it had Bruce Campbell in it, so I kind of have to keep watching!
That’s it. I’m up too late, but I’m enjoying chilling out for a bit. F and I decided that we’re going to a goodbye party next month for a friend of ours. We’ll have to stay over in a hotel so that could be fun, I hope!
Got to go. Night!
November 12, 2010
Friday - Intermittent showers.
I woke up late this morning, I’m not sure why, but I did. I got up, watched the news and got ready to cook.
I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making my soup. I did a lot of peeling, chopping and parboiling. I threw all the ingredients in my slow cooker, turned it up to high for a bit and then left it alone.
In the afternoon I decided that I wanted to go out. I had been planning to all day, but needed to get my soup on the go first. When I first decided to go out there was a horrible rain storm, so I waited for a bit.
When I tried to go again it had cleared up. I went to a book store first and then on to the mall. At the mall I did a lot of looking around. I got a couple of things at the hundred yen shop, and I saw a few things at other shops, but really didn’t buy that much. I got a few things in the grocery store, then called F to see if he was finished work yet. He wasn’t, so I decided to go home by myself if it wasn’t raining.
I hopped on my bike and came home. The ride was decent, but it started to rain about halfway home. Coincidentally, it was also the time that F called me to say he was done work and was now on his way home. Gah! I’m not talented like young Japanese people and I can’t talk to people on the phone and ride a bike at the same time, so I got off to talk to him.
I made it home a few minutes before F, checked my email and then went into the kitchen to get the rest of the meal ready. Tonight’s meal was quite simple. We had chicken and vegetable soup with warmed French bread and butter. Yum. The soup was really good. I was quite pleased with it.
F had noticed that Twilight was on TV tonight, so he said he’d like to see it. My niece is a huge fan of Twilight, and while I’ve seen the first two movies and read the books, I know F doesn’t know much about it. At 9 we turned on the TV to watch it and…it was horrible. I’m not a big fan, but the TV channel had somehow mooshed the first two (and possibly three) movies together. They cut out many scenes and abbreviated others. It just didn’t make sense. I knew what was going on because I’d read the books, but F was lost. He went to bed on it and I changed the channel to WOWOW and watched Inglourious Basterds. Even though it was mainly in French and German, I enjoyed it. I had seen it before, so I had a good idea what was happening. F got up for a while, but then went back to bed.
When the Tarantino finished, another movie came on that was an Italian movie with a mostly American cast called Inglorious Bastards. The channels been running movies that inspired Tarantino. I watched it and it was schlocky, but kind of cool.
And that’s it for my day. Tomorrow I’m back to work, but will go out in the middle of my day. I need to buy an airplane ticket back from Haneda airport when I come back to Japan. Wish me luck!
Night.
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