May 8, 2018

Tuesday - Cloudy and cold.

A better day.

I got up a few minutes late this morning as I had forgotten to set my alarms.  However, I still woke up as usual so maybe that was a good thing. I watched the news from the bed and finally got up and dressed after it was over.  I had a quiet morning really.  When I went downstairs for breakfast I started a load of laundry, hung it up in the room when it was finished. 

I had a very quiet day today.  I watched a couple of shows off the dvr and even watched a bit of YouTube. I started with Hugh Grant and ended up watching the Graham Norton Show with Meryl Streep, James McAvoy and Mark Ruffalo.  It was rather funny. Mark Ruffalo can ride a unicycle!  James McAvoy can too, but not as well.

My lunch was a bit late today but was fine. I had my usual sandwich and salad, quite good.  When I went down later to wash dishes, K had left some rice soaking in the sink.  I moved it and then as I saw her explained what I did. Or tried to. 

F didn’t phone me again today, but he was mildly nicer tonight.  It got better as the night went on. I asked him if he’d like to go for a walk with me and he said yes.  We first went out for a few groceries and apart from F listening to a radio drama in the car was almost pleasant.

We bought groceries and brought them back to the house.  I did my frozen pasta and chicken again for dinner.  It was good.  I gave K a piece of cake for her dessert.  My friend on Sunday gave us a roll cake for visiting, so I cut a slice off for K.  

While I was eating I turned on Bondi Beach Vet which I usually don’t watch. It was interesting tonight.  A Jack Russell terrier was getting sick from something in the garden.  The perp? Cane Toads!  At night the toads would cross the garden and the dog would try to bite them.  They’re poisonous.  It was a cool story.

F and I did go for a walk, we did once around the park at Komangi Park and then came back to the house.  It was cold and my knee hurt a bit.  

I asked F if he’d like to watch The Good Doctor, so we did.  It was quite good tonight, it was the one with the patient who looked like his brother. We both liked it.  

Around midnight I went over for a cuddle and I got one back.  Things are de-escalating although I think food will always be a trigger.  F thinks that Japanese food is delicious and healthy by default, I think that some of it is and a lot of the stuff he likes isn’t healthy.  It’s an old argument.

And that’s about it for my day.  So, things are a little better, but they aren’t perfect yet. Come back later and see what I get up to later on.  Until tomorrow….

101 Films to see Before You Die

Seen movies are in bold, owned ones are italicized, and personal favourites have a *.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) Stanley Kubrick
"The 400 Blows" (1959) Francois Truffaut
"8 1/2" (1963) Federico Fellini
"Aguirre, the Wrath of God" (1972) Werner Herzog
"Alien" (1979) Ridley Scott
"All About Eve" (1950) Joseph L. Mankiewicz
"Annie Hall" (1977) Woody Allen
"Apocalypse Now" (1979) Francis Ford Coppola
"Bambi" (1942) Disney
"The Battleship Potemkin" (1925) Sergei Eisenstein
"The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946) William Wyler
"The Big Red One" (1980) Samuel Fuller
"The Bicycle Thief" (1949) Vittorio De Sica
"The Big Sleep" (1946) Howard Hawks
"Blade Runner" (1982) Ridley Scott
"Blowup" (1966) Michelangelo Antonioni
"Blue Velvet" (1986) David Lynch
"Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) Arthur Penn
"Breathless" (1959 Jean-Luc Godard
"Bringing Up Baby" (1938) Howard Hawks
"Carrie" (1975) Brian DePalma
"Casablanca*" (1942) Michael Curtiz
"Un Chien Andalou" (1928) Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali
"Children of Paradise" / "Les Enfants du Paradis" (1945) Marcel Carne
"Chinatown" (1974) Roman Polanski
"Citizen Kane" (1941) Orson Welles
"A Clockwork Orange" (1971) Stanley Kubrick
"The Crying Game" (1992) Neil Jordan
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) Robert Wise
"Days of Heaven" (1978) Terence Malick
"Dirty Harry" (1971) Don Siegel
"The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" (1972) Luis Bunuel
"Do the Right Thing" (1989 Spike Lee
"La Dolce Vita" (1960) Federico Fellini
"Double Indemnity" (1944) Billy Wilder
"Dr. Strangelove" (1964) Stanley Kubrick
"Duck Soup" (1933) Leo McCarey
"E.T. -- The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) Steven Spielberg
"Easy Rider" (1969) Dennis Hopper
"The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) Irvin Kershner
"The Exorcist" (1973) William Friedkin
"Fargo*" (1995) Joel & Ethan Coen
"Fight Club" (1999) David Fincher
"Frankenstein" (1931) James Whale
"The General" (1927) Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman
"The Godfather," "The Godfather, Part II" (1972, 1974) Francis Ford Coppola
"Gone With the Wind" (1939) Victor Fleming
"GoodFellas" (1990) Martin Scorsese
"The Graduate" (1967) Mike Nichols
"Halloween" (1978) John Carpenter
"A Hard Day's Night" (1964) Richard Lester
"Intolerance" (1916) D.W. Griffith
"It's a Gift" (1934) Norman Z. McLeod
"It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) Frank Capra
"Jaws" (1975) Steven Spielberg
"The Lady Eve" (1941) Preston Sturges
"Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) David Lean
"M" (1931) Fritz Lang
"Mad Max 2" / "The Road Warrior" (1981) George Miller
"The Maltese Falcon" (1941) John Huston
"The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) John Frankenheimer
"Metropolis" (1926) Fritz Lang
"Modern Times" (1936) Charles Chaplin
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail*" (1975) Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam
"Nashville" (1975) Robert Altman
"The Night of the Hunter" (1955) Charles Laughton
"Night of the Living Dead" (1968) George Romero
"North by Northwest" (1959) Alfred Hitchcock
"Nosferatu" (1922) F.W. Murnau
"On the Waterfront" (1954) Elia Kazan
"Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968) Sergio Leone
"Out of the Past" (1947) Jacques Tournier
"Persona" (1966) Ingmar Bergman
"Pink Flamingos" (1972) John Waters
"Psycho" (1960) Alfred Hitchcock
"Pulp Fiction*" (1994) Quentin Tarantino
"Rashomon" (1950) Akira Kurosawa
"Rear Window" (1954) Alfred Hitchcock
"Rebel Without a Cause" (1955) Nicholas Ray
"Red River" (1948) Howard Hawks
"Repulsion" (1965) Roman Polanski
"The Rules of the Game" (1939) Jean Renoir
"Scarface" (1932) Howard Hawks
"The Scarlet Empress" (1934) Josef von Sternberg
"Schindler's List" (1993) Steven Spielberg
"The Searchers" (1956) John Ford
"The Seven Samurai" (1954) Akira Kurosawa
"Singin' in the Rain" (1952) Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
"Some Like It Hot*" (1959) Billy Wilder
"A Star Is Born" (1954) George Cukor
"A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) Elia Kazan
"Sunset Boulevard" (1950) Billy Wilder
"Taxi Driver" (1976) Martin Scorsese
"The Third Man" (1949) Carol Reed
"Tokyo Story" (1953) Yasujiro Ozu
"Touch of Evil" (1958) Orson Welles
"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948) John Huston
"Trouble in Paradise" (1932) Ernst Lubitsch
"Vertigo" (1958) Alfred Hitchcock
"West Side Story" (1961) Jerome Robbins/Robert Wise
"The Wild Bunch" (1969) Sam Peckinpah
"The Wizard of Oz" (1939) Victor Fleming


I've been meaning to post this list for ages. I've seen a lot, but it's almost shocking how many I haven't seen. Anyone else want to try this list?

25 Things about Me

I was hit up for this on Facebook, and also saw it on another blog. It's a good way to update my 100 Things About Me, but more quickly!

1. I love chocolate. Dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, you name it, if it's chocolate I'll probably eat it.
2. I am addicted to coffee, but I really enjoy a good cup of tea. I like Earl Grey especially.
3. I think I have a tendency to be either a bit too earthy or too pretentious.
4. I am so not a morning person. I can get up early if I have plans or there's a darn good reason, but just cause you want me to get up early? Fuggetabout.
5. I love popcorn. When I make it at home I put either curry powder, garlic, or mustard on it. The first two have to have butter as well!
6. I love movies. I don't really like watching them at home as much as in a theater.
7. I have days where if I hear one more word of Japanese from anybody, I think I'll have a meltdown. It's inconvenient because I of course live in Japan.
8. I chew ice all the time. It's most likely a symptom of having an iron deficiency.
9. I'm a computer potato. I really spend too much time on-line.
10. I'm envious when I hear that other foreign wives have coffee meet-ups or dinner get togethers in other cities. I never meet any other foreign wives here. And darn few foreigners period.
11. My best friend and I bonded in French class in high school. We started talking about ouija boards. (Not in French!)
12. I've had an array of jobs in my life. I've been a farm kid (unpaid labor), hotel desk clerk, painter (houses etc.), maintenance worker, resident assistant, bank teller and English teacher.
13. I've recently decided that I quite like cooking and am not bad at it. However, I don't have a lot of variety in my cooking.
14. I don't like extremes of temperature. I don't like Japanese summers because of the heat and humidity, and I don't like Canadian winters because of the cold.
15. I have a list of celebrities that I'd sleep with if I had the chance. It's not laminated though!
16. I've never wanted to have children. My mother always said that I would want to have children some day, but I never did.
17. I'm allergic to peanuts, cloth bandages and green peppers make me hiccup.
18. Apparently I snore loudly. Sigh.
19. I love taking baths, but I can't stand the temperature that my husband set the bath at in our apartment, so now I only have baths when I stay in a hotel.
20. I don't like using the telephone or a cell phone. I don't mind texting or emailing, just talking on the phone. When my house phone rings, I screen all my calls.
21. I am hopelessly devoted to karaoke. I like going at least once a month. It's the best stress relief I know.
22. I hope to travel more in the future. The last couple of years have been a bit bad for that. I prefer travelling alone.
23. I worry too much about things that will probably never happen.
24. I haven't seen my MIL in 3 or 4 years. It hasn't been long enough yet. We live in the same city.
25. I love my engagement ring. It's an amethyst set into a Nina Ricci band. The stone is quite small, and doesn't protrude much. As I work with people I didn't want something that could accidentally hurt someone. The store really didn't want my fiance to buy me a ring with an amethyst in it. My now husband bought the wedding band on his own and I don't like it. It doesn't match the engagement ring and is uncomfortable to wear. However, I did rescue it when it fell in the toilet one year!

2008 Wrapup Meme

I was curious about this meme, but it wasn't until Kelly put it on her page that I decided to do it. My answers seem a little sad and angry. I don't mean them to be.


1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
I had one wisdom tooth removed.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't make New Year's resolutions. It was my resolution a few years ago to stop. It's the only one I've ever kept!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, almost all of my ex-Eikaiwa co-workers! Better them than me.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not that I'm aware of.

5. What countries did you visit?
Just Canada, then home to Japan.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
More patience, more grace.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
??not etched obviously.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Asking for help when I needed it.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Making one of my students quit because I wasn't willing to put up with her continual rescheduling and absences.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Sort of an injury. I've had a terribly itchy scalp since April, probably due to an allergic reaction.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My iPod, although some of the clothes I bought in Canada come close!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Hmm. Not sure really. Probably not mine!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My husband's when he was angry at me.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Books, my trip to Canada, dvds.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Canada to see my family and friends.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Faith Hill's The Way You Love Me. I know it's an older song, but I'd never heard it until Vanessa played it for me in Canada.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder
Sadder.

ii. thinner or fatter?
I don't like this question. I'd prefer healthier or less healthy.

iii. richer or poorer?
Poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Going out and meeting people.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Fighting with my husband.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Spent it with Fumihiko at our apartment. It was nice.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Does a crush on Jason Statham count?

23. How many one-night stands?
None, but let me know if Jason comes to Japan!

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Project Runway, because it was so over the top but in a fun way.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, actually I hate one less person since I found out my stepmonster died.

26. What was the best book you read?
Atonement - Ian McEwan

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Didn't really make one this year.

28. What did you want and get?
An iPod, some dvds.

29. What did you want and not get?
A million dollars!

30. What were your favorite films of this year?
August Rush, Enchanted, The Dark Knight, Iron Man

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I stayed in Sendai by myself. I saw American Gangster, ate carbonara and had a gorgeous piece of cake in my hotel room. I was 44 this year.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having more time with my friends and family.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Trying to find t-shirts without stains on them.

34. What kept you sane?
Nothing. I've been nuts for years.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jason Statham.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Fingerprinting of resident foreigners re-entering Japan.

37. Who did you miss?
My best friend Michelle, my sister, my niece and my nephew.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I met very few new people this year. Virtually met, perhaps Jennifer or Natalie.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
I'm the only person who cares about my happiness.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"We're on a Road to Nowhere"--Talking Heads. Not sure if it's talking about me personally or Japan!

Movie Meme

Here's a Movie Meme that I lifted from a blog I often read. It was fun thinking of the answers.
Anyone want to try it? Or comment on it?

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
Strictly Ballroom, Dead Again, The Quick and The Dead, A Fish Called Wanda, The Princess Bride
2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.
Dead Again, Strictly Ballroom, The Quick and The Dead, Tremors, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and most recently, American Gangster
3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Just one? Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Russell Crowe, Jason Statham, Bruce Campbell, Meryl Streep, Michael Caine
4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.
Jack Nicholson, Robin Williams
5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
The Princess Bride, Airplane, Monty Python and the Holy Grail
6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
Hairspray (The new one), Beauty and the Beast
7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.
See above....I even sing them at karaoke. Also, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
Wall-E (Suitable for almost everyone I think!)
9. Name a movie that you own.
I have almost 300, so it might take a while. I have all the ones that I've seen more than 10 times obviously.
10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
Burt Lancaster (was in the circus) and my crush at the mo' Jason Statham...was a diver and a model before getting into acting.
11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Yes, Funny Girl when I was very young. I only remember Omar Shariff's frilly shirt.
12. Ever made out in a movie?
No. I wanted to but my husband didn't!
13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.
The Godfather 1, 2,&3, Citizen Kane, Apocalyse Now, anything by Kurosawa
14. Ever walked out of a movie?
Nope. Wanted to a couple of times but never did.
15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
While You Were Sleeping...
16. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
Wall-E (December 7, 2008...just started here)
17. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Action
18. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
Lawrence of Arabia. It was in South Africa with my parents. I remember vividly the scenes where the children die.
19. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
Biohazard. My husband dragged me to it.
20. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
Bubba Ho-Tep (on DVD), Army of Darkness (Go Bruce Campbell!)
21. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
Titanic. Can't believe everyone fell for that guff.
22. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?
In the theatre, A Fish Called Wanda. On DVD, Monty Python and the Holy Grail

One Word Meme

Stole this off Hyotenka who got it off Illahee's blog. No one asked me to do it, but I just decided to give it a whirl. I'm only supposed to use one word in my answers.


1. Where is your cell phone? Handbag.

2. Where is your significant other? Couch

3. Your hair colour? Silver

4. Your mother? Dead

5. Your father? Buried

6. Your favorite thing? Chocolate

7. Your dream last night? Forgot

8. Your dream/goal? Novel

9. The room you're in? Living-room

10. Your hobby? Blogging

11. Your fear? Poverty

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Undecided

13. Where were you last night? Internet

14. What you're not? Certain

15. One of your wish-list items? Sleep

16. Where you grew up? Canada/South Africa/Norway/Scotland (Cannot do that in one word!)

17. The last thing you did? Delete

18. What are you wearing? Black

19. Your TV? Digital

20. Your pet? Aisha

21. Your computer? MacBook

22. Your mood? Unsettled

23. Missing someone? Yes.

24. Your car? (Bicycle for me) Turquoise

25. Something you're not wearing? Sweater

26. Favorite store? Additionelle

27. Your summer? Sticky

28. Love someone? Usually

29. Your favorite colour? Blue

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

I'm not tagging anyone, but if you'd like to do it, just go ahead and do it. Let us know in the comments please!

100 Foods to Eat (meme)

I've seen this around the net for the last few days. Just thought I'd try it!


Here’s what I want you to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile--I've had alligator though.
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes--Probably, but I can't remember.
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49.Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut--Don't really like doughnuts!
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear--We used to live in South Africa so this was a common fruit.
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone-probably but I'm not 100% sure.
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal--But not anymore!
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine--I am Canadian after all!
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian-Does dried count?
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis--Mum was Scottish, what can I say?
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette--does kobukuro count? Almost the same.
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost--but I didn't like it much.
75. Roadkill--Yuck!
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong--I love Lapsang souchong!
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef--Yonezawa beef is more famous around here!
86. Hare--I've had rabbit.
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta--I made it once...it was terrible!
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake