July

 July was hot, very hot. August is going to be hotter!!  

I read an article the other day asking when did summer in Japan get to be so miserable?  The article talked about the fun that was had by everyone a few years ago, trips to the beach or pool, summer festivals or just going to the park. Now those activities are more like an endurance test.  A lot of the summer festivals go on until the evenings, many concluding with spectacular firework shows.   This year, however, a lot were washed out because of sudden thunderstorms or attendance wasn't so high because it stayed hot until very late at night.

I feel sorry for the kids. Summer is hard because they have so much homework but at least they used to be able to play outside with friends. My husband said that when he was in junior high school he and his mates would ride their bikes all day!  That just isn't doable nowadays.  I've noticed the small park near here is very quiet. Until it got hot I could hear kids playing on there, now it's quiet, just the cicadas making a noise!

For myself changing my attitude has helped a lot.  I want to get things done but wasting what bit of energy moaning about things isn't going to help me at all.  I've accepted that summer is hard on my body so I do what I can when I can.  The main living area has air conditioning so I can manage to keep that clean.  The toilet, bathroom, corridors, and stairs are harder. There is so much cat hair everywhere, during the other seasons I sweep every day and mop every other day!  Now I get Christopher to do it.  Toilet and bathroom are early morning jobs.

I've told myself that it's okay to spend most of my day reading or sleeping.  The house isn't too bad. The yard needs doing, maybe early morning I can sweep the walkway and pull a few weeds. The other house will have to wait a bit.  I'm planning on going on Sunday, just to drop off some of the boxes and check that things are alright there. 

My worry is this Saturday and Sunday, according to my weather app it's going to be 39C.  That is crazy. I don't know if it's ever been that hot here!

Cats stretched out in the corridor

I keep putting the cats in the air-conditioned room but they prefer the corridor.  The downstairs corridor, I think upstairs is warmer!

Christopher's Cooking

 Since Christopher finished work he has been helping me around the house.

The rooms with air conditioning in I can manage but the other rooms and areas are difficult for me to do. That's where Christopher comes in.  The entrance and corridors need sweeping every day, so that is one job that Christopher does.

He's also teaching himself how to cook.  He really likes Japanese cuisine.  He finds recipes on the internet, then shops and cooks,

Yesterday he made Inari sushi.  Rice that is flavored with rice vinegar and a little bit of sugar stuffed into fried tofu pockets.  Very simple but very tasty. He served it with leftover fried beef and salad.  Nice, light dinner for a very hot day!

Inari sushi

He had some of the fried tofu pockets left over so this morning he made some more but added pickled ginger to the rice.  That made them very refreshing.

with pickled ginger

I'm glad that he and David can cook, helps a lot.  I don't like instant food or obento, but occasionally is alright.  I find it hard to cook every day because it's so hot.  Having other people to take over when I don't feel up to it really helps.  That way we can avoid instant foods as much as possible!!

Mikey came back with these flashy glasses last night!

flashy glasses

Because his shirt was blue he actually looked blue!

Christopher and Hannah had a go with them.

Having fun with the glasses. 

Of Course

 I write a post about not moaning.

I spent the day trying to find the good, see the funny side, have a happy day! I managed to do the floors, and Hannah helped. David has prepared a few meals, which makes life easier. Christopher cooked dinner because I had to do Mikey's classes.

A good day. I stayed up late, went to bed about midnight.  Went to brush my teeth and found a massive cockroach crawling over the toothbrushes!  I couldn't kill the damn thing but I threw away the toothbrushes.  I found some stuff to kill the cockroaches and put that out this morning.

I still had a good attitude. I was thinking that last year we didn't have so many cockroaches, so that might be why we are having a few this year. I can deal with this, it isn't the end of the world.

Got to bed. Looked at my Google Hub which displays the date, time, and temperature. It was 12:15 at night and still 31C.

After midnight and still over 30C. That is just crazy!  I woke up at 2am and it was 29C.  It didn't cool down at all!

I felt I was being challenged.  Can I keep a good attitude or am I going to start the poor me moaning again? I took a deep breath and told myself, deal with it, you have an air conditioner, you'll be okay!

I really am grateful that we have air conditioning. Also, I'm hoping that moving to the other house will help. We have a lot of green here but this is a city.  Where we are moving to is really countryside, lots of green and slightly elevated!  Even one or two degrees lower might help!  I might buy a kid's pool to hang out in!!!!

Mikey is doing cotton candy today. It's the local summer festival. He is working with somebody so they can take turns going into stores to cool down.

The floats for the summer festival

Hannah took these photos of the floats for the summer festival. These are carried through the streets.  I haven't been to any of the festivals here, it's always too hot and too crowded.

Next month is the big fireworks festival in the next city.  We can see the fireworks from our balcony, which is nice. When the kids were little we tried to go but it was always too crowded! 

Gave Myself A Good Talking Too

 Last night I went to bed feeling rather fed up.  It's hot, too hot and I'm miserable.

Yesterday I moved from in front of the air conditioner to find a book, in the same room so still rather cool and I ended up sweating like crazy.  I washed my face, I sweat a lot on my face, cooled down a bit, and prepared my lesson.  But I felt so miserable, the class was good but all I wanted to do was lie on my bed!

When I went to bed I gave myself a good talking to.  I told myself to deal with the situation.  It's hot and humid and very uncomfortable. But that isn't going to change for a few months. I have to change my attitude or have a very miserable summer.  So I've set myself a few challenges.

1.  To do something every day and be satisfied with that.  I can't clean the whole house, I can't sort and pack up all the rooms but I can sweep/vacuum a floor, sort one drawer or shelf.  I don't have to do everything in one day, one week, or even one month.

2.  Spend time with Hannah.  She's hoping to go to graduate school and will move into her own apartment. I would like to teach her how to cook. Just hanging out together, watching musicals, and chatting would be nice.

3.  Be grateful! Find something every day to be grateful for.  I remember earlier this year India was very hot, so hot that schools had to close. I felt so sorry for the people, there is very little infrastructure, and I think most places don't have air conditioning or even fans.  I'm lucky that here I have air conditioning and fans.  Most places are cool. I don't have to go out, I work from home.  So for today, I'm grateful that I have air conditioning.  

I really want to try to have a better attitude. Moaning around is just making me tired and isn't doing my mental or physical health any good!  

My poor cats are suffering from the heat. But they won't stay in the cooler rooms!

Steve and Mama stretched out in the corridor

Last night Fluffy and Alfie were watching the little lizard on the outside of the window!

Lizard watching

Can It Get Any Worse?

 Yesterday my weather app said it was 38C with a real feel of 41C!!

Then I watched the local news. A small city, about 20 minutes drive from here was featured, it has a lot of lovely temples and is popular with tourists.  The reporter was showing a thermometer, it read 41C!!

The afternoon cooled down to 29C with an incredible thunderstorm and tornado warning.  We were lucky as the storm wasn't over us but the city in the news because of the high temperature was shown again! This time because a house was hit by lightning and caught fire!

I'm finding it harder and harder to do anything!  In the air conditioning, I can cope, just!  But as soon as I leave the cooler room I sweat like crazy.  Just going to the toilet I'm soaked through!  I spent a few minutes in the room next to where we teach to find a few things and am now dripping with sweat.  I have headaches every day and feel so wiped out!

I keep telling myself that every day finished is a day closer to the cooler weather but I feel like I'm just wasting so much time.  I need to push to get a few more things done here even if I can't go to the other house!  One good thing is that Christopher is helping me out a lot. Most days he'll wash dishes, do the floors, and run to the drug store for things. I was shocked the other day when I opened the pantry.  Christopher had cleaned and organized it for me!

Talking of Christopher, he went shopping this morning and bought a very Japanese-style summer set. It really suits him!

Very cool

I like the dragon on the back!

Not Coping

 Monday I went to the other house.

Yesterday I cleaned here, made lunch, and went shopping.  I took a small thank-you gift to my neighbor for sweeping the cuttings up. I stood talking to her for about a minute and felt as if my body was on fire! The temperature yesterday was 37C!!

Today I've basically been in bed.  I planned to go to the other house. Got up at 5:30, and made breakfast. Just doing that sapped all my energy.  I realized that even if I went to the other house I wouldn't be able to do anything. So I went back to bed. The upturn from this was Mikey could drive Hannah to her university this morning.  That helped a lot as we had a thunderstorm!

I've spent most of the day sleeping. I feel a bit better but still no energy. Tomorrow I have a few classes and would like to clean out some of the kitchen cabinets and get things boxed up to take to the other house.

I'm wondering how much of feeling awful is physical and how much has to do with not wanting to move!

I know there is no choice, I know that it could be good but at the same time, it feels like a lot of hard work with no real reward!  Moving is usually a choice, moving to a better place, a nicer house but this move feels like a step backward. Yes, I own the house but that has no meaning as I don't like the place or the location. I would love to pull that house down and build something nice but of course no money.

I know a lot of this moaning has to do with feeling awful because of the heat.  I know that I'm just looking at the bad things, which there are many, and not seeing the good. Maybe as the weather cools down I'll find something good!

One thing that worries me is that each summer seems harder than the one before. I don't know if it's because of my health or age or if the climate is getting worse. Maybe a combination of both things!!

I need to focus on my health more. This year has been hard, shingles and then Covid.  Diabetes and the list of aches and pains. I've been having more bad days than good recently. Nothing specifically wrong just feeling drained, achy, and unable to focus.  I have a coupon for a health check. I don't usually bother as I have a thorough check-up when I have my cancer check-up.  But maybe getting some more checks might help.  

Cats cooling in the corridor

The cats are suffering from the heat as well.   They are lying stretched out! I can always tell the weather by how the cats are lying. In the cold weather, they curl up together, when it's hot they stretch out far away from each other!

I Tried

 This morning David, Christopher and I went to the other house.

We arrived just after 7am.  I thought we could do at least 2 hours work by going so early. But by 8am it was already 31C!!!

I tried to do the kitchen sink.  The mold was really thick.  I used a full bottle of bleach just on the drain area!

The blue is the original color

Just trying to clean that took over half an hour.

Managed to get most of the trash out of the dining area, swept, vacuumed, and wiped the floor over.  The floor isn't looking very good at all, lots of stains and marks.  I'm wondering what I can do to make it look nice!

After that, I gave up. I was drenched in sweat, felt sick, and had a headache coming on.  

Still a lot to do but I really don't know if I can do anything more until the weather changes.  But if this summer follows the pattern of the last few years that won't be until October.  Maybe I should just get an air conditioner put in the main room, at least then I could have somewhere cooler to rest!

Just to add to my woes, we have cockroaches here.  Last year I saw one the whole summer.  Just this week we have had 2!  I asked Hannah to wash a few dishes, she came back saying that there was a large cockroach in the sink! I got brave and squirted it with dish soap.  It died and I got rid of the body.  I looked very calm but inside I was screaming!! Tomorrow I'll have to clean out one cupboard that has open packages in it!!  More work, just what I need!

Cute cat photo to finish with!

Steve in the cupboard

I emptied this cupboard out, the cats think it's their new hiding place. They've been taking turns going in all day!

Local Supermarket Closed

 The local supermarket, where Christopher worked for 4 years, closed yesterday!

Christopher started working the early morning shift filling shelves.  After that, he started working different shifts and doing a lot of jobs in the supermarket.   He was responsible for the freezer section, cleaning out the back room, making sure the products were put out properly, and doing the cash register.  He learned a lot and had a lot of fun. 

Christopher at work

I liked that supermarket as it was very convenient for us.  Somedays I would start cooking only to find I had forgotten something.  I could send the kids to get what I had forgotten, it would take less than 10 minutes for them!  Now the nearest supermarket is a good 20-minute walk.  Also, this supermarket was a discount supermarket, a little bit cheaper than the others!

This has made me think about when we move to the other house. There are no shops nearby at all.  the nearest supermarket is a 5-minute drive but a good half an hour's walk!  I think I'll have to get more organized in my shopping and cooking!

Christopher has to find another job.  That should be interesting!  He can't drive and the other house has nothing nearby.  There's a bus stop nearby but the buses are very few and only go to the city center, which is basically closed down.  The train station is a 20-minute walk, which is alright until the weather gets bad.  At least he can help out with the cleaning and packing here until he gets something!

Insomnia

 I've suffered from insomnia most of my life. Usually, I fall asleep okay but have trouble staying asleep.  The past week has been awful. I'm tossing and turning for up to an hour, my brain just won't switch off!! There are so many things that need to be done for this move.  Rooms here to be sorted, things to be thrown out, and packed up.  The other house still has a long way to go to be liveable.  Then there are the things that I can't do, calling places to get the toilet waste taken care of, and calling banks to see if I qualify for a loan.  Checking with the land registry office to see what land we own and whose name it's in, then figuring out how to change the names.  The list goes on and on. I try to keep a notebook by my bed to write down things, just to get them out of my head.  But it's not working!

Also, we aren't making enough money to pay for anything beyond the bills. I actually don't have enough to pay this month's rent!  This is really stressing me out.  I need new students, I would love to get some near where we are moving to, but that means using the community centers and unlike here they don't like to rent out rooms to businesses!  

Just stress on top of stress.  I'm not sure how much more I can take.  I'm trying to be positive and see the good things in this move but at the moment all I want to do is curl up and cry.

I know part of it is not being able to work on things because of the heat. It is really extreme, today was up to 35C, feels like 37C.  That's crazy!  I'm in my bedroom with the air conditioning blasting.  Hannah is in here as well.  I have a flask of ice water that I'm sipping on.  I would love to sort out more books from the rooms that we use for teaching but I have no real energy for that, maybe tomorrow!

One good thing is that a friend of my husbands might be able to help in November. He has a handyman business, he does gardens, cleans out houses that have been hoarded, and does house moves. He has a big truck that we can use to move the furniture.  We will pay, of course, but he might give us a discount. And I would rather pay somebody I know than some of the other companies that I've seen advertised. That is one load of my mind.

Last night was a beautiful moon.  Recently I've been noticing the moon more.  

From Hannah's phone

Hannah said that the clouds looked like a dragon. The quality of the photo isn't that good but still very beautiful!!

Real Summer

 It's been hot for a few weeks now but for me, real summer is when the cicadas start singing!

I took this out of the window this morning. Nothing to see but the noise is incredible.  Even in my room with the windows closed and the air conditioning on I can hear them.  For such a small creature, about an inch long, they make a lot of noise.  It's one of those things that I've come to associate with summer.

David has bought a battery-powered hedge trimmer. These things scare me but are really good when you have a lot to cut down! He's been outside cutting the hedges and the weeds for about half an hour and has gotten most of the yard done.  He bought it to do the yard and land at the other house but this house needed to be done as well.

He should have worn long sleeves!

He's done a lot in a short time.  But now has ant bites on his hands and arms! He wanted to do more but the wind has picked up and it might rain soon.

Guilt

 Why do I do this to myself?

I'm feeling awful at the moment. I think it's a combination of being sick since May, the stress over the other house, and the heat!  I have no energy at all.  I washed a few dishes and taught one class this morning and now feel totally wiped out.  I planned to cook lunch but can't stand in the hot kitchen long enough to cook!  But I feel guilty for not doing it, especially since David will cook after working 9 hours! I hate feeling like this. I'm pushing myself as much as possible to get things done but my energy level is so low.  

Also, the heat is very intense. It's 31C now but it will go up to 34C after lunch. The next ten days are forecasted to be the same.  We might get some rain tomorrow which cools things a bit!  But this heat will be for the next few months!  I have so much to do to get ready to move but have no idea how to get things sorted. I'm pushing the kids to do a lot as well but I feel overwhelmed by everything!  

The supermarket where Christopher works is closing this weekend.  He has another month of work then he will finish there.  He needs to find another job but where we are moving to is in the countryside and he can't drive.  Just another worry to add to my list!

Think I'll talk to the cats!  I don't want to moan to the kids too much.  They are helping as much as possible and it's not fair to dump on them when they are also dealing with different things!

I was trying to get photos of Alan and Toast, our two black cats. Alan had enough though and turned his back on me!

Alan and Toast

Alan turned round, no more photos!!!

I Went, I Saw, I Cried

 Many years ago I dreamt of moving back to the UK. I spent hours looking at all these beautiful houses online.  One real estate agent site suggested looking at properties at different times and weather conditions. A property that looks lovely under blue skies might look totally different in rainy weather.  I've often wondered how true that is.  Today I found out that it is very true.  Most of the time we go to the other house when it's sunny or cloudy.  A couple of times we've been when it's been raining but not the torrential rain we've had the past few days.  I was shocked at how bad things looked.  The outside storage roof has come away from the building, it's like a carport attached to the storage building.  It's separated and rain was pouring down the storage building front, soaking everything.

The circled parts are where the water is coming in

We have finally got the water turned on, only to find that one pipe outside is broken and water was going everywhere.  David bought some tape and something to stop the tap but looks like he needs some special glue to hold the stopper in place.

I tried to put the trash in the kitchen/dining area together. But got distracted by the sink. If you are eating you might not want to see this photo.

The drain in the kitchen sink

The mold has grown so much that it is covering the whole draining basket. I'll have to throw it away and buy another new one.  This is what broke me when we moved in with my mother-in-law.  She had spent over 5000 pounds on clothes that she never wore but couldn't buy bleach to clean the sink. When I saw this today I started to cry, I know it's not a big problem, the baskets cost a few hundred yen but it's more of what it represents.  The lack of care for the house.  I know she was old but she had access to home help but refused.  I don't know, it just makes me sad. 

I  did manage to clean the window sill.  I had to use wet tissues, once we have sorted the water problem then I'll give it another clean. Also, I must take a small screwdriver to take down the old blinds!

Looks better

On the way home we had to cross the main river.  It's flooded to the riverside park and parking area.

right hand side is the river

That tree is in the parking lot

Hannah said that the cats were having a demo while I was out.  They were all in the corridor, meowing and carrying on for about an hour!

Cat demo

Change Of Plans

 Today's plan was to get out of the house at about 7am, go to the other house, work there for a few hours, shop, and come home.

We woke up to this

This had been going on all night.  I know that most of the work I planned for today was inside, so it doesn't matter about the weather but we were under flood, landslide, and thunderstorm warnings.  One of the small towns we drive through to get to the other house always floods, deep enough in some places to get into the car engine!  We lived in that town when the kids were in elementary school.  Every year they would come home with a map of areas to avoid during the rainy season. That was when the rainy season was gentle rain for a couple of weeks.  I didn't want to risk getting stuck in a flooded area.

So I spent the whole day doing nothing.  We've all had bad headaches, and nobody felt up to doing much!  I watched a movie with Mikey, sorted bills to be paid, and slept!  I might clean the kitchen later but I honestly feel rather blah!!  

The rain is set to last for a couple more days.  I think a lot of people will be upset as tomorrow is a national holiday, Marine Day.  I guess trips to the beach are canceled.  I need to shop but I think tomorrow will be very busy at all the stores!!

I hope to get to the other house a couple of times this week.  Just push to do as much as possible, then focus here. 

Having A Moan

 Back in March or April, I remember thinking that the other house would be finished enough by summer to start moving stuff into it.  I planned to spend the summer packing up here and cleaning this house,  here I have air conditioners and fans so working during the hottest time of the year is doable. Then in October and November just move the furniture and be finished.

But of course, life threw me a curve ball.  I got shingles in May and recovered enough to start work on the other house when I got COVID.  I still feel really wiped out from that, plus the constant heat and humidity really saps my strength.  I want to sleep more but because I've been lying down too much my back hurts like crazy!

I feel like I'm not winning an endless race. I know we have until January 2025 and if it takes that long to move so be it. But I would rather move before the really cold time starts as the other house is very cold.  There is no sun on any of the rooms in the other house, which helps in the summer but makes the rooms extremely cold in. Also the sooner we move from here the sooner I stop paying rent.  I would like to use the rent money to buy things for the other house. 

Yesterday I packed up another box of books. But still, too many to deal with.  Most are kid's books, I kept them for students to look at, also Mikey reads to some of the students, he translates as he goes along. The younger kids seem to enjoy that. I've kept some of those books but I don't intend to set up a teaching room in the other house, no room and the house is not in an area where there are a lot of potential students.  I'm actually wondering how I'm going to make money.  Mikey and I will come to this city a few times a week but I'm not sure how many students we can retain. We will rent a room in the local community center but the rooms aren't available every day and if students can't change days then they will quit. Just another load of stress for me!!

Yesterday I was teaching 2 6th grade girls.  We were doing adjectives. The book gave an example using he, "He is busy", He is tired".  I got the girls the choose three words and draw a picture using she.  Their drawings were very good!

cute pictures

I enjoyed that class, the girls are very lively so even though I feel tired when I start by the time I've finished I have more energy!

Better go and get some chores done. I plan on going to the other house tomorrow, early morning to get some more cleaning done!

Back To The House

 David and I went early this morning just to check that everything was alright!  We've had a couple of weeks of intense rain and it's very windy now.  I'm worried about one tree that is next to the house. It's taller than the house if it falls because of the wind it could take out the roof!  Needs to be cut down but I think we might need a professional for that job.

I was surprised at how cool it was. There was a lovely breeze that made it feel a lot cooler than it actually was.  The old thermometer in the house said 28C but it didn't feel like that.

Blueberries

I managed to pick some blueberries.  Not that many but they'll be nice mixed with yoghurt and frozen. Nice cool snack!

in the car

I haven't been in the car for a few days, actually about 2 weeks.  I was rather shocked to see this in front of the passenger seat!  I'll have to ask Mikey about it later.

Made me laugh

I wish Japanese people understood English. This T-shirt says "Try sucking lips".

Gave me a laugh!

It's Hot

 I know it's July and I know it's summer but this heat is killing! In the past week, 8 people have died from heat-related illnesses and over 2000 have been admitted to hospital.  Some places hit 39C!  It's not livable. Where we are the highs are about 33C and that is too much for me.  The big problem for me is that the temperature doesn't drop, even at night!  Last night the lowest was 28C, far too hot.  I have an air conditioner and fan in my room, which helps, but I don't want to see the electric bill. 

I'm drinking loads of water and sports drinks, I don't go out at all.  Even getting to the car makes me sweat!  Most shops are nice and cool.  I spend a lot of time looking at the frozen food, which helps to cool down. Christopher said that he was having a hard time yesterday because he was working in the freezer, sorting goods to be put out.  When he went to help on the registrar he had a hard time feeling warm!  He doesn't mind working in the freezer, he says it's one way of keeping cool.

I worry about Hannah, she has to walk a lot in the heat.  She wears cool clothes, has a hat, and drinks a lot. I told her to break up her walks by stopping into stores. Just to have a few minutes to cool down and feel a bit refreshed might help.  

But this is just the beginning of the summer.  We have at least 3 more months of this intense heat. I think you know what I'll be writing about (moaning about) for the next few posts!  

How to keep cool?  I'm trying to get household chores done early, before 8am if possible.  That does help. This morning I cleaned the kitchen and washed some dishes, even though it was only 7am I was drenched in sweat by the time I had finished.  I planned on doing the floors but they will have to wait until tomorrow.  

I use a fan until the temperature gets to 30C, then the air conditioning goes on. No choice. I keep the curtains closed, no sun on the room helps a lot.

I keep a wet towel around my neck.  That feels nice, especially if I'm cooking.  I haven't cooked much this week.  I'm still recovering from Covid, I'm exhausted, and getting overheated cooking isn't going to help.  

And I drink a lot of water and sports drinks.  I make iced tea sometimes, just to have a different taste but water is the best.  Not sure how much I drink but must be over 3 litres a day, maybe more. I sweat a lot so I always feel I need to drink. 

The cats are hanging out in the corridor, they can come into the living room where the air conditioner is on but somehow they like the corridor.  I make sure there is plenty of water for them.  I think they have the best schedule, they are playing and moving during the cooler times of the day. When it's hot they stretch out and sleep!

Fluffy stretched out across the fan

Silver Lining

 I still don't feel great.  I did one class Wednesday evening and one Thursday morning and felt like I had run a marathon!  I'm managing to do a few chores but haven't cooked a meal since Tuesday!  

My ears are still blocked, and painful sometimes. My back hurts from lying down too much, I've done some exercise to help with the pain but still hard to stand for a long time!  And it's hot. It's 9:30am and already 29C but feels like 35C.  Today's high is forecast to be 33C with 80% humidity, YUK!!!!

The silver lining is that I've lost weight! 2 kilos!  This morning I weighed in at 93.8kg.  Still far too big but so much better.  I've been stuck between 95 and 97 all year, so I'm really happy that I've lost some.  I know it's because I've had no appetite for the past week or so, my eating hasn't been healthy because what I want to eat is bread or snack bread.  But eating just one piece of bread a day means that I have lost some!  David made a nice lunch yesterday, wraps with chicken, salsa sauce (he added some beans to the sauce), couscous, and salad.  I really enjoyed it, the tomato base for the sauce was refreshing.

lunch

Last night we finished the couscous, chicken and had an omelet with it.

I love Japanese food but at the moment I don't want the usual soy sauce or miso taste.  We've been eating a lot of cold noodles, nice but something different really helps!

I'm trying not to worry about the other house.  I honestly don't know if I can do anything there during the summer.  I should sort out some money and get air conditioners put in!  I hope to go next week.  I hope that the awful rain we've had hasn't done any damage!!

I'm Back

 I didn't go anywhere, just my bed for 5 days.

I think I had Covid.  I couldn't be bothered with going to the doctor for a test.  When I got sick last Thursday Mikey had the car.  He could have dropped me off but I would have to walk back, in the pouring rain.  I asked David what medicine he got, just painkillers and cough medicine. I already had that at home so decided to stay in bed.  

This time the symptoms were weird, low-grade fever but the most awful cough. Still coughing now, not as much but a few times a day.  Headache, body aches, and vomiting.  No appetite for 3 or 4 days, took me a day to eat a piece of toast!  David recovered enough to make a big pot of chicken soup.  That kept me going for a few days!!

On Saturday Christopher and Hannah came down with the same symptoms so they went to the emergency room.  I know there isn't any medicine but I wanted something stronger for them.  Christopher has allergies and slight asthma so any cold or flu has him coughing a lot.  The cough medicine I had was okay but he needed something stronger. With Hannah, it's the very high fever she gets.  She had flu a few years ago and her fever went up to 40.5C, so again stronger medicine is needed.  Mikey dropped them off and then went shopping.  They came back an hour later laughing, the nurse thought that Christopher and Hannah were a couple.

I'm fed up of being sick.  May was shingles, just recovered 100%, was getting into my exercise again when I got hit with this.  I still feel under the weather but need to start teaching, need to clean the house and if possible go to the other place. The last two weeks have been constant rain, I'm wondering if there is any damage to the other house.  Here we are battling mold.  I hope the other house doesn't have the same problem.  From today the heat has started.  Today was 31C,  looking at the 10-day forecast it looks like every day is over 30C.  I don't like the summer!

Sports Drink

This has been my drink of choice for the past few days.  I'm wondering about the slogan, sweat is beautiful!