January

 The month, the year actually started off very dramatically with ambulance trips to the emergency room and trips to the emergency dentist!

David is doing a lot better. One thing I found interesting was the assumption of the paramedics; the first thing they asked was if David had been drinking! I guess because it was just after the New Year, and most people would be drinking to celebrate. David never drinks; he doesn't like the taste of alcohol. If he had passed out because of drinking, I wouldn't have bothered with an ambulance and hospital. I called the ambulance because I didn't know why he had collapsed, and I wasn't sure if he had hit his head, giving himself a concussion.

David took about 10 days off from work, which has helped him a lot! He looks a lot better. Even before he caught a cold and a slight fever, he was looking very pale and exhausted! I wish he could find a job more locally, a daytime job, working nights is really hard long-term! He is planning on putting out leaflets to restart our English school here soon. I really hope we can get some good students.

I got my tooth fixed, but I have to think about getting some kind of dentures. I have no back teeth at all, so I'm using my front teeth to bite food with, not what they are designed for. I just need to screw up the courage to go and get it done! The local dentist is making a lot of money from our family, both David and Christopher are having treatment there!

I'm glad I got the chance to visit Tera Machi, Temple Town. I would like to go again when I have a bit more time. I think the cherry blossom season would be nice there!

I love all the details on the buildings!

The cherry blossom season will start about March 21st here! Looks like making plans.

In the first half of January, the weather was nice, more like spring than winter. The last couple of weeks, however, have been very cold. Daytime highs haven't been over 10C, most days, 5C was the warmest! That has put a damper on a lot of my plans. This house is just too cold to move in. I tried layering clothes so I could get more chores done, but then it's difficult to move! My January to-do list didn't get finished; of the six things on there, only 3 got done. The rest will have to be moved to February!

My health is about the same. My weight didn't change; it hasn't gone up, but hasn't gone down. I'm still not exercising as much as I should. Again just too cold to move. Also, I'm still sleeping too much during the day. Again, I'm blaming the cold!

I did manage to study Japanese a bit, not as much as I should, but I got my books out 3 times this past month. Also, I'm watching YouTube videos in Japanese, which helps with my listening. A friend sends me little messages in Japanese, which also helps. I need more speaking practice. I tried talking to the cats, but they don't really help!

January went by very quickly. In my mind, we are still in the holiday season! But from tomorrow, the 2nd month starts! I'm wondering what to do in February. I need to sit down and make a plan, make a realistic plan! 

I hope everyone had a good month!