My Bucket List

 Since I asked what others have on their bucket lists, I thought I would share mine!

One thing that I want to do, but I don't know if it's really a bucket list thing, is to reform or rebuild this house. 

The longer I live here, the more I realise that this house just isn't really livable!

It's too cold in the winter. I went into the kitchen/dining area to make lunch, about 11am, and I could see my breath. I can understand it being that cold first thing in the morning, but not that late! In the summer, it's too hot, there is little ventilation, and even though there is a lot of vegetation around, it is still uncomfortable.

The bathroom is hell to keep clean; mould grows so quickly. Even in the winter!

The shower area is freezing, and there are ice crystals in the shampoo! 

I want to make this place livable; this is where I'm going to grow old. I want a place that is easy to take care of so I can live as independently as possible! 

Another thing is to travel.

I would love to go back to the UK one more time, but the reality is that unless I come into a lot of money, that won't be possible. Flights are really expensive. The cheap ones are too long for me to endure. I was looking the other day. One flight that I could just about afford would take 36 hours! I don't think I could do that now!

There are many places in Japan that I would like to visit. Hokkaido in the summer, and Okinawa in the winter. I know that is the opposite way, but I don't think I could deal with the extreme weather in each place. Also, I heard that Hokkaido in the summer is nice because the humidity is low. Okinawa in the summer would be too hot for me; I have a hard time here!

I would like to visit the big cities, Tokyo and Osaka. I'm not sure that I can deal with crowds, though. There are lots of places that aren't that crowded or touristy that I want to go to as well. Hannah finds a lot of interesting places to visit; she has her list as well!

Then I have a list of things I want to study. Of course, Japanese is at the top of the list! I need it to communicate, but I'm also hoping that by constantly studying, I can stave off dementia and other related brain problems that seem to accompany ageing! I really don't want to be the old lady who sits and drools all day with no idea of what is happening around her; that really scares me! When Hannah was in junior high school, the students did a week of work experience. She went to a care home. On the last day, she came home in tears. She said that the residents were making a poster for some event, but most of them didn't know how to hold a pencil or use scissors. I don't want to be like that!

Another thing I want to study is Japanese history, especially in this local area. There isn't a lot in English, so I'll need some help with that. My kids like history and are willing to help me with that. Also, I want to understand what makes the Japanese Japanese, what is so unique to these people, and where that comes from. 

There are other things that I want to study, but those are still ideas swirling around my brain at the moment!

The last thing on this list is to develop some kind of crafting skills. I can knit, but only very basic things; anything that involves shaping is beyond me. I can read a pattern, but I always mess up. I think it's just a case of practice. I like to knit as it stops me from snacking, it's hard to eat when your hands are busy!

Another crafty, arty thing I would like to develop is to be able to draw! Just to be able to put something on paper that looks like something and not just a mess of lines would be great!

That's my bucket list! I'm sure I'll add to it or change things. 

The only one that is really a priority is the house.

On a totally different note, I made an interesting breakfast this morning! I'm always looking for healthy meals without breaking the bank. This morning I made oatmeal and topped it with a poached egg, a couple of small sauasages and spinach with a sesame/soy dressing! I didn't think I would enjoy it as I usually have oatmeal with honey and a banana. But this was actually very nice. I paired it with a soy smoothie, tofu, yoghurt, frozen strawberries, and I added a banana as the strawberries are a bit sour. Very nice and filling!

Breakfast

An Apology And An Explanation

 One problem with the written word is that sometimes what I want to express and what comes across is different!

Yesterday, I mentioned a YouTuber who had 12 books on her TBR list. I stated that it made me laugh, I wasn't laughing at her, I was laughing at the ridiculous situation I'm in with thousands of books that I haven't read! In today's world, where most young people spend hours doomscrolling, seeing a young lady excited about her TBR list is really refreshing! 

One person commented that having 12 books to read is a challenge if one's life is busy and you have responsibilities. I agree with that. The young lady I saw was maybe in her 20s or early 30s. I'm guessing she works, and outside of that, she might have household chores to take care of, maybe social or family commitments to see to. I don't know this young lady. I just saw her video, and it reminded me of all the books I have to read! And as I stated above, seeing a young person who is passionate about reading is refreshing for me.

A friend of mine contacted me privately and told me off, in a nice way. She asked why I was buying so many books and planning trips when, in the same breath, I'm complaining about not having any money. 

First, the books. Most of the books on my bookshelves are from when we would visit the UK. This was when the kids were little. We tried to go back every other year; sometimes it would be 3 or 4 years between trips. After my Mom died, we didn't go back for 13 years. 

When we were in the UK, I would shop a lot. Clothes for me, some I still have! Toys, games and books for the kids, things that we couldn't get in Japan. My Mom loved Car Boot Sales, the one year we went to one, and I got enough T-shirts for the boys to last 2 or 3 years!

Of course, I would go to all the bookstores I could find, I loved finding recyle bookstores. This was back in the 1990s and early 2000s, before Amazon made shopping for international goods so easy!

One year we went to Hay-On-Wye! I bought so many books! When we got home Mom asked how I was going to get them back to Japan! I had enjoyed the cheap recycle bookstores that I hadn't thought about getting the books back to Japan. My Mom was sending packages every month for over a year! 

I remember trying to read the books when I got them but my schedule was so crazy back then, most days I would be on the go from at 5:30 until I finished teaching at 9 or 10 o'clock at night. I would pick up a book at night, read a page and be asleep. So the books got put aside for later!

The books on my Kindle are free downloads. There are a lot of sites that link to free books on Amazon. Some days there are a lot of books that interest me, other days none at all! Out of the 7000 books I have on my Kindle, I think I've only paid for about a dozen or so! The only books I pay for are the ones I save on Everand, then I'm paying for the app, not the books!

The reason I want to travel is that with every year I see more years behind me than ahead! I'll be 64 this summer. Not really old but definitely not young. I feel that all the things I want to do, the places I want to see, the experiences I want to have, I should be making plans now. 

A lot of this has to do with Hisao dying so young; he was only 51 when he passed away. There were places he wanted to go in Japan. He always dreamed of visiting Shikoku, one place he never got to visit. I would like to go there for him.

Another thing he wanted to do was to get back into art. When he was in high school, he joined the art club. He loved to draw and paint. One year, one of his paintings was displayed in the local art museum. 

Young Hisao with his painting

He talked about building a little artist hut on the land we own in the mountains, a place he could go to when he wanted to paint. This was something he wanted to do when the kids had grown up. He never got to do that. To this day, the idea that he couldn't fulfil one small dream makes me sad!

To that end, I've decided that I want to visit places, I want to have experiences with my kids, with friends and really live my life to the fullest now!

We have no guarantee of tomorrow. I know we have no money, but I can still dream and plan. I can try to get new students to make money. I can budget, save to improve this house and save for fun things as well.

I'm sorry if my comment on laughing about the young lady with 12 books on her TBR list upset anybody; that wasn't my intent!

As I write this, I wonder if anyone else has a bucket list? 

Places to visit, things to experience, things to learn about. Drop a comment and let me know!

To Be Read Lists

 I came across a YouTuber talking about how she had 12 books on her TBR list. This made me laugh, just twelve books?

I don't have a TBR list; I have bookcases of books that I keep saying I will read, one day!

These are just four of the bookcases I have. The bottom photo shows several cookbooks on the right-hand bookcase. There are five more bookcases in the storage room as well. 

Then there are the books I have on Kindle, about 7,000, most of them free downloads. Plus, I use the Everand app, I think I have another 600 saved on there!

So many books, so little time. 

I decided that I should start to read through some of these books. This is what I'm reading at the moment.

This book accompanies the BBC documentary that I watched just before I came to Japan. I've read part of it before, but never finished it.

This is another book I started but never finished! It's about how the people of Okinawa live long, healthy lives.  I skipped reading the book and just used some of the recipes at the back. I'm reading the book now, I'm especially interested in the section on dealing with stress, as this is something that Hannah needs to learn. I know she is looking for answers herself, but any help she can get is good!

On Everand, I just started Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities".  Another slow read, but interesting!

Also on Everand, I'm just over halfway through "My Next Breath" by Jermey Renner, the story of how he recovered from a devastating accident!

On Kindle, I've just started "The Judas Tree" by George DeFrehn III. It's an apocalyptic thriller. I've only read a few chapters, but it's holding my interest!

I need a lot of rainy, cold afternoons to cosy up with a cup of tea and maybe a cat to get through these books!

One good thing about having a Kindle is that it's portable. On days that I go to the other city to I usually have free time while I'm waiting for Mikey, I've found that I can read a lot. The community center is quiet and comfortable, just what I need to be able to focus on reading. Also, when I have hospital appointments I take my Kindle, while I'm waiting I can usually get through a few chapters of whatever book I'm reading!

Does anybody else have a TBR list, if so, how many books do you have?

Feeling Better

 I really wanted to get a good night's sleep last night, but of course, plans and reality were different!

I don't know about interval walking; I was doing interval sleeping!

I went to bed about 10 o'clock and slept well until midnight when the cats decided it was party time. I don't know which ones or how many, but they were racing up and down the corridor for about half an hour. Even though that woke me up, I don't mind that noise; they need exercise, and it's strangely comforting to hear them. Just as I was drifting off, the singing started. At first, it was just Steve, he picks up toys and walks around the house with them in his mouth, crying! That went on for a few minutes, but then the sound changed to yowling. I got out of bed to separate Fred and Steve. The problem is that the house is very cold, so getting out of bed means getting cold. Once I had sorted them out, I got back into bed, took ages to get warm, but I was finally drifting off to sleep when the yowling started again. Got out of bed, got cold, sorted the cats, this time Fred and Frodo, got back into bed, got warm, started to drift off to sleep when the yowling started again. I repeated that cycle about 7 or 8 times.

By now it's 3 o'clock in the morning. I gave up and fed them, finally, silence!

After the adventures and fighting of last night, this is how I found three of the cats this morning!

They were fighting just a couple of hours before!

At least I didn't have to get up early today, I slept until 7 o'clock!

I don't feel 100% better, but a lot better than yesterday. My head has been aching a lot, but my throat is no longer on fire! I've been drinking a lot of ginger tea, which is really warming! Also, I made nabe for lunch. Nabe is basically a one-pot dish. I cooked up chicken drumsticks. I used kombu for flavour, with some dashi, and just dumped a load of vegetables in. I also made takikomi gohan, flavoured rice with bamboo shoot! I usually add more things to the rice, but this was the first time making it without a rice cooker.

Hannah and I exchange photos of our meals most days!

This is the first photo I sent to Hannah.

She asked if it was my new diet.

This was my lunch after I served myself!

I managed to study Japanese for a bit and even did some exercise, not Japanese Walking, just some gentle stretches.

I really hope I feel 100% better tomorrow as I have a few chores to do! I need to see to the tatami room. David wants to start putting leaflets out for our school from next week. I want the place be ready, I don't want to panic if someone calls to see our school and nothing is ready!

I really hope we can get some good students. Send good vibes, please!

Sick

 I had great plans for today!

Get up at 5am, make breakfast and obento. Rest a bit more, prepare lunch, 11am meeting with a judicial scrivener to find out about changing the name on the land we have inherited.  Get back home, make lunch. Then spend the afternoon doing Japanese Walking exercise and studying Japanese. 

My day started out alright, even if I did find it hard to get up at 5am. I thought it was hard because the rooms are so cold, and that once I started moving, I would be alright. The past few mornings have been like that!

I got up, put the heater on, and started to make breakfast. I decided to make a quick consommé soup, boiling the water to cook the vegetables helps to heat up the kitchen. After I made breakfast and obento, I realised I was still feeling rather heavy and just bleh, no energy at all. I crawled back into bed, planning to get up at about 9 o'clock, but when my alarm went off, I was feeling worse. 

I finally got up, didn't start lunch, but had to go to the judicial scrivener's office. Stopped by a drug store on the way, that's when I realised I wasn't just tired but starting to feel sick, maybe the beginning of a cold!

Got through the meeting. We want to try and sell as much of the land as we can, but to do that, we need to change the name on the deeds. I thought all the land was in my mother-in-law's name, but some is in my grandmother-in-law's name, and even in my mother-in-law's sister's name. It's going to cost us about 15,00000 yen, about £7000. I was hoping we could do it bit by bit, but we can't! Another thing that I have to save money for!

I gave up on making lunch, I bought obento instead. I went back to bed this afternoon. I'm at the age where I know I can push myself, but that just means being sick longer. If I need rest, then I'm going to take it! I would rather rest for one day than push myself and end up getting so bad that I need a week to recover!

It's now 5:30 in the evening. I started dinner, looks like doing it bit by bit! I'm sipping hot ginger tea and really hoping that an early night and good sleep will help!

I'm not sure if I've caught what Mikey has been battling the past few days, or if the sudden drop in temperature has caused me to feel bad! The weather went from lovely, spring-like days with highs of 19C to freezing winter with highs less than 5C, overnight! There's a forecast for snow tonight!

Just a photo of Sam and Mama!

Japanese Walking

 Japanese Walking is another name for interval walking. The idea is to walk for 3 minutes at a normal, strolling pace, then 3 minutes at a fast pace. You do this for 15 minutes. Sounds nice and simple, something that I could do!

I've been trying this on and off for a few months! If I'm honest, it's been more off than on! When I'm at the community centre on Wednesdays, I have over an hour between classes, so I've been doing the interval walking there! I'm in a big tatami room, with heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. I can do up to 10 minutes now without pain! 

Other days I think I should walk around the garden or area, but I have so many excuses, it's too hot, it's too cold, it's raining, and of course, my favourite one, I'll do it tomorrow, which never comes! The other day, I came across a video of a lady showing how to do Japanese Walking at home, just walking in place. Why didn't I think of that? I also realised that I have a tatami room here, not as big as the community center but big enough to walk around!

So I'm going to start doing this Japanese Walking consistently. For the next week, I want to try 15 minutes every other day! The 15 minutes five days a week. If I'm alright, no back pain or knee pain, I'll try to add a couple of minutes every week.

One reason I want to focus on walking is that Hannah and I have a trip planned for the end of March, just 8 weeks away. I want to be able to walk, without pain if possible, or at least less pain. I know that keeping up with Hannah is hard, but I think if I can do this exercise, then maybe it will be easier. I don't want to be the old lady complaining about aches and pains all the time!

The weather here has been rather weird. Last week it was like spring, with temperatures up to 19 °C. The past couple of days, it hasn't got over 5C. 

I took these photos on Tuesday when we were at the other city to teach. I was wondering if it would rain or snow!

Dark clouds one way,

opposite view was a real mix!

The next morning, I could see snow on the mountain! It tried to snow here, but only a few flurries for about 5 minutes!

Snow on the mountain!

I'll let you know how I get on with this walking!

My New Printer

 This post contains an Amazon Affiliate link.

Last week, I was trying to teach one of my students some vocabulary for a test she is taking on Sunday.

I have books for this test, but every year they change the test, adding new words or different questions. One way I've found that helps is to print the previous test and go through it with the student. The test is run a few times a year, so the previous test isn't too different from the upcoming one.

I asked David to print part of the test for me, but it looks like his printer is no longer working! The first page was alright, but the next few pages had half the words missing. The last page only had one word on it!

I went on Amazon to see how much a printer would cost. I was surprised that they were a lot cheaper than I thought. Of course, there are some that are really expensive, but I just need a simple one. 

Because I don't have a credit card, I couldn't order one. When I buy from Amazon, I usually go and buy a gift card to use. I was talking to Hannah about this problem, she very kindly offered to buy me one. I'll pay her back or take her shopping!

This is the one that I got.

https://amzn.to/4a21kws

It's nice and simple. I can choose colour copies or black and white, which saves on ink. Hannah also bought extra ink, so I don't have to worry about that for a while!

My printer, all set up.

Of course, now that I have a printer, I can't find what I want to print!

I have one elementary school boy that I wanted to do some prints with, but when I went to a site that I had bookmarked a few months ago, an advertising button came up, saying that to enter the site, I had to watch an advert first. I clicked on it but closed it immediately as it looked like some kind of virus. My computer is alright, but I think the site has been hacked!

There are lots of sites out there that have great material to print; it's just a case of finding them. I use textbooks, but having prints gives extra practice.

Another thing I like to print is recipes. I have folders full of recipes that I've collected over the years. I know I can save recipes or Pin them, but I like having them printed. That way, any substitutes I make, I can jot down!

Also, I can print out sheets to practice kanji! No more excuses!

I'll let you know what I find! 

Thirty-Five Years In Japan

 Today marks thirty-five years since I came to Japan!

I planned to stay for about five years! I guess that plan didn't work out!

I was looking through my diary from that time. I was so scared to come here. Hisao was already here; I had to go to the UK to deal with my back problems, some things don't change.

I spent a year trying to fix my back, going for rehabilitation, maybe twice a week (I don't remember). Ultimately, the doctor stated that it wouldn't improve significantly beyond its current state. 

So January 1991, I packed my bags and came to Japan. 

If I could give my younger self some advice, it would boil down to just a few things.

These are the regrets I have about coming here.

First, don't burn your bridges; have an escape plan. Up until that point in my life, I always had a way to go back if things didn't work out. Money saved, contacts to get a job, this kind of thing. When I came to Japan, I didn't do that. Part of it might have been that I wasn't planning on staying too long. I figured five years would be enough time to make money, have the Japan experience, get to know Hisao's family. After that, we would go back to the UK and settle there.

Secondly, learn more about Japan. This was pre-Internet, YouTube, or influencers. In the November/December before I came, there was a Japanese culture exchange event in London. I remember the Sumo bouts, I'm sure there were other events, but I can't think what. The BBC did a documentary about Japan. The documentary covered the recovery of Japan after World War II. Another documentary I watched was about a day in the life of a typical family in Tokyo, the father going to work, and his daughter struggling through junior high school. I found that fasacinating but couldn't see myself standing at the door waving goodbye to Hisao!

I wished that I had understood a bit about the pressure of living as a foreigner in a country that is so totally foreign. I'm not sure if there were any resources out there at that time.

On a similar note, I wish I had learnt some Japanese. I knew a few phrases, some basic greetings, but I always thought that I would have time to really learn as I lived here. I didn't realise how much time and energy having kids would take up, also I didn't know that I would be running a business.

The last thing I regret, especially now, is not being able to drive! I thought I wouldn't need to drive, as the first plan was to stay in Tokyo. If we had stayed there, then not having a driver's license would have been alright. Now, however, it's really hard not being able to drive.

I can't imagine living anywhere else now. I don't really love Japan, but I feel comfortable here. Settled might be the best word. My kids have futures here. I don't think I want to go back to the UK now, to visit, but not to live.

I used this photo before, me just after arriving in Japan.

I watch videos of people coming to Japan to study, to live, for jobs or because their spouse is Japanese. I think they are very lucky to be able to come now, with the technology that is available now, it is so much easier. I had no way of calling my parents, I couldn't see my home in the UK. There were no apps to help with translation, my phrase book fell to pieces after a year! But I don't think that there is any technology that can help one adjust to such a different life. That takes time, perseverance and a sense of humour, being able to laugh at yourself and the mistakes you make!

Drop a comment if you live in a different country from your birthday country, also if you would like to come to live in Japan one day!

A Little Afternoon Outing

 This afternoon, Christopher and I went for a little outing.

I've lived in or near this city for almost 35 years and never knew about the area called Tera-Machi, also known as Temple Town. There are 17 temples in one small area. There are a number of graves in this area of famous people from Kurume.

The area is about 10 minutes walk from the Nishetsu Station, so the first plan was to get a bus and walk to Tera-Machi, but my knee has been rather painful the past week, so Mikey dropped us off and took us back to the station after.

I was amazed by the architecture of the area. Some of the temples were older, some more modern. Some had private houses on the grounds, some were very large with graveyards attached.

I took a couple of little videos. The weather was more like spring, which was really nice, but the sun was in my eyes a lot. If the video is jerking, that's where I missed a step!

In the second video, I really like the contrast between the brick wall, which to my mind looks very English and the temple, which looks very Japanese!

A map showing the different temples in the area

Red brick and temple building.

It was so peaceful, very quiet. Some of the temples had speeches or a service (is that the right word?).

I found myself whispering as I asked Christopher to translate what the signs were saying. This is just 10 minutes from a very busy station!

A few more photos from the area.

Temple bell, this would have been rung 108 times to usher in the New Year.

I like the ornament on the corner of the roof.

Massive doors

So beautiful and peaceful

Poster about a speech

Interesting door

Mikey picked us up and dropped us behind the station. 

It's been a long time since I've been there. Last year I went with Hannah, but we stayed at the front of the station.

There are a lot more shops than I remembered: a department store, a supermarket, Daiso, and a few other places.

I wanted to take a longer video, but some people were giving me funny looks!

I went into Diaso, a 100 yen shop and the department store. The department store used to sell imported foods, but this time, they didn't have any. I guess with Costco and Gyomusuper (a supermarket that has a lot of imported foods at a reasonable price), the department store couldn't compete. Christopher bought some nice pickles; he's really into Japanese food!

By this time, I was tired and hot. As I said before, the weather was more like spring, but the stores still had the heating on!

We found a nice bakery that had seating. We got a snack bread and a drink.

This had shrimp and cheese sauce!

We wandered around a bit more, got some cheap eggs. Took another little video from the walkway.

This walkway area used to be where the homeless used to sleep. Looks like it's been cleaned up!

I had a really lovely afternoon. 

I found a map of the city, I was surprised at the number of tourist areas there are and how many I've already visited!

This last photo was from the bus stop. Where the 7-11 is, used to be McDonald's.  I remember waiting there when I first arrived here. Hisao took the bus to get the car, leaving me with a load of luggage and one small coffee. The staff kept giving me funny looks, maybe they thought I had been abandoned! This was before everyone had phones; I just had to wait and hope he was coming back. He did, but took over 2 hours!

Another This And That Post

 It's January! Usually, this time of year is cold. The temperature usually hovers about the 10 °C mark. This week, however, has been very warm. Today it was 19 °C.

I had a little walk around the garden. Yes, it's still a disaster, but if the weather stays this mild, maybe we can do a bit this weekend!

I took a little video while I was out. The birds were really singing. I think you'll have to put the volume up to hear them, but for me, it was so nice. I never realised how quiet the winter is. In the other seasons, there are noises from different animals, birds and insects. I'm always amazed at the noise the insects can make; for such small creatures, they can really make a racket!

Took a couple of photos of a few flowers we have.

Nice bit of colour

A few more interesting photos from the past few days!

Rently?

This was a truck that we were following the other day! I think Marujun is a name, but rently? I love how the Japanese take English and use it in a very unique way!

These next photos are what happened when Mikey dropped his cards. 

When we are waiting for students at the community center Mikey sometimes practices his card routine. But of course, he occasionally drops them. However, I've never seen them land like this before.

The card is in the tatami mat!

If he could do that on purpose, it would be a good trick!

Lists And Routines

 Does anyone else make lists?

I keep a monthly to-do list. David asked if it's things for me to do or for him! 

One reason I keep this list is that some chores just seem to get away from me; having things listed helps a lot.

My basic routine is to keep the main areas of the house clean and tidy. Dishes, always a mountain of them! I do try to do them every day, also ask whoever has some time to do some. I try to do laundry every day when the weather is good, and I can get it outside to dry. At the moment, it's every other day, nothing really dries and having wet or damp clothes hanging around just isn't nice. Of course, I have to run the vacuum, that's almost every day, the wooden floors get swept, vacuumed and mopped! Cat hair! This time of year isn't a big problem, but as the weather warms up and they start losing their winter fur, it gets to be rather crazy. These are the things I try to get done daily. 

January to-do list

This is just the beginning! I usually add to it as I cross off things! 

The first item is to clean cob webs. I thought I had gotten them all in my big clean before Christmas, but I've noticed a few more. I know that we had a lot of spiders in September/October, but I helped many of them to move out, maybe they came back or left their kids here! I know I say I don't like insects, but spiders are alright, as long as they aren't too big!

The second item is to clean under my bed. My bed has drawers under it, to take them out and clean is really hard. Taking them out is alright, getting them back in is hard! So I usually slide my mattress off and move the board to get underneath! I hope to get that done tomorrow.

I'll let you know how I get on! I hope to have all the jobs crossed off!

Another list I have is things I want to buy!

Things I want to buy

I managed to buy a couple of the things on the list, a wet/dry vacuum cleaner and a vacuum cleaner. Between the cats and this house being very dusty, those two things are necessary!

The other items I'm trying to save for. But I think the printer I might have to ask either David or Christopher to buy on a credit card. It's something I use a lot for teaching!

The other things I can wait for!

Another list I've just started is places I hope to visit this year!

Places to visit this year

I'm not sure how many of these I can get to, but I thought having a list would help me to plan. I'm going to write this out in more detail later; this was just a brainstorming list. I want to figure out when to go and how much it will cost, so I can budget for things!

A few more lists or plans I'm thinking of making are to do with my words for this year: health and learning.

What are my goals for my health? How much weight should I aim to lose? What should I do to achieve that goal? What exercises will help me? Where to find help/inspiration when the junk food is screaming my name? I don't keep junk food in the house, which helps, but sometimes I get an intense craving for something! I guess one good thing about living in the middle of nowhere is that I can't just go to a shop and buy snacks!

Also, what should I focus on learning this year? Of course, Japanese. I had a dream the other night that I had to teach biology to 6th graders in Japanese! I woke up in a panic! I don't think I would ever have that level of fleuncy but to be able to deal with day-to-day life without panicking would be nice! I also want to read more classic books. I'm not sure what yet! I just finished Wuthering Heights, which was a lot more intense than I thought it would be. Thinking about what my next read will be!

Then I want to get into Japanese history more. Visiting historical places is more interesting with a bit of knowledge of the time period and area. All of my kids like history, especially David, so they help me to understand things!

Let me know in the comments if you are a list person!

As I develop these lists, I'll post them here!

Headache

 I fell asleep with my kerosene heater on (paraffin). Big mistake, as I woke up a few hours later to a lovely warm room but with a raging headache! I took some painkillers and opened the window a bit to change the air. I slept until just after 5am, when I had to get up to make some breakfast.

I decided to have a couple more hours of sleep. Unfortunately, my allergies started, so I took some allergy medicine and dozed a bit.

I made the same stupid mistake of leaving my heater on, I woke up 2 hours later with an even worse headache! One side effect of the allergy medicine is headaches, so between the heater and the medicine, I wasn't feeling that great!

I took more painkillers and have been drinking a lot of water. I feel a bit better, but today is one of my teaching days! I think I'll go for a walk while Mikey is teaching the younger class, might clear my head more. 

My bucket list of places I want to visit is growing. Hannah keeps sending me maps of places that look really interesting. One place is a shrine that Mikey went to over the New Year holiday.

Yesterday, Christopher was showing me this massive bookstore in Tokyo and a few other places. It looks more like a mall than just a bookstore. I don't think they sell English books, but there's a massive stationery store inside that I would enjoy!

I have to get ready to leave soon! 

Here is a view of the mountain. The weather is very strange, it was very cold the other day, it even tried to snow, now it's warmish again! Today it's sunny, but the wind is rather biting!

When I went out yesterday to say "Good morning" to the mountain!

Coming Of Age Day

 Today is another national holiday in Japan, Coming of Age Day.

Although there have been ceremonies to celebrate young people reaching adulthood, the modern form has been around since 1948, and it's held on the second Monday of January. 

The age for adulthood was lowered to 18 in 2022, but most ceremonies still focus on 20-year-olds, probably because drinking and smoking laws haven't changed.

Local city halls and community centres host ceremonies called Seijinshiki.The ceremony usually involves speeches from local officials,  reunions with classmates and visits to shrines. And of course, photos, lots of photos.  The shiki part means ceremony. I know this because David doesn't like anything with shiki in it. For example, the graduation ceremony, known as sotsugyoushiki. 

I'm not sure if this still happens, but in some places, young people would be given gifts. One of my students told me that her group were given Japanese plum trees to plant. She said that every year, when the tree would blossom, about the end of January, it would remind her of her Coming Of Age Day and the determination she made then to live a good and productive life!

Young people get to dress up in their best, special kimonos for the girls, called furisode, suits or hakama for the boys.

Girls in their furisode

None of my kids attended this ceremony; they weren't really interested. Instead, we had a little party at home. Some of my students who went to the ceremony said it was a nice day, but a lot of money, especially for the girls. The kimonos are usually hired for the day and cost up to 250,000 yen, about £1000. 

I like to see the news on this day, as there are usually segments showing the young people all dressed up and going to the city hall or shrines. 

Also, this is a nice little break; everyone is back at work, trying to get back into the rhythm of life that had been interrupted by the New Year's holiday. This feels like a little breather before the real work of the new year starts! 

Japanese Study

 I keep saying that I'm going to get back into my Japanese study, but time passes, and I don't do anything!

This afternoon I was determined to do some study and reached for my laptop!

I realised that this was the mistake I kept making. 

I keep looking for resources to study instead of studying.

There are some good sites out there, but I get easily distracted by links, then YouTube, then something else catches my eye. I then look at the time and find an hour has passed, and I haven't even started to study!

Today I decided to pull my books out.

I have a lot of books. As I said before, I have a bad habit of collecting books but not reading or using them!

My Japanese textbook

I bought this book when I first came to Japan, about 35 years ago. It still looks new; there are notes inside as I've been through it a few times. The notes tend to trail off after the first few chapters! The sad thing is I bought some books for teaching English at the same time, those have been replaced many times as they just fell pieces because they were used so much!

Today I wrote out some of the vocabulary from the first lesson.  This book uses hiragana, katakana and romanji (Romanised Japanese). I want to write the vocabulary out with kanji as well. I'll ask one of my kids to help with that.

I also wrote the important grammar points. These are things I know but don't know!

I think I pick up a lot of Japanese just by listening to things around me. The kids talking, when I'm out, students who change between Japanese and English, YouTube videos, etc. I can hear sentence patterns, but I've never really studied them. This time I'm going to pay more attention to grammar. 

This is my notebook today!

It's a start

I also found an old kanji drill book that we bought for the kids. We have a copy machine, so I used to copy the pages they needed.

This is today's effort.

Kanji practice.

I did two pages of this. I know the meaning of most of these kanji, but how to read and write is another question!

This is rather bad, I put the date on when I was trying to learn before!

May 8th, 2017!

Nine years ago!! 

Leave me a comment to encourage me!!!

Home

 What makes a place a home?

Is it the building?

Is it the people you share that building with?

Is it the memories that you make there?

I've been thinking about this for a while now, actually, since we were told that we had to leave the old house and move back here. 

At the other house, I felt at home. Even though it wasn't mine, and toward the end, it needed a lot of work done on it, it felt like home. It was comfortable, I could relax there. 

This house has never felt like a home. Even when it was newly built, there wasn't a feeling of being comfortable.

My mother-in-law had this built after a massive typhoon took off most of the roof of the original house. 

After it was built, my mother-in-law and her mother just moved all the old stuff they had back into the new house. Having all the old things put in made the small rooms seem smaller. 

There's a small living room that is off the dining/kitchen area, but it was never used as a living room, just a place to store things. 

Another thing that stopped this house from feeling like a home was the fact that they put their names on everything. When I first noticed this, I thought it was because my Grandmother-in-law had been in the hospital. I was bringing in some laundry as it had started to rain when we came to visit. I noticed that some of the towels had her name on them. A hospital stay would explain this. But I noticed that the fans had their names on, the heaters for their own rooms had their names on. They even had identical sewing boxes with their names on! This made it feel more like an institution than a home!

Also, the ornaments my mother-in-law collected weren't displayed; they were just stored in cabinets. And the only photos were of dead relatives in the room where the Buddhist altar was.

I never had a sense of home when we visited here; it was just a place to live.

When I look at old photos of where we've lived, I like to notice the things on tables or shelves.

I notice cups or dishes and wonder what happened to them!

What happened to those glasses and that tray?

If you look very carefully, you can see some piggy banks on the windowsill. These were promotional gifts from a bank. But they have a funny story attached to them. Hannah had one; she was about 9 at the time. She kept taking the money out of the other one and putting it in her piggy bank, until she got caught! Hisao put tape on the other one, which Hannah tried very hard to take off. She was a bit disappointed that her source of income dried up! 

This photo, as well, brings back memories and a feeling of being at home. 

This was January 2024, the lads were playing some daft game, talking and laughing. I look at this photo and see all the books we collected, some were for teaching, others were my reading books. The silver box that holds the Christmas decorations and the tree waiting to be put away. All of those things are now in storage because this house is too small!

Even after living here for a year, it doesn't feel like home. 

There is no real place to hang out together. We have a sofa in the dining area, but no living room. I thought about changing the tatami room to a living room, but I will need to use that room to teach in! 

I really don't know what to do to make this house feel like a home. I thought about putting up some photos or some of Hisao's paintings. I would love to paint the walls in the tatami, entrance and corridor. At the moment, the colour is this horrible green colour, which reminds me of snot!

This green colour.

It doesn't look too bad in the entrance during the day, but the tatami room and corridor are dark, and this colour just makes it feel darker!

Of course, having nine cats doesn't help with keeping the place nice. They have destroyed the doors to the tatami room!

Naughty cats!

But the doors are made of paper, the wooden doors are alright!

I really want a living room. Sometimes we hang out after eating, but the room is either too hot or too cold. Having a space where we can be together would be nice. 

I know my kids are adults and want their own space, but having a place to hang out together or to invite people to would really make me more settled here.

Leave a comment if you have any ideas about making a house a home. I'll try and put up some more photos of this place, maybe I can draw the layout, so you can see what I'm up against!