Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

Since I last wrote I have been so busy.  We are trying to clean out my mother in law's house.
Big problem is that the storage area next to the house is full of stuff that I have dumped there over
the years, 29 years worth of stuff.  I found boxes with Mikey's baby clothes, he is now 28, why did
I hang on to this stuff.  As much as possible we have been burning things, old clothes, books and boxes of paper.  Next week somebody will come with a truck to take stuff the trash collection place. Then we have to start on the house!  I've done a bit but I go around asking "Why?"  5 massive draws of underwear, 4 draws of used plastic bags, looks like they have been there for a long time because they have melted and stuck together.  Boxes of supermarket plastic bags, they are in okay condition so am using for the cat litter.  3 boxes of handbags, shopping bags, back packs and purses.  And over 100 pairs of trousers that have never been worn.  I don't want to throw out stuff, it's hard for me to see good stuff just dumped and if I was the right size some of the clothes I would use.  But there is no way to recycle them unless selling online which takes time.  I thought about going to a recycle shop but it is really a rip off.  I once took three of Hannah's baby dresses, new, never worn, they gave me 100 yen,  about 80 pence, they sold them for 1500yen each, about 10 pounds.  I swore I would never go there again.   So am thinking what to do with all this stuff!

David is doing okay, still in basic training.  He calls on the weekend, which is nice.  He was supposed to come back the first week of May for what is called the Golden Week holiday, 5 or 6 days of public holidays, back to back.  But because of the coronavirus his base is on lockdown!  He said that he will get a holiday in the future, I hope so!  Because he is away I have been cooking.  Somedays that is all I seem to do.  I'm enjoying it but it's a challenge because I don't want to shop to often, I try for twice a week, before the virus I would shop almost everyday, small fridge and kitchen means it is difficult to store a lot.  Also I am trying to use up left overs.  Yesterday I made Doria for lunch.  It's made by layering left over rice and curry in a dish and topping with a cheese sauce and baking in the oven for about half an hour. Very nice.

Doria

I bought some shellfish yesterday for the soup but I bought to many.  So the extra ones I cooked in butter with Japanese cooking wine, very nice.

Shellfish cooked in butter and Japanese cooking wine

Our cats are doing okay, they have this crazy time racing up and down the corridor, this goes on for about an hour, somedays more.  They are all very cute but the older males seem to be fighting more, maybe they need more exercise.  I should play with them more but so tired lately.

Hannah said that this pose reminded her of the painting below!

Fred having a sand bath, it was just cleaned

Close up of Mama

Last week was Hannah's birthday.  She is all grown up at 18!  I had such a wonderful day planned for her, trip into the city, shopping, nice lunch and a musical. Then corona arrived and all that was canceled.  So I bought some really nice meat and we had a yaki niku party,  yaki means fried and niku is meat.  Bought very nice meat, some veggies to grill up, then we had cake and trifle.  We watched Roman Holiday.  Hannah was not happy with the ending!  Then we watched Andrew Llyod Webbers The Shows Must Go On.  She ordered some DVD and book so not too bad!

We are in lockdown, kind of!  No school until May 14th, maybe.  I try to not go out but we have students here.  Not many, about half have taken a holiday.  I bought some hand sanitizing gel that everybody has to use and most people wear masks.  I use a bleach solution to wipe down surfaces and am spending a lot of time washing my hands.  I keep hoping that this pandemic would just disappear but it looks like it is here for the long run.  So how do we live with it?

IT"S HERE

We have been lucky in our city as we have had no reports of
the coronavirus.  Until today, one 60 year old gentleman tested positive.
We will have to close down our school from Monday until some time
in the future when things are looking better.
Hannah won't be going to school either.  I'll talk to the teacher on Monday. Because this
is an unusual situation she won't be marked absent, which is good.  Also the teachers
have prepared some homework for the students to do.
I am now in total stress and worry mode.  We have no real savings, we live
month to month.  With no real income this month and non next month I have no idea
how to keep going.  Creative meals so I don't spend a lot on food and don't shop that
often.
Tomorrow we are going to my mother in laws house to start cleaning out all of the
stuff that she has.  Going to be a marathon adventure to get rid of stuff.  Not only her
stuff but things that I have dumped there over the past 29 years!  It's out in the countryside,
away from people so should be safe!

This is cherry blossom season.  We don't usually go, the best places are always full. But
Christopher took some photos as he walked his dog!

From the car on the way back from somewhere

Near the house, lovely!

Corona virus ...yet again

In Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien Frodo says "I wish it need not have happened in my time"  to which Gandalf replies "So do I and so do all who live to see such times.  But that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us"
I think this is a great message for the time we find ourselves in.
I remember studying about WW2 and feeling very grateful that I wasn't born at that time, 6 years of hell for everybody, no body escaped, suffering was universal.
The same feeling with this pandemic. I wished it had happened at another time, when I'm not here.  But it is happening now and the question is what do we do?
I'm not happy with the Japanese government as they are asking people to isolate or social distant themselves but no orders.  Schools closed for March but should be back next week, is that a good idea? Also kids were roaming around shopping malls not staying home.  I'm having a hard time because I would love to close down my English school but it's my only income, if I close I would lose the house as we live month to month with no savings.  I am using a lot of bleach to wipe down all surfaces that get touched!  We wash our hands constantly, mine are getting raw from washing so much.  Also we don't go out, supermarket about twice a week, drug store the same.  I had to go to the dentist but I washed my hands, face and rinsed my mouth when I got home. I'm trying to be positive, to accept that this is our lot in life.  I feel sorry for my family and friends in the UK who are in lockdown.  I hope that everybody is staying safe!

To keep you entertained Hannah found these songs on YouTube.  I know this is serious and I know that many families are grieving and struggling but we need to laugh as well.  Enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdcS0Nbo7Ng&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5azNpTwVk8&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1OCZRann8w&feature=youtu.be

Mother in Law

My mother in law passed away April 1st.  She was 83 years old.  She had a nasty fall a few years
back and never really recovered from it.  The last year she was in a care home as she was
basically bed ridden.
My relationship with her had been rather hard. In one way I felt very sorry for her, she never really
had the life she wanted.  Taken out of high school at 17 because her father died and she had to work in the fields.  Married to her cousin because he was willing to change his family name to hers.  Widowed with 2 young boys at just 26.  Left to run a business in the 1960s in Japan, which must of been really hard, even today women are expected to marry, have kids and stay home, maybe just having a part time job!  So in the 1960s it must be hard.  My husband said that sometimes she would work 24 hours to get orders done!  I get she had a hard life but she also made our lives hard!
When I first met her she was alright, a bit crazy but rather fun.  I think as she got older, her legs became very painful, her body stopped doing what she was use to and it was hard for her to accept old age.  She became resentful of her life and blamed me for almost everything that was wrong. Made me sad because my kids, her only grandkids, started to not want to talk to her or be with her.  At one point Hannah was really scared of her.  Christopher had an especially hard time with her.  We were living together when he was in the 5th grade.  He was being bullied at school, by the whole class.  So until we could sort things out he stayed at home.  My husband explained this to his mother, her reply was that Christopher was being bullied because  he was stupid.  She said this constantly to Christopher, he would cry and feel really heart broken, he had no safe place to be!
So a real love/hate relationship.  In one way I feel her passing was for the best.  She was always very active, always on the go.  Her mind was still basically clear until the end, it must of been awful for her to not get up and do what she always did!

The next few weeks are going to be crazy for us.  There are no other family members so we inherit all of the land and house.  What to do with it all is the big question!

Goodbye David

David left to start his career in the Japanese Army on Sunday.  His basic training camp is in the
next prefecture, about an hour on the train.  I managed to keep it together until he left then cried my eyes out! I knew I would be upset but I cried more than I thought I would.  Part of it is that he is the first one to leave.  He seems to be alright.  He called on Monday because he had a fever, 37.5C, so not too high but they decided to isolate him for the evening.  Haven't heard from him since then.
My whole life has changed with David leaving, I have to start cooking again.  I didn't realize how much David did, he cooked, shopped, helped with cleaning and took care of the cats.  Hannah has taken over the cats, she has also baked some cup cakes and made hamburgers for dinner.  Christopher has helped with cleaning and Mikey is now my personal taxi driver!
One good thing is that Hannah can now have her own room.  Yesterday we finished packing up David's stuff, cleaned out the books shelves and desk, today move in Hannah's stuff.

Goodbye party for David

Getting ready to leave

Things Are Changing

The biggest change for us is David. He is joining the Japanese Army.  He will leave on March 29th. He will do basic training for 3 months, then receive training in some area, hopefully something that can be used in civilian life.  He will stay for at least 4 years then decide if he wants to continue or leave.
I have very mixed feelings about this. Happy/sad.  He is the first to leave home which makes it rather sad.  But I'm glad that he has found something that he wants to do.  The past few years he has been rather aimless!  One big thing is that I have to start cooking again, I have relied on David to take of things the past two or three years!

To enter the army you have to take a test and do an interview.  For that David had to buy a suit.  Top picture was practicing tying his tie, bottom two are on the morning of the test.

I don't know about anybody else but I am rather tired of this coronavirus.  I'm a little worried about the disease it self, more worried about Hannah. She was born premature, before her lungs had developed which means that her lungs are rather weak, even flu can be dangerous for her!  We are washing hands and wiping down surfaces with a bleach solution.  I haven't stopped teaching as it is my only source of income but will if the virus is reported in my town.  I'm more worried about the economic side, I feel that it will take years to recover.  My business has been hit bad, this is the best time to recruit new students.  Most years we will get about 10 new students from the end of February and March.  This year only 2!!   It's going to be hard!

And just because I need to finish with something cute, here are the new fur babies.

Their eyes are open and they are trying to move more!

Corona Virus Equals No Toilet Paper

Last week the government recommended that all elementary, junior high and high schools close for at least 2 weeks to stop the spread of this virus.  At the same time a lot of places where people gather have also closed, Disneyland and Disney Sea , Universal Studios Japan and live theater.  There has been panic buying, when I went to the local store there was no face masks, no tissues and no toilet paper.  I was really shocked by this, I had seen on the news but thought it hadn't reached where I live. Yesterday there was an incident on a train in Tokyo, a man coughed without a mask on and was yelled at by another man.  It didn't come to blows but could have.  Near here an elderly woman was walking, for exercise, again without a mask and somebody hit her!  I really wish people would get the correct information and not over react.  It's bad but so is the flu or measles!
I had to go to the doctors yesterday because of my knee!  It has become so painful.  It looks like the cushion between the bones has worn away! I have 2 weeks worth of pain killers!  Hope they help because even trying to sleep had been hard!

And because my life is already chaotic Mama cat has had more kittens, 4 at the moment but she is bleeding again so I'm wondering if there is another one!