The House.....Again

Another morning at the other house!  Still so much to do. 

Today we managed to clear out the entrance.  Most of that was our stuff that had been dumped there.  About 3/4 I trashed, the rest went into storage to be sorted when I'm feeling better and not so pressured to get things done! 

The entrance

On the left are shoe cupboards, really big ones.  They were full of old shoes.  Most were never used but they have all gone in the trash, except the ones on the highest shelf, even Mikey had a hard time reaching them, we will need a step ladder next time.  The space in front, with the two ladies sitting, drives me crazy.  It's for displays but I don't want to use it like that.  For me, it's dead space that could have been used better.  I'm thinking of putting up a curtain and using it to store the vacuum cleaner etc.  There's no place to keep cleaning supplies, so everything was in the corridor!!

I found something interesting in the small cupboard underneath. 

My find

not sure what this says

This is really heavy.  For some unknown reason, I really like it.  One of the few things I want to keep!

with one of Hannah's old dolls

Mikey couldn't decide which one was creepier!!

After two hours of lugging boxes we were finished for the day.

We went for a drive to a town about 20 minutes away.  It has a nice old town area but we didn't stop. Hannah took a few photos as we drove through.

Some of the old buildings.  I hope to go again when we have a bit of time to explore this area!

Right now I'm tired but it's a good tired.  The feeling of getting something done.  Still a lot more to do!  We will get there. one day!

Exercise Update

 It's been about a month since I started to exercise.  I will admit that I missed a few days.  One was the day we went to the other house, I figured all the moving of boxes and walking counted as exercise.  Also the past week or so I've missed because of my allergies being bad. I can exercise when I'm sneezing, coughing and having a runny nose but not with the awful sinus headaches I get.  Some days I feel like I've been beaten around the face and even just walking sends shooting pains, so exercise is out of the question.  Other than that I have been consistent.  I'm doing a gentle 10-minute chair exercise and I'm starting to see some results.

I haven't lost weight, I keep bouncing up and down the same kilo.  Also losing weight has more to do with food, as the saying goes you can't out exercise a bad diet!  But my mobility is better!  The other day I was walking from the car to the supermarket, Mikey had to park far away as it was busy.  I usually walk with a limp because of bone-on-bone arthritis in my right knee, but that day I realized that I walked fast and no limp. I thought it was a fluke but over the past few days I've been walking okay.  Also when standing after about 20 minutes my back and hips hurt. Today I spent an hour cleaning the kitchen and cooking dinner, until it got to an hour on my feet I had no pain.  

This gives me hope.  I dream of traveling in Japan, there are so many wonderful places to see but so much walking. I have to keep up with the exercises, maybe try a longer one, really get fit.  Then all I have to do is make money!!

Also, I do need to cut sugar again.  I don't why but I'm finding it harder to say no to sugary foods.  Last time I stopped sugar I was using an artificial sweetener in my tea, but it had an awful aftertaste!  I take half a teaspoon of sugar in my tea, which isn't too much!  But it's the chocolate, cakes and cookies that keep coming in the house.  I think I'm going to have to tell the kids to stop buying them.  

Maybe I need another challenge!

Mama

Just a photo of Mama enjoying the sun!!!

Hospital

Today was my checkup for cancer and diabetes.

Nothing big, just had some blood taken and a quick word with the doctor.  I'm all right with that, I know the hospital, the procedure, where to go, which desk to put my file into so it's easy for me.  I don't have to try and understand the Japanese.  But it's so busy!  

Blood draw took two minutes, talk to the first doctor, two minutes, second doctor three minutes but I was there from 9am to 11am, then another 40 minutes wait at the pharmacy.  Still, it's over and done with and I don't have to go back until June.  That is the big yearly checkup with a CT scan, mammogram,  and blood work.  

We have 210 days until we move and I'm still not happy about it.  Every time I go to the other house I try to imagine living there but it still feels so wrong.  Part of this is not having a choice.  Usually moving house means choosing somewhere that you like or at least can feel comfortable in.  I don't get that choice and I know it's because I've chosen to have cats.  I know that I can, potentially save money because I don't have to pay rent but again it's not really that good.  I don't have to pay rent but I will lose students because we can only hire the community center on certain days.  Also, I'll need a loan to pay for things.  Getting the house connected to the sewage system will cost about 800 pounds, paying to the city and then more to the company that will do the work.  I'll have to get a loan for that.  A friend suggested doing a lot of the work ourselves, she said that there are a lot of videos on YouTube to follow but I know that a lot of time DIY doesn't work out!  Also, DIY costs money.  Feels like a lot of work to live in a house that I don't like!

Mikey with Fluffy

Mikey doesn't like the cats so much and Fluffy doesn't like people so much but they seem to like each other.

Cold...Again

 It's March and we had snow this morning...for a few minutes!  I was so shocked when I looked out the window and saw snow.  Hannah said it felt colder than February, which might be true. I'm not complaining, I like the cold (maybe not this cold though!).  I keep seeing on different news sites that scientists are saying this summer could be hotter than last year.  My reaction is "NO, NO, NO, don't need that!"  

One thing I like about the cold weather is being able to cook "comfort food".  Today I made chicken pie, roast potatoes and peas (too many peas!).  

Tasted great!  I also made jam tarts with the leftover pastry.

chicken pie

I've been trying to get down to zero food waste.  I'm so tired of finding food in the fridge that is out of date or vegetables that have gone bad.  David sometimes shops on the way home, which helps a lot but he has a habit of just buying what he thinks we need without checking what we have or asking me.  

To use up vegetables I've been making soups, I just throw in whatever is in the fridge and hope for the best!  Most of the time it's good.  Nice, filling, and warming!

David terrorizing Steve

Not sure what Steve did but David grabbed him. He looks totally scared.  I do know that Steve was under the table and biting my toes earlier!!

The House

 We managed to get to the house today.

When I'm here I think that there isn't so much to be done but when I get there I feel overwhelmed by just how much is left to be thrown out before cleaning and restoring the house can start. 

The weather didn't help today.  Yesterday it rained all day, so everything felt damp and we couldn't start a fire to burn some of the trash. It was so cold and cloudy making the place look dark and dismal, not a good feeling.  Also, I discovered that a lot of things in the entrance and tatami room are things we dumped there.  A lot of Hannah's toys or things from her school days.  I've decided that at this time I can't deal with the extra emotion of throwing away her stuff.  Part of it has to do with my husband. Just seeing those toys reminds me of Christmas and birthdays.  Yes, I know they aren't my husband but sentimental things are hard to let go of.  Also, I have too many strong emotions dealing with this move as it is, I can't handle any more.  So I'm going to put these things in our storage area and when we have settled in take time to go through them and say goodbye.  Let them go slowly.  I feel for me that is the best.  Maybe in the grand scheme of things, not a good idea but I don't know what else to do.  

Hannah yelled at me.  I found a box of clothes that I packed up and put there.  I started to look through the box, but Hannah caught me and told me off.  She said that I had decided that the stuff in the box wasn't worth keeping and I should just throw away and not go through it again.  She's good to have when sorting out things!

Managed to get the shoe box sorted.  There must have been about 50 pairs of shoes!  Most belonged to my mother-in-law but I found some that belonged to my brother-in-law, he passed away before I came to Japan, so over 33 years but she was still hanging on to his stuff.

I also found a lovely set of geta (Japanese shoes) and a bag.  We took it to a recycle shop but they weren't interested in it.  When I checked after I could see that the bottom of the shoes looked worn.

Looks nice but the bottoms are scuffed

Took some photos of the back of the house.  Having all the bamboo taken down has made a big difference.

bathroom windows

The door leads into the bathroom!!

One of the bedrooms

Looks like I'll have to check the wood next time.

I'm also suffering from bad allergies, I've been sniffling and sneezing all day.  It's that time of year!!

February

 Happy Leap Year Day.

I don't know if that is a thing but maybe it should be!

I know February is the shortest month but it seemed very long.  I think people being sick didn't help.  Mikey started with a high fever, which lasted just 24 hours but then he had a week of sneezing and runny nose, maybe the start of allergies.  Then Christopher got a high fever, I thought it was the same thing but his fever lasted a few days. He then got a sore throat, so we thought he had tonsillitis, so he went off to the doctors only to find out he had B-type flu.  I wasn't happy about that as I usually isolate anybody who has flu but Christopher had been downstairs with us.  He was lucky as his symptoms were very mild.  Then Mikey got a sore throat again but no fever, which lasted a couple of days. David and Hannah escaped this time.  I haven't been sick but my allergies have started!

Hannah quit her part-time job at the local drugstore.  Although the fourth year of her course doesn't have so many taught lessons she has to write her thesis.  I thought that was the main reason for her quitting, but it turns out that two of the staff have been ignoring her.  Hannah said that these ladies are in their 40s but acting like teenagers.  Anyway, Hannah has another part-time job lined up to start in April.  She is going to work in one of the nurseries where Mikey teaches English.  I think it's a better fit for her.  

I haven't done as much as I had hoped on getting things sorted to move.  Cleaned out half of one cupboard, something I guess. Must focus from next month.  Time is not going to slow down!

I hope that March is better that I can get focused on doing things to make the move easier! 

Just a cute cat photo to finish.

Steve talking to the stray that hangs about

Memories

I think there will be a few posts with this or similar titles.  As I'm down sizing I find things that trigger a nostalgic feeling. Some good memories, some not so good and some bad!  This house was where my kids transitioned from children to teens to adults.  It's where my husband died and I had to cope with everything while grieving.  It's where I got cancer and ended up in hospital for a week, and still having checks every few months.  Fifteen years, lots of memories, lots of feelings.

This morning I was talking to one of my students about raising children.  She was telling me that her commute to work was over 90 minutes and that coming home she would spend as much time as possible with her children.  One thing she did was read to her children at night or make up stories to tell them.  I remember doing this as well.  I was lucky in that I could work at home but when I was working I would focus on that.  To be honest I would sometimes feel rather resentful that I had to spend time teaching other people's kids when I wanted to be with mine, especially if the kids were rather obnoxious.  

My husband would take care of bath time.  It's a tradition in Japan to have a bath every night, not just a shower, but soak in the tub.  When the kids were little it was a good play time for them.  They would come out all wrinkly, having spent up an hour in the water.  They would then have a snack and drink, brush teeth and either watch TV or read until I had finished teaching.  I would get into bed with them and read a book or two or three until they dozed off.  Sometimes they would wake up and ask for me to finish the story.  As they got older I would read longer books to them, Roald Dahl was popular and later the Harry Potter books.  Even though I was so tired some nights I'm glad I did it as all my kids love to read and I have so many good memories from that time.

A few of the books I used to read to my kids.

These I'm keeping!  There's another one that I want to find.  It's one I took and read to Hannah everyday she was in the NICU.

A lot of the other books I can let go of, but these are so precious to me!