Busy Week Ahead

 The rest of this week is going to be busy for me.

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment, the last one I hope. Just to check that my shingles have gone completely.  I feel a lot better, just this constant fatigue, that is driving me crazy!

Wednesday and Friday I hope to go to the other house.  The water should be on, maybe the power as well.  I can start cleaning, the kids can get the last few things out.  I'm looking forward to getting the place cleaned up, maybe think about painting some of the walls.  I'm looking for ideas on how to brighten the place up without spending a lot of money.  Even though the kitchen is not that well designed, most kitchens in Japan are badly designed, I can work with it. The biggest problem is the massive sink and no counter space.  When we moved out, I left an island counter, but my mother-in-law hacked at it and ruined it.  I have a couple of ideas on how to either make it look nice or replace it with some tables that I have. Something to think about.

Thursday is a busy day teaching.

Saturday I don't have anything planned but I will try to clean out some more cupboards here.

Yesterday I decided to clear out the cupboards in the bathroom.  I couldn't remember what was inside. They are too high for me to use, to see inside I had to climb on a chair!

I found a few things that we can still use, wet tissues, shampoo, conditioner, and a toilet brush, still in its packing!

The one find that shocked me was two bottles of mouthwash.

mouthwash

These were one of the last things Hisao bought just before he died!

 A week before he died we went to Costco to do the last Christmas shopping.  It was the first time I had Christmas organized before Christmas Eve!

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I found those bottles. I ended up doing both!

I'm amazed at what memories small things like this bring flooding back!

I really hope to get a lot done this week. It is already hot.  31C today, which is unusual for May.  The humidity is low so I can cope!  The rainy season is just around the corner, that is going to be hard. 

Fatigue

 I get tired very easily!

Before I had shingles I would go to the other house, work for up to 4 hours, and sometimes shop on the way home, then feel awful the next day.

Since recovering from shingles I feel like that all day, every day!  I wash dishes then feel like I've run a marathon!!  I sleep as much as possible but am still tired.  I don't feel refreshed at all.

Yesterday was awful, physically tired but also the most awful brain fog.  I tried to watch TV but couldn't follow the plot. Decided to read but kept reading the same sentence!  I thought I was going crazy!

Checked on the internet, apparently, this kind of fatigue is normal after having a virus!  I know the last few times I had flu and when I had covid it took up to a month to feel 100%. The problem is that I can't take a month to recover, I have to try and get the other house cleaned, organize things here, and of course the daily things that need to be done!  I'm getting the kids to do as much as possible but they are also tired. I'm trying not to panic but I see time passing so fast and the move is looming on the horizon! I keep telling myself we will get there!  I don't know how but we will!!

Why?

Mikey with ice cream on his head! He said he had his hands full!!!!

It's Started!!!!

 The temperature has started to rise. The average temperature here is about 24 during the day and a low of 15C at night.  Toady should get up to 31C, next week is going to be about the same.  I'm not ready for that!! No choice, I know that, but the longer it stays cool the more I can get done at the other house.  We are getting the power on this week but the air conditioners are old and never cleaned!!  I need to buy new ones but of course no money!

Went to the other house yesterday.  Didn't do any work because it was rather late when we got there. The hairdresser that I go to is on the way, so I got my haircut!  As much as I love my hairdresser I think I have to find another place.  The lady is 75 years old and still sharp but I can see she is slowing down.  I've been going there for 30 years now, which makes it difficult for me to want to change.

At the other house we had another go at spraying the bees.  Mikey's turn this time. Of course he got stung but just on the clothes.

The bee-killing get up!

On the way home we stopped at a few shops.  Just food shopping. I'm craving fruit but it's so expensive.

As I was coming out of one shop I saw a kid taking photos, looking up I saw a bird's nest with the mama bird and chicks.

You can just see the chicks

These look like handmade nests, not natural, maybe to encourage the birds to nest there!

I'm really trying to be positive, to change my energy and focus on the good not the myriad of problems I have.  I'm stressed but I know that isn't helping me at all.  Yesterday evening I was waiting for my students to come. I could feel the tension in me build up, I love these girls but they are so energetic and I wasn't sure if I could deal with it last night.  I sat in my living room, thinking about what to teach, looking for something to help me calm down a bit when I noticed Steve, our white cat.  The way the light caught his eyes made them look very blue, I took photos but they aren't that good! 

blue eyes

I sat talking to Steve, just mesmerized by his eye color.  Just those few minutes helped me to feel calmer and have a bit of energy to teach.  My lesson turned out a lot better than I thought it would.  These girls always make me laugh!!

B-Day

 The day to get rid of the bees!

Didn't go to plan.  The first idea was to tape some mesh over the vents.  Two problems, one, how to get the mesh to stick.  The material that the mesh is made out of doesn't stick very well to tape.  The second problem was how to get close enough to the vents with bees going in and out.

I decided that instead of trying to cover the vent to cover myself.  I thought it would be best if I did the spraying.  Christopher has an allergy to bees.  If I got stung then David could drive me to a hospital.  But David decided that he would do the spraying!

I was shocked to see that the bees were using two vents to go in and out, one on the front of the house and one on the side!  I think the hive must have gotten bigger!

I put a very thin gauze scarf over David's head and face, held in place with a cap, he was wearing long sleeves and gloves.  He used up all of the spray we had bought!  I went inside the room over where the hive is, the noise was incredible, it sounded like some kind of motor.  By the time we left, there were almost no bees.  I'm planning on going again on Friday and will give it another good spray!

One thing that cheered me up is the blueberry bushes have fruits on them.  Looking forward to fresh blueberries.  I hope to get enough to make jam, I've only made it once but would love to try again!  Fresh blueberries are very expensive here, actually, most fruits are expensive.  I would love to try and grow some fruits.  I'm wondering if you can buy mature trees!  Something else to look up!

blueberries just starting

Of course, now that the weather is warming up all the creepy crawlies are coming out.

I was trying to clean out the last small room putting things to throw away into bags to take to the city incinerator, when a Godzilla-sized cockroach came out.  I screamed for help, David came with a baseball bat and Christopher with a mallet.  Poor cockroach didn't stand a chance.

Exercise Part 2

 Back in February, a friend challenged me to do 40 days of exercise.  I managed to do that and found that it really helped my body.  The exercises I chose were very gentle chair exercises for seniors. Most of the videos I did were 15 minutes long. After the 40 days finished I kept up with the exercises, doing 3 to 5 days a week. I was surprised at how good I felt.  I have arthritis in my knee and lower back pain.  Standing or walking for more than 15 minutes would leave me in absolute agony. After doing exercises for a month I found I could stand longer and longer.  I remember one day I cleaned the kitchen, cleaned out the pantry, and then cooked lunch, about an hour and a half on my feet and I only started to feel a little twinge in back in the last 10 minutes or so.  I was so excited!  One thing want to do after we are settled in the other house is travel but I felt it would be impossible because of all the walking involved.

Then I got shingles.  Everything stopped.  I'm grateful that I think I got a mild case, some people I have talked to were sick for months.  For me, it's been just over 3 weeks.  I still have a bit of pain, but it's not crippling, I actually don't notice it until I'm very tired!  Also, the rash had faded to a red blotch. But three weeks of being inactive have set me back. I noticed yesterday that my back was hurting a lot after cooking and cleaning.  Today my knee is achy! 

Another lesson learned!  I need exercise. I need to stretch, move my body, and build some muscle.

I don't know when I will start again.  But I have to.  This is part of my journey to being healthy.  

Tomorrow we are going to the other house.  I know after that I won't feel up to doing anything extra.  Thursday I might try an easy chair yoga video.  

At the moment I'm making mental lists of the things that need to be done. I want to get packed up here as soon as possible, start cleaning the house, get utilities turned on, find out about the toilet and the land. Lots to do, but little time and less money!!

Steve being cute

It's a cat's life!! 

Sunday

I loved Sundays growing up.

I remember as a teenager I had a paper round. I would get up between 6 and 7 am, deliver my papers then crawl back into bed. I only had a few papers to deliver on a Sunday morning, less than 10, but the houses and flats were far apart.  One vivid memory I have is trying to deliver the Sunday Times, there were so many supplements and magazines that I had to take it apart and push each part through the letter box one at a time.  After finishing I would go back home and crawl back in bed, especially in the winter.

Mom always made a roast, and most weeks an apple pie, if she wasn't too tired she would bake a Victoria sponge as well.

Sunday afternoons were lazy times, we might have to do a couple of chores. As I got older one job I had was ironing, took hours!  Also, I would listen to the top 40 pop songs.  One Christmas I got a cassette tape recorder for Christmas, I think I copied the top 40 almost every week.

There was just something nice about Sunday.  Nowhere was open, nowhere to go.  It felt good to stay home!

When I came to Japan I was shocked that all shops open on a Sunday.  Spending a day at the shops or shopping malls was normal.  Libraries are open but closed on Monday.  The only places closed are banks, offices, doctors, and dentists.

I really try not to shop on Sunday.  Everywhere is busy.  I prefer to stay home or maybe visit someplace just to go sightseeing.  When the kids were young going to the library was fun.

Yesterday I had to go to the local supermarket to get a few things for lunch. I was going to ask David to stop by on the way home from his night shift but it was pouring down with rain.  David goes to work by bike and I knew he hadn't taken his raincoat.

The supermarket is where Christopher works, so we dropped him off and then waited for the store to open.  

There were people already lined up.  The store had a countdown to opening.  "5 minutes to opening", "3 minutes to opening" and then "The store is open".

When I got in I could see why it was so busy, big sales day.

Bananas were half price, 100 yen off a pack of ramen noodles, and rice was less than 2000 yen for 5 kilos.  There were other things on sale but those are the things that I noticed.  

waiting for the store to open

I'm glad I went as I could get some good bargains but I still prefer my lazy Sundays when I was young!

Gardening

 I really want my posts to be more positive but some things just get to me!

Yesterday we got a letter from the real estate agents saying that the neighbors asked that we cut the trees. First of all, I still can't figure out how the neighbors know which real estate agency we are using. Within walking distance of our house, there are at least 20 real estate agents!  I always feel that our privacy has been invaded!

Also, I know the trees need cutting, I'm not blind, just busy or sick.

The past few months any free time has been taken up going to the other house. The only time we don't go is when it's raining! I'm not going to garden in the rain. At times like this, I wish my Japanese was better because I would go and give them a piece of my mind.  They have never done any repairs that I've asked for. The bathroom sink was leaking, I asked that it be repaired, but had to wait over 5 years, by that time the rot had set in and the floor needed to be replaced as well. Then they charged me. I know going and yelling at them won't change anything but I would feel better.  I guess this is one of the pluses of having your own house.  Nobody can complain, and if they do I can ignore them!

Anyway, this morning Christopher and I went out and made a start!  One tree on the front worries me as the top branches brush against the power lines. I really think these trees are not good for a yard, they grow too big!

Christopher managed to cut down some of the taller branches.  I thought about taking down the tree but because of the position, I think we need a professional.  If it falls one way it could damage the house, the other way it could take down the power lines. If we were staying here I would pay for it to be removed but all the money I have now, after paying bills is going into the other house. 

I cut a few bushes, but not much because my back started to hurt.  I still have shingles, it's not bad but the pain is still there.  I know that I should rest but I'm feeling the pressure of needing to get things done.

Christopher did very well until the new saw came to pieces.  He forgot to lock the blade into the handle.

Oops!

I got some photos of what he took down. It's difficult to see how big.  The storage shed behind gives an idea!

This is just one branch

Can you see Christopher?

I planned to do some more tomorrow, but guess what?  It's going to rain!!!!