Made It Through .....

 My busy week!

Actually, I didn't go to the other house Friday. I realized that even if I went I wouldn't be able to do anything.  I rested and did a few jobs here instead.

I'm trying to wash all the heavy blankets and futons, and put them in boxes.  The bigger bedroom in the other house has a big closet so once that is cleaned out the blankets can go there.  It's not a big thing but it's something that I can feel I've done and finished. 

One problem I have is that I feel nothing is finished.  I know almost finished but it's so frustrating.  Just getting one room cleaned properly, and start putting stuff there will feel good!  Does that make sense?

The weather is really warming up!  I'm not happy about that as I've had to use the air conditioner a few times.  I usually don't need it until the end of June when the rainy season starts, then I have it on dry mode to help with the humidity.  April and May are months I can usually save money on bills as we don't need gas heating or air conditioning.  This year we had a few very cold mornings, so the gas heater was on and now the afternoons are hot!  I have to start putting money aside to help with the bills. One year I was putting about 1000 yen aside every time we used the air conditioning, and by the end of the month, I had saved half of the electric bill.

The past couple of evenings the moon rise has been very beautiful. I tried to get photos but the phone camera isn't very good and the light pollution is very strong. Living at the other house there is very little light pollution so moon and star gazing is nice.

Moon rise

Another Problem

 This time it's the car.

When we drove to the other house we noticed an awful squeaking noise.  Turns out to be the fan belt. Mikey called the local garage that we use but they could not get the car in until Saturday.  I was rather worried as Mikey had a lot of places to go to between Wednesday and Saturday.  Mikey checked online and found a spray that would help temporarily.

This morning Mikey took the car in. He had to park and sign a contract.  He was asked to pull the car up to the bay but it wouldn't start, the battery was dead.  I guess it was the best place for it to die.  The garage was very good and got everything done in about an hour!

It's sorted but I think the car won't last that much longer.  We've had it for a few years and we do drive a lot.  On the days that Mikey has cotton candy work, he can drive up to 4 hours round trip!  We need another car; we need two cars but of course no money.  Always the same!

The cats are also causing problems, they are shedding.  We brush them a lot but there is still cat hair everywhere.  Every morning when Hannah is leaving she runs away from the cats as she doesn't want hair on her clothes.  Especially Steve when she is wearing black trousers!!

Steve with his blue eyes

The heat has started as well and I really don't know how much I can do.  The other house is 90%  finished.  I'm hoping to start the actual cleaning.  Outside will have to wait, if we can go early enough then we can start cutting the trees and pulling weeds, but after about 9am it's already too hot.

So much to do, so little time, energy and money!!!

Half Way Through....

 ...the busy week.

And I'm done for!

Went back to the doctor yesterday, my shingles have gone but left me feeling exhausted all the time.

Walked back home, it's just twenty minutes, downhill, so not that bad but yesterday it killed me!  The weather was warm yesterday and my body isn't adjusting to the change. 

Today was back to the other house.  Couldn't do that much there either but did get the last furniture out of the one room.  I wanted to start cleaning but the water wasn't turned on!  

The last room was cleaned out

The bits on the floor are just trash that must be put together.

I wasn't feeling so good, again the heat and humidity today was rather high.  After an hour or so I gave up. 

On the way home we stopped by a supermarket.  Unfortunately my blood sugar dropped and I got very dizzy, at one point I thought I was going to pass out.  This is the first time in ages that has happened.  I'll have to take something to snack on next time, just some fruit or something!

I have to think about meals for the summer.  When it's cool it's so easy to cook but as the weather warms up it gets harder and harder.  I can live on salads, but the kids want "real food".  

Tomorrow is my busy teaching day.  Not difficult lessons but a few back-to-back.  Going to make some lesson plans.  I wanted to do that during my holiday but couldn't!!!

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.