Finally

 Big Drum Roll

I got one room cleaned out at the other house.  I can see some progress!

Still a lot to do.  Still a lot of problems but having a room done is a big achievement. I never thought I would get this far.

First room

This room is the larger bedroom, the one I'll be using.  I want to get a small sofa bed for Hannah to use when she comes to visit. I can finally start to see what I can do in the house, see myself living there, and plan what to do with the rooms.

View from the room

The land next to us is empty at the moment but there is a possibility that houses will be built there.

We are still having problems with the water not being turned on.  I need to find the water meter because the main water switch will be there as well. But I have no idea where it is. I looked around for about half an hour but couldn't see it. I have the basic house plans but no schematics for water or electricity.  

And the bees are back.  Not that many but the area will need to be spayed again.

This morning was good.  Didn't do as much as I would have liked but got something done.

I guess just keep on doing bit by bit.

 

Money

 Again we are struggling. Even with the kids working, Mikey 3 jobs, Hannah two, David night shift, 12 midnight to 9am and Christopher at the local supermarket and whatever freelance writing he can pick up we still are struggling.  

There is never anything left at the end of the month. We can't buy anything, my shoes are falling to pieces, I got my hair cut but couldn't afford a color.  We all need new clothes for the summer but have no idea how to afford them.  I feel guilty because I spent a fortune at the doctors this month because of shingles.  The only luxury we have are the cats.  There is nothing saved for the other house.  I know once we move there I'll be saving the rent but half of that will be spent on renting the community center to teach and gas to go back and forth.  The rest will go to pay off loans. 

We haven't had any new students these past few months, no calls nothing. Part of that is I feel everyone is struggling.

I don't understand economics.  I read about what is happening but I don't understand.  But I see what is happening around me.

The minimum wage where we live is 692 yen, that's about 3.45 pounds.  To put it in context a litre of milk is between 100 yen and 200 yen, 10 eggs cost 170 yen, bread is 150 yen for 6 slices.  Chicken breast is 70 yen for 100 grams, and pork is about the same.  I shopped on Monday, bought some meat, vegetables, fruit, and milk, three bags of groceries cost just over 9000 yen,  44.90 pounds.  That was just enough for two days!!

Japan imports 94% of its raw materials for energy and 62% of its food.  With the yen getting weaker that means prices will go up. Plus there is a 10% tax on everything!  

The government keeps on about the aging population, which is a real problem.  The pension is too small to live on, so many old people keep working, taking the place of young people.  Even though my mother-in-law paid into the system from 17 years old she only got 50,000 yen a month (about 250 pounds).  Until she was hospitalized when she was about 80 years old she had to work.  The welfare officer told me that my mother-in-law had diabetes because her diet was so poor.  The problem was she could only afford carb-heavy foods. Meat, fish, fruits and vegetables were very few and far between.  This is the plight of many elderly people, no real pension, no savings, and no real income. 

Welfare as it is understood in the UK doesn't exist here. Your family is expected to help you out.  A few months ago I was struggling to pay our national insurance so I went to the city hall to see if something could be done.  The first question I was asked was if the kids could help. I explained that they were helping but we had a lot of new things to pay for because of moving. I was then asked if our relatives could help out, I explained that we have no relatives here.  Only after that did the officer make inquiries to see what help I could get.  

I really don't see what my future will be. I have to put a lot of money into the house, no choice. I would love to have money to travel but that is becoming more and more a dream!  

I got so desperate that I set up a GoFundMe account but the site only has PayPal or Bitcoin as its payment options.  I chose PayPal, but the site says they have problems with it in Japan!  They suggested that I use Bitcoin!! I don't know anybody who has Bitcoin and I have no idea how to use it!  

Fluffy on a tray

Just a daft picture to catch your attention!

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!!!!