June

 If you have read any of my posts from the past few years you will know that June is full of many emotionally triggering days.

My husband's birthday is next week. A very bittersweet day for me. I want to celebrate his birth but at the same time, I still miss him.  It's hard to imagine what he would be like now.

The end of the month, my Mom passed away. She would be 84 now, 20 long years since she passed. 

Also, June is when I had my cancer and mastectomy.  Six years ago.  I still have to see the doctor for another 4 years!

And the month that our lovely dog Lucky passed away.

It's also halfway through the year.  I'm wondering if I have fulfilled or at least made a start on any of the goals I set for this year.  What can I change or do to make the rest of this year fruitful?

Then there is the weather.  The end of June and the beginning of July is the rainy season.  The past few years the rainy season has become a time of disasters.  What used to be gentle rain is now torrential rain that doesn't help to water the ground but rather washes away the good topsoil.  There are floods almost every year and landslides.  The house we are moving to is at the base of a mountain that has had a few landslides over the past 15 years or so.  So far none have been close to the house but it is a worry.  After the rainy season is my least favorite time of year.....summer!!

This year I have decided to look for good things in this month!  I've asked some of my students to tell me what is good about June!

Today has started off good.  David's sickness was caused by him having toothache!  It's not good that he has toothache but at least it's something that is treatable. Apparently his tooth suddenly started to hurt while he was working, and being very tired made him throw up.  He found a dentist nearby and made an appointment.  He didn't really note the name or address of the dentist, just the general area.  He said that when he was driving he noticed that there are many dentists with similar names. He went into 5 different ones before he found the one that he had made the appointment at!  I think he is having a root canal, so a few more appointments, but he is okay now.

Selfie on my phone

If I leave my phone lying around David takes selfies and sends them to Hannah!

The other good thing is that Mikey has a paid magic show today.  He has another one later in the month.  I hope that he can get a few more and he can start to make some money from this!

I really hope to find good things to write about. I need to be more positive. I can't change what has happened but I can make changes now for a better future!

May

 May started terribly, got a bit better but ended on a low note!

The first 10 days or so of May were awful for me.  I had shingles and thought I was dying.  The pain was so intense.  The worst part was that I couldn't lie down.  Standing eased the pain, sitting was tolerable but lying down was the worst. I honestly wondered if I could sleep standing up.  Time and heavy painkillers got me through that. By the time I had recovered the holiday that I had at the beginning of May was finished. That upset me as I had plans.  We try to go to the other house two or three times a week but because we have classes in the afternoon and evening we can only do a few hours. I had planned to spend at least two full days there. Also, I wanted to sort some stuff here, start throwing out things we no longer need, and pack up other things.  For most of the holiday, I had planned on doing nothing, just relaxing, reading, watching TV, and, at most preparing some lessons.  When I first got sick I thought I could at least read, but the pain was so bad that I couldn't concentrate. I watched a lot of stuff on YouTube but again found it hard to concentrate.

I think I was lucky that the shingles I had was rather mild. I don't think I could have dealt with a stronger case.  I've recovered okay but still feel very tired.  I guess that will take time to feel 100%.  I stopped exercising and haven't really gotten into it again. I do a bit of stretching at night but haven't started doing the videos I was using before.  That's my next goal.

The middle of the month saw me playing catch up. One thing I had planned to do was to wash all the heavy blankets and get them put away.  The weather didn't help with that!  It has rained a lot! I've managed to get most done but still a few more to go!  

At least at the other house I could get one room completely cleaned out and the large furniture in the other room moved out.  I hope in June to get things cleaned and then start thinking about what we can afford in the way of reforming.  The one thing we must do is get the toilet situation sorted out.  Other things we can do as we have money.   

The past few days have been hard for Hannah.  Last November she did her one-month teacher training. The feedback she got from the teachers there was very positive.  They pointed out where she could improve, her voice isn't very strong, so she needs to work on that.  But over all the teachers were impressed with the level of professionalism she showed.  When she got her grades she got a 'C'.  She was rather puzzled by this. Her friend who was at the same school was late one time, didn't hand in her report on time and had other problems but she got a 'B'.  Hannah also got a 'C' on her lessons that she did at university, again no explanation as to why they are marking her so low.  The feedback from the students and teachers was again positive.  She spoke briefly to the teacher yesterday, who said the low mark was to encourage her.  I told her to go again.  She is confused, she doesn't understand where she went wrong and what she needs to do to improve.  The teacher said that during her training she didn't communicate with the students but the homeroom teacher praised her and said that Hannah helped a lot to keep the class together.  The homeroom teacher wanted Hannah to stay.  Also, Hannah received a card from the students saying that they really enjoyed having her in the class. If she hadn't communicated with the students they would not have written such positive messages for her.

At the same time, Hannah is having pain in her right hand. She's left-handed so we couldn't figure out why she was having pain in her right hand.  She thinks it might be because of using her phone too much. She has to go to the doctor if it doesn't resolve itself.

Then this morning David came home early from work. He's been sick, throwing up.  

What a way to end the month.  And we all know how hard June is for me!!

Mikey and Sam

Mikey fell asleep on the sofa.  I like that they have the same pose!!

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!!!