I'm Back

 I haven't been anywhere, just no Wi-Fi for a few days!

On Friday, December 6th, David, Christopher and I moved. We bought 6 of the cats that evening, the other 3 the next day.

This is what moving the cats sounded like. It's about 40 minutes between houses, for 40 minutes we had this chorus!

  The cats have settled very well. So far they haven't been fighting or marking the areas too much!  They have found the only warm place in the house, the engawa.  I went shopping the other day and came back to this.

Waiting for me to get home!

The cats are okay but I am totally miserable!

This house is cold, dark and uncomfortable.

There's almost no natural light in the house. I understand that the design was to make the house cooler in the summer but I would prefer to have some sunlight in the main rooms and put up curtains or screens in the summer. In the old house I didn't need any heating until late afternoon because the sun would warm up the living room enough! In summer I kept the curtains closed to keep the room cool. Since moving here I've only been warm in bed, getting up is so hard because it's so cold. The weather isn't that cold at the moment either, todays high will be about 12C. The really cold time is January and February when it doesn't get over 10C, I honestly don't know how I'm going to deal with that.

Because there's almost no natural light it is very dark inside. We have changed the main lights but need to buy a few more. The lights have to be on all day unless we go out!  

There's no living room either. There are only two bedrooms so the living room is now Christopher's bedroom. Mikey is sleeping the tatami room as it's just temporary. I miss having some where comfortable to sit. I have my reading nook which is nice but too cold to use now. I want a space where we can hang out together, watch a daft movie some time or just to chill!!

I've actually cried I've felt that miserable.

The house is mine and I have a lot of ideas on how to make it a bit better but we have no money at all. We had to get a new stove top, which is nice but there's no money to change out the kitchen, bathroom and toilets, which need doing! 

I would love to extend the dining/kitchen area so we could have a living room but that would cost too much.  Also I'm a bit worried about the wiring, I don't think it has been checked since the house was built, about 31 years ago!

New stove top

I've cried so much since we moved here! I just don't feel comfortable. I feel as if it is all too much for me to deal with.

The bright point last week was Hannah coming to visit. Some forms came for her graduate course that she needed to fill out, so she came to pick them up, and visit with the cats!

Station entrance

Hannah thought this train was cute!

I didn't get any photos of Hannah but she sent these to me.  She enjoys exploring the different trains and buses and has become very adept at using public transportation!

I'm going to go and make beef stew for lunch, nice and warming!

I have to go back to the old house this afternoon to teach a few classes. I'm still cleaning out the place, most rooms are empty.  I'm just sweeping and wiping down the walls.  

I'll try to update more often now we have Wi-Fi!

Cats, Allergies And Pain

 I love our cats but they are driving me crazy!

Before we started to move I never let the cats in my room. I shared a room with Hannah and she was worried that they might pee on her university text books.  We had a lock system from the inside of the door and a small exercise bike to push up against the door from the outside.

After Hannah moved out and we had moved almost everything from the room I became a bit more lenient about the cats coming in.  After we moved the sofa out the cats didn't have a place to curl up and sleep. The floor is rather cold, especially I don't turn on the heating. The cats have decided that my bed is the best place to sleep.  During the day I don't mind but at night, when I want to sleep it gets to be a bit much.

Fluffy stays down stairs, the other eight cats come up and get on my bed. The three large cats, Fred, Steve and Alan weigh about 8kgs each, the smaller cats up to 5 kgs.  That means if all eight cats are on my bed there is over 50kgs extra weight. They sleep on top of the covers, next to my legs.  All that weight on the covers makes it very difficult for me to get comfortable.  I put them off the bed, get comfortable, then they get back on. I put them out of the room, the inside lock is broken so I ask someone to put the bike in front of the door. The cats, however, are too clever for their own good. Not only can they open the door but they have figured out how to move the bike enough to get back in.

My bed!!

David works nights, he leaves his electric blanket on low so it's nice and warm but the cats aren't interested in sleeping there!

Last night they got on the bed and I couldn't pull the blankets up over my shoulders! I moved them, pulled the blankets up, the cats got back on!  I've woken up this morning with pain in my shoulders from the cold and my legs ache from the weight! 

I really hope that once we move that they find a better place to sleep. If it was just one or two cats I wouldn't mind so much!

That's the cat story and the reason I have so much pain.

My allergies are driving me crazy as well. This year is very late. I usually get sick with allergies late September through October. This year started in November and is still going on.  It's not everyday but at least twice a week I get hit very bad, even the medicine I take doesn't help. The worst part is it seems to flair up when I'm really busy, either teaching or doing work to move.  My kids say I'm allergic to work! Could be!!!

David is at the other house setting up the Wi-Fi. Also the company that hooked up the gas has contacted him about a stove top, so it looks like all the excuses I was making not to move are resolved and the move is going ahead!! 

Hospital Visit

 Today was my 3 month check up for cancer markers, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Good news is no sign of cancer and the blood test for diabetes showed a slight drop in the number for diabetes.  According to the information from the hospital normal A1C is between 4.5 and 6.1.  When I was diagnosed with diabetes my number was 7, very high. Today it was 6.  Down .1 from last test.  I was very surprised as my eating has been awful the past month! I'm still on meds, but if I can focus, clean up my eating a bit more then maybe I can get under 6 by my next check up in March!  Something to aim for!

Only problem now is my blood pressure, still high, upper number is between 130 and 160.  My meds have been doubled so I hope that helps. I explained to the doctor that we are moving, he just laughed and said that explains a lot! I think, I hope that once we are moved that my blood pressure will settle down. Part of my plan once we move there is to get more active, clean out the garden around the house and as my health and stamina improve I can walk up the road to the other fields and start cleaning them out. I can't so a lot to start with but I think if I do a bit everyday, even just 10 minutes to start I should see some positive changes in my health. Also I'm looking forward to having a functioning kitchen again. I miss being able to cook and bake!

Yesterday I made big pot of soup.  Loads of veggies, a bit of bacon and pasta to make it filling. I though there would be some left over for today but it was finished off very quickly!  

Yesterdays soup

One thing that I like about the cold weather is being able to cook up some nice soups and stews!  Great way to load up on vegetables!!

Tomorrow we should have Wi-Fi set up in the other house. After that it's a case of getting a stove top, moving the last few bits and pieces and the cats! I'm still trying to figure out the best way to move the cats!! Should be fun!!

Still Not Moved

 But getting there. Even though I messed up with the real estate agent this extra month is helping a lot. There is still a lot to do to get moved 100%.

This morning David, Christopher and I went to the other house. The drive there was rather surreal as there was a lot of fog, at some points visibility was just few meters in front of the car. I actually enjoyed it, poor David not so much. I think this is the first time he had driven through such dense fog!

The sun trying to shine through

I love the outlines of the trees

The poles seems to disappear

Better shot

Only half the bridge is visible

This part of the drive was a bit scary

I spent most of the morning sorting out the kitchen. There isn't a lot of built in storage and I don't want to crowd the area with tall kitchen cabinets. My mother-in-law had three tall cabinets which made the room seem a lot smaller and darker.  I've put one cabinet in the corridor to use as a pantry for now, it isn't the best solution but until we have money it will do.

From the window looking in

Opposite view

Just showing the fridge

The door next to the fridge is Christopher's room. It should be the living room but no space.

Christopher and David cleaned outside. I'm not sure what those two got up to but Christopher came in like this.

Christopher's blackened face

David was all grins!

David grinning!

On the way there we saw this truck.

Colorful truck

On the way home we saw the same company's truck. I thought it was the same one but the pictures are different.

Same company

Tomorrow is my 3 month check up for diabetes and blood pressure. I think the numbers will be bad as I haven't been eating very well and my stress is far too high. Also a blood test for cancer markers!  The tests are okay, just a blood draw, it's the waiting that gets to me, anyway I can read a bit!!!

November

 I really hoped that by the end of November we would be completely moved to the other house!

But we aren't and having an extra month here does help even though it's going to be hard paying the rent here and buying what we need for the other house.

Hannah managed to move out and is settled in her own apartment.  She seems to be settling into her schedule and figuring things out, when to shop, do laundry and clean the room. These might seem like natural things but until now they have been done for her, she has to learn time management and how to make the best use of her time and energy.  She finds shopping stressful because everything has gone very expensive. She called yesterday to say that she went shopping for a few basic things and it cost over 1000 yen!  I think she understands why I don't like to shop. 

She is learning to cook, she has some basic skills, she's cooked a few times for us but cooking for one person is very different to cooking for a family. She usually cooks enough for two or three days. It's just easier that way. Her work and university schedule is very uneven, some days she will be out from 5am to about 6pm other days she has nothing scheduled. I've encouraged her to shop, cook and clean on the free days.  I think it helps to have something prepared in the fridge on the very busy days.

She sends me photos of her meals. They look very nice.

Some of Hannah's meals. The ones with the plastic box are the days that she is reheating stuff from the day before. She tries to eat some vegetables every day, which is good.

We are still moving stuff over to the other house. Tomorrow we will take my bed and I will stay there. David bought a heater for the dining/kitchen so I'll be able to stay there without freezing!  I want to take time to set up the kitchen and organize my bedroom. I thought I would have a lot of room but putting things in have made the house seem smaller. Never mind, I will work things out, somehow!  

I need to be more mindful of my health. My blood pressure is high, even with meds! Part of that might be the sudden cold.  Also my eating has been out of control the past few days, I picking at things, not because I'm hungry but more to calm myself and deal with the stress. I know it's a bad habit and one I need to break but seems so hard. Grabbing some kind of snack is so easy to do. I have a doctors appointment on Wednesday, cancer check and diabetes/blood pressured check.  

I really hope that this month can be productive, get things sorted at the other house and find a way to make money!

Also, once I have a working kitchen I want to go to Costco and buy some nice roasting meat!!  I'm looking forward to a nice roast dinner!!

WHY????

 Yesterday I spent the whole day and most of the night convincing myself that having access to this house, even if we are basically living in the other house, is good. Financially hard but somehow we will be okay.

There are a lot of small bits and pieces to take to the other house, plus cleaning and tidying the yard will take more than two days. My energy is low, the lads are doing a lot but they are working as well (except for Christopher who has been given most of the jobs).  I still need to finish cleaning the kitchen and do the windows.  The room we use for teaching still has one bookshelf and the tables and chairs we are using.

So being here is good, we can take care of things a bit better.

That's good but of course things aren't that simple!

Mikey's car broke down!! Of course!!  Something to do with the electrical systems. It's fixable but will cost money and also means that we will be back to one car for a few days!!

Just when we need both cars!!

Typical!!

Never mind. We will get through this, somehow.

This morning I went to the other house with David. It is really starting to look like a place we can live in. It doesn't feel like my mother-in-law's house anymore.  There is a lot to organize, especially the kitchen/dining area.  There is very little storage and we seem to have a lot of things.  I guess moving from a house that has 6 rooms plus a large open plan kitchen/dining/living area to a house with 3 rooms and just a kitchen/dining room is going to take a lot of work and thought!

On the way we saw some lovely trees with autumn leaves. The autumn leaves are very late this year, the peak for this area is supposed to be in December!

These trees were in the grounds of a high school.

Autumn colors

I asked David to take the photo, so of course he had to take a daft selfie!

David shouldn't have a phone!!!

The weather has gone cold and rather wet.  I like the cold weather but would like more if we were settled and I could relax with a nice cup of and a good book.

Rainbow

On the way back we saw a rainbow. It doesn't look that bright but it was!!

Oh (Enter Favorite Swear Word)!!!!!

 Messed up again!

The plan was to have everything moved out by Friday, then come here Saturday and Sunday to finish cleaning! 

But of course that hasn't worked out!

Yesterday Mikey called the real estate agent who said that we have to give a months notice, so we have to pay for another month here!

I'm upset by that as I wanted to use the money from the rent to buy some heaters and to go to Costco!

Mikey told them that we don't have money and asked them not to take the money form my bank until the middle of the month. I'm thinking of going and offering half of the rent, explaining that we had to buy new heaters for the other house. Probably won't work but worth a try.  I guess going to Costco will have to wait!

Since we have another month here I'm not going to make myself sick trying to clean everything in a couple of days! I have to come here a few times a week to teach, so on those days I'll come and clean and tidy the yard. 

As much as I don't want to move I do want it finished with.  To be in one house. At the moment most of our things are in the other house but we are still here!! It's kind of hard. I can't cook so we are living on obento's and cup noodles, not nice at all!  

Also it's gone very cold!  I have city gas heaters for this house but I don't want to use them as they are very expensive to run. I'm keeping warm by trying to move round and get cleaning done. My bed is nice and warm but it's hard to get out of it in the morning!  I like the cold weather but I like to have heating available, to get comfortable with a nice hot drink and a cat or two!

Get a bit more cleaned up. I'm waiting for Christopher and David to get back. They took more stuff over plus somebody is coming to hook up the gas. At least we can get hot water!!

Just a photo of the cats sulking!!

They have no where to lie down, so not very happy!!!