I Ache

 The past few days the weather has been very mild, high in the mid teens. So I've been getting out in the garden a bit, trying to tidy up things, put away stuff that has been left outside since we moved in.

Easy enough to do but I didn't realize how much bending and squatting I would be doing.  I wasn't out there for long, maybe half an hour each day, with breaks but this morning I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a ton of bricks! I'm not sure what bit hurts more, by shoulder feels pinched, my back and hips just ache and my legs think that this is the end!! 

I know I'm out of shape, but I didn't think I was this bad!

I also know what my problem is, inconsistency! I'll start something but then give up because something has happened. For example last year I started to do some chair exercises. I was doing great, not really enjoying it but able to do them at least 4 times a week. Then I got shingles, which took a month to fully recover from, followed by Covid, another month with no energy! After that I never got back into doing the exercises, it was always tomorrow or next week. But as the year went on we got more and more busy with the move and I got more and more stressed with everything exercise became the last thing on my mind!

So I'm thinking about starting some exercises again. I've been watching a lot of videos about exercises for back problems. Basic stretches to help the pain in my neck. I've been doing them two or three times a day, which has helped a bit. I need to find something that will give me a good work out without killing me. I also want to start walking before it gets too hot to go outside!  Plus there is still a lot of work to be done in the house and garden.

I have a few projects that I want to start as well. One is building a catio, a cage for the cats attached to  the house. I thought about buying one but they are very expensive. Looking around the storage rooms I have found these massive meatal racks, that could be used as a frame for the cage. So I'm looking for ideas for that.

Also I finally pasteurized the first lot of honey.

First lot of honey

I have to buy a funnel to put it into a smaller bottle! This is about a quarter of the honeycomb!

Next is to figure out how to make marmalade from these Japanese oranges that my student gave me. They are too sour to eat as is.

I thought I would have a lot of time to read and write once we moved here as I'm not teaching so much but I seem to be busier than ever. But it's good for me, no time for self pity parties!!

The Land

 David has been working hard on the land that is just up the road from here. Last year he couldn't park the car on the land, it was that overgrown.

This morning I went with David for half an hour. I was pleasantly surprised at how much he has done.

Last year

This morning he could get the car on and he had widened the small path in the middle of the second photo.

The widened path

One reason he wanted to go was to try out his new chain saw.

He worries me with these machines. He is so accident prone. As a child we would end up in the emergency room every other month. 

But he seems confident in what he is doing! 

  He cut down a lot until the chain saw broke, the chain came away from the place that was holding it!

He got it fixed but we had to get back so I could finish lunch.

The weather has been very mild the past few days so I'm trying to get out and get things done.  There is still a lot of trash outside the storage place next to the house. I've been trying to organize it so we can take it to the city dump.  Big job but getting done bit by bit! 

The Bee Hive

 There has been a bee hive under this house for many years. When we lived here 16 years ago, it was already well established. We tried to kill the bees off but they kept coming back.

The place where they were coming in and out of the hive was next to one of the paths that leads to the back of the house where the different meters are. I've been worried about the guys who have to go down there. Also Christopher had a very bad reaction to bee stings when he was little, he might have out grown it but it's a risk.

Yesterday morning I showed a home page to David of a company that deals with these types of insects, there are a lot in Japan. Even cute caterpillars have a deadly sting, speaking from experience here!  The company looked good but even just the basic price was 10,000 yen (about 50 pounds) if there were any problems it could get very expensive!

David decided to open up one of the tatamis to see what the hive looked like. We had noticed that there was no activity at all, either they had died because of the sudden cold snap the other week or they were hibernating.

David was surprised at the size of the hive.

massive hive

He tried to pull it away from the floor beams, it came away it pieces but also a load of honey started to drip from it. Of course David had to taste it!

As he pulled away more and more he was shocked at the beauty of the structure inside.

Really beautiful

He managed to get it out. There's so much honey in there. Also we found a few bees that were hibernating. 

Bees in the hive

So now we have a dilemma. 

We want to harvest the honey but save the bees. But I don't want the bees near the house!  After checking on line to see if it would be possible to process the honey we divided the hive. The pieces with the honey we kept here, the other part David took to some of our land that has a lot of weeds, especially those that bloom early. I hope that the bees survive!

This what we were left with!

Lots of honeycombs!

To get the honey it is basically a process of straining it through sieves, until the comb has been removed. The last straining is through cheese cloth. 

So all day yesterday and today I've been processing honey. It's fun and rather interesting to do, but very sticky. I thought about using it as is but after reading more on line I've decided to pasteurize it. We've used a bit already in tea and coffee but just be safe I think that the pasteurization method is best.

mashing the honey comb

honey before pasteurizing

When I was told that we had to leave the other house and move here I thought about growing vegetables, maybe getting a few chickens for eggs (not happening as they stink!), pottering around in the garden. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be processing honey!!  I guess this is part of  the adventure that is life.

Shopping

 As I've mentioned before I've been doing a lot more shopping then I used to!

Not having shops near by makes things a lot more difficult. In the old house I would just send somebody to pick up what I had run out of or forgotten. 

So I've been making lists, which helps but sometimes what's on my list isn't available or too expensive so I have to change my menu plans.

Another problem is the shocking price of food.

5kgs of rice cost about 2000 yen last year, about 10 pounds, now the same rice costs over 3000 yen, about 15 pounds. I know that I can cook potatoes, pasta, Japanese noodles or bread but rice is so easy to use. I cook a large lunch everyday, in the evenings it's usually a case of everybody making themselves something.  Having rice cooked in the rice cooker makes that a lot easier.

Fruits are expensive, but I've always felt that fruit is more expensive here.  4 apples would set you back about 1280 yen, almost 7 pounds. At the moment I only buy bananas!

This year vegetables have become very expensive. Most vegetables are domestic, Japan imports very few vegetables.  If there were more imported produce I could understand the high price as the yen is very weak at the moment.  But most of what I buy is from local farmers, the furthest is from the north of Japan.

I'm sure the reasons for such high prices are multi- layered, but according to one of my students, who is a farmer, the weather this past year has been very bad. She told me that on her farm the sprinklers were set to go off mid morning but the water would just boil in the ground it was that hot. They had to change to late evening watering. The extreme heat also lowered the production of rice, plus panic buying in August after an earthquake triggered an advisory that the Nankai Trough mega quake could happen, has caused a rice shortage.

Most vegetables are at least double what they were last winter but cabbage has gone really expensive. 3 or 4 times the usual price.

This was the price in a discount supermarket that I use.

780 yen for a head of cabbage

I couldn't believe it, that's about 4 pounds for one cabbage.

 The prices this year have made me more determined than ever to try and grow some vegetables. I don't know how successful we will be but we have to try!

In another store I was in I almost got run over by the robot vacuum cleaner.

This little guy needs indicator lights

I like how they have put a lovely cheerful face on him! But some noise or indication that he is coming round the corner would help. I was trying to decide what to buy, I wasn't paying attention to the floor, the vacuum cleaner came round the corner, fast, I yelped and jumped. David and Christopher, rolled their eyes and walked away. 

Doctors

 I've been having back pain, left shoulder and lower back. The shoulder pain is probably because of a herniated disc in my neck. I've had this a few times before and it's always the same problem. My lower back has been bad for far too many years. Most of the time it's okay but occasionally it starts to play up.

I was going to go to the clinic that I used in the other city but that's a 30 minute drive so I found something a bit closer. 

David took me. We went in and tried to use "My Number Card".  This is a new thing here that is supposed make life easier for residents. My Number card has information on your tax, national insurance and what benefits you are collecting. The reason I had to register with the new city was so my national insurance would work.

After My Number Card failed we gave the receptionist the temporary insurance card I was issued. We waited for half an hour, in a rather uncomfortable waiting room.  The receptionist came back and said that I wasn't registered with the city!

At that point I gave up.  

Actually I was kind of relieved. I didn't have a good feeling about the clinic. All of the patients were very old, the waiting area was uncomfortable, even the decor in the toilet was rather weird.

toilet, the floor reminded me of something from the 1970s

Maybe they were going for a homey feeling but they didn't really pull it off.

So instead of seeing a doctor we went shopping. I bought some shelf liners for the some of the cupboards under the stove top. I have no space to store things, so I have to use them.  I have to get this kitchen organized better!

For my back, I'm going to try some gentle exercise, hot showers and using my hot blanket.  I don't think there is much a doctor can do except give me strong painkillers.

Wish me luck with the exercise. I really don't enjoy it but I know that it helps!!

City Hall

 In Japan when you move from one city to another you have to inform both city halls.

Yesterday I decided to get this done with.

The city that we were living in just rebuilt there city hall. It's very new and modern.  The staff are young and very competent. I went with Hannah as I really get lost with all the language needed. 

We went in, filled out the form, waited a minute to hand in the form. Because I have foreign residence status it makes things slightly different to my kids who are Japanese citizens.  Not a big deal, the city hall made a special paper showing my residence status. Took about 15 minutes.

Went to the local city office near where we live, the main city hall is a massive place. It's easy to get lost or end up on the wrong floor. David suggested the local office thinking it would be quicker.

There were very few staff, which wasn't a good sign. We took a number ticket and got called quickly. David explained what we needed to do. The lady looked at my information and said "I'm just a year older than you"  I have no idea where that statement came from, I just said something along the lines of you don't look that old! Made her happy!

It then took one hour to register me as the head of the household here. Plus this old lady kept calling me Oba Chan, grandma!  

Anyway it's done. I have to go a couple more times to sort out my national insurance but that can wait a bit.

Bit of good news.

Christopher got a part time job. It's not great money but better than nothing. He started yesterday. One problem is that he has to walk, about 40 minutes. He said that he's okay to do that!  I hope he can save to get driving lessons.

Also Hannah has another little job. The nursery that she works at is only until April. Once she starts graduate school she won't be able to work mornings!  She's found a job in a cram school. She starts on Saturday, it's just a few days a week, it will help her.

I keep looking at the mountains that we are at the foot off. They are very beautiful and majestic.

part of the mountain range that we live near

This is the Mino Mountain range, the highest point is 222 meters, about 730 feet.  The problem is that most of the old growth trees were cut down during World War 2.  These trees had deep roots and help the  under growth to develop. The roots of these trees helped to prevent landslides. After the war trees were replanted, but they were fast growing trees that don't have to same deep root system. Over the years typhoons, heavy rains and earthquakes have made the mountains unstable. Landslides occur almost every year through out Japan. Where we lived before I didn't worry about landslides or floods, no mountains or rivers nearby! We have a deep stream, concrete lined behind our property and of course the mountains.  I know if it happens it happens but I really hope that we are safe here. I talk to the mountains in the morning, thank them for being there, for there beauty and I ask them not to fall on us!

Earthquake

 I know that Japan is one of the most seismic active countries in the world. 

I know that scientists have been warning about the possibility of a Nankai Trough earthquake for many years!

The Nankai Trough is an oceanic trough running along the Pacific Coast of Japan. It's where the Philippians Plate and the Eurasian Plates meet. Nankai Trough earthquakes occur every 100 to 150 years. The last two were in 1945 and 1946.  The areas around this trough have become a lot more active in the past few years, scientists say that there is a possibility of a major quake within the next 30 years.

Last August there was an earthquake near the trough which triggered an advisory for people who live in the area that would be most affected by a strong earthquake and the tsunami that would follow. This is the first time such an advisory had been issued.

I also know what to do in an earthquake. If possible turn off the gas and try to get to a safe place, away from furniture that could fall on you, under a sturdy table or in the door way.

With all this knowledge I should be able to deal with earthquakes but of course I don't!

Last night was weird. I was sitting in bed trying to decide whether to watch TV or read my book. As I was sitting there my bed started to shake. At first I thought it was just the bed, the screws need tightening up!  But it felt very strange, so I went out into the corridor where I could see the lights swinging and one of the cats just standing with it ears down. I went to David's room, met up with the other kids, we all said "Earthquake". The strange thing was our phone alarms didn't sound.  

In Japan there is a system set up where phones will sound an alarm if an earthquake is detected. I don't like the sound of the alarm going off, as the phone just shouts "Earthquake, earthquake!" but no other information such as where the epicenter is or how strong the quake is.  Even with the smallest quakes the alarms go off but yesterday it didn't. Hannah said that on her social media a lot of people were commenting on this so it wasn't just our phones!

Again I panicked. It's like my brain goes white and I have no idea what to do. My kids were all calm, they just checked to see where it was.  Me, I just stood in the cold corridor with the deer in the headlights look on my face!

Part of my worry is this house is not a new build, I've noticed cracks in the foundation and on some of the external walls.  I need to go and see if these cracks are worse or if there are any new ones!

Earlier in the evening David was playing with blue angel key ring holder I had bought him.

This tickled me!