I'm Back

 Wednesday evening, Hannah called in a panic. She was exhausted but couldn't figure out why! The medicine she takes for epilepsy makes her sleepy, and her mind gets foggy, but she said that she felt like she did before a seizure.  Mikey took me to her apartment, where I stayed for two nights. Hannah is now here for a couple of days.

I don't mind staying with her; it's quiet, with no cats fighting. However, I had a long "to-do" list. One good thing about staying there is that I got a chance to read! 

On the first day, I cleaned, did laundry, and washed dishes. It's so easy to clean up after one person, I was finished by 9am! I spent the rest of the morning, while Hannah was at university, just reading. She came back for lunch. Neither of us felt like cooking, so we walked to a local restaurant.  I almost never eat out, so this was a nice treat. The restaurant we went to is termed a family restaurant. One nice thing about it is that they have a set lunch menu for a reasonable price.

set menu plus pizza

This includes a drink bar, where you can help yourself to different hot and cold drinks and a soup. Both of these you can get as many refills as you like. 

Hannah had the same, but she had rice with hers.

All this for less than 2,000 yen, about £10. Not bad.

That evening, the moon was really beautiful. I tried to get some photos, but the camera on my phone isn't that good. 

The moon was very low and really orange.

We came back late last night. As much as I don't mind staying with Hannah, I was glad to get back to my bed! Hannah has a floor sofa that pulls out to a bed. It's okay, but not that comfortable!

My "to-do" list is waiting, so I should get to work!

COLD

 I prefer the cooler weather to the heat we've had over the past few months. It's nice to move without dripping with sweat! But this house isn't built for the cold weather. 

The past week, the temperature has been steadily dropping, hovering around the 20C mark. Outside, in the sun, it feels really nice. Inside, however, it is very cold. This house has no insulation, also there is no sun on any of the windows. So as soon as it gets a little bit cool, inside it is very cold.  It is uncomfortable. I need to save money, so I'm trying to not run heaters. I never thought it would be a choice to eat or heat, but here I am! 

I don't have many winter clothes; the few that I have are rather tatty.  I might have to buy a cardigan at least. I've seen a few online that look nice, but I'm reluctant to buy as getting the right size is difficult, either too big or too small. There aren't any stores near me that cater to larger sizes, so online is my only option!

Yesterday, I went to the other city to teach. We are using the local community centre to teach. It's nice, but there is only one room, so Mikey is at one end, I'm at the other.  I'm not sure what happened, but the girls were making a lot of noise, 1st year junior high school girls, so very giggly.  Christopher, who had come to go to a couple of stores nearby, said that Mikey looked like Snoopy. That started the girls to really laugh. I don't think they did much studying after that, but they enjoyed themselves!

Mikey, does he look like Snoopy?

Without the hat

He really needs to get his hair cut!

Culture Day

 Today is another national holiday, Culture Day.

This holiday started as the day to celebrate Emperor Meiji's birthday in 1868. After WW2, Japan's new constitution was promulgated on November 3rd. The new constitution emphasised peace, democracy and cultural development. In 1948, the date was officially renamed Culture Day.

One way this day is observed is by an award that is given to people who have made significant contributions to science, the arts or academia. This award is presented at the Imperial Palace by the Emperor.

This time of year, many junior high and high schools hold culture festivals. These are very diverse depending on the school, but there is usually a choir and bands playing. There might be dances performed by the students or plays. Some are open to the public, giving people a chance to see the school and interact with the students.

Some museums offer free or discounted admission on this day, a nice day for the family!

I remember when the kids were little, we would go out to the countryside to see the beginning of the autumn leaves. On the way, we would usually come across little markets, beside produce being sold, there was usually some sort of craft on sale, and hot food to eat. I always looked forward to these days out. The weather would be cool enough to be outside, but not really cold.

I was looking for a photo of Culture Day, but wasn't successful. So a cat photo, again!

Alfie mid yawn

David is a cat

Hannah asks for photos of the cats every day! That's why 90% of my photos are of the cats!

Goals To End 2025

 I usually let the end of the year slip by, thinking that it's best to wait until January to start any new goals. I think part of that was being very busy with organising Christmas and New Year's. This year I'm going out on Christmas Day. I don't know what schedule the others have, so I'm not planning anything. I'll do a nice dinner one day over the holidays, but I'm not going crazy.  It's kind of sad, but with adult kids and no grandkids, there isn't any real reason to go crazy.

My goals for the end of the year are to stick to my diet and add more exercise. I've been doing alright on my diet. I've basically cut carbs from my morning and evening meals, I haven't had any sugary foods, and I've stayed away from snack breads.  I eat fewer carbs at lunch time, I try to fill up on vegetables and soups! For exercise, I want to start walking more!  

The other couple of goals are to really get into my Japanese study, make a habit of studying every day. I want to be able to read, write and interact with people. I hate that when I'm listening to people, I'm wondering if I am understanding them properly. Also, trying to get my ideas or wants across is hard. I stumble around in my mind, looking for the right word or wondering if my word order is right! Japanese is hard, but not impossible to learn. It just takes dedication and having the habit of studying. I'm lucky because I'm immersed in the language every day. Also, I can watch videos in Japanese. 

The other goal I've set myself is to read a classic book. There are so many books out there. I have over 6000 books on my Kindle, and I also use an app called Everand. The app costs just over 1000 yen a month (about five pounds), I can save whatever books I want on there.  At the moment, I have about 400 books on there. Plus all the physical books I own. I read a lot. I enjoy reading, getting lost in someone else's world for a while is nice. I enjoy nonfiction books as well. I've been reading about Japanese history recently, which is rather fascinating! So I thought a good challenge would be to read a classic book. I haven't decided yet, but either Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre. I might try some of the Christmas classics by Charles Dickens as well. Somehow, I know the basic outline of these books even though I haven't read them. 

Those are my goals for the end of the year. I thought about adding more, but decided to keep it simple. I don't want to overwhelm myself. I already feel overwhelmed with this house and garden, I don't want to add the stress of crazy goals when the idea is to help myself!

Cat photos to finish.

Just cats having a good life!

October

 An interesting month. 

The weather has gone from summer to almost winter! Most days are still warm but the wind can be rather biting. Nights and early mornings are very cold. I think we need to pull out the heaters and electric blankets!

I'm glad I could get to the doctor about my back. It got to the point that I couldn't stand for 5 minutes without being in agony. The painkillers are helping, but they make me very sleepy. Still bettter than being in pain all the time. This morning Hannah called me, she is feeling rather out of things. One side effect of the epilepsy medicine is brain fog and feeling sleepy. We were comparing how bad we felt with these side effects. We decided that we both felt like zombies, moving but not focusing at all!

Another thing I'm glad about is buying the new wet/dry vacuum cleaner. It's saved my sofa and the carpet in the dining area. I've yet to try it on the tatami mats but I'm hoping that the smell will go!

In between back ache and allergies I've been trying to organize the tatami room to teach in. I've also spent a few days in the yard, trying to pull some weeds. 

On the teaching front I've been looking at new methods to teach, looking for sites that have worksheets available. There is so much out there. I'm thinking of using short videos to help supplement text work. I keep asking Hannah about the curriculum for junior high school. The books I have are a few years out of date. The new curriculm has a lot added to it. One thing that has changed in recent years is the fact that English is now taught from 4th grade. The kids are expected to know certain words when they start junior high school. One problem with that is that there are very few elementary school teachers who can speak English. It's all a bit hit and miss!

There are 65 days until 2026. I want to make the most of these days. Usually I just coast along the last couple of months of the year, not really trying to make changes or do anything to improve my life. I feel like there's something magic about January 1st, like all the problems I have, all the things I'm determinded to do will somehow magically appear on that day. For example, my ability to stick to a diet will just appear as the clock strikes midnight. But expericence has taught me that won't happen! So, I'm going to spend this afternoon reflecting on what I want to achieve before the end of the year. Some small, doable goals to end the year on a high note!

Just a few photos from October

The Christmas Tree at the station

Still have a lot of work to do in the storage place

A lovely full moon

And, of course, cats

David's Turn

Recently, one of us has been to the hospital, doctors or dentist every month. Since the beginning of the year, someone has been sick enough to need medical help.

Of course, my medical needs are ongoing. Every three months, I need to be tested for cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. Hannah has to go every month to get her medicine to control epilepsy. The lads are kind of healthy, but it's flu season, so I'm sure somebody will get it, or Covid.

David works nights; he usually gets home about 10am. I was out yesterday morning, getting my haircut. When I got home, I could hear David on the phone, which is unusual. After he had finished, I asked if he was alright. He was very pale, and the day before, he had complained of having a very bad headache. He told me that a tooth had broken, and he was in a lot of pain from that. He had made an appointment at the dentist for 1:30.  

Just after one o'clock, Mikey drove him to the dentist. David was in such a state that he couldn't drive.  They came back an hour later, David was in worse agony than before.

I'm not sure what happened, as David couldn't really talk. From what I could understand, it looks like the local anaesthesia hadn't worked.  He has to go back again today. I really hope he can get treatment and recover from this as soon as possible. He looks really bad, he is pale, and his face is swollen.

David on better days!

I finally got my haircut! I was starting to look like "The wild woman of Japan!" It's a bit shorter than I would like, but it will grow! I didn't bother with a colour this time for two reasons. One is that the colour I have starts to look more purple than brown after a couple of washes, also my hair is very dry at the moment.  I think letting it rest this time might help. Maybe I should just embrace the grey. 

Shorter hair

I'm really not photogenic at all. Took a few attempts to get a decent selfie!

Yesterday....

 I think I overdid it!

Yesterday morning, for the first time in ages, I felt alright. Not great, my back was still painful, but my allergies had calmed down, and I even managed to sleep for 6 hours straight. I didn't have to wake up early, so I hadn't set an alarm but woke up naturally at 7am. I had breakfast and thought about having another doze, but I wasn't tired, just sleepy from the painkiller.

So what to do with this bit of energy! I decided to go out and pull some weeds. I asked Christopher to help move some heavy things from the front porch. I wanted him to help with the weeds, but his allergies were bad!  I did about 20 minutes, even though I did a lot, it doesn't look like it! It's that bad! After that, I went upstairs to find some textbooks for my new student. That took a lot longer than I thought it would, as we had to move boxes. I can only get things from upstairs if there is someone to help me; the stairs are very steep, almost like a ladder. To go up, I have to use my hands; coming down is a bit scary. There's no rail or anything to hold on to! I can manage, but I need someone to carry stuff down for me. 

After rummaging around for about half an hour, I found what I was looking for, plus a few other books that might be useful. 

This is part of the storage room.

Part of the storage room

I was able to make lunch, but after that I spent time reading and watching TV.

I'm glad that I could have a good, productive day, but I am feeling a bit achy today!

Hannah had a good day yesterday! She went to the city to see Phantom of the Opera by herself! 

We have tickets to see at Christmas, but she bought herself another ticket to see it before!

She had an incredible time! 

The show started at 1 o'clock, so she had lunch before.

Good lunch

Her seat was at the front, 4th row, in the middle. 

The last scene is very emotional. I've seen this version and the West End version. I found the endings to be very different. Both are sad, but the emotion in the Japanese version seems stronger! Hannah said she could see the tears on the face of the Phantom!

Few photos she sent me.

The Christmas Tree at the station

Outside the theatre

View of the stage

Also, the mall that the theatre is in has a variety of restaurants and cafes that have special "Phantom" themed menus.  We might have lunch there when we go in December.