Plans vs Reality

 I had great plans for this week.  Actually, I have great plans for every week.  But the reality is that nothing gets done.

This week I really wanted to tackle some of the yard.  It's a disaster again!

But Monday I was tired and spent time cleaning the kitchen.  Tuesday and Wednesday it rained, which means the weeds have grown even taller.  Thursday was busy with classes.  Friday I had to go and buy a mat to put on my mattress.  Then today, Saturday, I have classes and it is raining again.  There is always tomorrow but I might go to the other house and get more done there!

My garden...the disaster

One problem I have is planning things at night.  Instead of sleeping, I lie there thinking about all the things I have to do and all the things I want to do.  The next morning I'm so tired that only half of what I was thinking about gets done.  

Another problem I have is sorting out all the stuff that I've dumped at the other house.  The past few weeks I've been sorting out all of my mother-in-law's stuff.  That was easy as I have no emotional attachment to the things.  I felt that it was all waste of money but that was all.  Now I have to start throwing out things that I've bought, things that have memories attached to them and it's going to be hard.  But it needs to be done.  A couple of years ago when I started this process I had a hard time throwing out all the baby clothes that I had.  So I chose one item from each child to keep.  These were the clothes that had a lot of good memories attached to them.  Also, I've kept all the cardigans that my mom made.  Doing that made it easier to let go.  For me, that is the best thing to do.  Does anybody else have any ideas?

Another Cat Post

 This is Fred.

He is really cute but recently he has become a pain in the neck.

Because he fights with the other cats at night he is upstairs, usually in David's room.  The other cats are locked in the living/dining/kitchen area.  The problem is that Fred won't sleep unless somebody is with him.  We tried putting one of the cats that he doesn't fight with but he still cries and scratches on my door.  On the nights that David is home, it's okay.  David keeps the same schedule as when he is working, so he is awake at night and can take care of Fred.  The other nights either Hannah or I have to stay with Fred.  David has a loft bed so I can't sleep on it, it wouldn't take my weight!  So I sit on the floor reading, sometimes I can doze a bit but it's not comfortable.  Hannah usually sleeps on the floor.  I try to take care the nights that Hannah has university as it's hard on her.  I am really hoping this is just something he is going through and it will stop.  Reminds me of when the kids were babies!  At least with babies there is an end to sleepless nights!

The other cats are alright.  There is a lot of work going on in the neighbors, two new houses are being built. At first the cats were scared of the noise but now they are in the window watching, it looks like they are supervising the build.

Keeping an eye on things!

I don't understand!

 Back at the dentist this week.  More drilling.  I don't know what he is drilling as there is very little tooth left! 

As he was drilling the tooth, the gum started to hurt.  Not very painful but enough to make me gasp.  He asked if it was painful.  I answered a little,  I could have endured it but he gave me a local anesthetic. So that got me thinking.  A few weeks back when he was drilling it was really painful.  I told the dentist and all he said was okay.  This is what I don't understand, little pain gets a local, extreme pain nothing!  I even asked Christopher if I had the right Japanese, which I did.  And I have to go again.

Yesterday was the first hot day!  Up to 29C, which is unusual for April!  Of course, I got sick!  Every year it's the same.  The first hot day I get a fever and feel nauseous.  I was so bad yesterday that Hannah had to do my classes.   I drank a lot of water and rested with the fan on.  Today I feel a lot better.  At the moment it's really windy, there's a gale advisory for this area!

Lovely flowers at the other house

The plants seem to be blooming earlier than usual.  The azaleas are almost finished.  They use to bloom in May.  They are lovely flowers but very short-lived!

Sorry

 I had a crazy busy week followed by a week where I had no energy to do anything!

The busy week saw me going twice into the city. Both times Hannah had to do something at the university, a chest x-ray, to finish her health check and then to buy her books.  Why they couldn't schedule both on the same day I don't know!   I went to an import shop.  They sell Weetabix, so sometimes I treat myself!  Also I wanted to check out some other supermarkets, but nothing good.   

The other days I cleaned out the two rooms we use for teaching.  Most of the materials we use were in the wrong place, so took a long time.  Hannah helped, she is very good at cleaning and organizing things!  The other days I pulled weeds and cut down trees in the yard.  Great week!  But I ended up feeling awful afterward!  Constant headaches,  back and knee pain.  So I rested, and just did the daily chores.  Feel a bit better now.  Also the weather is nice, not too hot but sunny so I hope to get more done.  We haven't been to the other house for a while so need to go this week.  I want to move the old furniture out; only two pieces are worth keeping.  Then comes the hard part.  We have so much stuff there, from when the kids were young and Hisao's stuff.  So many memories to deal with.  But it has to be done!

Hannah is back at university. To save money she has asked for obento.  So I'm up early to make that for her.  It's not difficult, cooking for one person but early mornings are hard!  I'm like a zombie until I've had a cup of tea!

Fried chicken, mini sausages, grilled mushrooms and eggplant

chicken dipped in egg and fried, grilled eggplant with miso topping

, 

pork chop, omelet and salad

Nice and easy!

Dentist

 It's official, I hate dentists!!!

Went back today, again drilling into the bone.  Didn't hurt as much as last week but there were shots of pain.  The tooth that is being worked on feels a bit strange but not really painful.  Have to go back again next week.

Found out on Friday that the house phone wasn't working.  Fortunately, somebody could come today to fix it. One problem is that the Wi-Fi router and the jack for the phone are in my bedroom.  The guy turned up at 9am, I was just getting out of bed!!  I know that sleeping that late is bad but I'm exhausted!  Went into the city yesterday, Hannah had to get a chest x-ray, it's part of her health check.  She wanted to buy a few things, so we had a look around.  She got what she wanted, which is good but I got so hot.  Since last month you don't have to wear a mask when out, so I don't.  When wearing a mask was required I would get overheated.  The problem is most people are still wearing masks, so I feel a bit odd!!

Cats being cute!!!

Time Flies

 It's hard to believe that we are now in the 4th month.  Where have the last 3 months gone?

Back to the house last week.  Managed to get most of the stuff out of the living/dining area.  Just the furniture and the carpet, which is moldy.  That won't be fun! Took a few photos of the front of the house.  These windows look into the dining area but they are overshadowed by the roof.  the bench in front is the only place I like in the house.

After we finished we stopped by the Agricultural Park.  It's a well-kept open space with allotments.  There is a large parking lot, so Hannah had the chance to practice driving. While she was practicing I wandered around with Christopher and took some photos.

My hair and the tree are the same

Hannah started a second part-time job last night at the local drugstore.  She had to learn how to use the cash register.  She has work again tonight.  She's tired but I think it was just the first night's nerves.

March

 I know Friday is the end of the month but this is close enough!

Hard month for my body, slipped disc in my neck,  tortured at the dentist, (and have to go back again on Thursday), and of course allergies that are driving me crazy.

Still dealing with the house.  One good thing is the possibility that somebody might want to buy some of our land, we won't get much money but every bit helps.  The house needs a lot of work on it.  The more stuff I throw out the more problems I'm uncovering.  The layout is bad, the large windows at the front are overshadowed by the roof making the rooms very dark.  I understand why this was done as it gets hot in the summer so having some shade does help.  But that means there is no sun in the winter to warm the rooms.  The house here gets nice and warm in the winter just having the curtains open, that has saved a lot on heating, in summer I keep the curtains closed during the hottest time of day.   I'm still trying to think of something positive about the house.  The only thing is the toilets are closer to the bedrooms!   

The House

 The house next door here has been taken down and they are now building two houses on the plot. At first the cats were scared of the noise but now seem to be supervising the work.

Mama cat is telling me that the work is going okay!!!

And the stray cat is still hanging around.  If the door is open he just walks in as if he owns the place. The other day he was in my room with Hannah.  He stayed for a while and seemed very comfortable!

Stray cat getting comfortable!

I'm still trying to drop some more weight.  My next appointment will be in June, so I would love to loose 5kg or more.  But the past couple of days our lunches have not been that healthy.  I made fish and chips yesterday, I did make a salad to go with it, so I ate more salad than chips. Today David made pizza with chips and salad!

Fish and chips, very nice!

David's pizza, also very nice!

It's cherry blossom season.  But it's been raining and windy so a lot of the blossoms were blown down.  Hannah managed to get some nice photos today.

Lovely photos

I hope in April to have all the stuff out of the house and start cleaning.  I need to get as much done before it gets hot as I get sick in the heat and I don't like the insects that come out in the summer.