Hannah Is Back

 Hannah came home this afternoon for a few days. It's nice having her here, but of course, I had to clean my room.

I do this every time she comes home. I clean my room, make space for her futon, and vow to keep it clean, which lasts for a week or so.

As I was cleaning today, I'm trying to identify where I'm going wrong with this cleaning business. I'm in my 60s, I have had my own place for 40 years, surely by now I should know how to keep house, it's not rocket science, is it?

One thing that I've noticed is that I focus my cleaning on the areas that everyone uses. The kitchen/dining area, the bathroom and toilet, the corridor and the entrance are the areas I clean a lot. I'm also spending a lot of time trying to get the tatami room to look nice, as I'm still hoping to get students, and that is the room I will have to use.

My room is always the last place to clean. I think I have too much stuff in my room. The TV is in here as I'm the only one who watches it, and there's no living room. My desk and a lot of books are in here as well. I actually spend most of my days in here, which is rather depressing.

At the moment, we don't have money to change anything in this house, and whatever money we get, the first things that need to be done are the water areas, kitchen, bathroom and toilet. Once that is done, I'm hoping to build an extension onto the dining room and have a small living area. 

It's a dream! 

What can I do now to make things easier and better for me? This is what I've been thinking about today. Dreams are great, but the reality is that the money just isn't there, and even small jobs cost an arm and a leg. 

One thing I'm planning to do after my trip is to sort out this big cupboard; there is too much stuff in there. Do I need ot keep everything in there? I have two big plastic drawers of off-season clothes. I think I'll buy some plastic boxes that are insect-proof and then store the clothes in the storage place. I have another big drawer of sentimental things; I don't know what to do with that. I don't need them nearby, but there is some comfort in knowing they are near. I've already put some things in the storage area. Can I let the rest go there as well? It's just next door, but I worry about the conditions in there, hot and humid in the summer, with lots of critters running around the place, but this house is about the same.

Time to think about these things.

Just a video of Fred looking out the window.

Mojiko And Shimonoseki

 Next week, Hannah and I are taking a little trip to Mojiko and Shimonoseki. These are two historical port towns on the Kanmon Strait.

Mojiko is on the island of Kyushu; Shimonoseki is on the island of Honshu. They sit face to face; the waterway is so narrow that there is an underwater tunnel that you can walk through. We are going to do that, I'm not going to think about earthquakes!

A lot of the history in this area is from the Meiji Era, 1868 to 1912. This was a time when Japan was opening to the world. Mojiko became an international trading port and later a major railhead connecting Kyushu with the rest of Japan. There are a lot of lovely buildings from this period that have been preserved as part of the Mojiko Retro district. There are a few different museums to walk around. The Mojiko Station is also an older building. It looks really beautiful, I hope I can get some good photos.

I asked AI what is good to do the first thing that came up was to try Yaki -Curry. It is a baked curry dish that originated in Mojiko. Hannah isn't keen on curry but will try it. I hope the weather is good so we can have a little stroll along the waterfront.

After walking under the sea, still not sure about that idea, we'll have a couple of days in Shimonoseki. 

Shimonoseki is known for its maritime heritage, fresh seafood and historic sites.

The one place I'm looking forward to seeing is the Former British Consulate. It's an older building that is now a museum. We have booked an afternoon tea, that's one thing I'm really looking forward to. 

I haven't had an overnight trip in many years. I'm actually looking forward to staying in a hotel!

I really hope the weather is nice, the cherry blossoms might have started, that would be really nice.

The weather here has been crazy, but typical spring weather. Cold, the warm, then cold again. We even had rain yesterday. My student, who is a farmer, was very relieved by the storm. I like rain, but not when I have to go out. Visibility was very bad along the river. I took a couple of short videos!

Even though I'm not driving, this kind of weather makes me tense!

Blood Pressure Meds

Last week, I got really hit by the side effects of the new blood pressure medicine I was prescribed.

I managed to get them changed to a lower dosage, but that hasn't really helped; I'm still very sleepy, dizzy, and unfocused, though not as intense as last week.

I want to go back to the hospital, but the only time I have is on Friday, which is a national holiday. So I've decided to stop taking the medicine for now and track my blood pressure. I know talking to my doctor is best, but I just don't have time. I also know that if I can get some exercise in and eat better, then I should be able to deal with this problem naturally! A good friend of mine managed to do that, even in a very stressful job!

High blood pressure worries me because it was the underlying cause of Hisao's early death. He'd had high blood pressure most of his adult life, but never got treated for it. Except for the occasional severe headache, he wasn't sick; it really is a silent killer. We didn't know how bad it was until he went into heart and kidney failure. His heart had weakened so much that it could pump blood effectively. He ended up with fluid around the heart and kidney failure. This was 3 years before he passed away.

When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, I went into full panic mode. All I could think about was that was what killed Hisao, I didn't think about dealing with it naturally, or what I could do myself, I just accepted the medicine. Now, I want to take responsibility for my health and address this problem more naturally.

I think it's all part of being more consistent. 

I was talking to Hannah about being consistent, she said that I was very consistent in writing this blog, so what is the difference between that and exercising, eating right or cleaning? I realised that I enjoy writing, I love the challenge of finding something to write about and then crafting a good post. I don't enjoy exercise, not being able to eat what I consider nice, comfort foods (bread, sweets, etc.), and I hate cleaning. 

But I'm going to have to change that. I have to enjoy exercise to get in enough in a week, about 150 minutes a week. I need to challenge myself to find healthy ideas for meals and snacks, and embrace low-sugar ideas. Cleaning is going to be the most challenging! Maybe listen to something while I'm doing it. Any ideas?

Just a few photos of my daft cats! These animals raise my blood pressure sometimes, especially when they are fighting. But at the same time, having a cat on my lap, purring away, helps my blood pressure come down!

Fluffy found the best place, in front of the heater.

Being Consistent

 I'm on a couple of Facebook groups for diet and weight loss.

I'm amazed and inspired by some of the stories I read. Some people start out at really heavy weights, some are over 500lbs (226 kgs), almost bed-bound, some house-bound, but they consistently work at losing weight; it might take years, but they get there. No private trainers, no fancy foods, just working at it every day. One lady I read about said that she struggled to walk down her drive, but she did it every day. Once she could do that, she added two more steps, then two more until she could manage a mile. Small things done everyday bought big changes for her.

I know my problem is being consistent. I try something for a while, but then I just stop. In Japanese, they say mikka bozu, 三日坊主, literally a 3-day monk. The saying comes from the fact that to become a Buddhist Monk takes a lot of discipline and hard work; most give up after a few days!

I realised this morning that my inconsistency rules my life. I start things, diet, exercise, study, even cleaning, but don't keep at them. 

I have my reasons; the exercise was too hard, the diet too boring, the study too hard and cleaning, who wants to do that?

But are they reasons or just excuses to keep the status quo? 

But I'm not really happy with the status quo; I want to change. I have to lose weight, I need to get off the high blood pressure meds as they don't suit me at all. Even the lower dosage makes me sleepy! I want to be able to walk more when I go out with Hannah. I would love to buy clothes from a store, not just online! 

I have enough reasons and some motivation, but keeping on is so hard.

One thing I've thought about is scheduling my life more. Make a schedule to exercise and study, make a reward schedule for sticking to my diet, maybe buy myself something little to keep on or treat myself to some nice tea or fruits. Make a cleaning schedule for the house and garden so I don't keep thinking "I'll do it tomorrow" As my Mom always said, tomorrow never comes.

I have my to-do lists, but they are vague time-wise. Today I have a chance to go to the 100 yen shop, I'll see if they have some schedule books. If I find something, I'll post it here.

I'm getting too old to be constantly failing at everything!  I need to turn things around now!

Just a couple of photos of the lovely flowers in the garden!

Lovely colour

And nosey cats!

My Bedroom

 Bedrooms should be nice, peaceful spaces where we can relax.

I've always wanted that kind of space, the ones that you see in magazines or online, where everything is tidy, and there is a feeling of being able to sleep.

But reality is different. No matter where I've lived, my bedroom is always the dumping ground. When other rooms are being tidied, and things don't have a place, they always end up in my room, for now! Then "for now" turns into forever!

On Saturday, I decided to tackle Christopher's room. He can clean by himself, but there were things left in his room from when we moved in, and they've never been moved out. He didn't know what belonged to whom or what to do with the big drawers of extra blankets. I managed to figure out most of the stuff, clothes mainly, of course, everything needed washing as the stuff had been sitting in boxes and on the floor covered in dust. Guess where the clean clothes end up after they've been washed, yep, my room!

Clean laundry pile.

This is about a week's worth of laundry. I keep asking people to come and get their laundry, but it's always later. There's a big box underneath, so maybe not that much. I can hope!

I thought about sorting out the laundry, but I didn't have the energy. I wanted to do something, so I decided that I could sort one drawer. Better than nothing, also finishing one job always motivates me to do more.

That backfired big time.

I found an envelope with some old photos in it and old letters to Santa from the boys. I sat and cried. I have so many regrets from my kids' childhood; they really suffered at school because of bullying, and my reaction was always knee-jerk reactions. 

Here are the letters, kind of cute!

I also found a very strange photo of Mom, pulling faces!

This photo made me smile!

A rather emotional afternoon, maybe I should have tackled the laundry?

There's More To Do Than Can Ever be Done

This line from the song Circle of Life is my mantra at the moment. There's always something that needs to be done, and I never have enough time in a day, week, month or even a year to finish.  I end each day with it'll do for now!

Yesterday the weather was really nice, sunny and warm, the awful biting wind had died down. I decided to have a little walk up to some of our land. I took a video on the way.

On my walk, I noticed that the gardens and fields were looking nice.  Fields were ready for planting, trees were in bloom, and there were even some daffodils!

Daffodils always remind me of Mom. She would buy a bunch every spring, she said that they were her father's favourite flower, she bought them to remember him. Now I see them and remember her.

We got to our land, and it was worse than I thought it would be!

These are two parcels of land that we own. There are at least 12 more scattered about. I have the addresses, but I don't know where they all are. We own some up in the mountain that has old-growth trees on it. I only went there twice, so no idea where it is!

On one piece of land, there's a storage hut. I had a look inside, there's lots of stuff in there that I have no idea what it's for. A load of hay, I think that was used to keep the roots of the trees warm. I've seen that done around here. There are bags of soil or compost or something, I can't figure out the Japanese! I'll have to ask someone to see what it is.

There are also some lovely wood planks. I'm wondering if we can use them for something.

Lovely wood planks, what can I use them for?

A couple of other photos of the inside of the hut.

Just stuff thrown in.

Bamboo and sticks.

Today I decided that instead of vacuuming the ceiling, yes, I have to do that as well here, as spider webs keep appearing, I made a quiche for lunch. No brainer really, struggle to vacuum the ceiling or spend time enjoying myself making a nice lunch. The spiderwebs will be there tomorrow, maybe David can help me!

Today's lunch was quiche.

I made a couple of salads, a few chips and vegetable soup to go with it.

Today's lunch.

White Day

 Today is White Day in Japan. 

It's a friendly, gift-giving tradition celebrated one month after Valentine's Day. It's a chance for the men who received gifts on February 14th to reciprocate.

White Day started in 1978 by Japan's National Confectionery Industry Association to encourage men to give marshmallows to women as a return gift for the chocolates they received on Valentine's Day. An early nickname for this day was Marshmallow Day, but over time, the name shifted to White Day to include a wider range of white-themed sweets and gifts.

The holiday also reflects the Japanese cultural concept of okaeshi, or returning a gift to show appreciation. An okaeshi gift should be about half the value of the original gift. Okaeshi isn't just for White Day; it is part of Japanese culture. It can get a bit out of hand, you give a gift, get one back, have to return another one and so on!

The idea of White Day started in Japan, but the tradition has spread to other East and Southeast Asian countries, including South Korea, China and Taiwan. 

Like Valentine's Day gifts vary depending on who you are giving them to. Also, in modern times, the gifts aren't just confectionery. Many people give accessories, flowers or small luxury items.

The past week, supermarkets have had big displays for White Day; it's really being marketed. I think part of this is because there are fewer couples than in the past. Young Japanese just don't date or marry. 

But that's a whole other post!

I wanted a picture for this post, but couldn't find anything, so I used AI. Hope you like it!