Silver Week

 In May, we have Golden Week, a few days of national holidays that run consecutively. It's one of the busiest holidays for many Japanese people. I actually don't enjoy going anywhere, even shopping, as it gets crazy busy.

September also has a few holidays, and every few years they run consecutively. This year is one of those years. These holidays are called Silver Week.

This year, Respect for the Aged Day falls on September 21st. September 23rd is Autumnal Equinox Day, and the day between becomes a Citizens' Holiday, extending the holiday period.

This isn't an annual event; these holidays happen every year but don't line up like this very often. The next one will be in 2032.

I'm hoping that the weather will be nice on Monday, as I want to visit a shrine in Saga Prefecture. 

The forecast is for cool, cloudy weather, but that was the forecast for today, and it's been raining almost all day!

There's a lot to be done at home, but I think I need a day away. I know I go out every week, but that's for work; I just need to see somewhere different. The house is a mess; it smells bad. I keep cleaning, but with nine cats in a small area, it's really difficult to keep it as clean as I would like. I'm totally stressed by the mess; every day I clean, I do the floors constantly. Because the cats have been sick, I've had to clean up cat vomit many times every day. It's not the usual vomit; I think their throats are irritated, and they are spitting up mucus (I hope you aren't eating as you read this, sorry!). I know there's no choice, but it is now getting to me. 

I'm determined to get this house sorted. I know part of the problem is that my health and energy levels aren't that good, but if I don't try, it will never be a nice place to live. David and Christopher help when they have time, but with them working 5 days (or nights) a week, they don't have that much time. Also, I don't want them to be just working and then doing housework; they should help, but they need some free time as well! I let them do the jobs I can't do, anything that is too heavy for me, especially in the garden.

Yesterday I was playing with Google Photos. You can create different images with your photos!

This is the original photo.

This is what Google Photos came up with

The black-and-white one is weird; it doesn't look like Hannah. The painting one is nicer!

Finally!

 I've made my first sale on Etsy!

I'm happy but nervous! Will the customer like what they have ordered? Will there be problems with the printing? Will things go smoothly?

I really hope that this is the start of making money from Etsy; it's taken two months to make one sale.

I'm trying to enjoy the process of designing the images, of learning about the business and how to be successful. But I do need to make money!

I don't think teaching English where we live is going to provide a good income anymore. I've always relied on kids' classes to make money, but now there are so few children, especially where we live in the countryside. Therefore, my Etsy store has to be successful!

I can't complain; I've had a good run with teaching English! I think that the time of brick-and-mortar classes is winding down. In larger cities I think it's still profitable, but not like 35 years ago when I first came to Japan. Then, just being able to speak English meant you could get students!

I remember Hisao drew a leaflet, got it printed, and within 2 days we had 20 students! I had no idea what I was doing. I made alphabet bingo cards, bought some flashcards and a textbook. I started my little school for about 10,000 yen, definitely couldn't do that now!

First sale, let's hope it's the first of many!

This is my latest design.

The "Ber Months"

It's a new trend that I've noticed. 

Here's a link to it on my Etsy shop 

Ber Months Cats Long Sleeve Tee | Cat Illustration, Fall to Christmas - Etsy Japan

I'm going to create a couple more designs now!

I Tried

 The garden is like a jungle. 

Before the intense heat of summer, we tried to cut back and cut down the trees, bushes and weeds as much as possible. 

Over the summer, it's been impossible to do any work outside, except pulling a few weeds every now and again and, of course, picking the blueberries.

I noticed the other day that the front of the yard, which goes onto the road, was getting dangerously overgrown. Some of the bushes were too far out into the road, and one tree was brushing the overhead electrical wires.

Time for action.

I tried, I really did. David helped. He has a small chainsaw, which I can't use; it scares me!

I took a couple of videos. I was hoping for a before and after comparrsions videos, but they are more like before and a tiny bit of progress videos!

Before.

 I really wanted to cut down the dead hydrangeas. Also, I don't know if you can see, but weeds are growing through the low wall. I need to be more careful taking videos; I almost got hit by a car!

A little progress.

I managed to cut the hydrangeas down, which helps that corner. David cut down some of the tree that was very close to the overhead wires.

I hope to pull some of the weeds tomorrow, before the rain starts!

One problem is that my body is not that good at the moment. Just doing a bit of work this morning left me shaking and in pain. The shears I was using are a bit heavy, plus I have a slipped disc in my neck, which is pinching the nerves and causing pain. I'm glad that I could do a bit; I hope that by keeping this up, it will eventually get cleaned up and maybe help me get a bit stronger!

Local History

 There is little information in English about this area; there's some tourist information, but no real history. Fortunately, my kids like history and they know that I'm interested in the history of this area. The only problem is that I can't verify what they tell me! 

The other day Mikey went for a walk to Hoshin Park, the site of the old Kusano Castle. For a long time, this has been a favourite place to see cherry blossoms. He took these photos; it was early morning and there was still mist over the area.

With all the mist it looks very mysterious.

Mikey went on to explain that there is a poem by Yukichi Fukuzawa on tablet there. Fukuzawa was the man on the old 10,000 yen banknote. He was a writer, educator and philosopher who was one of the key figures during the Meiji era (1868 to 1912). According to Mikey, he was good friends with one of the teachers at Kusano Elementary School when it was founded. Fukuzawa and this teacher hiked the mountain range near here. That's why one of his poems is inscribed here.

I decided to see if I could find information about the founding of the local school, but I could find the year that it was founded: 1877! This one of the schools that will be closed over the next few years. I was shocked to see that there are only 62 students in all the school. When Hisao attended there, back in the late 60s and early 70s each grade had about 100 students, divided into smaller classes. Mikey went there, that was in the 1990s, there was only one class per grade but about 30 to 35 students in each class. I didn't think the school had gotten that small, so fast!

Today, when we went shopping we had to take an alternative route because of road works. We got to drive through a Tori Gate. Tori Gates are usually at the entrance to shrines but I don't know where the shrine is. I'll have to have a walk around the area to see if I can find it, maybe closer to the mountain. I took a little video.

Now What?

 I've recovered from my sinus infection, only to end up with a sore throat and headache. I've been feeling rough; all I want to do is sleep. All I have been doing is sleeping!

This is driving me crazy. The weather has cooled down, and I want to get the house cleaned up as much as possible. I've spent the last week cleaning floors and other surfaces because the cats are sick. Looks like they all have some kind of respiratory virus, which means a lot of hacking and drooling all over the place. I know there's no choice, but I don't like finding it all over. I really hope they recover soon. The only good thing about them being sick is that it's very quiet; they have all lost their voice.

Sad, sick cats.

Frodo was the first one to get sick. From what I understand, most cats carry a dormant respiratory virus. Last week the weather suddenly changed, from up 30℃s to lower 20℃s, almost overnight. This sudden change stressed the cats' systems, triggering the virus. At first, I thought that Mama cat had caught something from her last escape; there are a few cats around here, but she wasn't the first cat to get sick. I couldn't figure out why Frodo got sick first, as he rarely escapes; I don't think he's been out since we moved here. The dormant virus idea makes sense.

Sick cats, sick me; I hope that this passes soon. If I still feel bad on Monday, I'll have to go to the doctor again. I have to teach Tuesday through Thursday; it's hard when I feel so run down, even though I don't have many classes and the ones I have are easy enough to do. Just going to the next city makes me tired.

I'm going to make myself some ginger tea and get back in bed!

I will get better!!

Hospital

 Yesterday was my 3-month check-up for diabetes and blood pressure.

The main test for diabetes is the A1C test. According to the paper I was given, the range is between 4.8 and 6.2. When I was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, that number was 7.6. Through lifestyle changes, cutting out processed food, sugar and carbs, I managed to get that down to 5.7. I've maintained that for the past two years, until this visit. Yesterday, that number was 5.9.

So, back to being a bit more strict with what I eat.

The one thing that has helped me to lose weight and keep my diabetes at bay is not eating carbs in the morning or at night. I have some at lunch, but about half of what I usually eat. Lunch is our main meal, usually something with rice; once or twice a month we have pasta, and now that the weather is cooler, I'll start making potatoes. 

This morning I made a nice spinach omelette, with some salad, and miso soup. I had a small banana and a spoonful of plain yoghurt as well. Very filling.

Breakfast.

Lunch is chicken; David is cooking. I'll have a large salad and a bit of rice with that. This evening will probably be more salad and maybe some steamed sweet potatoes. 

I'm going to start making more soups; the weather is lovely and cool at the moment, so soups are nice.

I need to get more exercise in. The other evening I walked up and down our driveway for about 15 minutes; that was nice. I have to do it in the early evening or late afternoon. There are wild hogs about; we saw one on the road the other night- massive animal! I don't want to run into one while I'm outside!

The weather has been a bit strange. It suddenly got very cool. The past week, it has been cloudy every day but no real rain, just a few showers. Some very interesting skies. I took this little video yesterday. I love how the blue sky is peeking through the clouds and how the opposite side is just grey.

In one month, I'm going to Kagoshima with Hannah. Just a couple of days away. Hannah suggested that I focus on my diet until then. One month is enough time to build up better habits, then enjoy my trip, then set another goal when I get back.

Wish me luck!

I Need Ideas

 I'm still trying to come up with new designs for my Etsy shop. 

I can think of a lot of designs for cats. My problem is finding unique Japanese-themed designs.

Mikey suggested using Japanese idioms, which is a good idea, but they can be very wordy. 

These are a few of the Japanese designs I've come up with so far.

I like this as it's very simple. Just two koi fish.

Cat eating ramen is a very popular design; this is a bit more playful than other designs I've seen.

Again, nice and simple.

One problem I'm having is that every time I search for ideas for Japanese-inspired designs, almost everything has cats on it! I want only Japanese ideas!

I'm trying to study design and drawing. I never realised how much thought goes into designing clothes. Everything from the fabric to the colours to the logos or prints has to be thought out. Even though I'm cheating by using AI, there is still a lot of thought that goes into it. How to make the image look natural on the T-shirt, not like a picture just ironed on the front. What colours to use, what fonts to use for the lettering. Then there are copyright issues. I search for what is popular on Etsy, but of course I can't just copy and paste another person's ideas. I have to give everything my personal twist. Also, copyright can be a problem when using pop culture icons. One of the first T-shirts I tried to design had a picture of Godzilla on it. I thought it was alright, but apparently the owner of the Godzilla brand is very strict about using the image.

This really is a learning curve. I haven't made any sales yet; that will be another learning curve. I think that even if I don't make a lot of money just the experience has been worth it!

If anyone has any ideas, drop me a comment. What I've found is that an idea spurs another one. From one idea that Hannah had- cats in Halloween costumes- I came up with 4 different designs!