Happy New Year 2020

I hope every bodies new year is going better than ours!
Last night was okay but nobody had appetite so our yakiniku party was not so much fun!
Then Mama cat escaped and came back with a live mouse!  David and Hannah were standing on chairs, I'm chasing the cat who is chasing the mouse.  Finally caught Mama who had the mouse in her mouth.  Rescued the mouse, David took it outside!

One rescued mouse!

This morning Christopher told me that he had vomited last night and he had a 39C fever.  Took him to the local A&E, he has the flu.
David said that he was tired this morning, came back from the A&E he has the same symptoms but won't go to the doctor.  He is now sleeping!
So all my plans for a lovely dinner have gone out of the window. Hannah isn't feeling good and doesn't want to eat, Mikey is at work so that leaves just me!  I'll have some soup a bit later!  I had to cook the meat because I had already defrosted it, hopefully do a proper dinner tomorrow!
Let's hope things get better!

Lion King

Hannah and I went to see Lion King on Saturday!
We made a day of it, the show was in the evening so we went early and had a nice late lunch.
Trying to find a place to eat is so difficult, there are too many choices.  Finding something
in our budget, where we don't have to wait for half an hour to get seated and the kind of food we want meant us walking all over the station. The fancy restaurants are on the top floors, the more basic places are in the basement. We checked out the fancy places first but the queues were very long and the prices were rather shocking.  We found our way to the basement, which is like a whole shopping area underground, where we found a nice restaurant.  Hannah had fried chicken and tofu, I had beef with eggplants, both were served with rice, miso soup and salad. Very nice and filling.

Our lunch

After lunch we walked to the shopping mall where the theatre is located.  It's a small mall, with a lot of luxury stores, nice to look at but I couldn't afford to shop there.  We walked around a bit and I enjoyed people watching.  We sat down at one point, I was watching a man and his young son, they both looked exhausted, I think the wife had left them so she could finish her shopping in peace.  The poor guys were sat there yawning and I thought the kid was going to fall asleep.
We finally got into the theatre.  It's a fairly new building, and is designed with comfort in mind, the lobby is very big and the flow pattern to the theatre itself is nice, no over crowding or feeling of being pushed around!   First stop was the shop to pick up some things, I think  Hannah enjoys this as much as the musical.  She got a T shirt, calendar, key holder,  a book about the production and small bag to put everything in.

Hannah's goods

As always the show was incredible.  We had seats at the front, on the end of the row, during the opening the animals came down right past where we were sitting.  I was reluctant to watch Lion King because I felt that the puppetry would distract from the drama, but as the play went on I forgot that it was puppets and masks and got caught up in the story.  The kids playing Simba and Nala were very good.  It really was worth the effort to go and see it!
Back at the station the lights were still up from Christmas, that was nice to see as we headed home!

Hannah's wish list for next year

Lights near the station

Christmas

I wrote before that Hannah had a ski trip with her school!  She doesn't like skiing, said she spent most of the time falling down. She enjoyed the bit of sightseeing and of course the food. I've finally managed to down load the photos.

In flight meal

Hannah and her teachers

Hotel room

Shopping Mall

Lamb and veggies

Christmas was very low key this year! Mikey was working and Hannah and I are still under the weather after having the flu last week.  Everybody got some presents, not as much as usual but a few nice things! Of course Hannah got the most!

Musical DVDs, of course!

Book on psychology

Christopher with a mini nano block puzzle 

Didn't cook a traditional dinner, decided to put that off until New Years.  We had takoyaki and pizza instead.  Takoyaki are small dough balls with bits of octopus inside, tastes better than it sounds.  I did a lovely trifle for dessert!

David in charge of the takoyaki!

Finished, Christopher's nano block puzzle

We had a nice day, very quiet but with just the right amount of daftness to make it fun!  Hope everybody reading this had a wonderful day!

Seven Years

Last week was seven years since my husband passed away.  I accepted that the first
couple of years would be hard but I really thought things would be easier by now!
In some ways they are, I've accepted that my life is not what I wanted as I grow
older, that I'll have a lonelier old age than I had hoped for.  Also dealing with our business causes so
much stress, which direction to take it in, how to grow it.  Helping Hannah with her future. I miss Hisao's quiet wisdom a lot, he would step back from a problem and think things through, me I just give a knee jerk reaction and then regret it! So the past week has been rather a downer, plus Mikey, then me and now Hannah have be battling the flu!  I had so many plans for this week but have done nothing.

Few photos of Hisao

Because we have been sick we haven't done a memorial for Hisao, hope to do it next week.  Then Christmas.  I need to recover quickly!

Doctors, Dentists and Vets.....Take 2

Last week Mikey got sick, with the flu.  He went to work Sunday morning,  he is working for his friends event company, but came back at lunch time.  David drove him to the local A&E,  Mikey got a load of medicine and I haven't really seen him since then!  He has been sleeping and resting as much as possible. Hope he recovers soon as I am not feeling great!

All 3 of the kittens have colds. Poor  things are sneezing so much,  they crawl on to any available lap,  then curl up, purring and sneezing.  They went to the vets on Saturday and had some injection, they need to go again today!  Hope they recover soon!

I'm still dealing with the dentist. Had a new filling fitted.  The dentist put a temporary cover on it but that came off so it feels a bit strange.  I am hoping just one more visit will finish this course of treatment.

Hannah went to Hokkaido last week on her school ski trip.  She didn't enjoy skiing, every time tried she fell down.  She enjoyed the food, one evening they went to a restaurant that serves lamb, it is one of the meats that is not popular in Japan. She said that the hotel's breakfast service was very good!

dinner, chicken and egg on rice, miso soup and salad

Apple Pie

Cheesecake that Hannah bought from Hokkaido

Pain In The Neck

Literally!  Woke up Saturday morning with a stiff neck.  Figured it would ease during the day but
it didn't!  I took some pain killers but didn't help!  By evening it was very bad.  Had a hot bath but no help. The pain was intense.  I couldn't move my neck at all, also every time I sneezed or coughed I got a shooting pain up into my head.  Eating was hard as I couldn't open my mouth properly.  Went to bed but gave up after half an hour, couldn't get comfortable at all, sat on the sofa all night1  By 5am I'd had enough, went to the local A&E by taxi.  Got in to see the doctor, had x rays, echo of my neck, pain killer injected into the area that hurt, and even had my heart checked to make sure I wasn't having a stroke!   Came back with a load of painkiller!  Finally managed to sleep for a few hours!
Still have a few twinges but feels a lot better!
Hannah has gone on her school ski trip, she will be away for four days! Hope she has a good time. Of course I will spend the time worrying.  I'm very busy this week as it is our last week for teaching this year!  So Christmas Parties for the kids classes.  Got the Christmas Tree up yesterday.  I'm not putting one in the living room, with the cats it wouldn't last long!

Christmas Tree

Lovely sunset on the way home from shopping

Our white cat, Steve, spent the best past of last week at the vets.  He has kidney problems like Alan.
Poor thing came back rather miserable.  He is getting better but not out of the woods as yet!

Where  his fur is missing is where he had a drip!  Poor boy!

Doctors, Dentists and Vets

Looks like my family is keeping the local medical community in business.
David ended up at the local emergency clinic with a high fever a couple of weeks ago. Then I've had a load of follow up appointment after my eye operation.  Then last week one of my filling fell out so I went to the dentist, he put it back in, but a week later it fell out again.  This time the dentist
cleaned out the tooth holding the filling and found that it had broken, so lots of drilling and digging
to get the old stuff out.  Hurt more after than before the dentist!  Just to top off everything our white cat, Steve, got sick, kidney stones.  Poor thing was screaming in pain, he has been at the vets for the past three days.  Hopefully he can come home on Saturday.  Not looking forward to the bill though but no choice!

Last week David, Christopher and I drove to Costco.  I only go once or twice a year.  managed to buy a whole chicken and a nice piece of beef for Christmas.  I also bought a hot plate to do yakiniku, which is basically grilled meat done at the table.  Nice and easy to do!

Our first yakiniku, we did veggies as well.

Still haven't started to do for Christmas, must do over the weekend!

A Busy Couple Of Weeks

A couple of weeks ago David got sick.  Some kind of stomach bug, we had to take a taxi to
the local emergency clinic on a Sunday afternoon, as he had a fever of 39.9C.  Bit scary!
Nothing really bad but it meant that he couldn't cook for about a week so I was back in the
kitchen.  I enjoyed cooking but the evenings were rather hectic.  Most days I'm working from 6pm to 9pm so I need to get dinner started early and then have somebody finish off.  Also because Mikey was busy I had to walk to the supermarket to get what I needed.  It's only a 5 minute walk but I've gotten use to having a driver!  Still it's good for me!
Our dog is still crying at night and I think she has gotten use to night walks.  I am trying to go as well, we walk for between 20 to 30 minutes and most nights it is really nice.  One small thing that is rather worrying is these strange people we see.  One night a young man, dressed in all black was just standing in the  road. We saw him, then went round the block, when we came back round, about 5 minutes later he was still there.  Another night one older man was trying to walk down the road, Looks like he has been drinking.  Last week a young man stopped his car, got out and asked me (in Japanese) if I was a foreigner and if I was from a America, he then said thank you and drove off.  Rather weird!  I am use to people asking where I'm from or how long I've been in Japan but that is in the day time, not after 11pm!

Also last week I ended up at the dentist. My filling fell out!  The dentist was able to put it back and the tooth feels a lot better.

I have to start thinking about Christmas and putting the tree up in the teaching room.  I don't bother with one in the living room as I know the cats will attack it!

Steve, wondering what is happening

close up of Lucky

Mikey teaching

David with the kittens climbing up him

Trying To Make Some Changes

Last year I wrote about trying to move more.  For a few month I managed to do that, cleaning around the house and yard, walking with Christopher and the dog, going to my mother in laws house and cleaning there.  But the summer came and I can't move in the heat and humidity without getting really sick.  Even in the house I ended up with heat stroke with a fever, headaches and nausea.  I tried to go to the supermarket and shopping malls to walk in there but it didn't really help.  As the weather has cooled down I'm trying again to move more, again walking the dog most evenings but I need more.  I realized that I can spend a day just sitting, which is very bad.  I'm on the boarder line for diabetes, which really scares me.  I watched this documentary about this disease and how awful it can get!  But at the moment the thought of dieting or eating healthy just doesn't inspire me.  I'm tired of not being able to enjoy the foods that I want to eat,  I'm tired of feeling guilty for eating a piece of cake or cookie.  I know that until my mind is in the game any attempt to diet will end in failure and me being more miserable than before.  So to help get more exercise in I have bought myself an exercise bike, just the peddle part, which means that it is small enough for my living room.  So sitting on a chair, watching TV and peddling away!  I thought that I could do 30 minutes a day but it is a lot harder than I thought it would be!  But I can do 10 minutes, every other day and walking the dog for about 20 minutes is a start.  I hope that as I get stronger then I can do more!

Our dog is still crying at night.  Christopher and I walked her at 10 o'clock last night for half an hour, I thought that she would be quiet after that but no, midnight we had to walk her again.  I would worry but my neighbor gets up at 4am to go to work and I don't like the idea of our dog keeping him up at night.  There is a way of groveling and apologizing in Japan that I don't like and don't want to do, so not making problems is the best.  One thing with walking late a night we can see the beautiful sky and watch the progress of the moon over the month!  Last night was a full moon, so beautiful.
Christopher took some photos with his phone, not good quality but you can get an idea.

And this is the reason I don't get mad at the dog.

Cute! She put this on herself but I don't know how!

Our Dog

We have a lovely Labrador dog.  She is getting old, now 11 years old and most of the time very good.  She is a yard dog and spends her time outside, near the windows so we can talk to her. Christopher spends an hour or so with her in the afternoon, playing and chasing in the yard. She is a great guard dog, has a lovely deep bark but I don't think she would attack anyone as she is very friendly.  You would get licked rather than bitten.  In the evenings when it is getting cold she is in the bathroom, she has a blanket and is rather comfortable in there.  I would have her in the living room but with the cats that is now impossible.  For some unknown reason the past few weeks she has been
yapping and crying at night.  She gets a walk at about 7pm, for half an hour but she starts yapping at about 9pm, then again at 12 midnight.  I decided that maybe she needs to get out more, so the past few nights Christopher and I have walking her at midnight.  Not the best thing to do but it calms here down.

midnight walks

At least I am getting some exercise out of all this!  I am hoping that it is a phase that she is
going through and she will calm down soon!  I can hope!

What Happened to Octobber?

Here we are in the first week of November,  October passed me by so quickly that
I never got chance to write.  It was a busy month, with English tests and Halloween.
Also my eye operation, so a lot of hospital visits. 

The first week of October Hannah did an English test that is taken by all students attending
commercial high schools in the prefecture.  Out of all the students she placed 2nd.  She was
very pleased with herself, as was I.  She had studied hard for the test.  The following week
she had her half term tests, she did okay but as always she could of done a bit better.
Also a lot of our students took an English test and most passed,  we are really happy for
them as they had worked hard.

Our Halloween parties were fun and I think the kids had a good time, there was a lot
of laughing.  I tried out a few new cookies recipes, which went down well.

The last week was my eye operation,  I'm so glad to have that finished.  My eye sight
was getting really bad and I felt like I was straining my left eye.  I kept getting headaches.
The operation was only 15 minutes.  Almost no pain, just a bit of pulling.
When I got home I decided to rest for a bit.  After about half an hour I heard Mikey screaming David's name, over and over.  I raced downstairs to find David passed out on the living
room floor.  Mikey was doing CPR, I had flash backs to when my husband died!  We called
an ambulance which rushed us to the hospital in the next city, our local A&E was closed
because of too many people.  When we got to the hospital they took David to check him
out.  Christopher and I went to fill out forms.  We waited for about an hour then got called
back to talk to the doctor.  I was shocked at how young the doctor was!  They had a heart specialist
look at David and check his heart out but there was no problem.  The doctor thinks it was
low blood pressure.  He was discharged the same night and seems to be okay now. I keep asking
him if he's okay!
I know these things happen but I wish they wouldn't.  My stress level was already too high
and that drama really didn't help!
The kittens continue to grow.  Looks like we are keeping them!  It's just too difficult to
find somebody who would take them and take care of them.  Plus they have already
wormed their way into our hearts!

Aren't they lovely!!

Is this Autumn?

A few days of cooler weather and I am hoping that autumn is finally here!
The summers here are really hard for me.  The heat and humidity are exhausting. It feels like
living in a sauna, the humidity wraps around like cling film.  Clothes stick and my face is constantly covered in sweat!  So cool weather, especially at night, is very welcome! No need for air conditioners or fans.
One thing with the cooler  weather I have been able to get some jobs done.  During the summer I just keep the main rooms clean but things get dumped into the under stairs cupboard or the corridor that runs the back of the house.  The other day I spent a couple of hours, with David and Christopher's help, cleaning out those areas!  It feels so good to do that, just getting ready for the nice cold weather!
The kittens are growing and becoming very active.  I have to watch where I step.  They have a habit of getting under the sofa or between the sofa cushions, always check where the kittens are before sitting down!

One kitten under the sofa and one between the cushions!

Peek a boo, I see you!

Cute!