SAD

My mother in law is in a care home.  There was no choice, she is bed ridden, unable to get to the
toilet or take a bath by herself.  Even standing for a couple of minutes has her in pain.
She has no other family, there are cousins somewhere but I have no idea where or who they are.
She has no money, no savings just a meager pension of about 450 pounds every two months.  The only place that had room and could work with the welfare to pay the balance of her care is an older place.  Before she was put in there we went and talked to the staff.  I asked about activities,  chance to interact with the other residents and staff, some kind of rehabilitation, I was reassured that there was such things but I am not seeing that.  David and I went yesterday.  As we walked to her room, that she shares with other ladies, the smell of urine was overwhelming, the doors to the other rooms are open and the residents are just lying there, neither dead or alive.  My mother in law has nothing to look at, I think she is in her bed all day with a blank wall to stare at, no TV, nothing to interact with!
Just a wall  with a calendar, for what, to count down the days until she dies.  It is really sad and I can't do anything about it!  I can't have her here, my health is not good enough and she would totally stress us all out.  We can't afford anywhere else and I think her health is so fragile that moving her could be dangerous!  She has worked hard her whole life to be dumped in this place. One problem is that the government wants families to care for the elderly at home so there is little funding for care homes.

And just to make me more sad there was an awful knife attack this morning in a city just outside of Tokyo.  The news so far states that one elementary school girl has been killed, along with 15 others that have been injured.

WHY

May in the area where I live is usually nice.  Not too hot, not too cold.
Average temperature is between 20 to 25C (68 to 77F).  It is
just the right weather to go out, see places, get the garden done and
deep clean the house before the extreme heat of summer.
But not this year.  Today it was up to 33C (91F) where I live.  According to the news some
places were expected to hit 37C (98F).  Too hot for this time of year!
Why is it so hot?  That is one question I keep asking.  I honestly felt I had a few more weeks
before the crazy heat would start.  We haven't had the rainy season yet.  Actually there
hasn't been a lot of rain these past couple of months. And the rain we have had has been
very strong down pours that doesn't soak the ground.  We drove past a field two days after
the last down pour and I was shocked at how dry the soil was, it looked like there had
been no rain for weeks!
Our poor animals are suffering.  The dog has dug herself a hole under a tree to cool down. The cats
are stretched out in the corridor.  We keep fresh water for them.  I am wondering what to do if it gets really hot.  I would want the dog inside with the air conditioning but with the cats that might
be difficult!

One Year On

This time last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After a mastectomy and daily tablets I am cancer free.  Well at least according to my last blood tests.
I'll have big tests the end of June, a mammogram and CT scan.  No big deal but as always
the worry is there a the back  of my head.  I try not to focus on it but in the middle of the night all the aches and pains I have make me think that the cancer is back!

I am trying to do more, to be more proactive and do things that I want to do.  My scare last year reminded me in very real way that we don't know what tomorrow might bring.  So I am trying to live for now, spend time with people who add to my life, not with people who have a negative impact on me.  I am making plans to travel.  I want to go to the UK again, visit my family and friends and to visit the places I've never had chance to see before.  Also there are so many places in Japan that I want to see.  So I am making lists and plans, trying to make money for all these adventures!

And because all my photos are of the cats I'll leave you with some cute photos.

Photos

I wanted to post photos yesterday but couldn't find my camera to upload them. Of course the camera
was on the shelf in front of me!

These are from Hannah's birthday.

Birthday Girl

Dinner by David. The salad in the bowl is really nice!

Two cakes, again by David.

And of course cats

First Half of May

This month is flying past.  I've been very busy, dealing with my mother in law's situation, trying to clean out this house and new students!
The beginning of the  month was Hannah's birthday.  I know I always say it but time does go
really fast watching the kids grow up! I remember her being born premature, just 900grams (1.9 pounds), being told that she only had a 30% chance of surviving,  wondering if we would have the chance to celebrate any birthdays at all!  Now she is a young lady with her own sense of style, she isn't into fashion so much but takes time to find what suits her.  She is very witty and comes out with really funny come backs. She is also good at drawing and will spend ages doing that.  Of course she is spoiled, but as she says "Of course I'm spoiled, I'm the youngest and only girl".   She had loads of presents and a nice birthday meal, cooked by David, he also made two cakes!

The sad news is that the last baby kitten died.  It just got so weak, we tried to bottle feed it but
it just wouldn't take it.  We tried so hard to keep it alive but no luck.  I have felt so bad about that litter of kittens, but I also know we did everything we could!  Mama cat has been on heat for
about 2 weeks, which has been very hard.  She doesn't like to use the litter box and cries to go out but we haven't allowed her. I am hoping to get her to the vets soon to get her fixed!

A Cuteness of Cats

Today is a new era in Japan.  The Heisei Emperor abdicated yesterday and his son was 

enthroned today.  The new era is known as Reiwa meaning peace and order.  I always 

thought that the name changed with a new emperor but according to my kids the names

would be changed for a variety of reasons.  Once because an unusual turtle was seen and

another time because of a strange cloud formation!  

On a personal level these past few weeks have been rather trying.  Mama cat had five

kittens but only one has survived.  It looks like they caught a cold and couldn't feed, so

they never grew.  David spent over an hour trying to revive them but it didn't help.

The one that survived also had a cold, both David and I spent time suck mucus out of

its nose. Not nice.  I sat up a couple of nights with it as well, trying to keep it warm and

feed kitten formula to it.  We ended up with the black kitten, Alan, back in the vets for four days.

He still has kidney problems.  When David picked him up he had to take Steven, the white cat and

Mama and baby.  My vet bill is very high.  Also we had to buy medicine for the dog. 

Never mind, the animals bring a lot of joy to our home!

A few pictures

Hannah playing with some application

Typical scene