Summer???

Yes, it is summer but I think the weather has forgotten that.  First time in years that it has been on the cool side this time of year.  Todays high should be around 30C, the past couple of years the highs at this time were in the upper 30Cs.  But it is so humid, we are still having a lot of rain, it's pouring down right now and there are thunder warnings for this area, which is why I have an awful headache!

This summer is not going to be great.  Hannah has only 2 weeks holiday, the school is making up the time lost because of coronavirus shut down.  Also she has to really study to prepare for her university entrance tests.  She is hoping to get in on a recommendation from her school, which means an interview and writing an essay.  If not she will have to take the test.  One  problem is that the entrance tests are changing and she is not sure what to focus on!   The course she hopes to study is education, she can get license to teach junior high school and special needs kids!

We are not planning on going out anywhere.  Looks like the coronavirus is back, there are lots of clusters about and I really don't want to risk it!  I also have two weeks holiday, planning on cleaning (as always), preparing some worksheets for the kids classes, studying Japanese ( I need to improve my Japanese so I can teach better) and reading as many books as possible!  I have thousands of books on my kindle to read. 

The past few summers Hannah and I have gone to the city to watch a musical. Of course this year that isn't happening.  But I preordered the new Les Miserable in Concert DVD, it should arrive just as our holiday starts.  I'm looking forward to watching it with Hannah.

More photos of Lucky!

Beginning of July

In Japan we have a rainy season.  Usually about two weeks toward the end of June where rain is constant but gentle, just drizzling everyday.  The past few years this has changed to torrential rain for about two weeks at the beginning of July.  Last Saturday an area about 2 hours drive south of here was hit very bad, rivers flooded, landslides and threats of landslides.  I felt sorry for the people affected but glad we didn't get hit.

These were typical scenes. 

Last Sunday the rain had moved north.  We got hit very bad.  Hannah's school closed early on Monday and almost all schools in the area were closed on Tuesday.  Where we live is safe as the house is built about a meter up from the road and there are no rivers or mountains nearby.  But watching the news was distressing seeing places that I know under water.  I felt sorry for people who had to leave their homes because of floods or landslides.  Most schools are the evacuation places but how to  keep people safe from the coronavirus as well as the floods.  The centers are set up to try and keep social distancing but it's going to be hard.

We've also had a lot of thunderstorms, some very close which weren't nice, the cats go into hiding!

hiding from the storm

A few photos of Lucky!  She was such a funny dog.  I miss her, the house feels empty now!