Spring....

 Is here, maybe!

There are signs that spring has begun!

Almost all the trees and bushes are budding. We have plum blossoms, or at least I think they are plum blossoms. 

Plum Blossoms?

I noticed a couple of little daffodils.

Cute!

I was very happy to see these. They remind me of Mom. She used to buy some almost every spring. She told me that they were my Granddad's favorite flower! For me, they are a sign that the coldest time of year has finished!

I noticed some other bushes were starting to bloom. Not sure what they are, any ideas?

What are you?

One thing that I can't get over is how quiet it is here. Where we lived before wasn't noisy but I could usually hear people from the other houses or kids playing in the park. Here it's very quiet. The occasional car goes by and sometimes the guys working on the field behind our house, but other than that the only thing I can hear are the birds.

The mountain was covered in mist this morning.

Misty Mountain

I mentioned this to David. He said that going to work last night it wasn't misty but foggy, very foggy. He could only see a couple of meters in front of his car.

From David on the way to work

That looks very scary. He thought about turning back, but when he looked in his mirror it seemed darker than in front!

February

 I know February is the shortest month but it's also one of the hardest for me. 

February is the coldest month and this year was exceptionally cold.

We had a couple of weeks where the daytime high didn't get over 8C, and nighttime lows were about -3C. Far too cold.  In the old house, even if it was very cold outside I could keep the main rooms warm and comfortable. In this house, the only warm place is my bed. On days when it was clear but cold, it was warmer outside in the sun!

There were some good days thrown in with the cold miserable days! 

I got to visit my friend, that was a nice outing.  Just chatting and drinking tea for a couple of hours.

Tried to do more outside. A bit challenging with the cold and the aches and pains I have but worth it.  Had a few good walks around this area as well.

Got to the city hall to sort out my health insurance.  I usually put that off until the last minute as dealing with bureaucracy drives me crazy. From my point of view, it's an easy problem to solve. I want to pay the insurance but I don't have the money so help me find a way to make that happen. But of course, there is a lot of red tape to work through.  I managed, with Christopher's help. I was surprised at how much I could communicate with the staff about the problem and understand what they were saying, just a few words I couldn't get. It helped to have somebody who could understand Japanese, as backup!

After the stress of city hall, it was nice to have a little walk around a shrine and the station, even if we did miss the train! Good excuse to go into a nice little cafe!

I guess it wasn't all bad in February but I'm glad it's over and done with.  I have a long list of things to get done next month. I want to start planting things but the area we want to use still needs clearing. I'll start with some seeding boxes and pots, there are hundreds hanging around. Let's hope the weather will cooperate!

Caught Steve being naughty last night!

After this Fred went out and Steve got on the sofa!! I think that was the plan all along!

It Is The Season For.....

 Sneezing, coughing, wheezing and blood shot eyes! 

Yes, allergy season has started for me! 

According to my weather app, tree pollen is severe, and I live a the foot of a mountain covered in trees!!

I have mild allergies all year round but spring and autumn are really bad.

I take allegry medicine but the side effects are bad. Dry mouth and throat, if I'm not teaching it's okay but when I have to speak a lot I need to constantly drink.  Another side effect are the heavy headaches that I get, really pounding away, I can take painkiller but that makes the worse side effect worse!  Feeling sleepy!  That is really difficult to deal with.  Yesterday I had a morning class and of course as I started the class I felt the side effects kick in. I got so sleepy that I couldn't speak clearly!  

I've thought of using herbal or Chinese medicine to combat these allergies but I don't think that would be stong enough to deal with how severe my symptoms can get. I would love not to take the medicine but if I don't then I can spend up to three hours just sneezing and my eyes burn!

As I mentioned I had a class yesterday morning. It's the volunteer class that I do once a month with Mikey.  Yesterday was the last lesson until April. I was given some beautiful flowers as a thank you!

My flowers

They are in my room because the cats aren't allowed in there unless I'm in there. I don't want the cats to knock them over, also some flowers are poisonous for cats.

Hannah also got some flowers as well. She went out for dinner with her classmates and students doing the same course who are year below her. It was a goodbye party as the 4th year students graduate in March ( the school year is from April to the next March in Japan).  She had a really nice time, the graduating students were given flowers. 

Hannah's flowers

Hannah was asked to go and give a short 10 minute talk about entering graduate school to the third grade students.  

She did that yesterday and said the talk went well. I'm so proud of her, she is very shy and finds talking infront of people difficult but she managed to challenge herself.  

The weather has finally turned round. This morning it was above freezing when I woke up, still cold but a lot easier to deal with!  I need to get started on clearing the yard and planting a few things. I hope the weather cooperates this weekend but the forecast is for rain! 

Mikey's Walk

 Mikey enjoys walking! Many years ago, when we lived in the other house, he went out for long walks! Not just a few trips around the block but a couple of hours of walking. I went with him once because I couldn't believe he walked as far as he said he did, I regretted it! I had to ask him to turn around before we got to where he usually walked to! 

Unfortunately, his schedule got so busy, working 6 or 7 days a week, that his walking stopped. Now however he has a least one day free a week so he has started to go for walks again!

Yesterday he went out from 8am to 11am!!  

We live at the edge of a small town, Mikey walked from our house to the small town, through the town, and back again.

There are no real shops in the town. There's a post office and maybe a bank. I saw a sign for a vegetable shop but every time we went past it was closed. There are a couple of coffee shops but nothing else. Museums and historical buildings make up most of the town!

Mikey walked to a shrine and temple.  He sent me some photos but no explanation of what they are!

Why a cow? maybe one of the local gods!

I would love to go and see these places but I know I can't walk that far!  Again my lack of exercise is showing me my limitations!

Christopher is another one who likes to walk. He doesn't have a driver's license so he has to walk or use public transport. He walks to and from work, which takes about 40 minutes. At the moment that is okay but I'm wondering what to do when the weather gets hot and humid!  Walking that far when the temperature is over thirty fever degrees Celsius is dangerous. He needs to learn to drive as soon as possible!!

Technology

 I have a hard time with technology! I'm talking about things like computers, kindles, iPads, and my phone. My excuse is that all the operating systems are in Japanese and I have no idea what I'm doing when I click or tap on something!  I watch my kids with their phones and am amazed at how easily they use them for almost everything, from finding places on maps, to paying for things with different apps and of course, using different apps for messages. my attempt at that usually ends up with me asking someone to help me out as things have gone wrong!

At home if I mess up one of my devices it's okay, the kids get a good laugh but when I'm out shopping it's another story. I shy away from using self-checkouts at stores, I get one of the kids to come in with me. Recently I've found that some places have an English alternative on the menu so I try to use that but it doesn't always go smoothly for me! The other week I was using a self-checkout in English when the voice started to shout at me! I had picked up four of the same item, and as I scanned it the second, third, and fourth time the voice kept saying "You've already scanned that item" in a rather patronizing way I responded by telling the machine to shut up, which had the staff coming over to see if I needed help!

One kind of technology that both fascinates and terrifies me (and the reason for this post) are voice-activated devices. Things like Alexa, Siri, and Google.

As a child, I loved Star Trek and the computer on the ship. A crew member would say "Computer" and the ship would respond and give a clear answer. As somebody who had to spend hours in libraries looking up things for homework that kind of computer was a dream!

I use voice-activated Google Search a lot when I'm teaching. Asking "What's technology in Japanese?"  is faster than typing it out, especially on my phone! Sometimes, however, it doesn't work! The other day I was talking about chilblains to David. He didn't know this word so I asked Google, the result was "kodmo" children, so I ended up having to type it out!

I didn't realize that these devices are always listening. I have a Kindle that has Alexa on. I saw the icon for Alexa but as I never use it I assumed it was turned off. Last night I was watching a video from GBN news talking about these devices listening in. The reporter was talking about Echo and Alexa, as the report was going on I noticed a voice coming from my Kindle.  At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Was my Kindle possessed by some spirit? Why was it talking to me? I opened it up to find that it had connected to GBN radio! I didn't even know there was such a channel and that I could listen to it live in Japan. I stopped the video and spent the next 20 minutes trying to figure out how to turn it off. I couldn't activate Alexa to turn it off.  

Lesson learned, be careful what you are listening to when other devices are listening in!

Mikey found a way to use Fred as a phone stand. Fred was crying so Mikey picked him up and put his phone on him. Fred became quiet and Mikey could use his phone, win win!

Fred as a phone stand!

National Cat Day

 Februsry 22nd is national cat day here in Japan. The number 2 is pronouced "ni", when three 2s are in a row it sounds like "nyan,nyan,nyan" which is the sound for meow in Japanese.

National Cat Day was estabilished in 1987 with the aim to have a day to appreciate the happiness of living with cats.

Cats are a popular pet in Japan.  There are cat islands, where there are more cats than people. Cat temples, cats that are station masters at small rural train stations and of course cat cafes.

A couple of years ago Hannah found a cat cafe in the large mall near where we use to live. She was surprised at how freindly the cats were and how clean everything was.

Cat Cafe

One famous image of a cat is the "Maneki neko" or beckoning cat. This figurine was started in the Edo period as a lucky charm. It's a figurine of a cat sitting on it's back paws with one of it front paws up, as if calling to someone. If the left paw is up it's calling people or customers, if the right paw is up it's calling  money. I've seen these in a lot of small shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Maneki neko

Most of our cats are curled up together.

keeping warm

Alan on the electric blanket

It's gone very cold again, that's why the cats are curled up together, it's lunch time but only 7C. Forecast is for snow and rain! I'm glad that I don't have to go out today!

Tired

 I think yesterday's little adventure was too much for me.

I fell asleep very early but am still tired and in pain.

Why do I do this to myself?  I should start walking more but not pushing myself like yesterday. I know I didn't have a choice, I had to go to the city hall and the only way back was to walk to the station.  I should have been able to handle it but I can see that I'm a lot more out of shape than I would like to admit, even to myself. I guess it's back to doing some exercise and walking a bit during the day. I'm more active here than in the other house but that doesn't make up for not exercising!

I planned to do some cleaning today but had no energy for that. I did make a nice lunch, one of my comfort food lunches. I like Japanese food but sometimes I just want something more British. I made a nice chicken pie, baked potatoes, and corn.

chicken pie

I had some pastry left over so I made jam tarts. Very simple but nice, I think I enjoy them as they remind me of my childhood!

A nice cuppa and a couple of jam tarts!

This is what I'm enjoying now!

Tomorrow is going to be very strange as I'll be home alone most of the day! Just me and the cats!!

City Hall

 I mentioned before that I got a bill from the city hall to pay my national medical insurance. I'm happy to pay it but I just don't have any extra money this month.  Our electric bill was high, about twice what I was paying before, gas was high as well plus we've been buying things for the house and the land. Most of these things David has been paying, Christopher and Mikey have chipped in, and I'm still making a bit but there still wasn't enough to pay my medical insurance as well.  

This has happened a few times. The amount you have to pay is calculated from your tax the previous year. But my income is very unstable, I can get a sudden influx of students, which is great but at the same time, I can lose a lot.  A few times I haven't been able to pay my medical insurance, when the kids were my dependents it was a lot and I would really struggle to pay.  A few times I've had to ask for help from the city hall. In the last city, they would ask how much I could pay a month until the debt was paid off! I thought it would be the same here. But this city is a bit stricter. I was hoping to pay 5000 yen four times but that wasn't possible. I asked if I could pay from March, and pay the amount over 3 months. The lady who I was dealing with had to go and ask about that. In the end that is what was agreed. It's still going to be tight but I think I can manage. I hope so!!!

I must admit that things went a lot more smoothly than I thought they would. I have bad memories of this city hall. It's a massive building, 20 floors. The few times I've been there it's been a nightmare of riding up and down in the elevators trying to find the right office!

After we finished (Christopher came with me to help with Japanese) we went to the top floor. There's an observation deck, the views are spectacular.

views from the city hall

Mikey had dropped us off in the morning but he had classes at a few kindergartens, so Christopher and I made our own way back.

From the city hall to the station is about 10 minutes on foot. Easy I thought! Not that easy but I managed it. 

On the way, I noticed a little shrine. 

At the entrance, the lion-dogs protect the shrine

the shrine

A bit of history

Tori Gates that have the names of people who donated to the shrine on them

This shrine was dedicated at this location in 1962.  The former location was near one of the largest factories in the area!

One thing that I love about this area is the way the old and the new seem to blend together.

old shrine and a new tower block

We finally made it to the station. Just in time to see the clock.

This plays on the hour and half hour. 

The story is of Hisashige Tanaka, who was nicknamed "The Edison of Japan".

I haven't been to this station in many years. Last time I went it was rather run-down but now it is really beautiful. lots of open spaces and places to sit, with information on the city and tourist maps to follow. 

Tire manufacturing is a big business here

The front of the station

Because I was busy enjoying the clock we missed the train. We had to wait for 45 minutes for the next one!

We found a cafe and had a little something. I was glad to get inside. Even though it was sunny the wind was very cold. 

Just a little something

We finally got on the train at 11:30.

two carriage train

I see this train going past almost every time I go out. It's very small but very noisy!

We got back to the local station where Mikey picked us up to bring us home. I did think about walking back but I was so tired and in pain by that time that a lift really helped me!

local station

I'm glad that I got my insurance sorted.  These things stress me out so much!

Habits

 I started a book about habits, how to overcome bad ones, and how to make new ones. I didn't finish it, which is one of my bad habits.

I didn't think I had many bad habits until the author pointed out that a bad habit is something that stops you from being all you can be!

Looking at it like that made me realize that I have a number of behaviors that could be considered bad habits.

One that is very obvious is staying up late watching TV.

This habit started when I was teaching in the evenings. My work day was from about 4 o'clock to 9 or 10 o'clock.  Usually, Hisao would teach a bit when it was time for the kids to go to bed, but other than that I was working in the evenings. After I finished teaching I would be too wound up to go straight to bed. So I would watch TV or videos with Hisao. I remember Hisao driving all over the city to get "X-Files" videos. He would come back with a "Jackie Pack", a video (or 3), diet coke, chips, and chocolate. We would then watch TV until 2 or 3am!!

This became a habit, a way of relaxing after a long day!  At that time it was okay, I think I needed it. Now, however, I'm not that busy, I only teach two or three days a week, so I don't need to stay up late to watch TV. I should go to bed early and get up early because there is so much to be done. I can't clear out the land at night!!!!  

One thing I realized the other day, is that I think watching TV in the morning is a waste of time! Why don't I think it's a waste of time to stay up late and watch TV?

Another bad habit, which is related to the first one, is sleeping in the afternoon.  Again this started when I was teaching a lot. I felt I needed energy to deal with the young kids. Some of my classes were 6 to 8 kids, who were either hyper after school or totally exhausted!  Never in between!  I felt I needed to be on top of things otherwise it was just chaos! I needed to sleep to have the energy to keep going. Now however I don't. I should try to make better use of my time. I realize that sometimes I sleep in the day to escape from things, but at the same time, I feel the passing of time! I'm not going to get those afternoons back!

One more bad habit that I noticed the other day is collecting things to do later. I'm talking about study materials, both physical and online or crafting materials. When we were cleaning out the storage I found a bag that had some material and a pattern inside. I bought this when Mikey was 2 years old, I planned on learning how to sew but never got around to it!  I found balls of wool, other pieces of material, and loads of books about sewing, knitting, and crocheting. I've done a bit of knitting and am teaching myself how to crochet but not enough to justify all that I've bought.

The same goes for my Japanese study. I have dozens of books that are still new!  I bought one book when I first came to Japan, so about 34 years ago and it still looks completely new. The book I bought to teach English, at the same time, has been replaced a number of times! 

I do the same with web pages, I bookmark so many because they look like a good way to learn Japanese only to never go back to them! I have over 6000 books on my Kindle (all free downloads), but the only ones I read are the novels. I have cookbooks which I check and write out any recipes that I could use but other books are just sitting there, self-help, Japanese study, how to write, and of course loads of craft books.  

I keep saying I'll start tomorrow but as Mom always said "Tomorrow never comes".  

Maybe it would be better to set a goal, until this date I must study this book, kind of thing. Use the time that I usually sleep in the afternoon to better use!

I want to promote better habits. Make smarter choices in how I use my time!  Stopping all those bad habits a once is a daunting task!  But trying to do one thing should start a domino effect on the other bad habits. So I'm going to try and stop my late-night TV habit! Get to bed at a sensible time and get up at a better time, and stay up!

I'll let you know how it goes!

I'm still talking to the mountain in the morning. Since I've started to do this I've noticed the subtle changes on the mountain. The weather is slowly warming up, the green on the mountain is more vibrant in the sun but even on the odd rainy day there is a beauty there.

I took this photo the other morning when it had been raining. So beautiful with the mist hanging over the mountain. 

misty mountains

This is the view from my bedroom window! I want to cut down more of the bushes so I can see the mountain more clearly!

Just A Few Random Things

 I don't get mail anymore. I used to love finding a letter in the mailbox, but the only things that I get now are bills! 

Today I got a bill from the old internet provider, they'll have to wait!

The other one is from the city for my medical insurance. Japan has a good system. Everybody pays into an insurance scheme, if you are working it's taken directly from your salary. At the doctors, dentists, etc you are charged about 30%.  

I know that with all my health problems if I had to pay full then I wouldn't be able to afford it!  

One problem with this system is that if you own your own business the amount you have to pay is based on your tax.  My tax last year had me making about 20,0000 yen a month (about 1000 pounds), in reality, my income fluctuates a lot.  At the moment I'm only making about 20,000. The bill I got today was for that much!  So it looks like I'll have to go to the city hall tomorrow. Really not a fun thing to do! I'll let you know how it goes!!!

I'm trying to get back into my good habits of cleaning and doing chores in the morning. I had to go out this morning, so I made breakfast, washed the dishes, put lunch ready, and then went out to run a couple of errands. When I got back, while I was waiting for the lunch to cook I cleaned up and got Christopher to do the other room. I feel so much better. It's nice to sit in a clean room.  The rooms don't get dirty but they do get messy, clean laundry not put away, cups left on the table. Just a few things out of place make it look untidy. 

I'm also trying to delete things from my photo file. I take so many photos that my storage fills up quickly!  I found a couple of short videos from Hannah's trip. They are taken from the train.

The first one is when the train is leaving the station, a typical cityscape in Japan. The second one is the countryside. 

Roast Dinner

 Today I made a roast dinner!  

I make one every Sunday when the weather is cool. But between moving and the price of vegetables I haven't done that many so today it felt like a real treat!

The only meat I can get is pork chops or chicken breast, today I did pork chops.  I roast them slowly so they are nice and juicy!

Today's roast dinner

As I was making this, I wondered why I felt this is so special.  I mean it's just a simple meal, nothing really difficult to make.

I realized that my love of a Sunday Roast comes from my childhood!!

Every Sunday Mom would make a big dinner. Usually lamb or chicken, sometimes pork or beef. While the oven was on Mom would bake an apple pie and a Victoria Sponge.  There was something magical about going into the kitchen while Mom was cooking, the smells of the roast and the baking. 

As I got older the Sunday lunch became a favorite thing for me. I can remember talking to my friends about what was planned for Sunday lunch.  The problem for me was after lunch!  Once lunch was finished it meant that Monday would roll around too fast, back to school and all the drudgery that I felt that involved!  

In Japan there is a term for the melancholy that people feel at the end of the weekend, it's called Sazae-San Syndrome. Sazae-San is a cartoon that is shown at 7pm on Sunday evenings, the end of that program signals the beginning of the new week, all the preparation that needs to be done, the last bit of homework to finish, making sure school uniforms are in order.  As a teen, I remember the Muppet Show would be on Sunday evenings, and at the end of the show I would feel so miserable as my two days of fun had finished and it was time to get ready to go back to school.  I guess this feeling of wanting weekends to last forever is worldwide!

Now I'm not working so much, my weekends or days off a more than my working days and somehow it's not that much fun! At the moment I have plenty to do, still setting up this house and doing the land but once that is done what to do? 

Just a quick question for anyone in the UK, is a Sunday Roast still a thing?

The building Is.....

 A train station.

The creature is a kappa, a water sprite.

Tanshimaru Station

This town is east of where we live, nestled at the foot of the Mino Mountain Range. Between the mountains and river is a vast fertile plain.

Tanshimaru has become famous for fruit picking, especially grapes. There are also wineries, I know of one but I think there are others.  There are a lot of places to visit in the area. Each season offers different things, spring there are cherry blossoms, autumn the beautiful leaves. All seasons the view from the foot hills are spectacular.

For the more adventurous there's a hang glider launch site. I've watched people jump off the mountain and glide down to the valley. Even just watching I've found myself holding my breath, hoping that they can find a safe place to land!

The creature being depicted is a Kappa, a water sprite or water demon.  

Kappa watching the trains at the station

The kappa are supernatural creatures that live on land and in water. They are the size of a small child, have a shell on their backs and a bowl of water on their heads that holds their life spirit or supernatural powers. There are tales of kappa harming people but also of them helping people.  Some of the images of the kappa make them look cute and playful but other images make them look like demons. 

Living in this area I've heard about kappa many times, I know they like cucumbers but never really bothered to the read about the stories associated with them.  There are so many different gods, ghosts, supernatural creatures and monsters in Japan, some the legends go back to the earliest settlements in these islands.  Looking for information on kappa I've come across a few interesting web pages.  Christopher has an interest in these things so I can ask him later.

Yesterday I got a call from Hannah. She was on her way home from work, she told me to go out and look at the moon!

Hannah's photo of the full moon

I went out and saw the moon rising, very full and very large. My phone camera doesn't do it justice.

Full moon

One thing with living in the countryside is that there is very little light pollution, the stars were very bright last night!