Summer Schedule

 The heat has started!

According to the weather apps I use, it's going to be 35C today. This is going to continue for at least two weeks, then we will get a break when the high will be 32C.

One big problem is that it feels a lot hotter than the actual temperature! For example, yesterday it was 31C but the real feel temperature was 38C. 

So, from today, I have to start my summer schedule. Get up early, get as much done before the heat becomes unbearable! Then spend the rest of my day in my room, the only place with a working air conditioner.

I really don't like that my life becomes so small in summer. But no choice. I'm trying to be positive about things, but it's so hard.

I suffer from this every year. I really can't deal with the heat. I would love to be able to go out, do some in the garden, or just take a walk.  But I know that I can't do that until the weather cools down! 

Never mind. I have the TV in my room, so I can binge-watch stuff. I also have lots of books to read. On my Kindle, I have over 6000 books. Plus, I have a small library of real books to work through! 

I need to make money. Poor David really needs an air conditioner. He has to sleep during the hottest time of the day! I've offered him my room, but he likes his own bed!

Fluffy found a new place to hide!

Fluffy in the shoe box

The First One

 Last night was awful!  I was suffering from the most terrible allergic attack. Sneezing, sniffling, and coughing for hours, no sleep, and I used two packs of tissues!

At 3 o'clock, I decided to take some more allergy medicine. I had taken some at about 7 pm, so there was enough time between doses!  I'm supposed to take 4 capsules a day, but I was desperate to sleep.

I came into the kitchen, put the light on, went to get a cup from the drainer when I saw IT!!! A big, fast-moving cockroach!!!

I just stood there, staring at where it had run past! All I could think is that cockroaches are never alone; if there's one, then it's a good bet that he has some friends hiding somewhere.

I would like to think that the cats would hunt them down! But the cats have gone into summer mode!

Summer mode cats!

Anyway, I got up at 5am and cleaned the sink and the dish drainers! There's more to do, as always, but I have no energy today. 

David did some more outside. It really is a losing battle! He found this cute frog statue, which was on a stone! David thought it was really at first!

Kind of cute

I'll have to find a new home for it!

Better go and see if I can clean the kitchen a bit more!

Night Noises

 Where we lived before was in a housing area of a small city. 

Most nights were quiet, but sometimes there would be the occasional sound that disturbed the peace. A car going down the road, the newspaper delivery man on his scooter at 3am. A baby crying or families shouting. Sirens from the main fire station or police cars on the main road, both just a few minutes walk away.  Dogs barking and cats fighting. 

These noises were somehow comforting; I recognized what they were and could, for the most part, ignore them!

We moved to the middle of the countryside in December, and it was so quiet at night. But as nature has woken up after the winter, the noises have started, and I'm slightly freaked out.

Some noises I recognize, the frogs in the creek set up a real racket or a late-night car, a few times ambulances have gone past, there are a lot of elderly people in this area, so I guess that is normal. 

But there are so many noises that I don't recognize. Insects chirping, some night birds, I think I've heard an owl a few times.

Last night was awful. Some animal was moving around in the undergrowth outside my window. I could hear it scurrying around and stifling, then it started to sneeze! I have no idea what was there, and I don't want to know! What was out there?  

Also, this house is noisy. It settles at night, it sounds like it's sighing, relieved that it has survived another day.  

The doors are all sliding doors, except for the bathroom and toilet doors. Anytime they are opened, they scrape along the runners. Last night, the cats managed to open three different doors, I kept going out to see what was going on!

I guess with time, I'll get used to the night noises.

Early morning brings lovely bird songs, until the crows start! Their call is so raw, like vocal sandpaper! But somehow it harmonizes with the morning chorus! I don't think anybody could oversleep here!

Last night we had a beautiful sunset. I managed to get some photos, but they don't do the colors justice.

Beautiful

Reflection of the sunset on the mountains

I went to check on the blueberries this morning, they are just starting to ripen!

Found this little guy

Praying Mantis

Just a baby one, so I could get close enough to take a photo, if it were an adult, I would be running the other way.

And of course, the cats had to check on me.

Nosey cats!

Mom

 It's now 21 years since Mom passed away!

I'm just a year younger than she was when she passed away. I really feel that 64 was too young for her to die.

One enduring memory I have of Mom is her reading to me! She read Little Women, Heidi, and The Water Babies; those are the ones I remember. I'm sure there were others. I can remember the stories of Little Women and Heidi, but I don't recall The Water Babies. I have a copy somewhere, I'll have to find it and read it one day!

Just some photos of Mom over the years!

Very young Mom

She told me she was 19 in this photo, but I don't know!  I don't know why I have this photo. I found it in my jewelry box a few years ago!

At work

This brings back memories! When I was 16, I went to college for a year, like high school but for a trade. To make a bit of money, I worked as a cleaner with Mom. I thought it would be easy, but Mom was a real task master! This is in the first place we worked, a small bakery/ coffee shop. Here it was just the two of us. Later, Mom got a job as a supervisor of, I think, 10 ladies, including me!  A lot of fun but a lot of hard work!

Christmas, maybe just before I came to Japan

Mom loved Christmas, even though there were no kids, she still put up two trees, even the kitchen got decorated!

Visiting with Mikey. I have to find some of the photos with the other kids! She loved her grandkids. She would send toys and books almost every month for them!  

I miss Mom! Even though I was in my 40s when she passed away, it was hard. I guess it doesn't matter how old you are. Losing a parent isn't easy!

Lucky

 I'm not sure of the date, but it's five years ago this week that we lost Lucky, our beautiful Golden Labrador.

She was such a friendly dog, even the vet said that he had never met such a friendly dog!

She was an outside dog. I did try to bring her in, especially in bad weather, but she was never happy. In the yard, she would dig and run around like an idiot.

One time, she was barking up a storm, we thought a cat or snake was in the yard, so we went to see. She was barking at a caterpillar.  She wasn't attacking it, just barking! Cute but very strange.

Just some photos, as I'm now crying!!!

As a puppy

She put this on herself.

In her favorite place

Senkoji Temple

 This temple is just down the road from where we live! It has beautiful grounds covered in hydrangeas, ajisai in Japanese.

I've seen this place advertised locally over the past few weeks. There is a hydrangea festival there every June. This is the season for these flowers. For me, the first sign of the rainy season is the blooming of the hydrangeas!

The temple charges a small fee to enter. I guess it helps to keep the grounds clean and the flowers well-tended.

Our tickets

Mikey drove us, but was too tired from all the driving he did yesterday, so he stayed in the car!  Christopher came with me!  I was happy to go by myself, but having someone with me who can read Japanese really helps!

The temple is up the mountain, so it has beautiful views over the valley.

View from the parking lot.

Today was very cloudy with intermittent rain showers. There was also a nice breeze, so even though it was a bit hot and humid, the wind helped to keep things cool!  

At the entrance was the temple bell.

Explaining about the temple bell

The temple bell

As we entered, there were various buildings and different statues. 

I'm not sure what this is, but I liked it. It was in the entrance of one of the buildings!

Interesting carving!

There were some statues to pray to. 

Mizuko  statue

Mizuko is a baby that is miscarried, aborted, or stillborn.  There is a memorial service called Mizuko Kuyo done for these babies.

We couldn't see what the other statues were for!

Some of the other statues

There were other buildings, one was the temple, the other is maybe the mausoleum.

The temple

Maybe the mausoleum

We then followed the trail of the hydrangeas.

beautiful hydrangeas

Scattered among the flowers were these really charming little statues.

Charming statues

 

There's something very cute about these. There were so many, and each one was different! I bought a little badge with one on!

My badge

We stopped for a while by a very old tree. The edge of the temple is surrounded by forests, we could hear a stream, but couldn't see it.

Lovely tree

Looking into the forest, those are all bamboo.

More of the forest floor

View of the mausoleum

I took a couple of videos. Just to try and get the feeling of the place. It was busy, but somehow it wasn't noisy and didn't feel crowded.

I tried to not get people in, but difficult!

I really enjoyed myself. We could have stayed longer, there was a hillside that had a lot more flowers, but it started to rain!

Still, it was a nice hour, a break from the usual schedule!

Late Night Shopping

At the moment, we only have one car! 

Mikey's car is falling to pieces. He thought about taking it in for the MOT (jidohsa kensa torokusedio, usually contracted to shaken in Japanese), but realized that it wouldn't pass and would cost a lot to fix everything.  It's illegal to drive a car without an up-to-date shaken sticker on your car, so he hasn't been driving it for a couple of months now!

We are managing alright, David and Mikey have to coordinate their schedules. One problem is that I can't go shopping as often as I would like. David usually picks up what we need on the way home from work. That helps a lot, but his shopping is more frozen foods; I prefer more fresh foods, fruits, and vegetables.

Yesterday evening, I was looking in the freezer for something to do for today's lunch. I thought I had another pack of chicken left, but there was nothing, except bread and French fries!

Last night, David didn't have work, so I thought that we could shop this morning, but Mikey needed the car for the day!

I suggested going to the 24-hour supermarket in the morning, at about 6am. But David decided to go at midnight!

It felt very strange to go shopping at that time.

Two things surprised me!

First, the store was rather busy!  It was about 12:30am when we got there. I thought we would be the only ones shopping, but there were a lot of customers!

Second, there was still a good choice of vegetables and meat.

We got home just after 1am. As we pulled up to the house, I asked David for the house key. He said that I had it, but I remembered him locking the door.

When we got to the front door, we found that the key was still in the lock!

The key is still in the lock

I guess Japan, at least in the countryside, is still safe!

Summer Cooking

 Cooking in the colder months is easy! I make big pots of stew or soup. Chicken pie or meat pie, a lovely roast with a load of vegetables. I can think of a lot of meals for the cold months, but come the summer and the heat, I'm stuck.

Cooking is hard in the heat, especially since I don't have an air conditioner in the kitchen area.  Also, I don't feel like eating anything. I want something light but filling. Something that is quick and won't add heat or humidity to the room!

A lot of go-to recipes in Japan are all the cold noodles. Somen, soba, ramen, and udon can all be served cold with different dipping sauces and toppings.  They are alright, but it gets rather boring after a while. I sometimes put out stuff for everyone to make their own sandwiches, or I do potato salad or pasta salad.

This past winter, I made a lot of donburi dishes.  Donburi are basically a one-bowl dish. Lovely hot rice with some kind of topping. Beef or pork (usually pork as it's cheaper), cooked in a mix of soya sauce, mirin (sweet sake), and sake. Or breaded pork cutlets that are deep fried, or chicken and egg cooked together.  I would make a pot of miso soup and some kind of salad to go with it, lovely Japanese comfort food.

Deep-fried pork cutlet on rice with miso soup and salad

This is so quick and easy to make. It's warming and filling. But too heavy for the summer months. I might make it once or twice during the whole of summer, but not like in the winter when this kind of meal was once or twice a week.

It looks like having a good look at the local supermarkets and checking out some of my cookbooks.  Summer cooking is hard, but I want to be able to make healthy meals. I feel that my energy is easily drained in the summer, so meals that can give me a boost really help!

It's Hot!

 According to the news, many places in Japan are experiencing a heatwave.

The city of Kofu in Yamanashi recorded a high of 38 °C. This area does get very hot, but not in June.

Heatstroke warnings have been issued to many areas, but unfortunately, 3 people have already passed away due to heatstroke!

This happens every year. Many are older people who don't run air conditioners because of the expense. I've often wondered why the local community centers aren't open up for older people to go and spend the hottest time of the day there. One thing I have noticed over the past few years is that some supermarkets have a small seating area. You can buy lunch and just sit in that area for a while. I think it's a step in the right direction. 

Another problem is the people who have to work in this heat. I noticed this poster in a supermarket the other day.

poster in a local supermarket

It's basically apologizing for the staff having to drink while they are working. I think for some Japanese, this is seen as bad manners! For me, however, it's common sense!

One news report that I watched this morning showed a delivery driver. The company gives them a special vest that has fans in it and a watch-like device to track their temperature. The staff are encouraged to drink and eat salt candy.  I'm glad that some companies are starting to see how dangerous heatstroke is and are taking some preventive measures!  I'm also wondering when this common sense will trickle down to the schools. A lot of schools continue with sports activities outside, even in the extreme heat. Every year, we see the same thing on the news: ambulances lined up outside schools because some of the kids have heatstroke!

On a personal level, I finally got my air conditioner fixed. It wasn't broken, the problem was the wall socket and the plug on the machine were a different shape. I checked a few places and got quoted about 20,000 yen to fix this (about £100). This morning, David called a few companies and got quoted 5,000 yen (£25), a much better price. 

The guy came this afternoon and changed the plug, took less than 5 minutes! 

I'm so happy to have an air conditioner that works! I would love to have one in each room, but just having a place that I can sit in that is cool helps a lot. Also, being able to have the air conditioner at night will help me sleep better.

I want to buy one for David's room, he sleeps during the day, when it's very hot, and I worry that he isn't getting good sleep!  Need to save some money for that!!

Bit Better

 Still feeling miserable. I think until I figure out how to make some money, it's going to be tough here.

I really hoped that I would get a few students. 

This summer is going to be hard, but I'll survive. Somehow.

Is anybody making money online? 

Even though it's tough, I still have to cook and clean. I enjoy cooking, it helps with my stress to make good meals, or do some baking!

I made a nice lunch today, goya champuru.

Goya is also called bitter melon. 

Goya, bitter melon

Although this isn't my taste, it is very healthy, so I try to use it a few times a month in the summer. It's high in potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants.

This vegetable is very popular in Okinawa, which has the highest rate of people living to 100 years old, and most of the elderly there are still active! 

I made Goya Champuru, stir fry with pork, tofu, and eggs! 

Goya Champuru

I know it doesn't look that good, but it tasted great! Because it has so much protein in it, I didn't get hungry for a long time!

I've taken to having little walks around the garden, just to get some fresh air. I was surprised to find that it was cooler outside than inside. There are some beautiful flowers in bloom.

Pretty Flowers