Mono-Colouring Packaging In Japan

 A few months ago, I came across a news article saying that because of the Iran War, tofu was going to become more expensive.

I was really puzzled by this. Why would tofu, which is made from soya beans grown in Japan, become more expensive? I can understand foods or goods that are imported becoming more expensive, or things that rely on oil or oil products, like plastic goods, becoming expensive. 

Turns out that it's the packaging, especially the dyes that are used in making the colours on the packaging. One executive from a tofu company said that the company was thinking of making the packaging mono-colour to save on one chemical that is needed to make the colours.

A few other companies planned on following suit, changing from bright colours to mono-colours. On different news programmes, the new packages were displayed. 

I thought that this might be a big thing in the bigger cities, where turnover is higher. 

I didn't think that they would end up here!

Until Christopher came home with these yesterday.

The orange is the original package.

Apparently the supermarket he is working at has just recieved there first shipment of the new packages.

I know in the grand scheme of things that this isn't big news. But it triggered memories from the pandemic. The feeling of seeing something on the news but not believing it would come here!

I remember watching when COVID was first discovered in China, the lockdown in the city, news footage showing deserted streets. I thought it would be similar to SARS, not a big deal. But as countries around the world started to show signs that the disease had spread to them, I got a bit worried. 

I'm not sure when or where COVID first appeared in Japan. I remember a cruise ship that had people with COVID on board and how that was mishandled. I guess the first cases were in Tokyo, before the government stopped people from coming into Japan.

This was news; this was happening somewhere else- yes, in Japan, but not in Kyushu. Not in the small city where I live.

Every day the news would report how many were sick in each area; I watched as the numbers near where we lived started to grow. But I still didn't think it would affect me, my family, my friends or students.

I remember the first sign that it was getting closer to home. I stopped into a convenience store to pay a bill. On the counter, there was a plastic partition between the staff and the customers. The same day, I went to a supermarket that had a butcher's counter. If the meat is on sale, I usually get 1kg and ask the staff to separate it into two bags of 500 g each. There was a big sign saying that they would no longer do that, as it takes time and they want the customers to move quickly out of the store.

This made me cry; it made the reality of the pandemic very real. For the first time, I was scared!

I had a similar feeling with the packaging; it was something on the news, nothing to do with me. It wouldn't come here; the war would be over before it got that bad. I know mono-colour packaging isn't bad; I actually like the new packaging, but it's what it represents. The fact that the situation in the Middle East is still fragile, and that we are seeing the results of that war in our supermarkets. I wonder what will be next; already, gas (petrol) has gone up a bit. How much will this war impact Japan and other countries? I read somewhere that fertiliser could become in short supply, leading to crop failures and famine in some of the more vulnerable places. What other things will change in our day-to-day lives before the war ends?

I hope this war ends soon, before things get even crazier! If the worst thing is mono-colouring packaging, then that's good!

It Came

 At the beginning of the month, I wrote about designing a T-shirt on Printify (Jackie's Japan Journal: I Had An Epiphany!)

It took an hour of messing around with AI and Printify, but I finally made a design that I liked. Printify lets you order a sample, so I did. Took a couple of weeks, but it came yesterday.

The quality is very good. The hem, sleeves and neck are all hemmed so they don't fray. The material is nice and soft.

This is me unpacking it. I tried to show the hems; not sure how good the video is.

I ordered the biggest size, which fits me! 

The T-shirt looks good; me not so much!

I never know how to stand for photos, plus my face is all blotchy and swollen from allergies. But you can see that the T-shirt looks nice; it's very comfortable.

The next step is to make a few more designs. I'm going to try different AIs to do that, just to see what is good. Then set up a shop on either Etsy or Shopify; both have good points and bad points.

I'm busy teaching until Thursday, so I think this weekend I'll try and get everything set up.

I really hope I can make some money from this venture. Even if I don't, I can say that I've tried!

Stories

 I feel like I am the keeper of stories.

When I was little, my Mom would tell me stories of her childhood. She grew up in the countryside, in a time and place that no longer exists. She was the youngest of 8 children, 6 boys and 2 girls. Her mother died when she was only 6 years old, so she was raised by her older sister.

I loved listening to these stories. I don't know how true they are or how exaggerated they are. 

One story that comes to mind is about jam. Mom was born in 1939, just as World War 2 was starting. Rationing started in 1940; Mom said that because my Grandfather worked on a farm, he could get some food from there, things like vegetables or eggs. But there was a lot of stuff that they just couldn't get; one was jam; sugar was rationed. The story Mom told me was that one day the kids at school were given a jar of jam each to take home for their family to share. My Mom and the brother just older than her decided that since there were 4 kids from their family getting the jam, their Dad wouldn't miss their jars. After school, they snuck off into one of the fields and ate their jars of jam. They went home, and their Dad asked where their jam was. Mom's brother said that because there were four kids from one family, only two got the jam. Their Dad just stared at them, then said, "So what is that red, sticky stuff around your mouth?" They had eaten all the jam but forgot to wash their faces after! The punishment was that they couldn't have any of the jam that the others had bought home! Plus, Mom got sick from eating so much sugar in one go!

She had lots of stories like that. Just silly things that she did as a kid. Stories of hard times but fun times. As I got older, she would tell me of how hard it was living in the countryside, that walking to town would take about 45 minutes, there were no buses at that time. That everyday chores took longer because there were no modern conveniences.  These were never told to elicit sympathy but more to show how lives and living situations change over time. 

I like family stories; I loved listening to my Mom and trying to imagine her life and that of her brothers and sister.

I feel that everyone has stories to tell, that these stories are part of our family history and should be preserved for future generations. I've told my kids most of the stories from my Mom. For me, that is important; they didn't have a lot of time with her. 

I think I might take time to write these stories down and make a little book for my kids. Not just Mom's stories but mine as well.

The end of the month will be 22 years since Mom passed away. I still want to call her and tell her about my kids and what they are doing!

Just a few photos of Mom.

With Alan

She thought there was no film!

At her job, cleaning.

The photos are scanned; I have an app, but I'm not very good at using it!

Living In An Ageing Nation: My Thoughts On A Recent Parricide Case In Japan

 This post might get a little heavy, so apologies in advance.

It might trigger some people, so if you are sensitive to elder abuse or abuse in general. you might want to skip this post.

I know I said I was going to do a news fast, and I've been very good; this is the first news article I've read in a couple of days!

This came through my Facebook feed. The title stated that a 54-year-old man was arrested after calling the police to say he had choked his father to death.

In Japan, nearly 60% of confirmed elder abuse cases are committed by the victims' children.

When I first came to Japan, I was shocked that adult children could kill their own parents. I understood the pressure that adult kids have to take care of frail parents, especially if dementia is involved. But why go to the extreme of killing?

This puzzled me for many years, until we had to live with my mother-in-law. After a year living with her, I was either going to kill her or commit suicide; it really was that bad.

We moved in with my mother-in-law when Mikey was 18, David 14, Christopher 10 and Hannah 6.

After Hannah's birth, my mental health was very bad. Within a year, I was dealing with Hananah being born extremely premature, with just a 30% chance of surviving; Mikey and David being bullied every day at school, at one point David was almost killed by the class bully; and my Mom passing from terminal cancer. I had no help, no one to talk to, except Hisao. He tried to help, but I was so depressed. Also, he was struggling as well. I was teaching a lot at that time, but I couldn't smile, not even a fake smile; my classes had no energy, as I had no energy. I lost so many students that we couldn't make rent. The only choice was to move in with my mother-in-law.

From the beginning, it was hard. She was in the hospital when we moved in; we had a couple of months to get settled. I remember cleaning out the sink; it was thick with black mould, then I found all the clothes that she had bought- over £5000 worth of clothes that she never wore, that broke me! She never paid Hisao for all the work he did with her; she said she had no money! But she had money to buy clothes! That still gets me now; I see the house is falling to pieces because she never fixed anything. She always said that she didn't have money!

When she came home, she started making demands on me; I had to cook all the meals and keep the house spotless. She wanted things done her way. She yelled at me for over 3 hours, following me from room to room because I didn't know where the hangers for the laundry were. I told her that I would have a look; when I finally found them, she accused me of stealing them. This was constant; she would go round the house looking for things that I had done wrong. She even yelled at me for cutting an orange the wrong way!

The one incident that still breaks my heart is to do with Christopher; he was in the 5th grade at that time, bullying was very bad, the teacher had no control over the class. Hisao explained that Christopher was staying home for a few days because of the bullying; we had an appointment with the headteacher and homeroom teacher. Her response was to tell Christopher that he was being bullied because he was stupid. Not just once, but every time she saw him. He didn't want to eat dinner with us because of that.

Things got very bad when Hisao ended up in the hospital because of kidney failure and water around the heart. He was in the hospital for a month; he came home thin and very weak. My mother-in-law kept saying that Hisao had to work in the fields with her. She then had a go at me for money to pay the bills; I had no money, maybe 100 yen. Every day was a living nightmare.

In the end, Hisao called social services to see if there was any way they could help. I asked if she could go to a day care centre, so we could have a few hours' break, but I was told that she had to decide to do that. 

I told them that I was afraid for my kids' lives; she would walk around the house at night, mumbling and cursing, she refused to eat the food I made, then demanded I make her something. She would hit our dogs with her walking cane, breaking my kids' hearts. Every day was a living nightmare; I cried all the time. My kids lost their smiles. 

What pushed us over the edge was when she locked us out of the house; in the winter, we had to sleep at a friend's house. She then decided that if we were going to live there, Mikey had to quit high school and work with her on the fields, and that I had to help as well.

She was really verbally abusive, calling names, saying snide things to us. She told me that my mother was bad! 

One day I had been to the dentist; I was in pain from the local anaesthetic, she punched me in the face. That was the last straw; we had her committed to a mental hospital.

The point of all this is to show how abuse was swept under the rug by the social services; they couldn't or wouldn't do anything to help. I told them that I wasn't sleeping because of her wandering around at night; I was told to get some sleeping tablets! I begged them to have her put in an old peoples home, even for a couple of months, but they told me that it was up to her; they couldn't do anything. The idea to put her in a mental hospital came from a police officer!

This is the reality of the elderly in Japan. There is very little help or support for families. Caregivers aren't helped; there isn't any kind of break for them. There are a lot of old people's homes, but they are expensive, and so a lot of old people either live alone (and die alone) or are taken care of by their families, who have very little support. 

Living day in and day out without an end to the emtional/verbal abuse broke me. I wasn't sleeping, I couldn't eat, I worried constantly about my kids, what was this doing to them. I asked if there was a shelter that I could take the kids to for a few days, just to sleep and not worry that she might hurt the kids, but I was told that unless she hurt us, then there was nothing they could do.

I really understood why people kill their parents.

It's sad; the people who gave birth to you and raised you become unrecognisable as they age. They change into monsters, demanding things that you can't give. They hurt you constantly and have no idea that they are doing this. 

I tried so hard to feel empathy for my mother-in-law, but having my heart broken daily was so hard. I wanted my kids to love their grandmother, but they saw all the horrible things in her that they couldn't love her at all.

We managed to move out; I refused to tell her our address. Hisao went to visit her as often as he could; I would send meals when he went.

It took a long time to recover; the kids call that year "The year from hell"

I know elder abuse happens; I've heard of elderly people being tied to a bed, so they wouldn't wander off. I know that some old people are neglected or beaten by their family members. I also know that a lot of families suffer because of an elderly relative who is just abusive; the scars might not be physical, but emotional scars run deep!

Japan, as a nation with a lot of elderly people, really needs to find a way to help families in these kinds of situations. In Japan, welfare always starts with your family; if you don't have money, you are told to ask relatives before getting any help from the government; the same with elderly care, the family has to take the burden!

When my mother-in-law ended up in hospital after having a bad fall, we had to take care of her. David and I spent hours going to the hospital, meeting with doctors and social workers. She thought that I would drop everything and come and take care of her. I told the social worker that I was a single mother with two kids still in full-time education, that I had to work to pay for everything. The social worker rolled her eyes and said that they would find a way to support my mother-in-law at home. 

My mother-in-law passed away in 2020; nobody came to her funeral, and nobody cried.  A sad ending to a sad life.

My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law at Hisao's cousin's wedding.

My mother-in-law when I first came to Japan.

One of the reasons I struggle with this house is because of the memories from that year! Before we moved in, I was cleaning the frosted glass doors to the bedroom that she used. I saw these white streaks; it was milk that she threw at me one time. I don't remember why, but she threw a carton of milk at me; it smashed on the door and broke. I cleaned the floor but left the door. She never cleaned it; after 17 years, the dried milk was still there! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw that milk!

I hope I won't get like that as I age. I would hate for my kids to take care of me if I'm mean and spiteful. I know that dementia is possible, which is why I try to study and keep friendships. It's also part of the motivation to get healthy! I don't want to burden my kids!

News Fast

 I think I need a news fast. 

I know that the world is crazy, that there are people out there who are unhinged or just so entitled that they don't care who they hurt to get what they want. I know that politicians care more about their position than the people they should be serving, and that keeping that position often means making deals with the devil. 

But I really can't take any more. My heart breaks when I see the riots in the UK, both in Belfast and Southampton. I understand the anger of the rioters, but I wonder if it really helps. Will the powers that be stand up and do something? 

I'm saddened that the country I grew up in is being destroyed by violence, not just the illegal immigrants, but young people who seem to think that stabbing someone is the only way to get what they want.

Every time I turn on my computer, I'm met with headlines saying that another young life has been cut short or another kid is fighting for their life in hospital. Today, for example, a 14-year-old girl has been charged with attempted murder after a knife attack at school. Is this the new norm? 

When I was 14 and upset at someone, we would call names, maybe have a fight with pulled hair, but taking a knife to someone was something I never would have imagined doing.

Japan is also not as peaceful or safe as it used to be. The body of a 17-year-old high school girl was found under a bridge. Her ex-boyfriend, who is 19, has admitted to killing her.

Crimes in Japan have risen recently. Murder and robbery have gone up by 3.6%.

Reading these reports or watching the news has made me feel very anxious. I feel so sad and defeated by the evil I see. At the same time, I know that a lot of the news is exaggerated to catch people's attention.

For example, according to most news outlets, the UK is about to erupt into total lawlessness and Shari Law is just around the corner. When I ask family and friends who are living there, they say that, yes, some areas are bad but not everywhere.

The same in Japan: there are more murders, rapes and robberies, but it might be that people are reporting these crimes more, especially the rapes and robberies!

Today, I scrolled through the news on my computer, sighed and cried, felt defeated and powerless. I realised that reading or watching the news isn't helping me at all. I don't need to know what is happening across the world all the time. So I'm going on a news fast. My computer will still open up to the news; I could change it, but that would take time. So I'll just ignore it! 

I want to focus on being positive; I'm really trying to let go of my negative thinking. A lot of the negativity I feel is fueled by the news, so a news fast for a few weeks might help me. My kids always say that I can't do anything, that just moaning and whining about things isn't going to help.

I want happy news; drop a comment if you have some happy news! 

My happy news this week was that my blood pressure was down!

Maybe a weekly post on happy news is in order!

This is a photo of the "jungle" outside of my kitchen door. Google made it into a stylised photo!

I was trying to take a photo of the sunset.

This is the original.

Hospital Visit

 Yesterday was my yearly check-up for cancer and my 3-monthly check for diabetes and high blood pressure.

I am beyond grateful that I live in a country that has good health services; I can't imagine waiting for months to see a doctor and then having to wait for ages to get test results. Health services aren't free in Japan; everyone pays into a national insurance scheme and then pays 30% when we go to the doctor or dentist. There are private insurance companies that offer health insurance, but I think the national insurance is good. 

The tests I had done yesterday aren't invasive and basically pain-free.

Except for the mammogram. I know the ladies out there know what I'm talking about.

The technician yesterday was very apologetic about squishing my breast between two plates! As she walked away to take the X-ray, she said, "Please don't move". I'm thinking I can't, then I started to wonder what would happen if there was an earthquake; does the machine have a safety release mechanism? I could just imagine the news headlines "Foreigner loses breast during earthquake!"

After the mammogram I had a CT scan, which was very quick!

The last test was an echo scan. I was called into the room; the technician greeted me by shouting "Ohayo Gozaimasu" Good Morning at the top of her lungs. I wanted to say that I'm a foreigner, not deaf! I asked her to check under my left armpit, as sometimes it becomes swollen. She asked a few questions in a normal voice that I could answer, then she asked me to lie on the bed, again yelling! I guess that is her default setting, as a lot of patients are very old!

The tests took about an hour to finish; the hospital was very busy. Not only do they have an outpatient department but a few wards as well. The patients on the wards are brought down for tests and scans as well. Most of the time, these appointments run very smoothly; the way the system is organised is very good. The only time things are delayed is if there is an emergency and the staff are called to attend to it!

Again, all my numbers are good! I was shocked at my blood pressure; I haven't taken meds for a while as I've been having problems with side effects! At home, my blood pressure was between 120/80 to 135/90. The first number is great; higher than that can be worrying, but I've noticed that the days it's higher are the days that my allergies have been bad! Yesterday at the hospital, my blood pressure was 115/75!

Today I'm wiped out. Wednesday is one of my teaching days, so after the hospital we came home, Mikey took me, had lunch, a little rest, then back to the same city to teach!

I managed to shop and cook lunch; I have to make dinner in a bit, but that's all. Tomorrow I want to ask David to pick the fruit that is growing and falling off the trees!

Some kind of plum!

Also, the blueberries are coming along nicely! I'm looking forward to frozen blueberry yoghurt!

It's Cold

 Maybe cool is a better description!

I'm so happy that the last few days have been cool and not humid, even though it rained all day yesterday!

This time of year I usually have to run my air conditioner, which is alright, but my electric bill doubles. The longer I can survive without running the air conditioner, the better.

From tomorrow it's going to get hot, 28℃, then it will continue to get hotter and hotter. 

I stopped at a discount supermarket on the way to teaching today. Near the entrance there's a bird's nest.

You can just see the bird's head.

This reminded me of when I first came to Japan. I was pregnant with Mikey and miserable with morning sickness. In the storage place was a bird's nest. My mother-in-law hung an umbrella upside under it. She said it was to catch the bird poop but also to save the baby birds if they fell out of the nest. She told me that it was a good omen for my pregnancy! I don't know if that is a Japanese thing or just my mother-in-law!

It's getting to bedtime. I have a very busy day tomorrow; in the morning I have a hospital appointment. This is the big yearly checkup, lots of tests, nothing invasive or painful, except the mammogram, but a lot of waiting around. In the evening I have classes.

Hisao's Birthday

 Hisao would have been 65 today!

I miss him all the time, but on birthdays and holidays I feel his absence more intensely.

I've been wondering what our lives would be like if Hisao hadn't died. Would we still be living here or would we have kept the house in the next city? Would David have gone to a good university? Would Christopher have gone to the high school he wanted to go to?

So many questions, no answers.

This morning I was alone in the house. I really didn't like the feeling of being by myself. I know that's my future. I hope that David and Christopher will one day get married and have their own families. That would leave me here, by myself. I'm alright with that; it's the natural order of things. Kids grow up and move on with their lives, but the thought of being alone is so sad. 

I used to imagine growing old with Hisao; I used to imagine going on trips with him, visiting all these interesting places in Japan. Finding things to do together. Hisao said once that he wanted to build a little hut on the land that we have further up the mountain, he dreamed of having a little cabin to go to paint. He was a good artist, but after we had kids, he didn't have time or space to paint.

Hisao with his painting.

In high school, Hisao joined the art club. The painting in the picture was one that he did at that time. It was displayed in the local art museum. He was always very proud of that! I wonder what he would think of AI creating art?

I found a few more photos of Hisao.

With Mikey, I still have those cushions!

Christmas in the UK.

With Mikey and David

With all of the kids!

I usually make a nice lunch on birthdays; however, I'm still struggling with my allergies. I feel a lot better than yesterday, but not 100%. I made an obento and breakfast this morning; it usually takes less than 30 minutes to make, but this morning it took over an hour. I had to keep stopping to wipe my nose or to sneeze. I went through four packets of tissues yesterday! 

I think this week I'm going to be playing catch-up with all the chores that need to be done, plus I have a hospital appointment on Wednesday. It's my yearly check-up for cancer and to check my numbers for diabetes. It's going to be a long morning. None of the tests are painful (except the mammogram), but it's a lot of waiting around. At least I can get test results in about an hour! I'll have to find a good book to read!

Another Bad Day

 Another day of sneezing and snuffling. 

I'm surprised that my allergies are so bad at this time of year. Usually by now I would have a few sniffles, but not bad enough that I'm in bed all day.

I planned a nice lunch: ginger pork, salad, rice and miso soup. I tried to cook, but my nose was just dripping, not nice at all. In the end, Christopher made lunch!

Today's lunch.

I'm glad that all my kids can cook. 

Cooking is a useful skill to have. If you can make about 5 different dishes, then you can survive without relying on obentos or takeout food!

One thing that my kids like to do is finding interesting recipes, either from recipe apps or on YouTube; they then experiment with the dishes. A few years ago Mikey came across a recipe that used ice cream to make cakes! For a few weeks, he made different types of cakes, very delicious and moist! Most of the time these experiments work out, occainsonally we have a disaster. But that is all part of the fun!

Christopher also made me some dinner!

Cheese and ham on toast. Salad, egg and sardines in tomato sauce.

It was nice; I think not having to make it myself helped!

I hope I feel better tomorrow, as I have a lot to do!

I Had An Epiphany!

 Yesterday I was trying to delete some of the web pages that I have marked over the last year or so. I was also trying to unsubscribe from some of the YouTube channels that I've subscribed to.

I noticed that a lot of these sites and channels were to do with making money online. About affiliate marketing, making digital products or writing an ebook. I have drafts of books that I've thought about writing and designs for gratitude journals that are just sitting on my computer.

I realised that I'm always collecting things or ideas!

I think I talked about this when I was writing about my Japanese study: how, instead of studying, I just look for more materials, new books, and YouTube channels for listening. Then I wonder why my Japanese doesn't improve.

I do the same with books. I have 1000s of books (physical books, not on my Kindle) that I've collected over the years; most I haven't read, but I still download books onto my Kindle almost every day. Last time I checked I have over 6000 books on my Kindle. Also, I have Everand, an app that I pay 1,000 yen a month for, where I have about 400 books saved to read later. I'll write a post another day about how I get free books, legally, for my Kindle.

Yesterday, while I was sitting, enjoying a cup of tea and listening to rain, I began to wonder why I do this. Why do I just collect things but don't use them? Why have I bookmarked so many sites and subscribed to so many channels but haven't done anything with the information?

I realised that, even though they are similar habits, the core emotion is different.

Collecting study materials and books makes me feel secure. Maybe a false security, as I know that a bad storm, fire or earthquake would destroy them, but when I see my books or open my Kindle and see all the books there, I feel relieved; I have something! Childish, maybe, but I went so many years without having books when I first came to Japan that I'm making up for it now!

The collecting of sites and YouTube channels and not using the information is rooted in fear!

Fear of failing. Fear of never getting out of the feeling of lack, of never being able to move forward in life because there isn't enough money.

I look at these ideas, things like making a colouring book to sell on KDP and feel that I could never make anything that good, even with AI. So, I don't bother.

I thought about writing a book about my life in Japan, the ups and downs, the truimphs and disasters, but then I think, nobody would want to read it! Even with AI's help it wouldn't be good enough.

I see all these cute T-shirts people have made to sell, promoting their web page or YouTube channel and I just know that I'd never be able to make anything that cute.

So, I sit and moan, I ask David to try out some of these ideas, he has more skills using the internet and AI, plus he is very good at drawing. I ask Hannah to make designs, again she is a very good artist.

I'm also stuck on the idea that the only way I can make money is to teach English. But I wonder if the whole idea of having a physical classroom and students coming has come to an end. I know some people are still doing well, but they are living in bigger cities, some have building that get a lot of foot traffic, so easy for people to join. 

Where we are living the population is really old and there are very few kids. There are five elementary schools in the area, the kids from these schools all go to the same junior high school. The city has decided to close these schools over the next five years and make one big elementary and junior high school. One closed this spring! That is rather shocking!

After a year of putting leaflets and no calls I think it's safe to say that  teaching here might not be possible.

During my reflection yesterday, I asked myself, "What is the worst thing that can happen if you try one of these online ideas?"

I realised that the worst thing would be wasting my time and maybe a few thousand yen.

So I took a leap of faith and went to Printify. I want to make T-shirts to sell; the theme is from my cat blog 81 Lives......Another Cat Blog

This is a blog about the chaos that my cats cause!

I found the process of designing the T-shirt easy enough.

This is the design I went with. I took off the black background so the colour of the T-shirt shows. And yes, it's AI-designed!

I've ordered one; I want to see what the quality of the T-shirts is first before making more designs. 

While I'm waiting for the T-shirt to come, I have to decide which is the best platform to sell on, either Shopify, which is popular in Japan or Etsy. I also want to see if I can sell them on my Ko-fi page!

I told Hannah what I was doing; she made a design as well. I think hers is really cute, as it shows our cats, but I don't know if it's good for a T-shirt!

These are Hannah's designs.

So I'm going to be trying a few new things: stop collecting and start doing! Time to face the fear!

I don't know if I'll make a lot of money or any money at all, but I do know that if I don't try, I'll never find out!

Wish me luck!

The Rainy Season

 The Japan Meteorological Agency announced that the rainy season, tsuyu, has started in northern Kyushu. I didn't need the announcement; just looking out of my window told me that the rainy season had started!

This video is from my window. All day it's been raining, nonstop!

The biggest problem for me is laundry! I usually do a load every day. I don't have a dryer; they are available here but are expensive to buy and run. Laundry is hung outside, which I like; when it's dry, it smells of sunshine! During the rainy season, it's a lot of planning to get the laundry done. Yesterday we ran out of clean bath towels because I hadn't done laundry for a couple of days due to the rain from the typhoon. David had to go a 24 hours discount store to buy some! At the moment, I have laundry hanging in the dining area with a fan blowing on it; I hope it dries!

Another thing is that the mould tends to grow a lot. Nothing dries out, ever! Even on the days it's not raining, it's humid, and everywhere feels damp! This is why good air conditioners are so important; the better ones have a dry mode. It doesn't cool down the room so much but does dry it out a lot. Today is rather cool, so it doesn't feel humid or damp. I hope the temperatures stay low for a while longer!

The rainy season is predicted to last until July 19th. That's a lot of rainy days! 

I like rainy days; they are days for reading, for just sitting and watching the rain, for a break before the brutal heat of summer starts. 

I hope the rain doesn't get too strong. Today it has been constant but not torrential. There is a thunderstorm advisory at the moment, but I don't think we will get a thunderstorm; at least I hope not!

Looks like I'm going into my summer schedule: get up early and do all the chores before 8 am. The rest of the day I'll be reading or studying!

If I read anything good, I'll let you know!

Typhoon 6

 The sixth typhoon of the year hit Okinawa on Monday. Heavy rain and strong winds hit the islands, causing power outages and downed trees. I was watching the news this morning; they were interviewing one resident. The reporter said that the resident was very well prepared for power cuts; he had battery-powered lamps and candles. The resident sounded rather resigned when he said that every time there was a typhoon, they lost power!

I watched this storm develop from last week, wondering how bad it would be if it hit here; I always worry about all the stuff that is outside. Here we aren't that close to our neighbours' houses, but I don't want our cars damaged by flying debris. On Saturday, Christopher managed to clean up a lot in front of the house. The big windows on the front of the house have shutters, which really helps to protect them.

We got lucky! The typhoon passed south of Kyushu. The storm area was so big that it covered the whole island. 

This video was from yesterday, driving to the other city to teach. Looks like a normal rainy day, a bit of wind but not really crazy!

The interesting thing was that once the rain stopped, the wind picked up. 

This is from the community centre where we were teaching. Actually, Mikey was teaching; neither of my students came!

I'm glad that it wasn't that bad. I do worry about these storms. My biggest worry is the cats! If we ever have to evacuate, what would we do with the cats? We have enough carriers for them, but I can't imagine having nine cats in an evacuation centre, in carriers. My cats really don't like the carriers; they just cry all the time!

Just a couple of photos from yesterday.

Very dramatic sky!

Traditional Japanese Seal, Inkan

 This morning, David was looking for an inkan, a traditional Japanese name seal. These are used on documents instead of a signature or in addition to a signature. 

A couple of the inkans that I have

The idea of using seals came to Japan through China and Korea. The oldest known Japanese seal is a gold seal given by the Chinese Han emperor in 57AD to a Kyushu ruler.

During the Edo period (1603 to 1868), merchants and some farmers began using them.  It wasn't until the Meiji era that the modern inkan system became formalised, and people were required to register personal seal for legal use. That system is still in place; you have to register your personal seal at the city hall. For some legal documents, you need a certificate, called "inkan shomeisho", to show that the inkan you are using is yours. This is required for certain loans, high-value purchases or legally binding transactions.

The inkan is seen as being more formal, trustworthy and serious. Many documents will have a circle where you are to place your stamp. 

I've never understood the need for inkan. I feel that a signature is a better way of showing your identity. It's harder to forge a signature than to steal an inkan. A few years ago, there was a spate of robberies near where we lived. In most cases, the person's bank books and inkan were stolen; with these, the robbers could get the money from the bank with no questions asked. If a signature was required as well as the inkan, it would have made it harder to get the money.

I have my inkan registered with the city hall. I did this after Hisao passed away. I wanted to change our bank account from our joint names to my name. I thought it would be easy: show Hisao's ID and death certificate and my ID. I forgot about the inkan that was used to open the account. I had to go back with the inkan, but I took the wrong one. The next day I went back with 10 different inkans; they all had our family name on them, but each one was slightly different. Of course, none of these inkans was the one used to open the account. In the end, it was easier to close that account, register a new inkan and make a new account! Since then, I have always carried my inkan with me!

May

 May felt long; it seemed to drag on.  I felt that the months from the new year until April went by very quickly, but May slowed down. Or maybe I slowed down.

The first few months of the year, I was really trying to get the house and garden sorted. I've been slowly decluttering, sorting the storage area and trying, with little success, to do the garden. The weather in May, however, put a halt to a lot of projects; it's been too hot. May is usually the last month before the heat and humidity set in; this year it has been unseasonably hot.  Today the high was 33℃, too hot to really do anything!

I'm still trying to clean every day. With nine cats, you have to sweep and vacuum every day; otherwise, the hair and dust just collect. I do what I can, then give orders to whoever is around. I think I'll have to start my summer schedule of cleaning in the early morning, before 8 am, and then spending the rest of the day in my room with the air conditioner on. Makes my life very small, but it's the only way to survive the summer. We are planning on getting an air conditioner for the kitchen/dining area, but Christopher has the credit card, and David knows which one is good, but their schedules haven't lined up as yet. I hope we can get one before the extreme heat sets in. I'm coping at the moment, but it isn't easy!

At the moment, I'm wondering if Typhoon 6 is going to hit here. I keep checking to see what course it's going to take, and so far it looks like it will pass south of here. We might get some heavy rain but not the wind. I hope it won't be too bad, as the blueberries are starting to grow. 

The blueberries!

Also, the Japanese plums are almost ready for picking; I don't want them to be blown down.

Last year I made a personal curriculum to finish the year; I'm thinking of doing that for the summer. I do need to learn more Japanese; also, I want to read more about Japanese history and study nutrition. I think the first few days of June I'll be putting together some books, webpages and videos to do that.

June is halfway through the year; I often reflect on what I've accomplished this far into the year and what I need to do to finish the year on top of things. 

If you made New Year's resolutions, have you stuck to them?

From Defeated to Determined

 I'm amazed at what a rest and a good night's sleep do for my mental health.

This morning I woke up feeling refreshed; my allergies are calmer, I feel a lot better mentally, not so down, so I determined not to be brought down by our money situation. I can't make any more, even though I want to; what I can do is cut waste to a minimum and find even more ways to save money.

I have subscriptions to Hulu and Netflix; one has to go. Netflix is the cheap subscription with ads, which don't bother me at all. Hulu, however, is more expensive, so that will have to be cancelled; I can always change back later. That will save just over 1,000 yen a month. 

Other things that are wasting money are buying drinks and something for dinner when we go to the other city to teach. 

On Tuesday, Christopher comes with Mikey and me; he makes sandwiches for us. But we still stop at a convenience store to buy drinks. I always buy water; I should get a flask and bring water from home. On Wednesday, when it's just Mikey and me, we buy something to eat, but I think that I should make some sandwiches or rice balls. I noticed that over the two days I spent about 4,000 yen; multiplying that by 4 weeks makes 16,000 yen, about £75, far too much to waste like that. Also, there isn't much choice in the stores and no real healthy choices!

Another area I'm looking at making changes in is our food shopping. I need to go back to making a week's menu and sticking to it. It's so easy to buy "bargains" but then not use them, therefore wasting money. A few times in the past I've planned out a week's menu and made shopping lists. I remember being able to save over 3,000 yen a week, about £15.

Just implementing those few changes could save me a lot of money. Takes discipline, though. But that's good for me. I need to stop being so lazy and make the effort!

I hope this determination lasts!

Yesterday, even though I rested a lot, I did make an effort to put away my very heavy winter clothes and put out my summer clothes.

A couple of things surprised me; one was that it didn't take as long as I thought it would, about 40 minutes altogether. Another nice surprise was that some clothes that I thought didn't fit actually fit now! I have two new outfits without shopping!

Today I cleaned out the fridge while making lunch. I wanted to roast some broccoli and potatoes; I parboil them first, otherwise they don't seem to cook through properly. While they were cooking, I decided to clean part of the fridge. I like cleaning the fridge when it's hot!

Today's lunch!

Hamburgers, roasted potatoes and broccoli, salad and miso soup. I did plan to make rice, but I forgot to turn on the rice cooker! Never mind! I'll use the rice for this evening's meal!

Feeling Defeated

 Maybe defeated is too strong a word, but definitely overwhelmed.

I would really like life to go more smoothly. I know that having problems is normal. 

I just wish my problems didn't happen all at once!

A perfect scenario would be to have a problem, solve it, next problem, solve that and keep on going like that. One problem at a time. But life is messy, and problems seem to occur in clusters.

Most of my problems are about money and my health!

June seems to be the month when a lot of taxes are due, the new national insurance starts for the year ahead, and we now have another city bill to pay that I really don't understand.

The new bill is about sewage removal. We already pay a bimonthly water bill, which includes sewage. This new bill is calculated based on the size of the land. Because the land we are on is large, the bill is high. The land measures about 1435m², and the house, from which the sewage is taken, is only 204m². We have to pay 149,060 yen, about £700. We can pay monthly, but I think I might go to the city hall and find out exactly what this is for. Our mains sewage is just for the water, not the toilet waste, which we still have to get fixed!

Then, of course, just the everyday price of things is getting to be crazy. I'm lucky that I have wonderful friends who send me stuff, a bag of rice that came just at the right time. Also, one of my students is a farmer; two or three times a month, she gives me some vegetables, which really helps. 

But it is really disheartening to go into a supermarket and see that, yet again, there is an increase in basic foods. It's not a lot, but these few yen add up quickly.  If I can get to the supermarket where Christopher works, with Christopher, he can get a 10% employee discount. We try to do that as much as possible.

My big health problem at the moment is allergies. I have no idea why they have suddenly flared up.  Yesterday was awful, my nose was like a tap, just dripping, and I had to teach. I took medicine, which helped a bit, but I still went through 4 packets of tissues. Today is a bit better, but I'm wiped out. I've slept most of the day, I didn't even make lunch, but I have a good dinner planned.

Then, just to add to things, I came home yesterday to find Christopher sick. He came home early from work with a fever and headache. I checked his fever last night, 39.5℃, very high. I gave him some painkillers and let him sleep. He's a lot better today, thankfully! I know he's an adult, but he's still my kid, and I worry! 

One of my friends reminds me to be grateful, something that I struggle with. I know that my problems aren't that bad, that a lot of people have harder lives, but I think it's normal to see your own problems as being overwhelming!

Three things that I'm grateful for.

1) Friends who help out, who keep it real for me and remind me that life is wonderful even when it feels so hard.

2)A house that is mine, no rent to pay, which does help.

3)Kids who are willing to help each other and me. They aren't selfish with their own money and are willing to lend money or buy things for each other without moaning!

I'm fighting the defeated feeling! Tomorrow is a new day, next week is a new month. I have to find energy to deal with these problems; lying in bed isn't helping!

Cats on the new cooling mat I bought.

It's getting hot, not every day but most days. I got this cooling mat from Daiso for 500 yen, about £2. These are for people, not pets; the pet ones cost about 2,000 yen, about £10. I'm thinking to but some for us to use on our beds. 

Fed Up....

 ...of summer and it's only May!

I always feel that May is the last chance to get things done before the heat and humidity set in. This year, however, May is already too hot! It's already 30℃ at 11 am! Yesterday was up to 33℃! Far too hot for this time of year.

Today and tomorrow are my teaching days, and I honestly don't want to go! The air conditioner in Mikey's car doesn't work, and of course, there's no money to fix it. I feel like I loose 3 days, 2 days going to teach and then one day to recover. I'm not sure it's worth it for me now, the amount I make doesn't justify what we pay in gas and for renting the community centre, but until I have another source of income, I have to keep going.

Which brings me to the next thing I have to moan about.

YouTube and all the promises of making money!

I don't know if anyone goes down these rabbit holes, but I keep seeing these videos with thumbnails that say things like "Copy me and make xxxxx" or "How to quit your job and make money". I've watched them, I've tried to copy them, but I keep hitting a brick wall. One problem is that a lot of the tools they use are not free, and I honestly don't want to pay for something that doesn't work. Then there are all the new rules about using AI to create things. I'm inspired by the idea of making colouring books to sell on KDP, but I can't draw, so I would have to use AI. Amazon has so many hoops to jump through; I guess it's good, as I know that many artists are trying to sell their work but are being pushed out of the market by AI.

I should get lunch and get ready to go!

One thing with going out is the interesting things I get to see.

The other day, we were behind this truck, I have no idea what he had on the back of it!

House on wheels?

I just checked the homepage that is on the back of the truck, it's a florist's. 

The Great Midnight Bug Fight!

 I really don't like bugs, even the ones that some people find pretty or cute, like butterflies or ladybirds (ladybugs). They just make me go cold, some make me scream, like cockroaches and praying mantis. The weird thing is that I'm alright with spiders; I would rather they stay outside, but unless they are massive, they don't bother me.

Recently, there have been a lot of stink bugs on my window at night.

As I'm reading or watching TV, I can hear them flying into the window. It irritates me, but as long as they stay outside, I don't mind. I keep my window open, as it is still cool in the evenings, but I have a screen mesh that I keep closed until there are too many stink bugs on it!

One of the bugs on my screen last night.

Last night, at just after 11pm, I decided to turn off the TV and read for a bit. I just got comfortable with my book when I could hear this very loud buzzing and then tapping sounds. I looked up to see a stink bug circling my light. Every now and again, it would hit the light. I knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep with that in my room. Time for action!

I knew we had some fly spray, I had bought a can a couple of weeks ago. I remembered seeing it in the dining room. But of course, when I went to get it, it wasn't there. I looked around for a few minutes before I remembered seeing a can in the bathroom. I found an almost empty can!

Back to my room, the stink bug is still circling the light. I sprayed the fly spray, but instead of a nice mist coming out, I got these drops of liquid and a tiny bit of spray. I shook the can and tried again, same results. I now have a very agitated bug, going faster around the light and fly spray trickling down my arms. I'm watching this bug. I have maybe enough spray for one last shot. I have to make it count, I have to kill it, or I'll have to sleep on the sofa!

I was watching the bug so intently that I got dizzy! Finally, a chance, a last shot! I managed to hit it! But my arms are now itching because of the fly spray that is flowing down them!

I went to wash my arms, realising that I might have lost the battle and wondering how comfortable the sofa would be!

When I got back to my room, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was, no buzzing! I'd won, but I have no idea where the body is! I'm still looking for it!

Finally, I can get on my bed, read and then sleep, but of course it wasn't that easy. Because the spray didn't come out in the usual fine mist, I had splashes of fly spray on my bedding, so at midnight I had to change my bedding! 

I really don't like bugs!

Google Photos

 I keep my photos on Google Photos. 

One feature that I love is the collection of photos they put together for you at the top of the page. The photos are curated and displayed with titles like "cuddles and purrs" or "7 years ago".

Some of these photos are then organised in collages to keep.

This is one of our first dog, Lou!

Lou

We had her 20 years ago. 

I like how the photos can be rather random but follow a theme.

Photos of Dad's house

I never would have thought of putting photos like this together.

Of course, there are collages of everyone and the cats.

One of the collages of Mikey

Christopher

And food, lots of collages of food.

This one was labelled "Sweet Treats"

This is one that came up today, "Cuddles and Purrs With Fred"

A Fred collage.  

I've always loved taking photos. When Mikey was a baby, before digital cameras, I would take 36 photos every month. The same for the other kids. I liked having a visual record of them.

There are very few photos of me as a baby or young child, which I always felt that was sad. 

I often wonder what people in the future will say about these photos, these snapshots of our lives. 

Life is so fleeting, even though sometimes it seems long, but things change so quickly. One day, you have a young family, enjoying adventures, enduring sleepless nights, homework tantrums, birthdays and Christmases, then life happens, and the kids are grown. You are left with memories and photos that make you smile and cry!

I hope you enjoy these little collages of my life.

Hannah and I collage

David

I Messed Up....

 A new recipe!

Hannah bought me a cookbook a few weeks ago. All of the recipes can be made in the microwave, which, in the summer, will really help. We are planning on buying an air conditioner for the kitchen/dining area, but the extractor fan over the stove top doesn't work. Even with an air conditioner on, standing over a hot stove is going to be awful.

The recipes are very simple, using ingredients that I usually have on hand. Of course, the recipes are in Japanese, I can read most of the text; what I can't read, I either use my phone and Google Translate or ask one of my kids to help.

My cookbook from Hannah

With my Japanese cookbooks, I usually write out the recipe in English, either on the book itself or use a sticky note.

This time, however, I thought the recipe was easy enough to do without doing that. 

The recipe was breast chicken, Chinese cabbage and green peppers.

Chop the chicken and cook in the microwave, when cooked at the vegetables and seasonings. Nice and simple!

I cooked the chicken, I then looked at the recipe again to see how many green peppers I needed. It was then that I noticed that I should have mixed sake and potato starch together and coated the chicken with that before cooking the chicken. Never mind!

I had to change the seasoning. According to Google Translate, I needed fish sauce. I have no idea what fish sauce is, so I used oyster sauce. Also, the recipe is just for two servings. It said to use two leaves of Chinese cabbage, I used a quarter of one; I wanted more vegetables in the dish. I have a habit of changing up recipes a lot!

Even though I messed up, it tasted alright.

The chicken is under the vegetables.

This made enough for three people. 

I've learned my lesson: write out the recipe before you start!