A Busy Couple Of Weeks

A couple of weeks ago David got sick.  Some kind of stomach bug, we had to take a taxi to
the local emergency clinic on a Sunday afternoon, as he had a fever of 39.9C.  Bit scary!
Nothing really bad but it meant that he couldn't cook for about a week so I was back in the
kitchen.  I enjoyed cooking but the evenings were rather hectic.  Most days I'm working from 6pm to 9pm so I need to get dinner started early and then have somebody finish off.  Also because Mikey was busy I had to walk to the supermarket to get what I needed.  It's only a 5 minute walk but I've gotten use to having a driver!  Still it's good for me!
Our dog is still crying at night and I think she has gotten use to night walks.  I am trying to go as well, we walk for between 20 to 30 minutes and most nights it is really nice.  One small thing that is rather worrying is these strange people we see.  One night a young man, dressed in all black was just standing in the  road. We saw him, then went round the block, when we came back round, about 5 minutes later he was still there.  Another night one older man was trying to walk down the road, Looks like he has been drinking.  Last week a young man stopped his car, got out and asked me (in Japanese) if I was a foreigner and if I was from a America, he then said thank you and drove off.  Rather weird!  I am use to people asking where I'm from or how long I've been in Japan but that is in the day time, not after 11pm!

Also last week I ended up at the dentist. My filling fell out!  The dentist was able to put it back and the tooth feels a lot better.

I have to start thinking about Christmas and putting the tree up in the teaching room.  I don't bother with one in the living room as I know the cats will attack it!

Steve, wondering what is happening

close up of Lucky

Mikey teaching

David with the kittens climbing up him

Trying To Make Some Changes

Last year I wrote about trying to move more.  For a few month I managed to do that, cleaning around the house and yard, walking with Christopher and the dog, going to my mother in laws house and cleaning there.  But the summer came and I can't move in the heat and humidity without getting really sick.  Even in the house I ended up with heat stroke with a fever, headaches and nausea.  I tried to go to the supermarket and shopping malls to walk in there but it didn't really help.  As the weather has cooled down I'm trying again to move more, again walking the dog most evenings but I need more.  I realized that I can spend a day just sitting, which is very bad.  I'm on the boarder line for diabetes, which really scares me.  I watched this documentary about this disease and how awful it can get!  But at the moment the thought of dieting or eating healthy just doesn't inspire me.  I'm tired of not being able to enjoy the foods that I want to eat,  I'm tired of feeling guilty for eating a piece of cake or cookie.  I know that until my mind is in the game any attempt to diet will end in failure and me being more miserable than before.  So to help get more exercise in I have bought myself an exercise bike, just the peddle part, which means that it is small enough for my living room.  So sitting on a chair, watching TV and peddling away!  I thought that I could do 30 minutes a day but it is a lot harder than I thought it would be!  But I can do 10 minutes, every other day and walking the dog for about 20 minutes is a start.  I hope that as I get stronger then I can do more!

Our dog is still crying at night.  Christopher and I walked her at 10 o'clock last night for half an hour, I thought that she would be quiet after that but no, midnight we had to walk her again.  I would worry but my neighbor gets up at 4am to go to work and I don't like the idea of our dog keeping him up at night.  There is a way of groveling and apologizing in Japan that I don't like and don't want to do, so not making problems is the best.  One thing with walking late a night we can see the beautiful sky and watch the progress of the moon over the month!  Last night was a full moon, so beautiful.
Christopher took some photos with his phone, not good quality but you can get an idea.

And this is the reason I don't get mad at the dog.

Cute! She put this on herself but I don't know how!

Our Dog

We have a lovely Labrador dog.  She is getting old, now 11 years old and most of the time very good.  She is a yard dog and spends her time outside, near the windows so we can talk to her. Christopher spends an hour or so with her in the afternoon, playing and chasing in the yard. She is a great guard dog, has a lovely deep bark but I don't think she would attack anyone as she is very friendly.  You would get licked rather than bitten.  In the evenings when it is getting cold she is in the bathroom, she has a blanket and is rather comfortable in there.  I would have her in the living room but with the cats that is now impossible.  For some unknown reason the past few weeks she has been
yapping and crying at night.  She gets a walk at about 7pm, for half an hour but she starts yapping at about 9pm, then again at 12 midnight.  I decided that maybe she needs to get out more, so the past few nights Christopher and I have walking her at midnight.  Not the best thing to do but it calms here down.

midnight walks

At least I am getting some exercise out of all this!  I am hoping that it is a phase that she is
going through and she will calm down soon!  I can hope!

What Happened to Octobber?

Here we are in the first week of November,  October passed me by so quickly that
I never got chance to write.  It was a busy month, with English tests and Halloween.
Also my eye operation, so a lot of hospital visits. 

The first week of October Hannah did an English test that is taken by all students attending
commercial high schools in the prefecture.  Out of all the students she placed 2nd.  She was
very pleased with herself, as was I.  She had studied hard for the test.  The following week
she had her half term tests, she did okay but as always she could of done a bit better.
Also a lot of our students took an English test and most passed,  we are really happy for
them as they had worked hard.

Our Halloween parties were fun and I think the kids had a good time, there was a lot
of laughing.  I tried out a few new cookies recipes, which went down well.

The last week was my eye operation,  I'm so glad to have that finished.  My eye sight
was getting really bad and I felt like I was straining my left eye.  I kept getting headaches.
The operation was only 15 minutes.  Almost no pain, just a bit of pulling.
When I got home I decided to rest for a bit.  After about half an hour I heard Mikey screaming David's name, over and over.  I raced downstairs to find David passed out on the living
room floor.  Mikey was doing CPR, I had flash backs to when my husband died!  We called
an ambulance which rushed us to the hospital in the next city, our local A&E was closed
because of too many people.  When we got to the hospital they took David to check him
out.  Christopher and I went to fill out forms.  We waited for about an hour then got called
back to talk to the doctor.  I was shocked at how young the doctor was!  They had a heart specialist
look at David and check his heart out but there was no problem.  The doctor thinks it was
low blood pressure.  He was discharged the same night and seems to be okay now. I keep asking
him if he's okay!
I know these things happen but I wish they wouldn't.  My stress level was already too high
and that drama really didn't help!
The kittens continue to grow.  Looks like we are keeping them!  It's just too difficult to
find somebody who would take them and take care of them.  Plus they have already
wormed their way into our hearts!

Aren't they lovely!!

Is this Autumn?

A few days of cooler weather and I am hoping that autumn is finally here!
The summers here are really hard for me.  The heat and humidity are exhausting. It feels like
living in a sauna, the humidity wraps around like cling film.  Clothes stick and my face is constantly covered in sweat!  So cool weather, especially at night, is very welcome! No need for air conditioners or fans.
One thing with the cooler  weather I have been able to get some jobs done.  During the summer I just keep the main rooms clean but things get dumped into the under stairs cupboard or the corridor that runs the back of the house.  The other day I spent a couple of hours, with David and Christopher's help, cleaning out those areas!  It feels so good to do that, just getting ready for the nice cold weather!
The kittens are growing and becoming very active.  I have to watch where I step.  They have a habit of getting under the sofa or between the sofa cushions, always check where the kittens are before sitting down!

One kitten under the sofa and one between the cushions!

Peek a boo, I see you!

Cute!

Friday The Thirteenth

I'm a little bit superstitious.  There are things I would never do, walk under a ladder, open an umbrella in the house, for example.  But I can't avoid Friday 13th.  Of course I could stay in bed all day but that wouldn't really help!
Yesterday, Friday 13th, was one disaster after another.  Morning started with the adult cats doing the mad chase around the living room.  They were driving me crazy as they crashed into things and raked their claws over the sofa.  So I put them in the corridor, which is nice and long and has nothing breakable.  As I was closing the door, I didn't notice one of the kittens.  Poor thing got swashed between the door and door frame.  I picked it up to check if it was alright, which it was.  When I looked I realized that it was the kitten with the sad eyes.  It looked so sad and pathetic that I felt totally guilty.
Next disaster was losing the car keys.  David takes Hannah to school.  She was waiting outside while David collected the things he needs, wallet, cell phone and glasses.  He then went to get the keys only to find that they weren't in any of the usual places.  We had a quick look but Hannah needed to get to school so he used the spare key.  We spent over an hour looking for these keys, during that time I smashed my head twice, looking under desks and fell over cats three times.  I even went through the trash, which was not nice!  We finally found the keys in a bag with the dog food David had bought the day before!
Then a bra I ordered came.  I'm desperate for new bras.  Tried it on, but it was about 2 sizes too small.  I can send it back.  Actually the service to return goods is very good.  The courier service will pick it up from the house.  Lot less hassle.
And the last disaster of the day was my printer not working.  What should of taken a few minutes to print some material for one of my classes turned into a 40 minutes fight with the computer and printer!

I am glad that Friday 13th is over and done with!  Hope  I don't have many more days like that!  But as Hannah says "It's something to put on the Blog!"

Eye Doctors

The past few weeks I've noticed that my vision in my right eye was getting blurred.
At first I thought that it was to do with my allergies as they have been bad this summer.
But the past couple of days my vision has been very bad.  I've been using my left eye more.
Today I decided that I should go to the doctors.  So I marched myself off.  Had a few tests done and saw the doctor.  I have a cataract.  I'll have the operation on October 29th.  One good thing is that day we will be doing Halloween parties for the kiddies, I get to wear an eye patch!

Our kittens are so cute.  One of them looks so sad, all the time!

This one has an M on it's forehead

this little one always has this expression!