Busy

I really need to learn not to have too many extra things to do at the same time!

Saturday to today has been non stop.

Saturday was busy teaching.  Mikey volunteers at a few community centers near here every other Saturday.  While he is teaching there Hannah and I do his classes here.  I still have my classes to do.  So every other Saturday is crazy busy, plus all the other chores that need to be done.

Sunday Mikey asked me to go to my mother in laws house.  We are still cleaning out.  Basically only Mikey has been doing it but it's taking a long time.  Christopher and I went to help.  Managed to throw out 10 large boxes of stuff from the kitchen/dinning area.  Plastic tupperware that looked like they were from the 1970's (smelt like it too),  teapots that had been left with stains, bowls, burnt pots and pans.  Somethings I left because they are useful soup and rice bowls, plates of all sizes, glasses and Japanese tea cups.  Most of those things are still in the original packing, also I know that my mother in law only bought very expensive stuff.   Mikey and Christopher managed to move out the old chest of drawers, it was so rotten that it fell to pieces!  Mikey got a good fire going and loads of the papers and wooden stuff got burnt.  We have to hire somebody to take the non burnable stuff.  Then we have to tackle the yard and fields.  Good job I need exercise!

Entrance

Hydrangeas

Side of the house, this was a parking space!

Kitchen, I'm taking a break!

Mikey with the fire.

Yesterday was my yearly hospital check up. 4th one so only one more to go!  Nothing hurts but being prodded and poked at for hours is not fun.  The worse thing was getting my blood pressure.  The first machine didn't work, the second one was put to low, it squeezed so hard I thought my elbow was going to break.  Bit disappointed that my blood sugar is still high, bit better than before.  Have to work on that.

Today I've just done my chores, made lunch, will make dinner later.  Nice easy day but from tomorrow its back to being busy.  

And the rainy season has started, two days of non stop rain.  But it's cool so doesn't feel to bad, yet!

Hisao's Birthday

 He would of been 61 today.

As always this day has left me feeling rather sad.  On Facebook I see my friends going on holiday with their husbands and wish I could do the same.  We use to talk about all the things that we were going to do when the kids were grown.  We both wanted to travel, to see places in Japan and abroad.  I know I can go alone but it wouldn't be the same.  Hisao often talked of taking up painting again.  It was one thing that he loved painting and drawing. I'm happy that the kids have inherited this artistic flair from him.  They can all draw but David and Hannah are very good.

One of Hisao's paintings

Spent the morning looking at photos.  Brought back many memories.  I'm glad we took so many photos.  They are one of the few things I have left!

Maybe 13 years ago

Hannah's birthday

After being in hospital for a month

Long time ago!

CATS

 I love my cats.  They can be funny and very endearing.  I find comfort in talking, playing and stroking them.  They fight a lot but that is all part of being a cat.  They each have their own unique personalities.  Fluffy sleeps in the oddest places and has a bad habit of falling off things.  Alan likes to moan, a lot!  Sam has become a love bug.  Frodo and Steve work together to open doors and windows.  The entertainment is endless.  But they are shredding like crazy.  There is cat hair all over.  I took a shower the other day, grabbed a towel to dry off and ended up covered in cat hair because one of the cats had fallen asleep on the fresh laundry. The floors are covered in clumps of hair, it gets into corners and under things.  I spend ages sweeping and vacuuming the floors.  I finish one area to find another needs doing!  We have been brushing the cats as much as  possible, but brushing 9 cats completely everyday takes far too long!

A few photos of the culprits!

middle of the stairs is the best place to lie down

Fluffy on the edge of the table, and yes, she fell off!

Cute when sleeping

Alan looking serious.

Shopping

 Yesterday I went shopping for the first time is the price hike.  I go to a discount supermarket for most things and a more expensive one for things that are unusual.  The lay out of the discount store is vegetables and fruits, fish, meat, dairy then the other goods, tins, four, oil etc.  At first I thought things aren't that bad.  Of course peaches were expensive, 600yen for two small ones, about four pounds.  Most vegetables were okay, same with the meat and fish.  But then I got to the flour.  Last week a kilo was 190 yen, yesterday was 220 yen.  Even the cheaper brand use to be 129 yen, now it's now 180 yen.  Oil has gone from 220 yen for a liter to 350 yen.  I noticed that most things have gone up over 20 yen.  That is a real price hike.  So I can see that my shopping is going to be more stressful!

The other thing I was shopping for was a new phone.  We need a house phone for the English classes.  We went to 3 stores but they didn't have any in stock. The Singapore lock down means that the stores haven't been able to buy any.

And I have the perfect excuse not to do the dishes.  Fluffy likes to sleep on the edge of the sink.

My excuse for not doing dishes

Price Hike

 From tomorrow, June 1st, prices on 3,165 products will rise.  Wheat products of course but also mayonnaise and cooking oil, frozen foods and snacks.  I'm not sure what will go up but most of the things I buy will be more expensive.  I've bought extra flour to keep in the freezer, I don't use too much in the summer but come the autumn I like to bake.  Also stocked up on cup noodles, enough for a few weeks, we don't eat them that often but if everybody is busy they are quick for the kids.  

My usual reaction is to do nothing, just moan and worry about the situation. Today I decided to use that angry energy for something good. So I baked and cooked.

blackberries 

Apple and blackberry pie.

I picked the few blackberries that were ready and made apple and blackberry pie.

I also made scotch eggs, first time in Japan.  Whenever we went to England the kids enjoyed them.  But I've never found sausage meat here.  I realized today that I make sausage patties from minced pork so I decided to use that.  Turned out great!

Another item that is easy to make, filling and cheap!

Scotch Egg!

I also made a big pot of curry for lunch to use up the veggies in the fridge. Tomorrow I'll make Japanese Doria, basically baking the rice and curry with a cheese sauce on top. I'm looking for ways to use up left overs!

HOT!!!

 Usually May is a lovely month, not too hot or cold.  Average temperature is in the mid 20's celsius.  But yesterday and today have been so hot, 32C yesterday, 30C today with humidity of 54%.  I hate this. Just doing the usual household chores left me sweaty, tired and feeling sick.  Cooking lunch was awful, the heat from the stove made me feel like I was cooking.  So much for being positive, all I feel now is miserable.  I know that many countries went through long lockdowns because of the pandemic the past 2 years, I do a similar thing every summer.  I just can't go out.  May is usually the last chance to go out so I try to make the most of it.  From June until October I stay in, with air conditioners and fans running 24 hours a day.  I try to go shopping but most of the time I come back feeling sick and exhausted.  I want to visit places but if it involves walking or being outside I can't do it.  I really hate the summers here, there's no break in the heat and humidity until October!  So get ready for a lot of moaning!

One thing with the hot weather the cats get free entertainment.  The small lizards climb up and down on the outside of the windows, the cats keep trying to get them!

Alfie trying to get a lizard

Be Positive

 After last weeks shock at the electric bill and then noticing the rising prices at the supermarket I feel in to my stinking thinking.  This is my default mode when things get tough.  I start thinking of all the awful things that could happen and what the worse case scenario would be.  When I stopped and stepped back I realized that the worst thing could happen is loosing the house, we would have to move back to my mother in  laws house.  It wouldn't be great but we wouldn't be homeless.  I'd have to start again, not great but not the end of the world.  So instead of staying in that mode I pushed myself to be positive and proactive.  Instead of thinking about the bad things I started to think what can I do to change this situation.  I asked Mikey to make a new leaflet and to find  a company that will distribute them.  I canceled Netflix, we haven't watched anything on there for a few months, I'm keeping Hulu and Prime Video for now.  I've thought about how I shop and how I can cut food waste,  one thing is throwing out rice because there isn't enough for 5 people but enough for one or two. So I'm going to start freezing the left over rice.  Cut down on instant foods and junk food.  We don't eat out but sometimes get take away, maybe once every two months we get a MacDonald's lunch.  Cooking from scratch and baking if we fancy a treat.  I'm drinking lemon water instead of sports drinks and will start making ice tea instead of buying bottles of the stuff (saves on plastic too).  I know my situation is not that bad!  When I see news reports that people in the UK can only eat once a day my heart breaks. It's 2022, UK is not a developing country (and even in a developing country that is bad) people should not have to choose between buying food or having power!  

I'm also trying to be cheerful.  It's to easy to fall into a negative mind trap.  My kids and the cats keep me amused.  As I posted before Fluffy has a habit of finding interesting place to sleep or sit.  The other day she was using Mikey.  She saw a small lizard on the outside of the window.  She jumped onto Mikey's shoulder to get close to it. She stayed there for about half an hour, even with Mikey moving around!

Fluffy trying to get the lizard.