Fluffy Tofu With Chives

 This is a recipe I found on Instagram. I added panko (Japanese bread crumbs) as the tofu didn't hold together as I fried it.

1 block of firm tofu, drained

1 egg

small bunch of chives, cut small 

enoki mushrooms, cut small

panko about a handful, this wasn't in the original recipe. I just added some until the mixture came together

1 cube of chicken bullion

3 tablespoons of potato starch

sesame oil for frying

In a bowl crumble the tofu, add the other ingredients, and mix well

Shape them into oval balls and fry in the sesame oil until done, I think I cooked them for about 10 minutes.

Very easy recipe. Also because it's a lot of protein it helps to feel full longer.

Fluffy Tofu with chives

Enjoy!

Again?

 Do you remember the end of 2019, the beginning of 2020?

The news of this new virus in China, and the draconian measures the government was taking to tackle the spread of the virus.

I watched the news as the epidemic spread throughout China, and then onto other countries.

I really wasn't that worried. I live in a small city in the Japanese countryside. We don't get that many tourists here, nobody to bring the virus to our doorstep.

I watched as the first cases were recorded in Europe and the first known case was seen in the UK.  The words epidemic and pandemic became part of the vocabulary I had to teach to my older students. 

Once the pandemic spread through the UK I worried for my family there. The news was saying that the elderly were particularly vulnerable. My Dad is in his 80s, was he going to be okay?

I was amazed at how people followed the rules and stayed home, how life stopped. A doctor on the way to work took a video of his root through some of the busiest streets in London, they were deserted! It was eerie how quiet it was.

In the middle of January, Japan had its first case. I still wasn't worried.

In March schools closed and we had to close for a while too. But there were no cases reported in our small city or the neighboring cities. 

I started to notice that plastic partitions were going up in stores. The first one I noticed was in a convenience store. That surprised me, had the virus come here?

A couple of weeks after that the supermarket in the next city had a sign on their butchers counter. It said that you couldn't ask for a kilo of meat to be divided into two 500-gram packs as it takes time and they want the customers to move through the area fast. I actually cried, this is when COVID-19 became real to me. Before that point, I felt that it was happening in other places but not near where I live.

I bought alcohol, masks, and vitamin D.  We washed our hands, face and gargled when we came in from shopping or work.  I tried to cut down on how often I went shopping and the time in the shops.

Every fever we got was monitored, and every cough was checked. I tried to be rational about it but the number of deaths scared me. Hannah has weak lungs because she was born premature, Mikey and Christopher have allergies that make the respiratory system weak. I wasn't that healthy at that time. David was okay. 

We caught it in 2021, I think!! A milder form that attacked the throat but not the lungs!

I was glad when the pandemic was over.  For me not having to wear masks everywhere was a sign that it had run its course.

Why am I writing this?

Monkeypox (Mpox). 

Again the news is reporting about a new disease that is starting to spread around the world. The WHO has declared it a global health emergency. 

This disease, which is related to smallpox, started in Africa. It's a zoonotic disease, which means that it can be transmitted from animals to people.  Hunters or people dealing with animal carcasses can be exposed to it. It's transmitted by skin touch or on surfaces, if you use a towel of an infected person you could get infected. It can be transmitted by air droplets but that is less likely!

There have been a few cases in Japan.  

I'm wondering if this is going to be another pandemic and if it's going to be on the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic. Or is it a case of a slow news day?

How do we protect ourselves and our loved ones?

Are there vaccines? Do we need them? How deadly is this Mpox? I know that news organizations choose the worst photos for dramatic effect but some of the photos are awful.

We are still dealing Covid here. We had it in June, more like a bad flu.  Miserable but pain killers for fever and aches and pains, a few days in bed and good healthy food cured us.   A lot of our students have had it or somebody in their family got sick. I think Covid is going to be like the flu and cold virus, always there!

I'm trying to balance being aware of Mpox but not freaking out!  We live in a time of international travel. People travel to exotic locations and interact with the local people and wildlife, I think it's normal that viruses are brought back.   

We should educate people about the transmission of diseases, the other choice is to stop people from traveling!

Please stay safe. Keep an eye on your local news, and educate yourself on the symptoms. There isn't much else we can do. I hope that scientists and doctors can find a way to manage this without the extreme measures that were in place 4 years ago.

Got to end with cuteness!!

Frodo and Sam this morning

Playing with my cats helps me to deal with the stresses that get thrown at me. Between diseases that only existed in far-off countries, to the possibility of a massive earthquake or WW3, and my personal stress dealing with moving I am at a 1000% stress level. But the cats are so calm, they just chill out. A lesson to be learned there.

 

David

 Today is David's birthday! 30 years old!

As always I feel the past 30 years have gone by very fast. 

He struggled so much in school with bullying but he always persevered. He could also be very cheeky. One time his teacher came to the house. She said that she had been looking for David at each break time as he hadn't done his homework. David said every time he saw his teacher he went the opposite way because he knew he was in trouble! 

He loves jokes!  When I went to Kyoto a few years ago he called me and said that there was a big leak in the kitchen sink. I asked him to send a photo so I could see what had happened. He sent me a photo of leeks in the sink.  

I'm wondering what his 30s will bring!  He has to find another job.  I would like him to get something that leads to a career. But he is happy to do part-time jobs. He said that his ideal job would be one where he just has to read!!!

I did a nice lunch for him and have some choux cream cakes for later. 

Nice lunch

I never know what to get David. He always says that he doesn't want anything. Hannah found a great T-shirt online. It says "I work to buy the cat's food!" which is true. He thought it was very funny!

Laughing at his T-shirt

Just a few photos. I have a lot of him as a kid but not so many in his teen years. I probably have more but need to pull out all the photo albums to find them!!

Just born

few months old with Mikey

with Hisao and Mikey

On Granddad's lap

Not sure how old here, 10 maybe!

He's taken so many selfies over the past few years, most of them pulling faces or posing with the cats!

with cats or pulling faces

My second son is now 30!  Does that mean I'm old?

Cleaning

 While sorting out some books I came across some of my old diaries. These were from when the kids were in school. I would write about things we did together, days out, or special meals. The problems the kids were having at school. My thoughts and feelings about what was happening in my family or the world. One constant theme was cleaning!

A typical entry would state that I had cleaned the kitchen but the living room needed doing. Or I got one bedroom done but the others were a disaster.

After Hisao died a lot of entries said that the whole house was a disaster!

I don't think I've had every single room completely clean at the same time. Maybe just before going to England for a few weeks and then it was by sheer hard work!

Why can't I clean? I don't think it's just laziness, although that plays a part, when the kids were little I would rather spend time with them than washing dishes.  I always thought that once the kids were older the house would be clean, but now I have cats! It wasn't because I worked, I did but I worked from home and used to pick up flutters in between classes.

I think I lack organization! I remember my Mom had certain days for certain jobs. Until she got an automatic washing machine Saturday mornings were wash days. It didn't matter what the weather was she would pull out the twin tub and do the laundry. She would get it dry and ready to iron by Sunday afternoon. Monday morning we would have clean clothes for school.  

I do laundry almost every day. It gets washed, dried, and dumped in my room. I have a mountain of clean clothes at the foot of my bed. I keep asking the kids to collect their clothes and put them away. Every few weeks I spend an hour folding and putting away clothes. 

I keep on top of the daily chores, floors swept, vacuumed, and mopped but the dirty dishes seem to multiply by themselves!  The other week I spent two hours just washing dishes! 

I've read books about cleaning and household organizing.  Some of them stated the obvious, such as wash your delicate tableware first then the more dirty dishes, and dust before vacuuming.  I know those things, kind of common sense but how to get it done, a checklist of priorities, finding the motivation.  This is what I need.

Reading these books, and watching TV shows about cleaning made me wonder how did my Mom and millions of other Moms cope without these resources.  I think my Mom would tell me to stop reading, get off my fat backside, and do the dishes.  

And maybe that is the secret, just doing something every day. 

The next few months here are going to be chaotic. I have boxes stacked in my bedroom, the corridor that runs behind the two tatami rooms, and the cupboard in the teaching room. As I box up things I'm cleaning shelves and drawers, basically dust that has built up over the years, my allergies are getting bad!!  I've decided that in the other house, I will keep it clean. I'll organize myself to do chores every day. I want to make videos of recipes that I try out, so I'll need to keep my kitchen spotless.  I really want to have a nice place to live in. I don't like the layout of the house, lots of dead spaces, but I think by adding touches that reflect me and keeping it clean I should be alright living there.

Cats in a box

It's hot, even in the evening it's about 31C but the cats still find the smallest box and get in together.

Japanese Study

 I decided to start studying Japanese again.

There's a popular test for Japanese proficiency. The easiest is N5, basic greetings, words, and some kanji. The hardest level is N1, which is the level needed to enter university here.

My level is about N4.  Bad!! I know, I just don't take the time to study.

I have plenty of materials.  I have bookmarked a number of sites that have readings at different levels. I have apps for reading as well.

I watch a couple of Japanese ladies who are about my age who are living slow lives in the countryside. Each lady has very different situations, one has 9 cats!! The other moved to her parent's empty house with her family. The videos have English subtitles but I can listen to them as well!  It's good listening practice!

Speaking I don't really try. I'll sometimes speak to the parents of my students, but just basic greeting.

Writing is something else I don't try very much!

The other day I got out one of my books to learn kanji.

One of my many books for learning Japanese

  Hannah saw me and suggested that I learn how to write my name and address instead of just random kanji. She sat and taught me for about an hour. A lot of that was laughing at my attempt at writing. She showed me the book she has for teaching Japanese at elementary school. So many kanji, first grade is 80 different ones!  I'm not sure but I think 4th grade is about 200.  Hannah said it's more because they have to learn the different prefectures that have kanji that aren't included. 

I remember when my kids were in elementary school they had to write out kanji every day! I think that's the only way!

My Japanese lesson

I need to do this every day!

Maybe I should do it at night when I can't sleep! Might be a cure for my insomnia!!

Insomnia And Stress Eating

 Mt insomnia is back with a vengeance.  I fall asleep alright most nights but wake up a couple of hours later and can't drop off again.  I'm awake from 1am to about 4am but have to get up at 5am to get Hannah's breakfast. I know she can do it herself but these are the last few months she will be living here so I want to do things for her. 

Between lack of sleep and the heat, I'm becoming very irritable.  I find myself snapping at the smallest thing, I shouted at the broom the other day! It had fallen at an angle against a chair and I tripped over it. Poor thing got cursed out!!

Then my eating is starting to get out of control. I don't diet but I am very mindful of what I eat. I try to avoid sugar and carbs but not doing keto.  For most of my meals, I have a lot of vegetables and salad. My snacks are fruit or nuts. 

I haven't put weight on but I haven't lost any. The couple of kilos I lost when I was sick with Covid have come back. I seem to go up and down the same two kilos.

I'm stressed. Just the physical aspect of the move is daunting. David and Christopher went to the other house today, I've given up for now. They managed to clear out two rooms, which is good. But there is so much to do and so little time. I've managed to box up more books, I think I need to be more ruthless with these books and throw or give away more! I've emptied out two big drawers in the kitchen, basically baking stuff. Again a lot more to do.

Another thing that is stressing me is what to do about our English school. I thought about opening near where we are going to live. For a few months that will be alright but Mikey is planning to move out next summer. Will he want to commute to pick me up and take me to the next town to teach? Will we get students?  I want to come back here to teach the students we have, but I want to put them together on just a few days.  How many will quit?

Then, of course, we had an earthquake, and the news and social media are on about the possibility of a mega earthquake. I know the possibility is small but is still a worry.

I've tried everything to deal with my insomnia, except sleeping pills, which I don't want. I keep busy during the day in the hope of falling and staying asleep.  I write a diary, to get the worries out of my head. I do deep breathing and little stretches but nothing is working. I might buy some allergy tablets as they make me sleepy.  

As for the eating I need to learn to say no. Yesterday I had an ice cream in the evening. I felt sick after, I realized that my body isn't used to such a large amount of sugar being dumped in at once!!! 

I want to be healthy, and I want to have the energy to face what is coming but sometimes I feel defeated!  I'm hoping that part of this is the heat. That as it cools down I'll feel a bit better. This morning it was under 25C for the first time in weeks. I did feel a bit better and managed to do some housework without the sweat dripping off me!

Last night Hannah was going through her photos and found this one from last year, August 11Th.

August 11th, 2023

We were wearing the same clothes yesterday, August 11th, 2024, so she took more photos with the filter app she has.

August 11th, 2024

The Other House

 This morning Mikey, David and I went to the other house.

Before the earthquake on Thursday, I had noticed cracks on the outside wall.  Two on the front, but they look like they are more cosmetic than structural. The ones that worried me were on the foundation near the bathroom and one bedroom.  Those seemed deeper, one going round a corner.

The earthquake here wasn't that strong, maybe a M3 but the house and the one we are in were built before 1995. That year there was a massive earthquake in the Kobe area of Japan. Many lessons on building design and how to make buildings safer were learned.  One small example is the lever-style taps. Before 1995 the taps were pushed down to make the water flow, after the design was changed so that you have to pull the taps up. With the pushdown ones, it would be easy to flood the area if something fell on them.

Most newer buildings are built with some type of dampening system in place to help dissipate the seismic activity.  I'm thinking of having the house fitted with that kind of system.  Something else I need to check.

The house was fine. The cracks hadn't changed. That was a relief.

The other thing I was worried about is a massive tree that is too close to the house and storage area.

The tree

It's not as thick as I thought it was as it branches off at the top. It shouldn't have gotten that tall. I remember my mother-in-law used to trim it a lot!  I'm worried about it. An earthquake could loosen the roots more and a typhoon could take it down all together.  

side of the house

This is the passageway between the storage building and the house. It always looks bad, overgrown, and smells damp. There's little sun on the area, and weeds take over the walkway easily.  I've been focusing on the inside of the house that I haven't noticed all the work that needs to be done outside. Not just getting it to look better but keeping it up after!

We managed to take over a few more things. That helps me feel better. Even if I can't work at the house I can get sorted here.

On the way back we stopped at a few shops.  And, of course, I got sick. I wasn't outside long, just from the car to the shop and back again but even that was too much for me! The heat is extreme still. Up to 37C today but felt like 40C.  All of next week is going to be over 35C.