Bit Of Cleaning And A Bit Of Baking

 I really have to get my insomnia under control, going to sleep at 2 or 3 am isn't helping at all! I go to bed about 11pm, I'm tired and kind of sleepy but as soon as I lie down my mind goes into overdrive. I keep a notebook and pen by my bed, hoping that writing things down will get them out of my head, but it doesn't work. I've tried relaxation techniques and yoga to help me relax but nothing seems to work. The problem is that I'm up at about 6:30 am, get breakfast and do a few chores, but then I'm sleepy and rather grumpy so I go to sleep a for another hour or so. I don't think that is helping me. The past week has been extremely cold, the only warm place was my bed, which means getting back into bed was so easy! I hope that with the weather warming up a little bit my bed won't be so tempting.

I'm still trying to figure out this commuting to work business. When I taught at home I could do some little chores while I was waiting for students to come, if they didn't turn up I could use the time to prepare other lessons or organise things in the office. Also when Mikey had classes and I didn't I could do things around the house. Now I have to travel 30 to 40 minutes, teach one or two classes, then wait another hour or two for Mikey. There's no Wi-Fi so I can't do anything online.  I've been taking walks around the gym, sitting on the floor for hours makes me stiff!  The one problem with being out of the house for a few hours 3 or 4 days a week means that chores aren't done. Everybody does what they can, but sometimes it feels like a loosing battle. The kitchen never looks clean as pots, pans and dishes are left on the drying racks as there isn't enough space to put them away. One corner of the dining area needs to be sorted out, still stuff dumped from moving, the bathroom and toilets still need a good clean. The list is endless.  Plus we need to do outside, that got put on hold this week because of snow and ice. 

Today I managed to do a few things. Cleaned the oven, did a deep clean of the counter and cleaned off the sofa.  I need to get the floors done, maybe later!

I also spent time baking! I planned to do a few things but have only managed to make some snickerdoodles. Hannah is coming tomorrow and she requested these! I'm wondering if I'll have energy to do some muffins!

Another thing I was cleaning out are the photos I have on my cloud. I'm running out of storage space so I went through them. Do I really need ten photos of the same cat, in the same pose?  I managed to remove a lot but came to a stop when I found these photos.

The old house

Just seeing these photos broke my heart. I know there were a lot of problems with the house but it holds so many memories for me. I really loved living there. I think in my 34 years in Japan that was the best place I had lived. Not just the house but the area was so convenient. Shops, clinics, dentists and schools were all within walking distance. Here there is nothing. I feel isolated. Even if I don't talk to people just knowing that I can walk to the shop helped a lot. 

I'm going to put some more snickerdoodles in to bake. 

Hannah's Trip

 Hannah treated herself to a 3 day trip to Hiroshima. It's her graduation trip, usually the parents would pay but I have no money at all!

She decided on Hiroshima because Cats The Musical was playing, the next venue is up north, I think Hannah said in Sendai, but I'm not sure.

She arrived Wednesday morning. She was worried that she would have to cancel because of the weather, heavy snow was forecast for that day but the trains were running okay. She said it was sunny and snowing in Hiroshima. 

The first day she just walked around, visited a bank that survived the bomb. The inside was destroyed but the building withstood the blast.

The Hiroshima Branch of the Bank of Japan, about 380 meters from the hypocenter 

She also visited an elementary school that served as  relief station after the bomb. One wall was preserved as it has messages on it, people looking for family members and friends. 

Photos from the elementary school

She had a little walk around but went to her hotel early.

Shopping street

Maybe the hotel entrance

hotel room

Next day was the musical. She got tickets for the afternoon show, she didn't want to be out in a strange city in the evening.

In the morning she went to Hiroshima castle. The original castle was built between 1592 and 1599. It was reconstructed after it was destroyed by the bomb, being rebuilt in 1958. 

Hiroshima Castle

She then got a quick lunch, okonomiyaki.

Okonomiyaki

Then she got to the theater.

Before the start of the show you can take photos, so of course Hannah went a bit mad. I think most of the photos she took were at the theater!

Cats!!

She bought this little stuffed toy!

The Railway Cat

Today is her last day there. She went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum this morning!

Peace Memorial site

She is now waiting for her train back home!

I'm glad that she had this little trip. She's worked hard the past four years. Between university and working two or three part time jobs she hasn't had much chance to do anything for fun!  From next week she'll be busy with her new part time job. Her university has basically finished but she has to prepare for her graduate studies! 

She sent a lot more photos but I'm not sure what they are, she might visit on Sunday so I can ask her and do a follow up post!

Knitting

 I came across a news segment a few weeks ago about a knitting boom in Japan. From what I could understand knitting has become so popular among young people (late teens to early 30s) that a lot of 100 yen shops (like pound/dollar stores) have sold out of yarn. Even the 100 yen store I use was sold out of a lot of yarn.

These are usually full.

One young lady was saying that there are a lot of tutorials on the Internet so it's easy to learn how to knit!

This made me think of how I learnt to knit. 

When I was 12 years old my Mom was pregnant with my youngest brother. I remember that winter sitting around the heater with my best friend from school, knitting little jackets for the baby! We would knit and chat about things. It's such a lovely memory for me.

I'm okay at knitting, I know the basics but have a hard time with shaping things, decreasing or increasing stitches to shape the arm holes for a sweater gets me tied up in knots, literally sometimes! My Mom always came to rescue when I got confused doing that.

Mom loved to knit because it stopped her from smoking, you can't knit and do something else with your hands!  

When I had my kids she knitted a few things for them. I've kept these little jackets and bonnets, it's a nice reminder of my Mom and her love for her grandkids!

A few things Mom knitted for my kids

At the moment I'm teaching myself how to crotchet.  I have no idea what I'm doing, I watched a couple of tutorials, so I've learnt a basic stitch but have no idea how to shape things. I've been using up some left over yarn that I had hanging around.

My attempt at crochet

I don't know why it's gone a funny shape!  

I've been doing this while I'm waiting for Mikey to finish his classes. It's really soothing somehow!

I'm thinking of buying wool and needles to knit some throw blankets. I would love to learn how to crochet granny squares, throws made from them always look so lovely.

Cold

 I know that there are colder places but for me here is cold enough!

The outside temperature is about 3C but feels like -6C. It's been snowing on and off all day!  Fortunately it's not really sticking but I'm worried about tonight. The temperature will drop to -3C, cold enough for ice to form on the roads. Because it doesn't snow or get icy here very often people don't know how to drive on slippery roads. The last snow we had David counted at least 10 cars that had gone off the road! 

I've always said that I prefer the cold weather to the hot weather, and I do! But I realized today that in the old house I could get the main rooms to be rather comfortable! The corridors and bathroom would be cold but not like this house!  This morning I was making lunch, I had the heater on, cooking soup and running hot water to wash a few dishes, even with all those sources of heat I could still see my breathe!! 

I know that this house was built with summer in mind but surely some kind of insulation could have been put in place. I'm amazed at how quickly the temperature drops once the heater goes off. Within 10 minutes it's cold again. In the old house the rooms would be warm for over an hour after the heater went off!  I'm going to have to pay a lot to get this house comfortable in all seasons. I don't think it will be very cool in the summer, either. The house was designed when the highest temperatures were about 32C. Last summer we had over a month where the temperatures were 38C or more!  I guess a few good air conditioners are going to be needed!  

I'm going to do some more baking. I made oatmeal muffins.

Oatmeal Muffins

 I found a recipe for sweet potatoes biscuits,  American style biscuits.

I like to have some sort of snacks on hand in bad weather!  My excuse is that they help with stress!

Setsubun

 Setsubun is a festival that is held in Japan at the beginning of February.  According to the old lunar calendar the day after Setsubun is the start of spring, Setsubun literally means seasonal division. Although not a national holiday it is still observed by a lot of people. The idea is to drive away evil spirits and invite good fortune at the beginning of spring.

One custom was to burn dried sardine heads, it was thought that the smell of the burning fish and the sound of drums would chase away the evil spirits. Although not so popular any more, some people still put sardine heads and holly branches on their front doors.

Today throwing beans at a person in a demon mask is done through out Japan. As the beans are thrown you shout "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!" "Demons out, good fortune in". 

I remember teaching in kindergartens when they would do this. The poor kids would be traumatised by the guy in the demon mask but with the encouragement of the teachers the kids would throw the beans and chase the demon out. I never knew who to feel more sorry for, the kids or the poor guy being pelted with beans! 

"Demon out, good fortune in!".

The longer I'm in Japan the more I can appreciate these festivals. When the kids were little we would try to participate but I never understood the history or the reason for things such as Setsubun.  Now I have time to read about it, to learn it's origins. Also having adult kids who love history helps, they are mine of information on these things!