A Bit Of Fun Shopping

 Recently, the only shopping I do is grocery shopping. It's turned into a rather stressful chore that needs to be done!  The main stress is from the price of everyday things. I'm spending more now to feed four of us than when there were six of us!  I know that when we were a family of six, the kids were little, but I would buy things that I now consider luxury items, fresh fruit or ice cream, come to mind. My shopping now is very basic things, a bit of meat, chicken, maybe fish sometimes. Basic vegetables, always seasonal, as they are cheaper. Then the daily necessities, like milk, bread, eggs, and sausages. Nothing fancy. I can pick up 20 items and pay over 7,000 yen, about £35, that would be for three days!  Also, I go to two or three different supermarkets, one has cheap meat but the fish is expensive and never looks or smells very fresh, another has good deals on vegetables but milk and eggs are expensive, and then another for all the things I couldn't get at the first two shops! It is exhausting and rather frustrating!

Today we went to a shopping mall. I usually don't bother with these places, too much walking, and the supermarkets there are a lot more expensive than the other places. But I saw on Facebook that there's a coffee/ import shop that had English brand tea!  I buy cheap tea, it's okay, but I really wanted something a bit special. Also, these stores are good for Christmas food, and yes, I know it's only August, but this is one way I survive the summer, by planning Christmas!

The mall was a 30-minute drive from here. We had to cross the river, I was shocked at how low the water was.

I think we need some rain.

Since those awful thunderstorms the other week, we haven't had any rain. The forecast is for some this week. I hope it rains as it does cool things down a bit!

The first thing I noticed at the mall was the flood barrier. This mall is close to a river, not the one in the photo!  The problem is that the river is higher than the mall. Christopher worked at this mall. During the rainy season that year, the river burst its banks and flooded the mall; the water came up to Christopher's knees. He was working at the bookstore and said that all the books on the lower shelves were damaged. Because of this, Christopher lost his job!  He had only just started to work there. This was the second year in a row that the mall had flooded, so I think that the insurance couldn't cover the damage. The store had to find a way to save money, so maybe that is why Christopher lost his job!

Now the mall has these barriers at the entrance.

These barriers pull across the entrance during floods.

I wonder if they work!

I managed to find the store that I wanted to go to. It was smaller than I thought, but they had the tea.

English tea

I'm looking forward to a cup of real English tea.

We had a little wander around and found Muji. This is a lovely store that has a minimalistic design philosophy. They sell a wide range of goods. I'm always drawn to stationery goods and kitchen goods. I bought myself a couple of nice pens.

Nice pens

I also bought Christopher a new T-shirt.

Of course, green.

I had a look at a few things for David's birthday. I think I'll have to go back there to get him something.

I had a look in the supermarket, it was expensive, but I came across a small corner of plant-based items. This is something that is only just catching on in Japan. I saw these noodles.

Vegan

Somehow, they don't look very appetizing!

On the way out, I caught the back end of a train that goes around the mall. The kids love it!

Train ride around the mall.

I tried to get some video on the way back, but Mikey was driving very fast! I really liked the trees that have been planted along the road. The red flowers were very beautiful!

As you can see, the mall is in the middle of the countryside!

I had a nice afternoon, but I was so tired after! 

Surviving Summer

 The heat has really intensified! The past week has seen temperatures in the upper 30s; I think one day it reached 40 °C.  I'm not sure about other places, but here the humidity has been around 50%, which makes it a bit easier.

I still don't have air conditioners in all the rooms. I have mine, which really helps. David's is working at the moment, he went outside and kicked the machine, then it worked. 

We tried to get the old machines working, but no luck.

But somehow we are surviving!

It's not easy, but if I can get up early to clean and start lunch, it really helps!  Also, I give everyone an area to clean. Then I stay in my room with the air conditioner on for the rest of the day.

I realized the other day that this is the first summer that I haven't had an air conditioner in the main rooms. A few times I haven't had air conditioners in the bedrooms, but I've always had them in the rooms that are used a lot, the kitchen, dining room, living room, and the rooms I used for teaching. I've often wondered if it would be possible to live without air conditioning! Now I know it's possible, but not nice! 

I keep telling myself that it's almost autumn! That the temperature will go down, and soon I will be complaining about the cold! For me, the cold is a lot easier to deal with!

Last week I went shopping with Christopher. We found these cute soft toys. I thought this one looked like Christopher!

July

 I didn't think July was so busy, but looking back, I did a lot of things!

Having Hannah here for a week was nice, but the reason she came wasn't good. She has a few weeks' holiday from university next month and is using that time to go to the doctors to figure out what the problem might be! She went to a "brain doctor", a neurologist, today.  He said that there are three possible causes for her seizures: first is epilepsy, second is stress, and third is a circulation problem.  She has an appointment for an MRI next week. I hope that she can get this sorted out as soon as possible. 

July started out relatively cool. I actually managed to go out in the evenings for little walks! The mercury would get up to 33C but because the humidity is low, it just doesn't feel that bad!

The past few days, however, the temperature has really gone up, summer has really started! According to the weather forecast, it could get up to 40 °C tomorrow!  That is crazy! I really hope the humidity stays low!  I know what I'm going to do: stay in my room with the air conditioner on. I might have to open the door so the cats can come and go. They really don't like the air conditioner, but they might stay near the door!

I really want to get things done in August; I need to push to do the yard. I'm looking for some potatoes to start growing in pots. I went to one of the garden center stores near here, but couldn't see any! I'll have a look online. Also, I'm still trying to figure out the kitchen storage. I really miss my pantry. I never realized just how useful that was in the other house!

Keeping Fluffy out of the food cupboard would be a good start!

Fluffy likes to find interesting places to sleep.

Those two things should keep me busy!

Of course, with the weather warming up, the bugs are coming out.  Found this on the car the other day!

These give me goosebumps.

And yes, I screamed.

I hope August is a good month; it's usually a hard month because of the heat, but I'm determined to make it better this year!

What A Week

 Last week was hard!

It started off with me feeling totally overwhelmed by our situation.

We have no money but need a lot!

The only asset we have is the land, but we can't sell it as it's still in either my mother-in-law's name or my grandmother-in-law's name.  To change the name would cost between £150 and £500 for each piece of land, and we own about 16 pieces of land.

The house and garden need a lot of work. Not having air conditioners is crazy, this week the temperature will be over 38 °C. Trying to cook or clean in that heat is almost impossible. I worry about David as he has to sleep during the hottest time of the day. He has a fan on his bed, which helps, but I'm not sure how much good sleep he gets. He looks exhausted! He needs a holiday but can't afford one! I don't think he's had a holiday since he started work there, about 4 years ago! The only time he's had off was when he got Covid!

Then Mama cat got out and hasn't come back! She escaped on Wednesday, but we haven't seen her at all since then. I didn't want to tell Hannah as I know she'll stress, but she would ask why no photos of Mama. I figured telling Hannah now is better!

Come back Mama

I had a new student on Thursday. My first online student. The lesson was okay, but there's a lot to learn about using Zoom. I have to set up a schedule and figure out how to send materials or make something on the Zoom app! It's a challenge. Which is good for me!

I tried very hard not to get too desperate, but of course, life loves giving me a hard time. 

We have to pay land tax this month, 2,5000 yen, £125, then insurance for David's car, 50,000 yen, £250, plus the electric bill will be more as I've run the only air conditioner a lot! 

Then the oil lamp came on in David's car. He took it in yesterday, got the oil changed and the brakes looked at, cost 5,000 yen, £25, not too bad, but the engine needs changing, which would cost 30,000 yen, £150. I think he got scammed! He bought the car off the internet without seeing it, maybe not the best idea!

Where is all this money going to come from? David is paying for almost everything at the moment, and he isn't earning that much!

Just to add to my misery, I've been sick with an upset stomach. I think it's all the stress that I'm dealing with!

I haven't really slept much or well this past couple of weeks, about 2 hours out of 24 hours. The nights that David isn't working, I took sleeping tablets but only got 4 hours!

Christopher has been cooking and baking for the past few weeks. I'm glad that he has started to do some cooking.  I try to do lunch, but dinner tends to be a bit hit and miss! Most days, Christopher will make something quick for dinner, which really helps!

Yesterday, he made some very nice blueberry muffins. He made more today, some without blueberries as Mikey doesn't like cooked fruit!

Blueberry muffins

Muffins with cat paw prints

Cheeky request!

I've added a Ko-Fi button, if you would like to buy me a coffee, or tea!!!!

A Change Of Plans

 There's a bus stop at the bottom of this road, the bus goes into the city and one of the train stations. Train stations in larger cities in Japan are like mini shopping malls. 

I haven't visited this station in many years, about 25 years, maybe more. When Mikey was a toddler, I would get on the bus with him and go there. We would look around the stores, and I would usually buy him a little toy. I remember there was a little bookstore that would have English magazines, like Reader's Digest or Time Magazine, and I would treat myself to a copy. If I didn't have to rush back, we would go to McDonald's and get a snack. I enjoyed doing that.  It felt normal when most of my life felt abnormal, dealing with a completely different culture and language.  It was something I would have done if we lived in the UK.

Unfortunately, the area around the train station became run down. I think the final blow for the stores there was the building of a massive shopping mall in 2003. Slowly, the stores, even the larger ones, closed down.

When I accepted that moving here was inevitable, I started to look at what is in this area. I knew it would be easy for me just to stay in the house and do nothing. Because I can't drive, I needed places that I could get to on the bus. I came across a video about this train station, it's been totally revitalized! I was surprised to see how good it looks. Not only in the station but the area surrounding it has changed, new stores have come in, including Diaso and Don Quijote, a fantastic discount store!

I planned to get on the bus this afternoon, just go and have a look round. But I haven't been sleeping very well this week, maybe one hour in 24 hours. Even with the sleeping tablets, I only slept 4 hours! So even though I really wanted to go, I decided against it. Maybe after next week, according to my weather app, next week is going to be extremely hot, over 35 °C for 6 days!

But I did want to get out, so this evening, just before sunset, Christopher and I went for a walk around the area. 

It wasn't easy, but it felt good to get out.

I love how quiet it is and the light!

I think this is a Jizo; they usually have red hats, but he has a yellow one.

There's a small park up the road, but it looks overgrown.

On the way back, we found some chickens.

Chickens, but they smelt bad!

Growing beer?

On the way back, we passed our land. Every time I see it, I feel overwhelmed. It really is too much to deal with! 

We really need a lot of money to get this cleared. The problem is that this is only 2 of 16 pieces!

A Bit Worried

 The news has been tracking three typhoons near Japan for the past few days. Fortunately, none of them are on course to come here, but it's got me a bit worried!

The reason I'm worried has to do with all the trash and other items that are still outside or under the storage roof. There are a lot of things that can go flying if the wind picks up.

This is a little video I took this morning.

As you can see, so much of that stuff is light enough to become airborne if a typhoon hits!

I managed to tidy up some of it this morning. I got Christopher to help. I basically moved what I could further into the storage place at the side. I know the best is the throw out all the plastic things, but disposing of plastic is very hard. There's a city incinerator that we can take it to, and we should get that done as soon as possible, but we need some one with an ID for this city. David has the form to change the address on his license, but he has to go to the police station, which is on the other side of the city. 

I'll try and get more done tomorrow morning. If I go out early enough, between 5am and 6am, I can actually work. The more I get done before 8am, the better. The heat has finally begun. 

This morning we had a small earthquake, maybe a one here. The epicenter was in Nagasaki. Hannah was in class when it happened. She said it felt long and rather strong! 

I always ask my students which they prefer, a typhoon or an earthquake. Most say a typhoon. Although I would prefer to avoid any natural disasters, I find typhoons are easier to deal with. Especially with the latest technology that allows you to track the typhoon, you have time to prepare. Also, with a typhoon, you can see when it will hit and when it will leave your area. Earthquakes just happen, and there is no way to predict if the quake is just a one-off or the start of a series of quakes!

It's HOT

 Until this week, the weather hasn't been too bad!

It's been hot, but not the scorching, humid weather that I associate with summer in Japan.  Even today, the humidity was still rather low, about 50%, usually it can get up to 80%

Yesterday was the first day that I felt sick because of the heat! On Tuesday and Wednesday, I have to go back to the other city to do some English lessons. Usually I'm alright with this, I go from my room which has air conditioning in, to the car, with air conditioning to the community center, again with air conditioning. 

But the air conditioning in the car isn't really working! On the long stretches of road, when we don't have to stop for lights, it works okay, but in the city, where there are a lot of lights, it stops working! Of course, yesterday, even the two long roads that we usually whiz down were busy, and the traffic was slow, hence no air conditioner and a very hot, melting lady!

I was surprised to see that even Hokaido was hot, one city recorded temperatures of 40C. That is crazy, Hokaido is known for it's mild summers, temperatures usually range from 14C to 24C.

I think summer has really started!

I'm always very careful to avoid heatstroke. I drink as much as possible, either water or some kind of sports drink. Recently, I've started to buy salt candies, I don't know how much they help. I stay in the air conditioning and keep fans on in the rooms that don't have air conditioners. We are surrounded by trees and bushes which really help to keep the house a bit cooler. I complain that the roof comes down too low over the windows. In the winter, the rooms are too cold because there is no sun in the rooms at all, but at this time of year, it does help to keep the rooms a bit cooler! I like to have the windows open so any bit of breeze can get in!

I'm still trying to get outside a bit every day, even just a stroll around the garden helps me. I want to get out early to try and pull weeds or tidy up a bit. This week I haven't had the energy to do that, but I hope to do some over the weekend. 

The cats are suffering the heat but they find cool places to sleep. I make sure there is fresh water for them in different places around the house, but they all seem to prefer my water!

Fred is drinking my water!