I Don't Like June

 Not just because the heat and humidity start but June has so many bad things happen!  

The beginning of the month is my husbands birthday. When he was alive we would celebrate.  So the day is really bitter sweet.  I'm grateful for the time that we had but would of loved a few more years together!

Also my brother in law committed suicide at the beginning of the month.  He had suffered his whole life with depression and various health problems.  I don't know what pushed him over the edge, he was only 33.  

Lucky, our dog died last year.

I was diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago.  So far I'm clear.  Every June I have to go through a load of tests to make sure it doesn't come back.  So far okay!

And my Mom passed away 17 years ago the end of June.  I can still remember Dad calling me.  I was getting the kids ready for school.  I felt in was unreal!  I knew she had terminal cancer but I had hoped for longer. My older boys have some memories of her.  But Hannah only met her once when Hannah was a year old.  I try to tell the kids about the things she did.  Making me fairy wings,  bread and butter pudding on cold winter days, playing eye spy with Steven,  Steve's spied something beginning with 'm'.  Mom and I guessed for ages, the answer was a motor cycle going down the road!  I remember in the winter before central heating she would drag our blankets down to warm in front of the fire and fill up hot water bottles!

I was looking through some photos that I have.  Hannah scanned them for me to share here.

Mom and Dad's wedding

Trip to Coronation Street

Holding Mikey, first grandson

Blackpool, I think

Last time with her, she is holding Hannah.

I also came across these two photos.

The top one is my cousin holding her daughter, the bottom one is me and Hannah.

Very much alike!

One Year Ago

 This week a year ago we lost our lovely dog Lucky.

Somehow I'm still deeply saddened by this.  I know she was a dog but for me she was a very special dog.  We got her for Christopher, he was 10 years old at the time and really having a hard time.  We had to move in with my mother in law, which was hard on all of us.  She wasn't the grandmotherly type at all.  Christopher was being bullied at school and the teacher had no way of stopping it.  Because of this I let Christopher stay home sometimes.  This back fired because my mother in law kept telling him that he was being bullied because he was stupid.  Poor kid didn't have a safe place to be.  We had just got Lucky at that time, so playing with her and as she got bigger long walks really helped Christopher!

A coupe of months old 

Lucky at a couple of years old

After a year we managed to move out from mother in laws house.

Moving to where we live now was great for us.  Both of our dogs had a lovely big yard to play in. Our other dog died a year after we moved here.  Because of the rental agreement they could be inside but the way we set things up we could open the windows from the living room and they could get in.  I would of allowed them in but my neighbours might have reported us and I couldn't risk getting evicted.  When the weather was bad, too cold, too hot or too wet we would let Lucky inside.  But she was never really happy, she would sit by the window and cry.  She hated thunderstorms.  One year we had a very bad storm.  Hannah, Lucky and I sat in the corridor crying!  

She was a very friendly dog.  Even the vet said he had never met such a friendly dog.  She was always happy to meet people but we had to be careful as she would jump up!  One time my husband decided to use the bike to walk her around the area.  My husband came back limping!  Apparently he was riding a bit fast, Lucky was having a good run when something caught her attention and she stopped suddenly pulling my husband off the bike!  He didn't try that again.

I was glad that we had such a big dog after my husband died.  She was very friendly but have the deepest bark.  I always felt protected with her in the house at night.

My fondest memories of Lucky are the long walks with Christopher.  She was very strong and I have back problems so I couldn't walk her myself.  But Christopher and I would go in the late evenings, after the pavement had cooled down, for about half an hour or more.  It was a nice time to talk to Christopher, especially after my husband died, one on one time became important for my kids!

I miss her so much.  During the first year after my husband died I would go and talk to her, she would love me up with her daftness and cuteness.  It really helped!

So now I'm crying!

Neighbours

 The past few years we have had problems with our neighbours.  They keep complaining about the trees in our yard.  We cut down the trees but they still complain.  This week it came to a head.  On Tuesday a lady from the rental company came and said that the neighbours had called again and said we should cut the trees, then on Wednesday the leader of the town association came and said the same.  So Mikey called at company that came and cut down four trees, 4 hours of work cost us almost 800 pounds.  Mikey had to pay as I don't have any extra money.  I thought the company was going to do more but apparently not.  I'm so angry about this, I know the yard is a mess but between crazy work schedules, still cleaning out the other house and my health the yard is low on my list of things to do.  This week I had to clean out the pantry, a couple of potatoes had fallen down the back and were growing in there, but of course as I started moving out a few things I found more that needed doing.  Tomorrow I have to tackle the under stairs cupboard and my walk in closet, that is on top of the daily chores!

The disaster of a yard!

The Heat Has Started!

 I was hoping that the cool weather would continue for a while longer, long enough for me to get new air conditioners!  But it was not to be!  Yesterday was hot and humid, up to about 32C.  I went to do a bit of shopping, one place was to check the prices of air conditioners, then a supermarket to pick up some fruit and vegetables.  I was out for less than an hour and most of the time in the air conditioning but I still ended up with mild heat stroke!  Wearing a mask in the heat makes me really sick.  I was hoping that this would be behind us now but the vaccine roll out here is so slow.  From what I've read it could take until September to vaccinate most people!  

The cats are roaming around looking for the coolest places to lie down.  They are very quiet all day but start chasing around and playing at night!  They keep out of the living room as that gets very hot preferring the corridor and stairs which are a lot cooler.  Climbing the stairs can be rather dangerous!

Christopher has been helping out in the kitchen a bit.  He makes a really good omelet but can't fry eggs.  Every time he tries the yolk and white separate!

Christopher's fried egg!

Christopher's omelet, much better!

Hisao's Birthday

 Today would of been Hisao's 60th birthday.  I can't imagine what he would of been like at 60, he will always be 51 in my mind.  This birthday has hit me harder than the others, I think because 60 is seen as another milestone in life and Hisao never got the chance to see it.  What would he be like at 60?  What would our lives be like?  Would the kids lives be different?  So many questions!  We don't realize how important somebody is until we lose them!  Especially these past few months trying to understand Hannah's university, all the paper work before she started and all the paper work and deadlines for the scholarship has been very hard, most days I wished that Hisao was here to sort things out.  But he's not so I just have to get on with it!

Outing somewhere

Exactly one year before he died

I think today is going to be hard!

Yesterday I went to a supermarket that is a little bit of a drive from here but the meat is cheaper so worth the effort.  I was shocked to find that the system for paying had completely changed.  Most stores have self service registers but this store went one step further with carts that acts as a register.  You put money on a card, enter your ID on a screen attached to the cart then as you pick up items you scan them and place them in your bag.  The screen shows a running total of how much you have spent.  All good fun.

The new way to shop.

The cats have found a new way to keep busy, trying to get the lizards on the outside of the windows.  Makes good fun to watch them!

Trying hard to catch the lizard.

Insects

 I hate insects, even the ones that are considered cute like butterflies and ladybirds. There is just something about them that make my skin crawl!  But the ones that makes me scream and run around like an idiot are cockroaches.  Not the small ones that I can squish but the massive Godzilla ones that come out in the summer.  Another reason that I don't like summer!  There's saying in Japan that if you see one there are 30 more hiding, waiting to come out.  I already saw one this week, crawling along the ceiling in the bathroom.  So are there 30 more waiting?  I had hoped that the cats would help but they only play with them, chasing and batting them around.  I'm trying to find something that I can put down to kill the cockroaches but most poisons would be bad for the cats.  I thought about putting poison down where the cats don't go but the cats seem to get everywhere!

Talking about cats I was ready to throttle them last night.  All night meowing, fighting and scratching at my door. At 3:30am I gave up, opened my door to see all the cats lined up in the corridor, they were hungry!  So I gave them food and it went very quiet!  We also solved the mystery of Hannah's clothes being covered in cat hair. I don't let the cats into the bedrooms because we all have allergies so we couldn't figure out why Hannah's clothes had cat hair on them, it was David, we have the photo to prove it!

David rubbing Steve on Hannah's clothes

Cats being cute!

Hannah is enjoying her course.  Until the end of May everything is online, which is easier for her, no getting up early. Part of what she is doing is remembering all the things she did in elementary school.  Today she had to do an art project like she did in 1st or 2nd grade.  She had to make a robot or monster from boxes or other household stuff.  This is what she made.

Hannah's monster

Too Early

 This year, so far, nature has been too early.

Cherry blossoms in March instead of April.  Azaleas in April instead of May.  And now the rainy season has started, 20 days earlier than usual.  The last time it was this early was in 1954.  I don't like the rainy season. As the name implies it rains a lot, but for me it's the humidity that drives me crazy.  Yesterday, after the rain had stopped the humidity was still 80%.  Everything feels damp.  I feel as if the life has been sucked out of me.  To help combat this I usually run my air conditioners on the dry mode but at the moment two of my air conditioner aren't working.  I wish they were a luxury that I didn't need but they aren't. Once the real heat starts I know it will be killing for me.  Better bite the dust and go shopping.

David had to go to the police station on Friday.  No, he's not in trouble but was a witness to an accident a few weeks ago.  Mikey and David were on the way to Kusano to clean out my mother in laws house (it's still not finished). On the way they stopped to pick up some coffee, it was 6am.  Just as they were getting there coffee there as an awful crash out side, when they looked they saw a car had run into something, the can was wrecked but the driver was okay. David called the police while Mikey helped the driver. Because David was the one who called the police he was asked to go in and give a written statement.  Apparently the driver was drunk and sleepy, had a tire blow out and lost control of the car.  For his effort David was given 3000 yen by the police, about 20 pounds.  I was very surprised by that!

And because my life isn't stressful enough the cat have to get in on the act.  Last night Alan, one of the black cats, was foaming at the mouth. I was so shocked, I managed to catch him and wipe the foam off.  He went on his way only to come back a few minutes later foaming at the mouth again.  David and Hannah grab Alan and found that he was covered in washing up liquid, he was licking to get it off and that was why he was foaming at the mouth.  David and I got him in bathroom and managed to wash off the dish soap.  Alan struggled to get free, soaking me and the bathroom floor.  But we got the soap off, Alan went off to sulk, he is still miserable today!  I have no idea how he got soap on himself,  one of the mysteries of cats!

Who's hiding in the towel?

It's Sam

Steve and Alan watching the lizards on the outside of the window.