Saturday, December 29, 2018

Our winter vacation has started

It is Saturday today, so for us it is a usual weekend. However unfortunately Yuki's tennis school is off because of New Year Vacation in Japan.
After we had usual breakfast, and vacuumed the rooms which we do once a week, and prepared for a new year's day, and visiting Tokyo. We are going to TOKYO on January 2.

 
 
This afternoon, we are going to a butcher to get a special meat. We have a familiar butcher whose owner is in his 70's. They also take their winter vacation, though most of supermarkets and convenience stores are oven during New Year's vacation,  so we buy some special meat for our winter vacation there.
 
Then  we have no plans. We will spend at home lazily. --- it might be a usual style for our retirement life. --- It is a problem, isn't it?


Friday, December 28, 2018

It is the seocnd day of Yuki's winter vacation.

Yesterday when we came back home in the evening, this big bag was in the entrance.
The gardener we have him trimmed the garden every year, came and put it.
We really thank to him, anyway struggling with it is Yuki's job.

 
In the morning, he went getting his hair cut, and went buying some gadget to a home center.
He started to organize the garden, (Of course I also helped him taking off withered grass and leaves.)
He paved the back yard with the wooden chips, and fixed next boxes in the garden.
 
 
 
Today's his job is finished.
He will indulge on watching DVD?
In 2 hour my last class of this year will start.
 
Starting tomorrow our winter vacation will start.
 

 

Thursday, December 27, 2018

Winter vacation has started

Since today Yuki's winter vacation has started.
He has 11-day holidays.
It is a kind of practice for our coming retirement life.
This vacation, our younger daughter's family doesn't come back to Japan.
Probably our elder daughter (she came back from America after 8-month staying there) comes to stay with us for a few days. So most of the days two of us spend together all the day.

Today it was the first day.
After our breakfast and morning chores, we went out to do some errands, including shopping.
Then we saw this movie.
Did you see it?
This movie has been a big topic around us. He is a big fan of  The Beatles, not familiar Queen.
I'm not either, but one of my friends was a big fan of Queen, so I didn't know why the reason but I knew their songs .
When Queen came to Japan, I was a junior high school student.
I don't remember how I listen to their music. Probably the friend bought some their records, and I might borrow them. But as long as I can remember, my father didn't let me use his recorder to listen to such a "Rock" record. He used to say "this recorder and speakers are for classic music.".
Additionally, later he became a big fan of Simon& Garfunkel. His audio seemed to be for folk music.

The movie was good for me, and for Yuki it was not so bad.
It means, we were not so impressed like other people around us.
However it was a good day for us to see the same movie together.




Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Do you have a dream?

I know it sounds good to hear someone say "I have a dream".
However nowadays for the young (only in Japan) having a dream seems to be difficult.
Because (according to an article), the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. And it is difficult to conquer the gap with their personal efforts. So they want their conservative lifestyle, though I think it is one of dreams.

On the other hand some people are getting tired from seeking their dreams.
It means we tend to be fixed on the idea (we have to have a dream).
The other day I read a book, the author says "I've got finally free from the idea of having a dream", and finally I live freely without seeking what my dream is when I'm in my 60's".

Keeping a dream (for example, Yuki wants to take part in a senior golf tournaments) make the elderly young, or worn away
Or being free from pursuing something seriously make the elderly spontaneous or lazy.

What do you think of it?

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
For us, it is a usual day. Yuki went to Tokyo on business, and after work he is going to visit her mother. It is a nice Christmas day for her.

In the morning two ladies came and hold a laughter yoga party.
We didn't have lunch together, because their husbands were waiting for them.
However we chatted, laughed, a little bit danced, and share presents.
A lady went to COSTO and lots of "buns". So we shared. I got lots of vegetables, so we shared. The other lady gave us a nice sweet.

Since I started this laughter yoga meeting at home, two years have passed.
This time a regular lady couldn't not come. Now she is struggling with arrhythmia.
Anyway I hold the last laughter yoga meeting of this year.
It was nice , it was fun.

And my Christmas has finished.
So from now, I will change the decoration into New Year.
I know I'm hasty.

Monday, December 24, 2018

This is a suitable issue.

I sometimes see articles about  this issue, but didn't show much interest. Now it is a suitable issue for us.
"Should elderly people continue working after they reach retirement age?"

As of now Yuki decides to retire when his 60th birthday comes. And probably he won't work.
To be specific, he won't work at the same company.
Currently, the elderly work  around until around  early 60's
And our government recommends them to work longer, because of the scarcity of labor in the face of statistics.

However how long the elderly work, and where they work is a different matter.
Working  longer may be good for the elderly, they can keep their motivation to live, they can spend retirement lives as adequately as they think they can.

And our government has organized to extend the retirement age.
However workplaces don't seem to adapt to the change, especially those with white-collars workers.

The number of management positions is limited. And most companies  want to have younger managers to keep positive motivation. It means senior managers must retire, or be demoted.
I think after being demoted it might be difficult to keep motivation to work there for some seniors.
Or sometimes they are considered burden for the company.


So whether elderly people continue working depends on the situation.
Or they have to find a suitable place where they are needed.
However, it is really difficult to find a new workplace with their backgrounds especially white-collar workers.

So if they are not well-banded with their family life, they should start their new life not pursuing their established career.
And at new place , it depends on themselves whether they work, play, do volunteer, or do nothing.

The more difficult they let go their career,  the older they become.
Additionally this phrase is applicable to men.
Considering women, "we" (including me" seem to be good at adapting to new situations disregarding age

Though today it is Christmas Eve --

Though today it is Christmas Eve, for us it is a usual day. Additionally the gym is closed, so I couldn't go to the gym. However instead of going there I did "walking" about 6000 steps in the morning.

Our Christmas cerebration was yesterday.
As I wrote about the morning on my blog yesterday, we did usual Sunday chores and went out with these rice balls.

 
At first we went to a big electric shop and next went to a sports wear shop.
Of course they were having a sale, he bought three new sports pants. One is for golf, one is for tennis, and the other is for relaxing at home instead of pajamas.
These days he is looking for neat home cloths which make me satisfied.
 
Then we went to a art museum.
An acquaintance who I sometimes see at Karaku, hold her small exhibition at a small meeting room at the art museum.
 


 
We walked in the small forest in the art museum, and had rice balls.
Then we dropped by Karaku cafe and had a nice coffee.
 
 
We came back around four.
Then I started to cook chicken, it was not a whole chicken, but for me it was very big to cook.
 



In one and half hour later, the chicken was done!
We had a good Christmas dinner.

How are you celebrating your Christmas?





Sunday, December 23, 2018

Sorry for my late reply

Let me say some excuses.
Just now I noticed I got some comments.
The other day, I said the same thing. I'm sorry for my reply to your comments.
And I thought I had fixed the setting of comments on this blog.
However, it didn't seem to work.
And now I fixed the setting again.
I hope I can get any comments except spams from this blog.

Today, it is Sunday. We are going out to buy Yuki's daily and sports outfits.
Today's breakfast was "sweet".

Friday, December 21, 2018

The last holiday of Emperor's birthday in December


 
This weekend, on our calendar, we have a three-day weekend. Because on Sunday it is a holiday of Emperor's birthday. Christmas day is not a holiday in Japan, but thanks to Emperor's birthday holiday many people enjoy Christmas or pre-Christmas well.
 
Next spring the current Emperor is going to step down. We have 10-day holiday in spring. However we have no holiday in December. The year after next year Emperor's birthday falls on February 23th .
 

Thursday, December 20, 2018

hospital cost in this month

Probably this month our hospital cost will be about 12000 yen.
Why? you might ask. If you are Japanese and in our generation, I'm very surprised how you are healthy.
And if you are not Japanese, you wonder why you pay so much money to hospital including clinics.
It depends on your health insurance and hospital situation.
It means we don't buy over-the-counter drug, and as of now we don't take any supplements.

I go to see a doctor and get some Japanese Kampo to keep my condition. I usually take two kinds of Kampo and anti-allergic drug.
They cost 6000 yean a month including consultations fee.
The conversation the doctor and I made us laugh.
He said to me not "what's wrong?", "What's up?" (are you fine?).
I went to see a doctor not to cure something wrong.

Yuki and I also go to see a dentist once or twice a month  to cure (Yuki's case) a gum disease, and (my case) prevent it from occurring. They cost over 2000 yen.

Yuki goes to skin clinic to prevent his skin problem from his age and allergy from being progressed, though he doesn't take steroid drug.
It costs about 2000 yen.

And I take manipulative treatment covered with my health insurance once a week. The monthly cost is about 2000 yen.

Is our hospital cost too high?
Or do you think it can't be helped to keep our condition in good?

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

I've prepared!

The other day I noticed, this month the day of my volunteer reading at the library is the day when the library is closed.
And the good news is that some people want to show my Christmas collection.
So suddenly I decided to hold an open-home day. It is tomorrow.
I've just prepared!
 
It is a good opportunity, to make my house open.
It is one of my aim in our retirement life. I want this home to be easy place where people drop by and have a tea break with chatting.
 
 


Tuesday, December 18, 2018

coin saving

Last Sunday morning, I read this article, of course it is in Japanese.



The woman in this article is a popular writer who is her 70's.
I knew she published a new book and I wanted to read it immediately.
I almost pushed the Amazon button..
However , I said to myself  "wait, wait, wait".
"We" (Yuki and I)  have decided  not to buy books more as much as we can.
And we also learnt we can check whether the book we want to read is in the library or not on the net.
I thought that it is the latest book, so it wouldn't be in the library, yet  and additionally if it would be in the library, I would have to book it because many people are interested in it.

Anyway I checked the Internet.
As you guess, "lucky me!".
There are three public libraries in my city.(The other two libraries have a copy of the book, but both of them were taken out.)

I haven't done  any Sunday chores yet  but in 15 minutes I left home for  the library.






I came back home before 10, and did usual Sunday chores. At night I read it.
I also checked the price of the book at Amazon. A used book was on the net at 900 yen.
So I was able to save 900 yen. Then I put 900 yen into my coin saving box.

Recently Yuki and I started to save coins little by little, or conservatively.
Considering our retirement life, we need to reduce our living cost. So we started to save such coins making believe..
Regarding the book, it is about communication between a 91 year-old mother and her 71 year-old single daughter who abruptly  started to live together.
The reason to start together is not nursing care. It was a simple problem of their housing situation. Though Yuki didn't read it, he shows  interest  because the behavior of the 91 year-old lady is similar to his mother. Nowadays we have one thing in common to talk about. It is our mothers. We often talk about  how we communicate with our mothers without quarreling.

Monday, December 17, 2018

Christmas week has started

In a week Christmas holidays will come, and in a two week winter vacation will come, and in 10 month Yuki's daily life will not be depend on a calendar.

Oops, go back to the main story.
This week I have Christmas lessons, like making fake Christmas candy wreathes, and making paper crafts.

 
 
 
Tomorrow, it was going to be the day of volunteer reading at the library.
But I had forgotten that the library was closed. I didn't check the library calendar, and not only me, other members didn't.
 
So I decided to hold open-house this Thursday. I hope some people come to see my English books.
 


Friday, December 14, 2018

our winter cleaning is finished.

Today Yuki took a day-off, so he worked as an internship at Mieko's house company.
Now all the windows in my house has been cleaned. So most of winter chores are finished.
The things which are left are like that;
Yuki has to write New year cards.
I have my car washed somewhere. (I don't like washing the car myself)

Anyway to recognize our efforts ( does it make sense?) we went to Karaku to have lunch instead of making a toast.
 
From  the evening I have lessons. Yuki will out to attend a year-end party .
For a while each of us spend lazy .




Thursday, December 13, 2018

a new watch

I sometimes use a watch, though many ladies use their cell phones instead of watches.
However, I use it just sometimes.
Last month I noticed that my two watches were out of batteries. Neither is  wind-up or solar.
So I  took them to a home center nearby. They said that it takes two weeks, because they would send them to a factory? or a clock shop.
It would be troublesome for me to find another shop which can change batteries there and then immediately. So I ordered to have the batteries changed.
However I realized  that in one week I need a watch.
So I bought one through the Internet. As you guess, it came the next day.

It costs the same as the fee of changing batteries.

Anyway now I have three watches.
One is a fancy watch but it has a small face with small numbers. ( For my aged eyes it is difficult for me to check the time immediately.)
Another the other one  has a big face with large numbers. It is very convenient. But the band is white, so it easy to see it's kid of old.
And the new one has a middle sized face with middle sized numbers. I like the orange band.

These are good excuses why I have three watches.
However, I wonder if all  three watches would be out of batteries at the same time
What do you think of it?



Wednesday, December 12, 2018

chaning tires

At last snow season has started, though here in Utsunomiya we don' have snow yet.
And since this Saturday all car shops have been very crowded  because many people started to change the tires of their cars at once.
We already did two weeks ago, saying more correctly we had the tires changed at a car shop.
Who changed the tires in your family?

When we were in our 20's, we did (including me).
And probably three years ago, we gave up. ( it was many years ago that I gave up.)
Usually when we had the first snow, Yuki would changed  the tires of his car, and a few days later after that he also changed the tires of my car. However currently we have the tires changed at a car shop or a tire shop. It costs2160 yen a car.

This year, he had changed the tires of his car at a tire shop.
And

we thought it would have been more expensive to change the tires at a car dealer (which means an official carmaker's shop). however it was wrong.
I bought my car at an official carmaker's shop, it the first time to contact with such a dealer.
I asked how much it was. It cost the same, though it is necessary to book the date.
So I drove there and had changed the tires.
While I was waiting the work, some cups of coffee served for free.


 
I was very satisfied. Because I was waiting at a nice room with  good coffee.
 

It was a very luxurious time.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

What kinds of things do you drink or take when you catch a cold?

Suddenly last Friday night  I had a headache, and a slight fever. I know the reason, the two lessons before then, all students were coughing.
And as I expected,  I got bad.
Saturday morning I thought that I would go to see a doctor, but I didn't.
I took this drinks.
Do you know that, one is , yes, my homemade YUZU citrus and honey. The other is, German herb liquor. It was the first try for me.
Have you ever tried it? It tastes good.


And the Saturday evening we (Yuki helped a little) made a big noodle pot.

Anyway I got better, so this Sunday afternoon, I was able to go to this concert.
 

Today it is the day for KARAKU. I'll perform a 30 minute Christmas concert.


Friday, December 07, 2018

Tea bath

This is jasmine tea bath.
As you know most Japanese people like to soak in a bath.
It is one way how to use expired things.
I put the rest of bags of jasmine tea which were expired away into the bath.

I sometimes put some leaves of laurel, fig and loquat which are in my garden.



Thursday, December 06, 2018

season word 1206 mistletoe

I'm really surprised to see this article.
Because, "mistletoe" is not so familiar yet (I think) in Japan. so it makes me surprised that the word of mistletoe was chosen as a season word.

 
 
 
Of course I know the song, but does the Christmas tree means mistletoe?
 
Anyway for me mistletoe is not familiar.
Thanks to this article, I learnt about mistletoe.
I bought some fresh branches of mistletoe, it will be delivered in a week.
 
 
If you have some your story about mistletoe, I'd liked you to share them to me.

Wednesday, December 05, 2018

the half of winter cleaning is finished

I don't know who and how you clean the windows in your house.
Anyway it is our (probably most general Japanese people) chores, and in this season many people struggle to do it as the hardest chore of winter cleaning.
These years Yuki and I  did a  scheduled day all windows at once, and probably you can guess, we always had some pain on our shoulders, back  or twist. This year though it is getting better, my left shoulder still hurts, so I decided not to depend on Yuki, to clean windows a little by little by myself.

Well, the windows on the first floor was cleaned.
The rest was the ones on the second floor. And my role is to clean the windows of my bed room.

With cleaning the windows, I managed to discard 10 things of each room.
 Now, I'm really satisfied with myself. It is almost 10:30 in the morning.
From now, I'll go out to get a massage.

Tuesday, December 04, 2018

some tricks of conversation between a couple

Though it is Japanese, I found an interesting article on the paper.
 
Nowadays Yuki and I talk and talk a lot about our retirement life, mainly our financial situation.
Last Saturday we had a meeting with a financial planer.  It was the second time, and thanks to him, we understood (probably) our financial situation including pensions and tax system in our retirement  life.
 
Without the meeting  we would have talked about our financial situation. However probably it would have been end in collusively.
 
(I used "subjunctive mood", does it make sense?)
 
Well, let's go back to the article.
According to the article, to keep good conversation with a couple (not only senior one), there are some tricks. However probably they are useful for Japanese couples.
 
You should not make such assumptions.
1. Without expressing your feeling or what you think, the other should understand you.
2. It is all right to express everything what you want to say.
3, Each way of thinking and concept of values should be  the same.
4  Understanding the other means giving way. ( I didn't use the word of compromise, compromising is
5, Men should be men and women should be women.
 
Probably for us, the most difficult point is No.4

What do you thing of it?
 
 

Monday, December 03, 2018

PLaying with herb

Last year I gave my homemade herb tea as a Christmas present or a New Year's present.  It seemed that my friends looked happy. So this year I also made my ordinal herb tea with lavender, and lemon grass.

 
To tell the truth, herb is kinds of luxury nowadays. However the origin is just grass.
So I grow some herb in my garden which survives, and as a leisure, I pick some organic herb in some farmer's garden. Luckily, here in Utsunomiya, some farmers are interested in growing herb.
 
On the other hand, I like using aroma oil. And nowadays, Yuki also likes it.
So as the present to him, I bought this gadget at a popular aroma shop, and I blended special oil for eliminating cigar smoke, and preventing from catching a cold. It looks cool, however it doesn't work well for eliminating cigar smoke.

 
Anyway making herb tea, and blending oil, made me fun!

Sunday, December 02, 2018

calm Sunday

Yuki has gone to play golf since early morning.
In the afternoon, I'll attend  a Toast Master meeting .
This weekend I checked stock foods in the shelf.  Some things were almost expired.
 
So I baked bread with hard flour.
 

I baked homemade cottage chees cake with my yogurt, and fresh YUZU citrus instead of lemon.






 
 
 
 
And I also cooked pre-cooked dishes for this week. 
 
 
 
December has come.
This week I'll have individual parents' interviews of my students. 
 


Friday, November 30, 2018

discarding 10 things 1130

These days Yuki and I often talk about our coming retirement daily life.
Did I tell you? He is now taking part in the internship to work at my house. I'm a selfish CEO.
He "has to learn" how to cook, do the dishes, clean, etc.
On the other hand, he has lots of things to do when he retires, like fishing, golfing, creating music, continuing to play tennis, going to gym etc. (the budget is another thing.)
And I also think about the life for two of us at home.
 
While I think I have to lots of things, I want to do lots of things at home.
Discarding 10 things a week is one of them.
These days I add one thing to discard things. Discarding 10 things and clean hard one place, like cleaning some windows, organizing a shelf, like that.
Nowadays, it is my favorite, not my duty.
And it is also becoming his favorite.
 
Anyway I discarded 10 old decorations, and clean the windows in TATAMI room, and put some Christmas decorations at the entrance.




 
 

Thursday, November 29, 2018

How do you choose books you read at the library?

Do you go to the library to borrow books?
I often go there. And I chose books with abandon and quickly, like that ;
OK, today I chose some books from the shelves between "a" ( which is kinds of A) and "o" (which is kinds of E").
The books are usually arranged in order according to the AIUEO of authors .
I try to read as many genres as I possible, but SF is not my favorite, period novels are not my favorite, and novels for youth are not y favorite, either.
I like the books whose author or whose character is in my generation, or older.
I like the books which are a life-size story. So the keywords when I search books are retirement, declining physical fitness, and so on.
How do you chose books you borrow at the library?

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

I met a cool lady!

The other day I had to attend a business meeting. "Had to" means I don't like it.
However there I met a cool lady, who seemed to be over 60.
Though  I didn't find it bad, she didn't put on  make-up (probably), she didn't wear expensive outfit (probably).
She wore a sweatshirt and what seemed to me, a pair of jeans.
The sweatshirt had a logo on the wrist, so it might be a branded one. I'm not good with branded goods.
She looked simple, and cool.
When women are in their 60's ,70's or older, our background seems to reflect on  our face. (Does it make sense?) And additionally physical appearance depends on how much we exercise.
She seems  to be calm, natural and herself.
"To be ourselves (which means we don't change our attitude depending on people) , to be spontaneous  calm,  and  natural," these words are key words of Yuki and my retirement life.
 
We want to pursue our own simple, natural, cool, calm, and  energetic retirement life.
(I think there are too many key words.)
 
Anyway I was inspired by seeing  the lady and became invigorated.
 

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

With each our mother!

This Sunday, Yuki and I went to Tokyo to see each mother.
My mother, who is 84 years old and I had eel. That is her favorite.
Let me tell you the price. It cost 2100 yen.
Probably it might be expensive as a lunch meal.

\
She ate all of them. I left some rice.
The restaurant opens 11:30. At my surprise, as soon as it opens, the restaurant (though it is not so big) almost full of customers like us. It means senior lady & her daughter, or senior couple. Probably most of senior couple make their livings on their pension, but they eat something expensive without any hesitation when they want to eat outside.
A senior man told me that the reason is they have just a few thing they want to eat outside, so they have no choice. Probably it is right. In my mother's case, her list of restaurants are Sushi, Tempura, or Eel.

And Yuki had KAITEN-sushi with her mother.
Each dish is inexpensive, but the total cost is upper than ours. Thankfully both mothers have a good appetite. They seem to live longer so far.

On the other hand,  It seems to get difficult to walk smoothly. They often make a trip, and sometimes fall down.
To tell the truth, the other day my mother fell down when she was walking to an eye clinic, and delivered to a surgical hospital by ambulance. Luckily she didn't break any bones. She cut her head and got 8 stiches on it. Of course, it didn't need to stay there, just got stiches, went back home, and a few days later, took out the stiches. Now she is fine.
Go back to the story on Sunday. On the day Yuki's mother fell down in front of Yuki. He was very surprised. However she was fine.
We need to care them carefully.

On the day, both of us took our mothers to different places not to meet each other. Though they are friends, but for us it was troublesome to care both of them on the same time.
He took his mother to a big discount shop.
I took my mother a mall.

My mother bought some expensive delicatessen She seemed to be satisfied.
But at the mall, we couldn't find regular soy sauce. They dealt with a little bit expensive kinds of soy sauce. So I took her to a open café and let her wait there.
While she was waiting ( she had no physical power to go another usual store), I went to a convenience store to just a bottle of regular soy sauce.
So it amounted to the cost of expensive soy sauce, though I told her, but she said "I get used to the taste of regular soy sauce.
It is like a short comedy.
Anyway for four of us, it was a good Sunday. All of four had a good sleep at night. Do you understand what I want to say? It includes some irony. Even Yuki went to bed earlier than usual because of exhaustion.

Monday, November 26, 2018

I seem old enough to enjoy this picture.




The wall is changed into new one. So I put away most of old things, and left a few things to enjoy seasons,
I think that the cyclamen picture is suitable to enjoy this winter. 
This picture was written my grandmother's brother, who was an painter.  He was not so famous but he  made his living as a painter .  This  picture was his present to us when we married. It was in winter about  35 years ago. 
I would put this picture somewhere in our house in some winters, however at that time it seemed too heavy or traditional for us to enjoy it. We sought casual things. So for probably more than 25 years it was being kept in the closet.

This time, I put it on the entrance hall. Not bad. 
Yuki said " I remember this picture".

Now, we enjoy this picture. It means we are old enough to enjoy this picture, and In good meaning we seem to be aging well. 

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Thanks for your comments.

First I let me say sorry and thanks.
I didn't notice some people answered my questions, and care about my foot, by posting comments.
Though it was an excuse, usually I get notification from this blog site as soon as someone puts comments. However these days it seems not to work.
I'm really happy to get comments from nice people.

Though this weekend I visit my mother and my mother-in law in Tokyo.
After that, I am going to spend usual quite days. So I try to continue updatting this blog.
I hope to talk with you constantly through this blog.

Friday, November 23, 2018

How do you discribe your hometonw?

Since this month my graduating student has started to take my English lessons again, It is not a lesson just chatting in English.

1.Where is your hometown?
2.What is your hometown like?
3.Where is your favorite place to go in your hometown?
4. What is your hometown famous for?
5.What do people do for fun in your hometown?
How do you describe your hometown?


My hometown is Utsunomiya.
It is not a big city, but not in the rural area. It is a middle-sized city and full of nature.
My favorite place is Utsunomiya art museum. It often holds an interesting exhibition, and the building is very wonderful.
Utsunomiya is famous for GYOZA. Gyoza is a kind of Chinese dumplings, you might know the word, pot stickers.
In Utsunomiya, once a year Miya festival is held in summer. Many people look forward to it. And people who work or live in other areas go back to enjoy the festival.

Today it is a holiday, and Yuki is golfing now at a golf course.
I'm at home. And a worker is getting in and out, who is installing a new boiler.
It is the real last step.
From tomorrow, our usual life of to will have started.
 

Monday, November 19, 2018

Now, it is the final stage.

 
Can you hear the sound?
From 8:30, this work has started. Today scaffolding takes away.
Though some small work is left.
So this week some worker comes to my house, too.
Anyway it is the final stage.
It was a good excuse not to go to workout for these two weeks.
From today I "will" or am going to do my daily routine.

Monday, November 12, 2018

a little bit more ? or almost done?

Monday has started, and I'm living in this cave in the daytime.
Fortunately our Wifi is active.
 

 
According to the schedule, the refurbishing of the interior is going to finish today.
It seems to be close to finishing up? or It's almost done?
( I hope someone tells the difference between two sentences. My image is the following. close to finishing up is that we see the goal from the current point, on the other hand almost done is that we see the current point from the goal, and in this case I don't see the goal, so It seems to be close to finish up.)
 
I "used to like" decorating the wall, especially the entrance hall, but I wouldn't put anything on the wall after getting new wall paper, "probably".

 


Wednesday, October 31, 2018

How many steps did we walk?

Last Sunday we went out seeing colorful leaves  to a mountain which takes 90 minute drive.
We left our house very early morning with some rice balls and hot tea and coffee.


We could see colorful leaves as soon as we got to the foot of the mountain.
The roadway to the top of mountain was covered lots of colorful trees, so it was very beautiful and we really enjoyed this year autumn.
One our aim was seeing colorful leaves.
And the other aim was taking a walk along the walking trail.
We got the information about the walking trail from the net. So we didn't know much about it.
Well, (probably you can guess), it was "not" a walking trail, it was a "hiking trail".
So our outfit were not suitable to the situation.
We just enjoyed the scenery on the deck, and went back to the city.
To achieve the aim, we dropped by an art museum.
This exhibition was held. It was very good.

 
Back of this art museum there are walking trails.
We enjoyed walking or achieved 5000 steps.
 
Then it was noon. We had lunch outside and went back home..

Friday, October 26, 2018

How many times do you have your house refurbished largely?

Depends on your country, or your situation, it must be different how to maintain your house.

Looking back, when my mother (now she is 84) was around 70, she had her house refurbished.
The kitchen floor was changed, the bathroom was changed, and the toilet was changed.
I don't know how much was it.
Anyway what I remember is that "How wasteful! All things are still enough to use".
And I didn't say that " If you can afford to do that, I hope you divert the money to us".

The house is 45 years old, so probably at that time it was 30 years old. It was as old as our current house.
Of course it is right not to have said  the last phrase.

Now, we are going to have our house refurbished. And fortunately my daughters don't say anything.
Yes, it is our turn.

And I remember another thing.
When refurbishing my mother's house was finished, I said
"Where was it changed? I don't notice much difference."
Let me give an excuse.
probably the wall, the floor, and other things were changed, but there were (even now) many things and they covered the new things.
However she must have felt very satisfied.
Now I know her feeling.

And probably my daughters may mention the same thing "where is it changed?" after our rebuilding is finished.

And now my mother said "it was a right decision to have my house rebuilt at that time."

When we bought this house, we have never thought that we would live here in Utsumomiya when we retire.
And in 10 years, we don't know how and when to live.
However for 10 years we will have lived here calmly, and with satisfaction. (probably).

Now while we see this house, we said to ourselves, "we did well".

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Season word 1025 Japan series

Today's season word was "Japan Series". I was really surprised to see that. I thought it would a special word for just baseball fans like my mother.

My mother is 84 years old, and probably since the days of my earliest recollection she has been a big fan of Yomiri Giant club. My father he has already passed away, would disgusted. At that time not so many women were fans of baseball.
Now, I'm happy about it, because it is only one hobby for her to listen to baseball games at night.
(She doesn't watch TV these days because of her eye problems)

Let me try to make short poems with this word.

Japan series, having a good excitement  every night, leads a good sleep
Japan series, no one disturbs, live and let-live

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

we are not grandfather & grandmother, but a senior couple.

Until last month we were always grandfather and grandmother, because we were always with our granddaughter.
Now we are a senior couple.

And in one year, our retirement life will have started, though I will continue my (small) English tutoring school.

Before the retirement day, we are planning some things.
So we talk each  other more than one years ago. It sounds good.
On the other hand, sometimes it is not a discussion, changes into quarreling.

The reason is
He often says "I didn't get the memo." (Not I don't remember. Is it right phrase?)
I often says "I have already told it to you".
We sometimes think that we need to record our talking.

Fortunately our goal is the same, it is to live peacefully.

To avoid such meaningless quarreling, we learnt the importance of Japanese.
So I bought this book.

The title is "practicing Japanese".
It is really interesting.


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Tuesday, October 23, 2018

at home



Coincidently, I had time to have a tea with my neighbor at home.
Though each of us had some sweets at each home, we went out to buy special Japanese fresh sweets by car.
And I had no Japanese tea leaves , so she brought Japanese tea leaves to my house.
 
This teatime was not scheduled, we happened to have a tea teim.
It was good. And I felt so happy to have such a neighbor.

Friday, October 19, 2018

It is not easy to recycle.

Since my grand daughter and daughter left here, about two weeks have passed.
Time flies quickly.
As soon as they left, I started organizing Ah-chan's things.

Luckily her clothes were given to a (young) mother's circle.
Probably they will be used.

Her buggy was given to my friend who recently had a grand daughter.
She lives in next prefecture. She managed to take it and it was a good reason to see each other.
We haven't seen each other probably for 5 years.

I took many English kids books to a book café which deals with kids books.
I took some Japanese books for young mothers to a cook café which deals with adults books.

To tell the truth, I needed some efforts to find such people and place what try to use Ah-chan's things.
It would be easy  to discard those things quickly on a garbage collecting day, however they had some sentimental value to me. I wanted to use them for someone.

The last thing is this try cycle.
I asked another friend, however she wanted to buy a new one for her grandson.
I understood her feeling.
I also asked some city facilities, but they didn't accept my donation.
Of course I tried to take it to a used shop, however it was too old to be accepted.

 
Now I'm thinking to donate it for a NPO to pay some money including sending fee.
Money and the thing are donation. It doesn't sound bad. -- though it costs higher than one I bought .
 

 

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Season word 1018 mackerel sky

 
"Mackerel sky", I learnt this word this time. Japanese word is "UROKO-GUMO", Uroko means fish scales, and GUMO (or KUMO) means clouds. And in an academic cloud field, it is called "Cirrocumulus".
 
I also found an interesting site.
 
UROKO-GUMO, it inspires my appetite, go to a fisher market.
UROKO-GUMO, a little bit scary, storm foreboding
 
 

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Volunteer reading at the library in October

Yesterday I did volunteer reading at the library as usual.
This time some couples of mother and kids, of course came, and some adults (ladies) came.
So after 30 minute English book reading, we had a chat time using this article, and talked about Japanese season words.
 
 
Autumnal Equinox Day :  Most of the women were not from this city Utsunomiya including me. However they try to visit their family graves. The day is for us to remind us of our ancestors, and eat traditional sweets "ohagi".
 
Community Chest : it was interesting, because no one knew how to use the money donated. And everyone accepted that though it is donation, but it is paid automatically from our residents community fee.
 
Cosmos ; yes, it is the season of cosmos now. There are some famous parks with full of cosmos. Probably this weekend, in some parks, cosmos festival must he held, and at the end everyone will be able to take cosmos free.
 
Railway Day; We know the word, but we don't do anything on the day. In a big city there are may railways, but here just two railways.
 
If some adults join me next time, I will be able to organize such a chatting time.
It is fun.

Monday, October 15, 2018

well-drained sandals


I don't know how we say this type of sandals even in Japanese. Anyway Yuki bout them at a DIY center, They are well-drained. We always leave two pair of sandals outside at the garden entrance door. So after raining, of course they are soaked.
Even though it may be cold to wear them in winter, they are very suitable gadgets.
 
This Sunday I attended our Toast Master's Meeting, while Yuki trimmed the garden.
One of Yuki's role when he retires, is to maintain our garden tidy. So he already started to try it little by little. However unexpected things has happened. Now I'm suffering from stiffed shoulders, and he also feels a pain on his arm. So it is a little bit difficult to use big scissors. He bought an light electrical trimmer. It works. However it seems to be difficult for him to use it on a stepladder. For these years , we always ask a professional gardener to lower the trees in my garden which are able to be maintained by ourselves.
Until a few years ago, we had no problem to do things on a stepladder. Now we have a little bit problem.
If we lower the trees more, they won't work as a role of fence, though we can trim them.
What should we do?

Friday, October 12, 2018

Good grief!

This time last year, I participated in a  walk-rally with my family Yuki, M, Ah-chan and me.
Though I walked about 3 km, I didn't feel any pain.

However, -- in the last few days I took a  20 minute walk wearing walking shoes.
Then the day before yesterday (just three days passed), I felt strange pain in my feet.
I asked the doctor, who cares for my stiff shoulder about the pain.
He said "I don't see  any special problem, probably the pain caused by fatigue of your  feet. Did you do anything hard suddenly?"

Until last May, I regularly   walked for 20 minutes as much as I could.
Even while M and Ah-chan  were here with us in this summer, I couldn't do my regular walking.  But I went to Tokyo  a couple times, and every time I walked more than 7000 steps. Additionally on the day we saw them off at Narita airport, my pedometer on my cell phone showed 7000 steps. However I never felt such a pain during those days.

My doctor said "there is a difference between normal walking and brisk walking.
Probably I walked too briskly, and my feet muscles which are usually not used must have been surprised and exhausted .

On the other hand, I thought, probably my shoes are the culprit. It must have gotten "old".
So I bought a new pair of walking shoes on the way home after  my shoulder and feet treatment.

I did a good shopping.
 

Thursday, October 11, 2018

How many years do you keep such a "Eau de Toilette"?

I'm not used to using such a  "Eau de Toilette", and perfume etc.
So I'm not familiar with  perfume companies. However I know the name of Yves saint Laurent, and probably Yuki know it, too.
I got these bottles, probably 7 years ago from a French madam.
I knew it was expensive, so I have kept it  without using it .
However----

Do you know how many years such things are kept the quality?
I searched on internet. According some websites, it seems to be three years.

Ok, I clearly give up using it for me.
However --- what should I do?
I thought the bottle would be useful.


However the splay is very tight, so to throw the liquid away, I have to brake the rid. It means it will not be used as a splay bottle.
 
 
Anyway I took the bottle from the shelf, and put it in the bathroom.
About the other one.
I throw the liquid away, and put some my favorite aroma oil with my home made dry lavender petals..


This small bottle changed into a new one with my favorite perfume.