pre-cooked dishes and discarding 10 things 0928

The first half of the last week, we organized our clothes, and the lesson room. so we discarded more than 10 things.

I was going to clean a specific place such as windows, sink, etc. But I didn't feel good. so I didn't. Oh, I did it. I cleaned the filters of the air purifiers. Now it is another pollen season. Actually the reason why I didn't feel good was that suddenly my pollen allergy in autumn started.

I cooked pre-cooked dishes. Last week I pickled cucumbers in Japanese way, it means I used soy sauce. This time, I pickled cucumbers into vinegar simply.

Probably it is the last time to get lots of cucumbers at once.

b

walking diary 0928

I've started waling exercise.

We went to the library by car, and I went back home on foot alone. I walked more than 5000 steps. Before the summer coming, it was a usual thing to walk about 5000 steps. But this time it made me very tired. It is  obviously the sign of my aging, isn't it?

Red celosia, tell me the aging, with a sigh

We visited a shrine. This shrine worships a cooking God. I didn't know that. And on the way home  I got off the car, and walked 5000 steps.

Red dragonfly; go through a red shrine gate, only two of us

Later in the last week, the weather was unstable. But I walked around my house, and did walking exercise with 5000 steps.

Reap the rice; overtake a tractor, while walking exercise

lunch diary 0928

It gets cool suddenly. The season is really autumn.

 

Monday I cooked frozen pasta, not used the microwave . I add lots of the rest of vegetables and fried them together. It was a holiday. But for us it was a usual day.

But Yuki had no plan to go to play tennis. So we organized our clothes, and of course discarded --- some.

Respect-For-Senior-Citizens. since he stopped dyeing hair, one year has passed.

Tuesday, suddenly we noticed a tire went flat. So we went to a shop of tires. On the way home we bought this delicatessen at a supermarket.

Without visiting ancestor's graves, sending my chanting a sutra, on the net wave

Wednesday, the main was the frozen food. I used the microwave. And fried green leaves.

I talked with my mother longer than usual on the phone. She wanted me to organize her clothes. But she did it by herself. And the summer sheets or something were "discarded". I really agreed with her. Before the next summer coming, I'll buy new ones for her.

Updating her wardrobe, finally start discarding, over 85

Thursday, I felt so slack. I decided to go to the clinic. On the way home I bought lunch boxes for us. And I spent a lazy day while I was lying down on the bed.

Autumn rain, because of the weakness, waiting for delivery meals

Friday, I cooked fried rice with the rest of vegetables.

Cloudy and rainy days were continued. So we went go to a coin laundry nearby.

Usually it is not so crowded, but as we expected it was so crowded. Luckily we used the last one as soon as we got there.

Cooler and lonely  in autumn, open the door of a coin laundry, it is another world. 

One year has passed since Yuki retired

 Our younger daughter sent us (on the net) this good quality beef, so I cooked it as stake.

To celebrate Yuki's birthday, and we could spend one year peacefully. It means one year has passed since Yuki retired.

We don't get national pension yet. On our plan, we are going to get when Yuki gets 65, and I gets 63. Until then we use our savings. So we constantly check whether our savings is decreasing smoothly. (Unfortunately never increasing). Luckily we could spend this year without any big troubles.

We got a skype call from our granddaughter. It was interesting.

We often talk via skype, and she sees Yuki's face. But this time she suddenly said "Grandpa's hair is so white". We were really surprised. She showed her picture which was painted at kindergarten to celebrate "Respect-For-Senior-Citizens Day ". (Here in Japan the third Monday of September is the day and a holiday). Probably she drew his face seeing at a picture. 

Until one year ago, he used to dye his hair. And he stopped when he retired. Little by little his dyed color faded, and of course he constantly got a hair cut. And now his hair is natural white.

the four-day weekend

On our calendar, we had the four-day weekend. However for two of us, all days were usual days. Well, well, not usual days, the gym was closed, and the tennis court was also closed because of the holiday. So we engaged in doing house chores??? probably.

I cooked pre-cooked dishes. I got lots of potatoes from two people at once. Of course they can stock. Anyway I made some mushed potatoes, and put them into the freezer.

And we cleaned all the rooms "quickly".

These are usual our weekend house chores.

Then we organized our clothes. Of course we discarded more than 10 things each other.

Then we washed our cars by themselves. To tell the truth, I asked Yuki to wash my car, but he completely denied saying "your car must be happy to be washed by the owner". 

walking diary 0920

Finally it is getting cooler and cooler, or you can say it is getting cold. Actually the other day, as soon as I got up, I turned on the heater in the kitchen. One hour later I turned off.

Anyway I've started walking exercise.

Before the sever hot summer, I walked and visited shrines in this area.

And I visited the last shrine on my list. It was really in the mid of residential area. And it was really small. I walked about 3000 steps.

 

Autumn lanterns; being fold in the shrine office , no chance to show off

I went to get a hair cut at my friend's beauty salon on foot. And I detoured on the way home. I managed to walk over 5000 steps.

Freshly, resume walking exercise, over 5000 steps.


When I was listening to a radio, an audience posted "I did over 10000 steps constantly".

When Yuki worked, it was a usual thing for him to walk over 10000 steps in his office. He was so busy.

In my case I am too busy in house chores to walk. It is just a excuse.

I have lots of time to think about some things instead of walking or exercising.

lunch diary 0920

Monday, we went shopping together in the morning, and had lunch outside. The restaurant is in my town. we joined the town's stamp rally, so we got one stamp there.

In my town, Drop by a restaurant; autumn festival

Tuesday, I cooked eggplants with Chinese sauce. The eggplants were the last stuff I got. I finally used them up while they were fresh.

Numbers of recipe, over the world, various  eggplants;

Wednesday, I made rice porridge.

We ate up all the rest in Chinese tyle.

tender rice porridge, increase our appetite; autumn wind 

木曜、お魚煮付けました。
腰軽く ひょいと床屋へ きりぎりす

Thursday I simmered fish.

Freewheelingly, blow in a barbershop, as a cricket, 

Friday, I used us cucumbers up.

The last cooking of them was sauteed cucumbers, squids  and Tofu.

It was the last day of the river fishing season of this year.

With a rod, do a smoke, seeing autumn river fish

what makes me a little bit excited ? 0918

I didn't watch TV or movies not so often before the situation of "stay home".  And now I don't watch TV so often but I have started to watch some drams on net TV.

I was into Doctor Who. And in a week, the season6 is distributed, of course, with "subtitles". Yuki always watches sports program on another net TV.  Both of us has to pay the fee.

Though it is a coincidence, the books I borrowed at the library unconsciously were about the stories across time and space.

The gym has already restarted. But we cannot stay there more than 30 minutes. Usually after we did machine exercise, we did stretching or YOGA at the free space. But now we can only machine exercise. So I started kind of stretching for the senior on Youtube.

It is interesting. As I told you I organized a laughter yoga meeting at home. Of course now I don't hold it. And probably it is difficult to restart it, because the maing action of lauthter yoga is laughing in a big voice. But this exercise might be all right to do in my house with a few members.

I got lots of eggplants.

Until the mid August, eggplants didn't grow well. Suddenly they grew, and I got them from here and there.

I cooked in Indian style (curry), Chinese style, and --- I also try to make "baba ganoush".

The reships for eggplants are in the world. I'm very surprised.

The kinds of reships, all over the world; eggplants ニクもあるからね。これは少しね。

minimize the garden

Opening the news paper, I always see some articles about "end of life planning".

It is said that most of readers of the news paper are the elder, so such articles are necessary.

It is OK.

Discarding things or minimizing houses is a kind of the end of life planning.

The other day, I saw an article. 

NIWA-SHIMAI, it means try to minimize your garden.

well, well, ====.

Actually, since Yuki retired, he has trimmed trees. 

Before doing it, I asked a gardener to lower the trees. So now he can do it.

I remembered, my neighbor likes gardening, but when he got 60, he asked me to introduce the gardener, and he had all trees lower by the gardener.

One of my friend who is the same age as I, loves her garden. She always held an open garden. Buy this year, she didn't. One reason is of course the corona virus.

But it seemed to bring her a thought. She has started minimizing her garden.

Anyway I weeded the garden. Today it was a garbage collection day. So I took a big bag of weeds out to the garbage collection place.

preparation for walking exercise 0913

It is getting cooler and cooler, so I feel to want to start walking exercise.  When the corona viruses pandemic started, I also started visiting shrines in this area. However long rainy season, and sudden unacceptable hot summer made me stop it.

This area is an interesting area, it is mixed with a city atmosphere composed of buildings , mall and tall apartments, and rural atmosphere composed of rice fields and forests.

Three shrines we didn't visit were left.

One of them was very difficult to find out. It was on the map, but we couldn't find the way. We tried to find it three times, and finally we could visit it.

It was in the forest.

Step the moss, walk up to the shrine, autumn wind 

Who protects , the shrine covered with moss, autumn wind

I walked 3200 steps.

Another shrine was in the residential area. It was really big, but I don't know why --- anyway it was not on my map.

Purification trough, full of fresh water,  autumn wind

pre-cooked dishes and discarding 10 things 0913

 Sometimes I decided that I just have to discard 10 things, or I have to discard 10 things by the head and ears. (I don't know how to describe my feeling).

Anyway "we" discard 3 worn-out T-shirts finally. They were our favorites. But the cloth got very old, so sometimes they stink a little by sweat, even though they are washed and sterilized.  "They are old" means, it is difficult to find the similar ones. However we gave up.

Then I discarded old towels. Discard? No, recycled. I cut then into half and changed into dust towels. 

Then I discarded old aroma oil and the bottle.  It came to 5 things.

Then I discarded old Tupperware and cosmetic samples for summer. ( I was going to use them but didn't)

And I also made pre-cooked dishes. Pickled cucumbers, marinated onion slices, simmered root vegetables, and dried the garlic cloves.。

lunch diary 0913

Well, since I started to lunch for two of us (though not always), one year has passed. 

 

Monday, I wrapped the rest of souen noodle with fried eggs. It was not so bad.

Change the view, wrapped the rest with eggs, summer noodle

Tuesday, in September, suddenly the price of eggplants and cucumber got down, and I sometimes get them from my neighbors. I just boiled pasta for one person, but sauteed much vegetables. So it was enough for two of us.

Lunch again, with lots of veges, after the typhoon



Wednesday, we didn't have main, all of them were kind or appetizer.

It is getting cooler, so we don't need to put the air conditioner on all the day. But for my mother it seemed to be difficult to control the air conditioner. She said (on the phone) "I have running noise". So I suggested her to turn the air conditioner off.

I tried telling her to use the timer, but I gave up.

Tenderly , rice plants hang lowest, Koshihikari



Thursday, I bought deep fried Sanma fish at a supermarket. Sanma fish is traditional Japanese autumn fish, but these days they can't be caught. Probably this Sanma is the one which were caught last year and kept frozen.

Enjoy the taste , deep-fired frozen Sanma fish, at a sale

Friday, I made beef bowl with Shiso-plant in my garden.

Shiso has two kinds, green ones and red ones.

Red ones are still growing well, but green ones are almost finihsed.

I don't know why?

Gracefully, Holding a summer umbrella, without smile

If you are interested in our town "Utsunomiya" ----

 If you are interested in our town "Utsyunoniya", watch this video,

GYOZA facemask  from NHK world news.

well, we don't buy these face masks.

What makes us a little bit excitied?? 0911

1.Though it's not my excitement, it is Yuki's. When he was watching TV, he was really interested in a frozen food. It was GYOZA, and when it cooks, water, oil, and a lid (to steam) are not necessary. It means that he can cook without hearing my earful like "wash the dishes, tidy up the oil, not make the kitchen dirty" and so on.

And luckily he found one at a nearby supermarket.

Actually he could cook without making a mess in the kitchen.

Additionally, he went to the supermarket on the day when frozen food was sold on sale of half price, but unfortunately, this one was out of the list.

2. Finally it is getting cooler, so I started walking. At first I walked to the nearby supermarket. So probably --- I'll walk a little bit far. Did you remember? When the corona viruses appeared, I started visiting shrines in this area. When summer comes, we stopped. And one shrine where we don't visit yet is left. Probably we will visit there soon.

3, We recycled newspaper. Usually we put out a stock of newspaper on the day of children association activity. But once a month or every month, a newspaper store comes to collect with a toilet paper.  so this week I exchanged a stock of newspaper into a toilet paper. 

トイレットペーパー１つなんだけど、こちらにーーごめんね。ー

What do you eat for breakfast?

The other day when I went to the library, I borrowed this book. It was short essays written by famous writers some of whom are still alive, or around, the others already passed away.

Anyway every writers or authors have their own philosophy, even though it was just a cup of tea. 

It was really interesting.

 

When Yuki and I were young and didn't have kids, our breakfast used to be only one cup of coffee. When we had kids, we changed our mind and started having breakfast with our family.

This custom still keeps, even though there are two of us in this house. I cook pre-cooked dishes once a week, and they are mainly served for our brekafast.

This week I boiled macaroni, and dipped the rest into olive oil.

So I baked them for our breakfast.

I constantly update my breakfast photo on my instagram.

What kinds of measures are taken in your country?

Here in Japan, to recover the economy they take some measures, in each town, city, prefecture, and Japan. 

Go To EAT is one of them in Japan.

In my town, our shop district has started stamp rally. When we get five stamps in a different 5 shops, we have a chance to get new rice.

In my city, they issue TOKUTOKU ticket, it costs 5000 yen, but it corresponds 6500 yen. Yuki use one and enjoy having ramen noodle for his dinner once a week  -- of course by himself. Additionally the tickets are only used at restaurants in this city.

In my prefecture, they issue KENTOKU ticket, it costs 500 yen, but it corresponds 6000 yen. So I use one at a nearby supermarket.

And, our government also another measure. When we resister our identification cards  for paperless declaration, we can get 5000 yen if we put  20000 yen on a certain prepaid card. (does it make sense?)

so We did it.

。

Our mothers

Our mothers are fine. My mother is probably 85 years old, and Yuki's mother is 94 years old.

Though it might not to say such things, we don't visit them for more than 5 months. Of course we often tell with them on the phone, especially I talk on the phone with my mother every two  or three days. And sometimes I talk with her more than 30 minutes. After 30 minute talk, she seems to be very satisfied and take a nap.

My mother is fortunately not suffering from dementia. but she is easy to forget many things. So she often tells me the same thing. The interesting thing is that she remembers clearly what she wants. (Not what she has to do)

So she goes to see a doctor, even though she feel slight staggering. But she "can't go to a convenience store which is nearer than the clinic.    Additionally she can go to her familiar butcher which is a little bit far than the convenience store.

Anyway she can cook, and she thinks it is her duty, because she "feeds" her son. (well, my brothers and I think, this idea makes her active)

When I visit her, I often irritated with her saying and behaviors, and even now on the telephone, I'm sometimes irritated. Probably I can't accept her aging even now.

But I know she shows me how we get older. I know it. So when I am calm, I thank to my Mom.

Yuki's mother live in a senior nurse center.

To tell the truth, it is the time she has to move another senior nursery center which services more special treat for much elder people. This spring she was in hopstital  twice. However thanks to this corona viruses it got difficult to move to another nursery center.   So she spends days calmly in the same nursery center. To tell the truth the hospitalization seemed to be very tough for her. After she got out the hospital, she seemed to suffer a slight dementia. Now it is all right.

Yuki also talks her with on the phone. Her eye is difficult to catch what he says, even though she wears a hearing-aid. So he endure listening to her. (Additionally he says he is getting used to just listening to someone, thanks to me)

Anyway Yuki's mother also shows us how we get older.

A new week has started.

 Many unexpected things has occurred, but anyway we try to spend every day, every moment diligently. Well, it is kind of cover story, I tend to spend days lazily.

Anyway I cooked pre-cooked dishes for this week.

 

I soaked boiled macaroni into olive oil, and this morning I baked them two kinds of cheese. It was good.

I also cleaned some (not all) windows by myself. And Yuki trimmed trees.

It is getting cooler, so we can't excuse to avoid cleaning or organizing the house.

I organized my glass bottle collection, it means I discarded ten bottles.

lunch diary 0905

Anyway, it is September. It is a hot Saturday. I hope the Typhoon won't cause a big damage.

Monday, the main is marinated tongue (Of course I bought it).

And the tea is herb tea, which kinds are DOKUDAMI and mulberry, and of course grows in my garden. The taste is like Chinese tea.

Tuesday, we went out to eat lunch at a reasonable stake shop.Have you heard "IKINARI STAKE"?  They opened their branches in America, but unfortunately they didn't succeed, and they withdrew.

Considering the price, they serve reasonable stake, and the taste is not so bad. However I want to eat more higher quality stake paying a little bit more money.

Peel a pear; enjoy stake outside, dessert at home 

Wednesday, I fried pork liver with green vegetables.

Now it would be the season of NIRA-leaf. But this summer it is expensive. On the other hand CHINGENSAI-leaf is cheaper than usual summer. So I bought CHINGENSAI-leaf.

Usually I talk on the phone with my mother twice or three times a week. And usually it is 15 minute talking. But this day, we talked for an hour. She suddenly started to think about "her" tableware which are not used. Now unfortunately it is very danger for her to deal with such things. So I was inducing her not to touch her tableware.

A fall butterfly; persuading my old mom, on the phone 




Thursday, I fried TOUFU and bean sprouts with Chinese paste.

Typhoon didn't come to this place directly, but we had very unstable weather.

Today I talked with my mother again about her tableware.

A cicada sing; Showa-songs on the radio, over the phone

Friday, the two of bowls were the rest of yesterday's dish.

Until the last week, we only heard the news about corona viruses, this week we only hear the news about the big typhoons.

Big typhoon; check the rest of batteries, while tidy up rooms.

What made you a little bit excited ? 0904

I try to confirm little things which make me excited a little in my daily life.

Well, it is easy to miss out such a little enjoyment.

First, it was a weird  excitement.

In my town there is a small shopping district, which consists of less than 10 shops. They have started "stamp rally". The idea is not bad, but can I collect 5 stamps from different 5 shops?

I'll be able to get stamps at two supermarkets.

I'll be able to get another stamp at our familiar oil shop, which owner is the Chief of our shopping district and where we are delivered kerosene.

I'll be able to get a stamp at a coffee beans shop.

Well, one more stamp is needed.

Our familiar Chinese restaurant and Japanese sweet shop don't join the rally.

The other Japanese Chinese restaurant joins. Do we go there? Yuki is looking forward to going there.

Another excitement.

Though a big typhoon is approaching Kyusyu, ( I hope it won't cause big damage), it is getting cooler. So I want to eat raw tsuna. --- It means we have an excuse to go to a good quality fish shop downtown.The other excitement.To have raw fish, it is necessary to prepare good soy sauce. I keep a 1.8 litter bottle of soy sauce, which my friend's husband bothers to go to buy; at a soy sauce brewery directly. The bottle of soy sauce is running out. I could ask my friends when he would go there. But this spring he retired. And Yuki loves the soy sauce. Probably "we" will go to the brewery. It seems to take one and a half hour by car. Little by little we feel motivated to go out "by car" to a little bit far way places.;Well, all things are connected with shopping and foods. --- it seems to be a little bit difficult to find something exciting without spending money.

one of my Haiku poems appeared.

 I'm a member of Haiku International Association .  This month, one of my Haiku poems　appeared in their journal.

The Haiku is that

Mt. Fuji 
at the back of plain field
while basking in the sun

Well, well, this English is translated by a professional translator of HIA.

I posted my Haiku in Japanese, and fortunately it was chosen, so it was translated in English. And the Japanese version and the English version were appeared.

Well, well, the seasonal word is "basking in the sun". It is seasonal word for spring.

When we went to a temple in the south region of this prefecture, we could see Mt.Fuji.

And, my Japanese version is that

HINATABOKO 

HEIYA NO OKU NI

FUJI WO MIRU

When I made it, I translated it by myself.

Basking in the sun
Back of the extensive field
seeing Mt.Fuji

herb in my garden

Today I'll tell you how to use herb in my garden. I hate weeding as you know, on the other hand some herb grow well, tough and strong against weed. Unfortunately others lost and have gone away.

I baked rosemary loaf. There are many recipes in English.

I used bitter gourd (Goya) instead of zucchini. Goya is easier to get than zucchini, and some friends grow them in their garden.

I used rhubarb in my garden instead of lemon.   And of course I used rosemary in my garden.

I just added one teaspoon of sugar, so it was not sweet. But it was delicious, and Yuki seemed to like it.

Goya is really bitter as the name, but the bitterness brings tasty of this loaf.

I take my original herb tea. I seem to suffer light cystitis. So I need to take something as diuretic.

In my garden, fennel, mulberry are there. And I also have dry doku-dami which were growing in spring. All of them are a diuretic. It seems to make me better.

Additionally mulberry tea is good for Yuki. After Yuki eats oily ramen noodle, he drinks it.

The circumstances of my health in August

September has come. According to the weather report the hot day seems to be kept, but anyway today it is really cool. So I'm wearing a three quarter shirt.

I'm not sure whether the title makes sense, or not. Anyway this time I'll write about the circumstances of clinics where I regularly? go.

Yuki and my close friends say, going to clinics is one of my hobby.
I get it. Though it depends on Japanese health insurance, but I take Japanese herb to keep my keep in fit. To tell the truth it costs the same of monthly Yuki's golf fee.

Well, at first, Yuki also goes to clinics such as a dental clinic to keep his teeth and the gums clean, and skin clinic to get skin cream.  He has allergic skin.

I ----

Dentist, now I' am treated and an  artificial  tooth is going to be inserted by bridge way (I' m not sure what is a correct word) by my health insurance. It seems to take more than 3 months or more.

Internal medicine --- nearby clinic, there I get two kinds of Japanese herb. One is to easy my dullness and the other is to easy my allergy.

Psychosomatic medicine --- to tell the truth, this corona virus made me depressed in June. The doctor of my internal medicine suggested me to take some medicine, so I went to one more clinic. I took antidepressant pills for three months. The other day I went to see the doctor of psychosomatic medicine, and he said to me "you are all right, don't take this medicine". So I don't need to go this clinic more.

However, yesterday I felt bad ache in my upper back, "upper back strain". So I went to the osteopathic clinic. Last fall I got frozen shoulder. This pain is the "second wave" of such symptom. For a while I should go to the osteopathic clinic.

Well, additionally, I might go to eye clinic again. In may I fell down and hit my face.My eyes themselves were all right, but I still feel my right eye heavy. The doctor said it might take half of year to feel it normal.

Under this corona virus situation, I don't go to Tokyo, I don't go to lunch with my friends, I don't join any volunteer activities, but I can go to clinics.