Good morning 1030

 

by Yuki

Today we plan to visit our familiar apple orchard. In the afternoon, Yuki will go to a sauna. Thankfully, we have something to do every day.
I think the reason Yuki can stay calm mentally, even though we often have quarrels, is that even when he stays home, he keeps himself busy with something. I hope his quality of life will not decrease as much as possible.
On the other hand, he’s been talking more lately with a harsh voice. Maybe it’s a sign that he feels anxious.

Good morning 1029

by Yuki

Our elder daughter is staying with us. She has already started working on her art pieces.
This morning, Yuki and I will go to the clinic.
After having lunch at home (we’ll probably buy three lunch boxes on our way back), we plan to attend the first meeting for cancer patients and their families at the hospital. I’m glad they are finally holding such a meeting.

I’m surprised that Yuki will go with me. Two years ago, I joined a similar meeting organized by an NPO, and I sometimes take part in their meetings. But he doesn’t.
This time, the participants are limited to the patients of the hospital. Since it’s the first meeting, we don’t know whether there will be a second one or whether we will join it again.

In the evening, I was going to give a piano lesson, but I canceled it for today.

Good morning 1028

by Yuki

Today we are going to see our lawyer. Yuki’s inheritance issue is progressing, which is a good thing. In the morning, he will go to play tennis.

In a few hours, my elder daughter will come. She will stay for a few days to work in my house. Her solo exhibition is planned to be held in December. She says that while she’s finishing her last pieces, there might be some noise, so she decided to work here. I’m not sure if it’s all right to do it here, though.

 

Good morning 1027 & lunch diary 1026

 

by Yuki

by Mieko

Good morning 1026

 

by Yuki

Yesterday was my volunteer reading day at the library. I was happy that many families came to the story corner.
This time, an ALT teacher joined me. She was born in Malaysia and studied in Australia for ten years. Then she came to Japan as an English teacher. After the volunteer reading, Yuki also came, and the three of us had lunch together. Since Yuki has been to Malaysia, he was very happy to talk about her country.

Today it is raining. Yuki has no plans except watching TV. I will go to a temple to copy sutra in the afternoon.

Good morning 1025

 

Thankfully, Yuki was able to receive chemotherapy this week. Last week he couldn’t, but that actually turned out to be good — his white blood cell count to increase. The current chemotherapy seems to be effective. We still don’t know how long he will be able to continue, but we want to maintain his (and my) quality of life while living with cancer.

Either way, we’re relieved after his chemotherapy yesterday.

Today is my volunteer reading day at the library.

Good morning 1024

 

by Yuki

It’s Yuki’s hospital day. He’ll leave in about an hour. We had breakfast earlier than usual this morning.
I’ll go a bit later to speak with his doctor. It feels like today might be a long day.

Good morning 1023

 

by Yuki

Today is Costco day. For me, it’s also my cognitive behavioral therapy day.

I like talking with my CBT doctor, though it’s not easy to keep my mind from becoming negative.
Two of our friends asked us to buy some things for them, so on the way home from Costco, we’ll drop by their places. It will be fun.

Good morning 1022

by Yuki

It’s really cold today — where has autumn gone?
Yuki’s inheritance issue is proceeding little by little with our lawyer, which is good.

Today our schedule isn’t so tight. In the morning, Yuki will go to his clinic. I’m still wondering whether to go with him or not. I was supposed to do a 35-minute AI exercise program, but I don’t feel up to it because of the cold weather. While he’s seeing his doctor, I might take the exercise — or I might just stay home lazily.

In the evening, he plans to go to a radon sauna, which is about an hour’s drive away. A high school student will come for my piano lesson.

 

Good morning 1021

 

 by Yuki

Yesterday we saw Yuki’s ENT doctor. The muscles of his vocal cords are getting better, but not perfect yet. It will take more time for his voice to return to normal, or it might be difficult, since he had radiation treatment to his neck.

Today, a friend I haven’t seen for a long time will stop by on her way home from work. I’ll give her most of my Halloween goods. She’s about the same age as I am, and she’s still working as a nursery teacher.

Good morning 1020

 

by Yuki

A new week has started, and it looks like we’ll be busy. In about an hour, we’ll leave home to see Yuki’s ENT doctor and radiation doctor at the hospital, and then go to the clinic. In the afternoon, we’ll meet our lawyer. I wonder where we should have lunch. It depends on the time, but I hope we can enjoy a reasonably good lunch outside.

Good morning 1019 & lunch diary 1019

 by Yuki

by Mieko

It is sunny, though the weather is expected to change in the evening.
Today Yuki will join a big jazz festival in a large park with his group. It is held every year, and luckily he can join again this year.

I will take part in an online meeting for cancer patients and their families.

To tell the truth, yesterday was my late mother’s third memorial ceremony. My daughters attended, but I couldn’t. It can’t be helped.

Good morning 1018

 

by Yuki

It’s a cold morning — the kind of chill that marks the start of ordinary autumn days. Of course, the heater is on.
Last night was fun. Two of my friends appeared on a local FM radio program — one as the host, and the other as a guest artist. Both of them spoke in a rather formal way. I sent a message to the station while the program was on air, and it was read aloud. They knew it was from me, but on the air it was introduced as a message from a complete stranger.
After the program, both of them sent me messages. It felt so strange — hearing my two close friends talking on the radio, while my own message was read as if from someone they didn’t know. The whole thing felt like a kind of performance.

Good morning 1017

 

by Yuki

It’s sunny today. As soon as Yuki woke up, he put his futon and mat out in the sun to dry.
He doesn’t need to go to the hospital today, so he’s going to play tennis.
I’ll go for my 35-minute physical therapy session with the AI program. I still have some trouble with my hip joint.

In the afternoon, we’ll go to Yuki’s clinic and then to our dentist.
Tonight, my friend will appear on a local radio program. I’m really looking forward to listening to her.

Good morning 1016

 

by Yuki

Yesterday I joined an online meeting. The topic was tea.

◆ How many cups of tea do you drink in a day? When do you usually drink tea?
I usually have two cups of coffee with my breakfast. I don’t have a particular time for tea, and I don’t really know how many times I drink it in a day. In a way, I might be drinking tea all the time.
During the summer, I always fill my 500 ml water bottle with barley tea and take it everywhere, even when I’m just moving from room to room at home. Sometimes I refill it. I sip it little by little to prevent heatstroke.
During the cold season, I also fill my water bottle with hot Japanese tea.

◆ Do you have any herbal teas at home? What kinds?
Yes, I have some herbal drinks at home. There are three plants I use: one is lemongrass, which I make into lemongrass water; another is mulberry; and the other is loquat, which I use for herbal tea.
For guests, I have oolong tea leaves and jasmine tea leaves. Are these Chinese teas or herbal teas? I’m not sure.

Good morning 1015

 

by Yuki

Today it is cold again — finally, it really feels like autumn. I’m wearing a sweater.
It’s about 8 a.m., and our gardener has already arrived and started working. We usually ask him to take care of our garden once a year, but this year we asked him twice. We gave up trimming the trees ourselves in summer.
People who know our garden might be surprised that we hire a professional gardener. Our garden isn’t big, and we’re not rich, but we planted more trees than the space allows — especially because we planted a hedge instead of a wall.
So, in contrast to its modest appearance, our house actually costs quite a lot to maintain.

Good morning 1014

 

by Yuki

Yesterday I didn’t feel well, so I stayed in bed. We had planned to go to Yuki’s friend’s band concert, but I couldn’t, so Yuki went there alone.

Recently, it has suddenly gotten cold. Actually, three days ago I was planning to go to a lecture at a big hall. I bought the ticket half a year ago, but I couldn’t go. My friend went in my place. I was lying in bed that day, too—no fever, though.

Maybe my body hasn’t adjusted to the sudden change in temperature yet, or it might be something like seasonal affective disorder, a term I recently learned from a doctor.

Anyway, I’m all right. My appetite is good. Last night we had meat cooked with our microwave-safe fish grill.

Today is the day of Karaku—my performance day with my friend. Yuki has his band practice, too. It’s nice that we both have at least one thing to do besides our usual errands.

Good morning 1013 & lunch diary 1011

 

by Yuki

by Mieko

A new week has started, though it’s a national holiday. We’re going to see Yuki’s friends’ big band concert. I’m not sure if I’ll go with him, as I’m a little tired.

Why am I a little tired? One reason is that last Friday was Yuki’s hospital day, which made me tired. The next day was really cold — many people were wearing winter coats, though I stayed home. And yesterday, my younger daughter and granddaughter came over like a typhoon!

Good morning 1011

 

by Yuki 

Yesterday, Yuki had his chemotherapy. Fortunately, his malignant tumors haven’t gotten worse. Next week, his treatment will be on hold because his doctor will be away, and Yuki also needs to take a break from the treatment. As we expected, it was a long day — he left home around 9 a.m. and came back at 5 p.m. I stayed there from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and finished reading two books I’d borrowed from the library.

Good morning 1010

 

by Yuki

Today is Yuki’s hospital day. We’ll leave home in an hour and a half. It’s still not certain whether he can continue with the next round of chemotherapy, but at least we’ll be able to talk with his doctor. It’s going to be a long day, I think. In the evening, I have to go to the dental clinic.

Good morning 1009

 

by Yuki

Yesterday we had lunch at Karaku Café. It was crowded, so we didn’t have enough time to talk with the owner couple.  Most of the customers were elderly women. There were many groups, and we happened to overhear one group’s conversation. They were talking about the new LDP leader, Ms. Takaichi.

Here in Japan, though this is just my opinion, women usually don’t talk about politics. Probably they don’t know much about her policies—just like me. Still, the fact that a woman has become the LDP leader for the first time is remarkable.

In the evening, I talked with a lady on Teams, which is the newer version of Skype. She was also interested in Ms. Takaichi and told me some things about her personal life—for example, that she divorced and later remarried the same person.

We don’t know yet whether she will become Prime Minister, since the other party in the ruling coalition might not agree to continue their partnership.

At dinner, Yuki and I also talked about her. He noticed that female commentators tend to be very critical of her on political TV programs. That might be true — women can be critical of other women. On the other hand, male commentators seem to choose their words very carefully, avoiding harsh or aggressive language. They used to shout insults at male politicians, but not this time.

Good morning 1008

 

by Yuki

Yesterday I visited a friend and brought her some Japanese pears that I had bought at an orchard the day before yesterday. She was very glad to receive them.

In the afternoon, Yuki and I stayed home. I opened my house library, but unfortunately, no one came. However, my elder daughter called me, and we talked for a long time.

Did I tell you? Last week, a woman who lives in an apartment near my house visited and borrowed some books from my house library. She’s in her 70s and lives alone. I told my daughter about her, and she complimented me, saying it’s wonderful that I’ve kept up my small activity—my “house library”—even though people don’t come very often.

Good morning 1007

 

by Yuki

It is cold this morning. We turned on a kerosene heater, which is probably unusual in this area. Our house is 38 years old. At that time, people used air conditioners in summer and kerosene heaters in winter.
In modern houses, people use air conditioners all year round.
In our house, although we can use the air conditioner in the living and dining room, it is not warm enough for me.
Fortunately, kerosene is still delivered, but such stores are decreasing.

Good morning 1006

 

 by Yuki

Yuki can eat noodles smoothly now. That’s a good sign.
Yesterday, when he joined the jam session, he had ramen.
I made two dishes — chestnut rice and chestnuts stirred with honey.
A new week has started.
Today, besides our usual errands like going to the clinic, we’ll stop by an orchard to buy some Japanese pears.

Good morning 1006 & lunch diary 1004

 

by Yuki

by Mieko

We got some fresh chestnuts from our neighbor.

Today’s my missions are cooking them and washing the covers we changed yesterday.

Yuki’s mission? Watching Ohtani’s game on TV, then joining a jam session.

Good morning 1004

 

by Yuki

Yesterday felt like a long day. Our appointment with the doctor was at 11:30. Yuki had a blood test and an X-ray first, so he went to the hospital at 10. I went a little later, around 11. We finally saw the doctor at 2.

Yuki was able to start his second round of chemotherapy right after the first one last week. His white blood cell count was not too bad, though we are not sure how it will be next week, since chemotherapy lowers it. He came home around 6. I came home before 4, then went to the dentist.

Today he is feeling fine so goes  to play tennis.
I will change the covers and carpets from summer to autumn.

Addditionally, this morning we even had a small discussion—maybe more like a quarrel—about foods that boost immunity. His voice is still hoarse, but when he talks in his usual theoretical way, it sometimes irritates me. I know it shows he is doing well enough to argue.

Good morning 1003

 

by Yuki

Today we go to the hospital. Yuki may start the second round of chemotherapy right after the first, or the doctor may give him a rest this week.

Before seeing the doctor, he needs a blood test and an X-ray. While he is doing that, I will go to the station building to do 25 exercises with my AI program.

Yesterday I had lunch with a gym friend for the first time in four months. We used to meet outside once a month, but maybe that time has ended. Yesterday we had a good time, but both of us felt a little hesitant. Yuki’s condition has changed, and her situation also changed a little. Anyway, at the gym we are still good friends.

Good morning 1002

 

by Yuki

Yesterday our laughter yoga meeting was fun. There were three members. We shared what we had done, what made us cheerful, and what we were thankful for.
Two women, one in her late 70s and the other in her early 80s, had trimmed trees and weeded their gardens. Yuki and I have already given up on doing that ourselves. This month our gardener will come instead. Of course, their husbands gave them just a hand, but according to the women, it wasn’t much.

Good morning 1001

 

by Yuki

October has begun. Today I hold our laughter yoga meeting—for the first time  in three months. The hottest season is finally over. Recently I sometimes felt like stopping some of my activities, but now I want to continue them. So I decided to keep my usual activities as much as possible.

Unfortunately, it is raining this morning, so Yuki’s tennis is canceled. He changes his routine and goes to the clinic instead. On the way, he plans to stop by a department store, since it is the last day of the Hokkaido cuisine festival.