Not a lot has been happening lately. Lisa went off on her snowboarding trip and she DID snowboard - I bet she comes home with a sore leg but at least she'll of had fun! She is due back tomorrow early morning and I'm just hoping she takes the train rather than phones for one of us to go and collect her. If it's relatively early it'll be okay but the telephone/internet/TV company is coming to put in the 'hikari fibre' and also the dogs are going to the pet shop to get bathed and trimmed so one of us needs to be here and one at the new place. We also need to take the TV out of our living room and to the new place so they can connect it up to 'sky perfect' (a kind of cable TV) on Friday. I don't mind since I don't really watch it anyway but I think both Setsuo and Keita will suffer when they have to watch it on a small TV until we actually move.

I got an email from Kana to say that she still isn't at all homesick and that she really likes her host family. She's already been and bought her school uniform and will start on Friday. I have a feeling I'm not going to get as many emails from Kana as I used to get from Lisa!

Tonight Keita has been complaining of being 'tired' and feeling sick so I hope he is not about to catch the flu that's going around. It'll be a shame if he does and can't play in the last of the baseball matches but also I don't want to catch it either!

It's been quite a depressing week since first of all the father of two of my students died (he was only 39), one of Setsuo's customers died (we were at different funerals on the same day), then Bingo died and then early Sunday morning my friend's Mum also died. I'm hoping that is the last for a while.

Yesterday Keita's 'All Star Team' won their match again and I finally got to see Keita hit a homerun! Every other time he's done it, I wasn't there. Setsuo and Lisa decided they would come a bit later and because it took Lisa so long to get ready, they missed the first 20 minutes and also seeing it, I don't think Setsuo was very happy. The name 'Keita' must have been lucky yesterday because not only our Keita but another Keita from one of the other teams (which formed the All Star team) also scored a homerun and those were the only 2 points that were scored in the whole match. Good that they won, bad that there is yet another match next weekend - I don't know when I'm ever going to get time to start packing. I thought yesterday's was the 2nd last game but it turns out there is next weeks and then the final. Next week will be tough as the opposing team are a good one.

Lisa decided to go snowboarding after all so left last night at 8.30pm to take the overnight bus to Nagano. She phoned this morning to say that she'd arrived okay and that it was freezing!

I just received an email from Tracey, Kana's host mother and in it she said

"What a gorgeous girl .We can already tell that she will fit so well into our family."

Well I already knew that she was gorgeous but it was nice to hear someone else say it (even if she was just being polite!

I wonder how Kana feels. I know she was a bit nervous about meeting them for the first time but I'm sure she'll be okay. She'd already made a pavlova with Annalise who is 13 and been out to explore the farm too. No mention of the brothers but I'm sure they'll be staying out of the way a bit until they all get used to each other - especially Scott who is 15 so nearly the same age as Kana.

Lisa came home yesterday and so was there when Kana phoned last night. All day long she has been saying how she wishes it was her who was back in New Zealand!

Today it's a lovely day although cold and with a few fleeting snowflakes now and then.

I posted off everything that Kana couldn't pack into her suitcase and also a second box full of sweets and rice crackers - the contents cost about half of what the postage did but at least both boxes should arrive within a few days (the internet quoted 3 days but I think that's pushing it a bit!) Now, I really can start thinking about packing up the house although it won't be this weekend because Lisa will be home from tonight for a few days and I'll be out at Keita's baseball match on Sunday. I thought it was the final but it turns out that it's just the semi-final so we may have another match to go to the following week too. At least this week the coach is going to take them to the practice ground earlier so we'll have an extra hour before we need to leave.

Well I suppose it's time to go and prepare lessons.....

Today, around 7.30 am Bingo died. We've known it was coming especially these last few days when he couldn't swallow any food and from yesterday afternoon he was also refusing water. In fact, I phoned the vet yesterday at lunch time with the intention of asking him to put him to sleep (they were closed for the afternoon so it didn't happen) so really I'm happy for Bingo rather than sad. We took him to a 'pet cremation' place in Takarazuka where they do a kind of funeral (weird really) and he will get cremated at 5pm today with all the other dogs and cats that were brought in. There were a whole load of 'options' but what was the point?

We tried to explain to Setsuo's father - even went as far as showing him Bingo in the box - but I don't know if he really understood or not. It's times like this that we know he really is senile!

Anyway, Bingo is probably romping around with all the other cats and dogs - and ready to bite the first ankle he comes across! - Keita can get his own room back now that we don't have to have Bingo in there, and in turn, Keita and friends no longer have to use the new house as their gathering area.

The two photos of Bingo were taken near the end of December when he was slightly better. He'd just had a bath so he looks rather bedraggled!

Kana got safely off to NZ yesterday and was all smiles just like Lisa 4 years ago. I wonder if she will be like Lisa and phone home in tears a few days from now! I hope not because there is nothing worse than having to listen to them crying that they just want to come home and not being able to do anything about it. Of course the homesickness soon passes but until then it is heartbreaking being only able to say 'stick in there'.

We managed to finally get her suitcase packed at about 5 pm the day before she left - nothing like leaving things to the last minute! There are a lot of things that have to be parcelled up and sent to her though because there was no way we could get everything in and have the suitcase still weigh 20 kg (in fact it was just under 22). This year they also have to take a lot of school books with them and also where Kana is going, it's a lot cooler than where Lisa was so she will need thicker winter jackets etc so I can see me having to make a few trips to the post office.

Now that the job of getting Kana organised is over, I have no excuse for not starting on the packing......

Lisa just phoned to say that her cast has been removed but she now has on a 'supporter'. I was thinking about the stretchy bandage type supporters but she said it cost 8000 yen so I think it must be something different. She has to go back again in 2-3 weeks but her two snowboarding trips planned for the end Jan and beg Feb are no go's! At least she'll save a bit of money!

Kana is out with friends from her club tonight and then again on Saturday she'll be out with her old junior high school pals. I just hope she's in the house long enough to pack her suitcase! We have more or less bought everything she needs but need to get it all sorted out and see how much the weight comes to. I'll have to post some of her school books to her (can't remember having to do that for Lisa) and also winter jackets etc. I've also had an e-mail from her host mother who sounds really nice and I think Kana is going to enjoy staying with them. They had a new house built just over two years ago just outside of Geraldine with 5 bedrooms, a study and two lounges and she has invited us all to go and stay with them. Her youngest brother who lives in Australia is married to a Japanese woman so they obviously know a bit about Japan and the customs.

Meanwhile, on the moving front - still no progress other than we have got the date for the phones to go in, Feb 6th, so the office will have to be moved by then. The carpenters are in the process of moving everything from the 1st floor storage area into the new warehouse near Juso park so the whole place looks a tip! One of my student's parents are keen to buy the house but we may have some difficulty selling it because we built over the legal limit and so there is a chance that the big banks won't approve a loan for them. (The smaller banks will although the interest rate on the mortgage will be higher) They are coming tonight to talk prices and then once Kana is away and I have the chance to get the house in a bit better shape, they'll come and look it over. Here's hoping....

The photos with Setsuo and I were taken in front of the house and then one with Yasuko (her friend that came with us to the UK 8 years ago!) in front of Yasuko's apartment building and then the last one is a group of friends from Junior High School (one of them already has a 3 year old son!!)

Yesterday and this morning can only be described 'very full'!

Yesterday started off okay. I was awake at 6am because I was going to Keita's baseball match (leaving at the ungodly hour of 7am) and had everything organised if you forget about 2 days washing that had piled up because of rain and which I had to ignore. The match went okay even if Keita had forgotten his glove - he borrowed his friend's! Once we got back at lunch time, I collected the forgotten glove and took it to their practice ground and then did some shopping on the way home. Since Lisa was going out to get her nails done (in preparation for the 'Coming-of-Age' ceremony today), Kana and I went shopping to get a few more bits and pieces for her and got back around 5pm. I thought I would be able to relax a bit before having to make dinner but got a phone call saying that I should have taken Lisa's kimono into them by 4pm at the latest. Luckily it was just in Umeda but I had to get everything together and then fight my way through all traffic. Because there were so many boxes and bags to carry, Kana came with me so after depositing everything and giving my humblest apologies, we went to a couple of shops to try to find something for the homestay parents. By the time we got back just after 7pm, I was ready to collapse. It doesn't sound that hectic but I hate being late for anything or keeping anyone waiting so I was kind of frazzled.

Today, I didn't want to have to rush around again, so Lisa was warned she had to be out of the house by 8am so we could be at the 'dressers' by 8.50. Keita had to leave at 7.30 am so I was up in plenty of time and surprisingly we left on time. Lisa managed to hobble from the car park to the place and we arrived with time to spare. They said she would need about 2 hrs so I decided just to go to a coffee shop and wait there rather than come all the way home. After about 30 minutes, I got a call from the coach to ask if I could take some wood (for burning at the ground) but since I was in Umeda and Setsuo wouldn't be home for at least another 1.5 hrs it was dilemma time again! I decided that since I still had 1.5 hrs before Lisa would be finished, to go and deliver the wood and then come back for her. I just got as far as the car park when my phone rang to say that she was finished. I couldn't believe it! I had to retrack back to the shop to collect her, bring her home, then pack and deliver the wood so once more I was knackered.

At 12, after Setsuo got back, we went round to the new house to take some photos of Lisa and then went and collected her friend and then took them to the Ceremony place. After that, Setsuo and I went out for lunch. Since I am working this afternoon, when the pick-up call comes, he will have to go!

Lisa looked lovely today - much nicer that when she got dressed for the official photos. It's just a shame that she still has a cast on her leg and has to hobble around. If you look at her feet closely you can see her cast but otherwise people probably just think she can't walk properly in a kimono!!

(I only managed to upload 2 photos on this page, more on next one!)

Already it's Thursday. Because I'm back at work, the week seems to be flying past and also Kana's remaining time with us is fast disappearing - only 11 more days and then she's off. I wonder how she is feeling about it these days. We still haven't done anything in the way of packing but I think she basically has what she needs for the beginning and it'll be easy enough to post things on to her. It'll also be nice for her to get some packages delivered once she's over there.

On the 28th, there is a meeting for all the to-be high schoolers but I'm thinking of missing it since it's only a talk about what to expect. I'll find out more and then decide but I really don't want to have to cancel classes since I'm having to cancel the same classes the week before when we take Kana to the airport. I'm sure they are going to be surprised when Keita's 175cm body walks through the gates - he is probably as tall as (if not taller than) a lot of the 3rd year boys.

Lisa phoned last night to say that she will probably wear her kimono with her cast on. Even if they took it off a couple of days beforehand, she didn't think she'd be able to walk properly anyway, so thinks it'll be best to keep it on a bit longer. With Lisa, you never know what she will finally decide, so we'll see.

We've been having lovely weather for the past week or so. Supposedly it's going to get a lot colder and I think it's going to rain tomorrow but we can't really complain with what we've had considering it's January.

At last some photos from Christmas day when we went out for dinner.

Today is my first day back at work. Not a great feeling but at least I've had a longish break and am more refreshed than I was. So saying, it was a bit difficult waking up and having to get everything ready. Three things are in my favour though -

1. Keita started back at baseball yesterday and since I had to get up early then too, today wasn't so bad
2. It is raining today so I didn't need to get the washing done before I had to leave the house
3. Setsuo isn't working 'proper' today so he can make the dinner since I only have 60 mins between classes tonight

The carpenters were all in this morning but only for sake, talking and then lunch out. They wll be going home shortly so Setsuo will probably just work in the office. Unlike me who has 5 straight classes until 8.30pm tonight.

At least I've finally located the remote control for the air-conditioner/heater in my office. Instead of freezing, I'm quite snug today!

I haven't really been in the mood for blogging for the past few days. No real reason - well probably lack of news but that's about it.

Right up until New Year's Eve, I was still shopping but managed to get everything bought, cooked and prepared okay. These days, I don't go overboard with the New Year food since it was really only Setsuo's parents that were eating it. I used to always order the whole lot but nowadays I just buy what I know everyone (that is Setsuo and his father) like and arrange it all on my big round platter from Shiga. There is always the basic foods and I also cook some of the special things too but just don't buy so much since it was always S's parents who struggled through to the end so it didn't go to waste.

On New Year's Eve, Aya and Lisa (yes even with broken leg!) were out so it was just Kana, Keita, Setsuo and I watching the crappy New Year's Eve programs (well actually I was on the computer most of the time) and then even Keita managed to stay up until midnight to join us in the ritual of eating soba to bring in the New Year. Just after midnight all but Kana went off to bed, me to read for a bit but Keita and Setsuo to fall asleep almost immediately. (Aya and Lisa had both gone to different temples with their respective friends and both came home around 2 am).

Next day I was up at 7.30 which was late believe it or not. Setsuo's father doesn't wake up that early these days so I had a bit of leeway. In the end, both Lisa and Kana couldn't wake up and Aya wasn't feeling well so it was just the four of us eating the new year breakfast. Setsuo's father asked where they were but didn't seem that bothered since Keita is his favourite at the moment! After that, we all had a bath - how exciting - and then Setsuo's sister and husband came at around lunch time. We had thought his brother was coming too (I'd phoned his wife a few days earlier and she had said that he'd said he was going to come) but after staying at home for 3 days 'just in case', he hasn't shown so I doubt he will now. Hope he doesn't plan on coming tomorrow because after putting it off for the 3 days 'just in case', we have to go to the cemetary tomorrow or we won't manange it at all. I just wish everyone would phone first to let us know one way or the other because if we do the asking, it's like we are saying to them that we expect them to come which isn't the case, it's just we are stuck at home 'just in case'.

Anyway, today at 6pm, after dinner, we went to a nearby shopping mall which was our first time to leave the house! We went to try to get some bits for Kana but in the end we only got her 6 pairs of pants(!), a pair of jeans, a pair of pajamas plus an extra pair of sweat pants and 3 pairs of socks - not exactly a lot but we still have time. We also took the opportunity to get Keita 2 pairs of shoes. Now he's into size 29cm there isn't a lot of shops that stock that size plus he very rarely agrees to go shopping. I also bought a jacket at last so I can finally get out of the fleeces that I've been wearing for I don't know how many years and also a book. Actually, Kana bought me the book since I used her book token for it! I was also really wanting to buy jeans but couldn't find any long enough even in the men's dept! If I wear the 2 pairs I have any longer they are going to be paper-thin but until I can get ones to fit, I have no choice. Lisa bought a pair of socks and poor Setsuo got nothing.

Tomorrow we'll hopefully be out by 8 am to go off to the cemetery. Setsuo's father has said he's going to stay at home, wise man!

On another note, I finally took Bingo to the vets the other day only to be told that the only ailment he has is senility! We have reverted to buying him a cage - albeit a big enough one that he can walk around in - because he just bumps into things or walks into a corner then can't work out how to get out of it. If Setsuo's father goes to the toilet and leaves the door open then he goes to the stairs and has fallen right down to the bottom numerous times so it's probably better that he is in an enclosed space. At the moment he is in Keita's room and we are probably going to have to leave him in there or else S's father will probably let him out. Woe is us!