 Additional
Posts
This page might contain additional information from some of following sources:
Facebook Post - from my FB account
Email
Message - from my email account
Journal Post - from the journal our oldest son Shai is keeping |
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 First
Night of Hanukkah
December 14, 2025 - This was the first night of
our first Hanukkah in our new home. |
 Opening
Presents
December 14, 2025 - The little dudes really
enjoyed opening their presents. They made out pretty good this year again. |
 Last
Night of Hanukkah
December 21, 2025 - This was the last night of a
really nice Hanukkah in our new home. |
 Eating
Homemade Frizza
December 21, 2025 - We ate "frizza", as we call
it because Akiko makes them in a frypan. Akiko is really fantastic at cooking
and her "frizza" rivals anything you could eat in a restaurant. |
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December 1, 2025 -
Journal Post - More work in the garage
This morning, dad headed into the garage and spent the entire morning painting
and staining.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, he continued work in the garage until 4:30 pm.
Just as we were about to settle in for the night, Ayane came over and just
talked for a while.
And that was it for the day.
The high for today was 62 °F (ca. 16.67 °C) and the low was 44 °F (ca. 6.67 °C).
December 2, 2025 -
Journal Post - Finishing up the garage
Dad headed into the garage this morning and spent the entirety of it painting
and staining the garage, and by lunch, he finished!
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, he headed back into the garage. Mom came out soon after and
together they worked on trying to see if the old refrigerator that came with the
house would still run, and it did! Mom then headed back in, and dad spent the
rest of the afternoon setting up the garage by moving stuff around and sorting.
And that was it for today.
The high for today was 66 °F (ca. 18.89 °C) and the low was 44 °F (ca. 6.67 °C).
December 3, 2025 -
Journal Post - Sorting the garage
This morning, first only dad headed out. While he was out, he moved the rest of
the bags of rice husk in front of the storage building. Then I headed out. I
first headed over to Mr Takahara's studio to tell him the documentary was
finished, and then I moved all the bags of rice husk to the farm.
Once I was done with that, dad then headed into the garage for the morning and
worked on sorting it.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, dad headed back into the garage and continued sorting. He kept
working until 4:30 pm, and once he came in, I took Copernicus for a walk.
And that was it for the day.
The high for the day was 53 °F (ca. 11.67 °C) and the low was 31 °F (ca. -0.56
°C).
December 4, 2025 -
Journal Post - Setting up the garage
This morning, dad headed into the garage. He spent the morning just doing some
cleaning and setting up stuff.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, he headed back into the garage. Soon after he headed out, Lael and
Ethan also went into the garage to play. While they were in there, dad set up
the pitchback.
And that was it for the day.
The high for today was 50 °F (ca. 10 °C) and the low was 31 °F (ca. 0.56 °C).
December 5, 2025 -
Journal Post - Work on the property above
This morning, dad and I headed out and into the property above ours. We spent
the morning working in the front area. While dad used the weed whacker and saw
to cut the trees, vines, and bamboo, I used my rake and the wheelbarrow to
transport all the mess to the pile of trees Mr Myoujin had already made in the
corner lot. First we did the wall, then along the front of the house, and then
more to the side of the house.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, we headed back out and continued our work. We kept working along
the side of the house for most of the afternoon. While we were working, Mr
Kuyama drove up. He got out of his car and talked to us for a while about the
main tree we wanted to cut. We shared some ideas, and he offered to come over
the next day with his winch to try and pull the tree so it would not hit any
houses or electrical lines. Once he left, we got back to work. Soon after,
though, Mrs Budo came out and talked to us for a bit about the property. Once
she headed home, we kept working until 5:00 pm. The last thing we did was clean
up the street along the property.
And that was it for the day.
The high for the day was 55 °F (ca. 12.78 °C) and the low was 26 °F (ca. -3.33
°C).
December 6, 2025 -
Journal Post - A lot of help cutting the tree
This morning, dad and I headed out. Today, Mr Kuyama was going to come over to
help with cutting the tree on the property above us. So dad and I spent most of
the morning getting the chainsaws ready. Before we could even start it, Mr
Irie's daughter came up and talked to us for a bit. Once she left, we first got
the larger one cleaned, and then tried to get it going. It did start a couple of
times, but because the throttle was broken, and I slightly messed up the
starting cable, we decided not to use that one. So we got to work on fixing up
the second one. Once it was ready, we started it up, and it ran somewhat
smoothly. So dad tested on some logs that we had brought over the other day, and
it seemed to cut through it fairly smoothly.
Once we got them running, it was nearly noon, so we assumed Mr Kuyama wouldn't
come over until the afternoon, so I took Copernicus for a walk. While I did
that, dad processed the rest of the wood we brought over. Just as I got home
from the walk, Mr Kuyama arrived with his grandson. He brought with him a steel
cable and winch. We spent about 30 minutes wrapping the cable around the tree
and another tree to hold it, and setting up the winch. But we decided to eat
lunch first before we did any cutting.
So that was it for the morning.
After lunch, dad and I headed back out. It was about 30 minutes until Mr Kuyama
came back, so dad and I used a bamboo pole to shimmy the cable higher up on the
tree.
Mr Kuyama soon arrived with Mr Hamada. It took us about an hour of talking,
shimmying, and mom translating, but eventually we figured out the best way to do
it. It was dad's idea. What we did was fastened the cable high up on the tree,
and then wrapped it around the other section of the tree. This way the cable
would hold the tree to make sure it wouldn't hit Mr Takahara's house, or the
power lines. Once we got the cable fastened, we started cutting. While dad used
the chainsaw, I operated the winch.
At first, it was extremely nerve-wracking. The winch didn't seem to pull the
tree enough. But once we cut a bit more and loosened and refastened the cable,
it began to work. Slowly but surely we cut the tree bit by bit, until finally it
fell against the old house! Once the worst part of the tree was cut, dad cut the
other part, which fell within minutes. Now, with both trees cut, we had to work
on getting them off the roof of the old house. This was done by fastening the
cable at a different angle, and using the winch to pull it off while more of the
branches were cut.
While we were doing this, a bunch more people showed up. Mr Takahara, his
sister, Mr Irie, and Mrs Budo all came to take a look.
Mr Takahara helped out with getting the trees off the roof with his chainsaw and
his pulley. Dad did get a bit of it off, but wasn't able to finish because the
chainsaw ran out of fuel and also because the handle was falling off slightly.
Once the tree was basically on the ground, Mr Takahara processed a bit of it,
and cut the stump out.
After that was done, we all just stood around and talked for a while. We then
packed up our tools, I brought the winch and cable back to Mr Kuyama's house,
and thanked him for helping, and then headed home.
And that was it for this nerve-wracking day.
The high for today was 57 °F (ca. 13.89 °C) and the low was 37 °F (ca. 2.78 °C).
December 7, 2025 -
Journal Post - Processing the tree, and more people
This morning, before we headed out, when dad and mom went out to do their usual
meeting, they saw that Mr Myoujin was checking out his property, so mom and dad
went over to talk to him. They talked for a while, and he thanked dad for
cutting the tree.
Once they were done with their meeting, I headed out. Dad and I immediately
headed into the property to get to work. Soon after we headed out, mom headed to
the farm. Before we started, though, we had a conversation with Mr Myoujiin
about what he wanted us to cut. After the conversation, we got to work. Dad used
the chainsaw to cut up the main trunk of the tree, while I transported the
trunks, and used the bow saw to cut off some of the smaller branches. While dad
was cutting the trunk, one of the bolts of the chainsaw flew off, and we
scrambled to find it. Once we did, dad went back home to screw it back on.
While he was doing that, Mrs Irie walked up and began talking to dad for a
while, I talked a bit too, while we were talking, mom got back from harvesting
stuff at the farm. Eventually, Mrs Irie continued on her walk.
Dad kept cutting the trunk until the chainsaw began to make some really weird
noises, and then the chain split the bar down the middle. So dad put the
chainsaw back, and we got to work with just the bow say and Gomboy. While dad
used the bow saw to cut up the largest pieces of the tree, I cut the branches
and vines with the Gomboy.
While we were doing that, I noticed that I forgot to bring one of Mr Kuyama's
chains back to his place, so I took it back. I then continued helping dad with
cutting up the tree.
While we were working, Mr Hamada came up and talked to us for a bit.
Around noon, we headed to Mr Kuyama's house with a bag full of vegetables to
give him for helping us so much. So we gave them to him, talked for a tiny bit,
and headed back home.
Because lunch wasn't ready yet, dad and I continued to work on the tree. By the
time it was ready, we had the entire trunk of the tree processed and piled.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, we headed back into the property. We first moved the largest piece
of stump next to the road. Then, we worked on cutting the last tree that was
right up against the house. While we were doing that, Mr Kuyama walked up and
talked to us for a bit. Once we left, we kept working on the tree. Eventually,
dad cut it all the way through, and while we tried to pull it and slide it off
the roof of the house, it would barely move, so we decided to leave it for now.
The next thing we did was line up all the pieces of trunk along the street so we
could easily transport them to our house. While we were doing that, Mrs Budo
came over and started talking to us. At some point, mom came out and began
talking with her, so dad and I continued our work. Once we had all the logs in
place, we moved them all to the house, including the huge section of stump.
Once that was done, we took a little time out and talked with Mrs Budo, while we
were talking, Mr Takahara came over along with some of his students who spoke
English, and introduced us! We talked for a while until everyone left.
Just as we finished talking, Mrs Irie came over to give us some oranges and
souvenirs that Ayane had brought on a business trip. We talked for a bit, and
then she headed home.
Dad and I did a little bit more work before heading in. I moved the last bits of
wood we had processed (unfortunately we had come nowhere near our goal for the
day), and dad swept up the driveway. While we were doing that, Mr Budo came over
specifically to look at the tree that we cut. We talked for a bit, and then he
headed home. Dad and I did a little bit more, and then headed in for the day.
And that was it for the day.
The high for today was-
December 8, 2025 -
Journal Post - A day in the house
Today, we spent the day in the house.
Dad and mom spent the morning opening all the packages they had ordered, and
then worked on setting the stuff up, which included a heater and floor padding
in the laundry room, and the new TV in the family room.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, mom and dad basically spent the rest of the day getting the TV
working and hooked up to dad's computer.
And that was it for the day.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 9, 2025 -
Journal Post - Cleaning up the yard
This morning, dad headed out. Soon after, mom headed out in the truck to fill up
the kerosene tanks. While she did that, dad started on cleaning up the yard. The
first thing he did was cut all the dead leaves off the turmeric.
Once mom came back, she headed back in the house for a little, and then around
10:30 am, she headed out for her dentist appointment and to go shopping.
While she was out, dad finished cutting all the dead turmeric leaves, and he
also began to work on taking out the huge wall of vine leaves.
Mom got home around 12:30 pm, and that was it for the morning.
After lunch, dad headed back out. He continued on cleaning the yard, and also
got the BBQ going for mom to cook chicken.
They came in around 4:30 pm.
When I went to go feed Copernicus, mom came out with me to fill the little tank
we bought with hot water to keep Copernicus warm at night.
And that was it for the day.
The high for today was 57 °F (ca. 13.89 °C) and the low was 28 °F (ca. -2.22
°C).
December 10, 2025 -
Journal Post - Another day in the house
This morning, everyone stayed in. Dad and mom spent the morning putting the
weather stripping along the windows in the bedroom and main bathroom.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, dad worked on setting up the lights in the music area. And I put
weather stripping along the windows in my room.
And that was it for the day.
The high for today was-
December 11, 2025 -
Journal Post - Buying wood
This morning, we all headed out around 11:00 am to go and buy wood. The rest of
the morning had been spent measuring all the areas dad was planning to build in.
Once we got to the department store, we checked out the wood for around 30
minutes. Once dad picked out the wood he wanted, we asked one of the staff
members if they could deliver the wood. Mom had called them this morning and
asked if they would deliver wood, and they said they did for around ¥1,100.
However, once we asked the staff member, they said there were a bunch of limits
and that you needed some type of membership. So we just decided to bring the
wood home on the rack. However, we didn't bring rope, so we needed to go home
and get it.
Instead of pushing to get all the wood before lunch, we decided to get it after
lunch, so we drove to the store and mom went in to buy lunch. Once she bought
it, we headed home.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, we headed back to the wood store. To bring all the wood home, we
would need to do it in two trips. The first trip was 10 pieces of plywood. And
the next trip was 4 1x4's, 4 three meter 2x4's and 16 two meter 2x4's. All the
wood we bought was then piled along the garage.
Once we bought all the wood and brought it home, we headed out one more time to
do a proper shopping trip. Once we got home, that was it for the day.
The high for today was 64 °F (ca. 17.78 °C) and the low was 33 °F (ca. 0.56 °C).
December 12, 2025 -
Journal Post - Starting interior construction
This morning, dad got started on doing construction inside the house. First, he
and mom spent a while setting up the garage to cut wood.
Once the garage was ready, dad started to build. He spent the rest of the
morning building and installing the frame for the wall between the hallway and
the main toilet.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, before dad could get to work, Mrs Irie came over to talk and to
give us some fruit!
Once she left, dad spent the entire afternoon making the rest of the frame, and
putting nailing in the plywood cover.
Dad continued working even after the lights were turned on in the house.
And that was it for the day.
The high for today was 52 °F (ca. 11.11 °C) and the low was 29 °F (ca. -1.67
°C).
December 13, 2025 -
Journal Post - Continuing the construction
This morning, mom and dad spent a while moving supplies into the house for
further construction. Once all the supplies were moved in, mom headed to the
farm. Along the way to the farm, Mr Hamada talked to her for a while, and then
at the farm Lael's friend's mom talked to her for a while and gave her some
cake.
While mom was at the farm, dad was home, working on applying caulking along the
walls he had made.
At the farm, mom harvested some vegetables, and pulled out all the rotten runner
bean plants.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, dad headed into the garage and spent most of the afternoon building
the frame for the wall separating the main bathroom from the laundry room. Once
he built the frame, he and mom brought it in. Once dad slammed it into place, he
went out and cut a piece of plywood down to the side, and then nailed it to the
frame.
And that was it for the day.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 14, 2025 -
Journal Post - Happy Hanukkah!
This morning, we all stayed in. Dad spent most of the morning rearranging the
furniture in the playroom.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, we all just kinda hung out.
This evening was the first night of Hanukkah, so before dinner, we lit the first
candles on the menorah. We then had a nice dinner, and then some presents for
all of us!
And that was it for the day.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 15, 2025 -
Journal Post - A bit more construction
Once again, we all stayed in this morning.
Before we could even change clothes, Mrs Irie came over to give us some
souvenirs her family got in Osaka, and some flashcards that Ayane made for Lael
and Ethan.
Once she left, dad got to work. He spent the morning putting in some more nails,
filling some spaces with caulking, and doing some slight rearranging in the
playroom.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, dad hung out with Lael and Ethan for a while, and then did his full
workout with psytrance and his light weights.
And that was basically it for today.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 16, 2025 -
Journal Post - Buying more wood and more construction
This morning, we needed to go out and buy more wood because dad had used most of
it up already. Around 10:30 am, we headed to the department store.
At the department store, we bought 10 pieces of plywood, 4 short 2x4's, 8 long
2x4s, and 8 short 2x2's. Once we drove all the wood home, we then headed back
out to go shopping to buy lunch.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, the first thing dad did, with mom's help, was he took out the door
to the family room. Once it was out, mom headed to the farm, and dad got to work
on making the frame to fill the space.
At the farm, mom picked some carrots and lettuce, and weeded some of the garlic
bed.
Once mom got home from the farm, she helped dad get the frame into place. Once
the frame was set, dad put up plywood on one side of it.
And that was it for the day.
The high for today was 61 °F (ca. 16.11 °C) and the low was 31 °F (ca. -0.56
°C).
December 17, 2025 -
Journal Post - Putting up a new entry
This morning, dad built the frame for the wall/entry separating the main entry
to the rest of the house.
Once he built the frame, he installed it into the hallway, and once it was
installed, he tried to install the door. It took some time because dad needed to
get the door twice, and he needed mom's help to figure out which way the hinges
swung, but he eventually got it.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, dad built some shelves that he would install the next day, after
that, he spent the day refining the new entry, and adding the upper section of
it.
And that was it for the day.
The high for today was 49 °F (ca. 9.44 °C) and the low was 32 °F (ca. 0 °C).
December 18, 2025 -
Journal Post - Some new walls
This morning, dad headed out. Soon after he headed out, mom headed off to the
dentist, and to go shopping.
While mom was out, dad spent the time in the garage building the frame for the
two walls he would install in the afternoon.
Once mom got back, that was it for the morning.
After lunch, mom and dad spent the afternoon installing the frames for the walls
separating the wood area and the wood area from the entry. Once the frames were
in place, dad hammered in the plywood.
And that was it for the day.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 19, 2025 -
Journal Post - Finishing up the construction
This morning, before dad could get any work done, there was an issue with the
main toilet. Whenever they flushed, the sink wouldn't stop pouring water, so dad
had to get out his screwdrivers and tighten the valve. Once dad got it, so the
toilet sink wouldn't flood the house, he had to wait to work until mom called
the construction company to come out and take a look.
Once that was all sorted out, dad got to work. He spent most of the morning
working on setting up some tables around the house, like one near the toilet,
one in the wood area, and extending the family room table with my old desk.
I also got my new chair for my room today.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, mom headed to the farm. At the farm, mom weeded the garlic bed,
spread out some mushroom substrate and rice husk, and picked some Napa cabbage.
While mom was at the farm, dad worked on modifying the table in the wood area
for Lael and Ethan to use. He also shortened the table that had the keyboard on
it.
And that was pretty much it for today.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 20, 2025 -
Journal Post - Gardening and a day out
This morning, I headed off to Ayane's house. About a week ago I planned to go to
Okayama city to buy some souvenirs for when we go to visit family in Nara, and I
asked Ayane if she wanted to come with, and she said yes! So I got to her house,
and she and her parents were waiting. Her mom gave me ¥10,000 for editing the
marriage collage video for Kana, which I thanked her profusely for, and tried to
say it wasn't necessary, but it was no use. So we all got in the car and headed
to Osafune station. Ayane and I then got on the train, and were bound for
Okayama city.
Dad spent the morning outside. After days of indoor construction, he was back to
gardening. He spent the morning spreading mushroom substrate under the orange
tree and over the turmeric.
Once Ayane and I got to Okayama, we first headed to the mall because she needed
to get her eyeglass lenses corrected. The shop had to keep her glasses for a
week, so we then went to buy contacts for her, and getting the right ones took
around an hour. But eventually she got them. We then headed to Saizeriya for
lunch.
And that was it for the morning.
After lunch, Ayane and I strolled through a park for a while, and then went to a
crêpe café, and hung out there for a while.
Dad continued working in the garden. First he and the kids picked the potatoes,
and then he and mom got some seeds from the vine leaf. They then used all the
vines to cover the turmeric even more to protect it from the cold. The final
thing dad did today was move the root bound loquats into larger pots filled with
mushroom substrate.
Ayane and I then headed back to Okayama station, where I bought the souvenirs.
Once I bought the souvenirs, we got on the train bound for Osafune. We arrived
at Osafune around 4:45 pm, and took a taxi back home. At home, we talked for a
little while, and then Ayane headed home.
And that was it for the day.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 21, 2025 -
Journal Post - A day in the house
Today, the forecast said it would rain, so we spent the day in the house.
That is literally it.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 22, 2025 -
Journal Post - Finishing up the upper yard
This morning, dad and I headed into the upper yard. I was feeling a bit sick,
but not enough to not work.
Dad and I spent the morning processing branches, cutting vines, and transporting
everything to the corner.
While we were working, Mrs Budo came up and gave us a bag of fruit that she had
gotten from her relatives.
A little while after that, mom headed to the farm.
Once mom got back from the farm, she made lunch, and that was it for the
morning.
After lunch, the first thing dad and I did was get the smaller tree off the
roof. It took a while, but we eventually got it off. Dad and I then spent most
of the afternoon doing more of what we did in the morning.
The last thing I did was start to move some of the branches that Mrs Budo's
relatives left on her driveway to dry, onto the corner to burn in a couple of
weeks.
And that was it for the day.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 23, 2025 -
Journal Post - Another day in the house
This morning, I woke up feeling really sick, so I was in my room all day. Dad
also stayed in for the day.
In the morning, Mr Myoujin came over and gave us some Miso as thanks for
cleaning up his property.
And that was it for today.
I do not have the temperatures for today.
December 24, 2025 -
Journal Post - Working on the toilet, moving some branches, and an afternoon
in the house
This morning, the workers who installed our toilet came over to fix one of them.
The main one had an issue where the toilet's faucet wouldn't shut off. So one of
the workers fixed the toilet, while the other one installed a proper outlet in
the garage. The issue with the toilet seemed to be a build up of debris from the
old pipes. Once everything was fixed, they left.
After that, mom, dad, and I headed out to move the branches and leaves off Mrs
Budo's driveway and onto the corner property to burn next year. I would've done
it myself, but because I was sick, mom and dad helped load and move the pile. In
about 30 minutes, we had moved everything.
And that was it for the morning.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the house.
And that was it for the day.
I do not have the temperatures for today. |
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