Heavy rain on Dec.30, unusual !

  Today is December 30, why, it was raining from morning to late afternoon. The temperature was plus 5 to 7 degrees. What an unusual weather it was for the winter time here ! The snow around the house has almost melted. Strong wind blew all morning.
  I stayed all day today, too, thinking of how we should carry out the funeral of Shimizu without religion, who is still alive.

Dec.29 - only three days left in this year's calendar.

  It is December 29, 2012.  There are only three days left for this year. The weather was fine all day, but I stayed at home. Many sparrows comes to the garden, because I scattered seeds for them around the birdhouses.
  I spent all days mostly thinking of how to carry out Shimizu's funeral, because he wants his funeral on Bhudism or any other religion.

Hideki Matsui, a MLB player,announced to retire.

 Today I stayed at home all day, because the roads are slipperly to walk on. In the morning, Ayako went to the hospital to check up her diabetes. The result was not bad, she said.
 Yesterday, I wrote about a rookie baseball player Shohei Otani who joined the Fighters. I hope Otani will become a star in future. Today, a big star in the Major League, Hideki Matsui, announced his retirement. While  Matsui played for New York Yankees and some other teams after playing for Yomiuri Giants, he recorded combined 507 career home runs both in Japan and US Major League.

Otani, the first-round-draft, completed the contact to join the Nippon Ham Fighters.

  On the day before yesterday, Shohei Otani, the ace pitcher of Iwate Hanamaki Higashi High School and the first-round draft of the Fighters, visited Sapporo and completed the contact to join the team. He first wanted to join the U.S.Major League team, but finally changed his mind. I hope he will succeed in Hokkaido Nippon Ham either as a pitcher or a field player.
  I sent an email to Mr.Hasegawa in Nayoro mentioning my situation by which I am afraid I will be unable to go and serve as an interpreter in the International Snow Sculpting Competition.
  I stayed at home all day but going out with Ayako to the supermarket which we went yesterday.

Mr.Shinzo Abe was elected as the 94th prime minister of Japanese government.

  In the morning, I went with Ayako to Hanazono cho, and did shopping. We bought some vegetables, milk, sausage, milk, jam, etc.  for our everyday meals.
  In the Diet, Mr.Shinzo Abe, the chairmam of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected as the 94th prime minister of Japan. In the evening, Mr.Abe formed a new cabinet. He called his Cabinet  "Get over the crisis" Cabinet. There are a lot of problems now, including economical problems, depromatic problems, territorial problems, etc. I hope they will solve such crucial problems successfully and peacefully.

Takashi & Sachiyo called us on Skype.

  In the morning, I walked to the hospital to check my diabetes. I was releaved to hear the doctor say the result was good.
Today was the time limit to post New Year cards it expect them to reach in time for the New Year's Day. Ayako posted them.
  In the evening, at around 6:00, Takashi and Sachiyo called us on Skype from San Hose. Takashi is leaving for China on business today, on the local time. He said he would stay in Shanghai and Beijin for a week. By the way, in China, people celebrate New Year on the luna calendar, so they work as usual in this new year days on the Gregorian calendar. We hope he will return to US safe and sound.

Christmas Eve

  I  am writing about sixty New Year cards to my friends. I am going to post them at the post office at Sakuragi cho tomorrow morning.
  In the evening, I celebrated Christmas Eve with Ayako drinking wine. 

A busy day.

 In the morning, I wrote two letters. One was to the person named "Chieko" in Gunma prefecture.

Ayako went to Sapporo again.

 Yesterday, there was a phone call from the hospital where Shimizu was hospitalized. His doctor wanted to explain the present  condition of Shimizu to Ayako. So, I drove Ayako to the station to let her ride on the 8:30 bus. She returned home at 3:00 and said the doctor who checked Shimizu told her his condition was very bad, and serious. We talked about what we should do if Shimizu should die.    

Shimizu was to be hospitalized again.

  Ayako had to go to Sapporo to help Shimzu be hospitalized this afternoon. She left home at about 9:30 a.m. After she rode on a bus, Chiaki called me saying her son Tokio got sick in his school, and she had to bring him back home but she couldn't because of her work. Her mother had gone to Sapporo on another errand. As I had nothing to do, so I called Ayako, who was on the bus. Ayako said she would go to Chiaki's house to take care of Tokio.
  In the late morning, Mr.Hatano, an electrician, came to set the TV set on the wall of our bed room which we carried from Shimizu's condo. 

Sent Christmas presents to Ilsemarie and her family.

  In the morning, on the way back from my regular walking as far as Sumikawa, I dropped in at the 100 yen shop at Nisshinn cho and bought Christmas presents to Ilsemarie and her family in Germany.

Ayako went to Sapporo.

  It was cloudy in the morning, but became sunny in the afternoon. The weather forecast said it would be snowy in Sapporo and along the Japan Sea coast. Ayako wondered whether she should go to Sapporo to see her sister and her husband Shimizu, but it seemed not to snow today looking at the sky, so she left home at 9:00 am. She returned home at 3:30 p.m., saying it was not snowing in Sapporo.
  An email from Nayaoro. They invite in February next year, not only me but Ayako. Ayako has wanted to visit Nayoro but to think of our pet cat Leo and of leaving home in the winter time, she says she must give up going with me. She says I may turn down the offer.

It snowed much.

  In the morning, on TV, I saw it snowing very much in Sapporo, though here in Tomakomai, not much snow was falling. But, when I went out for standing at the corner where I stand for crossing guard every Tuesday, it began to snow and blow. Then all morning, the weather was like snow storm. As a result, I had to work clearing the fallen snow around the house. It took about an hour and a half, and I was tired.
  In the afternoon, it stopped to snow, so I went downtown by car.  

JLDP won a landslide victory in the lower house election

  In the lower house election held yesterday, Japan Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory.
The result was : Liberal Democratic Party got 294 seats, Japan Democratic Party 57, Nippon Ishin Party 54, Komei Party 31, Minna Party 18, Mirai Party 9, Communist Party, 8 Social Democratic Party 2, Kokumin Shin Party 1, Shinto Daich 1, Independent 5, and the total number of the seats is 480. What a crushing defeat the ruling Democratic Party made !  I am afraid that more and more right wing politicians won the seats, because they insist they wii revise the constitution.
  I sent an email to Maria in Uruguay,in which I reported the result of the election.

Heavy snow and election day.

  It snowed very much for the first time this winter. I had to work shoveling out heavy wet snow. I was exhausted but, as today was the election day for the Lower House, I went with Ayako to the voting station stamping the snow  in the morning.

I made New Year cards.

  Today I spent all morning to make new year cards.

Sent an email to Ilsemarie in Germany.

 I sent an email to Ilsemarie in Germany. I had received from her an email a day before. In her email, Ilsemarie said about her daughter Silija and her boy friend. She said Silija bought a house in the former East Germany where she works, but that Silija's boy friend could not find a job. Germany seems to be in economic depression, and there were many jobless people. Ilsemarie also said about her friend living in Chile. She said her friend had said that Japan was the only country in the world that it did not allow Islamic people to enter the country. Of course, it is a great mistake. So, I answered saying in Japan freedom of religion is guaranteed to all. I attached two photos of Islamic mosque in Tokyo and Gifu. 

Had the roof of the house checked.

  Yesterday Ayako called Mr.Miyakoshi, a house builder, to have the roof of our house checked. A few days ago, when it was raining heavily, I found the rain water dropping from the roof colored brown. I climbed up on the roof, and saw the paint dissolving.   

Stayed at home all day. North Korea launched a missile.

   The weather was not bad, and the temperature was plus 1 degree, but I stayed at home all day.
   In the morning, TV reported that North Korea defied the international public opinion and launched a missile to southern Pacific.

Prf.Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel prize.

 Dr.Shinya Yamanak, professor of Kyoto University was awarded to the Nobel prize today on December 10th in Stockholm, Sweden.

Election of the lower house

  The election campaign of the lower house is now under way. The governing party Japan Democratic Party has become unpopular, and a lot of little new parties were born. Considering the situation, the result is easily expected: the Liberal Democratic Party will win and return to power. But I don't like the LDP 's return to power because the both of the party Mr.Abe has too conservative political ideas. Especially, he insists that he revise the constitution and Japan should have offensive army. I strongly hope that they will observe the present constitution and never have wars in the future.

Allergy to cold air

  I have been having a running nose since this morning. I am allergic to cold air. Today, it is cold and snowy all day. My nose began to run when I woke up.  Every few minutes, I have had to blow my nose since morning. I stayed at home all day. The weather was windy with snow, so it looked like blizzard sometimes, but I didn't go out to remove snow today.
  In the evening, I watched on TV ISU Grand Priz Figure skating Fnal in Sochi, Russia. Of 12 skaters who were qualified, there were 6 Japanese saters - Mao Asada, Akiko Suzuki, for women, and Tatsuki Machida, Takahiko Kozuka, Yuzuru Hanyu, and Daisuke Takahashi for men. And the results: in men's contest, Takahashi won the gold medal, and Hanyu the silver. In women's contest: Asada gold and Suzuki bronze.

Storm has passed, and snow has come, and strong earthquake, too.

   Storm passed by, and the temperature has come down. Snow is falling, and tomorrow morning, maybe, I will have to work to remove the snow. In the evening, at around 5:30 p.m., the evening programs of every TV station was suddenly interupted by an earthquake alert. The earthquake lasted, maybe, longer than five minutes, though it was not so strong. But in Tohoku, especially in Sendai and its vicinity, the intensity was 5 minus on the Japanese scale, and the alert referred to tsunami. Even here in Tomakomai, we felt the earth quake and the intensity was 3. About half an hour after the earthquake, one-meter high tsunami hit a harbor in Tohoku. But fortunately much damage has not been done so far.

Dec.6 A stormy weather - schools were closed.

  Unusual weather again this week. Strong wind blew, and heavy rainfall - all the primary and junior high schools were closed. The temperature was high for this season, so it didn't snow, but rained much. A photo of a roof broken by the strong wind in Tomakomai was shown on TV, so our relatives in Honshu called worrying about us. But we were safe. 

A heavy rain fall with strong wind, and thunder.

  It was a very nasty weather today. It rained very much with strong wind and thunder. It is quite unusual for this season here in Hokkaido. I went out wit an umbrella to see if the little river close to our house would flood, but I was releaved it would not.

A quiet day. Talked on the phone with Kazuko, my sister in Iwamizawa.

  Yesterday my grandson, Arashi, returned to Sapporo with his mother. In the morning, Ayako went to the hospital to have her given a shot to prevent influenza.
  In the afternoon, I walked as far as the Koitoi river at Kawazoe. There were no leaves in the trees, but it wasn't so cold yet.
  In the evening, Ayako and I talked with Kazuko, my sister living in Iwamizawa, on the phone. She was fine and said she is still enjoying tennis. I was glad to hear that.

Arashi went home to Sapporo.

   In Sapporo, and some other places in Hokkaido, it seems to have snowed much, but here in Tomakomai, it didn't. When Chiaki came from Sapporo to pick up Arashi, there was a lot of snow on the roof of her car. Arashi's mother Chiaki came here at 1:30, and she returned with Arashi at about 3:40.
  Our house have become quiet again with Ayako and our pet cat Leo.

Ayako came home with Arashi.

  It is December now.  Time really flies!  Looking at the calendar, oh, I realize there is only a month left for this year.
  Ayako came bac from Sapporo in the morning with Arashi. Arashi will stay here with us tonight. In the afternoon, Takashi and Sachiyo called on Skype.  By the way, our webcam was broken, and I had bought a new one. So, the picture of us including Arashi seemed to be seen on their screen.