I went to have my hair cut.

 Haircut - 1,680 yen.

About 10 Japanese workers may be killed in Algeria, north Africa/

  In Algeria, many people working in the natural gas plants were attacked by Islamic terrorists and many of them including foreigners seemed to be killed, but the detail is not unknown yet.

I began to wear the new pair of hearing aids this evening.

  I can hear better now because I began to wear the new pair of hearing aids.

Taiho, former yokozuna, passed away.

  Maria emailed me from Monte Video, Urguai. She said she had been in another place than Monte Video with her relatives. She is fine.
  Ozumo Hatsubasho, New Year sumo wrestling tournament, is now underway. Yokozuna Harumafuji has won eight wins in a row, while the other Yokozuna Hakuhou was defeated by Hiramaku Myougiryu. Today, many newspaper companies published extras reporting great former Yokozuna Taiho's death.  Taiho was a great Yokozuna, who won the tournament champion 32 times. He is said one of the simbols of the Showa era. "Taiho, Kyojin ( Tokyo Giants)  tamago yaki (fried egg) ", which were were said to be three favorits of young people.

Ayako went to Sapporo to see Shimizu, our brother-in-law.

  Today Ayako went to Sapporo. How many times has she been to Sapporo to see Shimizus to care of them ?  Ayako came home at about 3:00. She said Shimzu's condition had not changed, and Shimizu could speak, though very slowly.
  I walked in the morning toward the Tomakomai river. The weather was sunny, but the temperature was low. Cold weather has been continued for about a month, and the news reported floating ice had reached the Okhotsk coast of Hokkaido almost one month earlier than usual years.
  In the evening, I attended the monthly meeting of the neiborhood association. After the meeting, sake and beer was served, and we enjoyed drinking and talking.  

Nothing special.

  Day after day, nothing special happens in my daily life. Nothing, really?

Heavy snow in Tokyo and other areas in Honshu.

Is the climate becoming more and more unusual in the world?  Is the global warming causing this unusual weather?  In Tokyo and other parts of Honshu, it is snowing heavily, and trains and planes are stranded in many places. In Tokyo, more than 300 people slipped on the roads and got hurt. I am afraid the snow storm will come here to Hokkaido.

In the morning, I had to shovel snow around the house.

  It snowed during the night, but not so much. Before seven o'clock, I had to shovel out the snow.

Hearing aids

  I bought a pair of new hearing aids. It cost 360,000, but I will pay by monthly payment without interest. My hearing has been deteriorating these years. As I grow old, my eye sight, my hearing, and many other abilities deteriorate as a matter of fact. I feel sorry.

Frozen weather continues, but walking was pleasant today, too.

  I walked along the Tomakomai river in the morning, and it was very pleasant to walk.

It was very cold but sunny.

     In some northern places in Hokkaido, the lowest temperature was below -30, and in most parts, the highest was below -5. But, when I was walking westward to Kawazoe in the morning, I felt very pleasant. The sky was blue and beautiful. I don't like snow season, but today, I felt happy to live in this snow country. I sent an email to Tomoko, my old friend in Miyagi. A few days ago, she emailed me saying she was very fine, and enjoyed shopping with a respirator. I felt relieved to hear that.

Cold, but pleasant to walk.

  Now is the coldest season, but pleasant to walk, because the roads are not too slippery to walk on. I walked in the morning as far as the gymnasium at Kawazoe.

Walking for the first time this year.

  It was very cold but fine today. In the morning, I went out for walking, which I hadn't done for almost half a month. The snow was beautiful along the way, and walking along the Tomakomai river was very pleasant.

I stayed at home all day today, too.

  It was mostly sunny, but very cold. But because of still having a cold, I didn't go out without when carrying plastic waste in the morning. Sparrows came to the wood deck and I enjoyed watching them. Chiaki called us, saying she wanted to quit her present job, because she had no time to take care of her children. We said she should ask Haruna for advice before deciding her mind.

Jan.6, the first Sunday of this year.

  I woke up at 6:20, and found it snowed during the night. At 6:30, I went out of the house to remove the snow. The snow was dry, but I felt it heavy. Maybe, I felt so as I had a cold. It took about half an hour to remove the snow on the car and around the house.
  The weather was not bad, but sunny almost all day. Many sparrows came to the garden to eat the seeds I scattered there. Some of them even came on the wood deck,so I could see them closely.

I've caught a cold.

  I've had a cold for two or three days. My nose are running, so I have to blow almost every two minutes.
  Ayako went to Sapporo to see Mr.Shimizu in the hospital and Mrs.Shimizu in her carehouse. She came home at about 3:00. Mr.Shimizu's condition has got a little worse, but not too serious. That of Mrs.Shimizu, so, so.
  I was reading Hannibal. But it was not so easy to read, because there were lots of slungs and argots which I had never seen or heard.

Stayed at home beginning to read a novel.

  It was a sunny day here but in northern part of Hokkaido, it snowed much and it caused traffic disturbance.

Visited the Shinto Shrine to pray for happines in the New Year.

 It snowed a little during the night, but not so much. I watched Hakone Ekiden Intercollagiate  Marathone Relay race and high school a soccer game. In Hakone Ekiden, the Nippon Sport Science University won the two-day race, and became the champions. In the high school soccer, the game between Asahiawa Industrial High School, the representative of Hokkaido and Shimane Shonan High School ended 1-1 tie, but Asahikawa was defeated in the penalty-kick-shoot-out.

Chiai and our grandsons went back home in Sapporo.

  Chiaki and her two boys are so busy. Chiaki will have to go to work tomorrow and her sons will go to practice soccer in their club. They stayed with us only one night and went back to Sapporo in the afternoon.

January 1, 2013

 It is the New Year's Day of 2013.

Dec.31, stayed with Haruna's family in Sapporo.

Yesterday, in the morning, Hideto, Haruna's husband came to pick us up, and went to Sapporo.