Recovery and freedom!

Sunday here was an incredibly cold day.

Okaasan stayed indoors massaging her knee and watching TV. She managed to get up and down from the carpet and reach the bathroom ok.

Yujiro made her breakfast. I took it into her on a tray...but she said: "Oh, didn't I say I don't want to eat?"
Grrrr!!! She didn't actually. So I just left it on her kitchen counter. This is a basic problem about cooking for someone/having someone cook for you - your wants and what you get sometimes don't match. And there are confused feelings all round.

Anyway. We then got out and escaped.

Went home hunting. We spent 4 hours seeing houses with an agent. Saw 2 nice old houses - but not suitable because of location and/or bathroom. It's like peering back into Sapporo history a little to see inside 20-25 year old homes with the style of woodwork etc
We also explored a new area, two stations down from my school - Sumikawa. Actually a good area with nicer homes and more space between the buildings. There is also a shopping/dining area near the subway station.

We saw a NEW cheap-build house. Kind of a yellow cube house. Absolutely goregous inside with all mod cons. Near the station and the library and care center (!!!!). It was just out of our "home" price range, but we'd save on things like heating bills and I expect a few private students would come to the house, although Sumikawa has a lot of local foreigners living there already.
Probably the owner has a "No pets" rule...the agent will check. Even though our old cat couldn't stand on his two back legs to scratch anything now...I can imagine the owner won't relent.Our current house has a "no pets" rule too, but I managed to appeal to the owner's human side with an appeal letter that a friend translated for me - and our cat is actually written into our current contract as an ammendment!

The house was wonderful. I would SO want to live there! I can really imagine Okaasan happy in that warm, bright, convenient home near shops etc
But I am guessing it'll be impossible - unless our dear cat dies. That'll be soon, but who knows when exactly.
Home hunting is like teenage dating - you get your hopes all raised on a new love, and then dashed again for some reason. I should try to protect my emotions from heartache...

We checked on Okaasan late afternoon. She agreed to eat ordered in udon noodles again. Meanwhile we went out to dinner with the Hong Kong woman who is staying at my English School. It was very relaxing to just go out and eat and drink like that, minus our Okaasan. We have to remember who we are...

This morning he goes to hospital to have his leg checked.
I go to work.
Okaasan will massage her leg and hopefully stay indoors.