Kenney and I have now been in Japan about 4 1/2 months and it has been off to an interesting start. We moved into a wonderful house in Zushi at the beginning of March. About 2 weeks after we moved into home; we were put under a shelter in place (SIP) order due to the corona virus. As of today that SIP is still standing. It has started to relax a little bit; but we are still not allowed to go out and explore this exciting new place we get to call home for the next few years. We are only allowed to leave house to get essential supplies, go to work, and a few other things that are deemed essential functions.
Our house is becoming a home slowly but surely. We haven’t been able to go out and buy furniture; so we still have no couch in our house. Thank goodness we brought 2 chairs with us. The furniture store has recently opened back up and we believe we have our new couch picked out. However; there is no delivery service at this time and there is no way I can help Kenney carry a couch up the stairs into our house. As soon as delivery service resumes we should be able to get the rest of the house furnished. We were able to order some stuff that we need online through IKEA and get it deliver to the house. All of the furniture we got meet or exceeded our expectations. It was a ton of fun to assemble all of it too.
Astro is still in quarantine until we hit the 6 month mark. He is staying with a wonderful family on the base. He got really sick last month and had to spend a week in the animal hospital; were he received IV antibiotics and was closely monitored. He is doing much better now and is slowly putting weight back on. He ended up with an infection in his intestines. Kenney and I can’t wait to have our fur baby home with us. He has been away from us since the day we moved into our house.
Work has been wonderful and a lot of fun for me. I am learning all sorts of new things and get work with all the different trades. Currently my schedule is amazing too; we work 80 hours in one week, then we get a whole week off. This schedule would be even more amazing if we could out and enjoy the beautiful area we live in. Even with not being able to go do things; the week off has been nice quality time with Kenney. We have been enjoying watching movies, doing jigsaw puzzles, studying Japanese, cooking, barbecuing and finally finishing unpacking the boxes. We only have a few small boxes left and haven’t been able to unpack those due to needing a dresser still. Our other house, we have shelving built into the closet that we store our clothes in and we don’t have that option here. There has been quite a bit of a learning curve to having a new house; especially in a foreign country. Kenney and I have lived the same house since 2009. I forgot the challenges that come with moving and setting up a new place to call home. Online shopping has been a life saver. We are able to get a lot of the luxuries from home that we are used to that are unavailable or hard to find.
My typical clean and sustainable creative bug has been in full swing. I have made “poo-puree spray” for the toilet rooms, roller blends for a co-worker and friend that were struggling with specific issues, and anti-chaffing powder. Next on the list to try making is dry shampoo. I have been continuing my work with the Clean Beauty Con and getting new products to test out. I have found many new staples in my beauty routine that align with my passion of having clean and sustainable beauty choices. I am happy to say I am at about 90% clean beauty. This transition has been slow and steady, but I am getting there. I am also working on find more sustainable choices to incorporate in our daily lives. I have created an Amazon Wish List filled with items that we are slowly filling our new house with. If anyone would like to help with those items, we would be so grateful.
The biggest adjustment for us has not being with all of our wonderful family and friends. I am used to being away for a few months, but this is officially the longest I have ever been in Japan. When we got here; we had family and friends here. We were able to spend quality time with them; going out to restaurants, hanging out and what ever else struct our fancy. It is now that time of year here, that everyone is gone. One of the biggest parts of our life that makes it as wonderful as it is; is all of you. Kenney and I have the best people in our lives. Today we took the time to look at all of our wonderful wedding photos, so many of the same wonderful people that shared that day with us are still sharing our journey and there. Sadly, not everyone is still in our lives. We have lost so many amazing people over the last 8 years; may they Rest In Peace. We have also added many amazing people to our circle. Life is constantly changing, learning and growing, and taking care of yourselves and loves ones.
The Adventures of MrzMontoy 