What have I been doing this week?

I'm trying to remember what we've done this week. Not very easy. Here's a summary:

Monday
Public holiday. I felt so unwell that I didn't go anywhere. David did some grocery shopping. We unpacked more boxes.

Tuesday was busy
David had to supervise some students doing a test for some summer maths subject they are both doing (don't ask!). The gas man came to install smoke and gas alarms while David was out. Then I went, with trepidation, to the ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor at 11. After filling out the inevitable information form, they told me to come back at 1 (the line was so long). It actually worked out very well, because in the gap we had lunch and the postman came with my health insurance card (meaning I only had to pay about 30% of my doctor and medication bill). After the doctor we dropped the boys at a friend's house and dashed off to a furniture store to buy several different things, but most importantly, a mattress for our bed. We ended up being able to buy a new bike for David too. Collected the kids, ate tea and shoved the kids in bed. Then I collapsed.

Wednesday was much quieter.
The phone and internet were connected this day. The saga of trying to get our computer to connect to internet without the wires began after they left. We also discovered that we could only receive but not send from our usual email account, and since then have had to copy and paste to an internet based account whenever we want to reply to emails. Annoying!

Thursday
We received our 11 y.o.'s bunk bed and bookcase from another missionary family and put it together. They also gave us a set of drawers for our bedroom and another bookcase. Finally that night I could take my clothes out of my suitcase. We also unpacked a lot of other boxes with books in them.

We went for a short family bike ride then David went to retrieve our last piece of furniture from its storage place - our freezer, which someone used for the year we were away.

Friday
Now with our freezer in place we were on a mission to fill it up. A trip to Costco (American wholesale shop) to buy bulk meat, bread, toiletries, peanut butter and many other things. The trip proved to be a little too much, however, on the end of a busy week, we struggled to hold things together when we got home and this morning the boys are showing signs of tiredness.

Saturday
My ears continue to be a concern. At Costco yesterday my eustachian tube got stuck open at one point and my own voice echoed in my head so loud I could only whisper! Last night I had trouble sleeping on my other ear (the one that was good last week) due to pain. Thankfully they are taking it in turn, otherwise I'd have to sleep on my back - horrors! Headed back to the ENT this morning. Just after opening time, the doctor's schedule was already 2 hours full. It is truly first-in-best-dressed here in Japan, the land of no appointments for (most) doctors! Put my name in the line and came home for a couple of hours. That's it for today so far...more pending.

Phew - just recalling my week is truly exhausting. The trick is trying to find a balance. If we just stay at home and have quiet days (which we're really like to do) and the boys get bored. They have no back or front yard. No road to play on this time (last time we had a quiet road, quiet enough to draw in chalk on). It is, in fact, too hot to do much outside anyway. Only 4 1/2 more weeks until their teachers can have the task of filling up their days...