Shoes!

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

I got to sleep in, which was wonderful. I spent the morning cleaning, as usual. I swept my floor, threw out my garbage, mopped, wiped down the tatami AND did laundry. Three loads of laundry!

I had some laundry still hanging out to dry (I love my new hangers!) when I started hearing thunder rolling over the mountains. So, I pulled in everything dry and resolved to watch very carefully. Eventually, it started raining and I ran out to move things. Elizabeth was out several decks down doing the same thing.

It was some of the most impressively loud thunder I've ever heard. It was very cool.

I then went shopping. I picked up some shoes for work. This took a while. I wandered around the store for a bit and resigned myself to the fact that none of the women's shoes fit. Then, the salesladies greeted me and were watching, so I motioned that my feet were too big, and the older of the two took charge of me and we went around. Apparently my feet are about size 25 centimeters, which is just shy of the LL women's size, but about a medium in Men's shoes. Frightening.

I eventually picked out a pair of men's shoes. They're black, and a bit sporty looking. In America, I think they'd pass for women's shoes.

I then went upstairs to check out this different hyaku-en shop, which does have a very different selection. If I want soaps, lotions or bath stuff, this is the place to go! I ended up picking up a bunch of stuff, including sun screen. This was harder. I found the right section, with many things labeled UV, but couldn't tell what was sunscreen. Eventually, I grabbed a sales girl and together we struggled through it. The bottle's TINY but it's a dollar, so that's okay. The one at the convenience store yesterday was the same size.

At home, I experimented with cooking tofu. I didn't like this recipe, so I won't be making it again, but it is consumable.

Had a nice long chat with my aunt Alice, her husband Aloysius, and their children, Alyce and Al.