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Thursday, November 2, 2017

Right now

Right now... (an occasional meme, alternating from time to time with "The Current"):

Reading:  I'm just finishing up "Victoria & Abdul" by Shrabani Banu, after recently seeing the movie, with Judi Dench (once again) playing Queen Victoria. Review to come, once I'm done, but overall I'm finding it fascinating & well researched. 

Not sure what I'll tackle next -- perhaps Margaret Atwood's "Alias Grace."  I have the new television miniseries  PVRd -- it's been playing on CBC over the past few weeks, and I understand it will be starting on Netflix soon too. 

Recent purchases (additions to the TBR pile....!):  
  • "Beartown" by Fredrik Backman (who also wrote "A Man Called Ove," also in my TBR pile & Netflix queue). 
  • "Munich" by Robert Harris. (I read "Fatherland" when it first came out in the early 1990s, & thought it was amazing.)  
  • "Our Souls at Night" by Kent Haruf... hoping to read it soon & then catch the new movie adaptation with Jane Fonda & Robert Redford on Netflix. 
  • "The Princess Diarist" by the late great Carrie Fisher, about her time as Star Wars's Princess Leia. 
  • And "Christmas at the Vinyl Cafe,"  a Christmas-themed short story collection from the late great Stuart McLean.  Sam & I loved listening to the Vinyl Cafe on Sunday mornings for many years, and were fortunate enough to attend several Christmas shows.  
(Doubting: Whether I am going to meet my goal of reading 24 books in 2017... although I still have a few weeks to go, & I usually manage to cram in a few books over the Christmas holidays...! I have finished 15 so far;  Goodreads helpfully informs that is 5 behind schedule...!)  

Watching:  The only sport that I really follow (& have since I was a kid) -- figure skating!!  Specifically the Grand Prix events -- Skate Canada last weekend, Cup of China this coming weekend. (I missed Rostelcomm Cup in Russia the weekend before last -- usually the series kicks off with Skate Canada or Skate America, right around now, so I was not prepared. We don't get a newspaper with the TV listings anymore, and I forgot to Google the fall skating events schedule in advance & mark them in my calendar, as I often do. Oh well, lots more to come...!)  

 Eating:  Very carefully these days, after one too many bouts of gallstone discomfort lately. :p  

 Considering: Having my gallbladder removed -- although I'm hoping to hold off until after Christmas, and possibly Younger Nephew's wedding in the spring... we'll see....

Drinking: Lots of tea. The cooler weather calls for it. :)  Chamomile tea or ginger ale, when my gallbladder starts acting up. 

Listening:   No current earworms to report. 

Wearing:  Yoga pants & socks inside, and long jeans, socks & shoes and my denim jacket outside, most days. By mid-October, I had sadly put away the capris & sandals in until the warmer weather returns. :(   

 Oh yes, and a couple of these amazingly soft plaid flannel shirts from American Eagle (like this one).  I used to wear a lot of plaid flannel shirts when I was a student & later a newlywed, and they seem to have made a resurgence lately. This is one fashion that I originally wore that I am happy to wear again (& don't feel ridiculous doing so).    

Buying (besides books, lol):  Now that the weather is getting colder & drier and we've got the balcony doors closed more often, I've been bringing out my essential oils diffuser again (from this Canadian retailer) and looking at more oil blends for it.  (Smelling great!)  I recently bought a couple of their rollerball remedies, including one that supposedly helps with hot flashes. Not sure whether it's really made a difference, but it does smell nice. 

 (I also just bought my first Christmas gifts this week... hoping not to leave it all to the last minute...!) 

 Wanting:  A new mouse for my laptop... mine seems to be dead (after 7 years). I am using dh's, which is newer but not much better. :p  I can't get the hang of using the touchpad for the life of me. Possibly a trip to Staples or Best Buy this afternoon...  

 (Still) wondering:  If/when Aunt Flo will make her next appearance. It's now day 89 -- my longest non-pregnancy cycle ever before this one was 69 days (the cycle before this one) -- so I am technically almost 1/4 of the way to 365 days = officially being in menopause. (And as I'm rapidly approaching my 57th (!!) birthday, can I say it's about frickin' time??) (I also can't help wondering how many of the weird things my body is experiencing right now can be attributed to midlife hormonal changes??) 

 Wishing: That I could have a few more decent nights of sleep than I've had lately...

Bracing: For the time change this weekend (fall back one hour)... it will be lighter outside in the mornings but darker much sooner in the afternoon. :p  

Loving:  Being retired and being able to sleep in (especially when I'm not sleeping very well these days...!).  My "On This Day" reminders from Facebook have been full of moaning & groaning about the year-end stress I regularly used to face at this time of year... so glad that is now someone else's problem!!  

 Feeling:  A little melancholy, now that the weather has turned colder and wetter... a little in awe that the year has flown by and that it's now November (!)... a little apprehensive that November (never my favourite month...!) is here... but looking forward to the Christmas season! 
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3 comments:

  1. MaliThursday, November 02, 2017 6:27:00 PM

    Unlike you I have no doubt over whether I will reach my Goodreads target. I won't! I increased my target this year, and have woefully failed. In fact, I'm only at 19, which must be my lowest number in years. I'm trying to fix that now, and have recently started listening to audiobooks! I'm going to write a post on that.

    Yay, 89 days!! And yes, the weird things your body is experiencing right now could indeed be hormonal changes. On the bright side, you've had years longer of estrogen, which benefits your bones, your skin, etc etc.

    I'm curious that you used the word "afternoon" rather than "evening" when talking about the time change. What time does it start to get dark post time change?

    I also cannot believe it is November. Argh.




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    1. loribethThursday, November 02, 2017 10:09:00 PM

      Re: darkness & the time change: I checked and (for example), tonight, the sunset here was just after 6 p.m. When we set our clocks back this weekend, sunset will be around 5 p.m., and by winter solstice in December (shortest day of the year), sunset will be around 4:45 p.m. When I was working, in the wintertime, it would be dark when we left home & got to work (around 7:30 a.m.), I'd be inside all day (& often nowhere near a window) & then it would be dark or almost dark by the time our train pulled out of the station around 5. I could go all week & not see the sun until the weekend! -- if there was any sun! The winters here are generally grey & slushy, and I find it all quite depressing sometimes. Where my parents live/where I grew up is further north (as well as further west), and it stays lighter longer. It can stay light until almost 10 o'clock in the summertime! The winters are generally colder & snowier than we get here, but it is also sunnier. People here think I'm nuts for saying this, but I will take -30C & sunshine over 0C, grey & slushy!

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    2. MaliFriday, November 03, 2017 6:39:00 PM

      Not too different from us then. In winter on the shortest day, sunset is around 5 pm. I wouldn't usually leave work (when I had fulltime work) till around 6 pm and so it was fully dark. We have daylight till 8 pm at the moment, and in midsummer till around 9.30, but it was light till almost 10 in the south where I grew up.

      I visited Amsterdam in December, and it was very gloomy and depressing, so I can understand why you would take colder weather with sun. We're lucky that we have lots of sun over the winter too. Mind you, I cannot even imagine -30C, no matter how hard I try!

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