Right now

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

Reading:  I finished both "Becoming" by Michelle Obama and "I'd Rather Be Reading" by Anne Bogel while I was visiting my parents over Christmas & New Year's (reviews to come!). I closed out 2018 having read 27 books, 3 more than my Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge goal of 24 books!  I will be keeping the same goal for 2019, and started my first book of the year, "Trumpocracy" by David Frum, on the plane ride home yesterday. 

No recent-recent purchases to report... but between the two of us, dh & I have several bookstore gift cards burning holes in our wallets...! 

Watching:  We watched "Springsteen on Broadway" on Netflix just before we left for Christmas holidays. Well worth your while (& much cheaper -- and easier to access -- than an actual ticket to his now-closed Broadway show, lol).  

I watched "Love, Gilda" on CNN last night -- & was reminded all over again how much I loved & miss Gilda Radner (& how I need to dig out her memoir again to re-read). (She & her husband, Gene Wilder, struggled to have children, before she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which ultimately killed her at the far-too-young age of 42.) Previous Gilda-related post here. 

Looking forward to the return of "Victoria" and "Finding Your Roots" within the next week or so on PBS, as well as "Three Identical Strangers" on CNN later this month!  

Listening:  To the "thump-thump-thumps" from our energetic young neighbours overhead, again. (insert eye roll icon here) School here doesn't start again until Monday, which was also obvious from the number of people at the restaurant, supermarket & bookstore this morning...!  Dh was suggesting a mall visit tomorrow, but I am sure it will be pretty busy there too, so we'll see...!    

Following: The World Junior Hockey Championships (underway in Vancouver & Victoria, B.C.) and Team Canada's progress -- albeit nowhere near as obsessively as some Canadians do, lol. ;)   World Juniors always starts on Boxing Day and runs into the early new year, & has become a post-Christmas Canadian ritual. 

Drinking/Eating: Lots of water. Very dry in here (humidity was just 27% when we returned last night!);  we need to get out our humidifier -- but first, we need to get a new filter for it -- or get a new humidifier, since this one (a Honeywell) is annoyingly LOUD (even though the box billed it as "quiet"). Any recommendations for a good humidifier that's not too noisy? (& preferably not too expensive -- someone recommended a Dyson to me, but YIKES, the price...!!) We had one attached to our furnace at the house, which worked really well, but that's obviously not an option here. 

Wearing:  My new yoga pants (a gift from my parents) & Christmas-y waffle-weave PJ top from Old Navy. (Being part Ukrainian, I figure I can get away with Christmas-y stuff for another few days, lol.)  

Buying (besides books, lol): Groceries, to restock our empty cupboards & refrigerator, lol.  We had to go out for brunch this morning, because there was absolutely nothing to eat in the house, and pretty much everything was closed when we got home last night (New Year's Day = stat holiday).  (For the record, I had waffles with strawberries & whipped cream -- yum!)  

Wanting: A decent night's sleep...!  

Contemplating: What I want to do to mark my upcoming birthday... 

Worrying:  About my parents... they are still doing pretty well, but they are definitely aging, & don't manage as easily as they used to, even just a few years ago. It is hard to watch, especially when we live so far away & there's so little we can do to help from this distance. :(  

Loving: Our travel experience yesterday (from my parents' house back home, via car & air).  It was a bit of a scramble to get up early(ish) & get ready to leave my parents' house for our mid-afternoon flight (my sister & her boyfriend drove us) -- but we made excellent time to the airport (it can take up to an hour & a half, depending on traffic, but we made it in just over an hour!). Once there, we sailed through check-in and security and got our pick of seats in the waiting area (although our flight was full), and our luggage arrived on the carousel almost as soon as we reached our destination -- we usually wind up waiting for a half hour or so, so we were shocked!! (& quite pleased!).   

Enjoying: Our (artificial) Christmas tree, for just a little bit longer... 

Feeling:  Still a bit tired & dazed from our trip, adjusting to being back home again & getting back into more of a regular routine. Grateful for being able to spend another Christmas with my family.