Right now

Right now...* 

*(an occasional (mostly monthly) meme, alternating from time to time with "The Current"). (Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first "The Current" post, here.)

Pandemic diary/update: January was month #46 (soon to be FOUR YEARS...!) since the COVID-19 pandemic began.  The cold I developed during the week between Christmas & New Year's Day lingered well into the month :p -- and then dh got it too. Ugh. Little Great-Nephew also came down with strep throat before the month ended (poor little guy!).  :(  

Nevertheless, we remain covid-free (knocking wood, loudly...), and continue to mask in stores and most other public places, especially where there are a lot of people. Maskers are in the minority these days hereabouts, but I've noticed more of us again over the past two months, with cases way up. I have heard that, in some areas, the latest wave is the second-largest of the entire pandemic to date (yikes!).  

January was a month of adjustment: It took me a good week or two to settle back into our regular routines and feel like I'd caught up on things that had piled up while we were away over Christmas. And after the bright lights & festivities of Christmas with my family, the (mostly) cloudy grey skies and chilly temperatures have been taking their (usual) toll on my emotional well-being...! 

Among other things this month, we: 

• Flew home from spending Christmas & New Year's Eve with my parents, sister & her partner, on New Year's Day (mid-afternoon, so we didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get to the airport...!). 
• Went with dh to the supermarket to restock the cupboards & fridge on the morning of Jan. 2nd, and to pick up takeout en route home on Jan. 20th.
• Went to BIL & SIL's house on Tuesday & Thursday, Jan. 2nd & 4th, to visit and see Little Great-Nephew, who was still on school vacation that week. 
• Celebrated my (63rd!!) birthday on Friday, Jan. 12th, with trips to the local art gallery and bookstore. 
• Had dinner with BIL & SIL at Younger Nephew's nearby townhouse on Monday, Jan. 15th (we walked over), with Little Great-Niece providing the entertainment. :)  
• Got haircuts in our old community on Friday Jan. 19th, and went to the mall there to shop and have an early lunch in the food court.  
• Had lunch with the nephews and their families at BIL's on Saturday, Jan. 20th, then headed across the city to visit stepMIL & family (for the first time in nearly a year -- erk!).  
• Went out shopping on Jan. 30th at Staples, Homesense, Dollarama and Sephora (where I picked up my birthday bonus gift!), and to the local mega-bookstore on Jan. 31st. 

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Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 4 books in January (reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2024 books").  

• "The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman. (Recommended by Nora McInerny of Terrible, Thanks for Asking.) (My review -- see also "Listening," below.) 
• "Anne's House of Dreams" by L.M. Montgomery, for my LMM Readathon Facebook group, starting Jan. 15th. This is one that's near & dear to many loss mothers' hearts, including mine. (My review.) 
• "Bel Lamington" by D.E. Stevenson, in advance of my DES group's chapter-by-chapter read & discussion, which began Jan. 18th. (My review.) 
• "Living the Life Unexpected" by Jody Day.  A re-read (for the 5th time, I think! -- second time with a group of other childless women within the private online Gateway/Lighthouse Women community, one chapter a month for an entire year). (My most recent review -- with links to previous reviews -- here.) 

This brings me to 4 books read so far in 2024, 9% of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books.  I am currently 1 book ahead of my goal.  :)

Current read(s): 

• "Best of Friends" by Kamila Shamsie (the February pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club). (Almost done this one!)
• "Bel Lamington" by D.E. Stevenson -- (re)reading and discussing, chapter-by-chapter, with my DES group, as of Jan. 18th. I'll count this as a re-read when we finish in April. (My original review here.) 
• "Anne's House of Dreams" by L.M. Montgomery, a re-read with my LMM Readathon Facebook group, which began Jan. 15th and will run over the next several months. (My original review here.) 
• "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (!). As I wrote here, I need another book club/readalong obligation like a hole in the head  ;)  but nevertheless, I'm taking part in a year-long readalong of this book, hosted by Simon at Footnotes and Tangents -- a chapter a day for a full year, which began Jan. 1, 2024. I got about 60 pages read one summer between university terms, about 40 years ago -- let's see how far I get this time around...!  Currently at about 11% read.  
• "Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantel.  Simon at Footnotes and Tangents is also hosting a full-year readalong of Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell Trilogy, which also began on Jan. 1st with "Wolf Hall" and a weekly schedule.  (Yes, I'm nuts...)  Currently at about 23% read. We're due to finish this one (and then begin "Bring Up the Bodies") in late April. 
• "L.M. Montgomery and Gender," an essay collection edited by E. Holly Pike & Laura Robinson. Slowly working my way through...! 

Coming up: Most of my book groups have their next reads plotted out for a few months in advance -- and listing them here helps me keep track of what I should be reading next. ;)  

• For my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club: 
• "The Improbability of Love" by Hannah Rothschild (April)
• "Queen High/Queen Wallis" by C.J. Carey (May -- my earlier review here). Sequel to "Widowland," which the group read in November 2021 (reviewed here).  Not sure if I'm going to do a re-read (of one or both?) before our discussion begins? 
• "All In" by Billie Jean King (June)
• For my D.E. Stevenson group:  This list of upcoming books should keep us busy through 2024, and well into 2025!  (A couple of the books are ones we covered when I first joined the group back in 2014 -- you know you've been around for a while when....!)  
• Fletcher’s End (sequel to "Bel Lamington," beginning in May) 
• Miss Buncle’s Book
• Peter West 
• Miss Buncle Married
• The Two Mrs Abbotts
• Crooked Adam 
• The Four Graces

• For the Notes from Three Pines (Louise Penny mysteries) Readalong: The last discussion was for book #3, "The Cruellest Month," posted June 7th -- no further posts/books since then.  I've continued dipping into the series on my own, between other book club obligations. Book #6, "Bury Your Dead," is on the horizon as one of my next reads...! 

A few recently purchased titles (mostly in digital format, mostly discounted ($5-10 or less) or purchased with points):  

• "O Caledonia" by Elspeth Barker
• "Real Self-Care" by Pooja Lakshmin 
• "Quit" by Annie Duke
• "Bogie & Bacall" by William J. Mann 
• "The Girl in the Middle" by Anais Granofsky (who played Lucy on "Degrassi Junior High" and "Degrassi High" in the 1980s & 90s). 
• "Blood" by Dr. Jen Gunter (paperback) 

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Watching: 

• Season 10 of "Finding Your Roots" on PBS. Some great guests so far, including Alanis Morrisette, Valerie Bertinelli, Brendan Fraser, Sammy Hagar and Bob Odenkirk (to name a few). 
• Figure skating:  Canadian national championships from Calgary on the weekend of Jan. 13th via livestream (mentioned here), and then the U.S. Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, on the weekend of Jan. 26th on NBC (while dh was watching NFL football...!). 

Listening:

To a couple of podcasts (yay! -- I'm WAY behind!): 

• New Legacy Radio, with Stella Duffy speaking about menopause (Jan. 16th episode), and Dr. Erin Conner about pronatalist workplace culture (Jan. 23rd, repeat episode). 
• The Terrible Reading Club, December 2023 episode, with Nora McInerny talking to Becca Freeman about her new novel, "The Christmas Orphans Club" (see "Reading," above for links to the book and to my review!).
• "Terrible, Thanks for Asking,"  also with Nora McInerny. I finally got around to listening to the Aug. 15th (2023) episode, "Still a Family," about a couple whose infertility journey ended without a child.  It's a tough listen (have kleenex handy), but it's also wonderful for a CNBC story to get this kind of recognition. 

To Heardle Decades: Stats as of  Jan. 31st:   

• Heardle 60s:  76.7% (371/484, 160 on first guess), down just slightly from the same as last month. Max. streak: 15.
• Heardle 70s:  82.5% (189/229, 103 on the first guess), up from last month. Max. streak: 18. (I TIED my past streak of 18, two days ago -- but lost out before I could surpass it. Curse you, "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk!  lol)(I've heard the song before, but the opening seconds had me stumped...!) 
• Heardle 80s: 44.6% (45/101,  19 on the first guess), down from last month. Max. streak: 4. 
• Heardle 90s: 31.5% (68/216, 14 on the first guess), down from last month. Max. streak: 4. 

Following: The discussions on "War & Peace" in Footnotes & Tangents' Substack Chats. They add so much to the experience & my enjoyment of the book! 

Eating/Drinking:  Since returning home from Christmas holidays, takeout dinners have included our favourite wood oven pizza, pasta, veal & chicken cutlet sandwiches, chicken fingers and fries. 

We had sausages, potatos & peppers (dh's favourite) at Younger Nephew's townhouse, on Jan. 15th. :)  And takeout Portuguese chicken with rice and roasted potatos for lunch at BIL's on Jan. 20th. 

Crockpot chicken and dumplings, which we have year round, but tastes especially good at this time of year...!  (Not sure if I've shared this recipe here before, but I'm sharing it now/again!)  Generally love it, but the first time we tried this, it was WAY too salty, so (recipe instructions to the contrary), we now use reduced-sodium soup & broth, and have cut way back on the added salt. We use a bag of miniature carrots (cut into smaller pieces) and frozen peas for the veggies, and Pillsbury Country Biscuits for the dumplings, chopped into small pieces. (My parents don't use all the biscuits in the can, and bake a couple of them to eat with the meal.)  We use two chicken breasts for dh & me, and usually have lots of leftovers!   

Buying (besides books, lol):  Some paper and ink for my printer from Staples.  Some goodies for Little Great-Nephew and Little Great-Niece for Valentine's Day & Easter, while at the dollar store  :)  and a couple of books for them at the mega-bookstore.  A new kind of lip balm to try (La Neige, grapefruit flavour) from Sephora. And I just ordered a "mystery bag" from my favourite local sterling silver jewelry maker -- four or five pieces of sterling silver jewelry, $250 value for $100. Can't wait to see what I get...! 

Wearing: The more explicitly holiday-themed waffle-weave PJ tops from Old Navy in my collection have been put away, but I'm still wearing some of the more winter-y designs :) (and other long-sleeved T-shirts in my collection). Generally too cool inside for shorter sleeves yet!  

Noticing:  How out of shape I am!! while speedwalking through the bitter cold over to Younger Nephew's townhouse, about 5 minutes away from us, on Jan. 15th. (I know the cold didn't help matters... but... yikes!)

Enjoying: Reading "War and Peace"!!  (See "Reading," above.)(Who would have thought??)    

Trying:  To stay warm, amid chilly temperatures! (Although it hasn't been quite as cold here as it's been out west...! -- and it's turned milder again these past few days...)  

Appreciating:  Since we got back from Christmas, BIL has seemed more like his old self than he has in at least a year.  So long as his doctors approve (and there doesn't seem to be any reason why they wouldn't), he's planning on returning to work soon. He hopes to put in a couple more years before he retires. (Silly boy, lol -- he probably could have stayed on disability and then segued into his pensions when he turned 65 -- but we're so grateful that he feels able to do that!)  

Wanting: To get to a couple more stores in the next little while to take advantage of the birthday offers/discounts I received via email, before they expire.  :)  

Wondering:  What's being planned for Little Great-Niece's FIRST first birthday at the end of February?  (That year went by fast! -- only wish we'd been able to see more of her...!) 

Prioritizing: Not sure -- so many things competing for my attention right now...!  

Hoping: That February will be less grey & dreary (but I doubt it...!).  

Loving:  Any time we can spend with Little Great-Nephew (and now Little Great-Niece too). :)  Feels like we don't see enough of the little guy since he started school last fall. :(  

Feeling:  Tired of winter already (with February still to come...!).  Dreading the coming months, as the U.S. election cycle launches into full swing... :p  (Appreciating our much-shorter Canadian election cycles...!)