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.)

July was mostly HOT AND HUMID, both here in the Toronto area and in Manitoba, where we spent two weeks visiting my parents.  And unfortunately, the air conditioning in our building wasn't working consistently for more than a week, early in the month -- and then, once we got to my parents' house, we had to battle my mother over keeping the a/c on! (Arrrrggggghhhh...)   

It was a busy month with lots of socializing and visiting! both here and in Manitoba.  

Pandemic diary/update: July was month #52 since the advent of covid in March 2020 -- now in Year FIVE. :(   And we continued to hear about people we know -- at least three or four that I can think of, just this month -- who came down with covid, a couple of them for the first time, others on their second, third or fourth round. 

We (still!) remain covid-free (knocking wood, loudly...), and we continue to mask in stores, malls and (most) other indoor public spaces hereabouts, especially where there are a lot of people around. (Well, I do -- I know dh has been slacking off again, whenever I'm not around to hand him a mask...!)  

That said -- I will admit I really slacked off on the mask wearing myself when I was visiting my parents. I didn't see ANYONE in the small town where they live wearing a mask anywhere, and there were very few at the mall and in the stores I went to in Winnipeg with my sister one day. None of the places we went there were very crowded, though -- and we weren't out of the house a whole lot -- and the ventilation/air circulation seemed pretty good. (And I must admit, it was nice to feel "normal" again.)  We most certainly did mask at the airport and on the plane, coming and going (among the very few we saw who did)(although we did remove them to eat and take a sip of water now & then). (I don't think I'll ever NOT wear a mask on a flight again!)  

Among other outings this month, we: 

• Went to Best Buy for a new phone charging cord, and to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, on July 1st (Canada Day -- these stores were open, albeit on holiday hours).  
• Stayed with Little Great-Nephew for a few hours on July 2nd and again on July 4th. He was supposed to start day camp on July 2nd, but had an ear infection and was running a mild temperature. His mom took July 2nd (and 3rd) off work to stay with him, but had a medical appointment, and had to return to work on July 4th. BIL & SIL are both back at work (BIL just part-time for now), so guess who got to step in??  (We went to BIL's house, since LGN is comfortable there and has a large collection of toys there to keep him occupied...!)  
• Returned to our old community for haircuts at the mall on July 5th, followed by lunch and walking/shopping, and then a visit to Katie at the cemetery before we drove home. 
• Celebrated our anniversary on July 6th with a barbecued lunch at BIL & SIL's, with LGN in attendance. :)  Got takeout for dinner, and went out for gelato afterward.  :)  
• Went to the mall for walking, shopping and lunch (pizza) on July 9th, and again on July 31st.   
• Brought BIL & SIL their birthday gifts (since we were going to be away for both of their birthdays) on July 10th, along with cupcakes to celebrate BIL's "second birthday" -- marking one year since his successful liver transplant!  
• Flew to Manitoba to visit my family on July 13th! (and then home again on July 28th).   Among other things while we were there, we:  
• Played cards every single night. :)  
• Completed two jigsaw puzzles (mostly when my sister & her partner were back in the city, which freed up table space, lol). 
• Were royally entertained by Little Princess #3 (soon to be 1 year old!), whose mom (Parents' Neighbours' Daughter/PND) brought her over to visit at least every other day. Her two older sisters (soon to be 13 & 10!!) came a couple of times too. 
• Went grocery shopping, to the drugstore and to the bargain store in my parents' town. 
• Went to a mall and a couple of other stores in the city for a few hours one morning with my sister to shop for a new dress and makeup. (She had a job interview!)  
• Took a road trip to another small town about 40 minutes away to pick up a new over-the-range microwave oven for my parents, after their old one died shortly before we arrived. (They bought it FORTY (40!) YEARS AGO, shortly after they moved into this house!) My sister researched models and prices, but there were none to be had in the city, and ordering one online would have taken two weeks. But there was one in stock at the hardware store in this town!  (An electrician -- the son of one of Dad's former coworkers -- came two days later to install it.)  
• Celebrated my dad's 85th birthday!  We invited PND & her family as well as several of the neighbours for cake & coffee in the back yard on a very hot, humid day!  (My parents also marked their 64th (!) wedding anniversary a few days later.) 
• Visited with a cousin who drove up from Mom's hometown in Minnesota for the afternoon (about a 90 minute/2-hour drive one way, depending on time at the border crossing). 
• Visited with an old friend who drove out from the city for the afternoon to see me. 
• Ate at a new bistro/cafe in town, three times (!) -- once for dinner on Dad's birthday, and twice for lunch, first with Mom & the visiting cousin and second with my friend  from the city. (See "Eating," below.)  
• Went to the local drive-in for ice cream twice.  :)  (See "Eating," below.)  
• Went with dh to the supermarket on Monday to restock the cupboard & fridge. 

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Also right now:  

Reading: I didn't have as much time to read as I would have liked this month. I was having trouble keeping up with all my book club/readalong obligations!  

I finished 2 books in July (reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2024 books").  

• "You Are Here" by David Nicholls. (My review.) 
• "Bring Up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel (book #2 in the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy) -- part of a year-long "slow readalong" hosted by Simon at Footnotes and Tangents.  We started April 29th and finished in mid-July, then started reading #3 in the series, "The Mirror and the Light (see below)."  (My review.) 

This brings me to 22 books read so far in 2024, 49% of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books.  I am currently 4 books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(   

Current read(s): 

• "Swing Time" by Zadie Smith (the August selection for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club). (Currently about 40% through.)  
• "The Mirror and the Light"  by Hilary Mantel (book #3 in the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy)   -- part of a year-long "slow readalong" hosted by Simon at Footnotes and Tangents.  We started during the week of July 21st; currently at about 5% read, and will finish at the end of December. 
• "Magic for Marigold" by L.M. Montgomery, with my L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook Group. We began our group read/discussion on July 1st and will run through late September. I will count this as a re-read once we're finished.  Currently about 32% read. (My original review.) 
• "Fletcher’s End" by D.E. Stevenson, with my DES group -- a sequel to "Bel Lamington." Our group read started May 20th and will run through mid-September -- currently at 66% read. (My original review.) 
• "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. (And I'm really enjoying it!)  Currently at about 64% read.  
• "L.M. Montgomery and Gender," an essay collection edited by E. Holly Pike & Laura Robinson. Slowly working my way through, in between the other books...! 

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: 
• "Code Name Helene" by Ariel Lawhon (September). 
• "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (October) (a Barren Bitches Book Tour selection from October 2008, the early days of this blog! -- discussed here;  related post here). 
• "Persuasion" by Jane Austen (November). 
• "The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman (reviewed here).  (December) 
• For my D.E. Stevenson group:  This list of upcoming books should keep us busy well into 2025 or even 2026!  (A couple of the books are ones we covered shortly after I first joined the group back in 2014 -- you know you've been around for a while when....!)  
• Miss Buncle’s Book (likely beginning September/October 2024;  original 2015 review here).  
• Peter West 
• Miss Buncle Married (original 2015 review here).
• The Two Mrs. Abbotts (original 2015 review here).
• Crooked Adam 
• The Four Graces (original 2015 review here). 

• For the Notes from Three Pines (Louise Penny mysteries) Readalong: The last discussion was for book #3, "The Cruellest Month," posted in June 2023 (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 the next one on my to-read list! 
• Others I want to read soon: 
• "Moonflower Murders" by Anthony Horowitz. The TV version is starting on PBS on Sept. 15th, and I want to have the book read by then. (I PVRd the adaptation of the first book in the series, "Magpie Murders," because I hadn't read the book yet -- and then lost all my PVRd stuff when we got a new modem last fall!  I did eventually read the book, reviewed here.)   
• "The Marlow Murder Club" by Robert Thorogood. Also being adapted for viewing on PBS sometime this fall.  

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

• "Twilight of American Sanity" by Allen Francis
• "Off the Record" by Peter Mansbridge 
• "X-Ray" by Ray Davies 
• "The Mystery Guest" by Nita Prose 
• "Outofshapeworthlessloser" by Gracie Gold 
• "The Kingdom, the Power and the Glory" by Tim Alberta 
• "Rules for Visiting" by Jessica Francis Kane
• "Long Island" by Colm Toibin 
• "Real Americans" by Rachel Khong
• "Paper Trails" by Roy MacGregor
• "Doppelganger" by Naomi Klein 
• "One Way Back" by Christine Blasey Ford 
• "The War We Won Apart" by Nahlah Ayed 

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Watching:  The Olympics from Paris. The spectacular opening ceremony last weekend brightened a very dreary, hot and humid day while at my parents' house!  I especially love watching the swimming events... and the diving... and the rowing (although it's mostly on in the middle of the night, my time!)... and track and field...!  

 

(As an aside:  while watching the men's 200m breaststroke final yesterday, one of the Canadian TV announcers mentioned Victor Davis, one of Canada's all-time great swimmers, who won gold in that event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. I was reminded that when I first started working at my longtime job a few years after that, in 1986, one of my coworkers was an elite swimmer (he was supposed to have competed at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, which were ultimately boycotted) -- and apparently, not long before I joined, he had brought Victor to a staff party. Victor was a very good-looking, charismatic guy -- and of course, he had that amazing swimmer's body ;)  -- and months later, my female coworkers were still drooling, lol.  Sadly, he died a few years later in 1989 at the far-too-young age of 25 in a hit and run incident, not long after retiring from competitive swimming. (The driver ultimately served four months in prison.) )  

Listening:  To Heardle Decades: Stats as of  July 31st:   

• Heardle 60s: 76.3% (506/663, 203 on first guess), same as last month. Max. streak: 15.
• Heardle 70s: 80.3% (323/402, 184 on first guess), down 0.3% from last month. Max. streak: 18. 
• Heardle 80s: 43.3% (119/275, 45 on first guess), up 0.9% from last month. Max. streak: 4. 
• Heardle 90s: 25.5% (98/385, 19 on first guess), down 0.5% from last month. Max. streak: 4. 

Following:  Not sure this counts as "following," but (along with Heardle, above) I've started playing Connections in the New York Times every morning (just like some people do Wordle!).  A cousin of my mom's has added me to a Facebook group where everyone posts their daily results. I post to my own page whenever I get a perfect game ;)  but that definitely does not happen every day...!  

Eating/Drinking:  The usual takeout lunches and dinners here at home, including takeout chicken madeira rigatoni from Moxie's on our wedding wedding anniversary (July 6th). 

We had dinner at BIL's with his & dh's cousin, his wife and their son just before we left for Manitoba.  (BIL barbecued.)  

While visiting my parents, we had dinner several times from the local congregate meals program for seniors (subsidized by the provincial government):  the menu changes from day to day, but always includes meat, starch (rice, potatos, pasta, etc.), veggies/salad, dessert and a freshly baked dinner roll -- all for $7.50 (Canadian).  It's a well balanced, tasty meal (perhaps a little bland for dh's liking, but really, it's just fine) -- and you certainly can't beat the price!  You can eat in a congregate setting, have the meals delivered (like Meals on Wheels) or pick them up (which is what my dad prefers to do).  

Dad barbecued steaks and potatos while we were there (yum! -- not having been there in the summertime since 2019, I have missed that! -- and he's still got the touch...!), made a ham, a roast beef and a pork tenderloin (on three different nights, obviously, lol -- and we ate leftovers for the next few days, for both lunch and dinner). (He does most of the cooking there these days.)  

We also had dinner once and lunch twice at a new bistro/cafe in town. I had grilled Caesar wraps twice (not bad), and chicken fingers/strips another time (both times with fries). Not great, but not bad either. 

And we went for ice cream twice at the local drive-in restaurant, a local landmark that's been operating for more than 60 (!) years (albeit the original owners sold it a few years ago). Mom loves to go there -- she would go every night, if she could get someone to take her! -- albeit I think she enjoys the people watching even more than the ice cream...! 

Buying (besides books, lol):  Not much!  

• Early in the month, I bought a new charging cord for my cellphone, since my old one was wearing a bit. 
• I ordered a new Filofax 2025 diary/week on two pages datebook insert from Amazon before we left on vacation. It was waiting in the mailbox for me when we got back home. 
• I bought new henley linen-blend T-shirts at Banana Republic for both dh and BIL (for his birthday), again before we left on vacation. 
• Dh ruined his canvas deck shoes, mowing the lawn for my dad several times while we were there (the teenager they usually pay to do it was on holiday in Germany), so we went to the mall yesterday and bought him a new pair of casual shoes from Skechers. 

Wearing: Lots of shorts and tank tops -- as I said, it's been very hot & humid!  

Loving:  The ribbed cotton tops I bought at the Gap outlet store last month. They're sleeveless with a v-neck and polo collar. I bought one in blue first and loved it so much I went back and got three more, in white, pink and black!  (I think the only colour I didn't buy was the green one!) And I have worn them all a lot, all month!  

Noticing:  A soft, low-level hum/hissing in my left ear, ever since we got back home from out west. It's not BAD, but it's noticeable, especially when it's quiet around me (at night when I'm trying to fall asleep, for example). I'm hoping it's a temporary after-effect from flying, and that my ear will soon "pop" and return my hearing to normal. (Dh has lived with tinnitis for decades.)  

Trying:  To be patient with my uber-controlling, aging parents... remembering that so many of my friends have lost parents in recent years, and would give anything to trade places with me. 

Prioritizing: Staying cool! and not pushing myself too much since we got back home earlier this week. 

Appreciating:  Air conditioning! 

Wondering:  How is it August already?? 

Wanting: A day that's not too hot, humid, sunny, rainy or busy (lol -- I'm not asking for much, am I??) so that I can get out on the balcony and wash the balcony door/windows!  The other windows got washed by professional window washers just before we left for Manitoba (and they look great!), but they will not come onto the balcony -- those windows (plus the insides of all the windows) are our responsibility. They're currently filthy, and driving me crazy...!  

Hoping:  That I'll find my reading mojo again, soon...!  And that it won't be too long before we next see the nephews and their kids. 

Enjoying:  Checking out the new/most recent DNA matches for me, my mom & dh every day and trying to figure out how we're all related. (I get mired in some pretty deep rabbit holes some days...!  lol  -- but it's fun!)  

Feeling: (Still!) Very tired from our trip, and trying to get back into the swing of things hereabouts. A little disbelieving that it's August, already -- and that August 7th is just around the corner (for the 26th!! time!!).