Saturday, February 1, 2025

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.)

January was COLD, GREY, LONG -- and all over the place -- a month of mostly muddling through! We returned to the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) from spending Christmas holidays with my family in Manitoba on Jan. 5th.  It took us well over a week to start to feel settled back into our usual routines -- and in some respects, I feel like I STILL don't quite have a handle on everything I should. 

Pandemic diary/update: January was month #58 since the covid pandemic began in March 2020 (now in Year FIVE, going on SIX). :(   We (still!) remain covid-free (so far as we know... knocking wood, loudly...).  We continue to mask in stores, malls and (most) other such indoor public spaces hereabouts, especially if/when there are lots of people around. (Well, I do -- I know dh has been slacking off, whenever I'm not around to hand him a mask...!)  We've seen a few more people in masks lately too -- we're still very much in the minority, of course, but it does help me feel a bit less like an odd duck! 

Among other things we did this month, we: 
  • Celebrated the new year while still visiting my parents in Manitoba. 
  • Celebrated my mom's 84th birthday while we were there. (It was actually just after we came back home, but we got a cake and invited Parents' Neighbours' Daughter and her family, as well as a few neighbours, to come over on Saturday night, Jan. 4th.)  
  • Flew home to Toronto (Jan. 5th). 
  • Went with dh to the supermarket to load up on groceries and restock our rather bare cupboards and refrigerator! (Jan. 6th) 
  • Took down the Christmas tree & decorations. (Jan. 7th) (The boxes are still sitting in our spare room/office, waiting to be taken back down to our storage locker...!)  
  • Went for my twice-postponed (from Dec. 10th and then Dec. 18th!) dental checkup and cleaning in midtown Toronto. (Jan. 8th)
  • Celebrated my 64th (!) birthday! (Jan. 12th)  We didn't do much, but BIL & SIL dropped by for coffee, bearing panettone & some gifts. My mom & sister called, and I got lots of birthday wishes on Facebook & WhatsApp. (I know I've said this before, but... next year, the beach!!  lol)  
  • Went to the mall for the first time since before Christmas, for a few hours of walking & shopping (Jan. 14th). (Had lunch when we got home again.) 
    • Returned to the mall on Jan. 21st and 29th. 
  • Did some shopping at the bookstore, two women's clothing stores, the supermarket and drugstore (picked up a prescription)(Jan. 15th). 
  • Had an enjoyable lunch at BIL's on Jan. 19th with his & dh's uncle & aunt, cousin & his wife (the ones with the cottage we've been to the past several September/Octobers). 
  • Drove up to Older Nephew's house on Jan. 25th to (finally!!) meet Little Great-Nephew #2, 5 weeks old.  :)  And see Little Great-Nephew #1, Older Nephew and his wife too!  :)  BIL & SIL drove up and joined us later (and SIL took over holding the baby for the rest of the time we were there...!), and we all had a good visit. 
    • Still have not seen Little Great-Niece since we got back (since LGN#1's birthday party in mid-November, to be precise) -- even though they live just a few minutes' walk away from us.  :(  
  • Went to the nearby lab on the morning of Jan. 28th for repeat bloodwork, four months after our most recent bloodwork (in mid-September) and three months after our family doctor warned us (back in mid-October) about our rising cholesterol levels and told us he'd have to put us both on medication if our results didn't improve. We've made a concerted effort since then to improve our diet and increase our activity levels at least a bit. 
    • We repeated our bloodwork earlier this week, on Jan. 28th, and by the next morning, both of us had our results: all the numbers (except one in dh's report) were back within normal range. What a relief!!    
    • By the end of this month,  I'd lost more than 8 pounds since mid-October (and more than 20 from my highest-ever weight), and dh was down more than 14 (isn't that always the way??). He's able to fit back into his old jeans again (a size smaller than the ones he'd been wearing)!  

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Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 3 books in January (all reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2025 books"):  
This brings me to 3 books read in 2025 to date, 7% of my 2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) on track to meet my goal.  :) 

Current reads: 
  • "The Mad Woman's Ball" by Victoria Mas -- the March book for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club. 
  • "The Siege of Krishnapur" by J. G. Farrell -- the first new Footnotes and Tangents slow readalong for 2025, which started Jan. 13th, for 9 weeks. Currently 29% completed. 
  • "Peter West" by D.E. Stevenson -- the one DES book my group has NOT read together, in its 25+ years of existence! I read this in advance of our group read, which began Jan. 13th and runs through late March. Currently 35% completed. I'll count this one as a re-read when we're done. (2-2.5 stars; my review.)  
  • "Anne of Windy Poplars" by L.M. Montgomery (called "Anne of Windy Willows" in the U.K., with some text variations). My L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook group started reading & discussing this book together today (Jan. 6th). This will be our last book with our wonderful administrator of the past five (!) years, Andrea, who is moving on to other projects. I just (re)read this one right at this time last year, so I chose not to read it through (again) on my own first (as I normally would), but I will count this one as a re-read when we're done. (My previous review here.) Currently 22% completed. 
  • "Living the Life Unexpected" by Jody Day.  I'm once again taking part in a chapter-by-chapter group read of this CNBC classic!  The most recent Zoom meeting covered Chapter 6.  This is the 5th (!) time I've read this book, or the earlier version of it ("Rocking the Life Unexpected").  (Most recent review, with links to earlier reviews, here.)  
  • "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...! 
Re: "Krishanpur" -- I started the year fully intending to repeat last year's two slow readalongs at Footnotes and Tangents -- "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy and the Cromwell trilogy of books by Hilary Mantel. I was on a reading high, and wasn't ready to let go of the great experience I'd had there. 

Alas, unlike last year, I very quickly fell behind on W&P -- and never got started on "Wolf Hall."  (So far??)  I find I'm struggling a bit with my other book club obligations (already!), let alone reading new stuff I'd like to tackle too. I figure that I DID read it once, and that's a pretty damned great accomplishment -- and I AM doing "Krishnapur," and I intend to do the three other new slow reads Simon has planned for this year too (see below). 

For now, I've removed both books from my "current reads" list. If/when I manage to catch up, I'll add them back! 

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. ;)  
(Simon is a big fan of the late great Hilary Mantel, and the other books he's selected were all books that she loved, so he figured they would probably be worth reading!) 

A few recently purchased titles (aside from the first three as noted, mostly in digital format, mostly discounted ($5-10 or less) or purchased with points):   


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Watching:  
  • Dh & I don't watch a lot of series TV -- but when we were with my family over the holidays, my sister mentioned they have been enjoying "Only Murders in the Building." I've heard other good things about it (and you can't beat that cast! -- Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez) -- but I was under the impression that it was only available through a streaming service -- Disney+ in Canada, Hulu in the U.S. (and I am reluctant to subscribe to another streaming service, since I make so little use of our Netflix subscription...!).  
    • Then I discovered that they are showing a past season (currently season 2) on Thursday nights on CTV. I watched two episodes, back to back earlier this month, and enjoyed them tremendously!  I've missed the episodes aired since then, but may try to catch up on CTV's website online.  Anyone else watching this one? 
  • A new season of "Finding Your Roots" on PBS. 
  • Figure skating!  
    • The Canadian Figure Skating Championships from Laval, Quebec (Jan. 17th-19th) -- streaming on my laptop, as (once again!) there was NO TV network coverage this year (!). :(  
    • The U.S. nationals, from Wichita, Kansas, on the weekend of Jan. 24th -26th. I managed to watch part of the live coverage of the women's free skate on Friday night on NBC, and the men's free program on Sunday afternoon. 
      • When I heard about the plane collision over the Potomac River in Washington DC on Wednesday night, and that the plane was coming from Wichita, I thought about the skating but thought everyone would have gone home by then. Unfortunately not. :(  
    • The European championships are on this weekend in Tallinn, Estonia. Haven't checked yet, but hopefully there will be some TV coverage! 
  • Too much NFL football!  :p  (lol)  (as I ranted here! lol) 
Listening: We've added the 80s Stingray music channel to our regular listening roster, and have been enjoying that! :) (My Heardle 80s:scores could use some improvement! lol -- see below!) 

Playing:  
  • Heardle Decades: Stats as of Jan. 31st: 
    • Heardle 60s: 76.7% (633/825, 249 on first guess), up 0.2% from last month. Max. streak: 15.
    • Heardle 70s: 77.6% (436/562, 246 on first guess), down 0.8% from last month. Max. streak: 18. 
    • Heardle 80s: 39.6% (173/437, 65 on first guess), up 0.2% from last month. Max. streak: 4. 
    • Heardle 90s: 29.3% (158/539, 33 on first guess), up 0.5% from last month. Max. streak: 5. 
  • NYT Connections:  
    • By Jan. 5th, I'd completed 161 games and won 81% of them, including 78 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors. I maintained my maximum winning streak of 15.  :) 
    • By Jan. 31st, I'd completed 187 games and won 80% of them, including 89 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors and a maximum winning streak of 15.  :)   
(Un)Following:  Blocking anyone I don't know who follows me on BlueSky (most of them men with suspiciously similar profiles....). Gradually checking out the accounts I follow on Twitter/X to see whether they're on BlueSky or Threads and following them there. Once I'm satisfied I have my favourites over there, I'm exiting the cesspool.  ;)  I'm rarely on there as it is, and while I've "liked" and reposted others' posts, I've never (or very rarely) responded, and I don't think I've ever posted anything there myself either. 

Eating/Drinking:  
  • We continued our efforts to eat healthier (as mentioned above) -- and it's paid off, in terms of both our cholesterol numbers and the numbers on the scale!  We haven't been complete angels by any means (and I don't think we really deprived ourselves over Christmas!) -- there's lots of room for improvement! -- but since mid/late October, we've been making a conscious effort to reduce our portion sizes, cut back on fatty & processed foods (fewer casseroles, more chicken and beans/lentils), eat more fruits, vegetables and fibre, snack less (and make better snacking choices), and be at least a little more active.   
  • Pre-pandemic, we'd go out to a restaurant for a nice dinner on my birthday. We haven't been eating out in restaurants much since the pandemic began -- and because I knew we'd be doing new bloodwork shortly, I resisted the temptation to order something too caloric for takeout. We wound up getting thin crust wood oven takeout pizzas (eaten over two dinners), which I figured was one of the lesser of evil choices.  ;)  
    • BIL & SIL visited that day and brought some mini-panettones in different flavours. SIL & I shared one over tea -- salted caramel.  Maybe not low-cal, but yummy! 
  • Older Nephew's Wife made delicious homemade pizzas when we were there last weekend  -- they were warm out of the oven when we got there! and I'll admit I indulged in quite a few pieces while we were there! She is a great cook! :)  and she always has a tomato-free option for me. :)  
Buying (besides books, lol):  Clothes for the great-niblings. I also ordered some stuff I need from Estee Lauder & Clinique, cashing in on some birthday offers.  

Wearing:  Long sleeves (and sometimes a cardigan on top), yoga pants, socks AND slippers inside the house. It was cold enough when we walked over to the blood lab the other morning that I wore my heavy winter jacket (which I bought when we were still working and commuting -- and waiting for the train on frigid winter mornings in unheated shelters! -- these days, I mostly just wear it when go to Manitoba at Christmastime!), scarf and tuque (knitted cap)(Note: Canadians do NOT call them "beanies"!!). If we're just going to the mall or supermarket, I'll wear my lighter-weight down jacket and sometimes a knitted headband that covers my ears, while we're outside. (And gloves, of course. I have a pair of thermal-lined Isotoners that I love.)  

Enjoying:  The photos of Little Great-Nephew #2 that his mom is posting on social media. (Still not enough of them, though!  lol)  He just turned 6 weeks old!  :)  

Appreciating:  Having a nice clean house for the weekend! (Weekends don't mean quite the same thing when you're retired -- but I still enjoy having all the laundry & cleaning done by Friday afternoon, so the weekend is free!)  

Noticing:  I'm not getting as winded, as quickly, lately, when we're out walking.  I can't say we've been great about regular exercise, but we have been trying to move a little more, and to get to the mall to walk around (and shop of course! lol), at least once a week. 

Prioritizing: Muddling through the month as best I can...!  

Trying: To let things slide a little more, when it comes to keeping on top of the news and all the notifications on my phone, newsletters flooding into my email inbox, etc.  I'm still very much a news junkie, and we still tend to have the news channels on way too much at our house ;)  -- but I've decided that so long as I know the major headlines and facts, I don't need to read/know Every. Little. Thing. (Especially right now, with You-Know-Who in charge in the U.S. now...!).  

On top of the U.S. political news, here in Canada/Ontario, with a (unnecessary, IMHO) early provincial election campaign underway, a federal Liberal leadership race underway and (no doubt) a federal election to follow shortly (the government is in a minority position and the Opposition parties are itching for a fight). It's all way too much...!  

Anticipating/Bracing for: The stiff new 25% tariffs being imposed today by the new U.S. government. (This is how you treat your longtime closest ally, neighbour and trading partner, America?? What about the free trade agreement that we renegotiated during the Orange One's last term, at his demand?)  They will be devastating for our economy here, absolutely no doubt about that. :(   But there's also no doubt that the American consumer is going to feel the pain as well, in the form of price increases and potential retaliatory tariffs imposed by our own government. 

(Canadians have a reputation for niceness -- but have you ever watched us play hockey??  ;)  ) 

Wondering:  How soon it will be before we start feeling the impact? 

Loving: Any time we get to spend with the great-niblings,,, just wish it was more often!

Wanting/Hoping: To see more of the great-niblings than we have lately.   

Feeling: Still somewhat tired from December, somewhat scattered. Not really looking forward to February (my least favourite month/more winter...!).   
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