Monday, June 1, 2026

Right now

Right now...* 

*(A (mostly) monthly series/meme.  Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first (similar) "The Current" post, here.)

May was yet another (very!) busy month. (How is it possible that we're almost halfway through the year already?) 

Some of the things I/we did this month include: 

  • Went to the bank for some cash, and the drugstore to pick up a prescription for dh. (May 1st) 
  • Shopped for groceries at the supermarket and picked up some takeout soup or pizza slices there for lunch. (May 4th & 25th.) 
  • Walked and shopped at the local mall with dh. (May 5th)  
  • Dropped off some dead batteries in the recycle bin at Canadian Tire, and had a browse at the bookstore. (May 8th) 
  • Visited my dad in Manitoba (May 9th-24th). I'm hoping to write more about this trip in a separate post(s) soon, but in summary:  While there, we worked with my sister & her partner to continue to clear out the house (which has been sold -- closing date July 2nd) and move Dad over to his new apartment and get him settled in there (same town). Sorted through decades and decades of STUFF, not only mine and my parents' but my grandparents', great-grandparents and even a few things from my great-great grandmother, dating back to the late 1800s/early 1900s!  Yikes!  
    • We also took my dad to a hospital in a (larger) nearby town for a CT scan (mostly positive results), and also drove with him (through a dust storm!!) about an hour away to do some banking in the town where we'd lived, 1976-80, and where my sister and I graduated from high school. I hadn't been back there in DECADES, and it was quite a blast from the past to drive past our old house, the schools I attended and other familiar landmarks...!  Lots of changes, but also a lot that was recognizable!  
  • Picked up prescriptions at the drugstore (May 26th). 
  • Indulged in a manicure/pedicure, and then went to the supermarket to pick up some supplies for the weekend (May 28th).
  • Headed up to dh's cousin's cottage for the weekend (May 29th-31st), where we've spent a weekend each September/October for the past several years with the cousin, his wife, BIL & SIL.  
    • This time, however, the party included ALL of the cousins from that side of the family (those living in Canada, anyway) and their partners (!! -- total:  16 people!). (Dh & I were the oldest people there -- he's 69, the youngest cousin there was 45! We were also the only couple there without children.)  
    • I was hoping that since all of these cousins' offspring are now teenagers or young adults, the kid conversation would be minimal. Unfortunately, no such luck. :p  Would you believe one night all the women started recounting (parts of) their kids' birth stories??  (Even though their kids were born something like 15 to 42 years ago??).  And debating whether or not you'd want your mother-in-law to attend the birth (another strikeout topic for me -- even if I'd succeeded in having a child, my MIL died before I ever met her).  I quietly left the table, went to my room and busied myself with straightening up our clothes, etc., until I could hear the conversation take a different turn.  
    • These cousins tend to be a rather, ummm, boisterous lot. I was already pretty exhausted from the emotional and physical demands of being at my dad's for two weeks... needless to say, this weekend wasn't entirely restful either...!  
    • These caveats aside, the hosts were gracious (as always -- we got there early with BIL & SIL and had a nice few hours with them before the others descended...!), the property is gorgeous, the food was great, and overall, we did enjoy ourselves some..!   
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Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 2 books in May (all reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2026 books").  Year to date, I've read 10 books,  reached 25% of my Goodreads Challenge goal, and am currently 6 books behind schedule to achieve it by year end.  
Current reads: 
  • "The Hacienda" by Isabel Canas (the July book for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club). 
  • "The Forsyte Saga" by John Galsworthy. After mulling it over (see this post!), I accepted a commenter's suggestion to do a readalong together!  Currently 34% completed. 
  • "Childless: A Woman and a Girl in a Man's World" by Fabiana Formica.  This one is beautifully written, but slow going, and I was reading it (or trying to...!) at Mom & Dad's last summer, where there were a lot of distractions. I've put it aside for the moment to focus on other reading priorities, but I've completed 33% to date.
  • "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. ;)  
(Not sure I will take part in "The Inheritors" or "Treacle Walker,"  but "The Children's Book" sounds interesting!)  

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

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Watching: 
  • "Finding Your Roots" (season 12, plus plenty of reruns) on PBS, Tuesday nights.
  • "The Count of Monte Cristo" (on PBS, 8 episodes with the finale on May 10th).  Lost treasure, lost love and ridiculously complex revenge plots! with a huge cast of characters and subplots to keep straight (not sure I succeeded??).  But also jaw-dropping sets/locations and gorgeous costumes. I enjoyed it!  With Sam Claflin as Edmond/The Count, and Jeremy Irons as the old Abbe who tells him about the treasure.    
  • My dad normally watches PVR-d episodes of his (& Mom's) soap opera ("The Young and the Restless") late at night, but we did see most of the penultimate episode of  "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," including Bruce Springsteen's appearance at the end. while we were in Manitoba. (Missed Paul McCartney the following night, but did manage to see the highlights the next day.)  
Playing:  
  • Heardle Decades: (as of May 31st): I mostly abandoned Heardle while I was at my dad's, but here are the latest stats, for what it's worth....!  
    • Heardle 60s: 74.1% (927/1251, 376 on first guess), unchanged since April 30th. Max streak: 21. 
    • Heardle 70s: 74.7% (746/998, 417 on first guess), down 0.2% from April 30th. Max streak: 18. 
    • Heardle 80s:  41.4% (352/850, 134 on first guess), down 0.1% from April 30th. Max. streak: 5.
    • Heardle 90s: 33.1% (315/952, 81 on first guess), down 0.2% from March 31st. Max. streak: 9. 
  • NYT Connections: 
    • As of April 30th, I'd played 624 games and won 89% of them (unchanged from Dec. 31st), including 337 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors, and 18 where I got the most difficult/purple category first (unchanged from Dec. 31st). Maximum winning streak: 45 (unchanged since June 30th, 2025). Current streak: 11. 
    • By May 31st, I had completed 654 games, won 89% of them (unchanged since Dec. 31st), including 352 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors, and 20 where I got the most difficult/purple category first (an increase of 2 since Dec. 31st). Maximum winning streak:  45 (unchanged since June 30th, 2025).  Current streak:4.  
Listening (not watching!):  To "Judge Judy" and the Game Show Network TV shows -- both favourites of my dad (and they were inescapable!  Arrrrggghhhhh....!).  

Following:  . 

Eating/Drinking:  
  • Over the past 18 months, we've been trying to eat healthier and lower our cholesterol -- and avoid having to take (more) medication -- since some less-than-stellar bloodwork results for both of us in fall 2024 and then again (for me) last November (2025, as mentioned in November's Right Now post). 
    • I ended May 1.2 pounds less than when the month started.  Overall, I'm down 16 pounds since late October 2024 -- close to my lowest weight in more than a decade -- and 28 pounds from my heaviest-ever weight  (in August 2021). 
      • (Dh is down almost 18 pounds overall since fall 2024.)
  • This was not the greatest month diet-wise, to put it mildly. While at my dad's, we at a lot of takeout (hamburgers, chicken, pizza). Meals at the cottage included lasagnas, chicken skewers, grilled steaks with potato salad & corn on the cob, and homemade pizza ("white" pizza for me).  While home, we indulged in takeout pizza slices or soup from the supermarket, once or twice a week, for lunch and/or dinner. 
Wearing: The weather continued to have its ups & downs -- so there were days in May when I was wearing long yoga pants/jeans, socks and sweatshirts, and others when I (finally!) put on my capris and sandals.  (The overnight low reached just 2C while we were in Manitoba, and at the cottage it was 8C, although it got up to 22C during the day.)  

Buying (besides books, lol):  Not much this month. 

Hoping: That Dad likes his new apartment and settles in well. 

Prioritizing:  Helping out Dad & my sister, when & how I can, here and there. . 

Planning:  Our next trip to Manitoba, around Dad's 87th birthday in July. (Up for debate:  whether we'll stay one week or two?) 

Trying:  To clear a few things off the to-do list here before heading west again, including having a closer look at the things I brought back with me and finding homes for them all.  

Appreciating: My sister (and her partner). Thankful that they've been there every weekend (but one) since January to support our dad and help him navigate through this tough transition -- and my sister just started a new job too!! (at age 63!!) (If I think I'm tired, I know that goes double or more for her...!) 

Noticing: All the leaves have popped out during the two weeks we were away. My eyes have also been stickier in the mornings these past few weeks (presumably a reaction to the increased pollen in the air). I've been taking daily Claritin as a precaution...! 

Anticipating:  Spending some time with Little Great-Nephew #2 soon:  his mom's maternity leave has ended and she returns to work on June 1st.  SIL will be looking after him, as she did with LGN #1 (who will be joining is brother this summer, after school lets out later in June).  

Wondering:  What we should do for our wedding anniversary in July? 

Wanting:  Some quiet downtime...!  (before we have to head back to Manitoba again...!).  

Loving:  Being able to have the balcony door open again during the day. (At least until the heat & humidity kick in...!)  
                        
Feeling: Extremely tired.  :p  
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