Showing posts with label Grey Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grey Cup. Show all posts

Sunday, December 1, 2024

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.)

November was mostly grey and gloomy (as November usually is...!). But grey skies aside, for a month that I have historically NOT had a good relationship with (lol) it wasn't too bad -- some fun family time, some hints of Christmas coming... (Also, it went by pretty fast! How is we're almost at the end of the year?? And Christmas??) 

Pandemic diary/update: November was month #56 since the covid pandemic began in March 2020 (now in Year FIVE). :(   We (still!) remain covid-free (knocking wood, loudly...) -- although dh came down with a nasty cough/cold within the past few days (and brushes off my suggestion of testing...). 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...!) 

On top of the usual worries about seasonal colds, flu and covid, we now have to worry about H1N5 (avian/bird flu). Canada had its first confirmed case this month -- a teenager in British Columbia, who wound up in critical condition in the hospital. They're not sure about the source. 

Among other things we did this month, we: 
  • Went to Chapters (bookstore), Carters (children's wear), Reitmans (women's wear) and Shoppers Drug Mart on Nov. 4th. 
    • Back at Chapters and Shoppers on Nov. 13th. 
  • Went to the mall on Nov. 5th to walk & shop for a few hours (and escape the U.S. election news coverage, lol). (Regretfully bypassed the pizza place and had a healthier lunch when we got back home. Maybe in January we'll treat ourselves, if we get a good report on our cholesterol levels...!)  
    • Returned on Nov. 12th, 19th & 26th to do the same. (Each time we went, the mall got busier and busier... and we had to park further and further from the entrance!  lol -- the holiday madness has begun...!).  
  • Headed back to our old community on Nov. 8th:  took Christmas decorations to the cemetery for Katie, had lunch at Tim Hortons in the food court in the mall, then had haircuts and did a bit of walking & shopping. (We'll be back in mid-December for trims, before heading west for the holidays.) 
  • I attended a "baby sprinkle" on Nov. 9th for Older Nephew's wife -- i.e., a small shower to celebrate their second baby, due by scheduled C-section just before Christmas. There were about 20-25 women & children total -- including a half-dozen of her friends and a couple of her cousins  -- all in their early 30s, all either having babies (two other pregnant women there) or thinking about it.  
    • Needless to say, I mostly stayed away from them!  lol  I wound up spending a lot of time playing with Little Great-Nephew ("I'm a professional at Lego," he told me, as I helped him assemble his latest project, lol) and Little Great-Niece, and taking photos of them to show dh later.  We didn't play any dumb games (yay!), it was at Older Nephew's MIL's spacious house so there was plenty of room to walk around (and escape, if necessary! lol), and the food was really good (see "Eating," below). (I even managed to (mostly!) make good choices!  lol)  
    • Bonus: BIL drove me & SIL to the shower, and came to pick us up again later -- at the same time as Younger Nephew came to pick up his wife and Little Great-Niece. I suggested that they could drive me home, since they live quite close to us, and thus save BIL & SIL a longer trip home. LGNiece kept saying, "Aunt Lori! Aunt Lori coming! Aunt Lori here! Aunt Lori!"  all the way out to the car and then half the way home, lol.  MADE MY DAY.  :)  
  • A week later, on Nov. 16th, we headed up to Older Nephew's house with BIL & SIL to celebrate Little Great-Nephew's 5th (!!) birthday party. Younger Nephew, his wife & Little Great-Niece came too, and we all had such a good time together. :)  
  • We got a last-minute invitation to dinner (along with BIL & SIL) to dh's cousin's for dinner (the same cousins who have the cottage we've been to the last couple of years in the fall). Her parents were also there. Prime rib, potatos au gratin (I had a small helping), sauteed rapini, salad and tiramisu for dessert (small piece).  This cousin's wife loves to cook and entertain. Lucky us!  :)  

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 1 book in November (reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2024 books").  
This brings me to 32 books read so far in 2024, 71% of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books.  I am currently 9 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(   (Too many distractions this month, plus I'm (still) trying to catch up on my Hilary Mantel reading -- see below!) 

Current reads: 
  • "The Windsor Knot" by S.J. Bennett, the January pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club (previously read in 2021 and reviewed here).   
  • "Miss Buncle’s Book" by D.E. Stevenson, for my DES fan group. We began reading this together on Oct. 7th, and will finish in mid-December. I'll count this as a re-read then. (Original 2015 review here;  most recent review here.) 
  • "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 meeting covered Chapter 3.  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.)  
  • "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 & Tangents (which participants have dubbed "Wolf Crawl,"  lol) -- about 40 pages per week.  :)   
    • We started during the week of July 21st.  I chose to focus on some of my other books over the late summer/early fall, and as a result, was 9 weeks behind the posted reading schedule at one point (erk).  I've been doing a bit of catching up, and am currently about 8 weeks behind, at about 51% read. We will finish at the end of December. 
    • Simon will be repeating the Cromwell Trilogy slow readalong in 2025 for paying subscribers. I highly recommend the experience! (and am considering whether I'm up to another round of it myself...!). (Yes, I'm nuts...!)  Details here!  
  • "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (!). As I wrote here, I needed 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 & Tangents -- a chapter a day for a full year, which began Jan. 1, 2024. (And I'm really enjoying it!)  Currently at about 92% read.  
    • If you've ever thought about reading W&P, Simon will be repeating the readalong in 2025 for paying subscribers -- and I highly recommend the experience! (and yes, I'm probably doing it again!). Details 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...! 
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. ;)  
  • My L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook group is reading assorted short stories by the author right now.  We'll begin a new book in January (to be announced soon). (I love LMM, and her books are usually fast, easy reads -- but I have to admit, it's nice to have a bit of a break to catch up on other reading!) 
  • For my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club: 
    • "Others Like Me" by Nicole Louie. (Not a book club selection, but Katy Seppi has said she will be interviewing the author in January!) 
    • "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang (February). 
  • For my D.E. Stevenson group:  This list of upcoming books should keep us busy through 2025 or even into early 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....!)  
A few recently purchased titles (mostly in digital format, mostly discounted ($5-10 or less) or purchased with points):  

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Watching:  
  • "The Marlow Murder Club" on PBS, adapted in four parts from the Robert Thorogood novel, which I started reading before the first episode aired on Oct. 27th (and finished just after that). 
    • Nice as it was to see Rita Tushingham back onscreen after so many years (I remember watching her and Lynn Redgrave in "Smashing Time" when I was a kid), her character was not in the book, and she seemed to be there only to provide a few brief moments of comic relief, even though she received prominent billing in the credits.  It does bug me when TV does stuff like that!  
  • "Wolf Hall" on PBS, based on the books "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel, both of which I read earlier this year (click on links for my reviews).  The first of six episodes aired on Oct. 27th;  the last will air Dec. 1st (tonight!). I am hugely enjoying this.  Mark Rylance is wonderful in everything I 've ever seen him in (and this role, as Thomas Cromwell, is no exception), and Damian Lewis makes a great Henry VIII, both charming and menacing. It really brings the books to life! 
    • An adaptation of "The Mirror and the Light," the final book in the Cromwell Trilogy (which I'm reading right now -- see "Reading," above), with most of the same cast members, will begin airing in March 2025. Looking forward to it! 
  • Ken Burns's new two-part/four-hour documentary about Leonardo da Vinci, shown on PBS on Nov. 18th & 19th. 
  • Too much American/election-related news (CNN).  :p  :(    
  • The 111th Grey Cup, championship game of the Canadian Football League, featuring my beloved Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who went down to defeat versus the Toronto Argonauts, in Vancouver. (Kind of the Canadian version of the Super Bowl, but with slightly different rules, less glitz and a much longer history.)  
    • Missed the pre-show, which apparently featured an interview with Prince Harry (!), in town to promote his Invictus Games, which will also be held in Vancouver, in February.  (This article from People magazine says he was at "Toronto's Grey Cup"   -- it was actually in Vancouver.) 
Listening:  To the Eighties Stingray channel a little more lately. (Trying to boost my 80s Heardle scores!  lol)  Soon:  Christmas music!  :)  

Playing:  
  • Heardle Decades: Stats as of Nov. 30th: 
    • Heardle 60s: 76.5% (595/778, 238 on first guess), down 0.1% from last month. Max. streak: 15.
    • Heardle 70s: 78.8% (406/5151, 227 on first guess), down 0.3% from last month. Max. streak: 18. 
    • Heardle 80s: 40.1% (156/389, 58 on first guess), down 0.8% from last month. Max. streak: 4. 
    • Heardle 90s: 27.9% (137/491, 27 on first guess), up 1.2% from last month. Max. streak: 5 (up from 4!). 
  • NYT Connections: 
    • At the end of October, I'd completed 95 games and won 78% of them, including 46 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors and a maximum winning streak of 15.  :)   
    • By Nov. 30th, I'd completed 125 games and won 79% of them, including 62 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors and a maximum winning streak of 15.  :)   
Following:  

Eating/Drinking:  
  • More beans and lentils, more fresh fruits & veggies, fewer convenience foods, fewer cookies, since getting our cholesterol readings...!  I'm not cutting out sweets entirely, but we've definitely cutting down/back!  and I'm down a little over 4 pounds so far.  :)  More bloodwork to come in January (and hopefully not another prescription)! 
  • That said...!  I can't say we've really been depriving ourselves either...!  
    • The food at the baby sprinkle/shower on Nov. 9th was really good, mostly catered from a local Italian restaurant.  Lots of charcuterie/appetizers (I just had some pita bread & hummus). There was chicken piccata (which I had) and beef (which I didn't), along with little roasted potatos, rapini and asparagus, green salad (had all of those), spring rolls and chicken fingers (for the kids, mostly). Huge sweet table for dessert. I had a small piece of the cake (strawberry filling), one cookie and some fruit.  
    • Older Nephew's wife is a great cook :)  and we had a nice birthday dinner for Little Great-Nephew on Nov. 16th:  orecchiette pasta with rapini, followed by baked boneless chicken thighs, potatos & (more) rapini (plus birthday cake, of course -- and yes, despite the diet, I did not turn down a piece!).  :)  
    • We had dinner at dh's cousin's house (the one with the cottage), along with BIL & SIL and the wife's parents on Nov. 23rd. It was a spur of the moment invitation (I had one hour to get ready to go!):  she had a large prime rib roast she wanted to use, and cooked it along with potatos au gratin (delicious!), sauteed rapini and a salad. SIL brought a tiramisu (from the supermarket) for dessert. I had a small helping of the potatos and tiramisu. (Sigh!) 
    • Takeout: The usual soup from the supermarket takeout counter, once a week or so; a pizza slice for dinner (ditto, Nov. 15th), a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket (Nov. 24th), which created some leftovers for another dinner and lunches! and a chicken teriyaki rice bowl  (also from the supermarket takeout counter, Nov. 30th). 
Buying (besides books, lol):  
  • Christmas and birthday presents, including things for dh, Little Great-Niece, Little Great-Nephew and his baby brother, who will be arriving soon...!   
  • A black peacoat from Old Navy (in-store). I didn't really NEED a new winter coat (and the sleeves were a bit long -- but that's the story of my life...), but I don't have anything that's even semi-dressy anymore, and it was 40% off an already-low price. I wound up paying about $47 for it!  I also bought a new black tuque to match. 
    • (It's a "tuque," NOT A "beanie!"  lol -- at least, it is here in Canada!  I always cringe whenever I hear anyone referring to it as that! -- although, sadly, I am hearing more & more Canadians use that term too. It just sounds WRONG to me!)  
  • A couple of pretty "textured lace" scoop-neck tops in different colours, also from Old Navy (online purchase, on sale). 
  • A pretty metal snowflake photo frame, and some Christmas-y placemats (two different patterns) for the table at Homesense. 
  • Skin care and cosmetics at 30-50% discounts from Clinique's website. (I don't wear a lot of makeup these days, but there's a family wedding coming up next year and a lot of my makeup -- even the stuff that survived last spring's purge -- is pretty old, so this was a great opportunity to restock a few of my favourites!) 
  • (And I HAVE been buying a lot of ebooks in Kobo's Black Friday sales these past few days, lol. Some of the titles listed above are ones I bought then!) 
Wearing: 
  • Fall/winter jackets (sigh...) 
  • Eased into my sizeable collection of seasonal/winter/Christmas-themed PJ tops from Old Navy by the end of the month!  :)    
Enjoying:  The lull in online activity/emails these last few days ( = fewer distractions!), as Americans celebrate their Thanksgiving!  

Appreciating:  Retirement!!  Never more so than this month, as HALF A MILLION Swifties (and their chaperones) descended on downtown Toronto to attend one of six Taylor Swift concerts at the Rogers Centre/SkyDome between Nov. 14th and 23rd.  I don't get downtown much these days, but I've been there (when I was working) when other big events have been happening -- and the congestion (on the roads, on transit and in the downtown area generally) has been absolutely and increasingly brutal since I retired (endless construction and roadwork). No thank you! (But I'm glad everyone who was able to get tickets had a good time!)    

(Still) Trying: (as noted in "Eating," above)  To make better food choices and be a little more active = lose some weight and lower that cholesterol!  (I'm already taking prescriptions for high blood pressure and a sluggish thyroid -- I do NOT want to add another one!)  

Noticing:  Down 4+ pounds on the scale (so far!) since our visit to the family doctor on Oct. 23rd (4+ weeks ago), where our cholesterol levels were flagged. I need to lose a whole lot more, but hey, it's a start...!    

Hoping:  To lose a few more pounds before we head west to my parents for two weeks over Christmas/New Year....! (Especially since I'll probably gain a few back while we're there...!) 

Remembering:  The small mall that opened in the town where we were living in late 1978/early 1979, when I was in Grade 12/senior year of high school -- which recently announced it will be closing its doors at the end of December. (I heard this from my cousin's wife, who grew up in another town nearby. I asked about it on my high school class's Facebook group, and a classmate there directed me to a news story online.)  
  • I got a part-time job there before it even opened, at the Woolco store, which was one of the two anchor stores at one end of the mall -- a Safeway supermarket was at the other -- stocking shelves, pre-opening, and then working in the hardware department (!! -- lololol...).  I continued to work there over the summer of 1979 and as seasonal staff during December that year (home from university early and feeling at loose ends), and also had another part-time job at a clothing store in the mall (Mariposa) the next summer (1980). My sister also worked there, at a photo studio/camera shop, and at two different restaurants there.  The end of an era... 
Prioritizing: Christmas shopping!  Rounding up stocking stuffers in particular.  Still trying to figure out what to get for a few people... 

Wanting: To get the Christmas tree up soon!  I was hoping to do it this weekend, but dh is miserable with a cold right now, so I decided to drop the subject for a few days until he's feeling better...!  (I can do most of it myself, but I need his help with a few things, particularly getting the boxes of decorations from the storage locker in the parking garage and bringing them upstairs.)  

Anticipating: The arrival of Little Great-Nephew #2, in mid-December!  

Wondering:  Whether we'll be able to see him before we leave for the holidays? 

Also:  When the Canada Post strike will end, and whether I'm going to get Christmas cards sent this year?? I haven't bought any yet, because it seemed kind of pointless until I knew whether I was going to be able to send them out. I don't think I have ever NOT sent Christmas cards out, since I started doing them for myself as a teenager/young adult.  

Loving:  Seeing more and more Christmas lights and decorations as we drive through the nearby neighbourhoods at night.  Gets me in a festive mood!    

Feeling: A little nervous about Older Nephew's Wife and the impending arrival of Little Great-Nephew #2 (as I always am whenever someone I love is expecting).  Glad November is over. (It's not as bad as it once was, but it's still not my favourite month...!)  Looking forward to (more) Christmas-y things in December, and spending time with my family!  
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, December 1, 2023

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: November was month #44 (3.5+ years) since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We remain covid-free (knocking wood, loudly...), and continue to mask in most stores and other public places, especially where there are a lot of people. 

But we continue to hear about others -- including friends & relatives, and friends & relatives of friends & relatives -- who have recently tested positive, many of them for the first time, 3.5 years later...!  -- my sister among them!  :(  (Better November than Christmas, I guess, but...!)  There was an article in the Toronto Star last weekend (and I hope that link isn't behind a paywall -- no gift link option, unfortunately...) noting that both Ontario's covid wastewater signal and hospitalizations nationally are the highest they've been in a year. Quote: "Your chance of being exposed is very high."  

November was increasingly grey, gloomy & chilly, especially once the time changed (which had me considering dusting off the "I hate November" label, lol). It also flew by pretty quickly! -- both a good thing and a bad thing, considering how little Christmas shopping & prep I'd done until this week...!  

Among other things this month, we: 
  • Had our HVAC unit/fan coil inspected and cleaned on Nov. 3rd -- for the first time since we moved here, (gulp!) 7+ years ago, and probably for the first time since the building was constructed, a year or two before that!  All was well, and the two young guys who showed up (one a trainee) called when they were running late, knew their stuff, and were very polite. Despite the rigamarole to get them here, I'd have them back in the future. 
  • Dropped a bundle at the drugstore (Nov. 3rd)(holy cow, stuff is expensive now... and of course, nothing that I needed was on sale at that moment...!).  
  • Got badly needed haircuts on Nov. 4th, after which we headed to BIL's house. All the kids & grandkids -- and the dog! :)  -- were there for the afternoon (except for Older Nephew's wife, who was working). (The guys were changing their car tires to winter tires -- they store them in BIL's garage.) 
  • Drove to a community about an hour north of here on Sunday, Nov. 5th, for a fun afternoon with some of dh's cousins. :) One cousin's two adult (mid-20s) sons have set up a virtual/simulated golf business, and they invited us all to come try it out for a few hours. (Balls provided, bring your own clubs.) There are no employees; bookings, building access, etc., are all done virtually.  I do not golf, but even I took a few whacks with dh's long-neglected clubs, although I spent most of my time socializing. :)  
  • Went shopping for the great-niblings at ToysRUs and Carters on Nov. 8th. Also popped into Kitchen Stuff Plus, and the postal outlet at the drugstore to buy a box to return my old TV receiver in. Returned on Nov. 13th to ship the receiver back to the telecomm company. 
  • Spent an hour with our personal banker on Nov. 9th, opening a RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) for Little Great-Niece, same as we did for Little Great-Nephew. Stopped by Younger Nephew's house briefly right afterward to have his wife (LGNiece's mom) sign some forms, then went back to the bank to return them. (And had to return to the bank the next day to sign one more form...!)  It certainly won't be enough to pay for all of their post-secondary schooling or training, but it will help...!  I only wish we could have done the same for the nephews/their dads when they were younger. (Of course, we thought we'd have our own children to educate then...) 
  • Had to call in a plumber on Nov. 10th, when our kitchen sink refused to drain (despite repeated doses of baking soda & vinegar, then Liquid Plum-r, and plunging) -- and then started leaking into the cupboard underneath and onto the kitchen floor...!  He snaked the pipes to clear the clog (eww....) and replaced the drain basket (?).  We cleaned the kitchen thoroughly after he left, including mopping the floors (on top of doing the regular weekly housecleaning)... by mid-afternoon, we were both beat!   
  • Drove with BIL & SIL up to Older Nephew's house on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 12th.  BIL & dh spent the afternoon in the back yard, helping ON build a skating rink for Little Great-Nephew. It's been WAY too mild for ice to form (I've heard rumblings about whether the backyard skating rink -- I learned to skate on one myself -- is doomed, (no) thanks to climate change...) -- but when the colder weather comes (as it surely will!), the rink will be ready! 
  • Returned to Older Nephew's with BIL & SIL on Saturday, Nov. 18th, to celebrate Little Great-Nephew's 4th (!) birthday!  :)  Younger Nephew, his wife and Little Great-Niece were there, as well as Older Nephew's Wife's mom & her partner. We had such a good time -- and even got big hugs from LGN before we went home!  :)  
  • Made a joint trip to the supermarket on Nov. 20th. 
  • Headed into midtown Toronto for our regular 6-month dental cleanings and checkups on Nov. 23rd. (No cavities!)  
    • Also dropped by our optometrist's office (same neighbourhood) to pick up a couple more containers of the lid wipes he recommended I use. 
  • Spent a couple of hours at BIL & SIL's house on Sunday (Nov. 26th):  Older Nephew & his wife were attending a fundraiser at a nearby banquet hall and left Little Great-Nephew with his grandparents. 
    • Stopped at the supermarket on our way home to pick up a few things, including some takeout soup for dinner.  
  • Went Christmas shopping at a nearby mall on Tuesday (Nov. 28th). (Unmasked while having an early -- 11:30 a.m. -- lunch in the food court.)
  • More Christmas shopping on Wednesday (Nov. 29th), locally, at Chapters (mega-bookstore), Best Buy, Mark's Work Wearhouse, Reitmans (women's wear) & Carters/Oshkosh. 
25 years ago, in November 1998,  I was supposed to have been giving birth to a baby girl. It didn't happen; she was stillborn in early August.  Instead of being on maternity leave, I was back at work, enduring the frantic year-end season (something I'd gleefully thought I was going to get to avoid that year...).  In 2008, I marked her due date (the first of several in November I was given, actually) with this post:   
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 4 books in  November (reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2023 books").  
This brings me to 44 books read to date in 2023,  98% of my 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. :)  I am currently (for the moment, anyway...!) 3 books ahead of schedule to meet my goal. (I also started the month at 3 books ahead of schedule.)  

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

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Watching:  
  • Season 2 of "World on Fire" on PBS (just 6 episodes total), which began airing on Oct. 15th and wrapped up on Nov. 19th.  
  • The 110th Grey Cup (the championship game of the Canadian Football League) on Nov. 19th, played this year in Hamilton, Ontario -- the one football game I will happily watch every year (eat your heart out, Super Bowl! lol).  
  • This holiday ad -- my favourite that I've seen so far! (Even if it is for Amazon, lol.)  
Listening:  
  • To some Christmas music on the car radio, late in the month. :)  
  • To Pamela Mahoney Tsigdinos of Silent Sorority, who was Christine Erickson's guest on the New Legacy Radio podcast earlier in the month, discussing "When the Personal is Political What is our Responsibility?"
  • To (a heavily abridged version of) "Miss Buncle's Book" by D.E. Stevenson -- perhaps her best-known work -- on BBC. (Since it's heavily abridged, I'm not counting it as another book read.) Episodes are being broadcast live nightly at 22:45 GMT, but you can listen to all 10 14-minute episodes online until Dec. 17th.  (I'll admit I'm not wild about the narration, but the story is fun.) From the website:  
As ripples from the Great Depression reach a cosy English village, Barbara Buncle finds an inventive way to supplement her meagre income. Life in Silverstream will never be the same once her thinly fictionalised novel has laid bare the life, loves and eccentricities of her neighbours.
 
Scottish author D.E. Stevenson was a prolific name in the light romantic fiction genre, topping best seller lists from the 1930s to the 1960s. MISS BUNCLE’S BOOK, her best-known publication, is a delight; funny, engaging and well worth rediscovering 50 years after the author’s death.

To Heardle Decades: Stats as of Nov. 30th:   
  • Heardle 60s:  77.1% (330/428, 146 on first guess), about the same as last month. Max. streak: 15. 
  • Heardle 70s:  81.2% (138/170, 82 on the first guess), up from last month. Max. streak: 18. (Can you tell what decade I grew up in??  lol) 
  • Heardle 80s:  44.9% (22/49,  10 on the first guess), up several points from last month. Max. streak: 4. 
  • Heardle 90s: 33.5% (55/164, 13 on the first guess), down from last month. Max. streak: 4. 
Following: The progress of my DNA sample, online, via Ancestry (which arrived on Nov. 12th, after my mom's arrived about two weeks earlier).  Since then, I've been checking in every day to see if we have any new matches (they've mostly been distant cousins, estimated 5th to 8th cousins), and continuing to try to figure out how all these people are related to us. 

Connecting (so far!):  With my second cousin, once removed, on my dad's side (his mother -- still here, at 101! -- and my grandmother were first cousins) -- he knows my dad & his siblings, but we've never met -- as well as a fourth cousin in Australia on my maternal grandfather's branch (his great-great grandfather and my great-great grandmother were siblings).  

Eating/Drinking:  Takeout dinners this month included chicken souvlaki, rotisserie chicken and rice bowls. Lots of takeout soups and pizza slices for lunch, too!  

Little Great-Nephew's birthday dinner included rigatoni with alfredo sauce for me (tomato/meat sauce for everyone else), sausages, fried potatos, rapini and salad, as well as birthday cake, of course. (LGN's mom is an excellent cook!)  

As I mentioned here, I got a recipe for a really tasty butternut squash quinoa salad from dh's cousin's wife, and made it for dh & me. It served as lunch for both of us for four straight days! (plus a side dish at dinner one night). 

Buying (besides books, lol):  An Ancestry DNA test for dh (whose curiosity was piqued by my & my mom's results!). (See "Following," above.)  

I ordered my Christmas cards from Chapters/Indigo online during a sale early in the month (30% off with my membership card)(along with some books, of course, lol...). Now to get them actually done and mailed...!  

Stocked up on the products I use regularly from Clinique during a pre-Black Friday sale. 

Ordered "I'm With the Banned" (as in books, lol) T-shirts for me AND for my sister's Christmas stocking from an Etsy dealer.  And two mugs (ditto) from a local Winnipeg small business emblazoned with a phrase used by Winnipeg-born ob-gyn Dr. Jen Gunter in dealing with an online troll:  "Bitch, I'm from Winnipeg."  LOL!!  (Mug photo & story here and here -- there are T-shirts too, but they were sold out when I went to order.) 

I bought several T-shirts for myself on sale at Old Navy -- several of which I will need to exchange/return, since I misjudged the sizes I'd need. :p  (One too small and the others too big!)  

Wearing: Reluctantly made the switch over to long yoga pants, long-sleeved T-shirts and socks (and sometimes slippers and/or a cardigan too) around the house. Mid-month, I dusted off my holiday-themed PJ tops from Old Navy. :)  By the end of the month, I had pulled my down-filled "puffer" jacket from the closet. (Brrr!)     

Noticing:  How much darker (since the time change) and chillier it's become...! (and drier, in the house -- low 30s%, some mornings -- started up the Dyson humidifier/purifier again...) (So far, so good -- which is good, because the one-year warranty expired in October...!)   

Enjoying: How quiet it was on my social media feeds and in my email inbox over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday!  lol  I was able to scan those very quickly, and focus on my book instead!  :)  

Trying:  Not to panic over how little time is left before we head west for Christmas...!  (eeeekkkkk....) 

Appreciating:  The sun, when it deigns to show up...!  :p  

Wanting:  I honestly can't think of too much right now that I desperately want. And that's probably a good thing.  :)  (Although it makes dh's Christmas shopping a lot harder, lol.) 

Wondering:  Whether we will be invited to Little Great-Nephew's school Christmas concert/pageant??  (It's a Catholic school, so it definitely won't be a "holiday" concert -- something that drives my very Catholic SIL up the wall...!)  I think it would be hilarious. 

Prioritizing: Christmas preparations! 

Anticipating:  The third Childless Collective Virtual Summit, which starts TOMORROW and runs for four days!  All sessions will be available online for FREE for 24 hours -- and you can purchase a pass that will give you access to all the presentations for a full year, so you can watch and re-watch them at your leisure. (The price will increase when the summit starts, though, so if you're interested, TODAY is the time to get one!) 

Hoping:  To stay healthy until we head west for Christmas in a few weeks' time (and while we're there too!).  

Counting down:  Until we leave!  :) 

Loving:  I was in the local mega-bookstore this week, and they were playing Elton John's "Step into Christmas" on the sound system -- and I actually started smiling, and feeling some of the Christmas spirit descending on me, for the first time this season!  :)  Hoping this bodes well for December!  

Feeling: Slightly panicky over the rapidly approaching Christmas holidays (so much to do, so little time...!) -- but also looking forward to it, and to being "home" with my parents and sister.  :)  

Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

#MicroblogMondays: Last Christmas?

(Posted on Tuesday!)

(Hey, it's been that kind of week...) 

We made it to my parents' house in western Canada his past weekend for the holidays. My sister & her partner picked us up, and before we headed out of the city to the small town where Mom & Dad live (about 45-60 minutes away), we got a tour of the house they bought & moved into this fall.  It's not huge, and the decor, plumbing, electrical and heating systems are absolute vintage late 1950s-70s -- i.e., it needs work! -- but it's bigger than the tiny house they were living in, and it has a nice layout, with three bedrooms upstairs and one down, three bathrooms (albeit just one a full bathroom with tub/shower) and a finished basement (classic 1960s wood panelling & bar). It's also in a great location, a short walk away from transit and a small older mall that includes a grocery store, hardware store, movie theatre, restaurants and an EXCELLENT and independent! mega-bookstore (one of the best in Canada). It's big enough for the two of them to comfortably host dh & me and our parents next year for Christmas -- which she is determined to do. 

"This has to be the last Christmas at Mom & Dad's," she confided to us as we headed out of the city. "They just can't handle all the fuss and all the cooking any more, especially for an extended period of time -- but as long as we're at their house, they are not going to give up control and take a backseat." 

(My parents have control issues. Case in point: before settling in on the couch for a pre-supper nap, my father got dinner into the oven -- and then gave me a long list of instructions on turning down the oven (when & to what temperature) and when to add the potatos for baking -- including how to start them off in the microwave, with strict instructions on how many to put in at one time and exactly when I should turn them over to ensure they cooked more evenly. HE INSISTED THAT I WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. Did I mention I will be 62 years old in less than a month's time??)  

Will they agree to relinquish control and have Christmas at my sister's house next year?  I don't know. I guess only time will tell...!  

When I was growing up, we spent some Christmases with my grandparents in my mother's hometown in Minnesota, and some wherever it was we were living at the time -- five different towns in two different provinces before I graduated high school -- but wherever we were, my maternal grandfather (often, but not always, accompanied by my grandmother) would always come to be with us. (We also spent one Christmas, 1976, with my uncle and his family in Minneapolis. That was after my great-uncle -- my grandmother's youngest brother, who lived with her and my grandfather all his life -- passed away suddenly at the far-too-young age of 59.  I guess the adults decided a change in scenery was in order that year.) 

I would have to check my photo albums to verify this, but I think the last Christmas we spent at my grandparents' house was in the late 1970s or early 1980s, when I was finishing high school/in university. After that, my grandparents always came to be with us, and in later years, when driving distances got to be harder for them, someone would drive down and pick them up (about 1.5 hours away) and then bring then back home again after the holidays were over. I don't remember how old they were when my grandfather stopped driving to my parents' house, but they were probably in their mid/late 70s. Our last Christmas with Grandpa was 1997 (when he was 85); we had one more Christmas with Grandma (1998) before she too was gone. 1998 was also our first Christmas without the little girl we had thought would be arriving that November. 

My parents are now 81 (almost 82) and 83.   

I think, in the back of my mind, I always hoped that when I had kids of my own, my parents & sister would come to spend Christmas with US, at least once in a while. I even bought some plastic Christmas-themed plates & glasses in anticipation of the day.  But the kids never materialized, and neither has my family at Christmastime -- or many other times, to be honest. My mom almost always used to come visit us at least once a year when she was working, during spring break (she worked in a school and retired in 2006 -- her last visit was in 2008), but my dad has only come three times in 37 years (most recently for Katie's funeral in August 1998)(!).  My sister and her partner have visited me exactly once, in November1989 -- and the prime attraction was not me but the Grey Cup football game they had tickets for, lol. I suspect things might have been different, had we had kids -- but we didn't, and so we've always been the ones to travel at this time of year.  

My parents moved to this house in 1984, when I was just finishing up graduate school, and I lived here with them for a year afterward, until I got married.  This will be the 39th Christmas we've all spent together in this house, with the single exception of 2020 (and you all know why...!). Change is hard, but we've done it before -- albeit not for quite a long time...!  My sister & I know it is coming, again, sooner or later... 

I don't know what the future holds, or where we'll all be next Christmas -- but I'm going to enjoy this one, here & now, while & how I can.  

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here. 

Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Thursday, December 1, 2022

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: November was Month #32 (going on #33) of living with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although our medical system is currently swamped with a triple whammy of covid, flu and RSV, there (thankfully!) have not been any huge increases in the covid stats provided. (On the other hand, there haven't been any significant improvements either...)  The provincial government announced today that it would extend the distribution of free rapid covid tests (which was supposed to end later this month) until June (2023). 

Since June 16th, the government has cut back on its data reporting from daily to weekly (on Thursdays). :(  Certain data categories (such as new case numbers and test positivity rates) are no longer reported. (And of course, the numbers we ARE getting are vastly under-reported). My main source of covid data is the Toronto Star, which tracks the currently available stats here, updated weekly.  Among the latest stats (last updated Dec. 1st):  
  • Hospitalizations (people in hospitals testing positive for covid) decreased from 1,969 on Nov. 1st (peak numbers for the month) to 1,210 on Dec. 1st, up 1.1% over the previous week. Low point was 1,174 on Nov. 24th. 
  • There were 131 patients with COVID-19 in Ontario's ICUs testing positive for COVID-19 or there for COVID-19 related illness on Nov. 1st, and 118 on Dec. 1st, down 9.2% over the previous week. Peak was 146 on Nov. 13th;  the low point was 117 on Nov. 29th.   
  • There were 10 deaths on Nov. 1st, 27 on Nov. 30th and 20 on Dec. 1st. Peak was 39 on Nov. 3rd. The most recent 7-day average was 13.3, up 4.5% over the previous week. (Total pandemic deaths reported: 15,269.) 
  • On Dec. 1st, 87.3% of Ontario's total population has had at least one vaccine, 84.0% had at least two, but just 52.5% had received a third dose. (No stats are provided for fourth or fifth doses.)  These numbers have remained mostly static for months now.  
On the personal pandemic front: This was a busy month for us! We remain covid-free -- although we had a close call...!  We are still masking in public places (albeit we usually don't in smaller family settings). On top of dh's solo trips to the supermarket for groceries (about once a week), and for occasional takeout lunches & dinners: 
  • We visited SIL & Little Great-Nephew at BIL & SIL's house several times -- including our (mostly) regular Wednesday morning visits on Nov. 2nd, 23rd and 30th. 
    • We also dropped by one Saturday morning (Nov. 5th) when both nephews were there to change their tires to winter/snow tires -- they store them in BIL's garage. LGN came with his dad. :) 
    • We stayed with LGN there for several hours one Monday morning (Nov. 14th) when both SIL & BIL were feeling sick and needed to rest, until his mom could come pick him up. 
    • And (although I'm nudging into December territory here...!) we were there again today for four hours (!) while BIL took SIL to a medical appointment in the city  LGN refused to take a nap (!) but was otherwise really good as gold (as usual!).  
  • We went to the supermarket together 3 times. (I haven't spent much time in supermarkets over the past 2.5 years, and frankly, it's a little daze-inducing -- especially at the clip dh races up & down the aisles...! I keep telling him to slow down! --  I'm a browser at the best of times, and I want to take it all in and reorient myself, lol.)(He tells me I'm cramping his style, lol.)   
  • On Nov. 4th, we went shopping at Carters/Oshkosh and ToysRUs for LGN's birthday present(s), and also popped in to a kitchenware store, the local mega-bookstore (which was PACKED) and the drugstore (ditto). 
  • We got our fifth covid shots (bivalent boosters) AND our flu shots at a clinic run by our family doctor's office in our old community on Nov. 5th. 
  • We made the one-hour trip to Older Nephew's house on Nov. 7th to bring an ailing LGN some children's Tylenol that dh had made up at a local compounding pharmacy.  :) 
  • We ventured into our old neighbourhood in midtown Toronto for dental checkups & cleanings on Nov. 10th. :p  
  • We attended a party with dh's mom's side of the family on Nov. 12th -- without masks (!) -- after which at least one attendee tested positive for covid. (Fortunately, not us!) 
  • We visited the drugstore, Mark's Work Wearhouse (clothing), Reitmans (women's clothing) and Chapters (megabookstore) on Nov. 15th. (See "Buying," below.) 
  • Dh took BIL to the hospital for a procedure on Nov. 17th (although he couldn't be in the room with BIL and wound up waiting mostly in the car for several hours!).
  • We returned to Older Nephew's house on Nov. 18th for LGN's 3rd (!) birthday party with BIL, SIL, the nephews and their wives.  All of us took (and passed!) covid tests in advance. 
  • We made a trip to Canadian Tire (which sells much more than tires!) on Nov. 28th to buy a new pre-lit Christmas tree, after our previous one conked out on us! (see "Buying," below)  
  • Stopped in at the drugstore again on Nov. 30th en route to see SIL & LGN to check up on one of dh's prescriptions, and picked up a few things while we were there. 
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 5 books in November (all reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads, & tagged  "2022 books").  
This brings me to 46 books read so far in 2022, which brings me to 102% of my 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway) 5 books ahead of schedule. :)  

Current read(s): 
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. ;)  
A few recently purchased titles (mostly in digital format, mostly discounted ($5.99 or less) or purchased with points):  

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Watching: The last two episodes (9 & 10) of season 5 of "The Handmaid's Tale." One more season after this, and then the same producers will begin work on adapting "The Testaments," Atwood's 2019  sequel to "The Handmaid's Tale" (reviewed here)!  

Coverage of the U.S. midterm elections, earlier in the month (mostly on CNN). 

The 109th Grey Cup -- the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL), in which the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Regina, Saskatchewan, by one point!  I was cheering for the Bombers -- as I have since childhood (as much as I pay attention to these things, which isn't a lot...!) -- but I was not UNhappy that the Argos won. The CFL is a much bigger deal out west than it is here, and in a market where more people follow the more glamourous NFL than the homegrown league, they need the win and the publicity more than the Bombers!  

The Grand Prix of figure skating -- several events this past month;  finals next weekend in Turin, Italy. 

World Cup soccer -- well, dh is watching, lol. Italy did not make it there this year (gasp!! -- the locals are NOT happy!  lol), but Canada did!! for the first time in nearly 40 years!! (and I think that was the first time ever then?). They didn't win a single game, and only scored one goal total  -- they've now been eliminated -- still, it was great to see them there! :)  

We finally got around to watching a documentary about Gordon Lightfoot, "If You Could Read My Mind" (also the title of one of his most famous songs). He recently turned 84 (! -- he's older than my dad, in fact!!), and that beautiful crystalline voice is mostly gone -- but he still packs them in at Massey Hall every year in downtown Toronto (he was the last act to perform there before it closed for renovations a few years ago, and the first one back when it reopened last year) -- and in his prime, he had few equals as a singer-songwriter. (He was also something of a Canadian sex symbol when I was growing up in the '70s, lol.) If you're in Canada, you can stream it on CBC Gem.  

(Someone on the show called his "Song for a Winter's Night" "the most Canadian song ever." I'm not sure about that, lol -- but I do love it!)  

(NOT watching: After reading the book, I PVRd "Magpie Murders" on PBS, but haven't watched any of the episodes yet...! And I STILL haven't progressed beyond the first two seasons of "The Crown"...!) 

Listening:  I'm still enjoying the daily Heardle challenge(s), including the decades versions -- although (as you'll see from the stats, I do MUCH better on the 60s & 70s versions than the others...!). Current stats as of Nov. 30th:  
  • Heardle (original/all decades): 30% (36/120) correct, including 9 on the first guess. 
  • Heardle 60s:  82.7% (67/81), including 36 on the first guess. 
  • Heardle 70s:  67.8% (59/87), including 38 on the first guess. 
  • Heardle 80s:  45.1% -- (37/82), including 14 on the first guess. 
  • Heardle 90s: 34.1% --  an improvement from last month's 31.5% and 26.7% in September!  -- (28/82), including 7 on the first guess.  
Eating/Drinking:  This was a good eating month. :)  
  • The catered menu at the party celebrating dh's cousin's marriage and forthcoming baby included lasagna (which I couldn't have, because of my tomato allergy), tortellini in cream sauce (which I could), chicken cutlets in mushroom sauce, potatos, mixed vegetables, salad, and an amazing array of fresh fruits and desserts. (We all went home with plates full of leftover cannolis and biscotti.)   
  • LGN's mom/Older Nephew's wife -- who is a great cook! -- also had quite a feast for us all for LGN's 3rd birthday party mid-month, including homemade gnocchi and alfredo sauce (in deference to my tomato allergy), sausages with potatos and peppers, and a delicious salad with balsamic vinegar dressing. The cake was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. :)
  • And for Saturday night takeout recently, we had that uniquely Canadian treat, available only at this time of year -- a Festive Special from Swiss Chalet!  lol  It's a quarter chicken (white or dark meat, cooked on a rotisserie), served with dipping sauce, stuffing, cranberry sauce, a dinner roll, choice of french fries, potatos or salad, and a small box of Lindor chocolates. (In the past, the special included mini-Toblerone bars instead of Lindor chocolates.)  This year, the meal also includes a $10 cash voucher, redeemable at a future visit.  
    • I'd never heard of Swiss Chalet before I came to Ontario -- it was the first place Future Dh & I went for dinner when I first arrived in London (Ontario) for school in May 1983 -- and while it has a presence in other provinces now, it still seems to be a mostly Ontario thing. Despite the name, there's not much that's "Swiss" about it -- although years ago, the waitresses used to wear dirndl dresses! It's a chain of  "family" restaurants, with a reasonably priced menu which, although it has expanded more in recent years, has always specialized in rotisserie chicken. 
Buying (besides books, lol):  This was an expensive month...!  
  • Plane tickets home for Christmas.... ouch!  Much more expensive than our Thanksgiving trip ('tis the season, I guess...!). I'm not sure non-Canadians realize just how expensive it is to travel within Canada (which seems such a shame, being a disincentive for Canadians to travel more within our own country... going to Florida, or Las Vegas, or New York City, etc., is often cheaper, and I know many people here who have been to those places regularly, but never been to Halifax or Banff or Vancouver). There are only two major national domestic carriers (Air Canada and WestJet), so they have a virtual monopoly.  Dh once did a rough estimate of just how much money we've spent going back & forth to Manitoba to visit my family, over the past 37 years -- generally twice a year, summer and Christmas. OUCH. We could have done a LOT of other travelling (or other things) with that money... but... you can't substitute time with family (and, these days, aging parents)... or at least I can't. I know people who haven't been "home" to visit their families in years, but that's just not me. 
  • I bought myself a new Advent calendar. It's marketed for children, but I'm a big kid myself when it comes to Christmas (lol), so...! I've had another one for years that I love -- a felt tree, with grommets to hang little felt, looped ornaments on -- but they easily fall off, which is something of a nuisance. With this one, both tree & ornaments have velcro on them!  -- so we'll see if it works out better! 
  • I also treated myself (once again!) to an "Advent calendar" from my favourite sterling silver jewelry maker -- one beautifully wrapped surprise to open every day for the 24 days leading up to Christmas -- including jewelry pieces (bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rings) she's created especially for this project, plus other items from local craftspeople that she loves. It's a pricey splurge -- but a bargain at less than half the full cost of paying for all 24 items individually. I missed the first one she did in 2020, but got one last year (and posted about it here several times during the holiday season!), and it was a wonderful present to myself!  "Opening a lovely new surprise every morning was a real boost to the spirits, and I only wish I had bought one [in 2020], the first time it was offered. I highly recommend the experience! (and if jewelry isn't your thing, there are lots of other cool advent calendars out there for cheese, wine, perfumes, cosmetics -- and chocolate, of course!),"  I wrote here. 
  • Presents for LGN's birthday. :)  I ordered him a counting book -- "Dozens of Dachshunds" (I knew even if he didn't like it, his mom would!  lol) -- and we bought him some clothes. 
  • Christmas presents. :)  So far, I've bought something for SIL, something for my sister -- and a pawprint ornament kit for Older Nephew's dog, lol.  It's a start...!   
  • I took advantage of a Black Friday/Cyber Monday week sales to do some online shopping:  I ordered my Christmas cards, stocked up on my favourite foot cream from L'Occitane. and bought a couple of Tile tracking tags to try out in our luggage. :)  
  • Pre-Black Friday, I ordered some holiday-scented essential oils for my diffuser and some lip balm online from Saje. 
  • Dh actually let me drag him into Mark's Work Wearhouse, which carries women's clothing but is primarily known for men's casual and workwear. We walked out with two pairs of sweatpants and two long-sleeved tops. (Yay me! lol)  Wearing jeans (especially for extended periods of time) is irritating the eczema on his legs :(  -- and it's a LITTLE too chilly outside now to be wearing shorts!  lol  He wears flannel PJ pants around the house (he has several pairs, most of them plaid or otherwise patterned), but I suggested he might want to get some dark-coloured sweatpants to wear outside the house for trips to the supermarket, etc. 
  • And we wound up having to buy a new (artificial) Christmas tree (as described here). 
Wearing:  Despite my qualms about the risks in attending dh's cousin's party on Nov. 12th (well founded, as it turns out...!), it WAS fun to get (relatively) dressed up for the first time in eons, and put on makeup (ditto!).  I wore dark blue Lucky Brand jeans and a black camisole under a pretty floral print blouse that I got on the sale rack at Zara for just $14.99, pre-pandemic, and had never worn. Of course I forgot to take photos. One of the cousins did take a photo of dh & me as we were leaving. I was hoping he might send it to us, although he hasn't yet...! 

And... I've been wearing my Old Navy waffle-weave Christmas PJ tops around the house since mid-month!  (I've assembled quite a collection over the past few years, and ordered a few new ones this year too!)  I wore one of my newest ones, with big Christmas trees on it, today when we were babysitting LGN, who seemed fascinated by it.  :)  (The top by itself doesn't seem to be available anymore, but here's what it looks like.  :)  ) 

Noticing: How much earlier it's getting dark outside now, since the time change earlier this month -- like, around 5 p.m. :(   And of course it's going to keep on getting darker until we reach the winter solstice later in December. 

Appreciating:  Our new Dyson humidifier/purifier (which we bought last month). It's gotten a lot chillier and dry-er over the past month, and the humidity in our unit has been as low as 37% some mornings (we haven't been leaving it on overnight, although we might eventually have to...!).  It's been fun playing around with the settings -- we can do it remotely on an app too! -- and so far the maintenance/refilling has been a breeze. 

Enjoying:  The extra time we've been able to spend with Little Great-Nephew this month.  :)

Wondering:  Whether he will remember any of this when he gets older??  (He's 3 now... I remember a few things from when I was 3...!)

Wanting:  More time to get everything done that needs doing this month...!! 

Prioritizing: Christmas stuff... especially since we'll be heading west in just a few weeks' time (eeekkkk....!!)!  

Contemplating:  Whether I have time to do any Christmas baking this year?? (Not that we need it...!) 

Hoping:  To get to the mall next week to do some much-needed Christmas shopping...!  We haven't been to the one I'm thinking of since the pandemic hit (and I can count the number of times we've been to any other malls since then on the fingers of one hand...!). 

Trying (and failing!): To think of something to write for this prompt!  lol   

Loving:  Our Christmas tree... the extra lights on the tree really brighten up the room (especially when it gets so dark so early now...!).  

Feeling: A little depressed by the advent of early darkness and colder weather -- but looking forward to the holiday season, and to going "home" for Christmas!  Thankful that November doesn't suck quite as much as it once did (lol).  
Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)