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| Mais, oui! Of course I would like a pastry! |
It's February already! You thought I was going to give you yet another what I learned list, but I am not! I had many comments on my What I Learned look back and I thought it would be fun to do a group effort here this year. In the way of Elisabeth and her chapters! Also, I liked the chapters idea too, but Elisabeth said she may not do that again on her blog (E - if this is not true, I can cede the project back to you!), so I plan on doing a monthly chapter and a statement of what I learned in the last month. I would love it if you would join me! Also, since I guess I AM doing a list after all, please join me in answering these questions.
JANUARY:
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
2. What did you learn last month?
3. What was the weather like where you are?
4. What event last month was your favorite?
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month?
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
FEBRUARY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
January: Baguettes and Many Steps
2. What did you learn last month?
I learned a lot about the silk workers in Lyon, and about the poor Alsatians who got caught in the wars fighting against their brethren, and about how Dijon mustard used to be made with wine but is now generally made with vinegar.
3. What was the weather like where you are?
It was very cold at first, in the 20s, with snow and rain, and then at the end of the month, the wind direction changed or something, because now it is in the 50s (and raining).
4. What event last month was your favorite?
I went to a meetup with a random person and we spent about five hours just chatting, talking about travel and shooting the breeze. It reminds me that even though I hate reaching out to strangers, when I do, I usually have a good time!
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month?
I have been watching Jeopardy! I actually am enjoying Ken Jennings and I always have fun trying to guess the clues! It makes me feel so smart when I get one that the contestants don't get! This one was hard for them: As individuals, only Santa Claus & this public service ad icon introduced in 1944 have their own ZIP codes. Do you know the answer!? Also, I just found out that there is a fan based site where you can look up all of the questions and answers! Down the rabbit hole I go!
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
I currently have a lot of language barrier stories. Here is one of many. I went to the grocery store and bought my first bottle of wine in France the other day. As I am waiting to be rung up, I see a sign that says something about needing to be 18 to buy liquor. I get to the front, the cashier starts ringing me up, and then she swipes the wine and asks me (in French, of course) for my card. I was thinking in my mind, "WOW, I have not been carded in years, and now I am getting carded in France, where they can drink at 18, and most likely drink wine well before that? This is a first!" So I get out my ID and I hand it to her but in my mind, I am thinking, "she is never going to know where to look for my birthday on my CA drivers license!"
She peers at my card, gives me a quizzical look and says (still in French), "non, I meant your store card!" and she shows me the loyalty card of the store. I say, "no, I don't have one yet" and take the application she hands me. Oops!
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
I am not really "looking forward" to this, but I booked my admission to Auschwitz and I have wanted to go and see it for so many years and I am glad that I am finally going to go.
Your turn! Answer the questions if you want and also tell me, have you been to Auschwitz?
I am NOT doing the chapter title thing again, so yay for carrying the torch forward AND for making it bigger and better.
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
January: A Slow Start to 2025
2. What did you learn last month?
That I need to go to bed earlier and that having a month of family visiting is 1000% worth it, and yet also drains my energy tank!
3. What was the weather like where you are?
Cold. So, so cold. Ugh. I hate it.
4. What event last month was your favorite?
The reaction on my parents' face when my sister and niece from the US walked in and surprised them. It was priceless and a moment I'll remember fondly for the rest of my life.
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month?
My husband and I watched a documentary on John Williams on Disney+ and it just was delightful. I love music, I love movie soundtracks, and I love his iconic music. Oh, and I LOVE behind-the-scenes programs, so this was up my alley in every possible way.
Elisabeth, you are going to hate me, because I had to look up John Williams and now I wish that I had Disney+ because I would love to watch that documentary. I love music and movie soundtracks, but I must admit that I do not always know who the composer is. I know who did Lord of the Rings though!
DeleteI love that two of your things involve family, but they are on opposite sides! Fun, but tiring! Very special but happy when it's over!
No hate from my end. I've been mildly obsessed with John Williams for years and kept saying "When are they going to make a documentary" and now they have! He also just seems like such a warm-hearted guy (he's almost 100 now)!
DeleteI'm down! I got so much from Elisabeth's chapters last year and I'm thrilled to see a deeper angle on it here.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a social animal, but I always love meeting up with people. And yes even though "looking forward" is not the right phrase to use, I couldn't not go to Auschwitz if I had the chance. I forget exactly when, but at some point after Oct 7th there were some antisemitism incidents that made the news. I was chatting with my coworkers in Israel and they told me that they felt safer there than they would anywhere else in the world. It was so sad.
Anywayz:
1. Deep Winter
2. I learned more about how to navigate the trails of my "local" National Park where I am doing a hiking challenge.
3. We started mild and then we had a lot of cold and a lot of snow. We had a total of 3 snow days at school (this is our last year with a kid in high school so snow days are precious).
4. It was a "you had to be there" kind of thing, but taking our dog to visit the shelter on her Gotcha Day was a special moment.
5. TV show wise, Seinfeld rocks. For movies it was the double feature stack of The Mask of Zorro and the OG 1920s The Mark of Zorro (just in case there is ever a question on Jeopardy, the titles are similar but not the same).
6. The time that my dog counter surfed and stole a huge chunk of tofu. Mind boggling brazenness, an unlikely food choice, and how ferociously she wolfed it down.
7. I'm headed to FL for an entire week!!! Cool Bloggers will be met.
Oh I know you are going to have so much fun in FL! I can't wait to hear all about it. What do you have planned? Or is that a spoiler? I actually noticed that YouTube TV (my only service) has Seinfeld; who knows, maybe I will pull a Birchie and start from the very beginning!
Delete1. January: Dark and Cold
ReplyDelete2. I learned a lot about my cat's intestines. I'll spare you the details.
3. Cold. Very cold. And dark.
4. Two things: Blogger meetup with Sarah and Anne! Also, I judged the Academic Decathlon at work and it was really fun and interesting.
5. Gone With the Wind, hands down.
6. Two young squirrels fell out of a tree right in front of me when I was walking the dog. I've never seen squirrels fall out of a tree before - they're usually so agile!
7. My BIL and his family are coming to visit us Valentine's Day weekend and we have so much fun stuff planned. I can't wait!
Okay, just like last year, I'm saving these answers in a Google doc and will report back at the beginning of 2026. Fingers crossed 2025 goes better than 2024 did!!!
Yeah, learning about a cat's intestines is probably not the most fun thing to learn about! However, the story about the squirrels is interesting! I have never seen that happen!
DeleteFirst of all I love following along on your adventures. France looks divine, oh la la. I have not been to that part of Europe so I will be interested to read about your visit to Auschwitz. I imagine it will be very moving. I don't often play along with these prompts but for you, mon cher ami, I will.
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? Sunrise, sunset.
2. What did you learn last month? I am taking a course on novel revising and editing, so I have learned a ton about the process.
3. What was the weather like where you are? We are in a cold snap, it's about -8 and very light snow. This is the coldest it's been all year, which is to say it's not very cold.
4. What event last month was your favorite? Paint night with the squad.
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month? We finished watching Barry and it was really good, I'm glad I stuck it out. The season finale was one of the best I've ever seen.
6. Tell us one funny recent story. Hmm, I'm blanking. HAS anything funny happened? I cannot think of anything! Surely there must be one thing!
Thank you for playing along, mon amie! The novel revisiting class sounds interesting! After she retired, my grandmother took up quilting and writing and she took a creative writing class that she really enjoyed. I think I would like that, and now I am going to go and Google what my options are! I do love writing but have not been critiqued for it (aside from presentations at work, I guess, but those are more black and white) for a long time! Also, I am sure something funny has happened! Knowing you, there was a lady who talked to you at Costco or something!
DeleteJanuary: Basketball frustration (ugh, don't get me started).
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot about anxiety and how to help Mini when I met with her anxiety therapist.
Weather: cold enough in January that school was cancelled one day
Favorite event: probably throwing a last minute surprise b-day party for Rae
Best thing I watched: Man on the Inside (I think that's the title) a cute show starring the guy from Cheers. Sheesh, totally blanking and too lazy to look it up
Funny thing that happened: funny as I look back, sort of - when the keys to the kids' car made a trip to Milwaukee with Tank, leaving us without 2 cars (the one that Tank drove and the one that he took the only set of keys for). I know there are funny things that the tots do on a regular basis, but I'm drawing a blank.
Ha! I remember the story of the keys and I think that is type two fun, where it is NOT FUN when it is happening but you can look back and laugh now. I have a lot of those stories, in travel and life and hiking and...etc!
DeleteI'm guessing that the fictional character with their own zip code is Smokey Bear. I am guessing that because I know he gets a lot of mail, and because I LOVE SMOKEY BEAR. I almost wore my Smokey sweatshirt when we met up.
ReplyDeleteYou nailed it!! I also got it right, although I don't know where I figured it out, because I did not know that he got a lot of mail! Where I am from the Forest Service, and Smokey, is a big thing (for obvious reasons!) and my Mom was a postmaster, but still I did not know he was so popular!
DeleteOh my goodness those pastries look amazing! We are planning a trip to Paris later this year and I think that's all my child will eat. I am distressed that Dijon mustard no longer has wine in it. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteI love Jeopardy too and go through spates of watching it nightly. The only answer I can think of is Smokey the Bear... but he's not a person. Can bears get mail? Yes, I realize he is a fictional bear, but... hmm.
I have been to Auschwitz twice. I found it extremely moving and am glad I went. I hope you find the experience meaningful.
Smokey is correct! Nice work. You win the fictional Jeopardy prize, or bragging rights! I know Auschwitz will be moving and I have read so many books about that time period and the events that unfolded, so I will be "glad" to see it and have the picture be more accurate in my mind, as well as to learn more about it while there.
DeleteI am not an extrovert but one of the highlights of the Camino was meeting new people so I can totally get how your meetup was a highlight for January. And i'll give the quesitons a go:
ReplyDeleteJANUARY:
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? Finally a Real Summer. We have had a series of coolish, rainy summers so this is a welcome change. A warm summer but no run of 40+C days.
2. What did you learn last month? I found out that Whiskey Tango Foxtrot means "What the F***"
3. What was the weather like where you are? Beautiful
4. What event last month was your favorite? My dad's 85th birthday lunch
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month? The Night Agent
6. Tell us one funny recent story. My daughter and I went for a swim and there were shore breakers and she got dumped by one before we had fully entered the water. She popped up and said "I win the race to get fully in"
FEBRUARY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month? Dinner with our good friends
OH, I just laughed aloud about your WTF reference! Ha! I guess since we always used the military alphabet at work, I just assumed everyone knew that, but I can see why you wouldn't. How did you learn it in the end? I agree that even though I shy away from social situations, usually when I do them or are in them I am happy I did. One of the reasons that the Camino has not been high on my list is due to the number of people, as I like to hike in solitude, BUT I think that I would probably like it if I did it. But in my mind, I hold back sometimes.
DeleteI can relate to your daughter's story! I have been slapped by a sneaker wave in the past and come up sputtering with dirt in my hair!!
1. Oh God Not More F*cking Snow
ReplyDelete2. I learned that my boots are slip-resistant and allow me to walk in ice and snow.
3. January was brutally cold and snowy and windy and why again do I live here?
4. It actually got above freezing and I went to the car wash! I actually have a black car; who knew?
5. We watched Man on the Inside and started rewatching House (I have a crush on Hugh Laurie). I watched the Bruce Springsteen documentary someplace--Max?
6. Last week at the grocery store, there was yet another woman who parked her shopping cart in the middle of the aisle and LEFT IT THERE WHILST SHE WANDERED ALL OVER gathering things. I find this outrageous and annoying. I immediately loaded up her cart with various items. She did this a few times, and so did I. I saw her later, and my items were still in her cart. Talk about oblivious. I really wanted to follow her to the checkout, but I was done faster than she was.
February, please be kind to NEO. I've had enough.
Hahaha. The cart story! I wish you would have stayed to see what happened at the checkout counter! That is hilarious. That made my day; thank you.
DeleteOh man, that trip to Auschwitz will be so impactful. <3
ReplyDelete1. The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
2. I learned all about a weird condition called hidradenitis suppurativa because my derm diagnosed me with it. It just means my body likes to produce cysts!
3. It was VERY COLD (by Florida standards) for part of the month and then warmed up to the mid-70s for the rest of it.
4. Meeting up with Jenny!
5. Hollywood Squares just relaunched with new hosts and I've been really enjoying it!
6. I'm drawing a blank on a funny story. I got nuthin.
7. I'm looking forward to meeting BIRCHIE this weekend!
Yay! You and Birchie are going to have so much fun! I can't wait to hear all about it. I can tell you on good authority that she is exactly how you think she is going to be, in the best possible way!
DeleteI have been carded but usually they are checking the back to make sure I am not prohibited from being served (as is the case if you have too many DUIs)! When I lived in CLT I got carded for an R-rated movie!! I was 33!!
ReplyDeleteJanuary: new year energy followed by accepting my limitations.
January: Moving in slow motion.
ReplyDeleteWe had a lovely "Florida cold" January, but now it's hot again (sigh.)
Favorite event of the month- trip to Tampa, complete with Stephany hang!
We started watching The Bear- we like it but are moving through it slowly (we don't watch much TV.)
Funny story... I think I laughed but can't remember when or at what. SIGH.