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
February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii*
*It was freezing at the beginning of the month, actually way below freezing and then beautiful at the end.
2. What did you learn last month?
I learned so much that I cannot even list the things. I watched Schindler's List and then went to the museum in Krakow and although I knew a lot about the German invasion of Poland, I learned a lot more. I also learned some French, Polish and Dutch words. Bedankt!
3. What was the weather like where you are?
I guess I had a spoiler alert with my February book title, but it varied! I think the lowest was about 9 F / -12 C and the highest was about 65 F / 18 C.
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| When it's cold, I eat bread products! |
4. What event last month was your favorite?
Well, I would not say "favorite" but I am glad I went to Auschwitz and saw it with my own eyes. It was very cold that day and I kept having to pause and think about how cold it would have been, and obviously how horrid, for the poor prisoners who were there.
On the flip side, arriving in Spain to warmth and water has been a mood lifter for sure!
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month?
Schindler's List. I don't know why I never watched it when it came out. Also I am still watching Jeopardy and am loving the Tournament of Champions (TOC for those in the know). It also makes me feel smart, as sometimes I know answers that the contestants don't. Of course, I have no pressure as I sit in my pajamas and yell at the screen!
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
I got chewed out by a cleaning lady in Seville on my first real day in Spain. She was mopping the outdoor tile patio at the Plaza de España, where there were hundreds if not thousands of people walking around (on the tile) and I walked over the wet part, and she came at me! Obviously I did not know all the words, but she was not happy, so I said, "lo siento (I am sorry)!" and she said, "lo siento, coño!" which is not a nice word. I almost giggled right in front of her, as I do not know a lot of Spanish, but of course I know the bad words. I managed to get far enough away to giggle without her seeing me.
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| Plaza de España; see the tile? |
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
I have people coming to visit! My uncle, who has never really traveled out of the US except to go to the Bahamas (?), is coming, and my Dad and brother will be here too. I see many games of cards in our future, and we have already booked some hiking and sightseeing trips. It will be fun.
FEBRUARY:
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.
MARCH:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
Bonus question! Have you ever been cursed out in a different language?
Oh wow, you've never seen Schindler's List before! It's so moving. My older son and I were discussing it last night, as we were watching the Oscars and I remembered it cleaning up all those years ago. My son told me that The Pianist, the star of which won an Oscar last night, is also excellent and similar. I might watch it, but of course it's going to be very sad. I think it's important to visit if possible and meditate on those terrible times/ places, especially these days. One day I will visit.
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? At the beach
2. What did you learn last month? I learned this yesterday, which is technically March, but I'm counting it. Army ants are the most deadly animal in the Amazon. We watched a documentary and I'm surprised I slept after it.
3. What was the weather like where you are? Beautiful spring weather! Temperatures around 10-12 degrees! (C obvs)
4. What event last month was your favorite? Going to Mexico with my friends and husband.
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month? We watched Conclave and I loved it!
6. Tell us one funny recent story. At the resort they played a dance remix of Wish You Were Here, which is itself hilarious to me.
Are you talking about the Pink Floyd song? Okay, so I just Googled dance remix of Wish You Were Here and listened to a few of them and they are...interesting. Did you dance to it? I feel like maybe there is too much guitar for it to be a good dance remix? Actually this one is not bad: https://youtu.be/KL5rKR8nEW4?si=YP6lGTJTImol7OLW
DeleteAlso, I have not seen the Pianist either but the director, Roman Polanski was one of the children in the ghetto of Krakow who survived. That in itself is pretty deep.
DeleteA couple of years ago I became obsessed with the AFI Top 100 films list and sat myself down to watch the 30-ish movies that I hadn't seen. Schindler's List was one of them. I can't imagine going from watching the movie and then being able to visit the real scenes, other than that it would pack an extra punch. It doesn't quite compare to my other AFI experience of watching Shawshank Redemption and going to the prison where the movie was shot (right here in Ohio!)
ReplyDeleteYou had an epic February and you will have an even epic-er March. And that's only 1/4 of the year!
Here's my side of the story:
1. One Week of Summer, Three Weeks of Deeper Winter
2. I learned that going somewhere warm in the depths of winter is a game changer. I also learned that I need to be more proactive in scheduling my trips. Work "forced" me to go to FL and I built an epic trip around it, so I can do the same thing without work sending me somewhere. I also confirmed what I learned last year, which is that 100% of our blogging tribe are awesome people.
3. The weather tho...in east Florida it was hot and humid, just like summer at home. West Florida was perfection - not too hot and not too cold. Back home it was cold upon cold with a solid layer of ice on the ground. It was so bad that the hiking trails were closed at one point. In happier news, toward the end of the month we got some milder days and I was able to run outside.
4. Well of course the time in FL was my favorite!
5. Seinfeld continues to hit.
6. I see a trend that for two months in a row my funny story is the Most Epic Counter Surf of the Month. This month was the hard boiled egg caper. Hubs made a hard boiled egg for breakfast. He took it off the stove and let it cool down in the sink, then he peeled it, set it on a plate on the counter, and turned his back to throw the eggshell away. He set the plate in the sweet spot that is pretty far back from the edge but still within range of Doggo's snoot. She was very pleased with herself. She doesn't countersurf very often, but when she does she gets the best rewards.
7. In March I'm looking forward to playing hookey this Friday to meet a friend for lunch, a family party this Saturday (first family party after my nephew got engaged!!!), and I'm working out the details for a solo trip in the middle of the month as well as some Cool Blogger meets for later in the year. I'm also looking forward to better weather which means more options for things to do at home. I've come up with quite a local bucket list for when the weather is better.
Bonus: as far as I know I have not been cursed out in another language. I am not living my life right.
I love your list, and am so glad that you got to have the FL outing. Sometimes it makes us / forces us to get our butts in gear when someone else puts the trip in our radar, so thanks work! It is harder to get our own focus sorted out by ourselves sometimes. I always feel like when I really get going, I can cram a lot into an outing/weekend/week, but sometimes the getting going takes a while! Also, DOGGO!! No offense, but she is probably thinking that you guys are pretty silly to keep putting things within her reach. Also, did she have smelly gas from the egg? :) All you need to do if you want to be chewed out is to go to Spain. The bus driver also gave some people a butt chewing and a fabulous eye roll when they brought food on the bus that they were planning on eating! Doh!
DeleteFEBRUARY:
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
I Hate Winter/Snow
2. What did you learn last month?
I learned that my cat likes to watch bird videos; now he asks to watch them.
3. What was the weather like where you are?
Snowy, cold, wintry--awful.
4. What event last month was your favorite?
Spending time with my grandson
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month?
We've been watching The Pitt on MAX--excellent series; I'm addicted to The Floor
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
Um...I woke up this morning, came out into the living room and the tv was on, but with no sound. My husband was still in bed. Nothing was disturbed. I know it was off when we went to bed. The only explanation I can think of is that one of the cats stepped on the remote, which was on the end table. Thankfully, the sound bar didn't come on, too.
MARCH:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
My son is having a huge birthday party with food trucks and music later this month. Should be fun!
Oooh food trucks and music sound great! What kind of food? What kind of music? Do tell. I am so glad that you got to spend time with your grandson; maybe it is not enough to make up for the cold, but it is a good start, right? I have never seen The Pitt or The Floor!
DeleteI've never seen Schindler's List, either, despite that we played the music in orchestra in high school. I'll have to add that to my list of movies to see.
ReplyDeleteSo funny about the Plaza story!! I have a favorite pic of Ivan and me there on a hot beautiful day in September. I remember we facetimed with the boys from there (they were home with grandma and grandpa). We loved Spain but in general did NOT find the people to be overly friendly! In fact in restaurants etc they were often downright UN-friendly! And we speak the language! We wondered if maybe there was some kind of bias against our Mexican Spanish?? Or like some kind of weird complex between Spanish and Latin American people that we didn't know about? We were always really friendly and polite and respectful, so who knows. That was a little bummer, but oh well.
Are you talking about Seville in particular or Spain in general, because I noticed the same thing! When I was in Krakow running on path by the river, everyone smiled, waved, nodded, made eye contact. When I was in Seville running on the path by the river, barely anyone made eye contact, those who did just side eyed and definitely did not smile! I started smiling and giving a hand wave to everyone (haha why not) and only ONE person even acknowledged me! Where I am now is near the ocean and there is a path here, and I am (stubbornly) doing the same thing to see if I can make people be more friendly. Haha.
DeleteThe tile cleaner said what?! That is amusing, although I feel bad for that person if she feels so angry she needs to curse at strangers. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteYour reaction to Auschwitz is exactly how I felt. For me, it was important and powerful to have been there, and seen it, but it was in no way enjoyable.
How neat that you will have so many visitors! Hooray for family!
I know, I was surprised. And I said sorry, it wasn't like I was like screw you and your outdoor floor! Whatever, it is not going to ruin my day in the least. Moving on. I do think that the world's history is important to learn about and to see, whether positive or negative. It happened and I agree with you, it is important to acknowledge and pay respects. It was powerful. And sad.
Delete1. last month's chapter (my computer won't let me cut and paste - saying 'it's copyrighted' - what am I doing wrong): Basketball and more basketball, glum times, and tackling clutter
ReplyDelete2. What did you learn last month? We learned a lot (from another parent) about how to manage the recruiting atmosphere for kids playing in college
3. The weather: bitterly cold most of the time, but one day was snowy and mild and I took the girls sledding
4. What event last month was your favorite? Going to see my favorite high school teacher, tied with the evening Ed came home for dinner and we played a family game afterwards, lots of laughs. Great family time
5. Listened to or watched last month? Ugh. No idea. Oh, I watched Pretty in Pink with Curly and Sixteen Candles. She hadn't seen those movies, and that was so fun
6. One funny recent story: When Mini called to tell me that she woke up in a hostel and HAD to use the bathroom and all the bathrooms were in use, and her friend noticed and said; HOW CAN I HELP? And then her friend ran to another floor in the London hostel and waited until there was an opening and texted Mini. Mini related it to the "It's HAPPENING!" thing in Bridesmaids.
7. LOOKING FORWARD TO IN MARCH: So easy, Going to Italy to see MINI!
The story of you walking on the tiles after she mopped them is hilarious. What on earth? Isn't that too many people to avoid having anyone walk on them for an extended period of time?
Tackling clutter sounds like a good time! Haha! I feel like tackling clutter is a never ending job sometimes. I feel like nearly my entire 2023 year was spent tackling clutter! You are going to have such a good time visiting Mini! I loved Florence, but also it will be nice for her to have company and to be able to show you guys around her new home. I think it is fun when the kid has something to teach the parents!
Delete1. This f'ing splint. (not positive but this thing is getting old!)
ReplyDelete2. What it feels like to live in a dystopian novel. I don't like reading them and I really dislike living in one.
3. The weather was all over the place! School was canceled one day due to -30F windchills but then it got up to the 50s later in the month.
4. My lunch w/ Caroline, SHU, and Jenny!
5. Phil and I are watching the 2nd to last season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I am basically married to a young Larry David and this show falls squarely in the thin slice of our Venn Diagram!
6. I'm really trying to think of something funny and am striking out...
Wow, that lady really did not like you! Calling you a cono even after you apologized. And sheesh lady - these tiles are going to be walked on!!
I enjoyed Curb Your Enthusiasm back in the day. Are the episodes you are watching new? I can't imagine they are. Also, you are totally married to a young David. Sometimes when Phil jokes, I am half unsure if he is joking or not as he says things with a completely straight, no nonsense face! The lady was like the Seinfeld soup Nazi, just making sure she exerted her control in some way that day!
DeleteWhat an amazing month you had! I have not been to Auschwitz, but we were in Amsterdam in 1993 on our honeymoon, and we went to the Anne Frank house/museum, which was crushing. I hesitate to say I loved it, but it has stuck with me and I'm really glad that we went. And wow on the woman in Seville, Spicy! I don't think I would expect that in New York even. Well, maybe.
ReplyDeleteOK, here are mine...
FEBRUARY:
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
STRESS and beautiful weather. Stress due to being in the US where it feels like our Democracy is crumbling. The weather was stunning and I hope March gives us some rain...not so much right now, unfortunately.
2. What did you learn last month?
That even when life is hard, life is also beautiful. I guess I knew that already, so not really.
3. What was the weather like where you are?
See #1. Cold some days, warm some days, but sunny and beautiful. A tiny bit of rain, but not enough.
4. What event last month was your favorite?
I don't have one that stands out. I had a lot of nice walks by myself and with my family, lots of nice meals, and a few times where we got together with friends.
5. What was the best thing you listened to or watched last month?
We watched 'Flow', an animated film about a cat that survives a flood. Really lovely and still sad.
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
Hmmm. Life doesn't feel funny lately, I can't think of anything...
MARCH:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
My daughter's 'champagne birthday', she is turning 29 on the 29th. Looking forward to celebrating with her.
I have never heard of a champagne birthday! Does that mean that mine was when I turned 14 since my birthday is on the 14th? Can I have another one please? I am glad that your weather is nice; I really love March and April on the east side of the Caldecott, as the hills are actually green. After that, it is golden hills and hot weather and I can do without that. Last year at this time, after a mostly dry winter, you may recall that it snowed 12 feet in the Sierra Nevadas, which was right before I started cycling! So maybe the same thing will happen this year?
DeleteOh, I'm sure I've been cursed out in a different language at some point- but I just didn't know it. To answer some of your questions- February was a blur! I listened to a lot of great podcasts, and my husband and I are wtching The Bear- but my favorite thing of the month was a book I read, Death's End by Cixin Liu.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Auschwitz was a sobering experience. I've never been there, but I did go to Dachau, which was probably very similar.
Looking forward to this month- my birthday. Woohoo!
I am sure Dachau is probably similar. It is all very sobering for sure. That they preserved them is amazing, as I would have thought that they would want to rip those memories down as soon as possible. Can you believe that in less than 20 years it will be 100 years since WWII started!? That book sounds interesting; did you also enjoy the first two?
Delete
ReplyDelete1. February: FIGs and Bubble Waffle Cones
2. I learned that the apathy in the United States is off the charts and Donald Trump can literally do whatever he wants and no one will hold him accountable.
3. Still cold and dark.
4. My brother-in-law and his family came to visit and we had a fun time bowling, going to a smash room and basketball game, and eating bubble waffle cones.
5. I read a book called Beautyland. Beautiful coming-of-age story.
6. At Costco, you can leave heavy items in the cart at checkout. The couple ahead of us left a box of croissants in the cart. I nodded at them and told my husband they must be heavier than the croissants I am used to. He deadpanned "they must be filled" and I laughed SO HARD. I don't know why it tickled me so much, but I was doubled over.
MARCH:
7. It's Spring Break at the end of the month and I took off two days. On one of those days someone is coming to do something to our water meter, but other than that, they are blissfully schedule free. I'd like to do a fun date with my husband and take the dog for an extra long trip to the dog park.
Yay! Spring break! I am sorry that it is still cold and dark. I was very happy when I was in Poland, as it is on the far east side of the time zone, so the sun came up earlier (maybe around 6) vs now I am in the west side of the time zone and it doesn't get light until around 7:30 which is crazy. I prefer light in the morning, and can't wait to spring forward so I can have more of it.
DeleteCursed out? I don't think so. Reprimanded? Yes. I was exploring a few ruins next to San Pedro de Atacama and stepped where I was not supposed to. The path was outlined with ropes of the same color as earth. The watcher went "hay que re*petar nuestra tierra" he had a point but it was also an accident.
ReplyDeleteYup, that is basically the same thing. I did not know that it was mopped/wet and it was an accident! I wasn't expecting to have to walk around a wet part of the outdoor ground in the middle of the day! I felt bad because I did walk on her freshly mopped floor, but I apologized!
DeleteOh man, that feels like such a strong reaction to an honest mistake, especially when you apologized. I'm glad you didn't let that ruin your day!
ReplyDeleteI would like to go to Auschwitz some day. It's such a sobering part of history.
1. Investing in Friendships & FIGs
2. Hm, well, I learned a lot about USAID and how much it helps our global community and the impact it has. SO. (I just want government to run like it should. I don't need to know about all of these departments getting refunded. MOVING ON.)
3. Too warm
4. Meeting Birchie and showing her around St. Pete!
5. Best thing I read was The Blue Castle. Best thing I watched was The Traitors!
6. Lila doesn't like to be picked up so brushing her is IMPOSSIBLE. When I took her to the vet last month, I know that they keep these plastic combs on hand so once I was in a room, I found where they stash the combs and took one out and started going to town on her. (She lets me hold her and brush her at the vet, the only time I can do it!) So yeah... the vet shows up in the room and I've got Lila on the table and a big pile of fur next to her. HA.
7. I'm looking forward to a weekend in Orlando with two friends. We are going to a Taylor Swift-inspried romance bookstore!
I am so glad that you had a great time with Birchie! Aren't those connections so special? And it is so nice to finally put a real body to an online face or words! I have thoroughly enjoyed all of my meetups, including the one with Birchie! I think the vet is probably used to piles of hair (and worse!) so if you are going to do it, that is probably the place!
DeleteI think I saw Schindlers List when I was in high school but I don't think I could watch it now. I feel like somehow these awful things affected me less when I was younger and more now that I'm... old? Have seen more? I visited Auschwitz when I was backpacking and it was October and I remember thinking the same thing about the cold. I really think it's somewhere everyone should go once, even though it's very hard to think about.
ReplyDeleteLol at getting told off by the cleaning lady! I did not know that word haha but now I do!
The movie definitely came out when I was in HS but I never watched it! I probably would not have been as moved, so I am glad that I waited until I could "appreciate" it more. And re the swear word, now at least 10 more people know a Spanish cuss word! :)
DeleteThis trip sounds like a wonderful combination of learning, eating, and just...being in different places. It's what is so appealing to me about the way you travel. You take the time to really settle into a place and get to know it. (Although maybe avoid the cleaning lady if you see her again??? :>)
ReplyDeleteHah! Yes, I will try to avoid her! :)
DeleteWe had to watch Schindler's List in school (I am not sure if it's still mandatory). It was heart-wrenching and hard as a teenager to learn about our history (but oh so necessary, which is even more obvious now seeing that is going on in the US).
ReplyDeleteIt is heart wrenching! I am glad that they make you watch it!
Delete