Goodbye, January

You knew this would happen.  You knew I would again be amazed at how fast time is flying.  Can you believe we are saying, “Goodbye, January”? 

And are you saying “Good riddance”? 

January has been a really good and fun month for me, but I am DONE with the cold.

By the way, are you doing a Dry January?  If you are, you might be happy to hear it’s almost over.  DF Jann is another of my many friends who celebrate a January birthday, so she treated herself with a cocktail, but she says otherwise she’s had a “damp January.”  Hahaha!

Around Town

Deb and I finally got to wear shorts on one of our walks this week.  Maybe my old legs will get a bit tanned. 

One day we walked in blustery weather, but it was a break between rain storms and the clouds were so pretty.

Speaking of Deb, her Anthem Health & Wellness club hosted Raqia Farms with a talk and sample of microgreens.  It was excellent!

I’m really committing to tidying up my diet and adding microgreens is an easy and delicious way to start.

Our friends and neighbors, Gary and Suzanne, brought their Rummikub game over and taught us to play.  It was a fun game and a lovely evening.  We’ll be adding that game to our repertoire soon.

I put together a charcuterie board and added the end of the Christmas cookies.  DFs treated us to gorgeous baked goods at Christmas and we froze them to eat a bit at a time.  They were so pretty and so good.

Saying goodbye to January is also goodbye to the sweets.  Until Valentine’s that is  😉. 

Around the House

Do you use Magic Erasers?  Twice this month I’ve found mysterious marks on our walls and have successfully used the Magic Eraser to remove them.

Hub purchased a huge package of microfiber cloths from Costco so I’ve been using them more than I used to and have found how much I can cut down on using products because they shine surfaces so well.

For instance, I no longer use stainless steel polish on my kitchen appliances.  I clean them off with Dawn soapy water and then dry and polish with a microfiber.

I no longer use granite polish on the countertops.  The microfiber takes off all the spots.

Amazing!

So those are my two tips for January!

What I’m Eating

The cold weather had me firing up my slow cooker with a nice batch of beef and bean chili.  DF Julie fired up hers too and made a gorgeous roast with vegetables.

This is what she did:

Placed a chuck roast with onions and garlic in the Calphalon slow cooker in the morning and then added vegetables in the afternoon.  After 8 hours of slow cooking her roast was beautiful and perfect.

What I’m Reading

On audio I finished Martin Clark’s The Plinko Bounce.  I read everything Clark writes because he is smart and interesting as an author.  His books are fun and devious.  And David Aaron Baker is one of my favorite narrators.  I loved it and recommend!

In print I picked up a 50 cent paperback at my favorite thrift shop and read The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.  It was a really quick read and I had some of it figured out, but there is most surely a good twist in this one.

Wrap Up

So, tell me, are you happy to see January go?  Have you made progress on any of your 2024 goals?  I’m always happy to see spring and I feel like it’s right around the corner.  If Trader Joe’s starts selling daffodils, I know it’s close so I’ll check in on that.

The club has planted winter annuals and they are so pretty and cheerful and hopeful for mild weather.

God bless you and yours for a wonderful week ahead.