Inspired By In January 2024

Stuff Updates

I got the flu early this month, and my Oura Ring knew something was up even before I developed symptoms. One morning, I opened the app to the message, “You feeling okay?”  It then detailed how all my metrics were wonky: heart rate, body temp, HRV.

So, I want to give a little shout-out to the Oura ring. It’s not that I wouldn’t have noticed I felt sick, but having a 48-hour notification that things were going south gave me a little heads-up before I felt bad.

I also want to give an update on the Shleepy from Unhide. 

I wrote about this in my October “Inspired by” post and wondered back then if it would be warm enough for winter. 

The answer is a most definite YES! This thing is so cuddly, so soft, so warm (but not too warm) that it feels like wearing a stuffed animal. I got one for everyone in my family for Christmas, and to a person, everyone loves theirs. 

Watching

I watched two movies this month: My Dinner with Andre(I watched it on MAX), which I watch every January, some years siding with Andre, other years with Wally, and using the character  I feel more aligned with as a predictor for the year ahead. 

For people who don’t know the film, Andre is the idealist, and Wally is the realist. The whole movie is the two of them, sitting and talking. 

Here’s the famous clip where Wally defends his electric blanket.

This year, I initially thought it would be an Andre year for me (again), but Wally’s defense of science landed hard, and in the end, I realized there has to be a middle way.

I also watched Past Lives  on MAX

Here’s the trailer

I cried like a baby at the end. And that hasn’t happened to me at a movie in a long time. It had stunning shots and a poignant story; it was beautifully acted and had an unexpectedly real ending. Highly recommend.

Thinking about

Paris,— mostly about what to pack. I do not want to check a bag, so I must practice severe restraint. I consulted ChatGPT on what to bring, and among other things, it suggested “comfortable but elegant shoes.”  Sounds like an oxymoron to me. So please, dear readers, any advice about shoes or anything else I should pack would be deeply appreciated. I will be there three full days.

I downloaded Duolingo to brush up on my French. I can read French much better than I can pronounce it. Duolingo is silly, but fun. It makes me wish I were fluent in another language. But I’d have to move to a place, live there full time, and be forced to use the language daily for that to happen.

Reading

I am still reading Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann,

and A Therapeutic Journey by Alain de Botton.

The Yoga Lounge Book Group picked North Woods by Daniel Mason but I haven’t started it yet.

Eating and Drinking

The flu kicked me hard. Hot water was my beverage of choice, and soups have been my go-to for the past few weeks.

I made lasagne soup the other night, and I believe it is the perfect January food.

Here’s the recipe I use:

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna Soup

Thinking about

I am still thinking about Front Row people. Recently, I got a letter from a friend telling me how much she loved me and appreciated my presence in her life, especially when she was younger. 

This person wasn’t on my radar for being one of my Front Row people simply because she lives so far away. We also don’t text or keep in touch. But she is definitely in my Front Row, or if not in the Front Row, she’s a Season Ticket holder. 

Do you have people like that in your life? People you know and love, and if they only lived closer, they would be in your front row and you in theirs? I need a name for these people. Season Ticket holders? Or can you think of another word or phrase to describe them? 

Let me know. 

And thanks for reading. I so appreciate you!

Kath