Finding Joy in January {2024}

#JanuaryinReview #WBOYC

Dear friends. January is behind us! The days are slowly getting longer. I try to find good things to do in January, and I treat myself with kindness, not giving anything up.

Here's my account of the first month of 2025. I start on Dec 31 as it wasn't covered last month.

Tues Dec 31

Went on bike ride to discharge battery. 1st time since Oct. Not too cold. Took a while to get going as I couldn't find the electric control panel. Big panic! We cycled to the Olympic Park, had coffee. My new Samsung Watch 7 recognised the activity and said 627 calories. Not bad for a fairly short ride!

Watched Highlands Cops and The Split, both (BBC iPlayer).

In bed before midnight. Woken at midnight by all the fireworks.

Weds Jan 1

Very windy and wet. Did a workout. Ordered a year planner. Did some tidying in the office, filing cabinet and throwing things out.

Trying to eat more healthily with no UPFs. Didn’t have breakfast. Lunch was poached eggs on rye bread and bone broth; for dinner chicken casserole with cauliflower cheese, leeks, carrots.

Thurs Jan 2

Sunny but cold. Went to Borehamwood for a test drive of the Polestar 4 electric car. We took it out on our own and promptly got lost, not knowing where we were, and finding the sat nav wasn't set up.

Did short walk, went to the Re-use shop (below) at the recycling centre.

Got tickets for Dec 22 carols at the Royal Albert Hall next year, in an attempt to make Christmas more enjoyable.

Started SAS Rogue Heroes, BBC iPlayer. This is a jazzed up war drama with a very outspoken maverick leader. Not my cup of tea, although J loves it.

Friday 3 Jan

Just 2 degrees when I got up. Sunny. Did walk then Pilates. J has a cold, didn't come. Went to dentist for scan for new mouth guard. Started Lockerbie with Colin Firth. Unlikely to continue. The forest is flooded after recent rain.

Sat 4 Jan

V cold and overcast. Weather forecasters hedging their bets as to whether or not we will get snow here. Walked to Waitrose, wore new Meindl walking shoes. Started Missing You on Netflix. Not for us.

Sunday 5 Jan

Had a rest day. Raining. Turned out to be very boring (this is what happens when I give myself a rest day!). Roast lamb. J still unwell.

Mon 6 Jan

Did early walk, 8am in forest. Very wet and muddy. Then went to Jodie's for hair colour and cut. Had new highlights for first time in ages.

Tues 7 Jan

Cold. Walked to gym for Pilates. V gd class. Took longer route back. Took action to get a personal trainer. Have arranged to meet James on Thursday.

Aunt Ruth's funeral. She was 92. Very nice tribute to her.

Weds 8 Jan

Busy day. Kia test drive in morning at Enfield. Not a contender. Did walk with J after lunch. His first for more than a week.

Thurs 9 Jan

V cold, sunny. Sorted out some eBayers. Walked to gym for Pilates. Met James (PT) afterwards and booked some sessions. Sorted 2 events where I get free tickets for being GH subscriber

Friday 10 Jan

My big KW event at Lightroom for the new Vogue Inventing the Runway show, followed by lunch at the Lighterman. Went well, 23 came.

I didn't take the show in (need to go again!) as I was fretting about the ladies, particularly when some seemed to leave early.

Was v cold so I changed my outfit and wore sensible brown boots as I thought the pavements might be slippery. By the time I got home, my voice had gone. In crowded places I have to speak up as people can't hear me.

Colourful women attending Vogue Inventing the Runway at Lightroom in London

Sat 11 Jan

Extremely cold. About minus 2. Sunny though. We had a lovely walk in the frosty forest (pic top of page). My voice comes and goes. Did ironing. Followed a recipe for Moroccan style veg which I had with falafels. Watched film The Bank of Dave 2 on Netflix (7 out of 10).

Sunday 12 Jan

We did forest walk. Had lamb for lunch. Plymouth beat Brentford in 5th round FA Cup and will play Liverpool. My mum thrilled. Big Argyle fan.

Monday 13 Jan

Not so cold. Saw Oliver the musical with dinner at Caffè Concerto. Home by 11.10. Read my review here.

Tues 14 Jan

6 degrees cloudy. Got stocks, first this year. I love their scent. Did walk on own, J went to physio. Had first session with James. V gd.

Weds 15 Jan

V overcast, temp around 9. Went with J to the opticians. 2 hours! I mooched round shops at Liverpool St and bought pair gold flats shoes.

Saw this interesting building in Bishopsgate, an old Victorian bath house. It's apparently used for private events.

Thurs 16 Jan

Milder, overcast. Saw trainer. Measurements taken. Hips and thighs smaller than I normally record. Did some cardio and used the weights machines.

Then did Pilates, tough, studio too warm. Long wait for bus. Starving!

Friday 17 Jan

Cold, overcast. Did long walk on my own and met J at the running club for Pilates. Curry. Booked a couple of outings, a ballet and art exhibition.

Sat 18 Jan

Rest day. Did some jewellery pics/sales for WXY group on FB. Also donated lots of stuff to the charity shop. Quiche and salad. Watched film Back in Action (Netflix) with Cameron Diaz. 6 out of 10.

Sunday 19 Jan

Overcast, 4. We did forest walk 5 miles. Then my roast regime, cooking the Sunday lunch while dancing to the 70s chart on Boom Radio. Roast chicken. Watched 1st episode American Primeval, Netflix. Probably not a keeper.

Mon 20 Jan

Cold, overcast. Did solo walk. Saw 1 longhorn. Photo. Spent some time mastering the new camera I had for Christmas, and took some outfit pics. Created blog post.

Tues 21 Jan

Flounced off X and deleted it. Why? Too much on the Trump inauguration plus the Musk salute. Briefly blue sky. Sorted out some graphics as I've ended my Canva subscription. Went to gym, cardio then trainer. Enjoyed it and feeling great. Good calorie burn for the session, 720, compared to an average of 330 for a walk around 4 miles.

Weds 22 Jan

Grey, cold. Did urban walk via Cemetery. Took pics of the graves of the notorious Kray brothers. A lot of flowers are left, mostly plastic.

Went to Victoria to get train to the Dulwich Picture Gallery and Tirza Garwood exhibition. Unfortunately no trains running. Started watching Prime Target (Apple).

Thurs 23 Jan

Ordered a new PC, Samsung, as they had some money deals on new products. All our gadgets are Samsung (TV, phones, tablets) so we can easily share across devices.

Trainer session at gym. Aching afterwards, did quite a bit of cardio (for me) and finished with Pilates. Saw R and Olive. Gave her a magic painting book where she brushes on water to make the colours appear.

Friday 24 Jan

Had a rest day. Storm Eowyn caused chaos in north, Scotland and Ireland. Published books post. J still has cold. Three weeks! Started High Potential (Disney).

Sat 25 Jan

Blue sky after the storm. Walked to South Woodford. Saw a Victorian water pump.

New laptop turned up ahead of schedule. It's a bit of a throwback having a laptop on my desk, having not used one since I retired in 2022. Did a photo shoot, first proper one this year.

Sunday 26 Jan

Got 5 mile walk in, ahead of the rain. Started setting up new PC. Roast chicken. Spoke Mum. J still unwell.

Monday Jan 27

Squally showers. Went to post office intending to do forest walk, but showers and cold wind too off putting. Got new washing up bowl (I know how to live!). Did ironing. Wrote blog post about mocha mousse.

Tues Jan 28

Overcast. J did short walk with me, his first for a week. I went to the gym, PT, cardio. Started The Crow Girl. We need to take out a Paramount subscription to keep watching. Preloved tartan dress came from Vinted.

Weds Jan 29

7 degrees, blue sky in morning. J was up to a longer walk, we did 5 miles. My legs a bit stiff after the gym yesterday. A pre- loved lime jacket (Chloe) arrived. Did some cleaning. Then sat down to enjoy March magazines Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful. Booked to see Fawlty Towers on Sat. Salmon for dinner.

Thurs Jan 30

Looked through blog archive to see when I wrote the first month in review post. It was March 2018. I was still working then and travelling internationally.

Sunny start. Had a session at gym with personal trainer followed by a Pilates class.

Friday Jan 31

Dreary and overcast. I was originally going to Lewes in Sussex to see Penny from Frugal Fashion Shopper, but we postponed it until the weather is a bit better. Had a Zoom call instead. Penny is about to launch her new blog. Hop over to Frugal Fashion Shopper to subscribe for the new one when it's live.

WHAT WE'VE BEEN WATCHING

TV We Liked

Prime Target (Apple) - a maths genius at Cambridge University (Leo Woodall) finds his life, and that of others, in danger because of his controversial discovery on prime numbers.

High Potential (Disney): a similar proposition to Ludwig. Scatty woman with high IQ starts helping the police with investigations.

An t-Eilean (The Island) (BBC iPlayer): the first high-budget drama in Gaelic. Stunning scenery in the Scottish Isles. A police officer is sent to Mull to investigate the murder of a woman, with her husband and four children the prime suspects. PC Kat Crichton has her own history with the family. A twisty story of loss and secrets.

Those Who Kill (2011) - BBC iPlayer: Not to be confused with the Danish series with the same name. In this one-off series, starring two of my Nordic favourites, Lars Mikkelsen and Carsten Bjørnlund, a detective (female) and a profiler (male) work together to catch serial killers. It makes me yearn for those old style Nordic noirs. So good.

Designing the Hebrides (BBC iPlayer): this has been our "amuse bouche." It won a BAFTA. Australian Banjo Beale, who won the BBC's Interior Designer of the Year competition, lives on Mull with his husband. The series shows him transforming various buildings in the Scottish Islands, including a bothy, a craft shop and a hotel room. He's a gentle, engaging character, and his transformations are amazing.

TV We Didn't Like

Severance (Apple). I know it has its fans but we tried it for the second time and still can't get into it.

American Primeval (Netflix). Another updated "western" where women and indigenous Americans are treated badly, the men are appalling and there's lots of violence. Nothing new on offer.

Crow Girl (Paramount). The characters and acting are good, but we decided not to take out a Paramount subscription to continue. The plot, involving a paedophile ring, with a sub plot of immigrants being forced into crime, is just too depressing.

Lockerbie (Disney). The first episode was ok, although the plane crashing was a bit of a Casualty type simulation. The culprits have never formally been identified, so I wasn't sure I could endure more episodes of Colin Firth's character trying to get to the bottom of it all.

Missing You (Netflix): we always find these Harlan Coben dramas a bit too implausible.

PODCASTS I'M LISTENING TO

The Pitcairn Trials (Wondery): Pitcairn Island, created by the mutineers from the ship The Bounty, comes under British and New Zealand jurisdiction, with both countries being thousands of miles away. The male islanders have routinely abused the island's women since its creation.

Kaitlyn's Baby (BBC World Service/CBC): birth doublas all over Canada were conned by Kaitlyn Bron, a woman who repeatedly pretended to be pregnant with a stillborn baby, and made the women endure days of traumatic fake "births", some in person, some by Zoom. In one incident, she claimed she was repeatedly being transferred to different hospitals, as well as being abused in an ambulance by a doctor, as two terrified doulas listened on and tried to help her.

Comfort Eating with Grace Dent (Acast): I love this gentle, easy going podcast where down-to-earth food critic Grace Dent talks to well known people about their favourite snack. The latest episode with London Mayor Sadiq Khan was particularly enjoyable because we hardly ever get to hear him in a non-political situation, and he came across as charming and amusing.

The Split (BBC iPlayer): a gorgeous treat for Christmas seeing these much loved characters in a luxurious setting in the Spanish sunshine.

Highland Cops (BBC iPlayer): we're suckers for anything Scottish. There's plenty of crime in Inverness, it would seem, but less so in the Scottish Isles.