What I have been doing in January.

January is normally a time to hibernate and recover from the madness of Christmas. I always thought I did very little and wasted a lot of time so this year I decided to record what I actually do when I am not in work this year. I was pleasantly surprised but I do not know if this would be typical of what I get done or maybe I was more determined as I knew I was making a note of everything.

I am going to do this type of post at the beginning of every new month as a record of achievement so that I can look back and think 'Didn't I / I did not do a lot that month,

 Reading

The Last Letter from Your Lover- Jojo Moyes.

I have to admit this is not a book I would have chosen myself. It was the book club choice.

 The Blurb- When journalist Ellie looks through her newspaper’s archives for a story, she doesn’t think she’ll find anything of interest. Instead she discovers a letter from 1960, written by a man asking his lover to leave her husband – and Ellie is caught up in the intrigue of a past love affair. Despite, or perhaps because of her own romantic entanglements with a married man.

In 1960, Jennifer wakes up in hospital after a car accident. She can’t remember anything – her husband, her friends, who she used to be. And then, when she returns home, she uncovers a hidden letter, and begins to remember the lover she was willing to risk everything for.

Ellie and Jennifer’s stories of passion, adultery and loss are wound together in this richly emotive novel – interspersed with real ‘last letters’. 

I only persevered with this book because it was the book club choice. It was a predictable storyline in both time periods with no unexpected twists. I did like Jennifer and would have liked her wardrobe but not her life. It was the 1960’s when divorce was still taboo and wives were expected to keep quiet and let their husbands do what they wanted.

 Vanish- Tess Gerritson

The Blurb -Forensic Pathologist Maura Isles unzips a body bag and gets the fright of her life. The corpse opens its eyes. The woman is rushed to hospital, where she murders a guard and seizes hostages, including a heavily pregnant Detective Jane Rizzoli. No one knows who this woman is, or what she wants. Only Jane, trapped with the madwoman, can solve the mystery.

 I used to enjoy watching Rizzoli and Isles which was based on these books. I have read some other books in this series a few years ago so when a friend gave me her copy to use in crafting I decided to read it instead.

 The blurb does not give anything away about the main storyline which is the trafficking of young Russian girls for sex and the attempted cover up of the murders of 5 of them. I devoured this book very quickly as I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next.

Watching

 Around the World in 80 days

I adore David Tennant so will watch anything he is in (apart from the American version of Broadchurch) so was looking forward to this adaptation of the story.

I like the way Phileas’ character became less self-centred as the story went on and he treated Passepartout and Abigail with more respect. He would have been brought up to expect to be treated as more superior than both of them and that was how he came across at first but his attitude changed as they continued their adventures. The acting from all of the cast was superb and you were drawn into their adventures and willed them on. The only negative thing I can say about it was how did Phileas manage to have so many outfit changes and look so clean and well dressed despite everything they had been through. In reality they all would have looked rather bedraggled and dirty.

A Very British Scandal

I watched this because I was intrigued by the story of the scandal. Divorce in the 1960’s as previously mentioned was a taboo subject so for the aristocracy to have such a high profile divorce was definitely seen as scandalous.

Both characters had their flaws which ultimately caused the end of their marriage. I did feel more sympathy towards Margaret though despite what she did. I would have been wary of a man who had been married twice before even if I was divorced myself. Would Ian have divorced her if the money hadn’t run out or would he have turned a blind eye to her affairs to keep the money.

You can see parallels with Jennifer’s story from The Last Letter from Your Lover with regards to the fact they both had affairs due to neglect even though their natures were very different.

 Ron’s Gone Wrong  (Disney +)

This was the choice of the kids on the now rare evenings we are all together in the evening at a weekend. I will admit I didn’t really relish watching it initially but it was actually okay. 

It is an animated adventure about a boy named Barney who receives a "defective" robot named Ron as a birthday present. He is the last one in his class to get one of these ‘friendship’ robots that are supposed to connect people together. However, Ron did not get the correct coding uploaded so Barney and Ron write their own code about friendship that makes Ron one of a kind. The movie looks at the proliferation of technology, social media, and screen time among tweens and teens and how things can quickly get out of hand when the wrong thing is posted. The movie emphasises the importance of real-life friendships rather than screen friends, and accepting and being kind to everybody which is good message to put across.

 Emily in Paris- Season 2

Light hearted story perfect for times when you want to be entertained and not have to think too much. Emily’s outfits are outrageous and clash in patterns rather too much for my taste. I do like the way Sylvie dresses though.  Paris is beautiful and makes me want to go back and explore more than I had the chance to do last time I went.

 Making

I was definitely in a crafting mood this month and did the projects below. The blanket has been a long term on-going project that I was determined to finish this month.

                                                                Needle felted red panda 

I need more practice doing faces as this looks more like a teddy bear than a red panda.

                                                                        Circle skirt

                                                                Courthouse steps blanket

This has been a long term project that I started in October 2020. I didn't work constantly on it but did it alongside other projects. ( Can you spot the mistake?)

                                                    Cards and Flower frame (WI craft groups)

Both need sentiments adding to complete for which I will use my Cricut Machine.

What else

Another thing I wanted to do more of this year was walking/hiking. This month I went out three times with Craig, Penny and friends/family. The first was the National Trust land around Alderley Edge in Cheshire. This wasn’t a long walk but there were some ‘hairy’ moments scrambling up or down slopes which were a bit slippy.

Craig and Penny looking over the Edge.

The second was Peel Tower/Holcombe Moor near Ramsbottom near Bury. It was a very blustery walk across the moor and I definitely needed my walking boots.

My final walk was Rivington near Bolton. We didn’t walk up to the Pike but we did go around the gardens.

As the weather had been rather overcast for all three walks I didn’t take any photos as the light wasn’t brilliant and would not have done justice to the scenery. I hope that there will be photos for future walks.

 

How have you kept busy over January or have you just relaxed?