January 2024: Let's catch up!

I'm trying a monthly round-up format here on the blog. For January 2024, I'll cover these categories: New Things, Favorites, Currents, and Photos. Let's do this!

New Things

January is my birthday month and I bought myself this single-volume 50th anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings. Do you like my Aragorn bookmark? (I've had the bookmark for years--it's just been waiting for this book I think.) I like having the whole trilogy in one place, and this seems like a good quality paperback but also not too chunky or heavy. I've started reading it again.

I got a new divination deck called the Earth Alchemy Oracle, written by Katie-Jane Wright and illustrated by Nikki Strange. I love the interesting combinations on the cards and I find the keywords to be unusual and inspiring. I'm excited to explore!

I bought myself a pair of Oxford wingtip shoes that I'm planning to wear when the weather gets warmer, possible with no socks or tiny white socks. See below re: Bleachers.

Favorites

 

This month I have been soothed by the YouTube channel of HannahMartinRG. Hannah Martin is a professional ballerina who lives in England and posts a weekly vlog about her life--what she eats, what work is like, how she is trying to take care of both her body and mind, and how she spends devotional time with her Bible. It's not a particularly religious vlog but I like that she spends time each day on something spiritual. Overall I find Hannah's content to be very chill and she makes me feel calm and grounded.

The new video from Bleachers (Tiny Moves) blew my mind. It's hard to explain, but what happens in the video struck me as so raw and emotional. It's a simple premise and I don't want to spoil it, but I will warn you that you might want to buy a pair of Oxford shoes after checking it out.

On the dinner menu at home this month is cottage pie. This is basically like shepherd's pie but made with ground beef instead of lamb. I try to use a lot more mashed potato than meat mixture. I essentially follow this cottage pie recipe, but I also add about half a cup of frozen corn when making the meat part. It is stick-to-your-ribs warming and comforting on a winter's evening.

This pie contains 1 pound of beef, 2 russet potatoes & 3 Yukon gold potatoes

Currents

 

I'm currently reading Re-Sisters by Cosey Fanny Tutti. The author is one of the founders of industrial music and is still creating fascinating music and sounds. This book is about 3 different women and their experiences in trying to go their own way and being considered "uppity" (my word choice, not hers). She writes about herself (Cosey Fanny Tutti expressed herself through art, sound, and performance), about Delia Derbyshire (who worked in the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop for many years and basically created the Dr. Who theme), and about Margery Kempe (a 15th century mystic who behaved very strangely for her time and had all kinds of problems as a result). I find Cosey Fanny Tutti fascinating and have also listened to her be interviewed on several podcasts. She don't take no crap.

I went to see The Boy & the Heron this month, because I am a self-described "Ghibli-head." The director, Hayao Miyazaki, says this is his last film, and apparently there are many messages or call-backs hidden into the film. It was rather inscrutable and got increasingly complex as it went on--it's like a poem of a film that needs to be re-viewed and re-considered to really dig into the meaning more. Earlier in the month I rewatched my favorite Miyazaki film, Spirited Away, which is still completely wonderful.

Phone Photos

 

My co-workers gave me food to celebrate my birthday including this delicious bowl of steaming hot ramen.

 

My family spent an evening typing prompts into various AI generators. This one was, obviously, "Joe Biden riding a bear."

 

That's it for now! Tell me about your January in the comments?