Tuesday 5 February 2019

January Wrap-Up


Greetings! This post kicks off my first monthly wrap-up in 2019. I plan to write a wrap-up for each month so I can look back and see how well the year has turned out.

January was a wonderful month for me, with a mix of fun activities and events at home and in Guatemala. We had a beautiful New Year's Day. The weather was mostly mild and sunny for the first two weeks of the year. My adventure in Guatemala took me to Antigua, Chichicastenango market, Lake Atitlán, Santiago village, and Guatemala City. The trip went very well from beginning to end. When I returned home, we had two major snow storms in a week but Mother Nature has since returned normal temperatures to us. Without further ado, here's my January with the topics in alpha order :)

JANUARY 2019

ARTS

In January I saw a lot of beautiful and interesting art work at the Nordic Glass exhibit in Toronto, an art gallery in my hotel in Antigua, and another art gallery in Santiago village in Guatemala. Antigua Guatemala is a UNESCO World Heritage site so the whole city is living art, mostly in colonial and baroque styles, as I posted here.

Nordic Glass exhibit in Toronto

Ironwork in Antigua Guatemala

Painting seen in Antigua Guatemala

BLOGS

I blogged about my goals for 2019 here,  a progress update on my Winter Fun List here, what made me smile here, a fit and fun post for the first Wellness link up of 2019 here, and my sightseeing in Antigua Guatemala here. The next Wellness link up is on Wednesday, February 13, with Healthy Heart as the optional prompt. Please feel free to join in on the fun.

A fit and fun walk in Allan Gardens

BOOKS

I enjoyed reading the following three books in January:
  • On Writing: Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King, 288 pages
  • The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland, 400 pages
  • The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, 316 pages - This story was made into a movie with the same title, starring Emily Blunt. Have you seen the movie yet?


CONCERTS

I listened to three unique concerts and watched a dance under the Discover Dance program. Each of the performers listed below has very impressive biography. If you look up their names on the Internet, you'll see what I mean. I'm so grateful that I can experience these amazing cultural events for free.
  • Aiyun Huang, percussion and Mark Fewer, violin
  • Payadora Tango Ensemble: Rebekah Wolkstein, violin/ voice, Drew Jurecka, bandoneón, Robert Horvath, piano, and Joseph Phillips, double bass
  • Judy Loman, harp and Nora Shulman, flute
  • Louis Laberge-Côté, dancer, choreographer, and professor of dance

FAMILY

My family had our first long weekend getaway at the end of January. It was quite relaxing as we stayed in a hotel and ate out. No housework to do, just family time! There was an overnight snow storm during our getaway and it was winter wonderland when we woke up in the morning. We enjoyed walking on the fresh snow and checked the foot (or boot) prints we left behind :)

Winter wonderland

FRIENDS

I had three fun meet-ups with my friends in January. Two of them were coffee chats to catch up, and the third meet-up included a gym workout with my friend. A fourth meet-up was cancelled due to a snow storm and to be rescheduled. I also wrote a letter to my longtime pen friend in the UK.

HEALTH

I was consistent with my fitness activities in January. When I was in Guatemala, I stayed at three different hotels and one of them had a usable gym. My rooms were all very spacious and comfortable so when I didn't have access to a gym, I did strength workouts or yoga in my room. In total, I did:
  • Meditation: daily, fifteen minutes each time.
  • Walking outdoors: 6x per week, forty-five minutes each time. Plus walking around to get from A to B or to do sightseeing.
  • Strength workouts: 13 sessions done, one hour each.
  • Yoga: 10 sessions done, one hour each (seven yoga classes and three do-it-myself sessions when the classes were cancelled).
  • Swimming weekly: 4 sessions done, forty-five minutes each.

A hotel gym in Guatemala

LANGUAGES

I continued learning French and Spanish on Duolingo, 15 minutes per day for each language. While I was in Guatemala, I took advantage of my time in a Spanish-speaking country to read all the billboards, street signs, and store signs in Spanish and also to speak basic Spanish to local staff.

I discovered that Antigua has many Spanish schools that offer Spanish lessons, cultural activities, and lodging with a Guatemalan family for a complete immersion experience at reasonable prices. I visited one of the schools and picked up a brochure just in case I decide to pursue this option in the future.

MOVIES

I watched five movies in January, four of them with my neighbours, and one in-flight when I flew home from Guatemala. I enjoyed all of them, except the first one.
  • The House with a Clock in its Walls, starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett
  • What They Had, starring Hilary Swank and Blythe Danner
  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, starring Lily James
  • First Man, starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy
  • The Wife, starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce

TRAVEL

I took a trip to visit Guatemala and had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect with sunny days and cool nights. The scenery and local people were nice. The food was tasty, with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit. Guatemala produces good coffee and rum. The Mayan culture and their vivid colours are captivating. You might like to see my post on Antigua here, and do virtual shopping at the open air market in Chichicastenango here. More posts on Guatemala to come.

Crafts in Guatemala

UNEXPECTED VIEWS

While in Antigua, Guatemala, I saw Fuego volcano spewing ash every ten minutes or so. I've seen volcanoes in various countries during my travels but this was the first time I saw a volcano that is very active. Can you see the ash coming out of the Fuego volcano on the left in my photo below?

Active Fuego volcano, Guatemala

Next, on my return flight, I got a perfect aerial view of another active volcano near Mexico City. It's Popocatépetl (or Popo) volcano, which is the second highest peak and the most famous in Mexico. I could see the smoke coming out of the volcano. According to Wikipedia, Popo volcano erupted two days later on January 22, 2019 and spewed ash up 4km high.

Active Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico

On the same flight from Mexico City, I got to see the January 20-21, 2019 Super Blood Wolf Moon for several hours, and the total lunar eclipse by the time I arrived home. This is the last total lunar eclipse until May 2021 so I was thrilled to see both the super moon while I was at 40,000 feet altitude and the total lunar eclipse. Amazing and unforgettable sights!

OVERALL

January was a wonderful month with a mix of fun activities and events at home and abroad. I gave it an A+ for sensory experiences. I'm on track with my goals for 2019 at the moment. I look forward to enjoying February.

How was your January? What good things happened? Let me know in the comments!
 

Inlinkz Link Party

28 comments:

  1. Wow Natalie, what an amazing month, going to Guatemala and seeing the Super Blood Wolf Moon on the way back are highlights for me! (It was cloudy here so we saw nothing). You make terrific use of your time, a role model for us all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Gail, for your kind comment. Guatemala was wonderful and to see the active volcanoes, the super blood wolf moon, and the total lunar eclipse all in one trip was unbelievably amazing for me.

      Delete
  2. What a mixture of wonderful shots. I'm about 25 km north of Stockholm in Sweden. We've had two huge snowstorms and more on the way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lady Fi, for your comment. I visited Stockholm many years ago and had a very good time there. We had snow last week but with yesterday's record breaking high of 12C, most of it is gone today. Stay warm.

      Delete
  3. Lovely pictures of your month, Natalie! Re: volcanoes - I think the most active ones I've seen were in Costa Rica; Arenal in La Fortuna, and another that was emitting like crazy near San Jose city. Always makes me feel so small and insignificant!

    And your daily language practices are a good reminder that I need to bone up on my French a bit (my very limited French!) in preparation for visiting Quebec City later this year. You'd think I'd find French to be easy after so many years studying Spanish, but I don't!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tamara - Nature certainly has a way to nurture and show us her power at the same time. When I saw the active Fuego volcano, I thought about eruptions and evacuation. Fortunately my trip to Guatemala went fine the whole time.
      I stick to my 15-minute daily lessons for French and Spanish and it works for me. The two languages are close so there are pros and cons learning them at the same time.

      Delete
  4. Oh my goodness, those photos of your trip are wonderful - what an amazing experience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Deb, for your comment. January was a very good month for me with so many fantastic sensory experiences. Enjoy February!

      Delete
  5. Oh, what a fantastic month! So awesome that you're learning two languages at once! That's amazing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sarah, for stopping by. Learning two languages is a fun challenge and I like it :)

      Delete
  6. I loved Girl on the Train! I need to get back to reading for fun again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jamie, for your comment. Reading for fun is a joy. I resumed regular reading since last Fall and am looking forward to my next book.

      Delete
  7. Hi, Natalie - I've said this before, but it's worth mentioning again. You definitely have your priorities right! I love your positive attitude and your focus on Family, Friends, Fun, Fiction and Foreign Travel!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Donna - I think we both focus on the same priorities. I count my blessings every day, especially for this stage of my life. It's really fantastic. Have a beautiful week!

      Delete
  8. The wife was interesting, wasn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was. I wonder if Glenn Close will win an Oscar this year.

      Delete
  9. Hi Natalie - you've had another very full month. Loved that Nordic glass in the first pic. Lots of lovely scenery and plenty of variety - sounds like a great way to have kicked off the year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Leanne - January was fantastic and 2019 has been excellent so far. I saw a photo of the blogging buddies' meet-up that you had...Looks like you all had a great time.

      Delete
  10. You sure did have an awesome January Natalie! I love how you see to it that you get a good balance of all things. I am obsessed with the art you saw in Gautamala (and the crafts) - so impressive!! #TeamLovinLife

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you were with me in Guatemala, Min, we'd probably talk non-stop about the arts and crafts and snap a lot of photos :)

      Delete
  11. Such beautiful crafts in Guatemala and I also love the vase and paintings from the art gallery.

    I read Girl on the Train but haven't seen the movie. I'm sure someone told me they'd changed the ending a little, but I'm not sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw some beautiful handicrafts and arts in Guatemala. I haven't seen the movie Girl on the Train yet. I hope if they'd changed the ending, it would have been a really good one.

      Delete
  12. Looks like you've had a very busy month Natalie :) Yes I read the book and saw the movie of Girl on the Train. I think the book was much more thrilling than the movie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. January was a lot of fun for me, Jo. February has been very good so far. Have a beautiful week!

      Delete
  13. What an amazing month! I know I've said it before but I admire your dedication to your workouts and your language lessons...and you know I love your travel pics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jo - January was excellent and February is off to a great start. I'm doing a little bit every day and it adds up by the end of the month. Have a beautiful week!

      Delete
  14. Yikes, I am so behind on my blog reading. Seems like I am always saying that and yet it is always true!!

    What a delightful month. I enjoyed your photos from Guatemala and learning more about that country.

    I did see Girl on the Train after reading the book. The movie was good. PC enjoyed it and hadn't read the book. Put it on your list to watch next trip, if available. I would like to see The Wife. Not sure I can talk PC into that one so it might be something I watch while I iron.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to have you here, Leslie. Blog reading sure takes time so I greatly appreciate your comment. Hope February is going well for you.

      Delete