May Wrap-Up

Hello June and goodbye May! May was a good busy month with lots of enjoyable activities. I'm relying on my calendar to keep track of what's coming or going.

For readers who are new to my blog, this is my 5th monthly wrap-up in 2019. My previous wrap-ups in 2019 are here: January, February, March, and April. I plan to write a wrap-up for each month so I can look back and see how well the year has turned out.

MAY 2019

ARTS

For visual arts, I chose to see the Sputnik photo exhibit and two architectural tours that examine the architecture and history of the big banks in the Financial District, and Osgoode Hall, home of the Law Society of Upper Canada. All three events were very interesting and well organized. I may write up a separate post on the last two architectural tours at a later time.

BLOGGING - Quite a few blogging-related events in May.

• I was pleased to finish five posts, especially the three posts about my Croatia adventures along the delightful Dalmatian Coast, the stunning Plitvice Lakes and Istria Peninsula, and Zagreb highlights. It took me a while to decide on which photos to include in the blog posts to hopefully give a sense of the places without overwhelming the readers with photos.
• I had my first blogger meeting with Ann from The Unretired.life blog. Ann was in Toronto for a few days and would like to meet a local blogger. We enjoyed a Thai buffet lunch at Bangkok Garden while talking about blogging, travels, adventures at home and abroad, etc. It was quite fun.
• I played with a free blog template in WordPress to eventually move my blog from Blogger to WordPress. I'm thinking to have a couple more posts on Blogger to wrap up June, and starting from July, I'll be writing my regular posts on WordPress. I'll announce again closer to the date and will keep my Blogger blog open for a while.
• A friendly reminder that the next Wellness Wednesday link-up is on June 12. Optional prompt is Mid-Year Review. Please feel free to join in on the fun. I'll be travelling at that time so I plan to schedule my post in advance.

BOOKS

I read seven very good books written by authors from Australia, Canada, England, Japan, and the USA:

• Boy Swallows Universe, by Trent Dalton, 452 pages.
• What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, by Nathan Englander, 207 pages.
• Ru, by Kim Thúy, translated from French by Sheila Fischman, 143 pages.
• Book Love, a graphic book by Debbie Tung, 140 pages.
• When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, 228 pages. 
• The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro, 299 pages. 
• Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami, translated from Japanese by Jay Rubin, 296 pages. 

Books read in May 2019

CONCERTS

I attended four classical concerts with a friend. The musicians are all winners at various musical competitions both in Canada and abroad. Each concert ended with standing ovation from the audience.

• Kimberley Jeong, cello and Tristan Savella, piano
• Brian Hsu, piano
• Vlad Solovie, piano
• Dr. Su Jeon Higuera and Jessie J. Lee (piano duo)

From June to September, I plan to attend outdoor concerts to take advantage of the nice weather and warmer temperatures.

FAMILY

We took time out for a nice family getaway on the Victoria Day long weekend. Around mid-May, we celebrated when one nephew bought his first home, and one niece graduated with a Bachelor's degree. We have a few birthdays coming up and relatives visiting us this summer so I'm looking forward to our big family gatherings.

FRIENDS

I met up with my friends seven times for coffee or tea. On one occasion, we tried a new Japanese restaurant named Sushi Inn. The food and service were good so we'll be back.

Sushi lunch

HEALTH

I was at home most of May and was able to complete daily meditation, twenty-nine outdoor walks, thirteen strength workouts in the gym, nine yoga classes, and five swimming sessions.

Walking outdoors in the spring is a joy as I can see flowers everywhere. I hope to add a few bike rides in the next four months while the nice weather is here.

Pretty spring flowers

LEARNING

I continued with my online French and Spanish lessons every day in May. I also started learning more about WordPress (see Blogging above) and about my upcoming travel destinations (see Travel below).

MOVIES

I watched four movies with my neighbours. Coincidentally, Nicole Kidman starred in two of them. We agreed that Aquaman had great visual effects and Matthew McConaughey's character in Serenity was weird! The comedies were just OK.

• Second Act, starring Jennifer Lopez and Vanessa Nudgens.
• Serenity, starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway.
• Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Dafoe.
• The Upside, starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, and Nicole Kidman.

Movies watched in May 2019

TRAVEL

May felt like t'is the season for trip planning. Where to? I'm going to Malta and Germany in June. I've also booked flights or train tickets, and accommodations for trips to three different Canadian cities (Regina in July, Kingston in August, and Victoria in September). New adventures await!

Overall, May was a splendid month for me. I felt I got a lot done. I look forward to enjoying new adventures in June. It will be quiet on this blog for the next three weeks until I return at the end of June.

By the way, if you'd like to take a quick preview at my blog on WordPress, it's here. Same blog name, slightly different URL. If you see something that doesn't work right, please let me know. I'd love to have you follow my blog on WordPress so I have real data to work with while I'm getting used to WordPress.

How was May for you? What good things happened? I look forward to hearing your comments.