MEANWHILE…#6

This is what I’m getting up to lately…

Reading: Reached my Goodreads challenge of 52 books in 2025 but I found I wasn’t enjoying some of them as much as I should because of the challenge aspect. So this year I’ve reduced it to 26 to see if that helps.

Coming to the end of Phil Rickman’s Merrily Watkins series. Loved every minute of this series and can’t wait for the final ever instalment due – book 17 – out next month (sadly the author died in late 2024).

Watching:  Having binged all of the Vera and Shetland series in 2025, we’re currently on season 5 of Endeavour the prequel series to the excellent Inspector Morse saga. Every bit as good as the original.

Listening To: Practically no music of late. Just not in the mood. Although Spotify set my listening age at 46 in 2025, so that was positive (if you’re into that sort of thing). I really need to start looking for new music to kickstart my 2026 playlist. Unfortunately given the state of the world at this point in time I’m afraid I might get hooked on dirges by Leonard Cohen or Jeff Buckley.

I’m still listening to the Talking Scared podcast though and that really holds my interest. I can only manage to read some of the books reviewed, and often a year later, because I don’t read that fast and some are hard to come by without paying hilarious delivery fees. Neil McRobert delivers the most in-depth reviews and interviews and asks the most intelligent questions. He makes you actually think about the underlying issues as well as the characters and plot.

Making: Still on 6-days-a-week dinner duty, with a few lunches thrown in. 

I’ve been focusing on what I like to call needle paintings over the past few months. They’re slow but allow me to stay awake while watching movies and TV by keeping my hands busy.

Doing: My nut. Struggling a bit with all the time on my hands and no meaningful way to make use of it. I’m blaming it on the winter rains – seems endless – but I’m not sure the summer will be much better. 

Enjoying: Anything I can.

Looking Forward To: Brighter days and hopefully better health than last summer offered. Getting to see the smallies more frequently, although monthly visits to the Big Shmoke has been a vast improvement in that regard.

Until next time – Live Long & Prosper!