What I Read in January

Entry from my journal last year - "Thursday 30 January 2020 Next year I'm just going to block out January and February with the label "Hibernation" and settle in with a stack of books and movies, stay in my jammies all day and not worry about trying to accomplish anything."

While I haven't actually stayed in my jammies, I have worn sweats a lot (to stay warm) and not gotten a whole lot done. Here's what I've read so far this year:

1. The Memory Painter by Gwendolyn Womack -- A fantastic book that I couldn't put down!

2. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan -- I know I'm late to the party, but very informative.

3. A Cup of Comfort for Inspiration, Ed. Colleen Sell -- Many good stories.

4. How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith -- The latest installment of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, always a delight.

5. Miracles Among the Rubble by Carol R. Gray -- Memoir of a British woman who took humanitarian aid to the former Yugoslavia region experiencing civil war.

6. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson -- Decluttering encouragement

7. Longbourne by Jo Baker -- Pride and Prejudice from the servants point of view; while the period details were the best I've ever read, I didn't care about the characters until the second half of the book, and found it to be a very put downable book (unlike The Memory Painter which I stayed up half the night reading!).

We're in the second week of a deep freeze here in southern Minnesota. We keep asking each other "Why did we move here?" Thankfully TopDad has only two more years until retirement; then we can leave during the winter and escape the bitter cold.

What have you been reading lately?

Last year I read 136 books; 30 were new-to-me fiction, 21 non-fiction, and 85 old friends (books I've already read). This year I set a goal to read a non-fiction book for every fiction. I have stacks of non-fiction that interest me but I don't seem to get to them. So far this year I'm doing better. And I plan to share what I read each month to keep me honest.

Continuing in Japan

Tokyo is the largest city I've ever been in (until I went to Seoul, which has a million more people!) so I looked out from the observation deck in total amazement and bewilderment. The past five years of living in a town of 2,100 people has shrunk my perspective. Tokyo is just mind-bogglingly huge, largely flat and goes on for miles!

While we visited, the weather was chilly, including a day of rain. I was glad I had my Pashmina and a flannel lined coat with a hood. Noble braved the cold the first day then borrowed warmer wraps the next days.

This gate marks a traditional shopping area in the downtown area (although how can you tell what is downtown when it is all urban?). We enjoyed looking at all the trinkets and souvenirs for sale. I bought some postcards to send to loved ones, and some magnets to add to the collection on my fridge.

At the other end of the market street is a huge Buddhist Temple. The woman in the bright green coat is our hostess, and the girl in jeans next to her is our former exchange student.

Before entering the Temple we purified ourselves, first with smoke, then with water.

If I remember correctly, this dragon is outside the temple. Unfortunately, we arrived just as the temple was closing for the day, so Noble didn't snap any pictures of the interior. We tossed our coins in the collection and took a quick look around the room before exiting.

The Johnny-Jump-Ups were so pretty! Here we're waiting for a water taxi for a ride up the river.

Moored to the opposite bank of the river was this old style boat. It was sure relaxing to sit in the warm cabin of the water taxi after so much walking in the cold.

Cold Weather, Hot Food

The frigid winter is still very much with us here in Iowa. We got teased with a few warms days, but then the arctic blast returned along with another dusting of snow.


How about a chili recipe that warms the whole body?

Slow-cooker Black Bean Chili:

1/2 - 1 lb. pork or chicken, cut into bitesize cubes (I use whatever pork is on sale, buttefly chops, or country style ribs; I use chicken breasts.)

16 oz. jar of thick chunky salsa

3 15 oz. cans black beans (or equivalent from dry) drained and rinsed

bell peppers - the original recipe calls for 1 medium red; I use whatever I have on hand and make it more colorful with red, orange, yellow and green peppers.

1 medium onion, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours, until meat is done (shorter for chicken, longer for pork).

Serve with cornbread muffins. You can also garnish with a dollop of sour cream, and or grated cheese. I like it sprinkled with Parmesan. It is also delicious served over brown rice.

This is a delicious alternative to the ground beef, red bean chili, in fact, I prefer it!!