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A brand new 12 months is upon us. After my very busy December, I didn’t go away town of Prague as soon as within the month of January. And it was glorious.
Additionally this month, Adventurous Kate turned sixteen years previous. WOW.
Let’s check out one of the best of January 2026!
Locations Visited
Combating ICE
Earlier than I get into the same old recap, I need you to assist me increase cash for immigrants in the US who’re being terrorized by ICE.
I’m freely giving 4 45-minute seek the advice of calls to individuals who make donations to organizations preventing ICE: particularly, authorized assist and mutual assist organizations serving to immigrants.
I cost loads for these and NEVER give them away, however this appeared like an excellent motive to take action.
You possibly can select between the next:
- Journey seek the advice of, the place I aid you plan a visit
- Weblog seek the advice of, the place I aid you together with your weblog
- Social media seek the advice of, the place I aid you together with your social media
- Or only a name the place we speak about something (inside motive)
I selected organizations that assist immigrants with authorized help and mutual assist in Minnesota, in Maine, and nationwide.
Step 1: Make a Donation
Listed here are the 5 locations the place you may donate:
- Immigrant Regulation Middle of Minnesota https://www.ilcm.org/donate/
- CoPal Minnesota https://copalmn.org/donate/
- Immigrant Authorized Advocacy Mission Maine https://ilapmaine.org
- Maine Solidarity Fund https://www.mainesolidarity.org
- Nationwide Immigrant Justice Middle https://immigrantjustice.org/ways-to-help/
You’re going to get one entry for each $5.00 you donate — so be happy to donate $20, $50, or much more!
Step 2: E mail the Receipt
Ahead the receipt to care [at] adventurouskate.com by February 13, 2026.
I’ll draw 4 random winners and comply with up by e mail.
THANK YOU for making an enormous distinction. To date we have now raised a number of hundred {dollars} for these organizations! Let’s stick with it!!
Highlights
I’ll be trustworthy — this was a really quiet month. I didn’t do a lot, and that was very a lot by design. All of us want time to winter correctly.
Seeing Raye in live performance. I’ve been a fan of Raye ever since she appeared on SNL two years in the past, and I needed to snap up tickets when she got here to Prague.
She placed on an exquisite live performance that was each a throwback and one thing tremendous trendy. I cherished how she had an enormous huge band on stage, how she wore a crimson sparkly gown for a lot of the live performance, and the way she went from huge band to stripped down songs sitting behind the piano (she known as it the “musical remedy part”) to an enormous dance get together on the finish!
Cooking a lot of tasty issues. Winter is the time of 12 months I prepare dinner loads, and this has been a very good month for sauces, soups, and different hearty dishes!
Marcella Hazan’s bolognese, which takes a minimum of 4 hours to prepare dinner, was so good, I made two double parts this month. It’s additionally nice reheated with some nduja stirred in!
Challenges
Nothing a lot, nevertheless it was SO, SO COLD THIS MONTH! It snowed fairly decently, however past that, we’ve had temperatures beneath freezing nearly each day, which makes it the coldest winter since I’ve been residing in Prague.
Day by day, I take a 45-minute stroll — however with temperatures like these, I’ve been gritting my tooth via the entire ordeal.
Submit of the Month
What’s it wish to journey to Curaçao? — The whole lot you need to know earlier than touring to Curaçao, and why it shortly turned considered one of my favourite Caribbean islands!
Most Fashionable Submit on Instagram
It was truly this put up about why I speak about politics as a journey blogger — and precisely the place I stand on many points.
I speak about politics steadily, on all platforms, however I do know that not everybody sees all my content material because of algorithms and whatnot. It is a probability to be crystal clear about my values.
Oh, and when you’d wish to by no means miss something I put up, join my e-newsletter! I attempt to put collectively a enjoyable e-newsletter with hyperlinks and private updates and funky stuff I discovered on the net a couple of occasions a month.
What I Watched This Month
I’ve been working my means via Higher Name Saul this month. And sure, I do know I’m MANY years late on that. It’s bizarre that I by no means watched, as Breaking Dangerous is my favourite TV drama of all time. However after stepping into Pluribus, I made a decision to dive deep into the dwell of Saul Goodman.
And what a shock — it’s SO good, so deep, and filled with what made Breaking Dangerous so good. When you’ve by no means watched it, I extremely suggest it. However be sure you watch Breaking Dangerous first. It’s extra rewarding to see the Easter eggs and thematic parallels of Higher Name Saul.
Additionally, The Pitt is again! Sensible, sensible present. I’ll in all probability speak about that extra subsequent month.
Motion pictures-wise, I actually loved Bugonia this month. Darkish, humorous, brilliantly acted, and a number of enjoyable. It’s on Peacock if you wish to stream it.
What I Listened To This Month
I’m listening to all 500 of Rolling Stone‘s 500 Biggest Albums of All Time, which I’m having fun with immensely. I’m loving discovering new artists and listening to albums I’ve someway missed my total life till now!
And I’ve seen a change these days. As I get beneath quantity 150, the albums are having an enormous uptick in high quality. They’re a few of the greatest. That is additionally the month with probably the most albums I had listened to in full.
In January, I listened to albums quantity 162-136.
Favourite Discovery: Grace by Jeff Buckley. All I knew about him was that his model of “Hallelujah” is thought for being much better than Leonard Cohen’s unique, that he died younger, and that individuals who love him actually, actually love him.
Then I listened to his album, and I used to be completely spellbound. His stunning voice, his deep songwriting, and the right 90s various sound (in a great way). Simply magnificent, begin to end.
I’ve listened to the album a number of occasions and I believe it will likely be going into my rotation usually.
Jeff Buckley died by unintended drowning at age 30. He’ll ceaselessly be a one-album artist. What a loss for the world.
Different Favourite Discoveries: Mama’s Gun by Erykah Badu, The Black Album by Jay-Z, Pretenders by The Pretenders.
Favourite Revisited Album: Channel Orange by Frank Ocean. This has lengthy been considered one of my favourite albums of all time, and I’ve listened to it constantly because it got here out. I really like the variety of the songs on this album, however the way it all has a really robust perspective all through.
Within the decade-plus because it got here out, I’ve come to appreciate simply what a big effect this album had on various R&B (it’s up there with Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak when it comes to influencing genres).
To not point out how revolutionary it was on the time for a hip-hop artist to be brazenly queer and sing about it.
(Additionally, Frank…when you ever wished to make extra music, that will be nice!)
Different Favourite Revisited Albums: 21 by Adele, The Immaculate Assortment by Madonna, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis.
Favourite Songs: SO MANY THIS MONTH!! “Neglect Her” by Jeff Buckley, “The Wanton Music” by Led Zeppelin, “Kiss Me On My Neck” by Erykah Badu, “Hand to Mouth” by George Michael, “Encore” by Jay-Z, “Guinnevere” by Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Stan” by Eminem, “Candy Life” by Frank Ocean, “King of Ache” by The Police, “Into the Groove” by Madonna, “Forged No Shadow” by Oasis, “Turning Tables” by Adele, “Atlantic Metropolis” by Bruce Springsteen.
Get the playlist: I’m making a playlist of my favourite songs from the five hundred albums — most one per album — on Spotify. You possibly can hearken to it right here.
Random Music Ideas: Similar to The Slim Shady LP, I hadn’t listened to The Marshall Mathers LP in many years, and but after I put it on, I remembered each phrase.
I discover it attention-grabbing when I’ve starkly completely different opinions on completely different artists’ albums. That been the case for Tom Petty (love Full Moon Fever rather more than his others) and Massive Star (love #1 Report rather more than their others).
This month it was PJ Harvey, whose album Rid of Me didn’t do something for me, in comparison with Tales from the Metropolis, Tales from the Sea, which I ADORED. Conversely, this month I loved Blondie’s Parallel Strains considerably greater than their self-titled Blondie, which I discovered to be an extremely annoying album.
What I Learn This Month
I began the 12 months off robust with six books learn. I’ve determined to cease recapping each e-book in depth within the month-to-month recap (largely as a result of I simply DREAD writing all of them), however I’ll embrace a sentence a minimum of.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (2022) — Through the Sri Lankan civil was within the Eighties, a photojournalist is murdered and ascends to the in-between. He has seven nights to learn how he died and get his world-changing photographs into his associates’ palms.
This e-book jogged my memory a lot of George Saunders’s Lincoln within the Bardo (considered one of my favorites the 12 months it got here out), which can also be concerning the place the place spirits dwell between life and loss of life, and has a equally chaotic ambiance among the many spirits. Seems that Karunatilaka lists Lincoln within the Bardo as considered one of his high inspirations.
This e-book is completely different in a number of methods. It’s about residing in a politically corrupt ambiance, changing into indifferent from reporting on violence consistently, being homosexual and hiding half within the closet, and making a discovered household. A very attention-grabbing e-book, and my first by a Sri Lankan creator.
All Fours by Miranda July (2024) — A considerably well-known artists decides to drive throughout the nation from California to New York. As a substitute, thirty minutes from residence, she checks right into a resort and immerses herself in a really completely different journey with a youthful native man.
This e-book acquired a number of accolades, and I get it. Simply be sure you’re prepared for an extremely unlikeable protagonist and many cringing all through. Some good books are like that! I assumed it was price it.
The Paradise Drawback by Christina Lauren (2024) — A romance that asks the query of “If we faux to be married round my wealthy household for a weekend, I’ll obtain a $100 million inheritance, however what if we fall in love for actual??” It’s entertaining and strikes fairly shortly with a number of motion, although I wasn’t a fan of the manic pixie dream woman cliché.
The Let Them Idea by Mel Robbins (2024) — Like many pop psych books, this might have been a weblog put up. Let folks do what they wish to do. Cease caring about it and be free. WAY an excessive amount of filler in any other case.
The Perfectionist’s Information to Shedding Management by Katherine Morgan Schafler (2023) — This e-book began very robust with redefining perfectionism, utterly with a number of completely different sorts of perfectionism, however sadly misplaced steam quickly after.
Coming Up in February 2026
Um…completely nothing is developing in February. That is going to be one other quiet month at residence.
Solely two issues are on the calendar: my associates amusingly signed us all up for a zabíjačka on February 14. A zabíjačka is a pig roast custom that takes place every winter within the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They butcher a pig, grasp it the wrong way up outdoors, and prepare dinner it in 1,000,000 other ways.
So yeah, nothing says Valentine’s Day like pig carcasses dripping blood in parks everywhere in the metropolis!
Aside from that, I’m on the waitlist for tickets to see Sombr (he’s actually performing a five-minute stroll from my house!) on February 16. Hopefully these come via.
And that’s it. Taking it simple.
What are you trying ahead to in February? Share away!
