HERE WE GO!

It came! 2021 arrived on schedule, amid subdued hoop-la and celebration.

Today is the 7th day of January, so we've been living in a new year for six full days. How did yours go?

At our house, it was business as usual--cooking, eating, clearing up; doing laundry, folding and putting away clean stuff; shopping for food and other essentials. Filling the gas tanks of the two vehicles so they're road-ready.

Then--the clothes dryer quit. It turned on, hummed a little, but the drum didn't turn. That was the first, and fortunately rather minor, catastrophe in this new year. My son ordered parts for us and he plans to stop by and do the repairs.   

Okay, not a huge problem. Next, we had plans for my Ohio daughter to spend the day with us, since getting together as a family of 15-20 wasn't an option. The day she was to drive over, a 50-minute trip, the weather dumped snow and freezing rain on her area and on ours. Hm. Have to rethink that one. No other days were available on her end because she was going back to work after the holiday shut-down. 

-----

On the plus side:

--I finished a nap quilt for the daughter who lives with me. She plans to carry it around like Linus in the Peanuts comic strips, though I suspect it'll live on her bed most of the winter. 

--Had my bedroom/library cleaned--books and shelves dusted, everything (and I do mean everything) vacuumed. Wonderful how nice it is to have a totally clean room, even more so because I didn't have to do it myself!

--Got a tentative schedule arranged for riding my exercise bike; need to work in 10-20 minutes of yoga soon. Walking outside isn't for me--besides the cold, walking creates a pain in my back and hip that doesn't want to go away. Walking at the Y on an indoor track was no help, hence the exercise bike. It works both arms and legs and I get a little more oxygen into my system. I think that's called a win-win. I'll take it.

--Started a 50-Book Challenge with my daughter for this year. That's about a book a week, right? Already I'm behind, having not quite finished my first one, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. But there's still today, the 7th day of the new year.

--Ordered a couple more books from our Evergreen program; they're in transit. They'll fill the weeks nicely.

--Also ordered Season 5 of Shetland, a police procedural series our family likes. 

-----

Looking ahead:

--My kids are giving me a virtual birthday party for my 80th. Almost as much trouble to plan as the traditional thing! But on the bright side--no clean up afterward; I can take a nap between the two sessions on Zoom; and I can visit with whoever shows up. Plus--plus!--if the weather is its usual cranky self (ice storms on the weekends before and after my birthday have wiped out many a birthday party), I can still celebrate.

--The guys who do my house repairs will be coming this week to do a few small jobs--new doorbell, new smoke alarms, resize a shelf in my quilting studio.

--If the weather becomes typically January wintry, I can read more--quilt more--write more. May even get back to knitting.

-----

My mother had a favorite saying: "Whatever you do on New Year's, you'll do all year through." Scary thought, that. I always tried to avoid cleaning house, doing dishes, cleaning up kids' and dogs' messes. Didn't always work, but the spirit was willing.

Hope your new year is starting off well, and that you're doing things you enjoy.

Blessings!