Fast away the old year passes...
Sara and I were out eating lunch at a Mexican restaurant yesterday when I happened to check something on my phone and saw the awful headline that Betty White had died. I was wearing my Golden Girls t-shirt at the time and thought when I put it on about how Betty White would turn 100 next month. It was just unbelievable, and what a horrible thing to end the year on! After lunch, we went to the bookstore (because the library was closed) where Sara worked so hard at rearranging the fiction section that she broke out in a sweat.
Last December was a busy month. Sara and I had a day with Athena and the kids at our house, a day trip to Memphis to see an exhibit at Graceland, a day at Athena and Josh's house, a congregational Hanukkah dinner for me, and company holiday dinners for both of us. One day I had to go to work early with Sara to get something notarized, and I'll probably have to do it again soon. We once again watched Home Alone on Christmas Day, but she nixed watching Speed on New Year's Eve night. It was nice to get two three-day weekends in a row, but having the library closed for every day of them left me seriously wondering what to do with myself. We had mild, short-sleeve weather for a lot of December, which I loved, but now it's freezing-cold winter weather again. Ugh!
At the beginning of the month, I was finally able to start attending Shabbat evening services again for the first time since before Covid struck. Like usual, I snuck a book in with me and read it inside my prayer book, and I was stunned what book it was. The Magic Half happened to be the last book that I checked out on my last visit to the library before Covid, in late February 2020. I pulled it off the shelf pretty much at random, and it was the last book that I read in temple before they cancelled in-person services. After I finished it, it stayed in my house for a long time (like, two months) because the library was closed and I couldn't return it. When I went back to temple in person again in December, I happened to be reading its sequel, Magic in the Mix. Little coincidences like this amaze me.
Looking back, even though I of course hated that Betty White died on the last day, 2021 was a pretty good year. But then, what wouldn't have been good compared to 2020? I survived an awful snowstorm in February, got the Covid vaccine about as soon as it became available to the public (although I still haven't gotten my booster), had an adult b'not mitzvah in the spring, did lots of yard work all summer, watched old Survivor seasons with Sara, and went on vacation to Chicago in the fall. I read lots of good books (and a few crappy ones) and spent lots of time with Abram and Lydia. It's hard to believe that at this time last year, Lydia still wasn't walking! She now walks, runs, climbs, and just about everything else, all at break-neck speed.
I started doing work on Mechanical Turk late last year to earn a little extra spending money. At first, I didn't earn much at all, but this year, my earnings averaged out to $57/month, which I guess isn't bad.
Last December was a busy month. Sara and I had a day with Athena and the kids at our house, a day trip to Memphis to see an exhibit at Graceland, a day at Athena and Josh's house, a congregational Hanukkah dinner for me, and company holiday dinners for both of us. One day I had to go to work early with Sara to get something notarized, and I'll probably have to do it again soon. We once again watched Home Alone on Christmas Day, but she nixed watching Speed on New Year's Eve night. It was nice to get two three-day weekends in a row, but having the library closed for every day of them left me seriously wondering what to do with myself. We had mild, short-sleeve weather for a lot of December, which I loved, but now it's freezing-cold winter weather again. Ugh!
At the beginning of the month, I was finally able to start attending Shabbat evening services again for the first time since before Covid struck. Like usual, I snuck a book in with me and read it inside my prayer book, and I was stunned what book it was. The Magic Half happened to be the last book that I checked out on my last visit to the library before Covid, in late February 2020. I pulled it off the shelf pretty much at random, and it was the last book that I read in temple before they cancelled in-person services. After I finished it, it stayed in my house for a long time (like, two months) because the library was closed and I couldn't return it. When I went back to temple in person again in December, I happened to be reading its sequel, Magic in the Mix. Little coincidences like this amaze me.
Looking back, even though I of course hated that Betty White died on the last day, 2021 was a pretty good year. But then, what wouldn't have been good compared to 2020? I survived an awful snowstorm in February, got the Covid vaccine about as soon as it became available to the public (although I still haven't gotten my booster), had an adult b'not mitzvah in the spring, did lots of yard work all summer, watched old Survivor seasons with Sara, and went on vacation to Chicago in the fall. I read lots of good books (and a few crappy ones) and spent lots of time with Abram and Lydia. It's hard to believe that at this time last year, Lydia still wasn't walking! She now walks, runs, climbs, and just about everything else, all at break-neck speed.
I started doing work on Mechanical Turk late last year to earn a little extra spending money. At first, I didn't earn much at all, but this year, my earnings averaged out to $57/month, which I guess isn't bad.