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Happy Holidays, everyone! Another year closing down, with plenty of time for reflection, celebration, and even a little joy. We can do it!
Around this time of year I always like to make a list of my most exciting or interesting highlights, the things that made the year special and/or memorable in some significant way. 2021 may still have been a difficult year to navigate, but there were definitely lighter moments, more feelings of optimism, and more opportunities to socialize than we had in 2020. Throughout it all, the one thing I truly learned was that we can always look for the silver lining, no matter what, and the following list comprises my own, personal top twelve:
1. I finished my work-in-progress novel, Ghazal. This was a big deal, I can tell you! What started out several years ago as a NaNoWriMo exercise took over my imagination and wouldn't let me go. I had to know more about my characters and their stories, and here we are today: a whole, finished manuscript.
2. In October I opened my first Etsy shop selling my handmade beaded necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. You can see them all by clicking here. Come on over and let me know what you think!
3. I got the chance to see some good friends again. After months and months of isolation, it was a major event to meet up in a cafe and share our various creative projects and plans while eating some great food. Just like we did in the "old days."
4. Albuquerque Urban Sketchers took the plunge and resumed their monthly meetings. I wasn't able to attend all of the outings, but the ones I got to participate in were both educational and inspiring.
5. Spring brought the opportunity to attend a Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Albuquerque Museum. It was great to rejoin the world through history and culture. And of course the artwork was spectacular.
6. I started work on two new book ideas. One is a mystery, the other is a historical Southern Gothic. Currently they are both messy first drafts that only make sense to me (sort of) but they will be interesting projects to carry with me into the new year.
7. My local library became so overloaded with donations they had a massive sale that continued for most of the summer. 50% off books that were originally priced at no more than one to two dollars each meant I got an entirely new shelf of excellent art books.
8. I signed up for and took several more Domestika online art classes. One of my absolute favorites was about starting and maintaining a sketchbook practice taught by artist Sorie Kim.
9. And thanks to Sorie I filled several sketchbooks this year, exploring many new ideas, mediums, and subjects. Who knew I liked to draw frogs and lizards so much?
10. Which then led me to buy professional watercolors for the first time ever. I tried two different brands and with completely different results. It was an interesting experiment as I had no idea high quality paints could vary so wildly from brand to brand. In the end I had to discard one as being absolutely horrible: the colors faded into the page, no juicy life or sparkle, just very disappointing to use. On the other hand, my second brand, Winsor and Newton, gave me everything I was looking for: strong and vivid color from the first layer and a "brightness" that encouraged me to keep painting.
11. This might sound a bit desperate, but in July when we were able to go mask-free for a few weeks I got a professional haircut at a genuinely fancy-pantsy salon. At the time I went it was my first cut in over 18 months and it was a true joy. Due to renewed restrictions I haven't been back since, but it makes a nice memory. I'm sure to go back one day!
12. Caved and subscribed to Netflix. I'm still undecided on how good a move this was, but with my local movie theater having closed down permanently and not much else happening in town, TV is a welcome relief after a day of work, writing, and sketch-booking. There have certainly been some good series and films (amongst a sea of questionable others) and it was fun to not be the only kid on the block who didn't know what Squid Game was. Television, for all its faults and propaganda, can certainly be a comforting way to unite with distant friends, family, as well as total strangers and I was glad to take part.
In between all of these highlights there were of course plenty of simple but wonderful days painting on my balcony, enjoying a cup of tea, and walking through my amazing neighborhood. It may have taken a bit of digging, but there was always something meaningful and unforgettable to be found, each and every day. It was a year well spent.
Tip of the Day: The next time you find yourself seated by the fire or just beside a frosty window, be sure to have your pen and journal with you. Take some time to record and consider what made 2021 a year to remember; the highs, the lows, the things that made the year unique. I hope you'll discover there were many more moments of joy than you may have realized at first and that you'll be motivated to keep creating more.
Wishing you all a brilliant 2022!
5 comments:
Another lovely blogpost and as always, so inspiring. Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Lots of love, Pam
Hi Pam! So very happy to hear from you--it was the best thing I could have wished for and a silver lining to a difficult year, indeed. Thank you for the many years of online friendship. Your note has truly made my day and made me grateful that I've stuck to my blog, even on the days I wondered what on earth to write about. Hoping to carry on with the inspiration for 2022. In the meantime, wishing you much joy, good health, and a creative New Year! Thanks again!
Thank you <3 <3 <3 Keep on being my muse please!~
I'll do my best, LOL! Next post is going to be about setting our goals for 2022. Stay tuned and have a wonderful January!
Valerie,
I finished a decent book in 2009 but never did an edit. Someone read it and started changing things and used an old program that added computer language and I was overwhelmed with the mess and decided not to edit or publish like I had 3 books before.
Bob got a Flowbee for Christmas after I saw that George Clooney has used one for 25 years and he doesn't look bad. Bob immediately used it and he looks so much better than he used to. I tried it on a whim and discovered if I add all the guards to it, my hair can be longer. It is short enough to be curly every time I wash it! I like it and with wearing masks, having shorter hair is a relief.
I tested positive for Covid. Bob brought it home and he is all better and I am still coughing. He tested negative a week after his symptoms. I tested positive the day after my symptoms. We both had 2 vaccines.
I hope you are feeling well and that you keep art and writing up. I was watching a vlog with Linda Smith Davis New England Fine Living and figured instead of using an entire drawer for Harney & Sons' Tea, I would use a cigar box and open the Bigelow teas and not fool with the expensive teas anymore. Food is so expensive. It helps to make small changes like that. I use the tins that are empty for plastic bags in my pantry and the drawer is now used for other things. I am also growing food in buckets still for winter sowing. Food like kale, lettuce, cilantro, chives, catnip, lemon balm, flying dragon lemons and broccoli. A $2 package of seeds becomes $400 in seedlings and much more in food savings. Fresh food is the most expensive in stores.
I am sewing slipcovers and ponchos. I cannot sell a bike that belonged to my Mother-in-law. I found a cousin in the 1800s who has my nose. I am doing genealogy research.
I am so glad I met you and we keep up with each other. I wish you health, the best wealth. Oh, and all those masks I made and gave away? They are gone. The masks I have left I am making pouch purses with 4 inner pockets, and pockets for my ponchos! Finally I figured out where I like pockets on my ponchos!
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