First post of the year

Garden: I can see daffodils poking out of the ground in my yard. It seems very early--but I have that same thought every year. Anyway, it has been fairly warm and wet for a few weeks so I'm not really surprised. On New Year's Day it occurred to me that they might be up, so I looked, and there they were. I did a bit of weeding in my pajamas, and repotted the tiny scrap of aloe that was still living from the much larger plant that I left outside too long in the cold.

Games: I played X-Wing with Aaron and his older son last week (his son and I won). Then Aaron and I played Memoir '44. (I lost). We got Azul for Christmas, and the girls got some escape room games. 

Reading: After months, I finished reading Aces Falling by Peter Hart. It was excellent. The book had belonged to a co-worker who died in a plane crash last July. Not only did I enjoy the book, but being able to read it felt special because of its connection to my co-worker, who was a wonderful person. Then I read The 2020 Commission Report by Jeffrey Lewis, which was pretty good (a fast read and rather horrifying in its believability.) My friend Cindy gave me a book of her poems that was just published, and I just love it. Each poem feels like a strange dark room and I have a flashlight, and I can shine it around and see details and can't ever see the full room, though maybe I can sense it if I keep looking and looking. I am also starting Early Riser by Jasper Fforde.

Art: I am due to start a house portrait ASAP. There is a government shutdown right now, so my only excuse is needing to put away Christmas decorations.

Life in general: Tolerable. 2018 was the worst year of my life. My heart hurt in ways that I was only able to imagine abstractly before. Hardly an hour has gone by in the past half-year that hasn't been colored by grief or sadness in some way. However, there have hardly been any hours that haven't given my a reason to feel grateful. I'm so fortunate I have so very many reasons to be happy. More than that--I am just a happy person at my base. Thank god.