In With the New

This holiday season seemed particularly difficult.  It seemed to take a long time to get people in the spirit, myself included.  Then one day I received a wreath in the mail from my friend Rita, and it galvanized me into action.  I put up the tree and sent out packages.  You'd think by now I'd do all my Christmas shopping on the internet, but no, I persist in finding boxes (usually from Amazon purchases...), filling them with purchases and mailing them. 

Anyway, here's my tree.  I bought some LED lights this year and liked them a lot.  I didn't realize until I got them home that there were two shades of white bulbs.  Anyway, they are great energy savers, the bulbs last forever (which is why they are a lot more expensive than the average string of bulbs) and the colors are vivid.  It's the way I'm going from now on.

In my last post, I mentioned my Dad had fallen.  One of the things that inspired me to put up the tree for the first time in a couple of years was the fear that it might be his last.  I brought him and my Mom over Christmas Day for dinner and presents, and we had a great time.  It's not so easy to get him loaded into the car anymore...

A new broom sweeps clean.  Can't wait to see what Barack Obama does when he takes office in less than three weeks.  Even with the crappy economy, I find myself cautiously optimistic.  Not only do we have a new president, my company has a new CEO as of the beginning of December, and my department has a new Chair coming in the beginning of February.  All this change makes me giddy.

My friend Sandy and I are going to

My friend Sandy decided to go to DC for the inauguration.  She has a friend who lives in the area and is going to go visit him and go to the swearing in, along with millions of close friends.  I thought it was a great idea, and called my bro and sister-in-law, who live in Arlington, Virginia to see if they wanted to share the experience with me.  They said no way.  It was going to be insanely large crowds and they were going to stay home and watch the spectacle on their new TV. So I decided against going, in spite of having asked for the time off work.  Then, a couple of days ago, I had a dance lesson with my long-time instructor, Tom, and he told me he was going to throw a tent in his car and drive to DC, camp and try to go to the inauguration.  That it would be a historical event.  I told him I'd see if he could stay with my brother and sister-in-law.  I talked to them and asked if they'd try to go with Tom.  The upshot is that Tom and I are going to fly up, stay with them, and we are all going to try to get as close as we can...it may mean trying to on the hill by Arlington Cemetery and use binoculars and a telescope (not at the same time), but it would be better than being closer in a mob and not being able to see anything.

My New Year's resolutions are about the same as they have been.  Eat better, get more exercise, drink less, be a better person, etc.

Sandy and I are going to get produce from Palmetto Organics, an organic farm that allows you to order fresh produce from them on a weekly basis.  Hopefully, it will help with the "eat healthier" New Year's resolution.

I was doing pretty well on the exercise end, but after Pop fell in October, my personal trainer sessions and dance lessons sort of fell off, and when the holidays arrived, it all pretty much stopped.  I have some arthritis in my hip, and have found that when I exercise regularly and don't overdo it, my hip is much better, and I can even stop taking ibuprofen (or at least minimize my intake).  Too much or too little exercise and I have to take an anti-inflammatory.  So the exercise resolution is pretty important.

Anyway, that's the latest.  Now I'm going to have a glass of wine.

It is, after all, New Year's Eve.

If you don't like this post, blame it on Deborah Jane.

 

Comments

[Deborah Jane]

Ah, most excellent lady, you came through :) I'm excited to hear how the inauguration goes!

[Jennifer]

This year is going to be an interesting one. I am also waiting to see how our new president is going perform.
I have a new vegetable garden and plan on growing as many of our own produce as I can.
Happy New Year to you.

[Angie]

Excellent blog. I found you when I searched for the pronunciation of "ceilidh." I was invited to one last night and didn't want to sound completely ignorant. Thanks for the lesson. I also enjoyed your year-end posts and felt I had found someone living a somewhat parallel life. I, too, am looking forward to your account of the inauguration. I'll be back!

[gw]

i like this post and i like that you are posting again, if only infrequently. thought i'd lost you [sad]. and, since you have chided me before for this, here is one of my new year resolutions: i am going to be brazenly unashamed, until the day i actually learn to type with more than 2 fingers, for my unabashed non-utilization of capital letters. you have hinted that it is intellectual sloth, but i think it is arthritis. i feel emboldened!
miss you.

[waiter]

great tree! i wish it were chistmass time now!!!