Happy New Year 2021! Whew. We made it! Let’s hope 2021 is not the “Shit Show” 2020 was:
To no ones surprise, none of what I thought would happen, happened this past year. I could go through the long litany of what I had planned vs. what actually occurred, but I expect that’s true for all of us. Instead of tackling plans, we hunkered down, got two pups and stayed home. On the plus side, this did allow me to spend time better learning how to utilize our Traeger, as we had a freezer full of meat. I experimented with brining, smoked prickly pear (seems to reduce the stickyness) and chicken feet (for the dogs), played with chicken wing recipes, and cooked some amazing lamb/beef/pork/bison roasts. I also now have a pretty good workout gym in the garage, so I have returned to working out regularly, though, sadly, no gym means no basketball.
In July, Ann contracted the virus, and subsequently Covid, which hit her pretty hard, though thankfully didn’t seem to affect her lungs. She’s had various health issues since, similar to other ‘long haulers’; as of an ER visit in early December, one that required emergency dental surgery, her T-cell counts were still unusually low. Hopefully, she continues to improve.
For Ann and I, we expect 2021 to be a continuation of 2020, in that we begin the year with doctor appointments for our oldest dog, for Ann, and for Ann’s mother. That our oldest dog and Ann’s mother survived 2020 were minor miracles, but recent doc visits leave us doubting they will make it through 2021, so we will remain tied to home for the foreseeable future. Because of this, eWillys will continue as is (because I have plenty of short time bursts available, just not the long ones necessary to return to book writing).
My goals for the year are pretty modest, such as continuing to grow out my hair. I hope to get my hair to the point where I can donate it to a cancer patient as a wig. That means I have at least another year of growth. I’ve let my beard grow as well. Thankfully, Ann seems delighted by the whole process; she’s always up for an adventure.
I do have two short trips planned for 2021. Assuming the Homefront can survive without me, one trip will be a week-long adventure to Utah’s San Rafael Swell in late March to hike some remote trails with my oldest son. Sometime, probably in May, I’ll likely return to Salt Lake to help him build a shed for his backyard.
All that said, we did have some good fortune during 2020 and at some point late this year or into 2022 we will be buying a house or buying property and building a new place; that may require significant time away from updating the site and answering emails, Rest assured, there will be fair warning before that happens.
