So what is it?
it’s been a weird and difficult year, but before we hit January 1st & everyone starts talking about what you’re certainly going to do this next year, let’s take a minute to contemplate what we did this past year.
Did you beat cancer into remission? Introduce your kids to your favorite hiking trail? Read an excellent book? Finish a degree? Reorganize that closet so you can actually find the things you need when you need them? Actually get a picture of that rare bird you see two or three times per year, but only when you don’t have your camera?
We’ve all complained about 2020, but a year is a long time. I know everyone has done things that they are proud or happy to have accomplished. I know that I’m happy to have been a part of the protests in Portland. I have deep roots there and what happens in Oregon generally and Portland specifically matters to me. Barriers related to disability can get in the way of getting a lot of things done, and when the new wave of protests began in the aftermath of the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, I wished I could do more. But I wasn’t really doing much.
Then things continued to get worse, and suddenly I found it in me: I did do more, for three hard weeks. It required help from a number of people (thank you all!) but I was able to maintain a presence there for a crucial period of time. And that mattered. Whatever else I did or didn’t do, I can say that I am both proud and happy that in 2020 I did that.
So, what did you do this year?
Am I really the first one? Hard to tell I guess because maybe someone else is posting right now. OK.
I used to be a weaver but had to sell my monster 8 harness floor loom because it just did not fit in the new house when we moved. This year I got all my fiber stuff out of storage, set up a studio space for myself, then found a smaller table loom (only 4 harness but that’s OK) and finally got myself back into weaving. Right now I’m weaving a set of 3 towels for the kitchen in some lovely shades of blue cotton yarn, with a little metallic thrown in for an accent. I do miss that gigantic floor loom but wow it’s great to finally be weaving again after all these years.
I’ve done a few things…
Worked on a typeface.
Sang in the baritone section of a virtual choir concert.
Finished first draft of a novel around 100,000 words (twice the minimum but well below Dean Koontz territory), got about 70% done with my first screenplay, the parts not finished are well outlined, drew a few comic pages and colorful posters but generally sucked at art this year – altho my ghost pangolin was kinda swanky for something dashed off, and I didn’t totally fuck up the holidays after valentines…
In year two of my rockhounding life I got two of my rocks on display in the Rice Museum. One was a small piece of petrified wood Id found and tumble polished that was about the size of a closed fist. I also had one of my largest carnelian agates on display too. Nothing award winning, but I was pretty happy. Ive also sent free polished rocks to several different artists to use as they saw fit.
Changed jobs for the first time in fourteen years.
Released the third and final edition of my first book.
Had a second child.
Moved house.
Got to know my father a bit, having only met him twice before in the last 48 years.
It’s been an unusual year.
I finished my phd and I didn’t lose my mind. Honestly, this has been a shitty year, but I’m kinda proud of myself holding it together so well and getting through it.
And it’s become clear I’m not as anti-social as I’d thought. I’ve actually missed people! Personal insights count, too.
I made a bunch of things. My favorite is a small bog oak teacup that I turned on the lathe. I put it somewhere and now I can’t find it. I also made slicy and stabby things. And pulled pork. And wontons.
I’m working on a database access library in C++ that I hope will be suitable for international standardization. I’ll have more time to work on it after I retire, probably around the end of next month.
I learned bobbin lace from my mom, something that I wanted to do for decades. And I made a few people happy by giving/selling them knives that they enjoy having.
I did my Master’s Thesis and graduated from the university as a Master of Science (Technology). Telecommuting from home was fine for developing the simulation and running the tests, but finding the spoons for writing the text of the thesis was hard at times. I missed the people in our research group and the social interactions with them (going to lunch together, coffee breaks and such).
I actually DID reorganize parts of my house so I could find things, most notably my crafts supplies. In doing so, I found dozens of projects in every possible state of completion, from drawings on paper scraps to a fully pieced queen-size quilt top that I did not remember finishing. I spent a few happy months turning the nearly-finished stuff into useful finished stuff. I now have a spiffy weighted blanket on the bed and a cozy thick but light quilt on the couch.
Also I went back to work, answering phones for the state’s covid-19 emergency information line. Because I felt like I wasn’t doing enough just making masks. Hard work that’s worth doing.
StonedRanger, congrats on getting specimens on display! I’ve been to the Rice Museum, your stuff is in good company.
I haven’t been able to use my fiber studio since son/dil and the grandbabies moved in last November. It’s currently buried in all my stuff that had to move from their (now) bedrooms.
I would love to experiment with Sprang, one of the oldest weaving techniques, but it’s not a toddler friendly art. (Envisions hours of work disappearing in seconds when curious child yanks out the rod, or unties the end).
I did make my own sourdough starter and tried for many months to make sweet rolls that taste like my grandmother’s did. I did not succeed, but I managed some pretty amazing bread, and a braided challah before getting tired of maintaining the starter and finding ways to use up the excess. I learned that proper proofing and kneading is the most crucial part of good bread.