A Final Look Back

 

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico from last week

Here we are, friends: New Year's Eve, the final day of another chaotic year. There were many highs and many lows, on both a personal scale and a global scale. This was the year of vaccination, and we thought it would lead to the end of the pandemic (and we all know how well that worked out). For a period of time, though, things were definitely better. We were able to gather safely with family again, to travel a bit, and to celebrate some major holidays together. I really hoped, though, that the world in general would be in a better place than we are now.

I don't want to dwell on the negative, though. It's been, generally speaking, a pretty good year for me. I've accomplished a lot this year, in no small part because I've continued to work from home full time (a situation that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future). Here are some numbers, seeing as it's a stats-heavy time of year:

• I read 141 books this year (see yesterday's post for details). I'm unlikely to read the 300+ pages I have left in my current library book by the end of the day, so that's most likely the final number.
• I knit or crocheted 48 projects this year, using up close to 19,000 yards of yarn. These included three sweaters for me, one for Rainbow, two baby sweaters (gifts), three blankets, 22 hats (of which 13 were for charity), two shawls, and eight pairs of socks.
• I spun more than 7,700 yards of yarn, including the oldest fiber I had in my stash and yarn for two sweaters.
• I walked 1,714.58 miles on my workouts -- and those were just the miles I was tracking with an app. Google tells me that's about the distance between New York and Fort Lauderdale!
• I have written in my journal almost every day this year, keeping up with a practice that started on January 1, 2020, at the very table at which I'm typing this post and that became a constant during the most troubling early days of the pandemic.
  
  

I've gotten out of the habit of making new year's resolutions because they never get kept, but I certainly think about some general intentions, and they're often similar year after year: make healthy choices, focus on what matters, learn more, spend time with family.

For all of you, dear blog friends, I wish you what I hope to have for myself: good health, happiness, satisfaction in work and crafting, good books to read, the company of family and friends, and many moments of joy and beauty. Let's hope by the time we get to this day next year, things are better for all of us.