Cloudy and snowy today. We got about an inch overnight. I had to shovel a path to the gate to put the trash tote out for collections. But it shoveled easily and the ice underneath some of it wasn't all that hard or slippery so I was able to move without a problem and didn't put any of the pavement deicer.
Well it is finally the last day of 2025. I haven't seen many retrospectives on the news and I haven't gone looking for any. A long time ago I read TESTAMENT OF YOUTH which is the autobiography of Vera Britain who served as a nurse during the First World War and came out of the experience wanting to understand how her world went insane. She applied to return to university to study history to try to find the answers though she had been studying English Literature before the war. The head of the college tells her that historical study is limited to events before 50 years in the past because some time has to elapse before historians can "rationally" examine the events. I would love to find a way to life for another fifty years to see what historians will make of the last quarter century.
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Welcome to 2026 and Happy New Year. We had sun briefly and now it's cloudy. We got a dusting of snow overnight but not enough for me to shovel anything. Since we aren't going out the snow can stay there.
This time of year (from mid November through mid January) is a good time for reflection. Some things end, some things begin and some continue through. Much of the reflections I see on the news centers on politics and economics, of course. But I am more concerned with my own situation. I feel more contented than I have for several years at other New Year's. I completed several projects that reduced my fiber/fabric stash--mainly small blankets of which two went to grandnephews who welcomed baby boys last year. I still have a stack on a small table upstairs. I plan to finish up two to-be-embroidered tablecloths I started last year. I won't be starting any more such items. Instead, I have a couple of projects fermenting in my mind to work on over next year--or rather this year now. They haven't yet matured to the point of execution. I just finished a small blanket made up of some of the small squares I made on the Zoom loom. I have more to do something with. And I have the two pieces I am building with crocheted hexagons--one uses crochet thread and the other lace weight yarn. They should get finished (or nearly) by next December. I also finished up several small embroidered projects and have another still on the hoop. I saw another two, I think, I might bring out over this next year. I also have several projects that have been in a deep freeze for some time that really should be warmed up.
One of the best things I have done for my self over the last couple of months has been to cut down my exposure to the so-called news. Most of it is either frustrating, or infuriating, or mind-blowing in its utter insanity. Dealing with it even at a distance wastes energy I really don't have to spare.
However, I have two longer term goals (I don't really make resolutions and haven't for some years): tracing my family genealogy and reading more actual books. I signed up for Ancestry.com and made a good start which I will extend over the coming year.
Books have long been my "kryptonite." I used to go into my favorite books stores for one or two and came out with a dozen. Once upon a time I thought it would be a good idea to make an inventory but gave up when I hit 10k and hadn't done more than half my shelves. Most of those are gone given to friends, relatives, or the local library. Instead I have moved to e-books. I had resisted the change for a long time but most of my books are electronic now. I remember a scene in 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD where Helene Hanf writes to her booksellers in England complaining that they haven't sent her any new books from her wish list. She tells them that she is reduced to writing long notes on the margins of library books and is afraid they will find out and cancel her library card. Unfortunately I find it way too easy to order new downloads without thinking about it much. My goal for the coming year is to finish 5 books I already before I buy ONLY one new book. It is time to keep a notebook listing books I come across that might be interesting. In spite of complaining to my self about my addiction I have finished quite a number of books this year including two of Madeleine Albright's memoirs, Nancy Pelosi's memoir, and Liz Cheney's account of the last two years of her time in congress during the January 6 hearings. Just in the past week I also finished THE JACOBITE REBELLIONS OF THE BRITISH ISLES by Andrew Jackson. I wanted more information on that time because one of my (possible) ancestors was transported to the British North American colonies for having fought with the rebels.
But I am still reading what comes through my e-mail--I just might not comment on the current events and comments from the pundits. However, there is a lot out there worth acknowledging such as this piece from NAKED CAPITALISM on the resurgence of liposuction. This intrigued me because for a while I saw ads on TV for a company offering what sounded much like liposuction (though not any of the companies cited in the above story). I remember the stories concerning the lawsuits over the adverse effects of the procedure and a quick google search revealed that the company running the ads in this market was offering a "modified" liposuction procedure and was the focus of lawsuits concerning various adverse reactions including death. What is old is new again.
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