jedimentat

Making gingerbread with friends

Lunar Faire!

I should go back and mention that I had surgery for RRP at the end of November; it was a bit stressful and nuts bc of kid-coverage during the procedure, but we have really wonderful friends and neighbors. Surgery was a bit wack but overall went okay and the followup visit in NYC was good. Voice recovery took a day or two longer than expected and I had sort of a public freakout but lots of great support from friends. Doc put me on a week of prednisone in December for the voice recovery process and it really helped with breathing. Got to hit the Bryant Park shops in NYC while visiting for postop.

Also the kids got Vaxx shot #2

Tried to get a nice Christmas dog picture with Santa, but the boys look awk and Santa looks threatening

Roof redo in anticipation of solar. This roofing company absolutely rocks and everything was super smooth and quick, it was incredible

Winter walk around Round Valley

Christmas Tree Farm and Decorating the Tree

Went to two Christmas parties; it was a merry time.

had a small Christmas party, *right* before the Omi surge. We had windows wide open, fans going, masks inside and eating outside...it was chilly and the muddiest gathering I have ever had, but we had fun and no one got sick that we know of. The kids sang karaoke for a large part of the time, and there was firepit and porching. My Christmas tree pizza got modified. Lookit these Christmas pirate cookies!

family drive to see Christmas lights

There were school shootings in December and a widely-publicized TikTock threat-challenge, so we took a day off for that one.

Class-Christmas-Party-Room-Mom stuff

Christmas Tree Farm and Christmas Tree decorating

Had a lovely Christmas dinner with Nana and Pop

also Nana and Pop gave the kids bikes! wooo!

Christmas morning

Overall we had a sweet and cozy Christmas in our immediate family; shopping had mostly been done ages in advance in anticipation of an unreliable supply chain and uncertain inflation. Our extended family lost a member due to Alzheimers; it had been coming for some time but was still very sad and our hearts are broken for them. I had other friends lose close family members not too much before Christmas, so it had a very sad shadow around it for the adults.

As we moved towards New Years, the surge was starting. There were staff shortages at school and bus driver shortages right before break, and you could see stuff really falling apart rapidly.

New Years

yup, perfect

memes and poems

feels about right

New Years yoga/pilates together

Do some downward dog, Bodhi!

New Years Eve hike and trip to Angry Erik's brewery
Got to chat over the firepit with Angry Erik, and hike with graegis

New Years Eve at home, watching the ball drop with the kids. Bodhi needed comforting after the party horns, he hated them so much!

watching Book of Boba Fett

School starting after the holiday craziness seemed insane (airports = beyond a mess, cases surging, testing became unavailable bc so in demand, staff shortages everywhere and closings/modified hours bc of it, doctor's appointments unavailable, hospitals moving to red and no elective procedures, no beds). There was no remote option and our schools remained full time in person. We accept the inevitability of this very contagious strain, and are fully vaxxed, but what we do not accept is joining the crazy circus that was this first week "back" in January, with literally everyone we know falling sick and the unavailability of things; it feels like there is a frenetic insistence to make the worst choices possible. We bowed out with a big "eff that, no thanks," and are sitting this one out at home. (Here's kingfox's face in response to a school response to a parent email

Starting remote school again, as well as the New Year off like this, is completely demoralizing in so many ways, but we are taking things day by day and trying to enjoy small joys and accomplish what we can; moving from that weird social cognitive dissonance about reality to acceptance and individual action.

The solar project has been enormously stressful, mostly due to the company's foibles, and we're still working through it. I feel like it's a lot of $ to spend to have things go this poorly, and it's very frustrating. Hopefully it will be worth it. My parents have been enormously helpful and supportive through this project.

Liberty

Kirk

Kirk did food bank collection for Cub Scouts

We had an ailing chicken in our house for a day or two before Christmas; I think she was molting and a stretch of suddenly cold days were causing struggle, and then she did better.

Dogs

I dyed my hair red for 2022 bc I couldn't stand the sociopolitical assumptions that seem to go along with blonde hair anymore, I am so serious. But not serious about how it came out, which is kind of janky. I'll fix it as I go along in 2022 I guess.