Editor’s Note

I can’t remember the last time I slept through the night, but I do remember the places I didn’t sleep this year. My bed-hopping is the result of pent-up, post-pandemic rambling: long weekends out of town, invitations from friends and a family health scare. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it’s a good way to assess a year. If you were mostly in your own bed, that’s a good year.  If you found yourself sleeping somewhere outside of your comfort zone, or just in odd places, then you’ve got a story.  ...

It took a lot of people in a lot of jobs to keep a household going, even a home as modest as the one Dad grew up in. A few carried over through the decades. We still have a mailman and a garbage hauler, today’s version of the junkman. And many of us have a cable man, but that’s usually not someone people like to talk about. ...

I imagined a relaxing float-down-a-river version of whitewater rafting, a guide maneuvering us through occasional, tumbling rapids with gimmicky names — nothing too crazy, just enough to get my sunglasses wet. Whitewater rafting lite. For $49, how many rapids could there be? It turns out, a lot; you get a lot of rapids for under 50 bucks. The river was high and the rapids were Class III and IV. I’m guessing Class V is for stuntmen and Olympic athletes. Sixty seconds into the trip, my single goal was to stay in the raft and protect my knee replacements.  ...

Editor’s Note
We are What We Make

The past year gave me clarity that I didn’t expect and I’m not sure I appreciate: I like art. But I’m not an artist.

Months of weekends with nothing to do, long evenings and insomnia-driven early mornings mean I have a lot of time on my hands. I don’t feel like doing anything that I should be doing: organizing closets, mastering recipes, reading books, grooming the dog. I’m restless, a condition I blame on Living Through a Major Historical Time (LTAMHT).

So I did what millions of others have done: I went on Amazon and ordered art supplies. 

Creatively Average
I started with origami. I thought it would be a fun art to master and I ordered a tablet of origami paper. My YouTube instructors led me through complicated-looking videos until I found one designed for children. It was still really, really complicated.

I powered through, and after a few short hours, made an origami chicken. I progressed to Christmas trees (harder than it looks on the videos) but finally gave up after a major star-folding fail. Conclusion: I’m a Below-Average Origami Artist. Let’s say D+.

Next up: Watercolor painting. I consulted my YouTube instructors and quickly realized that mixing pigments and managing brushstrokes, combined with a lack of artistic talent, had all the makings of a setup. 

Undeterred, I bought cheap watercolor pencils, paper and a pack of $5 brushes. I’m committed to art; my wallet isn’t. Fortunately, the instructors were patient with me and I made a few (shamelessly copied) paintings. Conclusion: A solid C. Good enough. 

During this LTAMHT, I’ve also tackled silk scarf painting and, briefly and inexpertly, calligraphy. Again, solid C work. I’m reluctant to call it art.

My artistic friends are making better use of their LTAMHT. One is a quilter who, not content with that impressive talent, made paper caricatures.

...

It’s easy to idealize our 20s, now that they’re firmly in our rearview mirror. It was a fun part of my life, but it also came with an undercurrent of uncertainty. I knew that a lot was going to happen, but my path was bracketed by fuzzy outlines that intimidated rather than inspired. ...

Many of us will celebrate the holidays at home this year, and in far different ways than we could have imagined. It’s a special season that deserves special treatment, regardless of the background noise and calamity. The good news is, we’ve got you covered with great stories about food, safe visits and holiday lights — and a bit of local nostalgia thrown in for fun.  ...

It’s been a productive few months, by pandemic standards. Aside from stumbling around with Zoom — the video conferencing app — I’ve tackled several projects: pitching failed hair products jammed under the bathroom sink; trimming hair from my golden retriever’s feet and matching plastic lids with bowls. I also sorted insurance statements and moved winter clothes to a back closet.  ...