More than a few people have shared with me that 2021 felt like another 2020. For myself, I can say it was a blur. I spent the bulk of the year reviewing edits on my novel, promoting that new fruit gardening book I wrote, consulting on veggie gardens, and teaching remote classes. Kind of just like 2020.
Somewhere around September, I went insane. I signed up for two 30-day boot camps (one business and one personal) thinking I could handle it. Then, I signed up for a 10-week course (with, like, 5-hours of homework a week) that sucked the living soul out of me. Ah, what we do for creative freedom. I’m pretty much brain dead, burned out, and exhausted (as evidenced by the head cold I got along the way). But boy, am I prepared for 2022.
What I Remember from 2021
Seeing a movie in the theater after a long time away was one of the best days of the year. As a movie nerd, it felt like being home again. It was In the Heights, BTW.
Friends who invite you to visit them at their lakefront property for a week is a tremendous gift. I read 3 books that week, lying flat on my back on the couch the WHOLE TIME. Lake? What lake? I AM this couch.
Cooking jags are fun, especially when you watch Nadiya’s Time to Eat on Netflix and feel inspired to make many of the recipes. See the difference between her chocolate chip pan cookie and mine here.
I remember planting seeds for tomatoes 3 times..and failing 3 times. And right after going to TomatoMania to buy seedlings to cover my failure, every seed sprouted. 27 tomatoes…planted wherever I could find room.
And rats, loads of rats. Insurmountable rat damage in 2021. It’s almost enough to make one give up. But remember…I went insane, so there’s no giving up. But I’m still harvesting cherry tomatoes from a few plants that made a recovery from one particular incident. So there’s hope.
So this is my long-winded way of saying it’s been a rough but fun year. A jumble of good and bad, happy and sad, insanity and…well, more insanity. I keep saying I’m going to take a break, to disappear from this blog and YouTube, and the podcast for a while, but the pull is strong. I am going to take a break in January, but you’ll still see stuff from me. If I skip a post or two, you’ll know why.
I’m probably flat on my back reading a stack of books or watching movies, eating popcorn for dinner, and enjoying every minute of it.
Here’s to whatever 2022 has to throw at us. Let’s do this.
