So Then What Happened, Or, Saturday Morning at 10:07am

Well hello! I am still the same person I was on December 31st, albeit even more bemused by America’s political shenanigans. You?

Let’s talk about what’s next. Not in politics, I would not even aspire to predict where that’s going, and anyway I don’t plan to do anything different. I’ll just keep on donating, writing voter letters, and reading the newspapers and professorial/professional commentary who know better.

In terms of my own teeny-tiny sandbox, here’s what’s up:

Continuing:

• Spanish classes resume next week. Our teacher is Argentinian; I am expecting a great discussion of the World Cup victory when next we meet.
• Grief counseling. I still have not taken on a client, but I am included in bi-weekly group counselor meetings, and it’s adding a true layer of meaning to my days.
• Fighting termites. No meaning, just a pain in the neck. They are endemic these days.
• Princeton Class of 1978. Working with a team of classmates on redesigning our website and participating in various initiatives for our 45th Reunion.
• Health.
  • Eating almost no red meat, almost no cheese, more beans, so many dark green leafies I never thought about before. Found dark chocolate that doesn’t have high levels of lead and cadmium (!)
  • Drinking less and less alcohol; down to 4 glasses/week and currently doing Dry January with much less effort than in 2021 and 2022. Moderation is possible for some of us and I’m very pleased.
  • As for exercise, I’m less diligent about 30-minute brisk walks than I might wish, but, on the other hand, physical therapy progress for various tendons is palpable. Literally. Want to palpate my elbow?
• Wearing clothes. I do not plan to walk the streets naked, but other than that I have no wardrobe desires at the moment. I am sure that will change, given the self’s need to present over time.

Launching:

• New blog design and website. Yikes! I’m planning a “writer’s website,” i.e. one under a different URL with a different home page. The blog will continue, and you should be able to find it the same way, but it will look different and be housed in a new place–if the Internet can be said to have “places.”  I’ll let you know when it happens, and will watch out for bugs/glitches. The big thing is that comments will work again, and display correctly. I thought you all deserved a better clubhouse. Stuffing had begun to escape our virtual sofas.
• Querying my novel. My upmarket romance, featuring a woman over 50 for a change, is just about ready to shop around to agents. We shall see how that goes. If nothing ensues, I have a Plan B, and then a Plan C, such that you who have been so kind about my writing will eventually be able to read it, if you’d like.
• Local friends. I am working on making or rekindling friendships in the Bay Area. Real-life humans are a necessity for some of us, and I’ve been sorely lacking in companions with whom to walk and talk.

Also I discovered Acme Bread’s Walnut Levain and it is divine.

How about you? Any new projects ahead? Or is it a year to stay the course?

Have a good weekend. Go forth or stay put.