Year End Survey

 1. What did you do in 2020 that you'd never done before?
I haven't been to the mall since March.  Made face mask.  Wore face mask every time we were in public. Finished 2 or 3 quilts.  Read 100 books.  Got a new kitchen

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made one.  I don't really plan on making any.  But I think I'll try to read another 100 books

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No. Not close-close.  My cousin. And people from instagram

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not that I can recall

5. What countries did you visit?
 Hahahaha

6. What would you like to have in 2021 that you lacked in 2020?
Like, everything. Or anything.  Mostly seeing my mom and sister.  Plus so many other, smaller, things

7. What days from 2020 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I think it was March 13th.  That was the last day Bertram was in school

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Doing more educational stuff with the kids

9. What was your biggest failure?
Letting my depression/quarantine make me lax about my health

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I wanna say the kittens, but they were free

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
All of us.  We made it through spending all day, everyday together, for 3 months (That was full quarantine, then we widened our bubble  

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Anything to do with Trump/ line-toting republicans (A few of the outliers really earned my respect).
Anti-Maskers. Super-spreaders.  People ignoring the general health of themselves and others and having life as usual  

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to Disneyland (then unexcited when we couldn't go)

16. What song will always remind you of 2020?
Everything's Gonna Be Better Next Year by The Rescues

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? sadder 
ii. thinner or fatter? fatter, for sure
iii. richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Exercised

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being depressed, not that I had a ton of control over that

20. How did you spend Christmas?
The usual.  With the in-laws

22. Did you fall in love in 2020?
With kittens

23. How many one-night stands?
none, duh. I'm going to delete this for next year. Dumb question

24. What was your favorite TV program?
Probably Zoey's Infinite Playlist.  I watched a lot of cutthroat kitchen and tiny house shows

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Anti-Maskers/ anti-science people.  Since they are actually dangerous, instead of just annoying

26. What was the best book you read?
Hmm, I like Factfulness, Finding Audrey, We need to talk about Kevin, Talking to Strangers, Unbroken, A man Called Ove, 

27. What was your greatest musical (re)discovery?
The Rescues

28. What did you want and get?
A safe/healthy year, a democrat in power

29. What did you want and not get?
pretty much everything else

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I know I watched a few movies this year.  But nothing is springing to mind.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I have no clue what we did... Likely, not much. I turned 37

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
No world-wide pandemic

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?
Leggings

34. What kept you sane?
Anti-depressants

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I'm sure there was someone, but I can't think of anyone.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Covid, which shouldn't have been a political issue AT ALL.

37. Who did you miss?
My mom and seester

38. Who was the best new person you met?
No one, lol

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2020:
Having a project helps things a lot

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Everything's gonna be better next year.

Day 283

From early November, the completed kitchen

 I have no clue what was happening at the last entry, I should reread before posting, I suppose.

The cats are doing well.  Shy-Guy is my buddy, and loves snuggling.  (I have to keep removing him from the laptop).  Oona is still a loud purr-er, and sleeps with Bertram most nights.  

Bertram has had more good days than bad recently.  He is very unpredictable.  I think screentime is the basis for most of his bad behaviour.  We limit it to some extent, but it's pandemic  time, so there are only so many options for him.  He has chores he has to do (get newspaper, feed cat, make bed, wipe table, do a worksheet).  Most days the first 3 will get done.  For some reason, he really hates worksheets.  They are mostly for handwriting, because his is awful.  He just goes to fast.

He got student of the month at school.  He was so excited he ran all around the house.  The teacher said she can see that he is improving in paying attention, and not shouting out.  We've been trying, so I'm glad he is getting some recognition. 

Bron has had some evals.  She started speech a couple weeks ago.  And will be starting ABA sometime soon.  Everything is ready, but the scheduler hasn't called yet.  And it's the end of the year, so I'm not sure who is in the office anyway.  She has her school district evals at the end of January and beginning of February.

We took the rail off Bron's crib a week (or so) ago.  She was climbing out consistently, so it made sense to take the front off.  The first night was a little rough. Most night's now she'll play in the dark (she has a little nightlight in her bed) and then put herself to bed after a while. But she hasn't been coming out, so that is a win.  And she usually is quiet when she plays. 

I started working on a calico/tee shirt quilt for Bron.  It's twin size, for when we move her to the big bed. The squares are all cut, and I've started assembly on the top.

Aaron has continued to work from home.  Most of the time it's great, because I have a second set of hands most of the day, or as needed.  He took most of this week off, because why not?  We don't need to save the vacation time for anything.  Who knows when travel will be safe?  He helped his dad take a lemon tree from their neighbour's house.  The house between us and his folks has been sold to  developer. The same one that did Grandma Street's house.  Hers turned out fine, I guess.  It's giant.  And there are no windows facing the front (except one over the garage that always has the shade closed.) So it seems very foreboding and unfriendly.  I saw the wife once, walking a baby.  But she made no effort to look at me, or smile, and seemed to hurry  back into the house. 

This was the model/drawing.  I've marked the differences in how it actually looks.  There is no lower right window, that's all that stone wall.  There is no chimney.  That front gate (which goes to a patio), then the front door is a half gate, not full sized.  Those two upstairs windows don't exist.  I don't think the wall comes out that far.  And, you can kind of see, how huge it is compared to the houses beside it.

That is what, essentially, will be going in next door to us.  Thomas James builders have been redoing a lot of houses in the area, and most of their designs are similar to this, though, this is the least inviting.  With the exception of this and one other house, all the houses on the street are single story, and look small from the front.  Most have been added onto in the back, but generally fit the look.  I'm just grumping I guess.  I'm not thrilled about living by a construction site either.