Rays of Sunshine: Year-End 2020

My husband remarked sometime this fall that future historians of our era will have to microspecialize in 2020, as in, "I'm an expert on October 8, 2020."  It has been a year in which we lived a century.  Here are some (not-so) quick takes from an epic year.

1. We survived Covid in the early days of the pandemic.  My infection was brutal (but not hospital-inducing); the rest of my family less so.  

2. My kids learned to get along with each other during the six-month lockdown in this tiny house, and continue to develop their relationships with each other in unexpected ways.  Yes, they still fight, still annoy each other, still know how to push each other's buttons, but on the whole, the four of them can rub along okay, which is something I never thought I'd be able to say.  We did many puzzles and played lots of Scrabble and other word games this year.

3. The kitchen garden was a source of delight to me all summer and fall, and I'm looking forward to digging in the dirt in the late spring.

4. While I wrote less this year, my final Slezkine essay remains my favorite, although my latest Crawford tribute comes close.

 

5. I'm pleased to announce that my novel, All This Without You, will be published in mid-February.  I'm working through the final formatting and galley proofs now.  Pre-order will be available in a few days.  My first novel, Deliverance, finally got the cover I wanted from the start.

6. The kids discovered shchi, kuleyabaka, and pirog this year, and my fasting menus got a bit easier as a result (if more labor-intensive).  

 

At the same time, I crossed some kind of culinary Rubicon this year, and have enjoyed making some nice-looking meat, fish, and cabbage pies (with pre-made crust; I'm not that invested).  

 

The food shortages of the spring put my long-neglected bread maker to work. 

After 8 months of heavy use, it went to the Great Appliance Store in the Sky.  RIP, you served us well.

 

7. I fell down a few crafting rabbit holes this summer and fall, including jewelry-making, which I completely enjoy, and dyeing, which I do not. 

 

 

I also returned to making art this spring and summer, and am holding these new creative endeavors under the broad umbrella of This Living Hand Designs. 

 8. After stalking various listings for used pairs, I finally found a pair of Blundstones on ebay for a great bargain, and they are pretty much the best things ever. My transitional shoe crisis solved! So stompy.  

9. With hair salons closed for months, I learned how to cut both boys' hair, and have continued the practice since.  My husband had me trim his hair once in May in desperation, but has since returned to his barber, much to my relief.  I trimmed the girls' and my own hair once, since we don't need regular cuts.  It's not perfect, but it will do!

 

10. My sewing stalled out this year, but I made a few things I really loved, including my cropped linen Emerald tops, and a laundry cycle's worth of underwear.  

11. I dipped my toes into more challenging knitting, including lacework and colorwork, and find I have a an appetite for charted work. 

I also discovered some new-to-me designers and have enjoyed some new patterns.

12.  I discovered some truly enjoyable book series this year, including the All Souls Triology, The Court of Thorns and Roses series, and the Throne of Glass series.  The Throne of Glass series was an unexpected delight, and I binged all seven (rather large) books in about a month's time this fall.  I dipped back into the Court of Thorns and Roses series again this week in anticipation of the next book's release in February.  I guess I'm into supernatural fantasy now?

Wherever this year has taken you, and whatever difficulties you've experienced, I wish you peace and joy in the year ahead.

 

Happy New Year!

See ya on the flip side.

All Souls Enchantment

 

I think I've only mentioned my love of A Discovery of Witches in passing here, but it bears repeating.  I love this series!  The television drama series is a great adaptation of the book (I'm very eager for series 2 in January).  Like all great adaptations, the book and the visual drama inform one another, talk to each other.  

Sometimes a movie or tv series convinces me to read the book; in the glut of unedited novels currently in the universe, it is often hard to spot the gold from pyrite.  (I say that as a writer who is increasingly despairing of modern publishing).  The English Patient was one such, and I remain convinced that book and movie are complementary to one another, and that full understanding of the beauty of each is best had in the presence of the other. The movie is a visual feast and visceral truth, and the book is a poetic rendering of the human condition. I love them both equally.

Pavillion of Women was another one that I liked the movie (not outstanding, but interesting) and read the book. The book blew me away, it was so fabulous. Very occasionally I like a movie better than the book, but usually the book is more fleshed out.

Re-watching A Discovery of Witches rather reminds me of the joy of seasons 1 & 2 of Outlander, which were excellent adaptations that spoke to the text and informed it, rather than the grudging viewing I've done since early in season 3, when the writers went off the rails with the story line.  I don't know why I can't quite quit the drama series; I'm so annoyed with all the things the writers have changed from the books for no good reason, and then have to catch up in ways that don't make sense.  On the other hand, when they nail it, they really nail it, so I guess the system of periodic rewards keeps me coming back?  I dunno.

I read the whole All Souls triology this spring, and then Time's Convert, an add-on novel that explains the backstory of some of the supporting characters.  It is a world I enjoy escaping to, and I found myself coming back to the series this month.  Matthew B. Crawford's book was great, and while I'm only about 100 pages from the end of Yuri Slezkine's doorstop of a book, I am a bit stalled on it mentally.  

So I restarted the first book, A Discovery of Witches, and watched series 1 again.  After reading the book, the adaptation is even more brilliant, as I could fill in details from the book in my mind.  It made for a very rich and satisfying viewing experience.  There have been few enough of those in the past six months, and I'm grateful this one seems evergreen.

Outlander writers: take note.