Friends, another year has ended and it's time formally to bid it farewell.

I'm confident that few of us were sorry to see 2020 go. While every year is different from every other, 2020 takes the cake.  Will 2021 bring relief from the tumult of a global pandemic, social and political turmoil, and economic despair?  We shall see.

I am fortunate that nobody in my family got sick, though my brother is an ER doctor and hence on the front lines and my SIL also works in healthcare and has a lot of patient contact.  (They have both recently received the vaccine which is a good thing, I hope).  My mom normally spends a week every month with them and the grandchildren (who are now 4); they live just on the other side of town.  From March through August she remained with us.  Finally we decided that it was worth the risk for her to go visit them and see the kids (plus, frankly, we needed a break).  So far, everything has been fine and we're all grateful for that.  Michael has been able to work from home, which is also fortunate: we have been minimally impacted by the pandemic, relatively speaking.  Also, we're both introverted homebodies: we don't seek a lot of outside, in-person social contact.

To be honest, this past year is a bit of blur.  I'm glad I have my blog posts to remind me what I was up to.  As far as quarantining, we continue to avoid having people over whenever we can and we try to avoid indoor spaces most of the time. We get groceries delivered but we go into supermarkets and drug stores when we need to.  I swing by the Chelsea Flea Market almost every weekend; it feels safe since it's outdoors and everyone wears a mask.  We don't go to restaurants, neither indoor nor outdoor, but we get take-out from a few favorite places roughly once a week.  I've gone fabric shopping in the Garment District a few times but mostly I've purchased fabric (and a few choice vintage patterns) on eBay and sewn from my stash.  I am fortunate to have a large stock of fabric, patterns, notions -- and sewing machines! -- on hand.

I sewed a lot of masks in 2020.

My city-run gym closed in March and hasn't yet reopened to the public so I haven't been able to swim.  As exercise is important to me, I've substituted running (which I've been doing on and off for forty years), indoor exercise, biking, and good old-fashioned walking.  I wear a bandana over my mouth when I'm exercising outside--I don't worry a lot about outdoor transmission though I do try to keep my distance from others.  I've seen a couple of friends outside, always masked.  Otherwise it's Zoom or Facetime for socializing.  Compared to many people, we've had it easy.  It's nice to have loved ones around. 

The biggest loss in 2020 was our chihuahua Willy.  In November of 2019 he was diagnosed with lymphoma and, frankly, we weren't sure he'd survive through January of 2020.  We decided we weren't going to put him through any extreme (to us) medical interventions: he was already an older dog (12+) and had heart problems for which we gave him medications (both he and Freddy have enlarged hearts, an issue common among older small-breed dogs).  

Miraculously, Willy was pretty much normal through September 2020.  We monitored his various tumors, which grew very slowly.  He likely had what is known as indolent lymphoma, which progresses slowly.  Finally, late one night at the end of September he was having trouble breathing and was clearly in distress.  We took him to the emergency vet and decided, after a consult, that his prospects were poor.  Of course it was hard to say goodbye but Willy had a lovely life and brought a great deal of joy to many, many people.  He never missed a meal or a dog walk, right up to his final day: it all happened fast, with a minimum of suffering.  He was a sweet little dog and a very good sport!

Dozing in the morning sun.  Freddy, who's now 15, is hanging in there.

On other fronts, all things considered, I sewed a lot in 2020.  I made dozens of masks for family and a few friends and neighbors.  Some of my sewing projects were exclusive to Threads Magazine, so I haven't shared them here, but I was excited to win a men's suit repurposing challenge which you should be able to read about here.

I'll probably skip an annual Best and Worst sewing project list: I liked everything.  I'm happy to have made Michael his faux fur coat at long last, since I'd purchased the fur and lining 3+ years ago and it just sat.  He has been wearing the coat a lot now that the weather has gotten colder.

In closing, compared to so many people whose lives have been disrupted, we've been fortunate.

So here's hoping for better things ahead.  I feel blessed to have sewing to keep me engaged, creatively challenged, and connected to others.

Happy New Year, everybody!

Happy memories on Fire Island