One month ago, on Dec. 21st, Basil turned one year old. I gave him a willow cube as a gift and he's greatly enjoyed it. He's had round willow balls in the past, but Binky Bunny was out of them, so I tried a different shape. I didn't know if he'd be able to roll it around like he can with the ball, but surprisingly he can. Or maybe it's more of a flip, since he pushes it from the bottom & it sort of turns as it moves. In any case, he's had a lot of fun with it, he really likes the willow toys. Later, he had some fresh endive, which he enthusiastically gobbled up. I think he had a good birthday celebration.

On New Year's weekend, I started a new painting. I'd done the preliminary last year of a small flock of tundra swans that I intended on doing in ink wash, but feared I couldn't get the sky to look right, especially considering how new I am to that technique. So I decided to do it in acrylic and started the background as the year began. This pic is on the first day. A fiend turned the photo upside down to show how it could be at sea, rather than stormy clouds over snow. I was amazed at how different it looks upside down.
Since the photo was taken, I've changed it a bit and started the swans themselves. I'm working dark to light, so right now, the swans blend into the grey clouds, which is a bit too much camouflage. As they get lighter, that problem should evaporate. Tundra swans are a bit smaller than other types and don't do the stereotypical S shape with their necks. They live at more Northerly longitudes, also. It's not going to be an action pack painting, but a quiet moment of swans pausing in their travels.
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I jumped on the Wordle bandwagon last week and have been doing relatively well at it, usually getting the answer in 3 or 4 tries. So far, I haven't missed any, but I'm sure that will happen eventually. I like challenging my brain and must admit that I'm pleased that there's finally a trend I can be a part of.

Some people take their Christmas trees down directly after Christmas Day, others after New Year's Day. This year I'm noticing a lot of people still have their trees up, long after Epiphany, which used to be the last deadline. But I can see 4 townhouses from my apartment windows which still display lit Christmas trees.
Mine is still up due to the broken rib. Last week, I lifted a small pile of magazines which didn't agree with it, so I don't think dragging a couple heavy Rubbermaid bins out of the closet & out to the living room would be the best idea at this point. Maybe after the weekend? Normally, I begin taking it down around the 4th or 5th of Jan. I have removed many of the other decorations, but not the tree or Nativity. They are both on the opposite side of the living room from the window, so even though I turn on the tree every night, it can't be seen from outside.
When my sister drove me home from the hospital after having the rib diagnosis, we were surprised at how many houses had their outside Christmas lights on, despite it being close to midnight. People used to turn the holiday lights off when they went to bed or shortly before, not leave them burning all night as they do now. So if the outside lights have new habits, maybe the inside trees do too? I'm curious to see how long the trees will stay up now. Should I make a guess and see how close I get?
In many ways, I'm pleased that I can see the neighboring trees longer, but it's a curious new trend. (photo is my tree taken in December 2021).

2021 was better than the year before, but that was a low bar. The biggest and best thing that happened was getting a new piggy, Basil, who has brightened my isolation. He's a very interactive little guy, though still a bit nippy, but we're working on that.
I read 164 books, mostly fiction, but plenty of nonfiction. The books were set on every continent except Antarctica. I painted/drew 10 pictures, mostly small ones. I did the weekly challenge of the Inktober drawing display on social media. I wrote a bunch of book reviews, not sure of the exact number, but at least 5 or 6. Learned to play 2 new games on Gold Token game site: All Aboard-based on train routes and Dragon's Breath, using mah jong tiles. Several new house plants were added to my collection and all but the coleus is doing well.
There were some new health problems over the year: cellulitis in my jaw and face in the spring and a broken rib at Christmas, which I'm still dealing with.
The furnace-a/c leaked 3 times from May to Oct. flooding part my living room and halllway. The condo maintenance people were slow in figuring out the problem, but said in Oct they'd finally found the cause(clog in pipes in another apartment) and had fixed it. The rigmarole with the insurance company was an added bonus.
My car worked intermittently, mainly due to me not driving it enough. But even when I was, it was stalling and not starting, so there was mechanical things happening as well. I had begun doing curbside pickup and drive thrus when really helped with the isolation, but it hasn't been consistent. At this time I need to have a mechanic look at it because it's not starting again & stalling at red lights when it does.
I began watching West Wing at the very end of 2020 and continued through the year. I missed it when it was actually on TV and it's surprising how many of the issues that were covered then are still relevant. I also started watching Jeopardy, where I alternately feel smug when I get an answer that the contestants don't or amazed the things I don't know. I also enjoyed shows such as Atlantic Crossings, White Lotus, All Creatures Great and Small and Insecure.
I've set some small goals for the coming year; do more paintings, update this blog at least monthly, walking more and write more book reviews. Hopefully I can accomplish most, if not all of them. Let's hope 2022 is a better year for all of us.