December 30, 2022
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Year in Review
This year was an improvement over the previous one in that I got out of the house more, since the car waskept running most of the year. I went to parks and walks more, though not as often as I should've. It was uplifting mentally, as well as good physically. With the car working, I relieved my sister of grocery shopping duties & bgan doing curbside pickup for everything, which included more take out food, which livened up my meals.
The year brought a return to my going to doctor's office, since some began refusing to renew prescriptions unless I came in for an exam. I was pleased with the safety measures in most doctor's offices, so that helped me deal with the fear of Covid. I also took the steps in medical buildings whenever possible. Along with all the other chronic and temporary health issues, I learned I have glaucoma, which is still only raised eye pressure, which is being brought down with eye drops. The dr. assured me that I shouldn't lose my eyesight, since it's a treatable disease these days, but it still took a lot of adjustment for me to come to terms with the diagnosis. I've still got a lot of outstanding problems that need to be dealt with in the near fuure, so the early art of next year will be filled with even more appointment and new doctors to see.
I read 137 books. the quota is lower thna last year due to the thickness of some of the tomes. there was the 900 page newest Outlander novel, a history of Africa that was about the same thickness and an excellent history of the Medieval period by Dan Jones that was 560 pp.Those were sprinkled among reams of cozy mysteries.
I completed 2 paintings, wich was too few, but one, the commission of hummingbirds took 7 months to do, with it's triple layers of rose leaves and flowers. The research for that created one of the loveliest days in summer, when I visited a community rose garden to sketch and take photos. Another pleasant day was when I made a couple curcuits of Clague Pond when the trees were at their peak of autumn glory. On a more recent winter walk, my sister saw a mink by a pond ear a medcal building. We were thrilled at seeing the creature scampering away.
Basil was in god health most of the year,though there was a brief illness in summer with an ear infection and bare patches on hsi skin. Thankfully, that cleared up after treatment & he's back to his silly self.
For next year, I'm hoping the health isues can be resolved without turning into something horrible. I'm hoping to get to more parks more often & d more walks, even around the neighborhood. I'm hoping I can paint more pictures, listen to more music and read lots of books. I'm feeling fearful and positive at the same time, which is a tricky frame of mind. Thanks for the decent year, 2022.
