Happy New Year! Hopefully this will be a better one than the last.
Christmas was a Thing, as it always is. This year I didn't have Dickens Fair to prop up my mood through the season though, and I never realized how much I hope that maybe this year my family will buy thoughtful gifts. Or how much I'm disappointed every year by the parade of cheap fancy tights and random "Gift for Her" mall-section presents. My little brother, bless him, got me the backup drive I wanted for Christmas though, so it's not a 100% miss this year. Unfortunately, part of this hope-disappointment cycle involves overspending on gifts for the folks every. year. And because we've delayed our performance/bonus cycle this year at work, things are a little tighter than I'd expected.
Post-Christmas was pretty bad. I survived, but it was bad. Everyone else was gone, or invited to fun things out of town, and I sat paralyzed by indecision and loneliness at home for much of it. I need to Not Do That Ever Again.
We bungled the NYE planning this year, so since we couldn't find tickets to that thing we liked, we headed up to Calistoga to go soak in some hot springs. Or, well, mineral water jacuzzi, but close enough, right? It was pleasantly low-key, though a bit anti-climactic. We did have what I maintain was the BEST roast chicken evar at The Kitchen Door in Napa on the way up though. I feel gluttonous for mostly blogging about the foods I eat nowadays, but hey.
I got some sewing done last night. I got some cleaning done this morning. I have a spiced cider jelly project starting to set in the 'fridge, and I'm going to do some more sewing. Baby steps to feeling better.
