Cheers

We turned the page on another year. Looking back, 2021 wasn't at the stink level of 2020 but it certainly had its share of twists and turns. I continued to consume the bare minimum of local and national news so I could maintain a base level of sanity. We can all hope for a better year ahead but we also know it will unfold as all years do, without our control.

On thing we can do is set resolutions. Or not. I am going to follow my sister-in-law's advice and substitute the word thoughts for the word resolutions. Here is what I am thinking about for 2022.

1) Control freezer chaos.--I recently defrosted and cleaned my chest freezer. The beauty of living in our neck of the woods is having one giant freezer at our disposal. It is called the great outdoors. I unloaded my freezer contents into boxes on the deck and everything stayed rock solid until the deed was done. Cleaning chest freezers is like an archaeological dig, not in a fun way. I assessed each item for its future value. Some things were tossed and the rest were organized, again. Cheers to a clean freezer. For a month, at least.

2) Bubble and Squeak.--After mastering the bunny hill of vegetable fermentation, I am ready for a few more challenges. More hot pepper sauces and dill pickles are on my radar when my garden starts producing again. My thoughts about teaching a fermentation class are still out there but my pitch for fermenting vegetables continues to get overlooked by the powers that be. Apparently, making stained glass and mastering the art of beet soup are more exciting. Cheers to less borscht. Bring on the sauerkraut.

3) Snapchat and Tik Tok--Hah! The only thing I know about Snapchat and Tik Tok are that they exist. I have no interest in either of them. I do, however, need to stay on top of my digital pictures. A dreadful task, for sure. Fortunately, I am not a shutterbug but over time my phone gets a little busy with random pics. The vast majority of my pictures are unnecessary after a month or two. Many of them should have been deleted immediately due to poor quality and lack of value. Cheers to already beginning that task. And taking fewer pics.

4) Wrangle the Words.--Ten years plus into my blog posts, I am familiar with that routine. I am lifting the boundaries by working on other writing projects. It is a slow go due to the discipline of doing the work. Insecurities also throw roadblocks my way as I second guess each paragraph written. Cheers to plugging away, one word at a time.

5) Chase the Trucks.--Last summer was filled with following food trucks around town. My sister-in-law was my partner in crime and we are already looking forward to another season. We learned a few tricks along the way and our food truck tote bag is ready to go. Cheers to treasure hunting the trucks. Look out shawarma, here we come.

Hope your thoughts are going well so far this year. Be kind to yourself and care for those you love.