1. Haven't had one! We have a trip coming up in about a week and a half to Puerto Vallarta, though.

2. 2015 was a good year. I'm hoping 2016 lives up to its high standard.

3. Sedate the dog, eat the Bear's great hors d'oeuvres, drink some wine, try to stay awake to see the ball fall and the local Space Needle fireworks (ergo dog sedation) on TV.

1. It's been a very quiet holiday season. I wasn't especially looking forward to it so that was okay.

2. The middle 2/3 of 2015 stank. The rest was okay. I'm glad to see the year go.

3. An equally quiet New Year's awaits. Thought about going to see the fireworks tonight, but houseguest has a cold so I expect we won't bother. Likely to be an evening of some sort of casserole and old Perry Mason episodes.

1. Holiday was nice and low key (working retail really saps the joy right out of you). 2. 2015 was a fun year. Finally. 3. For more than two decades, I've had a standing invitation to a friends home for New Years. It evolved over the years from drunken crash-overs to calm adult get togethers (sometimes with live music). But sadly, the hosts have separated (actually a blessing) and now I am party-less. Which is just fine.

1. Holiday's been good. I could use another week, but that's just greedy. I pretty much collapsed in exhaustion for a week, and just now, the last couple of days, have started to get myself together. Got the kitchen cleaned up, took a shower-- tomorrow Jon and I will go see my mom, which will be good. I planned to do more, but I was just too tired. Back to work on Monday.

2. I'm not sorry to see 2015 go. I spent about half of it quite sick, with two bouts of pneumonia, bad strep throat (like swallowing razor blades), a stroke in my left eye that's left me functionally blind in that eye, and AFib, which I'm still learning to live with. But, you know, it could be worse, a lot worse (and sadly, probably will-- I'm afraid I have a sense of dread about the new year, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised *knock on wood*). We also had the stress of moving after twelve years, though the new apartment's much nicer (and a lot more expensive, alas-- so much for travel). We did take a couple of fun trips (my writing conference in Taos, and our New Orleans/cruise), but, with the new expenses, and the looming need for a new car (mine's going on 15 years old), that might be it for a few years.

3. Jon and I had our usual quiet New Year's at home, which was lovely. He had to work, but he picked up some goodies for us to munch on (pate, serano ham, smoked salmon, caviar--), and we watched a couple MASH reruns I'd DVRed. Jon fell asleep before midnight, but I saw the ball drop, and there were some fireworks visible from our apartment, and a very sleepy Jon gave me a lovely New Year's kiss on his way to bed, so all's good. Happy 2016 everyone-- may the new year exceed our expectations.

Everything was okay. It wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad either. I'm still working but I'm starting to not like my job so much. We're getting by but we're not getting ahead. That kind of stuff.

Maybe this is what middle age is about.

Oh boy. I'm okay, but it's been a rough year for the people around me. Until now I've been so lucky that it's strange to feel occasional currents of anxiety and dread.

Until this year I've never had people close to me say they weren't sure they'd make it through the night. This year it happened three times.

The first was the guy I was seeing (for long-distance values of "seeing"). At this time last year, he was in very bad shape. He got through it and is doing much better now but we're no longer an item*. Two other friends had crises too: one with ongoing diabetic and cardiac problems, the other with a brain tumor. They're out of immediate crisis mode but still have a lot to deal with.

Then there's my mom, who while she was lucid enough to make a clear decision about it, decided not to treat her condition. She's still fine much of the time but it's a struggle for her to maintain state in a conversation. This is causing all kinds of stress among the extended family. It's sad and exhausting. Still, she's somehow in amazingly good spirits.

On the upside: one of my cousins has moved to the area, and I'll be having dinner with her tonight. A different cousin got married to Ginger Jesus, I still work with some great people, I still live in a strangely affordable, lovely little cottage behind the most ramshackle house in my ritzy neighborhood. It looks like the Bay Area will be getting more rain this week, and that's good too.

For New Year's I picked up some friends at the airport, drove them home, and had a quiet evening and a little champagne with them. That was nice.


*I'm sad about that. It had been years since I'd been in a relationship and you know what? I loved it. It was wonderful to share a narrative with someone and to feel loved and accepted and desired. I feel I cheated myself by spending so many years without really seeking that out.

My holiday was lovely. I had two weeks off work. The first week, covering Christmas, was restful and I caught up with a few friends. The second week was hectic - jason's_planet came over for a visit and we were out and about every day having fun. We went to the pantomime, Romford Dogs, Borough Market, The Docklands Museum, Notting Hill and the Secret Nuclear Bunker, just to mention a few things.

Work is busy and stressful, but I'm going to Iceland at the end of the month, just a short visit. I hope to see the Northern Lights, but if I don't, I'm sure I'll have a great time anyway.