2022: Final missive

What my senses have been sensing this month

Well, well, well, we have Christmas (and Hanukkah) 2022 on the books, and in a few days we’ll be ringing in 2023. I suspect I’m not the only person of a certain age who gulps at the number of the new year every year—wasn’t it yesterday we were in a global Y2K panic?

It feels like yesterday in so many ways but in other ways it feels like it was a (sometimes hard) lifetime ago. So much change in that almost quarter century—personally, professionally, politically, socially, technically…sigh. The circle of life sure is a real unforgiving f-cking steamroller, isn’t?

Anyhow, as the year winds down, here’s a summary of what books have been in my hands, what trash—er—shows have been on the TV, what’s been cooking on the stove and in the oven, and whatever else I feel like summarizing.

Reading material…

Update to last month’s What I’m ______________ Wednesday is this: finished (and enjoyed, except for the ending…which leads me to realize I’m pretty fussy about endings lately…oh well…apparently I don’t like it when too many loose ends get tidied up too quickly) Little Fires Everywhere. Also finished Ikigai, which was one of those reads that reinforced for me that I’m taking the right things seriously. That said, it also leads me to wonder why—if I have my values in order—some “everyday” things (like finding a job) are so hard for me. 🤷‍♀️

When Kerri had COVID and was living upstairs while I holed up in the living room, I used the couch time to read a bit more than usual, and I found that quite time was particularly nice during a particularly fast-paced time of year. (Update: she tested negative, finally, on Day 10, in time for our holiday festivities.) I mentioned at some point that my growing stack of books looks like it got a shot of HGH thanks to so many recommendations that have come in from you and I am happy to report a 100% success rate on those recos, as the one title I read to date was exceptionally enjoyable. The Storied Life of AJ Fikry is one of two recommended titles by Gabrielle Zevin (the other is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow) and I found it a very fun read—a little bit of everything. Happy. Sad. Whimsy. Love. Hope.

The two titles I’m alternating between now are Less by Andrew Sean Greer and The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall. The former is some light and breezy fiction (with a sequel, also in The Stack, called Less is Lost) and the latter I chose because clearly I need a dose of hope. Every now and then we need some external assistance filling our tanks and keeping our soul fires burning. No shame in that. This book is doing a nice job for me right now, and there’s something soothing about the conversational style of it.

On the telly…

Been watching the obvious holiday fare. Like The Holiday. (Fortunately we snuck watching Love Actually in when we were able to be in the same room!) Despite the contradictory reviews, we separately watched and both enjoyed Spirited. I watched the new Lindsay Lohan TV movie Falling for Christmas (it was exactly what you’d expect but sometimes a little schmaltz is just what the doctor ordered) and am sad to report that neither Elf nor Christmas Vacation graced our screen this year. (I am telling you, that COVID really f-cked our month up! Next year we have some catching up to do.)

I’m current with Amazing Race and Survivor, but am behind on RHOSLC. I’m enjoying Jeopardy and was happy to see Amy Schneider win the ToC. I loved big winner Cris Pannullo but the latest five-time champ Ray Lalonde bothers me a bit…he’s very jittery at the podium and I worry that his swivel hip move is going to inadvertently hypnotize me one of these episodes.

Auditory treats…

Lots and lots of Christmas music and I think my favorite new (to me anyway) song was Bring on Christmas Day by Joss Stone…followed by The Greatest Gift by Andrea, Matteo, and Virginia Bocelli in a veryveryveryclose second place.

This one falls into a joint category of what I am listening to and what I am doing, and involved the Holiday Pops. A long-standing family tradition has crossed generations and this year a merry group of 11 met for happy hour at my nephew and his girlfriend’s apartment in Cambridge (that’s a whole other story, the fact that I have a nephew old enough to have his own apartment!), hit dinner at Ginger Express (excellent AND right across the street from Symphony Hall), and then enjoyed THE BEST Holiday Pops Concert ever (though we say that every year). This year my nephew’s girlfriend’s grandmother and aunt were in town from Halifax, NS for the holidays and it was so nice having some new faces at the table, especially people who seem to appreciate family and time together as much as I do!

And I’m sure I’ve mentioned one of my all-time favorite songs before, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd…and yesterday I had the extreme pleasure of hearing it from start to finish as I drove to Widowmaker Brewery to meet some friends for some holiday libations. As I listened and drove it was the time of day when the lower strip of the sky is orange and the rest is all kinds of shades of blues…something about listening to that tune as as I said goodbye to one day while looking forward to the company of friends while feeling all the promise of tomorrow…which is now today…such an amazing feeling!

Food & drink…

Holidays are all about indulgences I suppose. Our pre-Pops dinner at Ginger Xchange was excellent. I had a delicious bibimap washed down with Sapporo on draft (ahhh—memories of Japan) and everyone seemed to enjoy their meals as well. Bonus points for proximity to our destination.

Our annual Xmas Eve dinner involved the biggest standing rib roast yet (7 ribs, 15.85 pounds…for 13 people) (it was great!) Dinner went without a hitch (standard sides of roasted carrots, corn, and potatoes Byron), we went through lots of wine, the sugar cookie bars and cannoli dip for dessert were a hit…but the big win of the holiday season was the batch of Oakie’s Eggnog that my nephew and I made on the Thursday before Xmas. It’s an old family recipe from his dad’s family, I love eggnog, and my nephew is sentimental—so making it and giving him a chance to see if he liked it (he did!) gave us a fun time together that may be the basis of a new tradition. Win all around.

We also had a great Xmas Day—coffee and gifts at my sister’s, delicious brunch with Kerri’s family (at her brother’s, whose kids are 2 and 5, so very fun holiday ages ☺️), and closed out the day with Christmas Chinese food at my aunt and uncle’s with my extended family. A good time was had by all. Grateful we have the rest of the week off to relax and regroup, but infinitely more grateful to have spent such amazing times with amazing people. So. Much. Love.

I hope whatever you did over the holidays was great for you. Thanks for being here…can’e believe we’re wrapping up another year together. Hope you’ve enjoyed it fractionally as much as I have!

I wish you a 2023 filled with things that make your heart happy.

Love you too.