Good morning, friends – happy New Year! I hope 2022 is off to a roaring (in a good way) start for you. So far, so good here… two and some change days in. Steve and I made it to our midnight kiss on New Year’s Eve, so I think that’s a good omen for the year to come. (I fell onto my pillow and was asleep 0.2 seconds later; he stayed up another hour – pretty standard for both of us.) On Saturday, we kicked off the new year in our traditional way – with a hike. This time, at Riverbend Regional Park – our favorite; we also hiked there on New Year’s Eve because we’re nothing if not predictable – and the trail and river were shrouded in mist, appropriately mysterious for a new year that’s still a mystery, too. I spent the rest of the day cuddled up with my book, so if that’s a sign of things to come I think I’ll be okay.

On Sunday, we hiked again – this time at Rust Nature Preserve, another favorite – and I banged out a 10K later in the afternoon. It was grey and rainy, but warm at least – and now winter is arriving with our first predicted snowfall of the season (we’ll see if it materializes; around here it often doesn’t). The kids’ school has already announced a snow day.

Reading. What a reading week! This is what happens when I’m home on an actual staycation, forced to relax, with work not intruding. I finished The Carols of Christmas – one last holiday-themed read – a few days before the New Year, and then spent most of the week over Patsy, which I had out from the library. (Liked, but didn’t love.) But there was also some New Year’s reading in there – finishing up A Year of Scottish Poems, which was my poem-a-day anthology for 2021, on New Year’s Eve, and starting the year right with Edith Wharton’s novella New Year’s Day on – what else? – January 1. The highlight of the reading week had to have been Welcome to Dunder Mifflin, a spot-on Christmas gift from Steve. I finished it on Sunday (sad to turn the last page, and already itching to re-watch the show) and started A Time to Keep Silence, which I have in a gorgeous limited edition from Hatchards. 2022 reading is off to a very strong start indeed.

Watching. It was a good watching week, too! We’re almost done with Mary Berry’s Country House Secrets – only one episode left, and I’m going to be so sad when it ends. (Steve was skeptical, and I started watching the first episode of the four-episode series one morning, and then he was immediately interested. This tends to happen… wink, wink.) We also watched Ivy and Julie: A Happy Balance from the American Girl movie franchise for New Year’s – Peanut’s choice, although the plot actually revolves around Chinese New Year, not January 1, but details, details. And we finally watched the final Star Wars movie, The Rise of Skywalker. Still processing. I’ll have to watch it again now that I actually know what happens and I’m not tied in knots with anxiety about Chewie, Finn, Poe, Rey and the gang.

Listening. So, not much listening – I did start on Melissa Harrison’s lockdown podcast, The Stubborn Light of Things, named after her wonderful book. Although it begins in the spring, it has a very New Year’s-esque feel to it. I’m enjoying it so much, although I didn’t get much chance to listen, just a couple of episodes while running errands. More next week, I hope.

Making. Our traditional New Year’s Eve dinner – cheese fondue – for starters. Steve said it was the best fondue he’s ever had; don’t tell our friend Stephen who learned to make fondue in Switzerland and used to host regular fondue nights at his house before the pandemic, but I’m dusting off my shoulders. Neither of the kids were big into it, so I was waffling between telling them that their Swiss ancestors are rolling over in their graves and shouting More for MEEEEEEEE, neither of which is a particularly good look, but there you are.

Moving. I was on my feet a fair amount last week – three runs, including a 10K on Sunday, and three hikes, plus the usual walking and getting in my 10,000 steps each day. Strength training needs to come back, so does yoga. But running is feeling fun these days so I’m going with it.

Blogging. December reading recap coming atcha on Wednesday – get comfortable, it’s a long post – and travel recaps are back on Friday. We’re headed all the way across the country, to Seattle. (Slowly but surely, I’m catching up to current. Still a long way to go, though – our PNW trip was in October.)

Loving. One of my sorority sisters posted this screenshot of a tweet on Facebook, on New Year’s Eve, and it’s everything:

That is exactly what I hope for all of us. I hope 2022 is a whole year of Toyota Corolla – for you, my friends, and for me.

Asking. What are you reading to start off 2022?