Hello! It’s been another minute. We are out of quarantine and doing life things again. It seems like the world has moved on, but I do know that Covid is still very real in some places and for some people. The pace at which we are doing things is definitely slower than pre-pandemic times.

So what’s new?

Since May 2020, a lot!

Work

Ryan and I are still working for the same companies. We have the option to work from home, so that’s what we do with occasional office days. We are thinking about going in more often, just for a change of scenery and occasionally interacting with coworkers (even though most of our teams are elsewhere).

My weekend gig at the farmer’s market is on hiatus currently, so I signed up to volunteer there again. With the almost-weekly trips to the farmer’s market, we’ve been eating fresh and in season!

Personal

Since November 2020, I’ve had my hair dyed some shade of purple to varying degrees. I love it and will probably keep it up until my hair seems wrecked. So far, it’s lasting a lot longer than my stylist has expected. I go in twice a year, rather than more frequently. It has luckily not faded too fast, so it saves some of those dollars.

I became an aunt this year, and I am oh-so-obsessed with them. It comes as a surprise since I do not want children of my own, but now that they’re in my life… LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Creative

I dove into the world of watercolors in late 2020, taking online classes to stretch that creative side of the brain. I made some friends over Instagram and spent many dollars on watercolor supplies. In spring of 2021, Ryan and I started taking pottery classes all over San Francisco. Eventually, we settled down and joined a community studio. We are still members of the studio, and we try to go in a few times a week.

House Stuff

Since the initial lockdown, we made a bunch of updates to the house since we spend so much time here. One of those was unavoidable though - dry rot of the face of the house. That construction project occupied half a year’s worth of time and a whole lot of funds, so we’re glad it’s over and done with. We’re still not finished with everything that has to be done on this house, but it’s going to have to wait.

Travel

If you’re following me on Instagram, you’ll know that we are traveling again! El Salvador in November, Kenya in January, and more. We have a Southwest companion pass that needs to be used throughout this coming year, so definitely open to suggestions on where to take advantage of that.

Stay tuned…

How are you? What is your new normal like?