Oh, 2020...

[byslantedlight]

I am eternally behind, it seems, and tradition says that since I've started the new year like that, it's going to carry on. We'll see... *g* It's been ages since I posted - it seems like the less officially busy I get, the harder I find it to post too, weirdly enough. My last post was 26th November, just before examining was over and I settled back into proofreading, then I had two weeks off, with only a day and a bit left - and how many posts have I made? Well, a few if you count discoveredinalj and Yuletide, but none here...

So how are you? Hope you had a good December and Christmas and New Year, even if they were quieter than usual. I finally had time to sort this place out a bit more - I've alphabetised music, dvds and books; I can find things again! And put photo-type things into chronological order. Cos I'm like that. *g* It feels better, though there's still all sorts to do, including the UK Paper Circuit Library. I'm hesitating a bit because despite deciding, and people agreeing, that it's best to just throw out the stories that are online, since they're old and hard to read and often slightly smelly, I hate throwing away paper fic! I will though, I'll gird all the bits that need girding, and do it.

In the meantime - 2020... was rather dramatic really, wasn't it. There was one fab long weekend in London, exploring new bits, and meeting up with heliophile_oxon and helenraven and finally getting to meet ariss_tenoh, just before covid struck properly, and otherwise it looked like this:
- discovered Detectorists and metal detecting
- back to same-old opposition politics, hope having been fairly violently attacked by the media even when the actual government was doing far worse things = despair, despair, despair
- finally got the village foodsaving project going
- covid and lock down, obviously
- re-jigged the village foodsaving project, which really took off
- village support volunteering
- discovered we had a cousin none of us knew about (turns out to be a nice guy too, so that worked out well!)
- work disrupted but ongoing - no learning three different languages and baking banana bread for me
- village scarecrow trail (I was a judge!)
- village VE-Day Remembrance
- taking part in a covid study for 3-6 months
- told I had to move house again (although since the house was destroying my stuff, that was really a good thing)
- discovered metal detecting people are just as lousy and prone to in-fighting as non-detecting people
- moved house, and had new office shed built for me! Space! Light! Views! Warmth (except that one time the oil ran out...)!
- met up with someone I'd not seen for 32 or so years - and who I'd started the Manchester Uni SF/F Society with! (via meeting up with helenraven again, who it turned out also knew her and reintroduced us - how amazingly bizarre! How very 2020...)
- managed to turn into a bollard instead of away from it as I left a parking spot - so slow, but such a huge crunching sound, and it's going to cost £500+ to repair... *headdesk headdesk headdesk*
- the US election (hopefully an improvement there, anyway)
- bad bad Brexit (definitely not an improvement there...)
- finally my Christmas hols
- discovered virtual reality (and Beat Saber, which is also amazing exercise *g*) - happily even more cool than I was expecting

So... bit of an emotional rollercoaster really - and despite that I feel very much like one of the lucky people this year...

Fandomwise, I have to say that emotional rollercoasters aren't brilliant for writing - but then that might just be a continuation of me over the last few years. That said, I seem to have written ten fics - all but one Pros. And Pros FandomCards was fun and brightened up Christmas no end, and I still have to catch up on commenting on the Discovered in a Box of Baubles posts, and replying too, but I will...

The other one was my Yuletide fic, which also turned out to be on the crazy side - I requested and offered my usual small fandoms (Astreiant, Charm of Magpies, and Mathey/Lynes) (and I received an Astreiant fic! Wheee!), but I was thinking about re-reading an old favourite series at the time, and so I threw them into the mix - and that was only the assignment I was given, wasn't it! So I ended up writing Altogether Your World, which is for The Dark is Rising fandom, and set many years later when the characters have all grown up. Among other things I remember telling someone years ago that I couldn't even think of that as a slash fandom, because they were kids books, and I really couldn't... but then you glance at the odd story to see how much it makes you go eww, and when it's well-written enough... So I was able to offer it, in the end. And the story seems to have gone down pretty well, so phew - I wish I'd had time to make it a bit longer though, I think it needed more... Still - done!

Have some pics from the end of the year...




I'm thinking maybe I should try posting a pic each day again to try and cheer up January a bit... I've one more day before I'm back to work, and then I feel like I'm going to need something! Decorations down on Tuesday, too, so yeah, I need to think about a different kind of decoration, right?! *g*

Comments

[stellar_raven]

Lovely pictures! And I definitely think you should post one a day again. :D

- the US election (hopefully an improvement there, anyway)

Ehhhhhhhhh...if only we can make it to January 20th. I'm still pretty terrified all the time right now.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *g* I must admit, it does perk me up to take the photos and have a purpose for them, so... yeah. *g*

I can only imagine what the media over there is trying to frighten people with right up to the last minute... hang in there!

[stellar_raven]

Thank you! It's not the media I'm worried about, sadly. What I'd been fearing would happen did happen yesterday (Jan. 6th).

[tinturtle]

You could leave the decorations up until Candlemas, instead. Such was evidently the practice at one time.

I like your photos, especially the graveyard. What is that object in the one with the moon?

Sounds as if you had a full 2020. I've found the New Year rejoicing a bit disorienting, since I had a truly terrible year, but not for the same reason as the swathes of other people.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ack, sorry to hear you had a lousy year - hope 2021 is so much better, in that case, apart from everything else that's going on... Crossing all my fingers and holding my thumbs for you!

Actually until last year I always took them down on the 6th January - last year I succumbed and took them down on the 5th instead, and I hate to say it, but I did seem to have a better year (in a bizarre kind of way!) So I think I might just have to bow to superstition and magical thinking again this year, and cross my fingers it works twice... although it does feel wrong to take them down before the 6th!

And thanks! The light around the cemetery was magical - I took loads of pics, meaning to post them, and never did... The object with the moon is the top of my metal detector resting on the top of my spade! I could almost get my detector and the moon together, but not quite - but I kind of liked the weirdness of this one... *g*

[tinturtle]

But! But! Maybe last year you took them down on January 5th and unleashed fire and plague upon the world. You don't want to do that again.

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

Ouch I'm sorry to hear about your car! What a rotten thing to happen. Mine got slammed in a hailstorm late 2019 and I absolutely hated driving it until it was fixed.

You seem to have managed to have a fairly full year. Love your photos, too; definitely keep posting!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I'd just had such a nice afternoon too - gargh! I remember your car being hailstone-bashed too, and how crazy that seemed! My sister had the same thing with her car a few years ago (she's in Melbourne). On the bright side, at least you don't have to feel stupid about having done it!

The more I think about it, the more I can't believe that all that took place in the space of a single year!

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

I can hardly believe that when we last met up was less than a year ago - it feels a bit like another lifetime, doesn't it! Many congrats for getting the foodsharing initiative to happen (despite some of the "help" *g*) and for what sounds like a really nice place you're in. It's been a difficult time (in part for many of the same reasons that you mention :-s) and honestly seeing your posts and pics is a real pick-me-up (even if I'm not saying much most of the time, sorry :-( ).

Huge heaping helpings of good wishes to you! And here's hoping that there's another chance of a meet-up before too long!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It's crazy, isn't it - it seems sooooo much longer ago than a year! Back when the whole world was different...

The foodsaving is a really good thing - I'm so glad I did it... all inspired by milomaus's foodsaving project in Germany, so three cheers always for her! *g*

No worries about not saying much most of the time - but it's nice to see you when you do manage to say hi, cos that cheers me up too! And that's a good reason to keep trying to post, isn't it - to give you more chances to be able to nip in, and even when you can't, to do picking-up... *hugs to you*

And yes! Here is very definitely to meeting up again as soon as possible!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Lovely to see more beautiful photos! Particularly the last two including what looks like drunken tombstones, swaying in the mist (and shades of Great Expectations).

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *g*

Love the idea of drunken tombstones! The light was so gorgeous around the cemetery that afternoon that I took loads of pics - and then didn't post them... but I like this one too... *g*

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you did. (Don't forget to check your loveheart kudos thingies.)

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Well, you wrote more stories than I did in 2020. *g* The year was certainly a roller coaster, though more for you than for me, I think.

Really lovely photos; I especially love the one of the cemetery. And I like your idea of posting one every day for a month. Go for it!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I feel like I'm cheating a bit about the stories - four were written on the same day! *g*

And thank you! *g* I have to say I like the cemetery pic too - the light was gorgeous that afternoon, and I took loads of pics, meaning to post them - and then never did. Which is another reason to post pics daily, because then they don't feel wasted! *g*

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

I feel like I am endlessly catching up, too! Maybe it's something about moving, eh? So we have an excuse...? Gosh, you certainly accomplished a lot, though! And I love how integrated you are with village life. Ouch, sorry about the car repair though. And it always comes at a bad time, doesn't it? And, oh wow, you did Yuletide again? Yay! I gave it up for a lost cause this year. But next year I do hope to try again.

Yay, pictures! Go on, then...

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh I think you're right, it's totally about the moving - we totally have an excuse! And that really explains why I've been so rubbish for years, because I've been on the move for years, right? *g* Yup, definitely an excuse! *vbg*

It was the foodsaving project that really helped me feel part of the village, and volunteering with the support group too. And in fact posting an updated list of lockdown resources on the village fb page... So alot of it was actually a result of covid, which is weird but true... Even the foodsaving, which had started long before covid had been heard of, really came into its own in the first lockdown... Which seems like an odd thing to be grateful for, but... yeah.

And yeah, the car repair is sooo frustrating! I'd had such a nice afternoon chatting with my re-discovered friend, and I just didn't think to check the direction my wheels were turned, cos it was a one way system - I forgot I'd manouevered up to that particular parking spot... waah! But done is done...

I did do Yuletide again, and it was just as stupidly crazy as last time, because the due date doesn't quite fall into my holidays, when I might actually have time to write! But I got there, and I'm quite glad I did. Shall cross my fingers you're feeling settled enough to do it again next year. It takes so much longer than we expect it to, feeling at home after moving, in that proper way where we're sort of relaxing into it rather than feeling things as slightly strange still... and you especially need comfy seats, so I hope they're going to arrive soon!

[keli]

You really take amazing pictures. The cemetery one is so haunting.

I am glad your move turned into something good!

That really sucks that metal detecting people aren't all that nice. Ugh. It's so hard to find nice people anymore!

[freetraveller15.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year! 😊🥂🌈
And what gorgeous pics! Is that your village in the 3rd photo?
It's been a bit of a rollercoaster year for most people, I guess. But, as you say, good things happened too, like the US elections (if only the Donald would let go... I just hope there won't be any new ridiculous shenanigans till Biden's inauguration later this month).
Well done on the foodsaving project, and on the filing and alphabetising!
I'm glad you've finally moved to a new home that suits your needs and is cosy, comfortable and welcoming, as I can gather from your posts...

All the best x

ETA:
As tinturtle said too, you can leave your decorations up till Candlemas... That's what some people usually do in Italy too (Candlemas is called "Candelora" and it's supposed to be the height of winter), though generally they tend to be taken down a bit after Epiphany (6 Jan) or the weekend after. Me, I hate winter and its bleakness so much that I usually keep decorations up the whole of Jan, at least to brighten up the long, cold nights ;)