Apparently the last time I stopped by was when I was starting to write my Christmas cards…in the spring. It’s been a minute. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I still haven’t finished them, although I haven’t given up. Here’s why:

It seems that Christmas cards sent at other times of the year really get people’s attention, and sometimes people are prompted to reply. And thus can begin a conversation, perhaps even a renewed friendship. I still need to work through a lot of names on the card list, but I think I’ve decided always to do this at some time of the year that isn’t actually the busy holiday season. I mean, it’s really nice to see all those cards come in and get the warm fuzzies because so many people are thinking about you. But enough people have reached back to me to say they really appreciated the card at another time of year, when they gave it more attention.

Perhaps a new tradition in our household.

Create much?

When I left behind my social media accounts (well, most of them; I still have BlueSky, but I’m not there often), I promised to keep posting my sometimes-daily-more-often-not-daily poetry here. I’ve actually been pretty reliable about doing that, which means I really haven’t posted much poetry on the porch for a long time. This one went up on the porch about a month ago, and I think it’s the only one I’ve put out there since I last shared one here on the blog. Again, been a minute. Ah, well. This was a hat tip to what was probably the most efficient entry into a room I’ve ever seen, a woman who literally walked in and said, all in one breath, “Hi—good! How’re you doing?” And with that, honestly, all of her social obligations were met.

Drawing cartoons? Drawing anything!

Yesterday in my local library (still love the library!) I came across Lynda Barry’s book Making Comics, which is a book about not being afraid to draw even if you can’t draw. Yep—that’s me, and I was looking for some inspiration to start doing something creative, so I brought it home. And this morning, while the husband was out running an errand, i stuck my toe in the water by completing her first exercise/class assignment: 4 self-portraits in 12 minutes, following a specific prompt. Here are the results:

Yeah, not much, I agree. But I’m being brave and trying something. So there. (Sticks out tongue.)