Catching up on 2026

This is me.  And yes, I do often look annoyed and intense. Looks can be deceptive. I swear most of the time I am neither of these things. 

 I haven't written on this blog in a while. I am not sure why. Work has been busy. The U.S. has erupted in a horrible, apocalyptic way. I am easily distracted by "doom scrolls" that seem more prophetic than Chicken Little screaming about the sky falling. The truth is, I miss this blog. I started it when I was living in my one-bedroom apartment. My career at the Los Alamos Monitor had ended and I was wondering what would happen next. Turns out a lot happened but yet many, many years later it is still just me, typing on my computer and hoping what I write will catch someone's interest. 

So what has been going on so far this year? I resolved that in 2026 to designate more of my own attention to other people's writings. I now dedicate at least 20 minutes at night to read one of my New Yorker magazines. Sundays I reserved for reading my copy of Parable of the Sower. What else? Oli and I are almost daily visitors to Ashley Pond. I am fully invested in the health and well being of the two geese that are among the pond's residents. It looked like at one point the female was nesting and I would scan the dried water reeds to see her or her eggs. Alas, something happened and she seems to have abandoned the eggs and has resumed screeching with her partner at anyone who is foolish enough to walk too far into their personal space. I am on the hunt for a single family house. After 10+ year living in my condo I am tired of the HOA, tired of depriving Oli of a backyard and itching for something new. Plus, it satisfies my nosy nature to snoop around other people's homes. I am trying to check more boxes off of things I've always wanted to do but haven't done. After 10 years, I finally saw Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. It completely knocked my socks offs. Coolest, most original, most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Seriously, I could live in the House of Eternal Return. I guess those are the highlights. Every once in a while I think about giving online dating a 14th ... or maybe it's a 15th ... chance but mostly I brush off. I keep holding onto the hope that I will casually bump into my soul mate. 

It is funny, looking back on when I started My Life In A Nutshell. A lot happened but a lot of has stayed the same. I am a lot older and a lot more worried than I was. On other hand, I still love to write and I still get a thrill when I see more than four people (the number of people in my immediate family) read anything I produce. So, to anyone who has clicked on this and read this far, thank you. I truly mean it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.