Ends and beginnings

The whole idea of the new year as we celebrate it in the west is fairly arbitrary. I mean, why not on the solstice? What meaning does this particular day have tied to anything going on in the real or natural world?

As has been the case for the last several years, our company was mostly shutdown between Xmas and New Years. Because we are being switched to new email addresses, we received new laptops and new phones just before the break. Not surprisingly, the instructions we received for switching over were pathetically inadequate so I did spend some time on the phone with tech support staff. Still lots of problems so that's going to be fun to deal with on Monday.

Xmas was spent alone. I ordered a meal from Casa del Mar/Shutters which was delicious and the family Zoomed in the morning but it was even more depressing than other years when I have chosen to stay home for whatever reason. 

I did plan an excursion with Ferreby to Huntington Garden which was supposed to be Monday, then was rained out by torrential thunderstorms! She worked a miracle to get us in on New Year's Eve. Ferreby has been a godsend over these past months. When people I thought were close friends have never bothered to reach out (despite my doing so), she's someone who has consistently found ways for both of us to get out safely and spend time together. The Garden was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We mostly stayed in the Chinese Garden, which had recently been expanded and reopened. While the plants in Winter are muted or dormant, they still add a beauty to the paths, water, and the backdrop of the San Gabriel mountains.

During the week, I saw an article about things to do on New Year's Day and it mentioned a horse ride through the Hollywood Hills. This was something I always thought would be fun but didn't really ever get around to. Perfect time and perfect excuse to get myself out of the house. Our group was just me and another couple. Again, the weather was perfect. The skies were really clear all the way to the ocean. Lots of people were on the trail, but most everyone wore masks plus being on horses, we were well above people's breathing zone and they also kept us safely 6' from each other. 

We rode up to My Hollywood (with a view of Griffith Observatory) and also right under the Hollywood sign. Although my butt is still sore, it felt really good to get outside this way.

The bonus of heading to this part of town is being a few minutes from Steven and Rob's house. I stopped by after and because they have a beautiful wide sliding door, we could be inside and still have an amazing cross breeze to keep us all safe. We still kept our masks on. I so thoroughly enjoyed just hanging out, no agenda, catching up with old friends. It really made for a nice start to 2021.

While I have no illusions that much will change by the turning of an artificial calendar, I do hope that with a new administration in DC we will at least start to have sane, scientific responses to this pandemic and that we will eventually, slowly (and maybe with some backsliding) start to find our way to our new future, whatever that may look like.