A Good Start To The Year

 I was going to do my usual end-of-the-year summary, followed by wondering about the year-to-come.

But I had such a good day today that I wanted to get it down.

I started at the museum.  Thursdays are not my usual day, but I figured that on New Year's Day it was unlikely that any other volunteers would show up.  I knew that as soon as all the animals were cared for, the staff could go home, so an extra warm body would help.

It turned out that other people had the same idea - seven of us showed up!  (for contrast, most days we have three, four if we're lucky).  So we could double up on the cleaning areas, and then came the kitchen, where it became somewhat chaotic.  Seven people doing the work of three.  There was a lot of "excuse me" and reaching around people and bumping into each other, but with the end result that we were done two hours earlier than usual.

I came home, checked on the chickens - and I had an egg!  They hadn't laid for at least a month, and I have been carefully doling out my last dozen, but the last week or so I've really been craving a poached egg (which to be done properly, requires a very fresh egg).  I know what I'm having for lunch tomorrow.

When I came inside, what I usually do is call out "Babies, I'm home," give a few kitty treats to Hamish, Noko, and RiverSong, then go into the bedroom to reach under the bed and give some love and treats to RedBug.  Today he came out and up to me for his goodies.  That hasn't happened for the last month.

I baked some bread and went to Rik and Christy's for an early dinner.  It's so nice of them to ask me - there are a few friends and some family and a stray or two, and it's very laid back and comfortable and they're both good cooks.  There was a man there that I didn't recognize (possibly another "stray" like myself) and at one point Rik made a general announcement that he made knives, and there was the usual nods and "cool."  After I finished my dessert I went over to sit next to him and asked him about his knives.  He said that it was just a hobby, something he liked doing to keep his hands busy.  But I pushed a little - did he cut them, or forge them?  What style of knives?  And he bloomed - and we talked for quite some time about metals and forging and styles of knives, different kinds of woods for handles.  And we went deeper into the meaning of making, what it feels like to create something.  How to hold onto skills that are being lost.  Then he showed me some pictures - and his workmanship is exquisite.  Even looking at the pictures you could tell that these are high-functioning knives, meant to be used.  One was a chef's knife that he made for his daughter - and I was having serious knife envy.

On the outside, I guess it didn't seem like much.  Went to a volunteer job that I've been doing for years, got an egg, gave the cat a snack, had dinner with friends and a nice conversation.

For me - frickin' awesome.