Six Month Summary

 Arrrrgh, another frustrating afternoon of technology.  I discovered that another victim of my switch to digital internet is that my wireless printer can't connect.  I don't print that often, so after a few hours of trying everything I just ordered a cable to connect it to my laptop.

Today I cleaned off my work table.  Rocky is officially finished.  I'll miss being that involved.  Hopefully I'll find another project.

Time for the 6 month 2026 summary, or What I Have Done So Far This Year.

My life sometimes feels like that as I walk along, the life behind me quietly crumbles away.  Sometimes I can't remember what I did this morning, much less in the last few months.  And if you were to ask me if I've done anything, I'd say "not much, really."  So it's good to look back and realize that I've done more than sit on the couch, scroll FaceBook, and wait until it's time to go to bed.

So I scanned my blogs so far this year, and there have been some things.  Starting with reading:  21 books so far, of wide ranging topics.

I've made some stuff:  A couple pairs of linen pants, the Forest Walk Shawl, a costume for the Ren Faire, and, of course, Rocky!  I was given a mountain (30+ pounds) of alpaca, which I washed, sorted, and mostly gave away.  I've spun some of it.

I started wearing Bob's ring, which still feels a little strange, like signifying that I'm now married to myself.  But it seems to have given me the strength to let go of things.  I finally did the paperwork for the jeep trailer to officially sell it to Rik (actually, I traded it for a sheep for the museum).  I had to gird my loins for that, because it was in his name, so I had to go down on the paperwork as "surviving spouse" and I hated that.

The kayaks are gone.  I had to admit that even my smaller one was too heavy for me to manage, and kayaking alone is, well, lonely.  Best that they go on to new lives.

The biggest heartache was giving up the jeep.  It will be cared for properly now, but that empty barn still twists me up inside.  With it went Bob's collection of GI water cans, and gas cans.   As long as things were going away, Rik came and got some of Bob's ammunition (enough to supply WWIII and the zombie apocalypse). The room is a bit emptier without those ammo cans.

I went to two plays:  The Play Goes Wrong, and The Midsummer Night's Dream.  I went to a card weaving class, and a drumming class.   I went to the Ren Faire.  I also gave  talk on wool to the Weaver's guild.

A couple out-of-the-ordinary things, like driving a couple of hundred miles to bring a young owl to museum, or helping to dig out a wolf's den.

I had the oral surgery to start my implant (with the next one being in a couple of days).  I also had the Reclast infusion for osteoporosis, which knocked me on my butt for a couple of days.

I finished the 1084 virtual walk of the length of England, and quit doing the walking challenges.  I did a total of five of them in a row, ranging from 100 miles to over 1000.  But it got to be a bit of a slog.  More than that - I kept track of my steps on my phone, and I was starting to feel like I was glued to it.  It's liberating to go check on the chickens, or get my mail, without remembering to grab my phone.

I did some upgrades.  I got a small TV for the cottage so that I could watch how-to videos (or, while working on Rocky, listen to interviews and behind-the-scenes).  I got a new CD player because my vintage one was having problems.  My TV in the house started getting vertical lines down the screen so I replaced it.  And I switched from cable to digital internet (not any better, but less than half the cost).  I got a new Alexa dot (because my old smart speaker couldn't talk to the digital internet)

I learned how to put hubcaps on a car.  I learned (well, the basics) how to use an airbrush.

There were a couple of social outings with the family, the really fun one being when Zeke was coming to Tallahassee for swim camp, and staying in the dorm where Bob and I used to live, and where we got engaged.

There's the Cliff notes for 2026 so far.  Apparently I'm not just sitting at home, waiting for the days to go by.  Not bad.