Happy New Year everyone! It’s been an odd sort of start to this new year, given that a lot of us are still sheltered-in-place and our holiday “celebrations” looked really different than normal. But, it’s still a new year and there is a lot to look forward to! This pandemic will end at some point, and I’m hopeful that we’ll be a healthier society because of what we learned during it. Post-pandemic, I’m planning on wearing a mask when I go shopping, and especially during flu and allergy season. Now that I have all sorts of fun and outfit-coordinating face masks, I may as well get the maximum use out of them! Plus, with my DIY face mask spray to keep the masks smelling good and adding a boost of immunity, it seems like a win-win.

Speaking of an odd start to this year, we’re still undergoing our kitchen/family room remodel which started in October. I thought we’d be done by now, but no. We are in the wind-down phase - I think. As I’m typing I’m looking at my stove, which is still inoperable for a variety of reasons, but the remodel will have to be it’s own series of posts, because it’s been a comedy of errors from the get-go!

I’m also starting the year with only one dog and one cat. We lost our 17-year old Havanese, Rumba, in September last year (and he was preceded by his nephew, Fuego, in 2018 of heart disease). Between monitoring the aging Rumba and the medical needs of Fuego, the past four years have been a blur of busy mixed with a blur of tears. They saying “A home is not a home without a Havanese” is so true. With the construction quieted down, it feels pretty empty, even with a 10-year old Zooming all day, a 26-year old tech “kid” doing 3D printing, coding and techie computer stuff, and a husband negotiating loans and leases over 14 hours a day. You’d think the German Shepherd (Fritzi) and the Maine Coon (Shamu) would fill the house, just given their size, and they do in their own way, but it’s very different without Rumba and Fuego. They may have been small in size but they were larger than life in personality. I will say that the near-constant vacuuming and the running in circles of Fritzi and Shamu chasing each other - and yes the cat chases the dog - does not leave much time for grieving! So I suppose that’s the silver lining there.

Stay tuned for more on the remodel that never seems to end, and antics from the animals, as well as updates on all things jewelry and essential oils. I hope you all stay healthy, safe and sane!

XO,

Missy