Happy New Year 2021!

If you're reading this now, congratulations! You survived 2020!

I think it's an understatement to say 2020 was Not a Good Year. I made it through better than many, with much of my life remaining relatively unchanged. I was able to work from home some, though not exclusively, and my workplace has new procedures in place to help protect those of us who do need to physically report to the office.

But let's have a look back at my naive optimism about 2020, shall we?

Progress bar goals
• Read 10,000 pages - I did finish reading all of Shakespeare in 2020, but I fell short of the goal, coming in at just under 8900 pages.
• Walk Minas Tirith to the Morannon - I made it!
• Do 200 workouts at Curves - This started off well - I hit my 1000th workout in early February and was making it all 5 weekdays. Then the pandemic happened, and they had to close for a while. She's back open in a limited capacity, but I won't be carrying this goal forward just yet.
• Lose 25 pounds - Another goal that started off well and was derailed by the pandemic. I'd lost 10 pounds by mid-April, but have gained it back with interest.

Other goals
• Finish Chatelaine's "Walled English Garden" - I focused on this almost exclusively this year. I'm not *quite* done, but I'm probably about a week away from a finish.
• Finish one page on Log Dog Samplers "Death by Cross Stitch" - Honestly, I realized I was not really looking forward to working on it (perhaps over-1 on 22ct was a poor choice for my aging eyes), and abandoned it.
• Clean up and organize my crafting lair - HA ha ha ha... yeah, I didn't finish this. I did a little bit, but it is still a very looming project.
• Complete one yarncrafting project - Hey, one I did actually finish! I knitted the Blue Sky Fibers "Endless Wrap" in "Storm Clouds" worsted. I haven't blocked it yet, but the knitting is done.

New Habits
• Drink at least 1.5 litre of water a day - I'm managing at least 1L a day, sometimes 1.5, so it's a work in progress.
• Continue Duolingo and Lumosity daily exercises - These are going well. My streaks are up to 1089 and 732 days respectively.
• Do some form of exercise daily - Ehhh. Hit or miss here.
• Make sure the dishes are done daily - This has been going well, and I've discovered how satisfactory it is to have dishes done (or at least loaded) every day.

For the new habits, I think I did fairly well, which is encouraging. As for the rest...well, 2020 explains much.

Moving on to this coming year:

Progress bar goals
• Read 10,000 pages - I do have my first few books identified for this year, and maybe I'll actually make goal this time.
• Lose 25 pounds - Rather than identifying specific steps, I'll just leave it at this...

Other goals
• Finish Chatelaine's "Walled English Garden" - I'd better, given how close I am.
• Finish Ink Circles "Castle Walls" - This was my New Year's start last year, and hasn't seen action since that day.
• Finish the center square on Chatelaine's "Poison Garden" - I just started this an hour ago, but it will lie dormant until Walled English Garden is finished.
• Clean up and organize my crafting lair - I hope to finish this by Easter. I know, I said that last year, but it makes the organization a good Lenten goal. Yes, I hear you laughing. But maybe if enough people laugh I'll actually do it.
• Complete one yarncrafting project - Either crochet or knit. This is a good recurring goal, in much the way the reading goal is.

New Habits
• Drink at least 1.5 litre of water a day
• Continue Duolingo and Lumosity daily exercises
• Do some form of exercise daily - I'm going to start by walking a mile (or equivalent exercise) and see if I can increase from there.
• Make sure the dishes are done daily - Keeping this up!
  

Now that we've kicked 2020 to the curb, here's to hopefully better days!