List of Things — 2021

The year began with the Jan. 6 attempt by President Trump and his supporters to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Those events confronted us with the possibility the work of our founders, to create a society built on new foundations contrary to a monarchy, may fail. It was a sobering realization, even if insurrection leaders were pathetically unskilled at insurrection. After Biden was sworn in, he got to work and the economy came roaring back. We are not out of the woods yet.

On my Christmas morning walkabout the air was quiet and still. Scarcely a sound besides birds. Normal background noise of traffic on surrounding highways was silent. Ambient temperatures were in the forties and winds calm. It was a peaceful time to be with family.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic we did not travel to be with our child at Christmas this year. We joined their festivities via video conference and met some new friends. I’m not sure who came up with the idea yet it was a good one.

We spent the morning sleeping in and doing individual things around the house. After noon we joined in the kitchen to make our vegan Christmas feast. According to the scale this morning I lost one pound overnight. There will be leftovers all week.

As year’s end approaches taking stock is important. Here is a list of the most significant events of the year:

• Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
• Coronavirus pandemic entered its second calendar year and persisted.
• Served as president of the home owners association and secretary of the sewer district.
• Wrote at least 1,000 words of my autobiography per day through April.
• Worked at Sundog Farm in the spring.
• Twice served as a Climate Reality Leadership Corps mentor.
• Helped Jon Green get elected as a Johnson County Supervisor.
• Donated excess garden produce to the local food pantry.
• Trip to Boone, Iowa to visit my sister-in-law.
• Trip to Orlando, Florida to help our child move to Illinois.
• Covered Blog for Iowa editor’s summer time off.
• Walked in the Coralville Independence Day parade.
• Two family trips to visit our child in their new apartment. They visited us, too.
• Became a single automobile family.
• Worked through a manganese contamination at the community well.
• Tooth extraction #14. Decided to leave the gap.
• Covered the Solon School Board election on this blog.
• Wrote a series of posts about carbon capture and sequestration for Blog for Iowa.
• Grew net worth by seven percent.
• Read 54 books.
• Successfully increased garden production.

Time passes quickly these days. We grasp today, only to soon let it go into the drift of society. Luckily, with some focus, I got a few things done in 2021.