Thank you, Buffista elf who remains anonymous, for the gift cert to my favorite hot tub place. I had a soak last night, looking up at the redwood tree and sky, after a fun day around the Sausalito houseboat area. It was a great way to end last year and start the new year.

I really appreciate it. My own hot tub has been a cold water storage tank for some years, and I love this relatively-new-to-me hot tub place. Sometimes I do it for fun, like last night, and sometimes soaking in hot water is the only therapy that works to relax some muscles that get super tense that are a symptom of a medical condition. Either use, I love it, and this is much appreciated.

I thought I'd finally figured out how to link my own photos, but I fear I gave total access to all my Google universe everything in so doing, so I deleted them. If someone can tell me how to post photos here, I'd really appreciate it. And I'll post photos at FB. I love seeing photos over there - please post there too if you are on FB too!

So I am leaving for work this AM when my neighbour calls me from his front step. There were flowers delivered for me a couple of days ago but I was out, so they were delivered to my neighbour. He says they tried my door, but I was out. (He could leave a note...)

Anyway, Secret Santa, I have no idea who you are, but thank you for the lovely basket of tropical plants!

I Secret Santa present #1. A really cool TARDIS print...I'll post a picture on the FB group.

Thank you JenP.

Well. 2016 is over. I hesitated to make any sort of wrap up until then!!

While it's been a horrible year for my country and the world and my fears for the future, but personally it was a pretty good one. I finally got my promotion and got off the road. Dated someone for a while, though it didn't last. Made new friends, got closer to old ones. Had a lot of fun. Traveled to new and old places. I'm feeling pretty good about most of my life, though all the fun means right now most of my pants don't fit, which I don't feel good about--the one thing I'm really hoping to get back to in 2017 that I didn't do so well on in 2016 is running--I was doing so well in 2015, took a bit of a break, and then got a stress fracture and even after that healed never got back at it.

In short, I'm hoping to be my happiest best me in 2017...and thereby have the energy to fight the horrible things happening elsewhere and to others, I hope.

Globally/politically, 2016 has mostly been a dumpster fire.

Personally, it's been a decent year for me and mine. Both Gary and I are still employed in the same places we were in 2015. I've been in my job over 16 years now, and Gary's been in his job almost 11 years. In fact,he just got a promotion.

A good part of the year has been spent watching Mr. S go from baby to toddler.(Hoo boy, is he ever a toddler. Into everything he shouldn't play with, and his favorite game is throwing things down the stairs.) Adorable and exasperating, that's our boy!

There have been some not so great things that happened as well. Mr. S ended up in the hospital with bronchiolitis this summer.(Luckily, only for a weekend.) I got in an accident that totaled my old car, and had to buy a new one. And of course, the sprained ankle.

I hope Gary's promotion means he won't be traveling as much in 2017. He had 15 business trips last year, including one during Passover and a couple that occurred not long after I sprained my ankle.

All-in-all, a pretty decent year.

I got a dumpster fire ornament from smonster!!! That is so. damn. AWESOME! Thank you!

I have been elfed again! I got a pack of Adventure Time trading cards (woo!) and a lapel pin of a unicorn in an ice cream cone (a unicorn! in an ice cream cone! YAS!) Buffista Elf, you are the wonderfullest.

I love this thread. Look at us, making each other happy at the end of a rough year and the beginning of an uncertain one. I love us.

So 2017 is going to start with me going on a date. Well next weekend. I'm nervous because Will and I were a long distance online relationship for so long I haven't actually been on a date in a long time. A really really long time.

Congratulations, askye!

Anyhow, I got ANOTHER round of secret santa gifts!!! Some lovely tea, socks, soap, a little box for 'junk', a Supernatural coloring book (YAY!) and a lovely set of pastels and some pastel paper. Thank you so, so much, Secret Santa! What a wonderful surprise to come home to on an otherwise gloomy and blah day.