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I can’t believe it’s been a little over a year since I last wrote! So much has happened in the last year.

In February 2020 I went to Nicaragua for the first time;

March we entered the shelter in place health orders;

My job ended;

I signed up for unemployment;

In May my daughter Meghan moved back to Sonoma County from Idaho. So very thankful to have her back in the neighborhood.

My boyfriend and I had scheduled a cruise up the California Coast (with a group of dancer friends) to Oregon, Seattle, and Canada. We had to cancel because by this time no-one was taking a cruise due to COVID.

We had tickets to go to Safari West in June (with friends) and the date fell on my birthday. Sadly, we were not able to go due to the health orders – six feet distance which you couldn’t do in the back of a jeep.

By October, I was restless and irritable and my sister had had a health scare so I flew to Sabetha Kansas (where she, her children, and grandchildren all live.) I spent a week – masked – and feeling weird because masks were not mandatory. I came home, tested for COVID and quarantined just to be safe. All was good. Kansas COVID numbers were going up!

In November I was involved in writing postcards to encourage Florida voters to get out and vote. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were elected. It was an election that will go down in history!

December I drove to Oregon by myself. I spent 3 weeks visiting my boyfriend’s family. He flew up a few weeks later. We had Thanksgiving there and were nervous because Oregon was just shutting down in-door dining etc., due to an increase in the COVID numbers. I came home, tested for COVID and quarantined just to be safe. Again, all was good.

He went back to Oregon for Christmas and I spent it at home with my daughter and her boyfriend. This was the first time my daughter and I spent the holiday together in years. Because crab is her favorite and you couldn’t get it in Sonoma County, I ordered crab from Pike’s in Seattle. It cost me $200 but was so worth it!

New Year’s Eve we really missed our NYE dance gathering with all of our dance community. Every year we attend a dance sponsored by one of our West Coast Swing dancers at the Veterans Hall. This was one of the things I missed this year the most. Me and my partner would typically dance two to three times a week and that was my exercise. I’ve baked a lot of pies and cooked a lot of great meals and I have gained ten pounds!!!!!

January 2021 we decided to buy a house in Shasta County – Redding to be specific. My boyfriend’s family lives in Red Bluff and the cost of housing is so much lower there. Because of the pandemic and people working from home, many businesses made it permanent that people could telecommute. I started looking at real estate in December and the housing costs were going up and up. Another reason we wanted to move out of Sonoma County and buy in Redding was that once “things” start opening up again we want to travel, Redding will be our home base, and our housing costs will drop in half. We made a full price offer, requested a 60 day escrow and it was accepted with no issues.

February we did inspections and closed escrow on February 20, 2021. The sellers requested a 29 day rent back and we accepted because we are obligated to our lease in Sonoma County until August 30, 2021. This “rent back” will help defray some of the costs. Already, our house in one month went up in value.

Vaccinations are being offered for 75 and over. My boyfriend turned 75 in December 2020 so I signed him up for the two series shot. He got both vaccines and had little to no issue with the shot. His was the Pfizer vaccine.

My boyfriend, Danny Christian bought himself a newer corvette. She sure is pretty!

So here we are in the early weeks of March. I’m writing this from Gardnerville, Nevada where I’m spending my best friend’s birthday with her. The snow is on the mountain tops and it is cold! Hope is springing forth with more and more people getting the vaccine, and the possibility of businesses re-opening soon. I’ve been out shopping today purchasing items for our new home. We will pick up our keys on the 21st and start planning the construction remodel. We hope to be moving the bulk of our household in April. My boyfriend will stay in Sonoma County 3 days a week due to having his business here, and come home to Redding for 3 days.

I committed to taking some webinars over the last year and today finished a three month Five Element Coaching class with Jean Haner.

We have lost over 500,000 people to this pandemic; we are so thankful that we never contracted the virus nor lost anyone very close. We did lose some dancers in our dance community…….life as we knew it and possibly took for granted was forever changed a year ago. But, I’m thankful for the pause. I’ve grown so much!

I’ll be back to fill you in on the updates. I hope it doesn’t take me another year.

Blessings………………..