2020: About To Be Gone, But Never Forgotten

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2020, Auld Lang Syne, Birmingham Choir, NPR

The Year In Music

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Andrew Rannells, “2020: The Musical”, Jimmy Fallon, Song Parodies, Tessa Netting

I think we can all agree that 2020 was a dumpster fire. Actually, stronger words come to mind, but I’ll stick to being polite. The following two videos set to music humorously summarize what’s gone on in the last twelve months just in case you’ve forgotten.

MarySmith’sPlace ~ As 2020 ends, some points to ponder

Thanks to Mary and her friend Lynn for these points about 2020!

Mary Smith's Place

My friend Lynn emailed the following to me. I don’t know where the points originated so can’t credit who wrote the original but thought they were well worth stealing and passing on. We need a wee smile at the end of this particularly crappy year, don’t we?

10 Points to Ponder as 2020 draws to a close …

1. The dumbest thing I ever bought was a 2020 planner.

2. 2019: Stay away from negative people. 2020: Stay away from positive people.

3. The world has turned upside down. Old folks are sneaking out of the house & their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors!

4. This morning I saw a neighbour talking to her cat. It was obvious she thought her cat understood her. I came to my house & told my dog…. We had a good laugh.

5. Every few days try your jeans on just…

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On the Lighter Side

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”Do You Love Me”, Boston Dynamics, On the Lighter Side

Whimsical Wednesday

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Alex Shaulis, Animated Short, “Breaking Ground”, CGMeetup, Ellie Morlino, Ringling College of Art & Design, Tara Norton, Whimsical Wednesday

And Now, A Word From Sarah Cooper

To lighten things up from my dismal previous post, here is the ever delightful Sarah Cooper, courtesy of Mock Paper Scissors.

Mock Paper Scissors

Sarah Cooper is giving us a belated Christmas present. Click on the tweet to see the entire thread, and boy howdy, this is some funny stuff.

Well the end of 2020 is nigh & altho I dunno what 2021 holds, I do know we *will not* be talking about this person anymore 🤞. So I’m sharing an "enormous dump" of alt takes & rehearsals in this thread. Love & peace & health to you all. Let’s make 2021 > 2020! the bar is low!

— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) December 28, 2020

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Pandemic News

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Pandemic News

Many of you might remember that during the worst of the pandemic I published Family Friday posts each week, letting you know how things were going in my neck of the woods and asking how all of you were doing. My last entry was in August, when things were improving. Well, sadly the COVID-19 situation is worse than it’s ever been in many parts of the globe, including the US and my own state of Alabama.

 

During the month of December there have been 95K new cases. The state hospitalization rate has increased by more than 200 each week this month. There have also been 1,074 more deaths in the last few weeks. The county where I live has some of the highest numbers, which give the lack of mask wearing and social distancing isn’t very surprising. Like everyone else, we’re waiting to see how things are the middle of January when cases are expected to surge even more as a result of the holidays. It’s incredible that even though the pandemic in the US is worse now than it was back in March and April, so many people just don’t seem to care. I know part of this might be due to the first vaccines being out, but this selfish indifference was going on long before then. 

So, for the foreseeable future, my better half and I will continue to self isolate and hope things start improving at some point in 2021. Let me know how everything’s going where you live.

Jacek Yerka

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Artwork, Jacek Yerka

I had never heard of Polish artist, Jacek Yerca, until my friend Pete at https://beetleypete.com, sent me some images of his paintings. After seeing them, I had to share! The pictures below are book-themed, but if you want to check out his other gorgeous artwork, visit https://www.yerkaland.com

Thank You

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Healthcare Workers, Thank You

Never was so much owed by so many to so few. 

~ Winston Churchill ~

My friend Fraggle at https://fragglerocking.org just posted a picture of her husband who is a healthcare worker in the UK. She took this in response to the prompt your year in one photo. I’ll be honest and say I cried. Fraggle managed to capture the look of sadness, exhaustion, and determination that I imagine is common on the faces of all healthcare workers. There have been countless pictures taken in hospitals of medical personnel as they work tirelessly to save lives, but this simple black and white photo struck me on a visceral level like no other. While I’ve thanked frontline workers in previous posts for the sacrifices they’ve made during this year from Hell, it bears repeating. So, thank you to Phil and all the other heroes out there who kept doing what they do best…helping the rest of us.

Of Wicked Blood (The Quatrefoil Chronicles #1), By Olivia Wildenstein and Katie Hayoz ~ 4.5 Stars

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Adventure, France, Mystery, New Adult Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Urban Fantasy, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Twig Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: February 2nd, 2021

424 Pages

Synopsis: 

Slate

I didn’t mean to steal the Bloodstone from the De Morel’s crypt. Scratch that, I did mean to steal it. Until I realized it was a curse-magnet that only comes off if I, along with a jolly trio, successfully defeat four curses. If any of us fail, I’m dead. I’ve never been a glass half-empty sort of person, but my glass, but my glass looks in dire need of a refill about now. The only highlight of this wicked treasure hunt: feisty, entitled Cadence de Morel.

Cadence

I was raised on tales of magic, in a small town reputed to be the birthplace of French witchcraft. Did I believe all the stories I heard? Absolutely not. I mean, if magic existed, Maman wouldn’t have died, and Papa wouldn’t be stuck in a wheelchair, right?

Wrong.

The night Slate Ardoin waltzes into my life, wearing a ring he stole from my mother’s grave, I call him a monster. But then I meet real ones, and Slate, well…he becomes something else to me. Something frustrating to live with, but impossible to live without. Something I will fight for, no matter the cost.

Of Wicked Blood is a fantastic start to Quatrefoil Chronicles, and it’s going on my list of favorite books of 2020. I absolutely LOVED the characters, even though there’s an annoying love triangle. Thankfully though, that resolved itself in the final half of the book. While Slate and Cadence seem complete opposites, they actually wind up bringing out each other’s better qualities. The secondary characters are equally enjoyable, and my favorite is Cadence’s father, Rainier, simply because he’s such an enigma. The atmospheric setting of Brume, a small university town in France where the sun doesn’t visit often, struck me as eerie yet cozy at the same time. This will sound odd, but if it weren’t a fictitious town, I’d want to live there. The magic realism is quite inventive and gives an entirely new twist to the ubiquitous magic quest trope. And finally, try as I might, I couldn’t tell the difference between the two authors’ writing. The chapters were completely seamless, which cemented my enjoyment of the book. While the ending isn’t a cliffhanger, it leaves many questions unanswered and has me frantic to get my hands on the sequel, which is definitive proof on what a fascinating story this is. Needless to say, I HIGHLY recommend Of Wicked Blood, especially to anyone looking for an exciting urban fantasy filled with marvelous world building, intriguing mystery, and complicated yet relatable characters.