Best (and Worst) of 2020

2020 has turned out to be a real doozy.  We lost some cultural icons (Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Lewis, and Alex Trebek come to mind, but there were so many), experienced a complete upheaval of life as we know it due to the lack of a cohesive, coherent, science-based plan to deal with a pandemic, experienced devastating losses, whether through unnecessary brutality or due to coronavirus, witnessed a historic presidential election that seemed to drag on for-ev-er (change is coming and I am SO READY), saw how ugly and horrible and utterly selfish people can be, missed out on experiences and events that we had looked forward to, and stayed home all the time (some of us were better at this than others).  We had to learn to wear masks when in public (again, some of us are way better at this than others). We had to worry about whether the USPS could deliver on time (if you're not upset about changes within that system, you should be, because it doesn't have to be this way). We had to face the sad reality that many now believe more in conspiracy theories than in facts and science. We had to worry over whether we had enough toilet paper, of all things.  

We can list all the losses this year brought, but I want to choose to look at the hopeful, positive side.  We had to slow down and really consider things. We learned what is truly important in our lives and what was just noise and busy-ness.  We hopefully became thankful for the good things we have.  We have learned how to do video calls.  We became overly excited when we found toilet paper or flour in stock. 

For me personally, sometimes it's been really hard to stay positive, like when we had to miss the niece's wedding, cancel a big vacation, or deal with the ongoing reality of not being able to see our families for over a year now.  But I always feel better when I choose to look for the positive and stay hopeful.  Please don't think I'm minimizing hardships, because that's not my intent.  My family has been very fortunate this year, but many have not.  I just want people to have hope that there is a better tomorrow.

So, you're probably tired of reading my brief reflections of the past year--yes, that is brief for me.  Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs is once again hosting the Best of 2020 event.

First off, my year in summary:

  • I finished 17 quilts or quilted items this year.  
  • I sold my previous long arm and computer system and upgraded to a newer, better system.
  • I sold a quilt for the first time.
  • I quilted many quilts for other people and increased my sales over last year.  I am so thankful that people let me quilt their quilts!  Sometimes it doesn't seem real.
  • My family is healthy and relatively happy, all things considered.
  • My kids are doing great with online learning.
  • I slacked on my diet and exercise routine most of the year and I have lots of room for improvement in the coming year.
  • We got solar panels installed in March and have had minimal electric bills ever since (just the monthly hook-up fee and taxes).

Here are my best posts of 2020.

1.  The post with the most views was this one from March 25, full of quilts and daffodils.  And a wish that we find flour at the grocery store.  😆

2. Quilts from the IHQS in March.  Please enjoy a mini quilt show.  I'm glad I had a chance to see a quilt show in person this year. Funny, in this post I was whining about the changes in my routine due to the solar panel installation.  Little did we know.... Also, I was complaining about having to throw out the majority of my refrigerated groceries because our power was off for too long.  As it turned out, replacing all the groceries and stocking up that week was a good thing, because right after that is when life as we knew it was done and grocery staples were hard to find for quite a while.  See...look for the positive.

3. This one from July where I talk about my new shelving in the sewing room closet.  I am still in love with my closet.  Money well spent.  Plus, now I can find what I'm looking for and actually use what I have.

4. This post from October where I am sharing progress on my For the Love of Geese quilt, amongst others.  Lots of great stuff happened that week.

5. Finally, this post from June where I was trying to sell my old long arm--I think I sold it later that week.  My new long arm had come in and I was itching to set it up, I announced that I was sponsoring free quilting for the Morewood Mystery, and we had just found out that my daughter won a scholarship from NF Midwest.  Learn about NF here. Oh, and I debuted my new, upgraded website.  I worked so hard on that.  




7 comments

  1. It certainly has been a doozy of a year! I am grateful to have shared it with you, even if socially distant! Here's to 2021! May it be as awesome as 2020 was challenging!

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  2. I've read this post and agree with so much of what you've said about this year & will pop in when I have time and have a better look at your year. I do like the look of of those whirling geese in the last photo. Hopefully 2021 will start to show a reprieve, take care & stay safe from down under.

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  3. It's always interesting to look back on selected posts. It's weird this year with that "before COVID" and "during COVID" aspect to everything. For example, one quick look at a post with masks...that sure wasn't in January!

    I'm hoping for an increasingly better 2021.

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  4. Great posts summarizing 2020! Thanks for linking up and happy new year!

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  5. Anne-Marie, it was a bizarre, crazy year. I am really at a loss to understand those who lost their minds and went down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole. I guess it’s easier to do when the president does it, but really? With the vaccine on the horizon, I am cautiously optimistic about 2021. At least as far as the pandemic goes.

    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

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  6. Hi Anne-Marie, it sounds like it was a positive year for you despite the hardships. It's true that if we look for the positives, we will find them, no matter how hard we have to look. :-)
    May the new year bring positive changes and good things. Take care.

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  7. You do "brief" about as well as I do. :o))
    Congratulations on your longarm and website upgrades! Best of luck for a successful 2021.

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