I am grateful for an enjoyable winter break with my family. Things are changing as the kids get older. It’s nice to get to know those kiddos as the young men they are becoming. Today is the last day of it,and they are back to school tomorrow. I am grateful to be looking forward to some quiet time in my quiet studio tomorrow, too.

I am grateful for waffles that Cooper made this morning.

I am grateful for a swim at the Oak Bay Rec centre pool this afternoon with my kids. All kinds of protocols are in place to make sure everyone is safe, but it felt just a little bit like the normal of the before times when we used to go there all the time.

I am grateful for time spent on my own in my studio for a while this afternoon, and for time spent with my family for the rest of the evening.

I am grateful for a pleasant first day of 2021.

I am grateful for a walk we took this morning, running into neighbours we knew, some we didn’t, wishing “Happy New Year!”, and hearing it from just about everyone else out walking this morning.

I am grateful for brunch on the Raclette grill at the table this morning. It was fun.

I am grateful for Farley’s Family Fun night, we dined on takeout from McDonald’s, then we screened the Pixar movie, “Soul”. What a great show that was!

I am grateful for time spent watching telly with Jules this evening, after the kids were down.

I am grateful for telly

I am grateful for the realization that 2020, looking back, was not actually that bad of a year for me. We collectively went through a lot last year, and I am on board with the “dumpster fire” label for it. The pandemic has been tough, and the US presidential election was hard to watch, and the awful police violence that inspired the the BLM movement was alarming, and reminded us in Canada that we have no shortage of systemic racism here either, and there was fear and uncertainty in abundant supply everywhere we looked and also the places we didn’t. Here we are though. We survived it. I’d like to think I’m better for it. I’d like to think most of us are. There is hope that’s come out of our experience of 2020, and I am grateful for that hope. I am also grateful that it’s over now, and we can turn a page together.

I am grateful for the unexpected positive byproducts of the pandemic and the lockdown. I spent a lot of time I wouldn’t have otherwise with my kids. We were outside more. I prefer virtual doctor appointments, it turns out. All that, and with everyone at home with unspent vacation budget and time to contemplate the empty walls of their homes, it happens it was a good year to be selling art. I am grateful for these things.

I am grateful for a walk around 10 mile point with ours and another family today.

I am grateful for raclette at home tonight. It was cheesy and delicious.

I am grateful for a screening of Jurrasic World in our living room.

I am grateful for our view of fireworks across the city we could see from out house on a hill, and for the hooting and hollering, and the brief conversations between folks on their porches in my neighbourhood at midnight tonight.

Happy New Year!

I am grateful for an afternoon spent geocaching with my lads. It’s been a while since we’ve done that. Looking forward to doing it again, soon.

I am grateful for time spent painting in my studio while Julie did all the kid stuff this evening.

I am grateful for more good sci Fi, I think. Julie and I watched the first episode of “Raised by Wolves”. It has potential, but I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve seen a bit more.

I am grateful for time spent talking with old friends via Skype while painting in my studio this morning.

I am grateful for a walk at Beaver Lake with my family this afternoon.

I am grateful for a hike at P’kols today with another family..it was good to get the stink of the house off of us, and good to see kids run around like kids. It was also gratifying to find my ankle worked just fine on some steep, rocky terrain.

I am grateful for the waffle iron I got for Christmas. Making waffles for my kids is fun.

I am grateful for a few hands of Hearts with my family this evening.

I am grateful for a double header of Westworld episodes with Julie this evening.

I am grateful for a fine Christmas day.

I am grateful for the means to have kids spoiled rotten with a gratuitous pile of gifts under the tree this morning. In this age of Covid, there’s a lot of things we can’t do, but this was one of the things we could do, and it was wonderful to watch them open them all up.

I am grateful to be able to video conference with family today. It’s not as good as being there in person, but nice to feel like I’ve seen and talked with them on this holiday.

I am grateful for a great Christmas dinner; the turkey, and all the fixings.

I am grateful for our tradition of caroling our neighbours, and for the kind of great neighbours we have, the kind we’d want to carol for in the first place.

I am grateful for time spent watching telly with Julie after the kids were down, and things were a bit more quiet.