{"id":4563,"date":"2022-01-01T19:34:56","date_gmt":"2022-01-01T19:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?p=4563"},"modified":"2025-01-12T23:01:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T23:01:36","slug":"2021-christmas-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?p=4563","title":{"rendered":"2021 Christmas Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Friends and Family \u2013<\/p>\n<p>I had so much to tell you about this year.\u00a0 I wrote pages and pages detailing every misadventure \u2013 and there were many \u2013 and was all set to dump it on you, but as I read through it, it just seemed too much a depressing litany of, I dunno, excessive whining about how the year has done me wrong instead of a balanced reflection.\u00a0 So I scrapped it all at the last minute.\u00a0 I offer you this rough pastiche of a letter instead.<\/p>\n<p>You see, 2021 was, without question, the most challenging and difficult year of my life. And those challenges began right away in January and were layered on, one over the other in an endless non-stop progression \u2013 right up until the drafting of this sentence. \u00a0So things that I normally do to keep my sanity in this insane world went out the window in 2021.\u00a0 No time for gardening, no time for the farm, no time to escape people and their incessant demands.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that it was a <strong><em>bad<\/em><\/strong> year, it\u2019s just that <strong><em>everything<\/em><\/strong> was extremely, extremely time consuming, with everyone yelling at me that they wanted things <strong>NOW<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p>So how best to convey the density of it all?\u00a0 The usual monthly recapitulation of events doesn\u2019t really work when you have multiple plot lines coursing through the year. \u00a0I suppose I could divide it all up into a master list of \u201cPro and Con\u201d episodes and leave it at that, or a simple bullet list of catastrophes and challenges. \u00a0At the end of the day though, the easiest thing seemed to be to create a half a dozen or so stories and let them stand on their own.\u00a0\u00a0 If my life calms down like I hope and pray it will in 2022, I\u2019ll revert to standard format next year (with proper photos \u2013 I promise!). \u00a0But given my lack of time to craft something eloquent for the hamster treadmill of 2021, you get this:<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">In 2021 I was extremely busy!<\/h4>\n<p>Here\u2019s what I did:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?page_id=4576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Selling half the farm<\/strong> <\/a>\u2013 A gut wrenching decision.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?page_id=4582\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Building a New House<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0&#8211; How to create a palace on a bungalow budget?<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?page_id=4627\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Building a Barn<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 click here to see the progress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Now, if you slogged through the above, you\u2019d more than likely agree that that should have been enough to occupy my every waking moment of 2021.\u00a0 There were more than enough crises, complications, and critical moments in those three events to absorb anyone\u2019s full time attention, but then the Fates (and Keith) decided that wasn\u2019t really enough, so they piled on the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Fall down, go boom<\/strong> &#8211; In late January I quite stupidly ran down the stairs in stocking feet and wound up flat on my back on the bottom steps stunned and in considerable pain. Diagnosis = cracked ribs.\u00a0 Medical advice = don\u2019t run down stairs in stocking feet! Especially at age 61! \u00a0Also, don\u2019t move much while your ribs heal and don\u2019t lift anything heavy for at least two months.\u00a0 Needless to say this was a huge inconvenience in dealing with work and farm life. Also, the lack of activity made me enormously fat!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Bye-Bye Condo<\/strong> &#8211; In the midst of all the other ridiculousness occupying my limited mental and physical bandwidth, Keith decided now was the time to sell the condo. Actually, I can\u2019t fault his logic or timing \u2013 the market <strong><em>is<\/em><\/strong> hot, and he really hadn\u2019t been using it since the beginning of the pandemic, instead commuting in directly from the farm. \u00a0Plus, if truth be told, the upstairs neighbors letting their sink overflow and ruin the drywall and kitchen cabinets in our kitchen, might also have been the last straw as far as Keith was concerned. \u00a0But\u2026. we simply didn\u2019t have time to clear out all the stuff and put in a new kitchen and get it ready for market. We were just too busy to cope with it all, right?? \u00a0Right??\u00a0 Sigh\u2026\u2026 To his credit Keith did most of the cleaning out of a lifetime of his stuff.\u00a0 But when it came time to move all the big stuff we rented a U-Haul and pretended that we were still young enough to load it all ourselves.\u00a0 Most went into a storage locker.\u00a0 The rest went into the already overfilled garage on the farm (where our \u201choarder chic\u201d look is now a super-hoarder-with-severe-issues look). \u00a0The new kitchen installation in the condo took a while longer (supply chain issues), but it was finally done in mid-July &#8211; just in time for the hot condo market in Alexandria to collapse.\u00a0 The condo sat empty for months without a nibble.\u00a0 It sat there, and sat there, while Keith grumbled about mortgage payments on an empty condo, until we had another explosive water episode from a different upstairs unit that this time ruined the bathroom. Another mad rush of repairs.\u00a0 It\u2019s only at this writing (Dec 28<sup>th<\/sup>) that the condo is finally under contract.\u00a0 Please pray for us that nothing else happens before settlement in late January.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?page_id=4663\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>My Mother Dies<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Family Property Mess<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s funny how you \u2018know\u2019 things, but they\u2019re somehow just kept in the back of your mind and it isn\u2019t until you\u2019re confronted with them all of a sudden that you realize how very little you do \u2018<em>know\u2019<\/em> about them. This came into very, very sharp focus as my brother Raymond began sorting out my mother\u2019s estate.\u00a0 It was a herculean task to deal with all the \u2018stuff\u2019 that people accumulate over a lifetime, much less try and undo the Gordian knot she had made of her estate.\u00a0 I was grateful I didn\u2019t have to do it, as (see above) it was already the-busiest-year-of-my-life.\u00a0 But that relief was rather short-lived.\u00a0 It turns out that I did have to deal with at least part of it.\u00a0 Due to bits of my father\u2019s will that my mother couldn\u2019t dismantle, I was actually in charge of three properties. Of course I \u2018knew\u2019 this on some level, but here it really was.\u00a0 I suddenly had to pay bills and taxes, collect rents, deal with a slew of repairs due to years of delayed maintenance.\u00a0 All on properties in 3 different states (none of which I lived in).\u00a0 Then I had to figure out what they were worth (in one case a near impossible task), and then sell them. \u00a0To say that this occupied more time than I had available is a colossal understatement. \u00a0\u00a0At the end of the year, I\u2019m still sorting it out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?page_id=4651\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Ceres Dies<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 click here for long tribute to a small animal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Real Estate Goes Beyond Bonkers<\/strong> \u2013 If you read last year\u2019s letter, you knew that 2020 was the busiest year in my real estate career. It was crazy.\u00a0 Now take that craziness and double it.\u00a0 Literally, double it!\u00a0 (I had more under contract by June 2021 than in the whole of 2020!)\u00a0 The entire year did not let up.\u00a0 While all the increased activity was great for our bottom line, in truth we needed every single penny of it (and more) to build our house.\u00a0 So even when I was completely overwhelmed and couldn\u2019t dream of taking on yet another client, I\u2019d just gird my loins, and say \u201c<em>Sure!\u00a0 I\u2019d be happy to help!<\/em>\u201d And so I took on more work than I ever thought humanly possible.\u00a0 While most people with this level of activity have a team, or at least an assistant or two, I\u2019ve never been much of a team player and frankly wasn\u2019t sure how long it would all last, so I just kept going solo.\u00a0 It was my best year ever \u2013 by a long, long shot. \u00a0And I doubt very much it will ever be repeated.\u00a0 But in the end, I\u2019m very grateful that it happened and I was able to make it through.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Keith Gets Hand Surgery<\/strong> \u2013 Part of getting old is that you just get worn out.\u00a0 Physically and mentally.\u00a0 Entropy sucks.\u00a0 Keith\u2019s job at Amtrak and as a sommelier involves constantly carrying bottles and trays around and twisting out corks and other stuff. \u00a0So when he started having pain in his left hand he just kept plugging along until it got really bad.\u00a0 Then a visit to an orthopedist offered a solution.\u00a0 Apparently it\u2019s more common than you\u2019d think and the Dr made it sound like surgery would be a relatively easy fix. (note: key word is \u2018relatively&#8217;).\u00a0 So naively Keith said yes.\u00a0 He also liked the idea of a month or two off work during recovery.\u00a0\u00a0 Thus in early November they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliteorthopaedic.com\/contents\/patient-education\/thumb-cmc-basal-joint-arthroplasty-thumb-joint-reconstruction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">removed a bone in his thumb joint<\/a> and sent him home.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s been home every single day since then (every. single. day.\u00a0 &#8211; with me in our tiny and very cramped garage apartment).\u00a0 Recovery has been slower than expected and very frustrating.\u00a0 He\u2019s now taking a third month off to recover, so now he won\u2019t go back to work until February.\u00a0 Since he\u2019s basically one handed, he\u2019s dragooned me into being his sou chef for his evening dinner extravaganzas (which he spends most of the day plotting and planning). \u00a0This is being presented as if it is a rare privilege. Now if there\u2019s anything I can\u2019t stand, it\u2019s fussing about in the kitchen over food. \u00a0Food is meant to be zapped in the microwave when you\u2019re hungry, eaten quickly, and then the containers tossed in the garbage.\u00a0 It\u2019s efficient and allows one to attend to other things that are far more pressing (and trust me, I have a lot more pressing concerns this year).\u00a0 If other people (i.e. Keith) find perverse pleasure in mucking about in the kitchen and dirtying lots of pots and pans, so be it \u2013 but don\u2019t force me into doing it for you!\u00a0 I can think of no torture greater than to be told to grate carrots or whatever, and then to be hovered over intently and be constantly told in no uncertain terms how utterly incompetent I am, and how two year old chimpanzees could do a better job, etc, etc. \u00a0I\u2019m not sure who\u2019s sorrier his recovery isn\u2019t happening quicker, he or I.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Alan gets COVID for Christmas<\/strong> \u2013 to cap off the year, I mean, just to make it extra special and even more insane that it already was \u2013 I, a vaccinated, boostered, and super virus paranoid, got COVID! Five days before Christmas I actually felt tired enough to go to bed early. Next morning I woke with the sniffles. Like any good hypochondriac, I immediately assumed the worse.\u00a0 Luckily a Dr. friend had an extra home test kit.\u00a0 I took it and, lo and behold, glaring pink and blue bars told me I got the \u2018rona.\u00a0 It only lasted a few days and was just minor sniffles, but still!\u00a0 How could that have happened?\u00a0 So Keith and I missed the family Christmas gathering and stayed home.\u00a0 I worked on the new barn and got work done while Keith studied.\u00a0 It was a nice break.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So that\u2019s been the year.\u00a0 Eventful, frustrating, and challenging.\u00a0 But I look at it this way, next year will be so much calmer (at least that\u2019s what I keep telling myself).\u00a0 By the end of next year, the new house will be finished, the new barn will be all set up for my poultry, the gardens will be back to their former glory, the farm will have some sense of organization, and I can spend the rest of my days puttering in the gardens, tending to my flocks, and furnishing my house.\u00a0 I\u2019ll actually be able to walk into a closet and pick out clothes without having to search through piles and boxes to get to them.\u00a0 We\u2019ll actually be able to invite people over for dinner and serve them in a real dining room as opposed to a garage. \u00a0And finally, we can have guests that can stay overnight. \u00a0I know this is a way of life that most of you accept as your due, but for me it borders somewhat on the miraculous to imagine having a space solely dedicated to eating, much less having a spare bedroom. So at least, that\u2019s my fantasy of what life will be like a year from now.<\/p>\n<p>Of course I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll find something else to complain about between now and then, but the light at the end of this tunnel keeps appearing brighter and brighter, I\u2019m feeling more and more relieved that this year is behind us and the weight of all the work, construction decisions, and family obligations is lightening.<\/p>\n<p>But most importantly, I\u2019ll finally be able, after all these years, to spend more time with you \u2013 friends and family &#8211; on my own turf! \u00a0And to repay you for years and years of all the hospitality you\u2019ve offered me in every corner of this crazy world.\u00a0\u00a0 You can now come to my tiny corner of this crazy world and be a guest of mine.\u00a0 Won\u2019t that be fun?\u00a0 That\u2019s what I wish for most of all as we head into 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Happy New Year!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Friends and Family \u2013 I had so much to tell you about this year.\u00a0 I wrote pages and pages detailing every misadventure \u2013 and there were many \u2013 and was all set to dump it on you, but as I read through it, it just seemed too much a depressing litany of, I dunno, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/?p=4563\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">2021 Christmas Letter<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas-letter"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/banner.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4563"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7424,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563\/revisions\/7424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}