Choir practices
Massages
2020 work kickoff
AWC lunches
AWC monthly meetings
Charlie Caper at Victoriateatern
Martin’s visit home
Bookworms
Choir weekend
Work trips
Valborg bonfire & BBQ
Lundaloppet
Midsommer
Visits with Anders’ mom
Independence Day BBQ
My grandmother’s decline and funeral
Summer vacation in the States
Movie nights
Crayfish party
Flyinge loppis
Karin’s university start
Dinners with friends
Wreathmaking workshop
Funny Girl at Malmö Opera
Friendsgiving
Julbord
AWC media sale
That’s the short list of cancelled events and activities so far this year. I’m thinking about Thanksgiving since it’s tomorrow, in the US, and normally, tomorrow, I would be meeting up with friends and other AWC members at our annual wreathmaking workshop held at a florist in Höllviken. Every year, for the past 20 years, I’ve made a Christmas wreath at Rosa’s tiny flower shop, which is in her garage, stuffed with plants and a huge birdcage on one wall that used to hold 2 cockatoos who have since passed on. One year she had kittens to pet. Every year she lets me spraypaint parts of my wreath with gold, and help me put the finishing hook on the back of it. Her husband serves gingersnaps and pastries and glögg, with juice just for me because I don’t drink glögg. Some years I buy poinsettias from her or succulents. Some years it’s raining. Some, it’s snowing; others, it’s just cold. Every year, without fail, we give her all our phone cameras and she takes a picture of all of us holding our wreathes up to frame our smiling faces.
This year, because our regular wreathmaking is cancelled for tomorrow, one of the other AWC board members found a business in the UK that does woolly wreathmaking workshops. She arranged to have one done for the AWC on Zoom, and a bunch of us signed up and paid, and specified what colors we want our wool to be (mine is going to be Christmas red with a white bow). She’s mailing all the wool to our organizer, and we have to pick up our supplies and then we’ll be making our wreaths together online next week. Not quite the same, and no kittens to pet, but I’ll get a (hopefully) pretty, more permanent, wreath out of it.
Like everyone else, I’m tired of online meetings, Teams and Zoom and video conferencing calls. I had one for an hour and a half today and it was agony by the end to stay focused, even if most of the content was important and interesting. It’s hard to stay focused on anything. I flit from reading my book, to playing iPad games, to checking email, to scrolling through Instagram, to watching a show, to walking or stretching exercises, to cleaning. The same stuff I did before, but with no plans or friends or events or activities to look forward to or occupy my mind, or break up the monotony. Ugh.
Last weekend Karin and I decorated the house for Christmas. I’ve got about 80% of my Christmas shopping done, all of it done online. Just have a few gift certificates to get, stocking stuffers for Anders and Karin, and few other things. I have a box of stocking stuffers for Martin and my mom to mail tomorrow, in the hopes it will arrive on time. Last night I wrote and printed the annual Christmas letter, even though it felt stupid to write about what we’ve done this year, when we haven’t done all that much. And I have started on Christmas cards; at least, I’ve pulled them out and made a list.
Tomorrow, I’m baking pumpkin pie for this weekend, because we’re going to have Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday even if we can’t have it with all our friends. I’m looking forward to turkey and stuffing. I’m looking forward to Christmas vacation even if we’re not going anywhere. I’m looking forward to the winter solstice even if it will still be dark for months. I’m looking forward.