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At the end of each year since 2020, my wife and I boot up "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" for Nintendo Switch at least once. The game, a social simulator set in an island village inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, features a New Year's Eve celebration party, which can be attended in game by the player's real-life friends. Over New Year's Eve, we visited a friend's house to observe the new year in our timezone. We then returned home and into Animal Crossing to join my sister, who lives in a timezone two hours behind us, to celebrate the new year for her. It was a long evening, but it was worth it.
Another enjoyable distraction for us was to attend a local board event last week. We were a little shy about it at first, as we didn't know anyone in the group. However, all it took was one engaging session of Catan for us to chat and laugh like old friends. We plan to join another local event this week.
All the activity we've been engaged in recently has left me little time to read. I'm currently reading "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson at my wife's behest, and while I've enjoyed the story so far, the more time that passes, the less interest I feel in finishing it. I wonder if I'm losing momentum.
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Photo of the week (week 51):
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I live in the American Midwest, and our city was caught square in the middle of the recent arctic blast. We were able to keep ourselves warm, but snow blew everywhere around us and ice formed in every conceivable pocket. I discovered an intricate and rather delicate swirl of frost on my study window just as the worst of the cold snap began to fade.
Photo of the week (week 52):
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Area temperatures rose considerably on the heels of last week's bitter cold. I needed to drive my wife to an appointment at an office not far from my parents' house, so I decided to enjoy the unseasonably-mild afternoon at a park I frequented in my high school days. The trip brought back many old memories, but the sight of the park's creek, covered in steadily-melting ice, was particularly striking to me.
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[Last updated: 2025-01-27]
