Happy New Year's Eve, Readers.
It's time for my favorite blog post each year.
It takes a few days to make this collection of evolution
that occurs at the Lamp Post
Spring moves to summer moves to fall and winter.
The days are constant,
what happens within them
is sometimes planned,
more often erratic,
but always worthy of a photo.
Grab yourself something cozy to sip,
and let's take a look back at 2021.
January
We delayed our O-side Christmas gathering
until a quarantine period ended.
Grandpa's garage decorated with lights,
gifts, and a Christmas tree made a great adaptation
to the traditional family celebration.
This was my favorite gift from Jack--
Lessons from the Lamp Post is officially all mine.
Extremism demonstrated at the Capitol shed light on the
ugliness of mob mentality fueled by hate.
Amanda Gorman reminded us there is hope.
For there is light
if only we're brave enough to see it,
if only we're brave enough to be it.
Bernie and his mittens
made an appearance at Sam's basketball game.
February
Ellen, coming up on a full year of try-to learn- at-home college,
was starting to dress like her dad.
March
Melting snow and a surprise movie theater rental
ushered in March.
We exited the month with Sam's 14th birthday
and our first dining out experience
in longer than any of us could remember.
April
Spring brought some promise this year.
Thankfully Easter was warm
as outdoor holiday celebrations continued.
Sam returned to full weeks of school in-person.
They collected their bowling trophies indoor this year
which was better than collecting them in the parking lot
the year prior.
April is Autism Awareness Month.
We like to use this time to honor those like Natalie
and Erik
who navigate this world with Autism.
The new buzzword is neurodiversity.
The infinity symbol will replace the puzzle piece
as the symbol of autism,
spurred by those who are neurodiverse.
I was very surprised to learn that
my favorite NASA-scientist-turned-youTuber, Mark Rober,
has a son with autism.
As a future speech pathologist,
Ellen plans to help the population
by changing the world one word at a time.
May
Natalie turned 23!
We named this hatchling Natalie
as it cracked its way into the world on her birthday.
Natalie got a bagful of her favorite things
for her birthday!
While Ellen finished another semester of finals online
Jack graduated from Duquesne
and said goodbye to Pittsburgh.
We were disappointed we could not
see Jack graduate as event tickets were still limited.
That didn't keep Sam from singing,
though.
Sam left the Junior High
and entered high school in the fall.
In the midst of graduations,
celebrations,
and school-year-end wrap-ups,
I decided to try to obtain my HAM Radio Technician license
to help get a school club off the ground.
They needed one more licensed person
to make the group officially recognized by the FCC.
I said I'd try it,
and immediately regretted it.
It was one of the hardest things I've ever done.
But, I did it.
I studied hard for 18 days,
and passed the test with a 33 out of 35!
Instead of a feather in my cap,
I put an antenna.
June
The start of summer was a breath of fresh air.
With Sam vaccinated,
we made the decision to travel to a National Park
for an outdoor vacation.
We had a great time in Shenandoah (see details in Places, below)
but this lone star tick hitched a ride back in my hair.
It was never conclusive if he was the cause
of my summer of swollen joints and painful mobility.
I'm better now and he's pressed into a scrapbook,
nevertheless.
Interviews and endless possibilities led
nephew Jack to his first job in Washington DC.
He said goodbye to friends
and family and was eager for new adventures.
The rest of July was for floating
and fun.
August
As we entered the lazy days of August
we couldn't help but wonder what the fall would bring.
My parents missed the memo they don't
have to socially distance when outside.
We all started back to school at the end of August.
The dogs missed Sam the most.
September
The cups finally came in!
The girls successfully completed their first
sale in their Etsy shop,
Mountain Laurel Apparel.
Ellen got an apartment in the very same
building I lived in when I was a student at
Edinboro.
These shirts will be collector's items.
The State System is consolidating
Clarion, Edinboro, and Cal U.
Edinboro's new name in the fall of 2022
will be
Penn West--the Edinboro Campus.
Cheers to....
Ellen's 21st birthday!
Cousin Cora organized a little surprise for her!
We all had a toast to Ellen at the North East wine fest.
October
Our cute cabin in the Alleghenies was all ready for the fall.
Ellen's college roommates came for
some hiking with Cousin Megan.
Our kitchen is still undergoing some updates--
we are at a stalemate on the floor.
We did agree on eggshell paint
and framed a piece of the old wallpaper
because I'm so sentimental.
Sam's muscle came in handy for readying the wood this year.
October marked Homecoming--
new friends met old friends.
The high school dance was held under this
open air tent in the parking lot.
The kids clean up nice!
Most of the time.
Ellen's Speech and Hearing Science Department
participated in a Trunk or Treat.
Sam and Natalie hit up Foxwood,
proving one is never too old to go in search
of free candy.
The Sheriff and her deputy made sure
that everyone was safe.
Penny's costume was the only thing in jeopardy
on October 31st.
She ate it.
(See Things the Dogs Ate, below)
November
We welcomed The Shuttle to the garage.
Natalie surprised me with flowers at work.
The girls filled some holiday themed hot drink orders.
Sam helped Natalie make her contribution
to Thanksgiving dinner--
Snoopy's Thanksgiving plate.
We were thankful we could be together this year.
It's always my job to figure out the rules to the
after dinner game
and teach everyone how to play.
Sam and Louie had a pumpkin pie Bake-Off.
Sam won with his Pioneer Woman recipe.
December
In early December this cat showed up.
He cried for food
and scratched at the door to come in
from the snow.
He lived in the barn for a few days
before Grandma and Grandpa took him in.
He's recovering and gaining weight
and Grandma has officially named
the him Charlie.
December is magical
and the Barber Ball is a great way to celebrate
the season of giving.
Jack brought Mikayla home to meet
the family and dance the night away, too!
Unfortunately,
while the magic was happening inside the ballroom,
the weather outside was treacherous.
The little blue cottage,
rebuilt from last year's storm
and readied for the winter,
took a direct hit from the 20 foot waves.
The history of the little blue cottage,
from my mid December blog post
became one of my most read posts of 2021.
We are all working on Plan B,
largely determined by what the rest of the winter brings.
December is a time for celebration
and reflection,
and family is always the number one thing
we are thankful for.
Best of Books
Eloise likes to read.
It's a nice, easy hobby to pick up and put down
in a life full of frequent short trips and interruptions.
Beginning and ending my day in someone else's story
gives me the rest I need from my daily grind.
People often rank books
in a five star system.
Assessments have always been difficult for me
as there is something good to be learned in every story.
If I had to choose one book that was my favorite of 2021,
it is this one:
If you don't take my world for it,
take his:
Steven King agrees.
The most important book I read of 2020
is awarded to this one.
It is a must read for every human.
The surprise romance I liked was this one.
It was my first Colleen Hoover book.
I'm sure there will be more in 2022.
The biggest surprise was this 1961 children's classic
I blew the dust off of and used for school--
This has never happened in my teaching career,
but none of my students had read the book prior!
Here are some more I have photos of--all for loan upon request.
I'll give my short synopsis for some of them.
See if you agree.
Evelyn was an interesting character.
This won Book of the Month, Book of the Year.
It was too much at times and had a dumb ending.
The Clintons continued to battle it out,
this time in works of fiction.
I liked both about the same.
Fast paced mystery, not too scary.
Weird. Just weird.
Interesting story.
Light and entertaining.
Started out good,
went too long,
ending was ok.
The most loveable, strangest characters and plot line.
Good to get your mind ready for the long haul.
Cool story, but a bit too long.
Hate to say it about my fave JK--
didn't like this.
Best of Learning
I learned this is what ringworms looks like.
Ringworm was Sam's nickname for the fall.
Ringworm was Sam's nickname for the fall.
Looking to educate yourself about the environment
in a simple way?
Checkout Earth School on youTube.
Checkout Earth School on youTube.
I learned all about the American West.
They have complicated issues, too.
This was another of my more popular blogs of 2021--
Look up My Creative and find out your personality type.
I learned Toms are the shoes for me.
Size 10 if you ever see them at a discounter--
pick them up for me and I'll pay you back.
Any print, any color.
I don't care what they look like.
They are that comfortable on my crooked toes.
Best of Nature
Nature can't be cluttered up with a bunch of words.
I'll leave these here for you..
And, when you spend too much time in nature,
you can get this.
If you get poison ivy frequently,
call me so we can compare remedies.
Best of Sports
Sam keeps us cheering in the bleachers year round.
Basketball January/February 2021
Masked and home games only.
We watched the away games from the couch.
Baseball is the season of soaking uniforms.
Club ball played in Bridgeport, WVA
and Ohio during the preseason.
JV Football this year!
Truck and Slam.
This was Sam's first ever Varsity play.
When Sam has a chance,
he's always spirited supporter in the stands.
Nice season, volleyball team!
We come full circle to basketball again.
No 9th grade team means tougher play for this freshman,
but great experience overall.
Slam and Truck
are now Slam and Dunk.
Faces
Here are some headshots of Eloise
from the last 12 months.
This was my favorite capture of Natalie playing Peek-a-Boo,
by the playful eye of friend and fellow shutterbug Wendy.
Places
You don't have to travel far to find great hiking adventures.
Cousin Megan makes a great guide of the Warren area.
We ventured to Shenandoah National Park in June.
It is truly and underrated park!
It has great hiking and beautiful views like the Smokies,
but not much commercialization.
Where are Louie and Natalie, you ask?
Leaning on car--
Leaning on car--
they wouldn't go near the edge.
We played Sections in Smethport.
The Victorian homes on the main drag
are worth day-tripping for.
Ellen and Ryan got to see the Braves play in Atlanta!
on a tip from a friend.
Excellent Italian food!
Canoeing and hiking the Allegheny Forest
always top the list of our favorite things.
If you are going to DC--find Jack.
He'll give you a great tour!
My Pooches and What They Ate
Whoops
Because every good movie has a blooper reel.
This is not chapstick.
This is a spaghetti squash,
not a porch pumpkin.
We lost.
Or maybe we gave up.
My old computer hard drive crashed,
killing my address book.
I also lost the paper notebook you are
told not to write your passwords down in.
All new passwords,
none of which I can remember.
I was a little more optimistic about our
"return to more normal" school year.
First semester was harder than I had anticipated.
Was 2021 good or bad?
It was just a year with good and bad in it.
So you don't label my general good nature and optimism
for toxic positivity--bad days happen at the Lamp Post, too.
I don't speak of them often because I believe
it gives haters fuel.
Life is all about perspective.
It's best to educate yourself
and keep an open mind.
You are the author of your own story.
If there is one lesson to be left with you
on the final day of 2021,
it is this reminder from Amanda Gorman.
See you in 2022!
Eloise
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