2016 collage (and thoughts)

As we come to the end of the year, I'm trying to get a few things posted, decide what's for dinner, and get as much of the Relief Society newsletter done as I can. We have to get everybody up for church tomorrow (moving to the 9:00 schedule). Just normal stuff.

This was the year that I got to paint three operas and one church show, started a mural in our dining room (which I haven't made much progress on), and pretty much otherwise failed to accomplish anything else around the house that I was hoping to do. We had a great two weeks in Ohio this summer and loved spending the time with everyone. Kate misses her cousin Hazel.

Homeschooling Kate has not been going too well. We finally got her an ADOS test (after months on the waiting list), and she did get an autism spectrum diagnosis, so hopefully she'll be able to get some more specific help when we do get her back into public school. Last year was just so awful. I need to get myself on the ball and make sure she's not falling behind. I have ideas but implementing them is a struggle.

I think the hardest thing for me this year has been changing wards. I've had some moments of feeling very lonely and isolated. We're planning to start up a monthly knitting and crocheting group, so that'll be good.

I tend to be in my own head a lot, planning my next project or whatever it is that's currently interesting me. The problem is that my next project is our Korea trip, and it's eight months away and keeping me distracted for a very long time. It's been hard to focus on anything else (like, you know, Christmas, birthdays, those other little things that I need to make happen....) I've been saving my opera painting money for the trip, but other finances are going to be tight--Doug only has two classes this coming quarter, instead of four--so I may be looking for a job soon.

Doug and I got our passport renewal forms turned in this week. After months and months of poring over maps and photos and making itineraries, it was so nice to actually do something concrete, some measurable progress towards this thing that still seems so far away. We tried taking our own passport photos--we'll see if they accept them or not.

We took Andy along with us to the auditor's office when we went to turn in our renewal applications. We'd never been there before and didn't realize there would be a wait--it was set up like the DMV, where you take a number, and then they tell you when you can go to a window. Andy was having a great time watching the flashing numbers and repeating every announcement: "Now serving P742 at window five!" (rather loudly). We thought it was hilarious, but some people were getting annoyed, so we found some other things to distract him. We'll take him back again when we apply for his and Kate's passports.

I'm looking forward to 2017. I'm sure the details will surprise me. They always do.