Happy New Year! I went into First Night last night, mainly for the Pipes and Pops concert at the Old South Church. I took in the parade and early fireworks as well. The parade was noticeably shorter than parades of old; it didn’t help that I couldn’t get a spot at the edge of the street so I didn’t have a good view. The ice sculptures were a shadow of what they were a decade ago.

I’m hoping this year will be one of settling in and consolidation. Last year was a year of major transitions — getting used to the new normal without Mum, deciding to move, finding a new place, and then moving. I’ve been living with the instability of not being sure where I’m going to live for at least five years now, and it’s nice to have it settled, at least for a while, I do need to get a couple more pieces of furniture, and get some of my photos up on the walls.

I’m going to have to spend some time looking for a new car soon. I’d like to replace this car while I’m still working, and it’s also starting to get expensive to operate. I spent over $3000 on it in October to deal with overheating; last Friday I started getting a check engine light, had it serviced, and found it had bad spark plugs and a leaky axle seal to the tune of $1600. It’s noticeable more peppy after being serviced, but we’re at the point where I’m spending as much on repairs as I would on car payments.

We’ve had to spend time settling my mother’s estate and dealing with that crap. Fortunately, it’s mostly done at this point. We had a clean-out company empty the old house on Friday; next step is to sell it. Hopefully, that will be done in a few months, and this transitional period will be over.

I’m looking forward to having more free time again, now that I’m not having to take care of Mum or maintain the old house. I’m hoping to be in shape for diving this year. I’m looking forward to spending more time on the kayak, the bicycle and the motorcycle this year. There are some other things I’m considering too.

Here’s to 2025.