2022 - My Annual Year in Review
JANUARY
Whereas in 2021 I had just started a new job, I thought I’d do something new in 2022 and start another new job! I’m not a big fan of switching jobs at the drop of a hat, but this new one is AMAZING from Day 1: laptop arrives, I’m able to log in right away, they dump me into really good training right off the bat, my boss is awesome – I’m thrilled.
Not so thrilled about Novak getting himself deported from Australia for being unvaxxed. I was really looking forward to watching him destroy the competition, but instead I get a rather forlorn shot of him hopping on his private jet to return to Serbia.
FEBRUARY
February is the typical dark, dank winter month without much going on other than my birthday. My sister, nieces, brother-in-law and brother treat me to a great dinner of surf-and-turf at a great restaurant. My niece gives me an 8x11 picture of Leon Bridges, and my sister gives me a T-shirt to commemorate the occasion: “2/22/2022 – Expect Great Things!” We shall see.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel returns! There’s a big payoff between Lenny and Midge – one for which I’ve been waiting for 4 long seasons.
MARCH
My 16yo live oak comes down – much to my chagrin. It didn’t survive the IceMageddon of 2021, and I’m in a funk for days. Winston and Trixie seem a little confused that their yard has changed.
I foster a cute little Westie girl named Luna. She’s a hoot and is adopted by the Logan family. It always makes me feel good to connect good dogs with good families.
Heather, Justin and I go to see one of my bucket list artists, Teddy Swims, down in Deep Ellum. Deep Ellum has changed since our 20’s, when we used to club-crawl all night and have 3-day hangovers. It’s gentrified and much more the speed of 40-somethings. Unfortunately, the concert is TOO #$%^ing LOUD. We leave early like the old folks we are.
APRIL
Winston and Trixie turn 13 yo, and it’s been three years since Daisy and Alfie died. That’s kind of how I measure time. Those three years have gone quickly.
I start fostering a troubled dog named Finn. He’s going to be a handful – snarly, snarky and scared to death.
I get my fence repaired, as the pit bull next door keeps chewing through it and scaring me to death.
Settling in at my new job. I LOVE IT. I LOVE MY COMPANY, I LOVE MY BOSSES, I LOVE MY CO-WORKERS AND I LOVE EVERYTHING.
I have dinner with my friend Stacy, who I haven’t seen in months and months. We go to Half Shells and stuff ourselves with oysters and old memories.
MAY
May is a good month – lots of good things happen!
First of all, my friend Bonne comes into town, and we go see Ray LaMontagne together. It’s a GREAT concert, and the company is even better. Unfortunately, there are some people at the concert that make it hard to enjoy said concert, but we power on through it with a couple of sangrias.
My niece Lauren graduates from high school and decides to go to the University of Arkansas. I present her with tickets to go see one of our favorite performers, Leon Bridges, in August before she leaves. The look on her face is classic!
Finn, who has come a long way since I’ve been fostering him, is adopted by a lovely family from Wichita Falls. Again, good dogs and good families.
A bit of a downer: my mother has gall bladder surgery.
JUNE
I head up to Missouri to visit my parents. Mom is doing better. I enjoy Father’s Day on the porch sipping iced tea with my dad. It’s a good, quiet, uneventful visit. I am thankful for my job, which lets me work from up there.
Westie Rescue of North Texas has our annual Facebook auction, our biggest fundraiser of the year.
Roland Garros ends with a Rafa Nadal win, of course – it’s his, like, 13th time (some witty Redditor says that we should call the French Open the “Nadal Closed,” and I giggle), and Wimbledon starts. It ain’t June until Wimbledon’s here!
JULY
Wimbledon ends with a Novak Djokovic win! There’s a lot of controversy around this tournament as well. Russia invading Ukraine, Russian players getting banned, no points awarded in retaliation for that…good stuff. Who says there’s no drama in tennis? 2022 is like, “Hold my beer.”
Winston has a mass removed on his cheek – so far, he’s averaging one surgery a year, which is keeping me permanently in the red in terms of vet bills. But that little feller is worth every penny.
I go on my annual camping trip with the Reed family and other assorted friends and family members. Please to enjoy this post for the details on that.
AUGUST
L-E-O-N B-R-I-D-G-E-S!!! Lauren and I have been waiting for this one for months. It’s everything we expect: he sings his best songs and does his little dances on stages, sounds great, the crowd is not full of assholes…can’t have a better concert experience than to share this with my sister and my niece, who is about to go off to college. #woopigsooie
Trixie dies – in about three days, she goes from crackling breath to full congestive heart failure, and my little girl can’t take anymore. It’s clear she’s not going to get any better and will continue to struggle to breathe, so I let her go. I am bereft.
Winston doesn’t seem to care.
In perhaps some kind of consolation, I am elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Westie Rescue of North Texas, which is an incredibly kind gesture by my board member peers. I am both intimidated and excited by the opportunities we have with the rescue. One of the best decisions I ever made was volunteering for this organization.
SEPTEMBER
Teddy arrives! Teddy is a hairless Westie who is staying with Winston and me for a month while his parents holiday in England. Teddy is awesome, no trouble at all, and if his parents didn’t want him back, I’d keep him.
It’s Laver Cup time! It’s basically an exhibition, elimination-match format that pits Europe against the rest of the World, but what makes this one special is, it’s the last tournament Roger Federer will ever play. Fans are howling in dismay, but it’s still an amazing experience to see him on the court one last time. Farewell, Rog! Go enjoy the life, the wife and the kids.
OCTOBER
Heather, Justin and I fly to Denver to see Isabelle, who has a boyfriend now. Ah young l’amour! They’re both very cute together, and it’s great to see Isabelle just absolutely kicking ass on the volleyball court. She is one of a kind. I also get to see my college friends Becky and Angie while I’m up there – not to mention Buffalo Bill Cody’s grave – so it’s quite worth getting out of town for a couple of days.
My friend Pat visits Dallas. She was the lady who hired me for my first grown-up job in Dallas after I moved to town at the age of 26. I marched into her office in my powder-blue pantsuit and somehow convinced her to hire me, and, as they say, the rest is history. She has been a wonderful mentor and friend to me for over 20 years, and it touches me that she wants to see me when she comes into town.
After a month, during which I’ve gotten very fond of him, Teddy goes back to his parents.
NOVEMBER
November starts out well; on the one hand. I get the CUTEST little Westie mix as a foster – name’s Eddie. Twelve hours after I get him, however, I’m driving through the neighborhood with the windows down, screeching, “EDDIE!! EDDIEEEEE!!” as the little shithead runs through the streets on a lark. I finally manage to catch the little bugger and get him adopted as quickly as I can before I fall even more in love with him.
The following week we get in a gorgeous female Westie that I name Piper – a real Scottish kind of name.
My friend Becky comes to visit before Thanksgiving. We have big plans to watch the Chiefs game Sunday night, but make the mistake of getting margaritas and TexMex before the game, which means we are both passed out when my boyfriend Travis Kelce makes his three TD’s. But we manage to rally the next day and play with the dogs, go for a walk and try to teach Piper the dog door, with no success. She’s not having it.
My entire family is together for Thanksgiving here in Texas. It’s a great visit and wonderful to see everyone. We even have a little bit of a “Jones Bonfire,” which is not as magnificent as the brush pile bonfires my dad produces, but it is still warmth on a cold and rainy day.
DECEMBER
December starts out with a girls’ party at my place with the gals at work. The halls are decked, the dogs are sporting their Christmas finery, the spinach artichoke dip is in the instapot, the White Elephant gift is ready for exchange. We have a great time!
I make a little progress on the decision to renovate my kitchen in 2023 — it’s a tough one. I keep waffling on spending the money, but it’s fun to pick out shapes and colors like I’m actually going to do it.
I formally adopt Piper! She’s an Excellent Dog and fits into Chez Shasta & Winston like she was born into it. I’m looking forward to having a little girl in the house again. She is still being stubborn about the dog door. She picked up the stairs to the sofa and bed like a champ, so I’m not sure what her deal is.
Christmas finds me over at the Jones’ as usual after the usual pre-holiday travails: icy arctic blast, furnace breaks, dog comes down with explosive diarrhea, etc. Nevertheless, I rally for the holiday and enjoy the food, fun, fellowship and gift-giving. Heather and Justin’s dog Ana, and my dog, Piper, hate each other, and there were only two scuffles! It’s a Christmas miracle.
And…New Year’s will find me in Big Sandy at the Reeds’ gazoobola as usual. It’ll be the first time I take Piper out to the country, and I’m pretty sure she’s going to love the cat. As for the rest of us, we’ll be huddled around a bonfire late into the evening ringing in the new year with love, laughter and our framilies.
2022 was a good year - ups and downs as usual, but it wasn’t the shitshow that was 2021, thank goodness. I’m looking forward to another good year in 2023 - lots of plans already coming together, and I can’t wait to share them with you. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
