31 December 2021

The last day of 2021 was a “plan B” day: my youngest cat was feeling sick, and I spent a couple of hours looking for a vet (couldn’t find any) then finally managed to have a video call with a vet from an online vet service. As soon as the call was over and I had an overview of the worst-case scenarios, the little devil got up and started eating and playing like nothing happened. All’s well that ends well, but I had planned on spending that time baking cookies because a friend was coming to see me. Since I had no cookies and the friend was already on her way, I made a trip to the grocery store (I wanted to buy flour and yeast for some home-made pizza anyway) and picked a bag of cookies. I also bought a soft drink to go with the home-made pizza, but somehow, I completely forgot to pick the flour and the yeast, which I only realized later, when I was in the kitchen and ready to prepare the dough. 

In the afternoon I built a piece of furniture that I ordered online, something halfway between a shelf and a wardrobe. At first, I thought someone had put a couple of wrong pieces inside the box, but a few puzzling moments later I realized that it was me who had picked a couple of wrong pieces from the box, so I started all over again. With a lot of help from my healthy little cat, I managed to build the thing, which turned out to be my worst purchase in 2021. After setting it up in a place different than what I had planned, I turned on all the Christmas lights in the house and on the balcony, made myself a cup of tea, turned on the music, and worked on a story which had started out as something else a few years ago. I wrote until the moment I went into the kitchen to make pizza, but you already know how it ended.

I cooked some chicken curry with jasmine rice (which is still always a good choice) instead of baking pizza, and finished off my last day of the year with a piece of panettone (the Italian Christmas cake) that my friend brought me (thank you!!) and some ice cream. Plus, a glass of white wine from a bottle with a funny label - that’s how I choose my wines, a bit like those who pick books by the cover, I guess.

After dinner, I opened the 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle I bought a couple of months ago especially for the last night of the year. This, at least, went as planned. I was so engrossed in the task, that I only realized midnight had arrived because my dad called me. After sending and receiving a few messages from close friends and family, I decided to add just one more piece to the puzzle. 

And another. And another. And another. The film I was watching (“The Book Club”. Well, technically I was listening to it, as my attention was mostly focused on the puzzle) finished and started again, and I was still adding just another piece to the puzzle. I didn’t bother picking another film because I was adding just another piece. When the film ended the second time, it was almost 2 am and I decided I could call it a night and go to bed.

So, my 2021 officially ended, on a day so warm I kept the heating off the whole time. Which is not a good thing, if you think about it. I’m afraid planet Earth is going to need a plan B as well…