No, I am not going to delve into private things or things that would make a reader go “Ewwww!” It will be a look into more general things that have had an effect on me in 2021. It also won’t be a long list since I am somewhat of a boring person.
Here goes:
- One of the most pleasant things that occurred was reconnecting with an old flame, Katy. We’d known each other for almost 40 years and kept in touch on an irregular basis. She called me out of the blue at the beginning of the year, asking me for some advice for her older brother who was going to be going through the whole security clearance process for a new job. After that there were regular phone calls and texts, and then in July she came up to New Hampshire for the long Fourth of July weekend. “And the rest is history...”There are a lot of other things I could list ad nauseum, but I have a feeling you really wouldn’t be interested. So we’ll let it finish here.
- With the exception of July, I spent a lot of time out on Lake Winnipesaukee during this past boating season. July was quite cool and rainy, so neither BeezleBub or I made it out on the boat. However, we more than made up for it in September and October with regular trips, with our last trip taking place in the first weekend in November when we finally pulled the boat out of the water for the season.
- I worked a lot of overtime this year, putting in an average of 55 hours a week. (Considering I worked from home about 50% of the time, working the overtime wasn’t nearly as onerous as it might have been.) Even though nominally salaried, my employer still compensated me and my fellow engineering types with overtime pay, so my bank accounts were healthier than they otherwise might have been. I also spent a lot less money this year, not having the time to spend much and that which I did spend being more targeted and not impulse buys. It’s amazing how much you can save when you spend a lot less than you make!
- I finally got the generator transfer switch installed. It only took four months of waiting before an electrician, a family friend, was finally able to make the time after his regular work hours to do the install. (Tradesmen of all types are in very short supply because the demand is so high.) Now we have the means to power The Gulch in the event of a power outage, something known to happen around here over the winter months. I have to admit that I felt ‘naked’ without the ability to connect emergency power to The Gulch.
- I have become embroiled with the whole AirBnB kerfuffle here along Lake Winnipesaukee. Our town and others along the lake have seen a lot of homes being bought by out-of-state LLCs and converted to short term rentals. This has caused a number of problems, between homes no longer housing families and noise complaints coming from neighbors of those AirBnBs along with other inconveniences being caused by them. There is little in the way of regulations covering AirBnBs and its causing a lot of problems. Since I deal with zoning issues here in my home town I am now working with others in our town to resolve some of the problems with some kind of regulations on these short term rentals and making sure the owners of those properties will have skin in the game if their property becomes a chronic problem. It’s only fair to the neighbors of those short term rental properties.