100 Things
A list of things that made 2022.
Spurred on by creativity guru Austin Kleon, each January 1, I make a list of 100 things that made up the year in the rearview mirror. The list isn’t exhaustive or in ranked order. The list is chaotic, just as 2022 was chaotic.
Mainly the list is very much TL:DR. But making it was a way of evaluating my past and plotting my future. I’d like 2023 to be a year in which I share more writing, so I’m putting it here for your perusal, all glorious 2,500 words of it.
Rang in the New Year in Naples, Florida, celebrating with a terrific dinner at Bah! Bah! With Brad. Technically, that dinner was in 2021, but I’m going to include it. My list my rules. If you’re in Napals, eat at Bah! Bah!. Whether it’s New Year’s Eve or not. Because it has! Exclamation! Points! Galore!
Rode a Segway for the first time, when I…
Travelled to Nashville with Brad and friends Andrew and Nicole. I bought a new suitcase in glen plaid for the trip. When I opened the distinctive bag in the hotel room, it was full of stuff that wasn’t mine. Like a nuclear regulatory official, I had grabbed someone else’s bag from the carousel.
Discovered bread cheese. How have I not enjoyed this marvel before?
Hosted Brianna and Ben’s wedding reception at Nathaniel House, including
A bridesmaids’ overnight on the eve of the wedding.
Hosted Thanksgiving, serving both turkey and
A rib roast. Became obsessive about a new rib roast cooking method, that involves sitting the big beef in the Aga’s warming oven. Long and low creates the best, crispiest, brownest, fat cap possible.
Made Brad’s ancestral stuffing without snitching a single bit of the toasted white bread.
We sat 16 at the Thanksgiving table, including a handful of out-of-state cousins who bunked in for an extended country house weekend.
Given a critical mass of family, we buried the ashes of beloved and missed ancestors in a quirky and loving ceremony, dampening the cemetery lawn with tears, beers, and white wine.
Ate cod liver from a can. Mashed with hardboiled egg, parmesan cheese, and minced onion, it makes a nice lunch. Not all that fishy. No kidding.
Worked two major contracts for the cause—managing the MassGOP Nominating Convention in Springfield and
Coordinating a signature-gathering drive to place a repeal question on the November ballot. Being a Republican in Massachusetts is its own kind of trouble, but both projects were fun and ultimately successful.
Gained back some of the weight I lost in the pandemic. Credit the above…
Attended CPAC in Orlando, recon for a big gathering of activists.
Hosted a party to support Geoff Diehl for Governor. A band played and we danced in the barn. We managed to raise a bit of support for a tough campaign in a tough year.
Hosted a smaller party to support my buddy Anthony Amore for Auditor. Neither he nor Diehl made the cut.
Observed a primary recount in Beverly, to determine if a write-in candidate was being denied votes he should have received. It was a small recount of just a few select precincts, but a great opportunity to refresh on recount procedures.
Launched the petition drive for the driver’s license ballot question at a press conference in the parking lot of the Brockton RMV. Might have been my first time ever IN Brockton, not just passing through.
Observed a general election recount for the Rep. Mirra campaign, five towns in four days. The Mirra recount started with our guy up 9 votes and ended with him down 1. Not the way one hopes for things to go.
Spoke on the signature drive at a conference for activists sponsored by FAIR in Orlando.
Sat at the bar at the Loft and watched a Patriots game. (First time for everything!)
Settled on Caesar’s salad with anchovies, followed by shrimp cocktail as my go-to dinner at The Club.
Completed two ten-week writer group sessions, getting feedback on novel excerpts and pushing out two new story drafts. My writer pals, who hail from as far away as the swampland and as near as just the other side of the lake, nourish the best parts of my favorite work. Zoom’s magical meeting rooms, which I have grown to loathe in all other manifestations of my work and personal life, are my happy place on the Wednesday nights when we meet up.
Hosted writer pals for a mini-writing retreat at Nathaniel House, and
hosted the writer pals for a beach party, and the weather was fabulous.
Dug up Dahlia tubers, and then lost them. I since found them again, and will likely misplace them one more time before the ground warms for planting.
Returned with Brad to the cinema theater, seeing House of Gucci, Elvis, and a few less memorable things, after the long pandemic shut down. Movie dates are fun. If the fare were more enticing, we’d go more often.
Added a boarder to our household.
Hosted Trygve, Elsa, and Nick overnight during sugar season.
Made two batches of raspberry jam from raspberries grown in a patch I established a few years ago.
Soaked in the pool on numerous mornings before work, giving stressful days a luxurious and meditative start.
Hosted a birthday bash for myself, complete with a band and dancing in the barn. A cake. There was a cake, too.
Took part in campaign training roadshows held around the state.
Painted the music room red. Actually, Jeff painted it. He’s always got time in the schedule for a little work at Nathaniel House. And Nathaniel House is perennially in need of paint.
Worked out of the GOP offices in Woburn and Westford.
Attended too many meetings which proved the point that nothing important ever happens at meetings. At one, an elected representative donned a Tyvek suit and gas mask to protest in-person meetings and other elected members organized a walk out. Many RSC tactics make me feel like I’m reliving The Hastings Junior High Lunch room. And who wants to go back to eighth grade?
Helped a local candidate stuff and address envelopes at his regular volunteer nights. Great camaraderie, terrific reminder of how politics can be fun.
Had my picture taken with Conservative MP Nigel Farage. I usually pass on the grin and grip photos endemic to politics, but I’ll treasure my Nigel photo for life.
Got swindled by a fast-talking non-performer. I even saw it coming. The con artist overpromised, underbid, and wanted cash up front. Then, he said his grandmother got sick. Later, he changed phone numbers a few times. Eventually he dropped off the face of the earth. His failure to perform in the face of extremely limited time and financing meant redoubling the effort. This election year had more than enough low points to go around, and the DK affair was the lowest of the low.
Gardened less than previous years.
Grew marigolds from seed.
Helped Brad tap the big trees, cook down the maple water, and bottle our house brand of maple syrup.
Oversaw a garlic crop failure. The failure had a lot to do with the lack of rain and maybe even more with the lack of attention from Farmer Wendy.
Grew some tomatoes, though not as many as I used to, thanks to being busy with the convention during the time I’d usually plant the seeds and to my new identity as a carnivore.
Dried a lot of garlic that wasn’t likely to keep well. I’m not sure how to use it.
Pickled some of the same garlic, and gave a few jars to friends as hostess gifts. Still fielding questions about what one might do with pickled garlic.
Picked a good crop of garlic scapes at the end of June.
Planted a 2023 crop of garlic and vowed to tend it better than last year’s.
Toured the Gardner Museum with an expert guide in a most memorable way.
Read less than I would have liked. Implemented strategies to increase reading time, like curating the stack of books on my nightstand, putting some books on the Kindle for easier reading in low lights with aging eyes, and abandoning a few
Wrote plentifully, especially in the fourth quarter.
Shoveled the driveway. Less than an inch of slush and only the portion from the street to the mailbox, but I shoveled. Worth remembering.
Got to Shaws Cove for lots of weekends, and swam with the family at high tide, as I will to the end.
Completed the New York Times crossword puzzle nearly every day, online, and pretty often also worked the Sudoku, Wordle, and Spelling Bee.
Solved, always in pen, many Wall Street Journal crosswords on the dead tree edition that turns up at Nathaniel House in the morning. Crosswords must be done in pen, imo, because I hate the sensation of pencil on newsprint.
Kept jigsaws going on the table in the library, especially when company’s expected. Gave up completely on the Christmas puzzle, which lingered long enough after Christmas to start
Bought a cyclamen at the flower shop because it reminded me of my grandmother, Irma.
Extended election night at the Boston Harbor Hotel to a three day retreat. Appropriately.
Stayed at the Sheraton in Springfield, for the Convention and for a few nights ahead of the convention for planning. It’s a Sheraton, but it’s managed by Marriott. Or maybe it’s a Marriott, managed by Sheraton.
Enjoyed Weiner schnitzel and rosti at The Student Prince, Springfield’s great German restaurant, more than once. The food of childhood brings to mind my Swiss German Puppa.
On the first snowy night of the 2022-23 winter, was treated to an authentic Hungarian dinner, though the authentic Hungarian vegetarian hosts prepared the whole thing with meat substitutes.
Wore my gold lame dress to Brad’s office party, drank not a thing, nor ate a bite of food.
The day after the primary, kept a friend who suffered a big loss company, first soaking in the pool and then heading into Boston for lunch at Neptune Seafood because she wanted a lobster roll. Some days, only your political friends can be tolerated.
Split the Neptune raw seafood tower with John…It’s my favorite.
Ordered wall to wall carpet for the master bedroom and the south east bedchamber, though it won’t be installed until 2023.
In my ongoing effort to control blood sugar without medication, began eating almost completely carnivore.
Ate a lot of grilled and pan seared ribeye.
Bought and used a brain wave monitoring head band intended to assist with meditation and improve sleep quality. Current status: gathering dust.
Enhanced my wardrobe with lots from J. Peterman’s catalogue, the one with the zany descriptions and line drawings of the offerings. Yes, Elaine Benis fictionally worked there. And yes, it does seem like more of a gag than an actual clothing company.
Kept to my every-six-weeks-or-so facial routine with the excellent aesthetician Kerry Maher. I’m getting younger all the time!
Got my hair cut, twice I think, at Supercuts. I know I should probably level up my hair care, but I despise making appointments. During the pandemic shut downs, Supercuts required appointments, and I worried they’d never go back to the walk in way of operating.
Went to Brianna’s wedding shower at a sweet restaurant in … New Hampshire, somewhere. I was seated at the “friends of the grandmother of the bride” table, which would have made me feel old, but I was the youngest by 20 years.
Walked about at the Stevens Coolidge Place’s Winter Lights, a display of lights and oddities that sells out every year.
Redid the bathroom attached to the north facing bedroom, after a funny incident involving a jet-lagged visitor from the UK bathing and unexpected water coming though the ceiling in the boot room.
Cracked lobsters with Margot at the Shaw’s Cove picnic table.
Dined at Frankie’s cottage. Clams casino, made with little necks he dug himself.
Had a drink at the same bar I celebrated my last day working for the GOP in 2019, after the press conference in front of the Sam Adams statue on the plaza in front of Faneuil Hall.
Hosted a Christmas party with carols and eggnog for the first time since before the pandemic. (We had a small gathering last year, more notable for what it wasn’t than for what it was). All the Darwin siblings came, and most of the fabulous nieces and nephews, and about a hundred other fun people talking and singing and making all the merry that needed to be made.
Celebrated Ian and Leah’s engagement at a party with a bagpiper in Boxford on one of the hottest days of the year.
Rode around with Brad in his “occassion car,” an old Bentley.
Taught a friend’s son to snorkel.
Grew a beautiful canna lily from a tuber in a pot and set it by the pool.
Helped Brad put together a day-long off site meeting at the house, with about 40 folks coming from around the country to attend. We set the barn up for the meeting, and arranged a caterer to put on three meals and a snack.
Celebrated Barbie and Toby’s fortieth wedding anniversary at a lobster bake on the beach.
Shopped for mother-of-the-bride gowns with Brianna and Katie.
Went under the knife, to good results.
Watched a landscape company move the large, old, and well-established beauty bush. Probably didn’t water it enough, and am pretty sure it won’t survive in 2023.
Purchased the most beautiful shoes I have ever owned. They have a low heel and a gorgeous silk bow across the toe. I’ve worked them only a few times.
Purchased another pair of most beautiful shoes—red velvet with diamonds. Beautiful shoes can make a real change in a person’s mood.
Served on the host committee for the gala opening of Susan Darwin’s show at the Wamsutta Club.
Changed the pool filter. Four small words, huge accomplishment.
Danced under the Stevens Estate tent at the North Andover 350th Anniversary Gala. Sat at a table with my buddies Jim and Rosemary and CJ and Paul.
Celebrated Easter at Barbie and Toby’s, along with Tucker and Luiza and Luiza’s parents and Charlie, and we feasted on a leg of lamb, as we always do at Easter.
Celebrated Christmas with birthday boy Josh, and Ricki and Jack and George, and Tom. All Darwins but for me and Brad.
Joined the Y to take advantage of the sauna. I’ve been going and sitting on the cedar bench for a half an hour most days of the week. The research on the benefits of sauna have me converted. Side benefit—the other sauna goers make really good people watching.
Received a beautiful needlepoint rendering of the cottage from our sweet niece and nephew.
Took enough woodland walks (Stevens to Stevens Trail, Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, Holt Hill, Mary Cummings Park, Nasketucket Bay, and more) to remind myself that I love woodland walks and must push myself to make more time for forest bathing.
100.Kept at it with Brad, celebrating 34 years of marital bliss in April. He is, as e.e. cummings wrote, my sun, my moon, and all my stars.
Congrats on living well. This delicious redux has me licking my fingers. I shall try and write my own list. What a great idea.
Good to read you and Brad are hosting , traveling, feasting, partying, forest bathing and sharing days of awe.
Love the concept of memorializing your moments. Thanks for giving me peek into your year!