2021 is here! Yahoo! Happy New Year! Whew! I thought it would never come! Closing 2020 with a quiet bang, I look to opening up 2021 with enthusiastic gusto!

But like so many others, I reminisced about meaningful past New Year’s Eves, and one repeatedly came to mind. In 2017 many square dance callers and dancers met in Green Valley, Arizona to witness Marshall Flippo call at his last square dance on New Year’s Eve 2017.

Many national callers came out to see their mentor and friend end a 60 year+ career. Numerous dancers traveled from far and wide to hear Flippo call one last time. I felt the magic in the air that night—sadness mixed with deep love and appreciation. I will never forget that evening nor my dear friends in attendance.

This year, we celebrated a quiet one. We watched “Bells of St. Mary” with Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman and cried at the ending even though we had seen it before. After the movie, we prepped an elk roast and vegetables to cook in the crockpot overnight for our New Year’s Day dinner. Then we ended the year watching the celebration on the plaza in Santa Fe, NM—what a New Mexican party it was. I loved that they sang, “Las Mañanitas!” to bring in the new year!

So, let’s talk about this new year. 2021 is an empty book, a new chapter, today a blank page in my life! What will I do in 2021 with still so much uncertainty? Yes, we have the vaccine, but not many people have been inoculated yet. So, we need to be cautious and use those familiar safety suggestions:

• Masks
• Social distancing
• Wash, wash, wash our hands

That just reminded me of a hilarious experience Lin and I had on cruises we have taken. Greeting us at the door of any restaurant onboard, two ship employees sprayed our hands with sanitizer and sang, “Washy, washy.” What made this so hilarious was the enthusiasm they did their task with—smiles and pure joy! I wish most Americans handled all the safety suggestions with such joy and enthusiasm!

So, as I ponder 2021, I think about a day in this year as being a blank page—the nemesis of many writers. I love the sight of a clean page, a new year, a new beginning. I choose what’s written there. I choose my attitude with which I face each day. I choose to be positive and proactive.

So, I spent part of yesterday and today reading book marketing ideas to prepare for this new year as an author. I jotted down several new ideas to incorporate into my plan for 2021. I also thought about how I want my life to be different, especially incorporating what I learned in my solitude in 2020.

So, here’s my list (more than book marketing stuff):

• Publish a new book, Bitter or Better: My Year’s Coronavirus Journey
• Do my daily Quiet time
• Dance
• Attend recovery meetings
• Dance
• Promote my books, especially the Flippo book at dance events
• Dance
• Exercise
• Dance
• Spend time outside in nature
• Dance
• Connect face-to-face or virtually with family and friends
• Dance
• Recreational Reading
• Dance
• Visit our family ranch in Colorado
• Dance

As you can see, dancing tops my list of activities I want to add back this year.

As I face 2021, a year with possibilities, adventures and people, I wonder. I know I thought 2020 had all those possibilities. Will this year be different or more of the same? I’m sure the first part will feel very similar to 2020, but hopefully mid-year 2021 will take a turn towards normalcy.

What do you think?

I do want to end with some 2020 humor. This was shared our Next Door app before the end of the year, and I thought it was hilarious:

2020 – A YEAR IN REVIEW!!! I hope everyone can get a chuckle from this!

1. The dumbest thing I ever bought was a 2020 planner.
2. I was so bored I called Jake from State Farm just to talk to someone He asked me what I was wearing.
3. 2019: Stay away from negative people. 2020: Stay away from positive people.
4. The world has turned upside down. Old folks are sneaking out of the house & their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors! 5. This morning I saw a neighbor talking to her dog. It was obvious she thought her dog understood her. I came into my house & told my cat. We laughed a lot.
5. Every few days try your jeans on just to make sure they fit. Pajamas will have you believe all is well.
6. Does anyone know if we can take showers yet or should we just keep washing our hands?
7. This virus has done what no woman has been able to do. Cancel sports, shut down all bars & keep men at home!
8. I never thought the comment, “I wouldn’t touch him/her with a 6-foot pole” would become a national policy, but here we are! 10. I need to practice social-distancing from the refrigerator.
9. I hope the weather is good tomorrow for my trip to the Backyard. I’m getting tired of the Living Room.
10. Appropriate analogy. “The curve is flattening so we can start lifting restrictions now” is like saying: “The parachute has slowed our rate of descent, so we can take it off now.”
11. Never in a million years could I have imagined I would go up to a bank teller wearing a mask & asking for money.
12. The spread of COVID-19 is based on 2 things:
    1. How dense the population is;
    1. How dense the population is.

~Visit my Christmas blog posts:

• Good bye 2020, Hello ’21! https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/31/good-bye-2020-hello-2021/
• Did the Coronavirus “Stay At Home” Rulings Affect Your Christmas Plans? https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/27/did-the-coronavirus-stay-at-home-ruling-affect-your-christmas-plans/
• Lin & Larada’s Christmas Newsletter and Decorations:https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/24/lin-and-laradas-christmas-newsletter-decorations/
• Charles Dickens’ Message for Christmas 2020:https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/20/charles-dickens-message-for-christmas-2020/
• What is Your Favorite Christmas Memory?https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/17/whats-your-favorite-christmas-memory/
• Christmas Shopping During the Pandemic?https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/13/christmas-shopping-during-the-pandemic/
• When Do You Put Up Your Christmas Tree? https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/10/when-do-you-put-up-your-christmas-tree/
• Holiday Greetings from the Flippos’ and Who Else? https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/06/holiday-greetings-from-the-flippos-and-who-else/
• Enjoy Three New Mexico Christmas Traditions! https://laradasbooks.com/2020/12/02/enjoy-three-new-mexico-christmas-traditions/

~HAVE YOU ORDERED A PERSONALLY AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THE FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR A LOVED ONE OR YOURSELF?   AVAILABLE NOW! Go to the homepage on my website & pay for it there: https://www.laradasbooks.com

~Here’s Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When Its Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

ALL FOUR E-BOOK FORMATS OF FLIPPO’S BIOGRAPHY AVAILABLE NOW:

• Apple Books (US) – https://books.apple.com/us/book/just-another-square-dance-caller/id151164203 
• Kobo (US) –  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/just-another-square-dance-caller 
• Apple Books (CA) – https://books.apple.com/ca/book/just-another-square-dance-caller/id1511642036 
• Apple Books (UK) – https://books.apple.com/gb/book/just-another-square-dance-caller/id1511642036       
• Apple Books (AU) – https://books.apple.com/au/book/just-another-square-dance-caller/id151164(US)
• Amazon Kindle (US) – https://www.amazon.com/Just-Another-Square-Dance-Caller-ebook/dp/B088QS9RH8  
• Amazon Kindle (UK) – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088QS9RH8
• Amazon Kindle (CA) – https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B088QS9RH8          
• Barnes & Noble Nook (US) – https://www.barnes&noble.com/s/just%20another%20square%20dance%20caller

~Visit my web site for all the information you need about me & my books:  https://www.laradasbooks.com

~ END OF THE YEAR SALE: Visit my Etsy Shop for 25% off individual paperback titles & bundles. Good until JANUARY 15, 2021. https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft

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