Girl Clown Dancing
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Blogiversary Time

2/24/2021

12 Comments

 
Picture

Girl Clown Dancing is six years old this month.   
 
So, as I’ve done each February since 2016, here’s a roundup of my favorite GCD essays from the last year. Looking
back helps me remember where I was over the last 12 months; also, it’s a glimpse of where I might be in 2021.    
 
Not surprisingly, almost every post touched on COVID-19.
 
Of course, just like most folks on the planet last January, I knew nothing of the coming pandemic.
 
So, I wrote then about having to stop the yoga class I loved after one pose that screwed up my glut so severely
that I needed to go to urgent care (https://hilaryrobertsgrant.weebly.com/blog/hip). (Initially, I thought I’d
injured my hip; hence, the post’s title.)
 
I took some time off and in early March, found a different teacher who had a gentler practice. I paid for a series
of classes, but my timing was lousy. A week later, the plague was official and as of this posting, the studio
remains closed. 
 
However, and still blissfully unaware that the Hubster and I were going to be home a lot more, another purchase
was spot-on.
 
On an impulse, we bought an oversized puffy recliner not long after the glut incident, placing it in front of
our nearly floor-to-ceiling bay window. For a piece of furniture, it’s given us many hours of peace and
comfort (https://hilaryrobertsgrant.weebly.com/blog/reclining).
 
Also, like many folks who have found that spending time in the kitchen is cheaper than therapy, cooking and baking
old-timey favorites helped me cope.  
 
To that end, I wrote about the Zen that comes from making snowball cookies in March
(https://hilaryrobertsgrant.weebly.com/blog/snowballs); the nostalgia of whipping up a vintage, lime green Jell-O
salad in June (https://hilaryrobertsgrant.weebly.com/blog/jell-o), and finding the best carrot cake ever in a
most unlikely place in October (https://hilaryrobertsgrant.weebly.com/blog/carrot-cake).
 
There were somber essays, too.
 
May’s post is my take on a sermon from the Hubster’s pastor, first heard on a spring Sunday via Zoom. I knew
this piece probably wasn’t going to get the same number of views as my thoughts on snowball cookies, and
I was right. Now, I’m hoping more people might take the time to read it (https://hilaryrobertsgrant.weebly.com/blog/in-between-time). 
 
My final post of 2020 reviewed one of the worst years ever. And because there was a lot of not-great stuff to
cover, it's one of the wordiest posts of the year. (https://hilaryrobertsgrant.weebly.com/blog/2020).
 
On this topic, raconteur Mark Twain once wrote, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” I concur; mindful wordsmithing that produces a just-right piece is absolutely more challenging to do than spilling out every thought about every little thing.  
 
So, a promise.
 
I’ll continue to do my best toward keeping a tight rein on posts, trying for 1,000 words or less.
 
Thanks for continuing to hang with this Girl Clown. 
 
Also, here’s to a year of great fortune, which includes wrangling a once-in-a-century pandemic that in one way
or another, has affected all of us. 
12 Comments
Kimberly
2/24/2021 06:39:05 pm

Happy Blogiversary Hilary! I love the photo for it. Thanks for the blogs. We have become big fans of The British Baking Show as our 'getaway' (we hadn't seen it yet) it has led us also to kitchen adventures, a wonderful way of coping-the kids are loving helping cook and i'm enjoying sampling their projects : ). All the best in 2021!

Reply
Hilary
2/24/2021 09:49:43 pm

Cooking can be so relaxing, and it's fun to try new things. Katie got me an early Mother's Day present of a wok, and I am loving it. I made from scratch egg foo young last week and it was much easier to make than I thought -- and tasted super good, too. And as I wrote, it's cheaper than therapy! Life WILL be better sooner than later!

Reply
andrea peck
2/24/2021 07:53:05 pm

Too long? No way, it read like butter. Keep doing---and writing about it.

Reply
Hilary Grant
2/24/2021 09:51:44 pm

Aw, thanks. But my essays are much more readable than they were in the early years, and part of that has to do with whittling them down to the essentials. Lots of practice on my part, and the writing workshop I did a few years ago in Guatemala w/ Joyce Maynard was a huge help. I still think you should go! :)

Reply
leslie spoon
2/25/2021 10:59:18 am

Hilary thank you !

Reply
Hilary
2/25/2021 01:38:14 pm

Thank YOU for being a loyal fan from the very beginning! :)

Reply
Kerri
2/26/2021 05:09:00 pm

I sure do enjoy your writing! I mean, you are great- kinda like a modern day Mark Twain or Garrison Keillor. Of course I almost always agree with your insight! Thank you, and please keep ‘em coming.

Reply
Hilary
2/27/2021 12:02:29 pm

Thank you for being a fan from the very first blog! I plan to keep this blog up as long as possible. xoxo

Reply
Larry Grant
2/28/2021 05:31:14 pm

Yep! Quite the year! I'm grateful that we have each other through it all.

Reply
Hilary
2/28/2021 10:30:49 pm

Agree! xoxo

Reply
Cathy
3/4/2021 04:59:10 pm

Happy FriendsAversity. I wasn't sure that email would send any messages. Glad we are all still surviving. I get my 1st shot tonight, I had to book one in AG because our supplies around here are being sent in low quantities!

Reply
Hilary
3/7/2021 12:17:22 pm

AG isn't bad at all! We ended up being able to get ours at our local pharmacy, but we were on a couple of other lists, including one that would have involved a trip to Portland -- three hours away. But, we would have done it. Thankfully, more places are getting the vaccine now and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine promises to be a game changer in terms of availability. Finally, seeing a real light at the end of this tunnel. Can't wait 'til our second Moderna dose in a few weeks!

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    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
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