Joining the chorus of appraisals after a year of the pandemic, I feel compelled to add my testimonial. Like so many people who have come through this nightmare unscathed, I have learned a lot about myself and life in general. At the same time, like many of you, the time has given me the opportunity to catch up and take on new challenges.<\/p>\n
I discovered a lot about people. It is clear that we need people to nurture ourselves; without them we are not complete. Even though I have become more reclusive as I have aged, I still miss human contact after a while. It is also clear to me that we are, indeed, our \u201cbrother\u2019s keeper,\u201d however sappy such sentiments might strike some. This last year, I\u2019ve become more appreciative of the many people who do things for all of us\u2014the UPS courier, the postal employees, and the garbage man. I now take more time to know them and say thanks.<\/p>\n
The big challenge for me has been to take on the challenge of writing something most days for this blog, the Potlatch Tertulia. I have done so with gusto, enjoying the task to come up with different topics every week that I hope make sense in some way to potential readers. As a result I have written about dogs, food, flowers, travel, and, of course, the pandemic and politics. My words on these pages represent who I am and what I believe. They are \u201cthe truth as I see it,\u201d nothing more.<\/p>\n
I have also used this past year to learn about cooking, something that has eluded me for most of my years. Though I\u2019ve always been a good eater, my cooking skills were largely limited to putting on the coffee, making a sandwich, or frying an egg. As I\u2018ve lived and travelled over the years, my palate has become more attuned to an increasing variety of tastes and foods. Being forced by the pandemic to eat exclusively at home gave me the incentive to take up cooking. Now I do much of the grocery shopping, planning and cooking. And I\u2019ve come to love getting all the stuff and cooking up something special. Most evenings, I turn on the television news, pour a glass of red wine, and get busy in the kitchen, pretending that I am the \u201cchef de la casa.\u201d It\u2019s not \u201crocket science.\u201d Just read the recipes, and keep practicing. After awhile, you can conjure up your own recipes.<\/p>\n
For me, this past year has been most rewarding. Most significantly, I have learned that I am still very much \u201ca work in progress\u201d capable of learning and becoming a better person.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Joining the chorus of appraisals after a year of the pandemic, I feel compelled to add my testimonial. Like so many people who have come through this nightmare unscathed, I have learned a lot about myself and life in general. At the same time, like many of you, the time has given me the opportunity…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-robert-fischer"],"yoast_head":"\n