It will be quiet around here for the last week of the year because the spouse and I are currently on a large ship, enjoying warm weather and time away from the internet. Thank you so much to everyone who supports me in my little corner of the internet, whether you’re new to the blog or have been following my reading for years. I hope you have a lovely holiday season, however you choose to celebrate.
A slightly redacted version of the holiday letter we sent out with our annual cards is below.
December 2021
Dear Family & Friends,
Though the shenanigans have continued for 2021, Hanna, Erik, and the three cats remain happy and healthy. Hanna now works from home full-time on a permanent basis (and keeps dying her hair fun colors), while Erik commutes to north of Baltimore 4 days a week. As a bonus, we both accepted promotions in the past year!
Hanna still works with [redacted], where she is now a senior medical editor focusing on HIV and LGBT healthcare with additional duties as social media and online publication manager. This past summer, she published another novel in her fantasy series (Steel Justice), and she’s hard at work drafting the epic finale. She attended only online promotional events this year and lives in hope that the upcoming year will see a return to in-person conferences because she misses traveling for both of her jobs. Hanna spends her extra time reading all of the books and writing reviews of most of them, when not adding to the LEGO collection in the guest room.
Erik accepted a civilian position with the [redacted] at his Air National Guard base, though he still maintains his previous National Guard position with the [redacted] on the weekends. The biggest changes involve a new office across the street, wearing civilian clothing to work, and growing a beard every month in between drill weekends. Erik continues to take classes toward his Bachelor’s degree in Networking and Cybersecurity. Along with video games and helping friends with home renovation projects in his free time, Erik tries to watch every possible rocket launch online. Don’t mention SpaceX or Tesla around him—trust me on this one.
With travel otherwise limited, we took multiple road trips down to the Atlanta area to spend time with close friends over the past year instead. This included a side trip to Florida in August to see Erik’s dad and visit the Kennedy Space Center. In October, we also spent a lovely long weekend in western Maryland, when Hanna had the honor of officiating her best friend’s wedding.
The cats are a happy and (mostly) healthy 12 years old. It’s hard to admit that we now have geriatric cats, with some of the minor issues that come up with age, but they are still as affectionate and loveable as ever. For regular cat pictures and to stay up-to-date on Hanna’s writing news, sign up for her monthly email newsletter at jlgribble.com. We’re looking forward to spending the holidays on a tropical cruise with a few other family members—we’ll probably spend most of our time reading on our balcony, which isn’t much of a change from how we spent our cruises in the “before times.” Here’s to a safe and happy 2022. We keep all of you in our thoughts and hope you never hesitate to reach out if there’s anything we can help with.
Love,
Hanna & Erik, with Nicki, Lucy & Alex
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