At the end of my post about living in New Mexico in 2020, I optimistically predicted 2121 would see ways to protect the population form COVID and that we would be able to get back to normal.
Well, I was partially correct.
We saw the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines and many people got the shots. We had to drive to Amarillo, Texas to get our first shot because New Mexico was slower than some other states to make the shots available to our age group. But there were still masking and distancing regulations up to the end of 2021 and beyond. We still haven’t returned to driving around New Mexico, but we have managed to stay busy and to take three trips.
In July, we went to Bainbridge Island to spend some time with Kate, Abby, and Claire and Linda and Larry. In September we went to Illinois to spend some time with my siblings as a way to memorialize our mother, who died in late 2020. We had a good bit of time together and we had a nice picnic with about 25 people. In December we went to Bainbridge Island and Seattle to spend Christmas with Linda Larry, and Wendy.
Things did open up a little bit and we were able to see some flamenco in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The Festival Flamenco Internacional (FFI), which is put on by the National Institute of Flamenco (I am a board member for NIF), usually brings many artists from Spain to perform in Albuquerque, but it was impossible to get visas for them to travel to the US in 2021, so all the performers were people who live in the United States. Attendance at all venues in New Mexico was still limited in July, but we still had a good festival. We always spend festival week in Albuquerque, and we did so in 2021, too.
In October In October, Ann and Max–Hannah’s other grandparents–drove over from Arizona to spend a few days in Santa Fe. We really enjoyed spending time with them and arranging trips to see petroglyphs and museums, and sharing a few meals. We took a lot of pictures and one of my next tasks is to organize some of them into an album.
I created an album, Living in New Mexico, 2021, with pictures we took throughout the year. I hope you enjoy them.