I toasted the new year with the Hadlocks, John M. and Adam H. there too. The kids, who’d been having their own party downstairs, came up to light sparklers at midnight.

Adam and I split off, grabbed a couple of mortars, and put on our own little show. It ended early when one of the shells blew up early, destroying its tube – SO LOUD! – but it was still fun. Fireworks look so good in the fog, and there’s something graceful about the high-frequency sound attenuation.

Heden was still rocking at 1 AM and I spent a few more hours catching up with friends there. It was good to reconnect. I met a couple of new folks too, but mostly I wanted to stop being such a stranger…

The next couple of days I spent getting ready for my own New Year’s party, which I threw on Saturday the 4th. It was a great excuse to clean and especially to redecorate. I set up the downstairs living room as a big lounge, with lots of seating and cushions, and spent some time sorting out the office.

The party went really well. Divide and Jacqueline parked their Tiki Tank in the back yard, so we had funky lights and loud music on the porch and out by the fire pit. We set off three dozen roman candles at 11 pm – it was a wonderful racket, the back yard full of smoke and people cheering. People came and went all night – I think the last guests arrived around 2 am – and the house was always full but never crowded. I think I went to bed around five, and there were still at least a dozen people hanging out downstairs talking and listening to music.

It felt really good. This was one of the major reasons I wanted to buy a house in the first place. I’m looking forward to more.