2014 in review: Abundant reptiles

At least things happened in 2014, to me, I mean. Here are some highlights:

I ushered in the New Year with my friends Lisa and Aaron in Denver–friends I’ve known for more than a decade but saw only a couple of times during my recent years-long stint in Colorado. That’s mostly my fault; I developed a weird aversion to Denver for reasons I don’t quite understand, other than not having good memories of living there. As is so often the case, I have been a far lousier friend than people deserve. I’m glad, though, that I got to spend New Year’s Eve with them and their boys.

In May, I took a (very spontaneous) road trip with my nephews, niece, and sister-in-law to visit her family in Indiana. I like her relatives–they were very warm and welcoming. Plus, she’s one of my favorite people, so it was fun to share this adventure!My book club in Colorado rocked. They kept me sane.

Family friend Kendra came out for part of the summer. We had a really great talk by Nymph Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park (and watched a garter snake swimming around) over the Fourth of July weekend.

In July, I saw my friend Marianne for the first time since grad school and met her husband, Mark. The days with them were relaxing and gentle–no WiFi, just books, pelicans, and the beach. And a serpentarium, because Marianne is cool. We especially enjoyed watching employees extract venom from rattlesnakes and copperheads (and saw a rattlesnake treated for a mouth infection, shown).

Then I visited my sister and brother-in-law and made my first quilt. We also went to the beach, I visited the Cape Fear Museum and the Cape Fear Serpentarium, and all three of us went to the aquarium and butterfly house.Then I visited my friends Kate and Gordon and their daughters in Savannah. I couldn’t believe it had been three years since I’d seen them. I also caught up with some friends from my years in Savannah, one of whom, Beth, e-mailed me a month later about a potential job about an hour away.