First of; it’s 2021 (and has been for a few days), and the annus horribilis that was 2020 is behind us. It is my sincere hope that this will be a better year than the last, and with that in mind let me wish you all “Til árs ok friðar!” – to a good year and peace! I hope your midwinter celebration – no matter what you call them – went well, and that each and everyone one of you is in good health.

Secondly.. as some of you may have noticed, I’ve been kind of quiet since, oh, November? I know my participation on social media – forums, reddit, twitter – dwindled a bit before my blog went quiet too. Short version as to why is… well… feeling under the weather is such a cliche. In this case it is pretty spot on though… I’ve been overworked¹ and with the general darkness, damp, and Yuletime stress I just felt like meh. I had to prioritize family first, and I do feel bad about not letting y’all know that I was going to run silent for a while.

Things are, however, looking better. Snow is on the ground, so it’s not so dark. I’ve found some time to play on the lathe, which is always good for my stress levels. And there is a chance this coming year will be less stressful at work.

I’ll take the time to ‘fill in’ the blank dates on my blog, even if that will eat into my planned buffer. I hope you all stay safe, enjoys your shaves, and takes care of yourselves!

1) One man deep in my section, and all the things that were supposed to happen in spring and summer got pushed to fall due to the pandemic…