January 20th, 2021, was an interesting and enjoyable day.

As a government contractor, I had the day because the government was closed in the DC area for the inauguration.

The bonus was I took an extra day off on Tuesday to give myself a long five day weekend. Doing so gave me a much-needed break from work and allowed me to get things done but still relax too.

My Midday Walk

So I slept in a bit and laid in bed and read some.

Then I realized I need to get going for a walk since I typically take a 20 or 25-minute walk around lunchtime. Today I wanted to be home around noon to watch the inauguration ceremony.

So I got dressed and gathered my things. I then went for an hour and eight-minute walk that covered 3.1 miles in the process.

Late Breakfast

Once back home, I toasted up a piece of baguette that I sliced in half lengthwise. When it was done, I added some cream cheese and strawberry jam to hold me over to closer to noon.

I started eating my breakfast and looking at Twitter to see what everyone was saying about the day’s events.

After a bit more reading, I started some blog post editing. I need to keep ahead of things by a day or more. So all I have to do is edit them the night before posting and maybe a final check the day they go live.

Lunch

For the Inauguration, I wanted a bit of a different meal for the event.

So I made a large bowl of popcorn that fit in my blue plastic bowl that is about 12 inches wide and three inches deep and was filled past the rim.

The main meal items were two types of cheeses, an aged white cheddar, and a stinky Smythe cheese. Two types of cured meats from The Fermented Pig.

Some plain crackers and a super sharp pairing knife I got at the flea market were on my cutting board. I needed a sharp knife to cut the meat and cheese.

The cutting board was from Martha’s Vineyard that I purchased 30+ years ago on a trip there.

NOTE – I need to get back to Martha’s Vineyard again after it’s safe to do so.

Inauguration Ceremony Viewing

I watch the inauguration ceremony on CNN.com since I got rid of my cable TV in the early fall of 2019.

I started watching somewhere about 11:30 AM or so. I was able to see Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez both sing.

I then witnessed history with the swearing-in of Vice President Kamala Harris. She is the first-ever Black, South Asian, and woman Vice President in the United States.

Following that, I watched President Joe Biden get sworn in. He gave an excellent speech on the country needing to unite and work things out together even if people have differences. That’s my summary if you want all the details to watch his speech again on the internet.

Then the star of the show was listening to Amanda Gorman’s poem. She is an American poet and activist from Los Angeles, California.

Today’s “The Hill We Kill” poem during the ceremony was very moving. I even went back and listened to it again later Tuesday evening.

I’m looking for great things from her in the future.

Post Ceremony

Once the ceremony was over, I listened to a bit more of the CNN commentators. At the same time, I was looking to see what friends on Twitter were saying. After some more listening and reading for about an additional 30 minutes, I stopped. I then took a nap on my sofa to unwind a bit.

After the ceremony, I cleaned up my desk of the food, of course.

Once refreshed from about an hour nap, I watched a few videos on YouTube and then for another walk.

Once back from my second walk of the day, I edited a few future blog posts and wrote most of this post.

Later tonight, I plan to do a bit of rereading and editing of this post, so it’s ready for posting on Thursday.

The Future

As for myself and many others, I follow on Twitter. We are all looking for a much quieter four years with Joe Biden as President. Some even said boring would be good for a change, and I agree.

Meaning I expect him to work towards his promises. We need to make sure the House and Senate both work to the benefit of the people of the country they serve and not their parties.

Mostly they need to work towards repairing the divide that has happened in the last four years and ones before it too.

So here is to less drama and more nation-building. While making things safe for all citizens in the United States and abroad.