Happy 2021, faithful readers!
You may have noticed that I didn’t post very often in 2020 (although I do hope you didn’t notice), and I certainly wrote many more posts than I actually published. I’ll blame that on pandemic-related anxiety; I know I wasn’t the only person who felt 2020 was a tough year.
2020 was a good year, too, for what it’s worth.
- I took second place at the Cheesemonger Invitational in San Francisco in January 2020.
- I got to visit the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco (also in January) and tried some neat things.
- My husband and I adopted a new baby cheese hound, Odin (who is now a year old and weighs 65 pounds).
- I went on a cheese and food getaway to Whidbey Island, WA, with my friend and co-conspirator, Tailor, just before everything got locked down, which gave us perspective on how to support local cheesemakers during COVID times.
- My husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a weekend getaway to Port Townsend, WA (and of course there was a huge cheese plate).
- I became the executive director of the Washington State Cheesemakers Association, and now I get to serve all of my favorite local cheesemakers.
- Tailor and I started a new business, Street Cheese, currently a mobile/online cheese shop.
- I survived working in a grocery store during a pandemic. It was nuts, y’all!
I hope you, too, can find some silver linings in everything that happened in 2020. And now, here we are in 2021. It’s not like everything changed suddenly overnight on December 31, but you know, it’s almost like we got a fresh start on January 1. (Right?!)
I’m taking the month of January off (officially, and not just because of the anxiety) from blogging, but I promise I’ll be back in February. I have lots of ideas and things I’d like to cover. Knowledge is power, and I believe that everyone should feel empowered when they go to the store to buy cheese.
If there’s anything you’d like to learn about–burning questions about cheese care, styles, how to ask for Garrotxa with confidence, whatever–just shoot me an e-mail and I’ll see what I can do.
I wish you a hearty, full-bellied, cheesy Happy New Year. I hope you and everyone you love is happy and well, and that your refrigerator cheese drawer is overflowing with goodies.
Cheers!
Courtney, The PhCheese