Don’t misconstrue the lack of new words here during the last few months as an indication that there’s been an excess of fly fishing in my life. As often happens, new priorities displace what was previously most important.

During the last few months, fly fishing, feeding this space, even a favorite pastime of seeing movies as intended – on the big screen – fell by the wayside. The lack of fishing through all of last year is a bit alarming. The fact that I spent more time fishing waters in Washington state, where I don’t live, is telling.

Instead, we have been working on the house, purging the unnecessary accumulation of clothing unlikely to ever fit again as well as renovating and rearranging. There are on-going efforts to simplify and economize; a re-thinking of what we do, how we do it and why we do it. A personal challenge to learn new, foreign and perhaps extraneous subject matter, but through this rediscovering that the process of learning remains as attractive as ever.

Occasionally, there was the welcome interruption of long drives from home in Northern California to visit family near Seattle and in Portland. I last wrote about our short holiday that took us to Los Angeles, Mexico and Disneyland.

I’ve missed writing for fun, for myself. While widespread rumors suggest blogging is dying at the hands of social media, I don’t write for “likes.” A single writer can’t compete with the sheer scale of Facebook. I write without expectation my words will be read, except perhaps by a few family members. I don’t write because it’s easy; sometimes self-doubt can even make it painful. It’s an exercise as much as it is a digital memory for those few who may be interested.

So here I am. A new host, a new layout, a new start for the stuff I will write.

I can’t promise what’s to come will be good, funny, thought provoking or simply interesting, or even if it will appear with regular frequency. Rest assured, it will be me.