annus horribilis (horrible year)

So this year, what can you say? Covid has put paid to so many plans. For those directly affected by the loss of a job or more significantly the loss of a loved one it?ll surely be a horrible year to look back on.

For those of us who?ve escaped such trauma I guess from posts I?ve read over the year it?s been a mixed bag dressing wise. For some the change in work arrangements has been liberating. Working from home has given the opportunity to dress with much greater freedom and regularity. Others will miss the freedom to go out and about unhindered That said, mask wearing has given many extra confidence to get out there and who knows, once this pandemic finally abates then there could well be a good few more of our community to be found walking the shopping malls and dining out enfemme.

For me, thankfully all the family has stayed safe and well. Being retired lockdowns haven?t impacted my daily life that badly. So okay, I reckon for each month that?s passed since this all started my average beer consumption is down to a pint a month and I do miss the lads banter on our regular pub nights out but beyond that it?s just been the case that we need to be careful when out in public spaces, wear a mask, sanitise hands and try to keep distant.

As for the CD side, our domestic routine does allow me to wear a skirt and tee or a dress for some time each day as well as underdressing in hose and knickers most of the time. This is sufficient to keep me sane; in fact I?d go as far as saying happy in the state of my CD?ing. It?s not as good as it was, I miss my Saturday afternoons home alone for 4-5 hours but the difference I?ll live with.
The biggie for me was the loss of my week?s solo holiday which would have again given me the opportunity to be enfemme 24/7 and to be out and about 12-15 hours each day in late November. I had altered my accommodation booking to be this coming February but with the new strains of the virus now spreading and a national lockdown almost inevitable I?m resigned to seeing that opportunity slip away. November 2021 looks to be my next option.

The other thing that is different about this year is I can?t remember buying a single new stitch of clothing. Tell a lie, 2 pairs of heels from Next online in the Jan sales but the shops don?t tend to stock size 9?s anyway so I?m not counting those. I?d vowed to only buy other than in exception circumstances any clothing unless I?d tried it on in-store. Pennies were saved for a November shop-fest and??. I did save a few items my SO sent off to charity that fitted me but they only sort of count.

So if I had to rate this past year for society it?s been dire; for me personally 7 out of 10. It would be easy to mark it lower but life is what you make of it so I?ll just stay calm, keep dressing and try not to put too many holes in the few tights I have left. And who knows, next year may turn out to be annus mirabilis (wonderful year).

Yes it has been a weird year. We did not travel like we normally do, also did not go out to restaurants and bars like we used too. All of that gave us more spending money that we couldn't go out and spend, se we have been remolding the house, projects we have put off for years! Yet we paid off all our bills and probably spent another $10,000 on the house. My wife got laid off for a few weeks and more stimulus money that we really didn't need.

My wife is accepting, so more time to dress and more time to spend together. More money to buy clothes.

We have not seen much of our relatives and friends, so that sucks. My mom needed some minor things repaired for her house, I just bought he new items and told her to toss the old stuff. Much good and bad, all at the same time.

Compliments of the season to everyone!

It has been a frustrating year! So many plans put on hold. I had planned to visit the UK in October, but had to defer this to late January/early February. Now these too are in jeopardy.

One has learned to live one day at a time, which is possibly a very good thing. One has learned to appreciate the little things we take for granted, especially one's health and relationships. One feels for those who have lost loved ones, or suffered the anxiety of either having Covid oneself, or watching a loved one fighting the virus, or even the strain of having a Covid test and having to wait for the result.

I have recently retired, so I have been spared the financial woes which too many have faced this year. Dressing has not been an issue, as I am now in my own place with complete freedom to dress as and when I please. This has been a boon.

With a competent government and health system, and a team of 5 million sensible and law-abiding fellow-citizens, we are in the fortunate position of being able to meet up with all the whanau (extended family) on Christmas Day. It seems surreal, reading of the awful situation in so many other parts of the world.

Best wishes to all on this forum. May the rest of 2020 bring peace and good cheer. And may the word of the year in 2021 be 'vaccine'.
Gale

I feel like this is the worst year of my life. My career blew up in my face after 20 years at the beginning of the year. I was rejected from the state for unemployment and my mother came back from Florida as a sick woman. She was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away on February 10th. That was the first of many deaths of my family and friends, which included a close uncle, a dear friend, and a couple cousins. I started a new job at a retail associate at the end of April and have been dressing too. Of course, the Covid issues have affected my life too, since my step-daughter's school is closed and potential new jobs are not open.

I can't wait to drink away 2020 and celebrate 2021, especially since that means that we get to welcome a new President and tell "Fearless Leader" good bye!!!

I don't mean to diminish the loss of so many people or the disruptions to, well, every part of life. That said, more time at home in 2020 has meant more time to play in my lingerie drawer. In the Spring and Summer, I was in full time girl mode, in and out of the house. 2020 is also the year I pierced my ears and started visiting the eyebrow salon (see my expired posts on each listed in my profile). I also began experimenting with hybrid mode (not trying to pass as female, just a man who likes to wear cute girls' clothes). I came out to my neighbors so I come and go, dressed however, without a care in the world. No more sneaking around. It's too cold to be out now but I will be back in public in the Spring. Yay!!

I was lucky to have a job that I can do more easily from home. It helps to have two extra computers and a fast Internet connection.

I bought a dozen pairs of heels and a half dozen nice sweaters, nearly all at deep discounts. I bought one sweater at full price because I can do that as well. :)

I did ton of gardening. Worked toward cleaning up the house. Getting much better at cooking now that I've making two or three meals a day. Working on seasoning food to a particular taste goal.
Getting much better at sewing even though I rarely do it because I've also learned how to buy clothes that fit well right off the discount racks.

Marion

The covid has helped online shopping to skyrocket and the deliveries of those products a breeze. Most people understand why their purchase is left in the garage, driveway on on the porch. Faster deliveries means more stops, more money to shop with and more time to dress.

Yeah, been a funny old year, Im in a dadt, normally dress at my holiday home, but obviously cant, brought all my clothes home, and somehow started to drift into dressing, then a little makeup, then the full Monty, right in front of my wife, nothing said, and she was ok with it, we just chatted as normal, yes very strange year.

Only thing I can respond to is your beer consumption, Helen. I switched from beer to red wine 10+ years ago. Still get the buzz without the carbs. Dropped 8 pounds immediately that never came back. :thumbsup:

And, my doctor says the wine is GOOD FOR ME!:eek:
(One glass only.):heehee:

This year is drawing to a close with some limited holiday festivities. The outside of our home is fully decorated with Christmas lights and blow molds of Santa (white and African American), snowman, penguin, polar bear, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and an angel hovering over the trio, a huge Santa Claus face and standing angel over the converted garage, rows of red and green lit candy canes. Covid was not going to get me down. Neighborhood kids enjoy the display. Inside is decorated with tree and angel displays. The downside? My wife still worked her ass off making goodies for the kids and grandkids. On the plus side, no big meal preparation. Kids will drop off presents and pick up their presents. My wife wants to allow them in the house for a limited masked up time. That's the heart break of the year. Winter isolation.

Yes, covid has mean zero dressing. The last time of any consequences was last New Years' Eve when my wife babysat our grandson over night thirty-five miles away. We really do not expect any change until mid summer. Maybe an early warm spring when people can sit apart in our backyard. I have some projects lined up for the spring. My wife and I play the game right. With or without the vaccine we will survive.

I retired at the end of July 2018 and managed to squeeze a trip to Norway in before things got crazy. Now as each month home bound ticks by the amount of my retirement spent in lockdown will eventually be half of my retirement. While I am able to soldier through there have been things that did not go as planned.

About a year ago I attempted to diet but that didn?t work out as planned. Therapy is progressing slower than expected and is not the instant revelation I imagined. My mother in law passed away in March which was very difficult as my wife cared for her until the end. When the siblings divided the estate one brother stepped forward to purchase a family lake home. My wife and I had been using the place as a getaway and that gave me some dressing opportunities but that is all gone with the sale.

I am in a DADT so I cannot shop and take deliveries. My wife pays the bills so I cannot risk orders that might show detail on a CC statement. Crossdressing right now consists of shaving, nail care and underdressing.

I have a measure of dysphoria but not to the extent where I cannot function if I cannot dress fully. I have a lot of things to work on and one is to find a way to dress more which will require a revised talk. If someone asked me this time last year I would have probably thought I would have resolved those issues. Unfortunately things did not go as planned but I am ready to get up, dust myself off and try again. Admittedly it is getting harder to hold this all inside so I am hoping for a better 2021. My problems are insignificant in the bigger picture of things.

The lockdown is being spent buying guitars, effects pedals and writing and recording. My musical hobby is helping me to stay sane.

Twenty twenty was an odd year, to say the least. Thankfully, I was able to keep my job and sanity for the most part. However, traveling for work was practically nonexistent, so my Monica time was severely curtailed. My significant other has no interest in seeing or hearing about Monica, and she has been working from home the whole time, so there was that. I did get a few opportunities to fly out to other cities and took advantage to bring Monica along for the ride. I must also admit that after several months of lock down, I reverted to a couple of dating app hookups which were fun, odd and exhilarating all at once. Here's hoping 2021 is a vast step forward for us all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SarahBJackson

I can't wait to drink away 2020 and celebrate 2021, especially since that means that we get to welcome a new President and tell "Fearless Leader" good bye!!!

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Can't help but wonder why the need to add this. Maybe you mistakenly feel everyone agrees with your personal political view.

Helen,
It's certainly a year the majortity of us didn't expect . I hope I'm wrong but there's still some way to go and I can't see Champagne corks popping for some considerable time .

Personally for me it hasn't affected my dressing , full time means just that whether I'm busy at home or having to run errands , I have three losses this year one is the contact with many of my friends , the second is the loss of my dog and the final one is the end of my 45 year marriage . I will add it could be a whole lot worse !

So I'll still raise a glass and share a toast for a better 2021 , CHEERS ALL !!!

My wife passed away late last year, so she didn't have to see the effect of the virus. I had planned some travel for this year, but I decided the better part of valor was to stay mostly at home. I do still go out for groceries as needed. I somehow got inveigled into a ukulele group, and when they found out I can play a bass guitar that became my role. It has been an interesting year indeed.

Definitely agree with that. It's been the worst year that I've ever seen. Hopefully 2021 will be a vastly better year for all of us.

Most of us made a mistake common to human nature. We tried to live as if tomorrow will be like today. 2020 got rid that notion quickly.

This last year seems like a foggy... really bad dream.... foggy because my glasses keep getting steamed up by my masks. Still don't have a lot of hope that the new normal will be anything similar to the old normal. And the pandemic has stalled my hockey career, most likely for good. Was planning to keep playing till the end but seriously do not think, at my age, I can get back to a level that will make me competitive again. sigh....

Be careful what you ask for, in this case, an end to the annus horribilus. You might get your wish. I saw a comment elsewhere, saying, I completed my seven day trial of 2021. Please cancel my subscription.