So far, 2017 has started serenely — almost too serenely. The Betster did visit a bar over the weekend, but only on Friday and well before things got rowdy. Yours truly missed the drink-dance-puke pub crawl and so cannot report on how wild it got. However, the cops report showed one drunk driving arrest on New Year’s Eve that happened at 6:35 p.m. before the free cab rides started and a fight in progress early on New Year’s Day. Homer has mellowed, apparently.

If you want mellow in Homer, now would be the time. The retail rush has died down, with all but gift exchanges to be done. Some stores even take January off for a thorough cleaning and painting. Other store owners head out to big retail conventions, oddly enough held in places a tad warmer than here. The mad dervish has calmed down of patients wanting to get medical procedures done after they maxed out deductibles and before the year ended.

We hit this post-holiday lull every year. If not for the daily drama coming out of Washington, D.C., the news would be dull. Not even the Alaska Legislature is up to anything, but that’s only because it doesn’t start until Jan. 17. Even then, it will take a good six weeks before something really happens. Why rush when you have 90 days to balance a budget and figure out how to fund state government?

We might get a good howling winter storm that could dump 4 feet of snow on us, burying Mini Coopers. You can always count on a little weather drama. The Betster dares just to think it, because you know Ma Nature. Ask and you shall receive. Meanwhile, mellow. Kachemak Bay looked so calm on New Year’s Day you could have worn top hat and tails, paddleboarded to Yukon Island and never been in danger of getting wet.

Roll with the peace and quiet, oh citizens by the sea. Apply for your Permanent Fund Dividend. Read a good book. Binge watch The Gilmore Girls. Enjoy the starry, starry nights, count the minutes as the daylight hours increase, and get out and enjoy this serene little corner of the world with these Best Bets:

BEST LIKE A WILLOW BET: “Resiliency” is the big word these days in social work circles, and for good reason. That’s how people get through bad stuff in life like adverse childhood experiences. Learn about resiliency through “Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences Through Resilience Games” at 6 p.m. today at the SVT Health and Wellness Center. Bob Bornt, a marriage/family therapist at SVT, gives the talk.

BEST SING AWAY BET: Good old Dax Radtke has been fighting cancer the past few months, but he still can make stupid jokes and commit bad singing at the weekly Friday Karaoke With Dax at 9:31 p.m. at the Down East Saloon. Be part of the fun every Friday.

BEST BOUFANT DO BET: OK, the Betster needs to make this clear, because some of you just arrived to the frozen north and might not get all our silly games. When we’re talking “curling,” that’s not winding your hair around soda cans to get a big ’do. We’re talking sliding big rocks across ice. Learn about the sport from 8-10 p.m. Saturday at the Kevin Bell Ice Arena. Wear clean shoes and dress warmly.

BEST LUNCH DATE BETS: Why brown bag it in your office break room when you can get out at lunch and hear some fascinating people speak? At noon Monday at the Homer Public Library it’s “Lunch with a Council member.” This week you can meet council member Donna Aderhold. Then at noon Wednesday it’s the Science Lecture Series at the Alaska Island and Oceans Visitor Center when area scientists talk about various topics.