Here we go again Year In Review!

I do it in words (the first sentence of the first post of each month) and in pictures (a favorite posted photo from each month) — the two are not necessarily related.

January 2025:

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Junah & I stayed up until midnight Eastern (11 Central) to watch the ball drop — his first!!

Who knew we’d get snowed-in… in Charleston?!!

February 2025:

Right Now… life’s a shit show (pardon my french) in almost every possible way!

This attitude… can I get it to go?

March 2025:

It’s the first day of the first month that I’m eligible to apply for Social Security (for my desired timeframe)… and I did.

April 2025:

Much of my free time — everyone’s around here — since mid-February has been spent on cleaning, cleaning out, fixing up, and remodeling an old house (ca. 1880).

I need more knitting time…

May 2025:

It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year!!

Not sure this Mothers Day card from Malina will ever be topped!

June 2025:

I’m back! Travels went smoothly, even with a new airport opening in Lima (arrived at the old, departed from the new); Addison is a graduate, I had a nice visit, enjoyed some wonderful meals, and there was lots of love & laughter.

July 2025:

Last “weekend” (Thurs-Sat), we all headed up north — not quite as north as we usually go, but right around US Hwy 8, so totally acceptable to any Wisconsinite. 

August 2025:

We headed out on Saturday morning, and here’s how our few days went:

• Climbing inside Looking at a giant musky over a fence & through some trees (things have changed)
• Fred Smith’s Wisconsin Concrete Park
• Visiting cousins (2)
• + First cousin once-removed & his fiancee
• + Stevie the blind pet squirrel
• + horses, pigs, alpacas, sheep & goats
• Taking possession of Grandma’s photos
• Meeting up with high school classmate
• Returning book borrowed in 1976
• Visiting uncle
• Maddy embarking on an impromptu paddle in the kayak

September 2025:

I had five days off and hardly took any photos!

October 2025:

Phase 2 of sewing up commenced last night.

November 2025:

Halloween… before it’s too late… and because my crew hit it out of the park this year!

December 2025:

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning and saw this in the ravine… I immediately thought, “Oh, there’s my venison backstrap.”

2026 begins the day-after-tomorrow. It already feels different… better? I dunno. We can only hope!

Here we go again Year In Review!

I do it in words (the first sentence of the first post of each month) and in pictures (a favorite posted photo from each month) — the two are not necessarily related.

January 2023:

I wish I could say we had a wonderful holiday & a great visit with Kate.

February 2023:

My sister Ann & her family departed for Peru very early this morning. 

March 2023:

It’s a very exciting day! Not only do I have an official FO… but we’re also going on a field trip! Step right this way… (to visit Modern Daily Knitting!!).

April 2023:

Ali sent me this photo yesterday with the title of this post as caption: Mom, does this still fit me?

May 2023:

So rude! It snowed most of the morning, then rained for a while. I’m tired of complaining (which makes no difference to management, anyway), so I’ll just leave it at that.

June 2023:

The kids’ official last day of school was Friday.

July 2023:

I will never not welcome a 4-day weekend, but WOW… that was a busy one!! 

August 2023:

[Your mission] …should you choose to accept, is to tell me what you think about these specs!*

September 2023:

Sonia’s stocking is finished! It’s my third FO of the year.

October 2023:

Echoing the sentiments of many…. how did we get here so fast??

November 2023:

I don’t usually refer to myself as “old” or “getting old” … but today there’s no denying it! I’m officially on Medicare.

December 2023:

It’s been a while since I celebrated the finish of my first epic knit!

Things seemed more “normal” this year. I’m looking forward to 2024 and some changes!

*I still don’t have new specs!

Here we go again Year In Review!

I do it in words (the first sentence of the first post of each month) and in pictures (a favorite posted photo from each month) — the two are not necessarily related.

January 2022:

I finished a hat — my first FO of 2022!

February 2022:

This is the start of my Temperature Blanket! 

March 2022:

Rusty & I had a great vacation in Puerto Rico and both got what we needed most…

April 2022:

Last time the kids were over, Junah, holding a small container of white chalk, asked me where a chalkboard was… "Why do you have chalk if you don't have a chalkboard?"

May 2022:

I lost my (prescription) sunglasses Sunday/Monday somewhere between here & there!

June 2022:

I've made some progress on my Temperature Blanket since last we met, even though I've barely knit a stitch in a week.

July 2022:

I have experienced the same photo-loading hiccups that Kym recently wrote about in relation to using Typepad as a blogging platform.

August 2022:

Continuing with the (now) near-mindless dishcloth knitting!

September 2022:

I've been working a bit on my Temperature Blanket project again!

October 2022:

An almost 2-week vacation in Scotland involving planes, trains, a car, and ferries — and it all went off without a hitch!

November 2022:

When the kids were over a few weeks ago, Malina was drawing/writing on the big chalkboard.

December 2022:

Holiday Hoopla is approaching — Kate arrives this Sunday, and Ann & family arrive a week later!

I say it every year: I can't quite believe the year is almost over! Thankfully, after a couple of "dud" years, I don't have incendiary feelings about it. My family was together again, we traveled, the kids started school and are loving it, 

Here we go again Year In Review!

I do it in words (the first sentence of the first post of each month) and in pictures (a favorite posted photo from each month) — the two are not necessarily related.

January 2021:

I'm afraid I may have misled a few of you with my closing meme on New Year's Eve!

February 2021:

Yesterday was the official beginning of The 100 Day Project…

March 2021:

It was a long weekend for me, with Monday off this week… that always means a lot to share!

April 2021:

Kate will land in the UK a month from today!

May 2021:

We celebrated Ginny's 5th birthday yesterday!

June 2021:

It's a whirlwind!

July 2021:

June was really great, for the most part!

August 2021:

My dad died on Saturday night, just a couple weeks shy of his 86th birthday.

September 2021:

So other than these few words, it's gonna be a Wordless Wednesday!

October 2021:

How are we almost a week in already??

November 2021:

Lucky 13! Thirteen is also a Fibonacci number, a prime number, a star number, and a happy number (among other things, and thank you very much Wikipedia).

December 2021:

I had a few things to keep in mind as I planned our trip to the North Shore — a weekend with no guests, work/teaching schedules — but mostly, the opening of Rusty's New Island exhibit at the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, WI, which he'd been pulling together for months.

I know I say it every year: I can't quite believe the year is almost over!

This year, like no other much like the one before: I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THIS YEAR IS OVER!!! BURN! (Again!)