Bye Bye 2025!

I'd like to say this is the year I got used to my dad and auntie dying, but it wasn't, although I may be getting there.  I'd also like to say this is the year I got all my ducks in a row for my own demise, but it also wasn't, although it also may be getting there. 

 I'm glad this year is ending; it's been not awful but not great, and I haven't felt like myself for a lot of the year.  I'm hoping to really bounce back and get some pep in my step in 2026. I got a ukulele for Christmas and have lessons starting next week, and I also joined a folk dancing group, and I'm hoping that will get me out of the house and be in less of a funk.  The AI tells me I need to stitch on 4.81 pieces every day to get to all my starts in a year, so we'll see how that goes, haha.  So the year-end wrap up.....

FINISHES:

(If you want to read all about them, I keep the stories of my finishes here)

READING:

OTHER STATS:

I haven't taken a picture of Kuna in a while but here's a little throwback to wish you a happy new year.  She figured out a way out of our yard and has given us a new project of keeping her off the streets. She's 15 now and we consider it dementia related wandering. We can't let her off leash at the beach anymore because she just trots away, but she's fit and happy and I'm so grateful that she's still so healthy!

Thanks to everyone who's been blogging about your stitching, your trips, your lovely families - you have brightened so many of my gray days. I hope you all have a wonderful next year!

Happy December!

 

Let's see what's on the camera roll:

Balinese Elephant has a bunch of dog hair, lol:

Dinosaurs has more leaves:

Closet UFO's has the closet started:

Flutter of Butterflies has all the butterflies started:

Cheese Sampler has some cheeses:

and Marmalade has the bottom squares going:

                                        

My reading for the month was mostly finishing up Halloweeny reading from last month, plus a totally 70's book that popped out of my storage unit - I don't even remember if it was auntie's or mine, but to the little free library it went:

Had my annual jaunt up north to work on the Rose Parade.  They have a whole different systemn for volunteers this year so the float barn was pretty empty and a little sad, but the work goes on and I did have a pleasant time with the tiny group of us that were there.  The float we were working on was San Francisco, if you squint you can see the row houses in the back, also known as the "Painted Ladies."

The mission for the day was cutting the petals of statice - this is always one of the first jobs because they want the petals to dry. Rose Parade floats are required to be completely covered with plants, so the petals are used like blue paint; these will be on one of the houses. The extra petals will be part of a US flag for another float.

If I stand on tiptoe I can see the back of the storage unit so yay me! DH is ready to tell me to just keep it, haha, he's definitely sick of endless boxes of stuff coming through the house!