First Hodgepodge of 2024

 I'm joining up with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond for the first Hodgepodge of 2024.

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness (go here to read more about how the words were chosen). Here are the words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2024-

hack, impact, at the end of the day, rizz, slay, iconic, cringe worthy, obsessed, side hustle, wait for it

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Are any of these a regular part of your speech? Is there a word not on the list that you'd like to add? 

I don’t really have a preference about what words should be removed. I do use hack, as in “I was hacked” or “My Facebook account was hacked.”

2. What do you wish you'd done more of last year? Less of? 

I answered a similar question the other day – my answer might vary! I always wish I had spent more time with our people – our family and friends. I think we may try to pre-plan a dinner gathering at least once a month and invite one or two couples. We need to have our older granddaughter spend the night ore often.

I wish I had spent less time criticizing others. I don’t mean to do so . . .I think I’m teaching them to do it the right way . . .which is my way. I need to do far less of that this year.

3. A place you'd like to visit in this new year? Do you think you will? 

Our October trip & cruise will be taking us to places we’ve not been before – Egypt and Greece and Istanbul.

4.What are three words to sum up or describe your 2023? 

Back at home!

5. What advice would you like to give yourself as we begin a new year? 

Love and listen more and talk and criticize less

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I haven’t really made any resolutions yet for the coming year but I may still come up with some goals. My devotion this morning was talking about having a word for the year. I’ve always thought that was a good idea but I’ve never come up with just the right word. (sorry – that was two different thoughts)

Still another December post . . .

I'm so sorry for the photo overload. My blog is also for personal memory keeping. I won't be offended if you skip on over BUT you know, I always appreciate comments :-)

Granddaughter #2 and our family arrived late afternoon on Christmas Day.

There was lots of playing. Harvey was watching.

Tuesday morning, one of our daughter's close friends and her husband came over to hang out. We had not met their new son, Nico. I was amazed at how much their sweet girl had grown!

Pops and I met our daughter-in-law at the halfway point and brought Granddaughter #1 to our house so Tuesday afternoon, we had an infant (Nico), a 2+ year old, a 4 1/2 year old, and a 7 almost 8 year old. They played and played. They used at least 4 rolls of tape making projects.

On Tuesday night, we finally had Christmas with our kids and grandkids and our bonus kid. They asked us not to buy for them and they didn't buy for us but I did buy for the granddaughters.

They loved the unicorn nutcrackers I found for them. There were two on the shelf and only two and they called my name!

The pink fur vests I ordered were a huge hit!! Another blogger bought fur shrugs for her granddaughters and that made me start looking . . . these are too fun!

I just looked at my photo roll and since Tuesday night, I have pictures of an amazing sunset and of some kite flying. . . things are slowing down.

 

Even More December happenings . . . .

A few years ago, we started offering a Christmas Eve service on December 23 - Christmas Eve Eve. I saw a meme where someone called it Christmas Adam - pretty clever!

I rarely get to go sit through a service and I was so excited to go with Mark . . .and then the sound system totally messed up. I heard about every fourth word of the sermon. I was furiously texting our sound team but they didn't get it fixed until the very end of the service. There were certain areas of the sanctuary where people could hear . . .but not where we were sitting.

We have a talented group of volunteers who make our altar arrangements every week. They make beautiful arrangements. We had poinsettias throughout the church.

After the service, we went to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's house for dinner. Their youngest son was in town for Christmas and we wanted to visit with him.

Christmas Eve was a long workday for me. I worked the Welcome Desk in the morning and for the 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. service, I literally stood on the side of the road with a sign, "Ask me about parking." Our 3:00 service was so full that at least 5 families left. We had chairs in every possible spot and there was no more room. We thought that meant the crowd at 5:00 would be lighter -- nope. Technically, there were a few less people and no one left but it was packed, too.

After that service, I headed home. One of our neighbors had ridden with his wife who was still singing in the choir and he rode home with me.

I ran outside to see Santa even though Mark and I were the only ones at home.

Our tree finally had gifts under it on Christmas Eve. I enjoyed shopping for the two granddaughters.

Christmas morning . . .it was just the two of us. Our daughter was really sweet and FaceTimed us as they woke up our sweet granddaughter and they let us watch her open her presents from Santa.

I just have to show you this present -- It is a koozie and a sweater.

This is what was inside. Such a cute gift given to us by some friends.

Later Christmas morning, we went to my mother-in-law's for brunch and to give her gifts.

Mark's mom is in the middle and Mark is in the left of the picture and his twin brother, George, with the beard and Santa hat is on the right. This is their mom with her four kids and their spouses.

Here she is with the next generation. We were missing our daughter and two of our nephews.

Here she is with one of her great granddaughters. This is our granddaughter #1.

We headed home around 3:00 because daughter and her family arrived!

 

More December happenings . . .

On Saturday, the 16th, a friend and her daughter came over to learn to make cheese straws. Having multiple ovens is wonderful.

 On December 17, we went to our Contact (Contemporary) Christmas service and it was amazing.

We were in separate cars, so I left the service and went to a friend's home. We are in a large adult Sunday School class and have quite a few folks without spouses so we've started having a Girl's Christmas party - it was fun to visit.

On Tuesday night, the 19th, we hosted our Young Adult Christmas party. We had so much fun.

We ate and played Dirty Santa . . .and the game was great this year! We don't serve alcohol at our gathering but alcohol is acceptable as a gift for the party. Several things changed hands three times. When that happens, the person gets to keep it!

Kate received gloves with lights and no fingers!

Here is the whole group - we were missing a few that night. Mark is in the far back right side. I was taking the photo.

I made the sweetest little ornaments - Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus and I tied them onto the bags of cheese straws that we gave as gifts. I also made some candy that we gave as gifts and I tied one to those bags, too.

A look back at 2023 on New Year's Eve - Sunday Stealing

 

1. What did you do this year that you had not done before? We had covid! We had avoided it right at 3 years!  Yuck! On a more positive note, we also walked around the Old City of Jerusalem on the ramparts. It was my fourth trip to Israel and we had never done that. We also go to see the Pool of  Siloam on this trip which is a new discovery. We went to the Herodian which was also new.

 

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions/goals for the year and will you make/set more for next year?  What are they? What are your new ones? I need to look back and see if I made any for this year. I think I will make some for 2024 but I haven’t yet. I know . . .I need to get busy!!

 

3. Did anyone you know give birth? Or get pregnant? Our daughter is pregnant – due with a little girl in April. I work in a large church and we had LOTS of babies this year.

 

4. Did anyone you know die? Or have a serious illness? Same as above – in a large church, there will always be deaths. I’ve been a member of this church for over 40 years and I’ve worked on staff for almost 20 years so I know lots of folks. We had funerals for several very young men this year. The most recent was the week before Christmas – 37 years old. The young death before that was a young husband/dad of a beautiful family. He was 38. On a happier note, my brother-in-law was diagnosed with Lymphoma and sent home on hospice to die . . .and he is cancer free now. His doctor looked at him at his last follow up visit and said, “You know that the only reason you are well is because of a miracle.”

 

5. What places did you visit? We went to Israel in February. We went to the beach in October. We went to our daughter’s house several times – she lives an hour and a half from us. Our son lives 30 minutes away and we went to his house several times.

 

6. What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year (doesn't have to be a physical thing)? How about a billion dollars? No? Well darn! Peace on earth? I can’t have that either? I feel very fortunate to say that I don’t think I (personally) lacked anything this year. I think I would enjoy more time with family and friends.

 

7. What date from this year will remain etched in your memory and why? We moved back into our home and spent the first night on July 19.

 

8. What was your biggest achievement this year? I made it through the year? I took a class each semester this year (3) and made an A in all three. They were all interesting – I took an Old Testament class and two Biology classes.

 

9. Did you get sick or injured? Anyone you know? As I said above, we had covid this year. Actually, as a result of Covid, my asthma has been worse this year and I had a small patch of pneumonia in one of my lungs in the summer/early fall. Antibiotics cleared up the pneumonia and I’m on a new mix of allergy drugs/shots. Mark tore his retina in November and had laser surgery on November 30 to repair the tear.

 

10. What was the best thing you bought? We bought several great things. We upgraded our fireplace and logs and use them often! 

We upgraded our bathroom and are enjoying those upgrades. We upgraded our light fixtures, stair railing, hardwood floors, rugs, etc. etc. etc. We can almost say that the house fire was a blessing because rather than go with the basic that insurance covered, we were able to add some of our own money and we upgraded our home and some of our furniture.                 

 

11. Where did most of your disposable income go (money leftover after you pay for food, transportation and shelter)? I love to read so I bought a lot of books for my kindle. Mark bought a new chain saw. I bought some craft supplies. Mark bought some bourbon.

 

12. What song will always remind you of this year? Fancy Like Christmas by Walker Hayes. Our senior pastor rewrote the lyrics and our staff video was to the tune . . . here you go - enjoy! We make a staff video each year and release it after one of our services. We have two extra offerings per year that every penny goes to help those in need -- The Manger Offering and our Lenten/Easter Offering. These are in addition to people's regular tithes and offerings (lots of that money goes to help others, too). The video helps get people excited to give. Why? I don't know but people love it. I'm in the dance scene on the front lawn on the front row - green sweatshirt, red kerchief. I'm also in two shots at our Welcome Desk - I'm holding the calendar in both (we are talking about Creasters - those who only come to worship on Christmas and Easter) - making a joke but also asking them to come back.

 

13. What do you wish you would have done more of? I wish we had invited more people over for dinner. I wish I had exercised every single day. I wish I would have lost more pounds.

 

14. What do you wish you would have done less of? I’m going to say that I wish I had spent less time on the internet but I don’t foresee me spending less time this year 😊.

 

15. What was your favorite new TV program? Movie? Album/Songs? Or if you didn't pick up any new ones, what are you still watching/listening to? We watched the new season of Bosch. We are watching Bones and Criminal Minds . We still watch Frasier for comic relief. I don’t think I’ve been to the movie theater this year! I don’t have a new favorite album/song.

Sunday Stealing on Christmas Eve!

 I'm joining up with the Sunday Stealing gang:

1. Who did you spend time with this year? I didn’t spend enough time with our granddaughters. The first seven months of the year were spent in the apartment and there just wasn’t room and over the last few months, we’ve been settling back in. Hopefully I can do better in 2024. I spent a lot of time with my co-workers. In reality, if you work full-time, you spend a lot of time with your co-workers. Every month I spent time with friends, too – we are in an out-to-eat supper club, a neighborhood supper club, and our long-time supper club. We spent 10 days in Israel back in February and so we spent a lot of time with those folks.

 

2. Anything change with the pets in your life? We still have Harvey, our cat. He is still suffering from PTSD from the fire. We actually bought a pheromone “dispenser” that plugs into the wall and supposedly it will help calm him down. I tell him that he is “the best kitty boy around” quite often.

 

3. What was your job like this year? What do you do? Did any roles or assignments change? If you aren’t employed, base this question on your work at home or volunteering. I continued in my role as the assistant to the senior pastor at a large United Methodist Church. I’m also the director over “the welcome center” and a few other “welcoming” ministries. One of my jobs on Christmas Eve is literally standing on the sidewalk with a giant sign that says, “Can’t find a parking spot. Stop and talk to me.” Our church sits in the middle of a neighborhood so we are land-locked. I’ll be directing people to a couple of community parking lots and to streets in the neighborhood. We’ve arranged for golf carts and a van to drive continuously back and forth to pick up folks.

 

4. What was the best book you read this year?  How many did you read? I read at least 50 books this year in addition to a couple of text books and a couple of books that I taught from. Emotionally Healthy Discipleship and Emotionally Healthy Relationships were both good. I really loved Remarkably Bright Creatures, and I thought Lessons in Chemistry was good.

 

5. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you? Did you feel differently? I celebrated a big birthday this year – the big 65. We didn’t do anything special. I don’t really feel any different but I do think I’ve entered a new era – the one where the person becomes invisible. If you are 65 or older, have you noticed that? I swear that sometimes I must be totally invisible!!

 

6. What political or social issue stirred you the most? I don’t like to talk about politics at all. The thing that has probably upset me the most is the war in Israel. My heart hurts for our friends in Israel and for our friends in Bethlehem.

 

7. Who was the most interesting new person you met? I have no idea. I’m going to have to think about this question!

 

8. What changed in your home? I could write a book about this one and bore you all to death! Our home was rebuilt between February and July 19 and we moved back in! We did several upgrades while we were rebuilding.

 

9. What have you learned throughout the year? (Other than crafts)  Can be a new skill or a life lesson. Hmmmm . . . . I’ve learned that material things are just that – they are things. I love some of them and place value on many of them but at the end of the day . . . they are things.

 

10. What was your favorite outfit for warm weather? Cooler weather?  what do you wear when you dress up? Any new clothes or accessories you really love? My favorite warm weather outfit is shorts and a short sleeved top or a skort and a short sleeved top with Birkenstocks! Cooler weather finds me wearing more jeans and closed toe shoes. I love to wear dresses the most – all seasons. I have ordered several dresses from Tuckernuck and love them!! I’ve also ordered a couple of dresses from Amazon and they have been amazing.

 

11. Did you make or give up on any efforts to be healthier? Diet, water, exercise etc? I’ve pretty much held my own this year though when I weighed in at WW this week, I was up 3 pounds which was VERY annoying.

 

12. Fave meals, snacks, desserts, restaurants etc? Eat out or eat in? We eat in a lot but we eat out several times a month. I always love shrimp! I had some great shrimp tacos this year! We’ve been to Casual Pint and to Mudtown and to the Frontporch the most. None of those are fancy restaurants but we enjoy the drinks and food.

 

13. Did you learn any new crafts or techniques? What was your favorite thing you made? I didn’t learn any new techniques or crafts this year but I did make some cute ornaments to tie on Christmas gifts.

 

14. What are your hopes and dreams for the new year?  (Some suggestions-family, travel, work, lifestyle, hobbies, pets, appearance) Let’s see . . .I would like to finally reach my goal weight and for the doctor to say, “Great job!” We plan to go on a really cool cruise in October of 2024 and I’m really looking forward to that. We have a new granddaughter arriving in April so that will be fun! I hope to have more time to be creative! I plan to take three classes in 2024 . . .which will leave one class in 2025 and I will graduate with my AA in May of 2025.

 

15. What was the best new/new-to-you thing you a) bought b) made c) acquired in some other way? We have really enjoyed all of the upgrades we made. I really love my new stove and ovens. I have always wanted a Wolf and never thought I would have it.

H O D G E P O D G E

 

1. Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday? Was it by choice or by necessity? I think I did more listening yesterday than talking. I was in a lot of meetings. On Sunday, I definitely did way more talking than listening – too much!

2. Are you a tea drinker? Hot, cold, or both? Flavored? What do you like in your tea? Do you make Christmas tea this time of year? What time of day do you like to sip your tea? We drink unsweetened decaf cold tea for Sunday lunch every week – random, I know. I don’t drink hot tea very often. I did have a cup of Wassail last Sunday afternoon that was the best I’ve ever had. The juice was cran-apple and it made a HUGE difference.

3. What's an activity you won't try, an event you won't attend, or an athletic challenge you won't take part in not even for 'all the tea in China'? At 65, I might not try to roller skate or ice skate again. I don’t need a broken hip hahaha! A lot of folks I know go to these Extreme Work-out places and I’m not sure I’m cut out for that either.

4. What's something most people seem to love but is not 'your cup of tea'? Salmon. I want to love it but I just don’t.

5. How does your family celebrate New Year's Eve? Last year, we went out to dinner with friends and I think we are doing the same this year with one of the couples. We’ve been known to move the clock forward and take pictures at 11 rather than at midnight.

6. Insert your own random thought here. I finally started wrapping the presents for our granddaughters last night. I sorted into two piles to make sure they looked somewhat even.  Second random thought – Grades post – I can’t believe it, but I got an A in Biology 102. It was the hardest A I’ve ever received.