Some Years are Like That -- A Year-End Wrap

Happy New Year to you! It's a good time to look back, especially since I'm not that keen on looking forward! Some years are more stellar than others. This one definitely had its highs. But it had its lows, too. We'll start with the "highs," and one of them was spending time with these two!

And one terrific high of the year was our trip to England. I'm doing loads of posts on that, as you know (archiving them on the menu tab at the top of the page here). They'll continue well into 2025 -- my form of escapism and hopefully, yours too! 

A New Year, A New Word

In 2022 my guiding word was "Endure." We had wrapped up 2021 with its Covid restrictions, isolation, and the January 6 insurrection and 2022 wasn't looking any better. It felt like an odd choice then -- here on Marmelade Gypsy I wrote:

"At the holidays, we were reflecting on a word or two to describe 2021. (I said "schizophrenic.") My friend Jan said "Endure." And that's what I feel about the 2022. Endure it. Slog through the isolation, the news, the doc appointments, the uncertainty. Just endure it."

Then for 2023, I thought I needed to up my game, become a little more hopeful, so I chose "Rabbit" -- which was because it was the year of the rabbit and that symbolically had qualities I wanted to emulate.

Year of the Rabbit

Bloggers know that many of us pick a guiding word of the year. Last year, my word of the year was "Endure." After two years of adjusting our lives for Covid, and looking forward to uncertainty, it seemed like a good one. 

It was (unfortunately) more fitting than I knew. I had loads of health and mobility issues and Rick wasn't far behind. I continue to deal with some of those still. They affect the quality of life and perhaps are the hardest to endure. But then, don't we all have to endure something?

From "Home" to "Hope"

Last year, my word of the year was "Home." 

When I picked that in late December, I had no idea that I would spend more time in my home this past year than I ever have in my life!

I had no idea I would be able to pay off my mortgage and make it all mine. 

I had no idea how precious it would be to just be in my own space, feeling safe and protected from the outside world.

It's been a year, hasn't it? I've already reviewed some of the good things that happened during this strange period. But I'm not sure I mentioned there just how very much I valued my home, my space -- especially with the realization that for many, that was one of many things that was threatened by the pandemic.

What a word.

So, what to choose for this year? I've decided on "Hope."

 

Hope that the vaccine will be jabbed into my arm sooner, rather than later.

Hope that we will soon be able to celebrate  Christmas with the Toddlers and the Big People.

Hope that we can hug and kiss and touch our friends and family.

Hope that I can attend -- in person -- my cousin Jeff's October wedding.

Hope that Rick can take the long bike ride he plans next summer.

Hope that I can travel too!

Hope that the borders will open -- and that we will feel safe to cross them.

Hope that we can gather more safely and not need to worry about disinfecting groceries or wearing gloves when we pump gas.

Hope that our country will begin to heal and gain some of the reputation that it had in the world several years before now.

Hope that our economy will begin to open, to heal and that those who have struggled so will find things looking up.

Hope that children who are being schooled online will be able to return safely to the classroom.

And hope for so much more -- things large and small, global and local, personal and collective.

Hope. My heart is so full of it. It's a good word for 2021.

New Year at Home

Goodbye, December.  Welcome January!

Aren't these calendar pages wonderful? My friend Kate does a new calendar every year for our annual sale and I'm wild about this year's (ab0ve). And last year's! (Below)

We had an odd New Year's Eve. For the first time in decades -- since before this photo (below) taken at the turn of the century -- Rick and I were in different places. He had volunteered to babysit the Toddler Twosome at their home and I was still recovering from my Christmas Eve fall on a slate floor in Livonia on scattered toys from the toy box. (And on the beginning of a period still going on of being sick as a dog.)

It was a good move and we talked on the phone but I wasn't quite up to the car ride or the activity! And, it got me to bed at a decent time!

We celebrated on New Year's Day. His bread, French Onion Soup, salad, all good. At home.

Home. That's my "word" for 2020. And that means the physical house here and the cottage as well as my personal "home" -- body, mind and soul.

For Christmas Rick and the kids are giving me a kitchen re-do. Well, Rick calls it a kitchen enema. I don't like that, though it might be closer to the truth. New paint, new stove. Clean slate! Counters will have to wait; the 1964 "ants and gold speck" counters will be here a bit longer.  Home.

So, I emptied all the dish and food cupboards for painting inside and cleaned off a shoebox-plus-more of photos, recipes, eyeglass prescriptions and who knows what else off the fridge. We'll keep the old cupboards, which I rather like with my knotty pine family room adjacent. But if you're going to do it, do it!). Home.

Everything was taken to the guest room (and the family room, and the dining room table and the coffee table, and the hall) -- unless it made it to the basement (things I need to keep but don't use regularly) or to charity (several bags already).  There's a pile to take to the cottage, too. My junk drawer doesn't look like a junk drawer anymore!

So, along with this, some of you know that a few days before New Year's we had a huge rain and since the ground was frozen, it rained in through the basement windows. Well, that was a mess -- not as bad as last year's spring basement flood -- but enough.

So between that and the kitchen, guess what? New lawn grading and replacement windows will be required for the basement. Home.

Christmas is still up. To be fair, it always stays up till Twelfth Night but this time it might be a little longer. And to tell the truth, it's beginning to bug me! But till some things get moved back to the kitchen and I'm feeling a lot better than I am right now, it will have to wait.  I want to bring up the snowfolk. Preferably before spring! Home.

After Christmas I was recovering from a fall. On the 29th of December I started having low grade fevers and after a week of feeling progressively worse, I finally went to the doc. Antibiotics, Xray and hopefully no pneumonia. So, I'm sort of dragging. But listening to others and taking care of my personal "home," my health.

Rick is getting ready for his first official concert with his trio on January 12. They had a dry run at an assisted living center the other day that went well, Rick said. Then the public concert. If you're anywhere near Lansing, MI, ask me for details! It's free (and snacks, too!)

He's pretty excited. If you are into 45 seconds of listening, enjoy the video from a rehearsal.

Then we'll be headed to Dallas for a few days for the memorial service for his stepfather, who died the day after Christmas. It will be good to see the family again, most of whom I've not seen since the reunion in June. Then, back home.

The kitchen was in full power-mode this weekend and is nearly done. I was banished, my primary job being runs to the hardware store and to pick up lunch. Kevin, Molly and Rick worked their tails off and as I write this, we just need half-a-wall and the chair rail painted and hardware replaced on the cupboard doors. Most of the food and dishes are back in place. There will be another post with more photos when it's all done -- and about the lessons I learned about myself during all their hard work. (See, I can be productive when I'm sick.)

I'll tell you one thing -- I need to "dig out" more often. While they were under the sink they found a set of shoe-related things from the previous owner. This box of shoe polish was 38 cents at Kresge. Kresge hasn't been around in decades, and the 38 cents might be closer to the vintage 1963 of the house.

Just keeping it real! So that, in a nutshell, is January. And, my Word of the Year. It's as ambitious as I make it. So, we'll see!

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Pick a Word. Any Word.

It's that time again, time to get my head out of the holiday clouds and choose a word (or two) that will be a guide throughout the new year.

Last year I chose two -- hygge and action. I lived the hygge life, embracing cozy, while trying to be more proactive, respond to political issues, standing up instead of letting things pass by on which I have an opinion. Doing. And for the most part, I did really well (especially with the hygge part!)

How many times in our life are we told not to "stand up"?

This year is a stumper. Personally, I'd like to stay hygge forever, but I don't think I need to have a do-over on that word. I mastered it pretty well. As far as I'm concerned, it's a key part in mastering the science of right living!

I realized there are a lot of words I want to live by -- joy, compassion, kindness, strength. I also realized that I pretty much try to do that as is. No need for it to be the word of the year.

What I really need to do is "extend" myself, get out of my cocoon. Dig deeper, learn more. Do more. Yet I also find myself procrastinating, doing it "later" instead of "Now."

So, once again, I will try to marry those words -- Extend and Now. Actually, these are a bit more on the same theme than last year's. I will listen, try to extend my thoughts and then act in a timely way.

My goal this year is to take a few more chance, to work a little harder to become a better painter, to not put things off that really should be done -- rotate the tires, call for the free home energy assessment, clean the litterbox (which I just realized I forgot to do yesterday), travel farther, read deeper.

We'll see how that goes!

Taking Action with Hygge!

By now you probably have heard of Hygge. Articles in the New York Times and the New Yorker have extolled its virtues. So have bloggers including one of my favorites, Monique at La Table de Nana, in her New Year's post. Susan Branch wrote of it in great detail in her holiday post.

The term comes from the Danish and while there is no word-for-word translation, it conveys a feeling of coziness and conviviality.

Snuggled up by the fire with hot cocoa? Hygge. Wearing your favorite fleecy top and cozy socks or slippers? Hygge. Reading a great book with the dog or cat at hand? Snuggled under a cozy quilt? Hygge.

 
Pronounced "hoo-guh," think about the stranger who says hello to you, wanting nothing in return but a smile. (Like my New Year's walk at the Ditch!).

Think about comfort food. Meatloaf. Home baked bread. Chicken pot pie. Steaming pots of soup. All of which sounds like dinner with Rick and all of which is Hygge.

I quote the New Yorker article above here: "Louisa Thomsen Brits, the author of “The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Contentment, Comfort, and Connection,” calls it “a practical way of creating sanctuary in the middle of very real life” and “a cure for SAD”—seasonal affective disorder—“in book form.”

Again from the New Yorker: "Helen Russell, a British journalist who wrote “The Year of Living Danishly,” defines the term as “taking pleasure in the presence of gentle, soothing things,” like a freshly brewed cup of coffee and cashmere socks." I might add real maple syrup, baking and your favorite pet to the list.

Last year my guiding word was "Listen." I listened a lot and I heard birdsong, waves on the beach, winds in the pines. But more than frequently, I didn't like what I heard. I am thinking this year of having two words. "Hygge" and "Action." "Action," because I need to "do" and not just "think," whether it is complete creative projects, meet a goal or work to change the world. And "Hygge" because maybe it's yet another way to get back to my heritage, this time on my Dad's side. And besides, what's not to love about cuddling up by the fire, knitting, purring cats and hot tea?

I have a lot of Danish in my heritage -- my great grandfather came over in the 1800s from Copenhagen with his wife, so my grandmother was first generation American from Danish parents. While I've never been there, I often read studies that say that the Danish are among the happiest people in the world. Their taxes would kill you -- they're very high, about 45 percent. But they actually get something from it. Time for a very hygge-like cookie!

According to an article in US News, Education is free -- there is no tuition, even at university and each student receives a $900 stipend from the state. The parental leave system is the most generous in the world and there is free quality healthcare which reduces risk and promotes better health. They are working actively to combat climate change and actively support both the employed and unemployed with development or job-assistance opportunities.

Now, one can argue till the cows come home about what is in part a welfare state and whether or not it is a good thing. But Denmark takes care of its people far better than the U.S. does. The cost of living is pretty high. But when we get something from it, I don't mind paying. And we can learn a lot from their example.

And people are happy. The government works.

And to be honest, I love hot chocolate by a fire. I love cozying up in the winter when a storm is blowing and feeling safe and warm. I love holding the Lizzie, even though she would prefer I not. And I love to bake and cook and make things and savor Rick's bread, home made and so delicious.

I feel compelled to take action this year. To be the change I want to see in the world and work to facilitate it. To not be passive but productive. To create, to write, to experience, to do. Rather than following like sheep, I'd prefer to knit from the wonderful wool those sheep (and llamas!) provide.

I have a great need to cozy in these days -- and not just because of the weather. I long to really reflect on this beautiful life that I have, the happiness I feel and the things that bring happiness to me. Family, friendships, love, warmth, joy. Hot tea or cocoa on a cold day (and this morning it is 6-F and the windchill below zero).

So, this year, it is two words. The "doing" word and the "being" word.

Here's to hygge and action. World, I am ready to take you on -- and to take care of myself, too.

Delighted to be linking this week to Share Your Cup, where you will find loads of wonderful links and tons of inspiration!