Good morning, good evening, good night, my friends. Thanks for joining me for Sentence a Day 12.2024 – a long-winded review of my final month of the year in one run-on sentence a day. Looking forward to beginning the shiny new year on Wednesday. How about you?
Before We Jump In
As I have always said, I write these sentences for me. As a way of keeping track of what all has happened and when. I know this is really a lot of gibberish. A bunch of stuff I really don’t expect anyone to wade through!! But it helps me to reflect on each day, and record the important things so I can keep them straight, if not in my mind, on ‘paper’ at least. Would never dream that anyone would read this bunch of hooey word for word!!
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And you can find where I link-up on this page.
Sentence a Day & OGT
Every month I try very hard to get my SaD post together once the month is over, in order to make the What’s Been on Your Calendar? link-up with Deb at Deb’s World, Sue who blogs at Women Living Well After 50, Donna from Retirement Reflections and Jo who can be found at And Anyways. The link-up opens on the last Friday of each month and is only open a few days. So I am not always successful in joining the gals. Hope to link up this post with for Jennifer’s Thankful Thursday series over at Overflowing with Thankfulness, too.
Que Mas?
I also share an OGT = one good thing for each day; something each day for which I am grateful. Try to update the progress I have made or lack there of toward incorporating my WOTY = word of the year into my day to day. And when I have had occasion to get dressed for the day, I like to share a few OOTDs = outfits of the day.
Sentence a Day 12.2024
Guess who is behind on her sentences from the first day of the month?? How can that be?? Well, you know…it’s me we are talking about here. Anything is possible.
And We’re Off
- Hello, December….how is it you are darkening our door already? Up and showered and dressed for church in record time; good message about managing emotions (I took exhaustive notes); straight home afterward as I was still dragging after a busy Saturday; watched football, scrapbooked with my sister; ate leftovers for lunch and dinner and finally the fridge is about cleaned out of them; took a short walk around the park; Lauren sent photos of notes Cami wrote; watched “Hacks;” started my Advent book, “Emmanuel: An Invitation to Prepare Him Room at Christmas and Always” by Ruth Chou Simons – thank you, BFF Sharon!! 12.01.2024 OGT: being home, my happy place

Getting Busy
- Up before the alarm – who am I?; did my quiet time – yay me – then showered and dressed for PC’s orthopedic appointment for his shoulder – tendonosis; did a few minutes writing after breakfast; did a drop-in visit for 3 pups we watched earlier this fall; over the mountain to PC’s doctor whom we both liked, he gave Paul a steroid shot in his shoulder, will see us again in a month; picked up a Christmas order at Target; ordered things for Dec; settled up with Lauren for the things she got for us to give her girls; Brown Bag deli for lunch; voted earlier in mayoral runoff; popped into the library; did a 45 minute workout at the gym; picked up prescriptions at Walgreens; snacky supper; packed up all of my fall decorations; watched Browns-Broncos game on TV, my QB did GREAT, another win for the Pale Pink Porkbellies; blog writing tonight. 12.02.2024 OGT: getting things done
- PC was awake at 4:00 am, I was awake at 5:00 am, so this was a loooong day; showered, dressed in my Wiholl sweats and headed for physical therapy, it was chilly enough for a coat!!; walked at an incline on the treadmill, then did a variety of exercises during PT; home to do a little banking then started dissecting the den for fall spring cleaning – dusting everything, cleaning glass, art on walls, baseboards, windows, fan, washed curtains and throw blankets; Lauren and the girls came over about 11:00 – their water had been off for 20 hours – so she could work, we could help with the girls and everyone could shower; girls played, while PC and I finished the den; we all ate lunch together then the girls and I played Minecraft; I gave them baths and dressed them to go home; got dressed to go to writing; over the mountain for writing, delicious light dinner thanks to Denise; sweet fellowship; “Lioness” before bed; beautiful sunset this evening. 12.03.2024 OGT: friends in our writing group, the group’s prayers

Back to School
- Up early for quiet time before showering, throwing chili in the crockpot and heading to sub (PC drove me) at Zac White for my friend, Patti’s second grade class; it was a good day, the kids were sweet and Patti is always super prepared, taught the kids how to draw Rudolph; got some hugs; picked 2 children’s names from the school’s Christmas tree to buy gifts for; stopped at Target to pick up a flannel shirt for Dec and we bought the Zac White kids new shoes and sweatshirts; Paul bought stepping stones and sand for our side yard walkway; planned to go to the gym but skipped it instead, as my foot was pretty tired; chili and cornbread for dinner; watched “Hacks” before bed; Bren had a hard day at work, my sweet angel; long horn sheep were released today on the mountain where my beloved Ernie lived and died. 12.04.2024 OGT: Patti has asked me to sub all semester and I finally could
- Whew, another early morning, this time for PT; my foot was so stiff that the therapist massaged it for about 10 minutes before I used the treadmil, she helped me realize what I am doing that is keeping me from walking normally, have to slow waaaay down to walk correctly but have to do it; fixed PC’s breakfast, then we did our writing, banking and got started on the fall spring cleaning of the kitchen – junk drawers and about a third of the cabinets; put out Christmas decorations; went to the gym and did leg machines and stationary bike; my foot is really tired again tonight; looking forward to sleeping later tomorrow, with a chance of rain in the wee hours; we are getting lots of Rover opportunities; Lauren’s water is out again!! 12.05.2024 OGT: the possibility of rain

PC Cooked
- Today we slept in a bit; it was sprinkling when we woke up and very chilly and gray; after breakfast, we did our banking and writing – I am still trying to turn my Purple Dress story into a picture book format but its hard to be so concise!! – duh!!; gym, haircut, scrapbooked a minute with my sissy, we have missed each other lately; ordered pizza for dinner and it tasted so good; have to get back to tracking, though, have fallen off the bandwagon; Declan has struggled to breath well today, after treatments at home didn’t help, Bren and Tafa took him to the ER; waiting to hear from them now. 12.06.2024 OGT: Declan is getting the care he needs
Mom, Dad and One Sick Baby
- Happy heavenly anniversary, Mom and Dad. Remembering those lost at Pearl Harbor, too. Poor baby Declan didn’t leave the ER until 2:00 am; he, Brennyn and Mustafa were exhausted – he has double ear infections, 101.1* fever, RSV, and breathing issues, just hate it for him, had several breathing treatments, started an antibiotic and steroids; Facetimed with Brennyn first thing so I could see the baby, you would never know he was sick; set up outdoor Christmas decorations; did a drop-in visit with Nova kitty; meet-n-greet with 2 new clients Winston and Colby; gym; haircuts for both of us; scrapbooked a few minutes with my sister; went to Hobby Lobby to get some things to spruce up my outdoor decorations; dinner at a Chinese buffet which was DELICIOUS but nearly killed PC all night with indigestion; walked around the Fountains at Farrah but my foot really started hurting; got 10K+ steps for the first time since August. 12.07.2024 OGT: my parents met and married and had us; Declan on meds

Celebrating the Season
- Slept until 9:00 am, just crazy – I think because it is chilly we are half-way in hibernation mode; no church today but truly want to go next week for the Christmas program; received 3 different requests on Rover.com to do dog walking for a man weekly but as fast as the first request came in, Rover sent out a warning not to accept the request as he was being investigted for suspicious activity – spent about 15 minutes trying to get him blocked from my account; gym workout, then home to get ready for Nutcracker – I wore real shoes and a skirt!!; so enjoyed the ballet and the babies – Lucia, her best friend Maddie, and Cami, and being with Lauren and Francisco, PC and Francisco’s mom, who brought us tamales; knew several of the children in the performance; ran into a former student and his mom at the ballet, he played the cello in the orchestra, Ricardo Chacon, a great reader!!; tamales for supper; football before bed, my foot is pretty swollen tonight. 12.08.2024 OGT: seeing former students and their parents; ballet and family

Two Cooks in the Kitchen
- Monday…today we attacked the kitchen for fall spring cleaning; oven, dishwasher, little appliances, cabinets and drawers, kitchen table, chair covers and all the laundry – all of that after we did our writing; decorated the front porch; gym in the afternoon, kind of a weird dinner tonight, chicken on the grill, Jasmine rice and baked wontons; watched the Bengals-Cowboys game and my fantasy football team got slaughtered. 12.09.2024 OGT: almost done with the downstairs fall spring cleaning
- Neither of us slept well so awoke tired; PC went to PT at 8:45 and mine was at 9:00 am, have made good progress on the flexibility of my ankle but gosh it hurts these days and is so stiff, I am walking better but so slowly; did our writing then jumped back into the kitchen cleaning – took everything out of the refrigerator and freezer, looks so nice now!!; ran to Lowe’s for grout to use to repair around the baseboards; Christmas pencils and erasers to take to the kids I sub for last week; chicken sandwich from Wendy’s for a very early supper; washed the kitchen rugs; laid on the couch to read this month’s book club read, “Book Club Hotel” by Sarah Morgan; started reading a YA book “Dumb” Orphans” by Allan Lowe in order to do a paid Online Book Club Review; watched last episode of the season of “Lioness” and “Hacks” and watched the movie “The Quiet Girl”. 12.10.2024 OGT: Declan seems better
Mid-week
- HuMp dAy!! Had thought we might have a day at home today but au contraire – these days are all too busy for my taste; hit the Dollar Tree for gift bags then took the gifts we purchased for the children we picked from the angel tree at Zac White Elementary over to the school, saw Patti, my second grade teacher pal and her darling class in the lobby, got hugs all around; walked the outlet mall afterward; back home to work out at the gym, made a meatloaf and this pumpkin pasta fettucine which is soooo good; need to get back to doing Supernatural and my abs videos; watched “Hacks” but losing interest…I am just not good with serials – books or shows. 12.11.2024 OGT: good, long chats with my babies
- Busy day, PT at the crack of dawn, my foot is hurting more, discovering the struggle I have with balancing on one foot, putting one foot end to end to the other and walking – would never pass a DWI test stone sober!! PC had annual exam and his lab results are all improved; appointment with my foot doctor who says the fracture is completely healed but now we deal with the ligament issues, can drive with caution, use all gym equipment with the same caution back again in 3 weeks; skipped the gym for early dinner at Jason’t Deli – was so good; beautiful smoggy sunset on the way home; Cady and Bren are sick – we are sure to get it; Lauren has had enough of the girls’ elf(elves) on the shelf – ha; watched a boring NFL game and finished my WBL post, cold tonight, reading my Emmanuel Advent book and “You’ve Got This” (thank you, Kellyann) faithfully before bed. 12.12.2024 OGT: salad, I love salad
Weekending
- Fri-YAY the 13th, but it was a pretty darn good day, if terribly busy; up early to go to the gym and get writing done before I had to shower and dress and head out for my half-day sub job for a Milam Elementary 2nd grade; the children were fun and the teacher left good activities for us; I always tell the kids my name is Mrs. C. – the C being for Claus!!, works wonders; stopped to do my kitty visits with new clients Colby and Winston; home to pick up PC, then off to Walmart for grocery order, dinner (mole) at Casita Linda, home to put groceries away and to get ready for the theater; so enjoyed the El Paso Playhouse production of “The Hobbit” – such creative costumes, set and condensed version of the Tokein book; looooong but enjoyable day. 12.13.2024 OGT: visiting the playhouse
Party Animals
- Finally a day mostly at home, hallelujah; after breakfast made these green beans in the crockpot for our writing group Christmas party – they were so tasty!! and PC made his favorite jalapeño poppers to take; picked up some around the house; prepared our Christmas cards; scrapbooked an hour with my sister; Lauren messaged that she has Covid, ugh; showered and dressed for the party, wore my new Christmas sweatshirt and leggings and pink loafers; it was a very relaxed, pleasant afternoon and the food was all so good; home at 7:30 to work on blog, read emails; must get back to regular blog reading and writing. 12.14.2024 OGT: celebrating the season with friends
- Another super busy day but fun; up and over the mountain for the church Christmas program which never disappoints – dancing, singing, good message, costumes, props, set – we were fashionably late and ushered to the second row!!! right behind the pastor!!; walked around the outlet mall then had Whataburger (definitely not WW friendly) for lunch; home, changed clothes, off to the gym and to do our kitty sitting job; made grilled cheese for a quick supper before we dressed for The Illusionists at the Plaza theater, which was very entertaining, earned another checkmark on my autumn bucket list. 12.15.2024 OGT: the spirit of Christmas




Rough Crowd
- Up early to get the laundry underway and to run to the gym quickly before I had to shower and dress for a sub job for second grade at Moye, the school from which I retired; have mercy, the kids were fist-fighting, poking each other with pencils, cracking each other on the head with dry erase boards – they were awful!! and the school still has the dark, heavy feeling it did when I worked there; home to pick up house keys for our end of December-first of January Rover job; tired. 12.16.2024 OGT: glad to be retired
Poor Purrcy
- Had hoped for a quiet day but no luck; early morning PT; ran to Lowe’s for more stepping stones for our walkway; finished laundry; got my eyebrows threaded; gym; not sure where the afternoon went; had tamales and leftovers for dinner; sat down to watch TV and Purrcy began making a terrible sound, then came around in front of our recliners and collapsed, unable to walk; he seemed to have done better right after the last vet visit but had started limping again recently; PC scooped him up and put him the carrier and we drove across the mountain to the ER animal clinic; they took X-rays and confirmed the kitty has avascular necrosis of the femoral head in his right hip, he is in a great deal of pain and requires surgery, probably with a veterinarian in New Mexico; for now we have to keep him immobile; with our trip the next day, Lauren offered to keep Purrcy while we were gone. 12.17.2024 OGT: veterinarian, Lauren’s help
Ft. Worth Bound
- Up early to throw our things in the car and head out for Ft. Worth; were on the road before 7:30, PC drove the first 3 hours, then I took about a 3 hour stint; then we traded back and forth from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat until we arrived at Brennyn’s at 5:30 pm; met her at 7:30 pm after she got off work for CiCi’s pizza; back to their house to watch TV, tucked Declan in bed and read bedtime stories; missed Cami’s Christmas performance today, but know she loved singing for all the parents; PC sneezed and coughed the whole 600 mile drive; he is feeling really bad tonight. 12.18.2024 OGT: safe travels, time with family
Influenza A
- First day in Ft. Worth and PC woke up really hot, but turned out it was the heated mattress pad causing his ‘fever’; he went to urgent care where he was diagnosed with Influenza A; now to keep all of us – Bren and family, me – from getting sick; ran to Barnes and Noble with Bren to get Cady a last minute gift; home for tacquitos at lunch and to play with ‘big vu’ or big trucks with Dec; naptime then visit with Santa who had an impressive real, white-silver beard, Declan did pretty well with him and so did Cady; Taco Bell for supper; played some more with Dec; Cady’s boyfriend sprained his ankle but it coming to meet us on Saturday; tired tonght. 12.19.2024 OGT: modern medicine

Happy Birthday, Declan Ashraf
- Happy birthday, Declan, I am so glad you were born; PC woke up coughing about 6:00 am and we were up from then on; worked on blog posts; showered, dressed and we all headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast; then downtown but to arrived too late to catch the cattle drive; PC and I went to the John Wayne museum – attracively done; rested and worked on blog posts; headed out for dinner at Japanese Palace at 5:00; good dinner complete with birthday cake for Declan; played trucks with Dec; soaked in the hot tub; Facetimed with Lauren for bday; tired and PC is coughing all over again. 12.20.2024 OGT: birthday boy

Poor PC
- Poor PC woke up at 5:30 am coughing, so we were up for the day; bite of breakfast – leftovers from Cracker Barrel; gave Dec a quick bath; showers and then off to the Big D to pick up Chaska, Cady’s boyfriend, then to Plano for lunch at an Afghan restaurant with Mustafa’s family – Parveen, Mashgan, Aalia and Amara; then to Frisco for birthday cake at the family’s house – always so hospitable and sweet; Chaska was a sweetheart, too, good student, athlete, extremely polite; back to Dallas to take Chaska home – poor PC drove 4 hours today; home to watch Tennessee get spanked by Ohio State, to my chagrin and Paul’s delight; played with Declan, snuggled him into bed and then snuggled with Cady; good visit, hectic but full of love. 12.21.2024 OGT: family

Homeward Bound
- Oh, girls, we are worn out tonight…PC coughed half the night so neither of us slept much; we got up at 5:00, showered, threw everything in the car, wrote notes to Brennyn and Mustafa, Declan and Cady and took off for home; I drove most of the trip; we picked up a refill of pain meds for Purrcival at the Urgent Care clinic then picked up kitty at Lauren’s – she and the family had taken such good care of him; got good snuggles from my El Paso babies, but missing my Ft. Worth babies tonight; Paul put together the crate for Purrcy in our den, tomorrow we will make arrangements for his surgery in New Mexico; Purrsnickitty was a little standoffish when we first got home but she has come around; ate frozen leftover chili and Bren’s good sourdough bread; collapsed in our recliners to watch the Cowboys game; could easily turn in for the night and it is only 6:45 pm; hope to get back on track tomorrow with normal life. 12.22.2024 OGT: seeing family, safe travels, coming home
Rough Rover Job
- Whew, I thought I was tired last night!! Today I have 11K+ steps and we haven’t stopped all day; our first day walking the pups Rambo and Roxy, cleaned up the puppy pads, mopped the floor, they destroyed the blinds so we pulled them up out of reach; walked them a half mile; home for breakfast then put away laundry, changed sheets, started washing clothes from the trip; PT, a lot of balancing on my broken foot; lunch then off to the commissary for Christmas meal groceries, Dollar Tree for a plastic bin to make a shallow litter box for Purrcy; got a call from the vet in NM, Purrcy will have surgery 01.02.2025, PC will take him because we have dog-walking jobs; stopped by to do our kitty visit for Colby and Winston; home to put away groceries, sat down for a few minutes; out again to do kitty visit for 5 regular kitty customers and then back to walk Roxy and Rambo and feed them supper – oh, what a mess they had made – got ahold of a roll of paper towel and shredded it; fixed sloppy Joes for dinner – salad for me; can’t wait to climb into bed. 12.23.2024 OGT: surviving the day
Released
- Frustrating day. Out the door early to take Roxy and Rambo for their walk, Roxy had wet all over the living room floor and we stepped in it trying to get inside the door to care for them, then they stepped in it and jump all over us with their wet feet; took them for a walk, mopped the floor, replaced the pup pads, fed them and gave them treats; then back home for breakfast; finished the laundry up; started on the holidays baking – cheesecake, 3 kinds of cookies; visited with Valerie on WhatsApp while PC went to pick up grocery order from Walmart; put things away; did our visit with the 5 kitties around the corner then back to the pups’ apartment to walk them, clean up the floor, mop, feed them, etc., etc.; decided I (we) are just not up to handling them for 2 weeks, it is a much bigger job than we knew, and my foot is so unsteady when I try to walk them so called Rover to ask advice about canceling the rest of the committment, they said I had legitimate concerns and helped Rachel find someone else to start watching the pups on Thursday, hallelujah; McD’s for dinner; watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the George C. Scott production of “A Christmas Carol” that I saw in 5th or 6th grade; PC fell asleep on the couch, he’s not feeling well yet, and not sleeping well. 12.24.2024 OGT: will be released from the dog sitting job
Merry Christmas
- Merry Christmas!! It’s been a long day and I am ready for bed but first my sentence; up early to walk the dogs, another mess all over their living room; started working on dinner very casually about 11:00 am; the kids had a late night at Francisco’s parents’ house so they didn’t come until after 4:00 pm, we ate immediately – ham, turkey, cheesy potatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, skillet corn, rolls, pumpkin pie and cheesecake then opened presents; had to scoot them out the door so we could do our dog walking and kitty visit; Paul was subdued and quiet today, he just doesn’t like the holiday hubbub; Facetimed with Bren and Dec, she has broken her toe; Purrcy spent time on my lap; finished my Advent book, Emmanuel; need to get some books finished, get back to the gym and back to eating healthier. 12.25.2024 OGT: baby Jesus was born; love of family

Last Pup Visit
- Awoke at 2:00 am thinking about those darn pups, praying that their next caregiver can manage them then remembered I had physical therapy at 9:00 am so set the alarm and went back to sleep; had a reevaluation at PT, have made some progress but not enough, will need 5 more weeks of therapy; put together the summaries for the book club’s January consideration list; PC was dragging all day so we didn’t do much more than our 2 kitty sitting jobs, and order a pizza for dinner; he spent the later part of the evening catnapping on the couch; put together gorcery list for May, my MIL; I have been cold all day, hope I am not coming down with PC’s Influenza A. 12.26.2024 OGT: a slow, quiet day for a change
Happy Feet
- Crazy dreams last night; another quiet day which makes my foot happy; PC had a stretch at 9:00 am, I put laundry away, talked to my brother, showered and dressed, cleaned up the kitchen, enjoyed doing a Supernatural workout all before he got home; we worked in the yard the rest of the morning, cutting bougainvillea and raking leaves; leftovers for lunch; blog reading all afternoon until time for our kitty visit with Boogie et al; grilled cheese for supper; colored the kitty stickers Lucia drew and created for me; flipped around from one channel to the next on TV; worked on blog posts. 12.27.2024 OGT: a happier foot

- Met my friends Benita and Cindy for breakfast at iHop, it was good to reminisce about working together at crazy Moye Elementary; did some blog reading then we decided to go to the outlet mall to check out the sale at Bath and Body Works but didn’t buy anything. wandered through other stores then had lunch at Taco Tote; stopped at the gym for a 30 minute walk on the treadmill; finished my book, Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher, while sitting in the massage chair: watched the Bengals-Broncos game – super exciting; ate dinner then watched “Carry-On” on Netflix, pretty suspenseful; Face-timed with Declan and Brennyn; caught up on blog reading, figuring out posts for the new year; feeling excited to meet 2025. 12.28.2024 OGT: back to the gym
Getting Back to Normal
- Today it is 4 months since I broke my foot and in the last 3 days, it has begun feeling better, not as sore or stiff. Finally!! Slept until 9:00 am so missed church; after breakfast I started putting the Christmas away and PC started working on the walkway on the side yard; Purrcy seemed to be in less pain today, he and Snick spent a good deal of the day laying in the grass in the sun; sprinkled my Valentine’s about and set up my cocoa station for New Year’s; potato soup with leftover Christmas ham for dinner; football all day, my poor fantasy football team has gone from first place to 8th; Facetimed with Declan and Brennyn; anxious to start the week and then the new year feeling better. 12.29.2024 OGT: less pain and stiffness
- Yes!! Another relatively painfree/stiffless day – at least until I got to 10K steps, then I started feeling this foot-o-mine some; up early for quiet time; got the laundry going, sheets changed; breakfast made; called our silly credit union to complain about their new policy prohibiting members from transfering money from one account to the next….GRRRRR!!!, found a way around the new policy; PC signed us up with USAA for car and home insurance, switching from Geico; dusted the downstairs, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, PC vacuumed; Supernatural workout, gym workout; created the bucket list series with a group of bloggers; read blog posts and Substack, published my latest post to Substack; Hamburger Helper (PC LOVES IT) for dinner; a very good day; football before bed. 12.30.2024 OGT: another semi-normal day
Adios, 2024
- Happily bidding 2024 adieu and looking forward to all the good things 2025 has in store. Had breakfast, did banking and bill paying; put laundry away; picked up small grocery order; walked through the stores in our nearby shopping center, bought Valentine towels, new kitty astronomy puzzle; worked out at the gym – did treadmill and leg weight machines, and massage chair, of course; watched some football on TV; Lauren and the girls came over about 4 pm and we soaked in the hot tub, then snacky dinner before they left about 7:30 pm; we watched more football before bed; loved seeing El Paso’s Sun Bowl game on the TV; glad to move into this shiny new year. 12.31.2024 OGT: hopes for 2025
And that’s a wrap, for the month and the year!! Welcome, 2025, we are glad you’re here.
1 Second Each Day
Here’s a quick video review of my second to last month of the year.
OOTDs
When I wasn’t in activewear this month, I seemed to have been in a tartan plaid something or other. Shared my favorite holiday looks, here.

Glad to have gotten some wear out of the Old Navy plaid skirt I bought last year. The Buffalo plaid wrap is one of my favorite Stitch Fix pieces. I even wore heels a couple of times this month. But not for long.
2024 Word of the Year (WOTY)
My word of the year for 2024 has been lighten. As is almost always the case in LIFE, we have had some trials this year that kept us from being very light. Here are a couple of ways I’ve lightened up this month.
- cut my hair!!
- cleaned our shed
- organized and purged Christmas and Valentine’s decorations
- made the decision to only sub for teachers and classes I am familiar with
- finally let go of the sadness/bitterness I have harbored about the school from which I retired after returning there to sub
- set a Christmas budget and stuck to it
- exercised regularly
- continued tracking WW points but not consistently
We did get the first floor of our house cleaned from top to bottom. Now to move to the tougher rooms upstairs where there are far more keepsakes and knicknacks to consider. And my loft. My loft!! Yikes. My LOFT. We shall see how much lightening up goes on upstairs. Haven’t given a moment’s thought to what my WOTY for 2025 might be. But I plan to join my friend Denyse who writes on Substack, here, for her Word of the Year link up on Monday, 01.06.2025.

Your Turn
How did your 2024 wind up? On a scale of 1-10, what number would you rate the year overall? We started out pretty shaky after PC was hospitalized with sepsis last December. Then things seemed to be rolling along smoothly as we nervously approached his retirement date. We actually adapted to Paul’s retirement and his being home pretty easily. More easily than I had worried we would. And then I broke my foot and the end of the year has been appointments and therapies that will continue into 2025. So, I’d say maybe a 7 for 2024. But I am optimistic about the new year.
Thank you for spending some of your busy day here with me. I don’t say it enough, but I appreciate your visits, the comments, and friendship. Wishing you and those you lost most much good health and happiness in 2025.
Hugs and kisses,

Wishing you good health and happiness in the new year too! It sounds like you had a pretty good December with lots of fun festive things to do.
Thank you, sugar foot. Hope 2025 is healthy, happy and kind to all of us!!
So pleased that you are making progress with your poor foot, it’s been a long time (you don’t need me to tell you that, right?)
I think you did the right thing about looking after those pups, that really is too much work!
Hope that you and PC are starting the new year fit and well and ready for whatever 2025 has in store – all good things I hope!
Thank you so much. We enjoyed our first hike yesterday, 01.02 and that felt almost normal but I am very sore and stiff today. Grrrr. I am so very tired of not being able to do the things I have always done.
We learned our lesson about taking on pups, I think. Especially hyperactive ones. Will probably stick to caring for kitties.
Happy 2025. May you enjoy much good health and happiness. XO
Happy New Year Leslie! I hope this will be a better year health wise for you!
Happy, healthy new year, Nancy!! Hope we both have a fabulous 2025. XO
You had quite the month and getting ready for Christmas at the same time! I hope, by the time you read this, PC is much, much better. How is your foot at this point? Purrcy has the same thing Mike does…avascular necrosis! I hope Purrcy’s surgery went well and recovery goes quickly.
I would have to rate this year a 6- because it has definitely been one of the worst ever. I think my only bright spot was my trip to Ireland and Scotland, but even that was tempered by the fact I was with my friend. 2025 can only be better, right?
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Oh my gosh. I never put together Mike’s issues with Purrcy’s. We are home from the vet clinic in NM this afternoon and his incision is quite significant. Was Mike’s issue congenital for birth or something caused his hip joint to wear away? We think Purrcy was born with his problem and it just wore away the little bit of joint he had in his 18 months of life. I so much better understand Mike’s issues now.
Yes, your year was pretty lousy with glimmers of good. Even your trip to Ireland and Scotland weren’t without issue. I am remembering you had hurt your foot or knee on the first day or so. Just terrible. Surely to heavens, 2025 will be kinder!!