2025 In The Rear View Mirror

So, how did 2025 treat you? Did you accomplish anything good this year?

For us, 2025 has been a roller coaster of emotions. Although Greg and I have been mostly fine, friends and fur kids have run us through the ringers.

I have two friends who are fighting serious health issues. Since I can count most of my good friends on one hand, it's getting dangerously close to tipping the scales on my coping ability.

My mother has not been well since Christmas. At her age, we take every cough seriously. If I suddenly disappear from this blog with no warning, that'll probably be why. I'd rather see her while she's alive than at her funeral.

At home, we lost Jammy, the cat suddenly. One week, he seemed a little unsteady on his feet, the next week he was so sick I had no choice but to put him to sleep. I still struggle with his loss and look for him in all his favorite spots. 

Unbelievably, Nana, the wonder dog is still with us. The vet didn't give us much hope. The drug she's on helped, but she was still hanging by a thread. When we started giving her the drug more often she seemed to turn a corner.  

She's happier than I've seen her in months. The drug is just a smoke screen. Her problems haven't gone away; she just doesn't feel the pain.  For now, I'll take it.

Librela costs an insane amount of money for a dog her size, but it's worth it. 

Presently, my mother is my biggest concern. We all die, but I always hope it's painless and in our sleep. I don't want her to suffer.

We had a nice, low key Christmas. We were expecting family but so far no one has shown up. All I know is that I am done baking and cooking grand meals. A salad appeals to me more than a roast. 

On the homestead

We've been vacuuming fallen leaves but we'll only do around the house and our normal trails. It's a huge job even with a machine. Even though I wear a mask you can't help but suck in some of that dust. 

It was 85 degrees on Christmas, yet tomorrow it will be below freezing for six hours. It's long enough that it forces us to blow out the outside water lines so they don't freeze. 

It's hard to predict our winters. Our temps tend to slide back and forth depending on how hard winter pushes south.  

But while the weather is good, we try to get out there and work. Once real winter sets in, late January through February, I finally get to rest for a few weeks.

I had an MRI done on my shoulder recently. The orthopedist says it's just a couple of small bone spurs in my shoulder and doesn't want to do surgery until they get worse. 

Doctors make me grumble. I know they're just going by their experience with other old people, but I honestly don't stay still. The arm really hurts because I never have enough time to rest it. I would've rather he shaved off those bone spurs so I could continue working without so much pain. 

Funny thing though. He gave me a steroid shot. I told him I didn't think it would work. He went on to patronize me, telling me that the steroid will work on the shoulder because it doesn't have the load bearing job of a knee. I smiled and nodded, calling him an idiot in my head. I could not convince him that I really do a lot of heavy lifting and stretching.

Whenever I've taken a steroid shot, it lasts all of two days. Two days.

The one in my (so called non-load bearing) shoulder...two days. Sheesh!

My only comfort is that we finished all our big jobs for the year. We could've put up the shade cloth structure, but I told Greg we might as well wait until Spring. All the pieces are ready. We just have to erect it. It looks like we'll need an extra set of hands (or two).  No heavy lifting, but we need to be in three places at once to get it bolted down.  

I'm so very pleased with the way the garden is shaping up. Every year it gets better. The greenhouse helped a lot.

On a personal growth front, I finally tasted a turnip. I've never had one in my life. I tossed a package of seeds in the fall garden and harvested them only last week. They were delicious! Sweet and nutty. I'm sorry I never tried them before. I'm definitely growing more next year.

The only dark cloud on the homestead is the return of coyotes. After what happened to our boy, Iko, we take the threat seriously. I saw one sprint past my studio window only a few weeks ago. I warned Greg immediately since he walks the dogs at night. He doesn't leave the house unless he's armed now. Coyotes will never hurt our dogs again.

We're grateful to have made it another year, relatively intact. 

I guess that's why I rarely get depressed. We've had too many friends who never reached our age, and more who've truly suffered. You can't whine about your situation when so many others have it worse, so I stay grateful, and help when I can to repay that privilege. 

Come on 2026. Let's see what you've got. 

What do you hope for next year? New job? New move?  What are your goals for next year? 

 

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