Happy New Year's Eve!
It’s my tradition here on the blog to share a year-in-review post on December 31—a look back on the highlights and the things we learned, made, and experienced during the year.
I’m grateful for another full year of life, music, and adventures, but I also want to acknowledge that it's been a hard year for all of us. Looking ahead to 2026, we all have an important role to play—let's make it count.
Here's a look back on our year:
In January, I discovered the hard way that paint colors can be revised without notice (RIP BM Whispering Spring). We went cross-country skiing and researched stair runners, vintage rugs, and table lamps. We sipped on Club soda with lime while cooking dinner and learned that the kind of potatoes you use matters when making mashed potatoes. We chased Rory around the house in the morning to put on her jacket and attended a celebration of life for our friend and neighbor, including a second line down the street.
In February, we lost our next-door neighbor, Joe. We celebrated with his family and friends with cake (his motto in life was “Eat cake!”) and Canada Dry ginger ale. We listened to a podcast about wintering at the kitchen table with a candle lit and a pot of soup on the stove. We were supposed to go on a family trip to Switzerland to celebrate Steve’s parents’ anniversary, but I came down with the flu the day we were supposed to leave and spent the week in bed instead. And so, we ended the month with Lüften, the German practice of opening all the windows for a brief time to get fresh air.
In March, we celebrated Rory’s 10th birthday with a homemade peanut butter-apple cake. We went for walks at sunset and had a pancake breakfast at a local maple syrup farm. We lost another neighbor in a pedestrian accident and gathered with friends to remember her life. I hosted three musical informances in my studio to celebrate Women in Music Month.
In April, we took a quick trip to Miami—Steve was awarded a Centennial Medal by his alma mater, the University of Miami. In addition to the festivities, we saw iguanas the size of Rory, orchids growing on trees, the Vizcaya Mansion, and an FBI raid at a local art gallery. I also presented at MTNA’s virtual TEMPO conference.
In May, we saw the Broadway touring production of Some Like It Hot and installed a sisal stair runner one weekend—all by ourselves. We hosted Steve’s family over Memorial Day weekend. We celebrated their anniversary with cake, stories, and a live performance of The Firebird.
In June, I hosted my year-end studio recital and presented at the NCKP virtual conference. We watched our tomatoes grow and grow and tackled several invasive weeds in the garden. We escaped to the Finger Lakes for a weekend and enjoyed relearning how to use binoculars, playing Gin Rummy, sitting on the dock, and reading Mary Oliver poems from a book we found in the house.
In July, we hosted our first Cake Social for our neighborhood (I made Red Velvet). We took a road trip to Vermont/New Hampshire to visit Steve’s family, celebrated our 10-year housiversary, and enjoyed tomato sandwiches with Duke’s mayo.
In August, we went blueberry picking and I made a peach cake with Lori Anne peaches. We kept an eye on the AQI numbers from Canadian wildfires and spent a week on Seneca Lake (we saw the most amazing double rainbow!). We lost another neighbor and were reminded again how fleeting life can be. We had some work done on the porch floor and decided to paint it (reality = 4 trips to the hardware to get the right color).
In September, I started back to school and began a new practicing ritual—30 min./day, 5x/week, working my way through J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. We enjoyed bouquets of Cafe au Lait and Cornel Bronze dahlias (among others that I can’t name), and we became friends with our mail carrier (she brings Rory full-size Milk Bone cookies).
In October, we took advantage of a sunny day and spent the afternoon at the lake in Pultneyville (with half-priced donuts and coffee from Sunny’s). We hosted a neighborhood chili tasting and planned themed dinners for UGA football games: butternut squash pasta, blackened cod with red beans and rice, red velvet mug cake, Reese Witherspoon’s shrimp and grits with cheddar biscuits and okra and tomatoes. At the end of the month, we spent a long weekend on Keuka Lake: warm coffee in pottery mugs, dinner by the outdoor fire, and blueberry pancakes on the patio in the sun.
In November, Steve’s brother came to visit, and we hosted a Pie Social for the neighborhood, with apple hand pies, apple-cranberry cannoli-shaped pies, and “Mrs. Moore’s chess pie.” We celebrated both of our birthdays and saw the Broadway touring production of Hamilton (our first time!). We had Thanksgiving with neighbors (I made a Very Berry Apple pie for dessert), and I planted 20 paperwhite bulbs in pewter dishes and glass vases around the house.
In December, we enjoyed panettone on Lenox Christmas china, pomegranate mocktails, Christmas parties, visits with friends, and watching our paperwhites bloom. We attended the 113th St. Olaf Christmas Festival (Steve had a piece premiered) and enjoyed visiting with family and friends during a very cold weekend in Minnesota. I helped organize the 105th Christmas Eve celebration for the neighborhood and finished reading my 26th book of the year! See my top five books here.
As always, I’m grateful for what has been and hopeful for all that is to come. Cheers to 2026!
Previously:
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
