2025 Blogging Year in Review

A hat tip to Mali, whose post "2016: Looking back on the blog" has inspired me to do the same for the past several years. Also to Mel, whose Crème de la Crème lists from 2007 to 2012 prompted me & other bloggers to review our posts from the year past & pick out our favourites to share.  (There was a list in 2006 too, but that was before I started my blog.)  If the Crème de la Crème list still existed, one of these posts would probably be the one I would have submitted. :) ) 

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2025 was not as prolific in blogging terms as the past several years have been. 2021 was my best year ever in terms of numbers of posts (213). I ended the year with 132 posts, the fewest since 2016, when I published 133 posts.  

That's (still) an average of 11 posts per month (one fewer than my average 12 of the past few years). My least-chatty month was July, with 6 posts. My most verbose was September, with 15 (thanks in large part to daily posts during World Childless Week 2025!  lol)  Not bad, especially after 18+ years of blogging!  

I don't check my blog stats very often, but I had a look at the ones for the past 12 months (which now includes part of January), and (as of today), I had 1.76 million views (!) 71,000+ views and 185 comments this year (page views more than doubled over last year (!), but comments were down). As I noted in this post from September, I suspect that huge spike in views was due more to some kind of bot activity than actual eyes on screens. :p  

The top-viewed post of 2025  that was written/posted IN 2025 -- was this "odds & ends" post from Sept. 2nd, with 431 views to date. (Not sure what was so attractive about it??    

In addition to posts about or related to childless/free issues or other adoption/loss/infertility issues, I tried to do a "Right now" post at the beginning of each month, participated in 38 #MicroblogMondays this year, and reviewed all 38 books that I read in 2025.  

I also wrote a lot about other things going on in my life, including aging, retirement, memories of the past, being an auntie & great-auntie, and condo living. There were lots of "odds & ends" posts, passing along and/or commenting on news items, blog & Substack posts and podcasts, etc. (usually ALI-related) that piqued my interest,.as well as lists of recent "small pleasures & annoying things."  I stopped doing monthly pandemic updates in my Right Now posts in May, and mostly stopped masking by summertime. Which is not to say that covid isn't still out there...! 

Normally, I would choose a few favourite/noteworthy posts from the past year to highlight here -- but in the interests of time and getting this (finally!) published, I'm going to skip that this time around.  (Did any of you have a favourite or memorable post from here this past year?)  

2025 Reading Year in Review

I started doing a specific "Reading Year in Review" post in 2020. I figured that since I was doing an overall year in review post (which includes some book information anyway), and a blogging year in review post -- and since keeping track of my books is a big thing I normally do on my blog -- my reading life deserved its own year-end wrap-up post too.  :)  

(Note:  I have not linked to all the books mentioned here, but they are all reviewed on this blog.) 

How did I do?  

I increased my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal from 36 books in 2021 to 45 books in 2022, kept (and met) that goal for 2023, and retained it for 2024 & 2025 -- although, unfortunately, I was not successful in reaching my goal in either year.  

• My Goodreads 2025 Year in Review report tells me I read 38 books with 12,413 pages (versus 37 books with 15,320 pages in 2024, 48 books with 16.980 pages in 2023 and 50 books with 17,047 pages in 2022). That's one more book than I read in 2024, but still 7 books below my goal of 45, or 84%.  (My best result ever: 59 books in 2021.) All the books I read this year were reviewed on this blog and tagged "2025 books." 
• The shortest book I read was "Peter West" by D.E. Stevenson (130 pages);  the longest was "A Place of Greater Safety" by Hilary Mantel (772 pages).  
• Average book length was 326 pages (down from 414 pages in 2024, and 353 pages in 2023). 
• (Note that one of the books I read in 2024 was "War and Peace"...!)
• The most popular book I read ( = most shelved by Goodreads readers) was "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang  (2.3 million readers);  the least popular was this one, a memoir written by my dear late friend R. (42 readers).   
• The highest-rated book I read was "I'm Sorry for My Loss" by Rebecca Little & Colleen Long (4.38 stars). 
• My average Goodreads rating in 2025 was 3.8 stars (lower than the 4.2 from the previous three years).  
• In 2021, I also started tracking books on The StoryGraph, which provides slightly different stats (and even more, with a paid subscription -- although I don't have one of those!). 
• StoryGraph reports that I read 38 books with 12,688 pages (slightly more than Goodreads recorded). 
• Average book length according to SroryGraph was 334 pages (slightly more than Goordreads reported). 
• Average time to finish a book: about 20 days. (This would be in good part because of the readalongs/slow reads I take part in...!) 
• Fastest read/least time spent:  "Peter West" by D.E. Stevenson (3 days).
• Most time spent:  "Anne of Windy Poplars" by L.M. Montgomery (143 days = not quite 5 months, part of a chapter-by-chapter readalong and discussion with my Montgomery Readathon Facebook group). 
• This year, StoryGraph provided a "mood map" of my reading during the year:  you can see a steady upward trend in the moods of my books over the year. 
•  The top/most dominant mood of my books was once again overwhelmingly "emotional" (value: 15 vs 16 last year), followed by "funny" (12), "reflective" (11), mysterious (8) and dark (7). 
• Like Goodreads, StoryGraph logged the longest book I read as "A Place of Greater Safety" by Hilary Mantel (768 pages), but the shortest according to StoryGraph was "Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands" by Mary Seacole (200 pages).   
• The vast majority of my books were medium-paced (69%). 19% were slow and 11% fast. 
• 53% of my 2024 books were 300-499 pages;  45% were less than 300 pages and just 3% were over 500 pages. 
• Most pages read/finished:  1,852 in October. 
• 84% of my 2024 books were fiction;  just 16% non-fiction. This is a big change from recent years! (I credit the many book clubs I take part in, which mostly focus on fiction.)
• My most-read genre in 2025 was historical (value: 13), followed by literary (9), contemporary (7), mystery (5) and thriller (5)(similar to 2024).     
• StoryGraph also tracks the format of your books, but selects print as the default. The majority of my reads this year -- 76% -- were recorded as digital, vs 24% print.  (Note that some books do not have a "digital" option, in which case I choose print.) 
• Most-read authors in 2025:  D.E. Stevenson (7 books) and Richard Osman (3).  
• Average rating 3.81 stars (vs 3.8 on Goodreads, and 4.06 last year).  
• 5-star reads in 2025:  "I'm Sorry for My Loss" by Rebecca Little & Colleen Long and "The Impossible Fortune" by Richard Osman. 
• My highest average ratings came in June (4.25); the lowest was in August (3.38).
• Most shelved book:  "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang (445.598 users). Least shelved/popular: this one, a memoir written by my dear late friend R. (1 user, i.e., me!  lol).  
• Highest rated:  "I'm Sorry for My Loss" by Rebecca Little & Colleen Long (4.43 stars;  my rating was 5 stars). 
• I explored the work of 22 new authors, read 10 books that were part of a series, and revisited/re-read 5 books. 
• I read 6 books in October, my most prolific month, and just 1 in July. 
• I continued to take part in several online book clubs/groups/readalongs, which provided me with lots of reading/discussion pleasure, and helped boost my 2025 reading totals: they were responsible for 25 of the 38 books I read in 2025 -- more than half!   
• Sadly, the L.M. Montgomery Readathon on Facebook, which began with "Rilla of Ingleside" in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, concluded earlier this year with one final book, "Anne of Windy Poplars" (review here). (The group still exists on Facebook, and members still post Montgomery-related content there, but we are no longer doing readalongs together.)  
• I continued to co-host the Childless Collective Nomo Book Club, where we read & discussed a book a month together ( = 12 books).  
• My D.E. Stevenson fan group read & discussed 3 DES books together in 2025, chapter by chapter (currently on #4). (I read each book first myself, and then counted our group read as a re-read.)
• I initially thought I would repeat one or both of Footnotes & Tangents' 2024 slow reads ("War & Peace" by Leo Tolstoy and Hilary Mantel's Cromwell Trilogy) -- but I soon realized there were lots of other books calling my name, and abandoned that idea. Perhaps someday... I do highly recommend the experience, especially if these are books you've always wanted to read!  
• I did take part in the 4 other slow reads offered by F&T in 2025, including "The Siege at Krishnapur" by J.G. Farrell, "A Place of Greater Safety" by Hilary Mantel, "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Adebe and "The Blue Flower" by Penelope Fitzgerald.  

Goals for 2026: 

• As noted above, I ended the year with 38 books read. I did not reach my Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal of 45 books (nor did I come anywhere near equalling my 2021/best-recorded total of 59 books, when my goal was 36).  I initially thought I'd keep my goal of 45 books in 2026 -- but, given the recent events in my life, reading has taken a back seat for the time being (sadly, I have yet to start a book in January).  So I've decided to downsize my 2026 goal slightly to 40 books (and hope to do better than that...!). It's still a "stretch" goal, based on the past few years, and still works out to 3-4 books per month on average). 
• While I'm grateful for my book groups and the boost they give to my reading totals, and while I intend to keep up with them in 2026, I'm hoping to be able to read more of my own choices this coming year too.  :)   

2025 Highlights:  

• It's always very hard for me to pick a single book as "the best" that I read in any given year. I read some really good books this year, a few really great ones  and very few "meh" choices (3.8 stars on average.)  A few of my favourites, listed in the order I read them (I haven't linked to them here, but they're all reviewed on Goodreads, StoryGraph and this blog): 

• "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang. I still find myself thinking about this one! 
• "The Mermaid of Black Conch" by Monique Roffey.  A lovely surprise. :)  
• "The Wedding People" by Alison Espach. A depressing-sounding premise that evolved into something absolutely delightful, especially as a childless-not-by-choice reader!  
• "I'm Sorry for My Loss" by Rebecca Little & Colleen Long. Both infuriating and validating.  
• "Rules for Visiting" by Jessica Francis Kane. This one grew on me as I read it! 
• "Kills Well With Others" by Deanna Raybourn, So much fun!!  :)  
• "Mania" by Stuart "Woody" Wood. I enjoyed reliving my days as a teenaged Bay City Rollers fan through the words of my favourite band member. 
• "The Ministry of Time" by Kaliane Bradley.  Love, love, loved this one. If I had to pick just one favourite book from 2025, this might be it.  
• "We Solve Murders" and "The Impossible Fortune," both by Richard Osman. Osman does it again -- both of these were pure delight.  

Did you meet your reading goals for 2025 (if you set any)? What great books did you read this past year? 

2025 Year in Review

In 2023, I tried a new "Year in Review" format. It was shorter and easier to write than what I had done in previous years, and felt fresher -- so I've kept it since then. :)  The format/list of questions came from the long-gone scrapbooking magazine Creating Keepsakes, January/February 2013 issue (!). 

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1) What was the coolest thing you did or that happened to you last year?

This was actually a tough one...!  I can't think of too much that was "cool" that we did in 2025 (isn't that pathetic??).  

One thing that came to mind:  en route to dh's cousin's cottage in September, we made a short side trip to Petroglyphs Provincial Park, which was pretty cool to see.  (It's considered a sacred spot to the Indigenous people, so no cameras/photos allowed.)  

2)  What major milestone(s) did you or a loved one experience last year?

Dh & I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in July! Nobody remembered :p  and the trip I wanted to take never materialized... but 40 years is still 40 years, right?  We did go out for steaks.  :)  

3)  What was your favourite celebration last year?

The great-niblings' birthday parties were all fun and I'm glad we didn't miss any of them!  (Even if I did get horribly sick after Little Great-Nephew #1's party...!)  

4)  What was your most memorable holiday of last year, and what made it special?

Christmas with my family is always memorable, even when it's on a much smaller scale than our Christmases of yesteryear. I am well aware that my time with my parents is not unlimited, and so I appreciate the opportunity to spend time with them while I can -- especially for holidays like Christmas!  (Even when they drive me nuts sometimes...!)  (We're still here, and they've been bickering a little less than they were this summer, which has been nice...!  lol) 

The holidays we spent with BIL, SIL, the nephews and their families -- including Easter and (Canadian) Thanksgiving, as well as family birthday parties -- were very special too. It's always fun just to be together, eat good food and see the kids. 

5)  What family vacation or activity was the most memorable, and why?

Our annual cottage weekend in September with BIL, SIL, dh's cousin & his wife, and (new this year) another one of dh's cousins, was a lot of fun (as usual).

Here's to (hopefully!) travelling further afield in 2026...!! 

6)  What big goal did you or a loved one achieve or work toward last year?

I can't think of anything for this category??   

7)  What's something that changed in your life last year?  (something new, a loss, etc.)

Both dh & I were told in late October (2024) by our family doctor that our cholesterol levels had reached concerning levels. (I'd been warned last year that my numbers have been trending upward over the past few years --and that yet another prescription might be in my future :( ).  By eating better and trying to be at least a little more active, we were able to get much better bloodwork results in January (2025). Unfortunately, my November bloodwork showed that my numbers were up again :(  -- so one of my new year's resolutions will definitely be to refocus my efforts and get my numbers down again by the time I have to repeat the bloodwork in March...!  (After we get through the Christmas holidays, of course...! lol) 

8)  What was your favourite movie, book, album or song from last year, and why?

We haven't been to the movies (in theatre) since early 2020 (before the pandemic began) :(  and I don't follow music the way that I used to either. I will be posting my 2025 Reading Year in Review soon, and as I say there, it's hard to pick one favourite book -- but I've listed a few! 

9)  What world, national or local event or news story affected you most?

World: The return of the Orange One, south of the border. I am so, so tired of him and his cronies (and I'm not even American! -- although this story obviously has huge implications for my country -- see below). 

National: The U.S. president's subtle and not-so-subtle threats toward my country's very existence, the wave of patriotism it has inspired, and the impact it had on our federal election in April. 

Local:  The Conservative government (inexplicably) won yet another majority government in our provincial election last May. I will give the premier credit for standing up to the Orange One, but he's really just a lighter, folksy-er shade of orange himself:  the populist rhetoric, the policies and contracts that favour big business donors and ignore the local & environmental impacts, the blatant corruption... 

10)  What life lesson did you or a family member learn and take to heart last year?

Every year for the past few years, my answer to this one has been the same:  Life is short, and tomorrow is not promised. I am more and more aware of this with each passing year...! Too many people I knew and/or loved -- many of them my own age or younger -- departed this life in 2025, including (but not limited to) fellow blogger Bamberlamb, my friend M. from our pregnancy loss group, my cousin, not just one but two of my high school classmates (within about two weeks of each other this summer), as well as our English teacher, and most recently, my dear friend of 41 years, R.  

2024 Reading Year in Review

I started doing a specific "Reading Year in Review" post in 2020. I figured that since I was doing an overall year in review post (which includes some book information anyway), and a blogging year in review post -- and since keeping track of my books is a big thing I normally do on my blog -- my reading life deserved its own year-end wrap-up post too.  :)  

(Note:  I have not linked to all the books mentioned here, but they are all reviewed on this blog.) 

How did I do?  

I increased my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal from 36 books in 2021 to 45 books in 2022, kept (and met) that goal for 2023, and retained it for 2024. Unfortunately, it became apparent by mid-year that it was going to be a stretch to reach it! (largely because I took on a few more book clubs/readalongs, including ones where we were reading & discussing some pretty LONG books!). 

• My Goodreads 2024 Year in Review report tells me I read 37 books with 15,320 pages (versus 48 books with 16.980 pages in 2023 and 50 books with 17,047 pages in 2022). That's 8 books below my goal of 45 or 82%.  (My best result ever: 59 books in 2021.) All the books I read were reviewed on this blog and tagged "2024 books." 
• The shortest book I read was "Things I Don't Want to Know" by Deborah Levy (167 pages); the longest was "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (1,938 pages). 
• Average book length was 414 pages (up from 353 pages in 2023). 
• The most popular book I read ( = most shelved by Goodreads readers) was "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (2.7 million readers);  the least popular was "No One Talks About This Stuff" edited by Kat Brown (279 readers).   
• The highest-rated book I read was "My Effin' Life" by Geddy Lee (4.68 stars). 
• My average Goodreads rating in 2023 was 4.2 stars (same as the last two years).  
• In 2021, I also started tracking books on The StoryGraph, which provides slightly different stats (and even more, with a paid subscription -- although I don't have one of those!). 
• StoryGraph reports that I read 37 books with 15,658 pages (slightly more than Goodreads recorded). 
• Average time to finish:  2 months (!). (This would be because of the readalongs I take part in...!) 
• Fastest read/least time spent:  "The Cost of Living" by Deborah Levy (3 days).
• Most time spent:  "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (362 days, at one chapter per day, with a few days off along the way). 
• The top "moods" of my books were overwhelmingly "emotional" (value: 17) and "reflective" (10), followed by "lighthearted" (9), "mysterious" (5), and "informative," "funny," "dark" and "challenging" (4).    
• The vast majority of my books were medium-paced (66%). 26% were slow and 9% fast. 
• 64% of my 2024 books were 300-499 pages;  19% were less than 300 pages and 17% were over 500 pages. 
• 81% of my 2024 books were fiction;  19% non-fiction. This is a big change from recent years! (I credit the many book clubs I take part in, which mostly focus on fiction.)
• My most-read genre in 2024 was historical, followed by literary, then contemporary and romance.     
• StoryGraph also tracks the format of your books, but selects print as the default. 68% of my reads this year were recorded as digital, 32% print.  Note that some books do not have a "digital" option, in which case I choose print. 
• Most-read authors in 2024:  D.E. Stevenson (6 books), followed by L.M. Montgomery (4 books) and Hilary Mantel (3 books).  
• Average rating 4.06 stars. (Unlike Goodreads, The StoryGraph allows fractional star ratings.) 
• Most shelved book:  "Persuasion" by Jane Austen (161,000+ users). Least shelved: "Queen High" by C.J. Carey (just 16 users). 
• Highest rated:  "No One Talks About This Stuff" edited by Kat Brown (4.56 stars;  my rating was 5 stars). 
• I explored the work of 14 new authors, read 15 books that were part of a series, and revisited/re-read 11 books. 
• Once again this year, fiction choices outnumbered non-fiction (many of them re-reads, but still...!):  24 fiction, 13 non-fiction.
• Re-reads -- which I started counting as books read in 2020 -- accounted for a good chunk of my 2024 total (11 according to StoryGraph -- see above). Some were books that I read on my own and then immediately afterward as part of a group readalong/discussion, while others were books that I've read in the past and revisited this year.  
• Online, the Childless Collective Nomo book club (I'm one of the hosts!), D.E. Stevenson fan group, L.M. Montgomery Readathon on Facebook, and slow readalongs with Footnotes & Tangents on Substack helped boost my 2024 reading totals and provided me with a lot of reading/discussion pleasure. 
• My book groups were responsible for 19 of the 37 books I read in 2024 -- almost half!  I read 12? books as part of the Childless Collective book club or in preparation for other book-related discussions (including finishing Jody Day's "Living the Life Unexpected"), 6 for DES (3 different books, each counted twice as re-reads), and 4 for the L.M. Montgomery Readathon (2 different books, both counted twice as re-reads). 

Goals for 2025: 

• As noted above, I ended the year with 37 books read. I did not reach my Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal of 45 books (nor did I come anywhere near equalling my 2021/best-recorded total of 59 books, when my goal was 36).  Nevertheless, I've decided to maintain my goal of 45 books in 2025 ( = 3.75 books per month on average)(and hope to do better...!). I may be repeating one or both of my slow readalongs of "War & Peace" and the Cromwell Trilogy, which took up a lot of my reading time this year -- but I think this is still a realistic & reachable goal for me right now (albeit a bit of a stretch one!). 
• I've read more than 45 books in four of the past six years (2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023), and almost 45 (i.e., 43) in 2020 -- so 45 books still seems very do-able.  But I'd be thrilled to be able to improve on that goal, too!  
• While I'm grateful for my book groups and the boost they give to my reading totals, and while I intend to keep up with them in 2025, I'm hoping to be able to read more of my own choices this coming year too.  :)   

2024 Highlights:  

• Like so many people, I tried reading "War & Peace" by Leo Tolstoy... once. It was 40+ years ago, and I think I got about 60 pages in before abandoning ship. But I always thought I should give it another try... someday. When I first heard about the Footnotes & Tangents slow read in late 2023, I was deep in other book club/readalong obligations and figured I needed another one like a hole in the head... but it was an irresistible opportunity, and I took the plunge. As 2024 draws to a close, I am so glad I did. One chapter per day is entirely do-able, and the character wiki, daily chat threads with other readers and Simon's weekly context posts all contributed to an enormously enjoyable (and -- dare I say? -- fun!) experience. I'll very likely be back for another round in 2025! Thanks, Simon, and thanks to the other W&P-ers for what's turned out to be one of the highlights of my year. ❤
• Likewise, "Wolf Crawl" -- Footnotes & Tangents' "slow readalong" of the three books in Hilary Mantel's Cromwell Trilogy -- was an amazing bookish experience this year. An absolutely stunning feat of writing, storytelling, characterization and historical scholarship (along with a healthy dose of imagination!).  
• It's always very hard for me to pick a single book as "the best" that I read in any given year. I read some really good books this year -- very few disappointments or "meh" choices -- and I gave lots/most of them four and five-star reviews on Goodreads. (4.2 stars was my average Goodreads rating.)  A few of my favourites, in no particular order (I haven't linked to them here, but they're all reviewed on Goodreads, StoryGraph and this blog): 
• "A Death in Diamonds" by S.J. Bennett 
• "My Effin' Life" by Geddy Lee 
• "Wolf Hall/Bring Up the Bodies/The Mirror and the Light" by Hilary Mantel 
• "Widowland/Queen High" by C.J. Carey (both re-reads) 
• "You Are Here" by David Nicholls 
• "Code Name Helene" by Ariel Lawhon 

Did you meet your reading goals for 2024 (if you set any)? What great books did you read this past year? 

2024 Blogging Year in Review

A hat tip to Mali, whose post "2016: Looking back on the blog" has inspired me to do the same for the past several years. Also to Mel, whose Crème de la Crème lists from 2007 to 2012 prompted me & other bloggers to review our posts from the year past & pick out our favourites to share.  (There was a list in 2006 too, but that was before I started my blog.)  If the Crème de la Crème list still existed, one of these posts would probably be the one I would have submitted. :) ) 

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2024 was not as prolific in blogging terms as the past several years have been. 2021 was my best year ever in terms of numbers of posts (213). I ended the year with 146 posts -- ranking #8 (of 18!) in terms of numbers of total posts for the year, just below 2015 with 150 posts. 

That's (still) an average of 12 posts per month. My least-chatty month was February, with 8 posts. My most verbose was September, with 20 (thank you, World Childless Week 2024!  lol)  Not bad, especially after 17+ years of blogging!  

I don't check my blog stats very often, but I had a look at the ones for the past 12 months, and (as of this afternoon), I had 471,000+ views and 242 comments this year (page views way up from last year, but comments down). The top-viewed post of 2024  (that was written/posted IN 2024 -- was this one, with 300 views since it was posted on Nov. 6th (less than two months ago!).    

In addition to posts about or related to childless/free issues or other adoption/loss/infertility issues, I tried to do a "Right now" or "The Current" post at the beginning of each month, participated in 39 #MicroblogMondays this year, and reviewed all 37 books that I read in 2024.  

I also wrote a lot about other things going on in my life, including aging, retirement, memories of the past, being an auntie & great-auntie, dealing with service people, and condo living. There were lots of "odds & ends" posts, passing along and/or commenting on news items, blog & Substack posts and podcasts, etc. (usually ALI-related) that piqued my interest,.as well as lists of recent "small pleasures & annoying things."  And the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic (now in its FIFTH year, and heading into its SIXTH) continued to provide PLENTY of fodder for blogging!! 

Here are a few of my favourite/noteworthy posts from 2024, or ones that say "2024" to me -- in more or less chronological order (from oldest/earliest in 2024 to most recent): 

January: 

• Holiday rehash
• #MicroblogMondays: Busted?
• No grandkids? (Welcome to my world...)

February: 

• #MicroblogMondays: Define "regular"...!
• #MicroblogMondays: What's saving my life right now?
• #MicroblogMondays: You never know who's reading your blog...!

March: 

• It's International WOMEN's Day
• Four years (!)

April: 

• #MicroblogMonday: Eclipse!
• #MicroblogMondays: See you in my dreams
• The invisible load
• #MicroblogMondays: Oodles and Caboodles

May: 

• #MicroblogMondays: Did you see them?
• #MicroblogMondays: Information overload vs creativity

June: 

• My happy place (well, one of them...!) ;)
• #MicroblogMondays: Three's company :)

July: 

• #MicroblogMondays: Recuperating!
• Childless? Ummm, I don't think so...

August: 

• #MicroblogMondays: An "interesting" weekend...!
• 26
• "Childless cat ladies" claw back :)
• #MicroblogMondays: Coming soon to a screen near you...!
• There's something happening here...
• #MicroblogMondays: Online friends are real friends :)

September: 

• Here we go again...
• Childless/free Seneca Falls?
• #MicroblogMondays: It's World Childless Week! Day One: Our Stories
• Plus ca change...

October: 

• #MicroblogMondays: Thankful :)
• Good news for bereaved parents in Ontario :)
• 17!

November: 

• "Phantom" turns 50?!!
• A howl in the darkness
• #MicroblogMondays: "Does motherhood have a PR crisis?" (Seriously??)
• Do our stories matter?

December: 

• Advent calendars
• Pre-Christmas annoying things & small pleasures

2024 Year in Review

Last year (2023), I tried a new "Year in Review" format. It was shorter and easier to write than what I had done in previous years, and felt fresher -- so I decided to keep it for 2024.  :)  The format/list of questions came from the long-gone scrapbooking magazine Creating Keepsakes, January/February 2013 issue (!). 

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1) What was the coolest thing you did or that happened to you last year?

Getting to meet and have dinner with Mel and her family in August. :)  

Having a patio lunch with five other childless/free women from the Childless Collective on a lovely Saturday in mid-September. :)  

Appeared in a World Childless Week webinar with Michael Hughes, chatting about our mutual love of genealogy and why we as childless people might find their family trees interesting. (You can view it here!) 

Read  "War & Peace"!  :)  One chapter a day for an entire year! (Check out the link for details -- you can do it this year too!)  

Connecting with a new friend via Ancestry -- not a relative of mine, BUT we share a family connection and distant cousins through marriage. We were born in the same town, a few years apart, my parents knew her parents, she knows several of my aunts, uncles & cousins -- AND she now lives in the same town where my parents live!  We met for coffee a few days ago & had a lovely chat about genealogy and people we both knew. (The world is much smaller than we think sometimes...!) (Bonus:  she's childless too!)  

2)  What major milestone(s) did you or a loved one experience last year?

My dad celebrated his 85th birthday in July -- and we got to be there to help celebrate!  :)  (See #3, below.) 

My sister got a new job (one with a significant pay hike) -- just before her 62nd birthday!!  Go, Sis!! 

Little Great-Niece celebrated her first birthday with a big party last spring.  :) 

AND -- we got a brand-new great-nephew just before Christmas!  A little brother for Little Great-Nephew (hmm, I'm going to have to rethink those pseudonyms, lol -- LGN #1 & #2?  Older & Younger??).

3)  What was your favourite celebration last year?

My dad's 85th birthday party. We just had a few neighbours in my parents' back yard for cake & coffee, and it was horribly hot, but (after not being able to spend time there or be present for any of his birthdays for the previous five summers) I was just so happy to be there!  (Also: thankful to celebrate another year with him, when so many of my friends have already/recently lost their parents...) 

Also: 

• Little Great-Niece's first birthday party (in early March) was fun. :)  I got some cute photos, especially of her and Little Great-Nephew sitting on the sofa together! (One of them has been my cellphone wallpaper since then!)  
• We had a "sprinkle" on Nov. 9th to celebrate the impending arrival of Little Great-Nephew #2/Great-Nibling #3 (who was born just before Christmas -- see #1). Great food, good company, fun spending time with Little Great-Nephew #1 (his older brother) & LGNiece. :) 

4)  What was your most memorable holiday of last year, and what made it special?

Christmas with my family is always memorable. I am well aware that my time with my parents is not unlimited, and so I appreciate the opportunity to spend time with them while I can -- especially for holidays like Christmas!  (Even when they drive me nuts sometimes...! lol)  (We're still here, and they've been bickering a little less than they were this summer, which has been nice...!  lol) 

Easter and (Canadian) Thanksgiving with BIL, SIL, the nephews and their families, were very special too. It's always fun just to be together, eat good food and see the kids. 

5)  What family vacation or activity was the most memorable, and why?

Being back "home" to visit my parents (and help celebrate my dad's 85th birthday) in July was memorable, particularly because I hadn't been there in the summertime since 2019!  

Our annual cottage weekend in September with BIL, SIL and dh's cousin & his wife was fun (as usual), even if with weather didn't co-operate. 

Here's to (hopefully!) travelling further afield in 2025...!! 

6)  What big goal did you or a loved one achieve or work toward last year?

We had new vertical blinds installed on all of our windows this spring!  (I know -- not really a BIG goal, but something we've been talking about doing almost since we first moved into our condo -- and we finally got it done!)  

7)  What's something that changed in your life last year?  (something new, a loss, etc.)

Both dh & I were told in late October by our family doctor that our cholesterol levels had reached concerning levels. (I'd been warned last year that my numbers have been trending upward over the past few years --but dh's ratio was actually higher than mine!)  We've been trying to eat better and get a little more active since then (although our exercise efforts have been derailed lately by colds, etc.). We'll redo our bloodwork in January to see if there's been any movement in the right direction... fingers crossed and knocking wood! Neither of us wants to add yet another prescription to our daily meds. (I'm already taking prescriptions to address my sluggish thyroid and high blood pressure.) 

8)  What was your favourite movie, book, album or song from last year, and why?

Haven't been to the movies (in theatre) since before the pandemic  :(  and I don't follow music the way that I used to either. I will be posting my 2024 Reading Year in Review shortly, and as I say there, it's hard to pick one favourite book -- but I've listed a few! 

9)  What world, national or local event or news story affected you most?

World:  The U.S. election. (Yes, I'm Canadian. It still affects us, big time.)  'Nuff said.  :p  

National: There will be a federal election in 2025 -- which the Conservatives are heavily favoured to win. I'll admit the current Liberal government has been disappointing in many ways -- but I am not (at ALL!!) convinced the Conservatives (whose current slant is MAGA Lite and whose leader I absolutely loathe) will do any better.    

Local:  I'm (still) furious about our provincial government's decision to close (and eventually move)  the landmark Ontario Science Centre (where dh spent hours & hours as a kid), then raze the original building (!)(no doubt to build more condos on the prime real estate) -- and the related push to redevelop the prime parkland/public space of Ontario Place, including a new/downsized version of the Science Centre and add a luxury spa with a massive underground parking garage (!). Dozens (hundreds?) of trees, carefully chosen & planted by the original site developers more than 50 years ago, have already been cut down. In general, the indiscriminate destruction of designated greenbelt lands, heritage buildings and well-established neighbourhoods in the pursuit of growth (and development dollars) has been a disturbing feature of the past several years.   

10)  What life lesson did you or a family member learn and take to heart last year?

Same as I wrote last year:  Life is short, and tomorrow is not promised. I am more aware of this with each passing year...! 

2023 Year in Review

I'm trying something a little different this year from my usual "Year in Review" format (which got to be a little lengthy & repetitive from year to year...!). :)  I found this format/list of questions in the long-gone scrapbooking magazine Creating Keepsakes January/February 2013 issue (!). 

*** *** *** 

1) What was the coolest thing you did or that happened to you last year?

Getting my DNA analyzed was pretty cool. :)  

2)  What major milestone(s) did you or a loved one experience last year?

First and foremost, my brother-in-law had a transplant, with his son (our Older Nephew) donating part of his liver to save his dad's life. That's pretty major!  

Younger Nephew & his wife also welcomed our Little Great-Niece in February.  :)  

And Little Great-Nephew headed off to school this fall (junior kindergarten)!  

3)  What was your favourite celebration last year?

It was great to get together with small and large groups of dh's cousins (on both sides of the family) on several different occasions -- and NOT for funerals!!  (Too many of those in recent years!)  

4)  What was your most memorable holiday of last year, and what made it special?

Christmas with my family is always memorable. I am well aware that my time with my parents is not unlimited, and so I appreciate the opportunity to spend time with them while I can.  (Even when they drive me nuts sometimes...! lol) 

5)  What family vacation or activity was the most memorable, and why?

We had a lovely weekend at dh's cousin's cottage with BIL & SIL, Older Nephew, his wife & Little Great-Nephew -- until Older Nephew revealed he wasn't feeling well, and we had to make a hasty departure.  :(   

6)  What big goal did you or a loved one achieve or work toward last year?

I guess keeping BIL alive and getting him to, through and beyond his transplant operation, was our family's main goal of last year! and I'm so glad that we achieved that! (SIL asked his doctor if he would have survived the year without the transplant.  His answer was "No."  :(  )  

7)  What's something that changed in your life last year?  (something new, a loss, etc.)

We got a new great-niece in February!  We got to spend a lot of time with Little Great-Nephew (providing fill-in child care while SIL took BIL for his various medical appointments). Then he started school (junior kindergarten) in September, and we haven't seen as much of him since then. We miss him!  

8)  What was your favourite movie, book, album or song from last year, and why?

Haven't been to the movies since before the pandemic  :(  and I don't follow music the way that I used to either. I just posted my 2023 Reading Year in Review and as I said there, it's hard to pick one favourite book. A few of the standouts included: 

• "In Memoriam" by Alice Winn 
• "Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett 
• "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus
• "The Last Devil to Die" by Richard Osman 
• "Surrender:  40 Songs, One Story" by Bono 
• "Spare" by Prince Harry 
• "Wintering" by Katherine May

Also, we FINALLY got to see "Hamilton"!  

9)  What world, national or local event or news story affected you most?

The ongoing war in Ukraine, plus the renewed conflict in the Middle East. I am not Jewish nor Muslim/Palestinian, but who can read those stories or see that footage and not be horrified by what has happened??   

The ongoing political instability south of our border (and its effect on the political atmosphere in my own country) is unsettling. I am NOT looking forward to the coming year in American politics...! 

Closer to home, I am sickened by our provincial government's determination to raze and move the landmark Ontario Science Centre (where dh spent hours & hours as a kid), and to redevelop the prime parkland/public space of Ontario Place, including moving a downsized version of the Science Centre there and adding a luxury spa with a massive underground parking garage (!). Dozens of trees, carefully chosen & planted by the original site developers more than 50 years ago, have already been removed.  In general, the indiscriminate destruction of designated greenbelt lands, heritage buildings and well-established neighbourhoods in the pursuit of growth (and development dollars) was a disturbing feature of the past year.  

10)  What life lesson did you or a family member learn and take to heart last year?

Life is short, and tomorrow is not promised. I am more aware of this with each passing year...! 

Blogging Year in Review

A hat tip to Mali, whose post "2016: Looking back on the blog" has inspired me to do the same for the past several years. Also to Mel, whose Crème de la Crème lists from 2007 to 2012 prompted me & other bloggers to review our posts from the year past & pick out our favourites to share.  (There was a list in 2006 too, but that was before I started my blog.)  If the Crème de la Crème list still existed, one of these posts would probably be the one I would have submitted. :) ) 

*** *** *** 

2023 was not quite as prolific in blogging terms as the past several years have been. 2021 was my best year ever in terms of numbers of posts (213), followed by 2020 (197), and 2022 (193). I will wind up the year with 171 posts (including this one)  :) -- ranking #5 in terms of numbers of total posts for the year, just below 2008 (#4) with 172 posts. (And if I manage to squeeze in one more post after this, then they'll be tied!)  

That's an average of 14 posts per month -- a little less than a post every other day. My least-chatty month was this one -- December -- this will be post #10.  My most verbose was January, with 19 posts. Not bad, especially after 16 years of blogging!  

I don't check my blog stats very often, but I had a look at the ones for the past 12 months, and (as of this morning), I had 269,000+ views and 377 comments this year (page views way up from last year, but comments down -- go figure?). The top-viewed post of 2023  (that was written/posted IN 2023 -- was this one, with 176 views since it was posted on July 10th.   

In addition to posts about or related to childless/free issues or other adoption/loss/infertility issues, I tried to do a "Right now" or "The Current" post at the beginning of each month, and participated in 43 #MicroblogMondays this year. I reviewed all 48 books that I read in 2023, and passed along and/or commented on news items, blog & Substack posts and podcasts, etc. (usually ALI-related) that piqued my interest. 

I also wrote a lot about other things going on in my life, including aging, retirement, being an auntie & great-auntie, supporting my brother-in-law and his family through his liver transplant this past summer, dealing with service people, and condo living. There were lots of "odds & ends" posts, as well as lists of recent "small pleasures & annoying things."  And the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic (now in its FOURTH year) provided PLENTY of fodder for blogging!! 

Here are a few of my favourite/noteworthy posts from 2023, or ones that say "2023" to me -- in more or less chronological order (from oldest/earliest in 2023 to most recent): 

January: 

• Home again 
• #MicroblogMondays: LGN made my day :)
• #MicroblogMondays: Portrait of an auntie :)

February: 

• Same song, 25th (!!) verse...
• #MicroblogMondays: Family Day 2023

March: 

• Odds & ends & Oscars
• A moment with LGN
• #MicroblogMondays: "This timeline is the only one we've got"

April: 

• #MicroblogMondays: Worth the wait :)
• Isn't it ironic?

May: 

• Pre-Voldemort Day odds & ends
• "Mommy bloggers" or not, we owe a debt to "Dooce"
• Verklempt
• #MicroblogMondays: An "ouch" moment

June: 

• #MicroblogMondays: Grey skies
• #MicroblogMondays: Neighbourly reminder
• Churches, community & childlessness

July: 

• #MicroblogMondays: A family update
• Family update
• #MicroblogMonday: Hanging in 
• Flash back 40 years...
• Kidding... (but actually not kidding...!)*
• Making space for childless/free experiences & voices

August: 

• Well, this is new...
• #MicroblogMondays: Katie, 25 years, and silver linings
• (Gradually!) Letting go

September: 

• End of an era
• #MicroblogMondays: The (Pandemic) Time Warp

October: 

• #MicroblogMondays: Grateful
• #MicroblogMondays: Plus ca change...
• Sweet 16 on Halloween :)

November: 

• #MicroblogMondays: Be careful out there

December: 

• #MicroblogMondays: A Christmas carol

(Still working on an overall Year in Review post, and finding it hard going... that may have to wait until the actual new year!)