2023 — What. A. Year.

All the things in one jam-packed year.

Sunrise on the ridge

All the stuff we experienced this year may not seem like much to many, but the sensory overload after 2.5 years of isolation was a lot…for us.  

Because it wasn’t just about building a house — it was a lot about family. 

In our extended family, we lost 4 members; two expected, two completely unexpected.  The unexpected always hurts the most, doesn’t it?  You don’t see it coming and WHAM, it hits you.  My Godbrother and my cousin died; I’ve known both their entire lives.  My cousin was 11 days older than me and my first friend.  What I am most grateful for is the conversation we had 3 weeks before his death; it was the best convo we have had in at least 20 years.  My Godbrother experienced health issues over the last five years, but we were completely blindsided when he passed away this spring.  He was 2 months younger than my sister.  

And all of this leads up to why I drop everything when I have a chance to spend time with loved ones.  

And we had moments of joy that meant everything to us.  In October our son, Ross, got married to the lovely Britta.  Even more joyous than this was most of Britta’s family joining in the festivities from all over.  It was the first time I met them, and their excitement and love for Ross and Britta shone through, which was heartwarming.  Sorry for the lack of photos—I was FaceTiming with Kelsey and the grands during the ceremony, and having a good time during the reception.  

And we are still working on the new home; I get the feeling we will always be working on it and that is not a bad thing.  We decided to hire a landscaper instead of doing the yard ourselves.  While more expensive than DIY, the results are worth it.  The first phase was completed in October and we will start the next phase sometime in the spring (or when funds allow).  

Yes, we’re using rocks.

I reconnected with a dear friend that I had not seen in over 30 years, and that has been wonderful.  He came up the weekend after we moved in, and friends and family have been coming frequently ever since.  Another joy!

And a big thing for me was making the decision to move up my retirement date.  I was planning to hold out until April of 2025, but the difference in my pension by waiting from the end of 2024 to April 2025 was—wait for it—$40.  Yes, $40 extra for waiting until the 30th anniversary of my employment with the government.  That’s a hard pass.

And…let’s move on to the quilts, shall we? I’m surprised at what was accomplished amidst everything else going on:

A quilt for Nancy—Slanted Half-Hex;
We lost Nancy a week after we gave her the quilt.

A quilt for MaryJane:

A baby quilt (post coming soon):

And final finish of the year is Rise & Shine, an adaptation of the quilt pattern designed by Cheri Saffiote-Payne (I'll show the finished quilt in the upcoming post about it):

Only 4 quilts in 2023, but I’m amazed I completed that many amidst everything else happening around here.  I’m looking forward to at least that many makes in 2024, but one of the makes I’m planning is paper pieced and I hope that one does not end in frustration; I’ll post my progress on it.

My design wall on the last day of 2023 shows the new baby quilt I’m making; I finished piecing the top on the last Tuesday of 2023, the day before the baby was born, and I want it to be my first finish of 2024.  I quilted it last Sunday and need to do the binding.  Also on the wall is a few-years-old initial attempt at the La Passacaglia quilt, and the hidden birds quilt I hope to stop procrastinating on in 2024 (you can see bits of both in the above photo). 

I wish you a Happy New Year!  Go make!